1 00:00:03,839 --> 00:00:12,439 Welcome to Fantasy Hockey Life, presented by fan Tracks. Here's shoes, your 2 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,679 source of information and analysis to help you win your fantasy hockey league. Block 3 00:00:16,719 --> 00:00:21,800 off hats, A step hit on, stay lock. Here's your hosts, 4 00:00:22,039 --> 00:00:27,199 Jesse Sevier and Victor Nuno Fantasy Hockey Life. Once again, it is Jesse 5 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,640 Severe from fan Tracks and that right there, my friends you already knew is 6 00:00:31,719 --> 00:00:36,880 Victor Nuno VP ringside Victor. How you doing? I'm doing great, Jesse. 7 00:00:37,039 --> 00:00:39,679 Yeah, it's been it's been a fun week these last two weeks. 8 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:45,359 Most of my dynasties are in playoffs. I have six in the semi finals. 9 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,399 I think a few of them are gonna survive, but not the one 10 00:00:48,439 --> 00:00:51,719 where I'm against you. That's looking like it's looking you're gonna take that one. 11 00:00:51,799 --> 00:00:55,159 So you must be feeling pretty good. How you feeling, Victor attempting 12 00:00:55,159 --> 00:00:59,960 the reverse jinks with twelve hours to go in our grueling matchup, It's gone 13 00:01:00,119 --> 00:01:03,560 back and forth. I made a comeback yesterday, but we'll see, we'll 14 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,040 see you. The numbers favor me today, Victor, but I would not 15 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,840 count you out, sir. You have the luck of the Irish. You're 16 00:01:10,879 --> 00:01:15,760 going to come back on me. Let's see, I would need Alex toabrink 17 00:01:15,799 --> 00:01:19,719 it, Brock Nelson, Frank Fatrono, Seth Jones basically to all get hat 18 00:01:19,799 --> 00:01:25,400 tricks, and then I might have a chance. So there's a chance that's 19 00:01:25,519 --> 00:01:29,280 very small, yeah, I think, yeah, Or, And I've got 20 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,079 two goalies going. All it takes is a couple of goalie implosions to drag 21 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,799 a person down two in this league. But yeah, Victor, it's exciting 22 00:01:37,879 --> 00:01:42,920 our common league where we co manage a team. We've already gone down and 23 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:47,480 you're still alive though in the league that we're both in individually, I'm long 24 00:01:47,519 --> 00:01:49,120 since extinct. But you're scheduled to win this week, right, I haven't 25 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,760 looked recently. Yeah, we have the most points by far, and so 26 00:01:53,079 --> 00:01:56,239 that's the one way I co manage with Elon. We're going to be in 27 00:01:56,239 --> 00:02:01,319 the finals against Jarno's gonna be a tough competition. He led the league most 28 00:02:01,359 --> 00:02:06,640 of the season, so that's gonna be tough. Yeah. But luckily in 29 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,360 two week matchups are where it's at because even though this one that I'm gonna 30 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,520 lose to you, you feel better about it because you have more of a 31 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,120 chance. You guys played like enough game, so it's yeah, you tip 32 00:02:17,159 --> 00:02:21,000 your hat, but but it's this crazy, like one week like randomness. 33 00:02:21,039 --> 00:02:23,879 I really hate that. Yeah, I don't mind it, but it's nice 34 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,400 to have enough time to actually feel like you can have a little bit of 35 00:02:27,479 --> 00:02:30,759 a chance, obviously, since you were crushing me as of last Sunday. 36 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,719 And I'm not saying I'm going to win, but if I end up winning, 37 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,360 I will completely be in line with It's a good thing. We didn't 38 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,960 just play one week. It's been up and down, it's been back, 39 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,479 and there were times where I was way ahead and you were way ahead, 40 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,479 So it'll be close. Anything can happen. That's what fantasy Hockey's life. 41 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,520 It's life where it's like I meant to say, like it's a Freudian slip 42 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:57,719 Victor. Sometimes when you're in these matchups, you need people to commiserate with, 43 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,719 you need people to talk with. Nobody in your family doesn't want to 44 00:03:00,719 --> 00:03:02,840 hear about your fantasy team. To believe me, I tried telling the fantasy 45 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,400 hockey wife, this is a really tough matchup. Right now, I really 46 00:03:06,479 --> 00:03:08,960 need to watch I really need to watch Saber Senators right now. Honey, 47 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,319 we just we don't need to go out on a day tonight and she doesn't 48 00:03:13,319 --> 00:03:16,439 buy it. You need people sometimes where everybody knows your name, and that 49 00:03:16,479 --> 00:03:20,879 includes the people in the Fantasy Hockey Life discord, and so you can come 50 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:23,840 in there, you can talk about your matchups, you can get that sort 51 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:28,319 of emotional support that you want and need. All you have to do is 52 00:03:28,439 --> 00:03:30,960 join our discord. We're just a bunch of people. It's not just a 53 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,800 comfort group. It's just a place to talk fantasy hockey talk. Fantasy prospects 54 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,639 a great place for that, and you can do that by emailing Victor and 55 00:03:38,719 --> 00:03:43,000 myself Fantasy Hockeylife at gmail dot com, or hit us up on x at 56 00:03:43,039 --> 00:03:47,280 Fanhockey Life or at Victor Nuno twelve. Victor. There are also things that 57 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,879 people might be wanting to do this time of year in our patreon. Tell 58 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,719 them about that. Yeah, lots of great stuff going on with the patreon. 59 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,560 You can check out. We're trying to move everything over to our website, 60 00:03:59,599 --> 00:04:03,120 so you have all kinds of great features there, including some scouting reports, 61 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:09,039 information about the tidy we have. Our draft ranks are going to be 62 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,800 up there soon. Right now, we're working on poarding over all of our 63 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,120 lists in terms of our prospect ranks, so that's going to be super fun, 64 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,720 and there's going to be more information about the twenty twenty four guys in 65 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:26,439 terms of who's what our ranks are there, and hopefully we'll have some bash 66 00:04:26,519 --> 00:04:30,399 for those guys too. We have our player cards, which this is the 67 00:04:30,519 --> 00:04:33,279 whole reason I did this, Jesse. You would because there's no information about 68 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,360 hits, blocks and shots, so you can see for some reason, I 69 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,399 have Daniel Goushen pulled up here right now and you can see that he does 70 00:04:40,439 --> 00:04:43,839 not hit at all, but he does some other things pretty well, like 71 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,120 shooting and blocking. So that's good information that you can't really find elsewhere very 72 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,519 easily. So you can find all that, including patron casts and access to 73 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:57,319 play in the tidy over at patreon dot com slash Fantasy Hockey Life. That's 74 00:04:57,399 --> 00:05:00,000 right. I know it is the white wave of many of you out there, 75 00:05:00,439 --> 00:05:02,199 the bash of the prospects, and Victor and I are trying to get 76 00:05:02,199 --> 00:05:05,439 to the bottom of it. Victor, let's take a break, comeback. 77 00:05:05,519 --> 00:05:16,399 We've got some ex gamers to cover X gamers. That's the time on the 78 00:05:16,439 --> 00:05:20,519 show when we talk about some of the analysis that Victor's been doing in his 79 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:26,160 great articles on ep rnks side, and basically it's just an opportunity and excuse 80 00:05:26,199 --> 00:05:30,600 to discuss some players who are either in prospect status or perhaps have established themselves 81 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,800 a little bit as a younger NHL or trying to figure out the heck's going 82 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,079 on here? Is this guy anything? Are we gonna need to worry about 83 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,600 him in fantasy hockey or what? Victor. The first guy we're going to 84 00:05:40,639 --> 00:05:45,319 talk about today is one of these young up and coming Russians over in Columbus, 85 00:05:45,399 --> 00:05:50,480 Cariill Marchenko. Karel Marchenko is having himself a decent year. It's been 86 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:56,959 a rough year in Columbus generally speaking, at least a last by length in 87 00:05:57,079 --> 00:06:00,439 the East Michigan won the National Football Championship. It's just rough to be in 88 00:06:00,439 --> 00:06:04,040 Columbus this year. But there's a nice little Russian line coming together for the 89 00:06:04,079 --> 00:06:09,360 team. Ronkoff, Chinnikov and Marchenko had the most minutes together at five on 90 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:14,560 five last I checked, of any Columbus line, and they were among the 91 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:16,480 top fifty in the league at time on ice. This is a line that 92 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,480 plays together and plays together well, despite everything else that's happened around them in 93 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:27,240 the Columbus lineup. The good news is that Marchenko has scored pretty well. 94 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,959 He said about a half point per game pays this year staying up in the 95 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:35,319 NHL. He's got more goals than assists seventeen fifteen thirty two in sixty three 96 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:40,800 games is what he is sitting on as of the time that we're recording this 97 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:44,319 today. There are good things happening with him, and of course he's still 98 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:47,040 young. We're a little down the funnel now with Marchenko, but maybe we're 99 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,120 looking at a sixty points Celand or something for this guy. I'd sure take 100 00:06:50,199 --> 00:06:56,079 that. What do you think about Curl Marchenko Victor? Yeah, I really 101 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,279 like him. It's funny. Recently the coach was talking about the Russian line, 102 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:00,680 as you mentioned, have been playing really well, but I guess a 103 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,879 little too well. He called them they're playing too much like the Globetrotters, 104 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,959 which is really hilarious because someone brought up that the Harlem Globetrotters have this like 105 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:15,920 insane record because they's the Washington General or something that they play like yep and 106 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,680 always win or something like that. It's something like a twenty seven thousand wins 107 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,800 and three hundred and forty five losses or something like that, so like nine 108 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,800 eighty seven win percentage. They're like, yeah, they're pretty good. What 109 00:07:29,839 --> 00:07:32,639 are you talking about? What's wrong with playing like the Globetrotters was basically the 110 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,360 response to that. But yeah, I know they are a really fun line, 111 00:07:35,519 --> 00:07:41,399 and Marchenko is it's hard to separate who you think the best of all 112 00:07:41,399 --> 00:07:46,040 those guys that are I think Ronkov is clearly part of the guy who's really 113 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,720 driving the bus there in terms of hoping to create, but Marchenko is clearly 114 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,240 the most skilled finisher. I would say on that line, he's the one 115 00:07:54,319 --> 00:07:58,120 who generally is able to That's what he did a lot last year without getting 116 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,600 any assists, and we kept I remember, we said, like all he 117 00:08:00,639 --> 00:08:03,199 needs to do is get a few assists and he's going to be much better. 118 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:09,480 And he's already almost quadrupled his assists from last season in a similar number 119 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:13,120 of games, so that's pretty good. And he's at a similar goal total, 120 00:08:13,639 --> 00:08:18,519 so he's running out the playmaking that's really good. And yeah, he's 121 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,199 at one hundred and twenty two NHL games, he's past that one hundred game 122 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:24,560 mark. Closing in on that two hundred, so he's getting a pretty good 123 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,000 idea of who he is. He can score a thirty goal pace with sixteen 124 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,759 minutes time on ice, that's really impressive. If he gets closer to eighteen 125 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,519 plus, could he be a forty goal scorer, I think is the question. 126 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,320 Maybe he also is getting some power play time. It's not usually with 127 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:45,759 the top unit, so maybe all of those things could round him out to 128 00:08:45,799 --> 00:08:48,799 be a little bit even more more of a scorer. So I think the 129 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,399 future is really bright here. I think you should we should all be pretty 130 00:08:52,399 --> 00:08:58,279 excited about him. The power play points are usually if you can get closer 131 00:08:58,279 --> 00:09:01,559 to twenty, that's for a more of a top line player. And he's 132 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,759 at ten and he has at eight last year. I think all these things 133 00:09:03,799 --> 00:09:07,879 are pointing in the right direction. His shooting percentage has regressed a little bit 134 00:09:07,879 --> 00:09:11,200 from sixteen to eleven, but he's still able to score a similar amount. 135 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,600 So I think there's a lot of reason to be excited about Marchenko. And 136 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,320 I think this idea that he's just the one trick pony he's shown a lot 137 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:22,840 this year that's not necessarily the case. And I think it also says a 138 00:09:22,879 --> 00:09:26,200 lot to click with a certain line. I think it can show a little 139 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:33,080 bit more of your well routed potential. And Mason Black the NHL ranking always 140 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,840 puts together a pull for us. This week's theme, apparently for Marchenko is 141 00:09:35,879 --> 00:09:41,519 the misery loves Company comparison, because he's up against the Arizona Coyotes Mattias Mitchelli, 142 00:09:41,639 --> 00:09:48,159 another fantastic young player who is shall we say on a struggling NHL franchise, 143 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:54,559 Marchenko versus Mitchelli. Drum roll, the winner is Marchenko sixty nine to 144 00:09:54,600 --> 00:10:00,639 thirty one. Basically in that result, Marchenko in a landslide victor Do you 145 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:05,440 think the same way Marchenko that strong over Michelli. I think it depends on 146 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,000 the kind of league, right. I believe when Mason puts this out, 147 00:10:07,039 --> 00:10:11,440 he says points only. If you're talking points only, I think you got 148 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,840 to take Michelli because he has already scored at a much higher pace. Last 149 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,600 season it was sixty four point pace. This season fifty five. Marchenko, 150 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,799 I think having a pretty decent season. Currently only at forty two, and 151 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,120 he was at thirty five last year because of the lack of assists. I 152 00:10:26,159 --> 00:10:31,440 think the points only play is still clearly Michelli, but that's the problem is 153 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,759 he doesn't really do anything else. Michelli has increased his shots. He was 154 00:10:35,799 --> 00:10:39,480 generally shooting at one or under one for the first eighty ninety games of his 155 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:43,320 career. In this season, he's still under two per game, but he's 156 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,240 getting closer to two. That's still really low and not what you want, 157 00:10:48,639 --> 00:10:50,360 you know. Marchenko, on the other hand, is like two and a 158 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:52,000 half shots per game, so it's not just the shots though, it's the 159 00:10:52,039 --> 00:10:56,759 hit some blocks, which Marchenko does a pretty decent amount of bashing. It's 160 00:10:56,759 --> 00:11:01,039 not like amazing, but he's closer to hitting the block per game with two 161 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:05,440 and a half shots, so that's like closer to average to decent, as 162 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,240 opposed to Michelli, who doesn't do much. If it's a banger's preferle heavy, 163 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:13,519 I'm taking Marchenko all day because he's going to give you something else, 164 00:11:13,639 --> 00:11:16,919 and Mitchelli is. It's so difficult to roster in those formats, especially in 165 00:11:16,919 --> 00:11:20,159 categories leagues where he's literally hurting you in almost every other category. I'll think 166 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,799 Marchenko if there's periffs, but if it's points only, I think you gotta 167 00:11:24,799 --> 00:11:28,039 go Michelli. I just I love this kid. He's such an amazing passer. 168 00:11:28,159 --> 00:11:30,559 And what's funny is that everyone knows he's going to pass all the time, 169 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,360 but he still does. He still makes it work, he still finds 170 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,200 the best play, so he's just super creative. And he actually has scored 171 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:41,000 a little bit more. He has eleven goals, actually eleven goals the last 172 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,200 two seasons, so he still assists heavy, but he is putting the puck 173 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:48,240 in the net a little bit more. And last season Mitchelli had a crazy 174 00:11:48,279 --> 00:11:52,639 eighteen percent shooting percentage because he just wasn't shooting enough. And he's nearly doubled 175 00:11:52,639 --> 00:11:56,159 his shots and kept the same number of goals. So that's always good to 176 00:11:56,159 --> 00:11:58,720 see. You love to see when they increase the shots and they still score 177 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:03,080 the same amount. Yeah, they hit. They're good in different formats. 178 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:09,559 I would say the hockey prospecting clearly favors Marchenko and Mitchelli is looking a little 179 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:16,240 lower. The NHL ranking PNHL it also favors Mitchelli, although they're trying to 180 00:12:16,279 --> 00:12:18,000 be a little bit more similar. But I love the spider grafts that he 181 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,879 has on those on the app because you can really see the peripheral coverage that 182 00:12:22,919 --> 00:12:26,679 Marchenko has compared to Mitchelli, who's basically just assists some power play points. 183 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,720 Everything else is pretty low. And yeah, we also have our FA the 184 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:37,759 FHL. The FHL cards are also showing for guys that are early in their 185 00:12:37,759 --> 00:12:41,639 career. We do have them for guys like Marchenko. They're a little bit 186 00:12:41,639 --> 00:12:43,679 past the one hundred NHL games wort just in case you're injurted, and it's 187 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,039 nice to see the peripheral coverage. But that's what I think, Jesse, 188 00:12:48,159 --> 00:12:52,000 what do you think? Do you think you agree with that assessment? It's 189 00:12:52,039 --> 00:12:54,159 tough. I like both of these young players. Mitchelli is the one that 190 00:12:54,240 --> 00:13:00,200 I'm probably more excited about among the two. He's certainly been a little more 191 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,600 sizzling early in his NHL career, but I'm certainly not really not Marchenko. 192 00:13:03,639 --> 00:13:09,720 Probably Mitchelli over Marchenko for me at this point, but I certainly do not 193 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:15,279 discount the latter victor. Up next, we got ourselves Tanner Mullendyke, the 194 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,519 first pick of the second reign of Barry Trotz in Nashville. Long may he 195 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:24,600 serve, and Mollmandyke was the first round pick last year for Nashville. Nashville 196 00:13:24,639 --> 00:13:28,080 loves their defenseman. Maybe they've got another good one on their hands here. 197 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,759 It's his fourth year in the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He's got a 198 00:13:31,799 --> 00:13:35,759 letter on his sweater this year and assistant an alternate captain, i should say. 199 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,519 And he's gone from a third of a point per game his first full 200 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:43,080 year there to a little over half a point now this year, he's way 201 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:48,799 over a point per game. That's pretty amazing for a defenseman, even in 202 00:13:48,879 --> 00:13:52,679 the Canada Hockey League. One of the top scorers on the team that had 203 00:13:52,039 --> 00:13:56,879 at last check, the best record in the Western Hockey League. So he 204 00:13:58,159 --> 00:14:03,759 is a successful player and a successful team. He's on the com victor is 205 00:14:03,799 --> 00:14:07,320 Tanterer. Mullendyke all that he is definitely a really good player. And yeah, 206 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,120 you're talking about defenseman or national loving defenseman. I think they know how 207 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:15,279 to draft them and develop them pretty well. Maybe not as well as Anaheim, 208 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,360 but I do think that there's some trends there. They really have picked 209 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,440 some good ones and there's some other ones we're gonna talk about later. But 210 00:14:22,559 --> 00:14:28,519 Mullendyke, he's an amazing skater, really good already NH Already his transition defending 211 00:14:28,679 --> 00:14:31,919 is elite, I think you can say. And in that respect, he 212 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,159 could already play in the NHL, but he has some other things that he 213 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,159 still needs to work on. No rush there. He's still nineteen, got 214 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,679 at least another year of the CHL and then maybe a year in the HL, 215 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:45,440 so it's going to be a little bit. The other thing that I 216 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:50,159 like about Mullendyke is that he does have a perferle floor. He blocks an 217 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,480 amazing amount for the WHL, and hits and shots are also pretty good, 218 00:14:56,039 --> 00:14:58,480 So there's some floor there. And when you're going to play as many minutes 219 00:14:58,519 --> 00:15:01,799 as he's going to play in the NHL, and I think he's gonna he's 220 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,039 going to be twenty two plus minutes a night, maybe even a lot more, 221 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,200 then you're going to rack up a lot of riffs if you're if your 222 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:13,480 base of priffs is already pretty good. I do think though, that Mullendyke 223 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:16,120 is going to always be more of a real, better, real life player 224 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:22,360 than he is a fantasy asset. But when you're out there that much, 225 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,360 you're still going to be able to rack up a decent number of points, 226 00:15:26,399 --> 00:15:30,080 even if you're not the most amazing score. I think his scoring is a 227 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,120 little bit overblown right now. Like I don't think he he's going to be 228 00:15:33,399 --> 00:15:39,320 like a fifty sixty point guy, but I do think that he's gonna He's 229 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:43,879 got a really nice Perferle floor and the points will come a little bit. 230 00:15:43,399 --> 00:15:46,440 So I really like him. I think if you're thinking of him as your 231 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:52,000 next study, that's probably a little bit unrealistic. But you got a guy 232 00:15:52,000 --> 00:16:00,440 who's going to play and could return pretty decent value. That's that's right. 233 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:06,879 Absolutely, he is looking pretty good. Let's put him to the NHL rank 234 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,799 King test in a poll. Tanner Mullendyke up against Oliver Bonk, who has 235 00:16:11,879 --> 00:16:18,720 certainly showed us more also than I think people expected out of him on draft 236 00:16:18,799 --> 00:16:22,759 day, and Bonk has upset. I don't know if it's an upset. 237 00:16:22,799 --> 00:16:26,360 He was probably a little more well known or talked about maybe at a round 238 00:16:26,399 --> 00:16:29,360 draft time, at least among the people I hung out with. But Bonk 239 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:36,200 defeats Mullendyke fifty six two forty four in the NHL Rank King Pole victor do 240 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:42,039 you want Bonk over Mullendike. Yeah, I think so. He is better 241 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:47,799 in some respects. I think he was drafted two positions earlier than Mullendike. 242 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,679 They're a little bit different players. I think that Bonk has a little bit 243 00:16:51,679 --> 00:16:56,320 more offense, and even though they're both probably punching a bit above their way, 244 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,759 they're both on a really good cochl teams. Bonk with the London Knights, 245 00:16:59,759 --> 00:17:04,079 he's incredible, and Mollendike with the Blades. As you mentioned, I 246 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:08,960 think that they both have a pretty decent floor for priffs too. Maybe Mollendike 247 00:17:10,039 --> 00:17:11,599 is a little bit more, but I think the scoring with Bank is going 248 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:17,200 to translate a little bit better. He at least when I wrote this have 249 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,400 I think it's still true he led the OHL in power play goals, not 250 00:17:21,519 --> 00:17:26,680 just defenders, but for all players in the OHL. That's ridiculous that he 251 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:32,400 needs that prolific. You love that his equivalencies are slightly higher than Mullendyke's, 252 00:17:32,559 --> 00:17:36,720 and I do think the way that he's generating his offense is a little bit 253 00:17:36,799 --> 00:17:41,400 more as the way that you could create in the NHL. A lot of 254 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:47,680 Mollendyke's comes more off speed and transition that he isn't necessarily going to beat NHL 255 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,000 players that way. So I think that the offense is going to be a 256 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,559 little bit more translatable for Bonk. But I still don't think we're talking about 257 00:17:53,599 --> 00:17:57,799 like a fifty plus guy. I think it's more like probably thirty five to 258 00:17:57,839 --> 00:18:02,200 forty five is your bline there. I think there's upside for maybe a little 259 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:07,440 bit more with Bonk, So I like him a little bit more and compared 260 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,440 to Mollendyke in terms of how well the offense is going to translate. But 261 00:18:11,519 --> 00:18:15,240 I think Mullendyke winded up playing more minutes on average just because he's he's such 262 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,519 an incredible skater. So both of these guys are going to be good. 263 00:18:18,519 --> 00:18:22,640 It's not like one is great one's terrible, and that kind of shows out. 264 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,799 I think in the poll it's relatively close, and I think that you 265 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,200 probably couldn't go wrong with either one of these. But I would lean Bonk 266 00:18:29,319 --> 00:18:32,599 just in terms of the offense translating a little bit better. What do you 267 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:37,160 think, JESSI, Yeah, let's correct a perception here, Bonk. We 268 00:18:37,319 --> 00:18:41,240 joked at the time of the draft that it's nice to have a player who 269 00:18:41,279 --> 00:18:45,720 does exactly what he sounds like Bonk. You think of him as that's a 270 00:18:45,799 --> 00:18:48,440 name that belongs to a hitter. Actually, Bonk's bashed is great, but 271 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,880 it's not based on hits at all. He's far lower in hits than Mulandike. 272 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,720 He's that's actually probably his lowest category. His shots are excellent and his 273 00:18:57,839 --> 00:19:03,160 blocks are pretty good, whereas Mullendyke's a little bit more balanced in the three 274 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,519 great in terms of blocking, he's got a ton of that, but hits 275 00:19:07,559 --> 00:19:11,039 are better than Bonk, but not elite, and shots are a little more 276 00:19:11,039 --> 00:19:15,079 in the middle of the Fantasy Hockey life player cards are where you can see 277 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:19,079 this visualization very well. Don't think of Bank as a defense only type guy. 278 00:19:19,559 --> 00:19:25,119 In terms of at least the physicality of the defense. Mullandyke is probably 279 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,519 a little bit superior to him, But like you said, such a score 280 00:19:27,559 --> 00:19:32,759 as Oliver Bonk right now that you have to take that very seriously. Next 281 00:19:32,839 --> 00:19:37,119 up, Victor William Eckland. I recall that during draft year you were sky 282 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:42,359 high and William Eckland as perhaps not necessarily in the strongest draft, but as 283 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:48,759 a guy who had some serious offensive upside From there, surprise he got just 284 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,000 short of those ten NHL games that he would have needed in the first two 285 00:19:52,039 --> 00:19:56,319 seasons. That was while he was on the entry level slide. This year, 286 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:02,880 finally we are getting the full Eckland and it's been it's been pretty good. 287 00:20:03,039 --> 00:20:07,160 He's had thirty points in his first sixty four games, obviously on quite 288 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,200 a struggling team. He's had reasonable power play time on ice, and he's 289 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,519 also getting blocks. He's getting about a block per game, about half a 290 00:20:15,599 --> 00:20:21,720 hit and not quite two shots a game. But again, he's still fitting 291 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:26,480 his way into the NHL in his first full year. Two cameos, but 292 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,839 the production is not quite caled or worthy this year, but it ain't nothing, 293 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,119 and I think we're starting to see maybe a little bit more. And 294 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,680 obviously he's still a very young player at twenty one years old for him to 295 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:42,359 have an opportunity to become a strong player as the Sharks continue to mature. 296 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:48,559 What do you think of William Ecklund these days, Victor, Yeah, Eckland 297 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,240 is amazing, especially considering, as you said, generously, a struggling team, 298 00:20:52,279 --> 00:20:57,599 the worst team in the NHL right now. They are rough to watch, 299 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,839 and they lost Hurdle CoA Church sounds like he might not ever play again. 300 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:07,440 That's really sad. But he's doing Ecklun's driving play as well as he 301 00:21:07,519 --> 00:21:11,640 can. He's really good defensively, which I know sometimes people say, oh, 302 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,559 it's good defensively. I don't want that kind of player, but that's 303 00:21:15,559 --> 00:21:18,480 what they've needed him to be right now. And he's still neutral in terms 304 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:23,079 of generating offense, which may sound like a backhanded compliment, but the team 305 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,799 just is such so bref of anyone that can do anything. That's still a 306 00:21:26,839 --> 00:21:33,599 pretty positive statement. One of the visualizations I love is from hockey viz Michael 307 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,880 Blake McCurdy. He has this thing called synthetic goals where he includes all kinds 308 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,759 of different factors including play driving, expected goals for and against both. It 309 00:21:42,839 --> 00:21:45,880 even strengthen the power play, and there's a bunch of other things in there 310 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:52,519 too in terms of shots against, penalties drawn, basically your full impact on 311 00:21:52,559 --> 00:21:56,920 the game. And he has a plus two point four synthetic goal mark, 312 00:21:56,079 --> 00:22:00,839 which is really high, especially on a bad team, and pretty much no 313 00:22:00,839 --> 00:22:06,759 one else left who's playing has that impact for the Sharks. So her hurdle 314 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:08,640 was pretty good too. But this just goes to show, and then there's 315 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:15,039 other things like the Cory Schneider's All Three Zones projects show some really specific things 316 00:22:15,079 --> 00:22:18,960 that William Ecklin is good at, like shot assists. That's a really underrated 317 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:25,799 category, and right now the Sharks don't have people that can invert his assists, 318 00:22:26,519 --> 00:22:33,160 and once they do, Eckland's points are gonna skyrocket because he's really good 319 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,920 at creating. He's really good at passes to the center lane, which is 320 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,559 another thing. He's really good at high danger assists. All these things are 321 00:22:40,599 --> 00:22:44,720 really good once he has a co you know, running mate that can actually 322 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,039 finish. Right now, he's he doesn't really have much to work with. 323 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:52,000 McColl Grantlin has been decent, Zetelent has been an improvement, but these are 324 00:22:52,039 --> 00:22:56,319 not a top top line players on most teams, so most good teams anyways, 325 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:02,920 I think Eckland's potential is still pretty high. And yeah, he's basically 326 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,759 still under one hundred and HL games because them sliding his contract the first couple 327 00:23:07,759 --> 00:23:12,440 of years, and there are some more reinforcements coming. Bordelow is looking pretty 328 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:18,160 decent and will Smith is destroying the NCAA. So there are some other guys 329 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,319 that are going to be coming soon, and I think when they get enough 330 00:23:21,319 --> 00:23:23,319 reinforcements, Eclin is going to look a whole lot better. So I think 331 00:23:23,319 --> 00:23:26,400 there's still good reason to be optimistic. I've always said I see him as 332 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,920 like a round seventy point guy, you know, around there is I think 333 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,359 where he'll be at his peak. Right now, he's at a thirty eight 334 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:40,079 point pace. I think he's getting not nearly enough assists for what he's producing. 335 00:23:40,319 --> 00:23:42,480 So if you know, close to double his assists, he'd be there, 336 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:47,640 and I think that's not unreasonable. If he had players who could convert 337 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:53,799 his passes, let's get Mackland Celebranian intel, that would probably give Ecklund some 338 00:23:53,839 --> 00:23:59,519 more opportunity. Hope, Yeah, Mason Black the NHL ranking put out the 339 00:23:59,519 --> 00:24:03,839 poll Kent Johnson versus William Eckland. Of course, Johnson has had less of 340 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:08,599 an opportunity in terms of usage out there in Columbus. He doesn't have to 341 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,519 fill in an offensive vacuum quite the way that William Eckland has been asked to 342 00:24:12,559 --> 00:24:18,960 do. But he had a similar season really last year to what Eckland did 343 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:23,440 as far as half a point just closing in on two shots. In terms 344 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:27,920 of rates, he had smaller bash, but given his opportunity, was a 345 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,119 little bit better this year, not so much. He's a bit down from 346 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:37,680 then, but placed up against William Eckland, Kent Johnson comes out ahead fifty 347 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,079 six to forty four. Victor you want Kent over William at this point, 348 00:24:41,319 --> 00:24:47,519 I think that's an interesting poll. I still think that Kent Johnson has a 349 00:24:47,519 --> 00:24:52,279 ton of upside, and I don't think that his play on this also really 350 00:24:52,319 --> 00:24:59,680 bad team is necessarily indicative of what he can do long term. But also 351 00:25:00,599 --> 00:25:03,519 I think he needs to be showing a little bit more, and I think 352 00:25:03,559 --> 00:25:07,319 that right now I would probably take Eckland, which seems crazy in terms of 353 00:25:07,319 --> 00:25:12,480 that synthetic goal stat Eckland plus two point four on literally this the worst team 354 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:17,519 in the league, worse than Columbus and Kent Johnson minus six point six in 355 00:25:17,559 --> 00:25:22,400 that Saint metric, arguably with a decent amount more talent around him. And 356 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,160 as we're recording this, Columbus did play San Jose last night, and I 357 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:32,000 watched painfully some of that game, and it was pretty clear that Columbus is 358 00:25:32,039 --> 00:25:34,799 currently a little bit ahead of where the Sharks are, and Johnson isn't as 359 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,279 much of a factor of that, and so that's a little bit frustrating to 360 00:25:37,319 --> 00:25:41,960 see because I do think he still has so much talent, but sometimes he's 361 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,319 content just luck handling in the periphery instead of getting through the inside, instead 362 00:25:45,319 --> 00:25:48,559 of really forcing the play. He went down to the HL early in this 363 00:25:48,599 --> 00:25:51,759 season and tore it up, and I was and he came back and I 364 00:25:51,799 --> 00:25:52,880 was like, all right, he's gonna tear it up now, and he 365 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:57,200 didn't. He still hasn't. He still only has sixteen points and forty two 366 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:02,279 games for thirty one points. So I'm not sure. I'm not sure what 367 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:04,839 Columbus is going to do. I wonder if they try to make a blockbuster 368 00:26:06,079 --> 00:26:10,319 trade and move him, because I'm just not sure it's been the right fit. 369 00:26:10,839 --> 00:26:11,880 I don't think that they're trying to do that, but I think that 370 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,359 they're frustrated with where he's at and what he's been able to do. But 371 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,920 he's still only at one hundred and thirty NHL games, so it's not like 372 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:23,400 it's time to give up. But I do wonder if Johnson's offense is going 373 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:27,240 to fully translate. The other question here is if you are in a priffs 374 00:26:27,319 --> 00:26:33,200 league. Ken Johnson is a black hole of Perferle coverage, so if he's 375 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:37,079 not scoring, he ain't doing much. Whereas Eklund he mentioned I think a 376 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:41,319 bit surprising to me because I didn't necessarily think that when he was coming up. 377 00:26:41,319 --> 00:26:44,720 But he is really good at blocks. He's almost at a block per 378 00:26:44,759 --> 00:26:48,000 game. That's really solid for forward. That's incredible for a forward. I 379 00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:52,359 mean, some defensemen don't even get that, don't even get that many blocks 380 00:26:52,559 --> 00:26:55,640 and half a hit. So there's definitely more Perferle coverage from Eckland, who's 381 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,480 also playing a ton, which helps that. But yeah, you know what 382 00:26:59,519 --> 00:27:03,079 these guys are after the same draft, fifth overall and seventh overall for Johnson 383 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:07,319 and Eckland, and at this point it's looking like Eckland's going to be the 384 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,079 much more competent in NHLR. So that's pretty surprising. But yeah, I 385 00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:15,079 think that it's pretty clear right now. The trajectory may change moving forward, 386 00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:18,559 but that's where we are. Jesse. Is that where you're at with this? 387 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,119 Yeah, I think that's fair. It's just we've seen so little of 388 00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:26,720 Ecklund. He's been such in such a bad situation that it's hard to tell. 389 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,039 I still find it incredibly amusing, though, And this isn't aside every 390 00:27:30,079 --> 00:27:34,519 time that Columbus fans have to cheer for a Michigan player on their team. 391 00:27:34,559 --> 00:27:38,319 If you're not familiar with American college football, that is about as big a 392 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:44,039 rivalry. They won't even refer to each other's cities, so that is usually 393 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:48,240 pretty fun. And they elsewear so many jesse they have so many on the 394 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,599 Actually I saw this interview. This is a fun aside. I'm glad you 395 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,319 brought it up. Because they're having an outdoor game next year and they were 396 00:27:56,359 --> 00:28:00,519 talking about how they were going to do some tribute to Ohio State because they're 397 00:28:00,519 --> 00:28:03,839 playing I believe they're playing at the Ohio State Stadium, playing at the Horseshoe. 398 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,440 Yeah, yeah, And I can't remember how many Wrenski, there's Ken 399 00:28:07,519 --> 00:28:11,160 Johnson, Oh my god, there's so many. I'm forgetting everyone else now. 400 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,720 And they were joking with him, so are you gonna do like the 401 00:28:14,799 --> 00:28:18,599 Ohio State fight song? And Wrensky just looked at him like that ain't happening. 402 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,680 You're gonna have to find some other way to promote you a thing, 403 00:28:21,759 --> 00:28:26,960 because these Michigan guys are not going to stand for promoting Ohio State in that 404 00:28:26,039 --> 00:28:32,160 out. They're not playing the Michigan song for him, So yeah, definitely 405 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,279 not. It should be fun, Yeah, to highlight that by putting them 406 00:28:36,279 --> 00:28:41,119 in the Ohio State stadium is pretty hilarious. Elsewhere in the Big Ten, 407 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:48,480 Victor Cruz Lucia's out there playing for the Wisconsin Badgers. We talked about him 408 00:28:48,559 --> 00:28:53,480 in the tidy trades in earlier in this offseason, and we also talked about 409 00:28:53,559 --> 00:28:59,680 him or referenced him I believe in the trade deadline trade because he's a guy 410 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:04,480 who I believe was traded at that trade deadline, and he is one of 411 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,640 the up and coming players who's moving to Pittsburgh now to try to fill in 412 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:14,039 their gap maybe be one of the best prospects that they have Wisconsin Badger. 413 00:29:14,279 --> 00:29:17,920 He is exactly the same number of points this year as last year, thirty 414 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,240 fourth last year thirty four. This year, He's played one more game this 415 00:29:21,319 --> 00:29:26,480 year, which bothers me because earlier we had perfect symmetry and I enjoy symmetry. 416 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:30,920 That makes him one of the leading scores on the Big Ten strong team 417 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:37,279 of Wisconsin. Cruz Lucius is an exciting player, maybe looking a little better 418 00:29:37,279 --> 00:29:41,079 than brother Chaz. What do you think, Victor, Is this guy gonna 419 00:29:41,119 --> 00:29:49,160 breathe life into the Penn's prospect system. Yeah, definitely that system was hurting, 420 00:29:51,519 --> 00:29:55,000 but so that we and if you want more discussion on that, you 421 00:29:55,039 --> 00:29:59,000 should check out the Dabber Prospects Report with Peter Harlan because we talked all about 422 00:29:59,039 --> 00:30:03,440 the prospects on the movie in this past episode and it absolutely helped the Pittsburgh 423 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:10,119 prospect pull a ton Branden Jaeger is still incredible and Blomquist is a great goalie. 424 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:15,759 But after that they Pickering maybe is a guy. So they got Lucius, 425 00:30:15,799 --> 00:30:21,279 Coevenen and Panoramarev and Lucius is definitely going to help them out a lot. 426 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,359 He's an interesting case study. The more I dug into Kruz Lucius, 427 00:30:25,519 --> 00:30:30,680 the kind of less I liked, which is surprising and not ideal for him. 428 00:30:30,039 --> 00:30:33,400 And by the way, we talked about during the Chaz Lucius draft, 429 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,759 because he was a much higher pick, how it sounded like an evil villain 430 00:30:37,839 --> 00:30:41,799 name. And I wonder if Kruz is like his sidekick the cruse Lucius. 431 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:47,680 Yeah, you kind of admire the parents going for that naming system. I 432 00:30:48,119 --> 00:30:52,200 like that that's courage. Sometimes it's the younger brother who turns out to be 433 00:30:52,799 --> 00:30:56,440 the stronger if they play each other growing up, just because they're the one 434 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,920 who have to struggle to keep up with big bro. Ye're up a lot. 435 00:31:02,799 --> 00:31:07,559 Yeah, so I don't. So it's a little bit surprising with Cruz. 436 00:31:07,599 --> 00:31:10,200 Like you said, point per game player over two seasons, and it's 437 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:15,640 it seems crazy to say that a point per game college player maybe doesn't have 438 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,920 the upside that you think. But man, when you start digging into some 439 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,440 of his defensive metrics and his off puck play, it is at times brutal. 440 00:31:23,759 --> 00:31:26,079 And I think the thing you can say about Cruise is that he's very 441 00:31:26,079 --> 00:31:30,920 opportunistic in his scoring. He knows how to get the right places, but 442 00:31:30,599 --> 00:31:34,039 when the puck isn't around him or in a scoring position, he seems lost 443 00:31:34,039 --> 00:31:37,240 and disinterested. And that is just not going to fly at the next level. 444 00:31:37,799 --> 00:31:42,519 And I'm a little concerned about how his offense is going to translate to 445 00:31:42,559 --> 00:31:45,599 the next level. I hope I'm wrong, and I hope he's great, 446 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:51,279 and I do think that he's a really strong option for the Penguins, But 447 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,359 I'm just not sure that it's going to he's going to continue to produce at 448 00:31:55,359 --> 00:31:57,960 this level. I'm actually thinking you might be able to trade him or because 449 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,480 of this strong and CAA season that might be My move is see what you 450 00:32:01,519 --> 00:32:06,640 can get from if anyone is buying the hype for a fourth round pick Mason 451 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,720 Black. Put him up against the guy who's got a lot in common with 452 00:32:09,759 --> 00:32:15,279 in a way, he was drafted one year earlier by the same team in 453 00:32:15,359 --> 00:32:20,480 the same fourth round. But victory. You don't like point per game our 454 00:32:20,599 --> 00:32:24,680 NCAA players, how about one point five point per game players? Jackson Blake 455 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,960 of North Dakota is up against Cruse Lucius in this poll, but Cruise pulls 456 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:36,480 it out fifty one forty nine effectively, Victor, do you want Cruise over 457 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,960 Jackson Blake? Based on what I just said, probably not surprising to hear 458 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:45,359 that. No, I don't prefer Lucius. But both these guys, yeah, 459 00:32:45,359 --> 00:32:47,839 they're really late picks, fourth round picks, different drafts. They're both 460 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,839 slightly undersized, Blake a little bit more at five point ten whereas Lucius is 461 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:57,519 six to oh. They're both forwards. They're both wingers, not yours, 462 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,119 not a center, but I think Blake has a little bit more to offer. 463 00:33:01,319 --> 00:33:06,119 His play driving numbers have been much better. He's playing, they're both 464 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:08,359 playing on good. Last year Wisconsin was not good, and this year they 465 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:13,599 are. But this year and last year, note Dakota has been a competitive 466 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,559 team and that's where Jackson Blake plays. And he's been over, as you 467 00:33:15,599 --> 00:33:19,200 guys you alluded to. This year he's way over and last year he was 468 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,079 even over as a freshman. His production, so he's been good. He 469 00:33:22,119 --> 00:33:27,480 also was on last season's World Junior Championship for the Americans, maybe a bit 470 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,640 of a more of a depth role, but he still had six points in 471 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:35,119 seven games. I think it's pretty telling that Cruz was not invited to the 472 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,400 team in his year. He was at the UA teams in his draft season. 473 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:43,480 But yeah, a little bit more of a nod to Jackson Blake there. 474 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:45,720 And I think his off puck today, he's got a little bit more 475 00:33:45,759 --> 00:33:49,279 of a motor. He's a little bit more of a puck retriever, but 476 00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:52,440 he can still put the puck on the net and a little bit more playmaking. 477 00:33:52,519 --> 00:33:55,920 Yeah, I'm gonna go Jackson Blake here. And the peripheral coverage actually 478 00:33:55,960 --> 00:34:01,680 also quite nicely leans towards Blake. Both of them shoot a fair amount, 479 00:34:02,079 --> 00:34:06,319 but Blake's got a little bit more in the blocks. I guess Lucius hits 480 00:34:06,359 --> 00:34:08,000 a little bit more, but I just think that the offense is going to 481 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,800 translate a little bit better for Blake. And if I had both of these, 482 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,599 I would try to trade Lucius and keep Blake. What about you, 483 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:21,880 Jesse? Just to be fair in terms of our cards, both of them 484 00:34:22,079 --> 00:34:27,159 barely have a pulse in hits and blocks, but Blake's got a little bit 485 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,440 stronger pulls than Cruise Lucius. But they're both at the bottom, but they 486 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:35,920 both shoot like crazy. And to be fair, the year that Jackson Blake 487 00:34:36,119 --> 00:34:40,320 made the World Junior's team, obviously the United States never has a unloaded team, 488 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:44,639 but this year the US team was so loaded. I think there were 489 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,679 maybe even tougher to make for Cruise than it was for Jackson last year. 490 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:52,239 But I think that's fair. I think Jackson Blake's got a little bit lesser 491 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,760 known of a name, but the performance is way higher. Victor, Let's 492 00:34:55,800 --> 00:35:08,079 take a break, come back and talk a few more of these guys, 493 00:35:12,079 --> 00:35:16,960 Seth Jarvins, We just can't get away from those crazy old Carolina Hurricanes. 494 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:22,480 Everybody loves them some Carolina Hurricanes prospects. So that's the next guy we have 495 00:35:22,599 --> 00:35:28,480 to talk about. He had a big old jump in this year in the 496 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,280 NHL. Is way up there on points fifty two so far in sixty seven 497 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:38,920 games. That is not too dissimilar to his rookie year or his twenty twenty 498 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:43,519 one to twenty two year, but it's a big improvement over last year. 499 00:35:43,559 --> 00:35:46,599 He had a shooting swoon and that's what killed him. He's had a career 500 00:35:46,679 --> 00:35:50,239 twelve percent. Last year, he was only down at seven point five this 501 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:53,599 year fifteen point three at twenty one years old. In a way, this 502 00:35:53,679 --> 00:35:59,440 is a pretty linear path to NHL success that sometimes we don't seem to get. 503 00:36:00,079 --> 00:36:04,679 The power play points sort of steadily rising, the hits up fifty percent 504 00:36:05,159 --> 00:36:07,880 the time on ice, the power play time on ice, most of the 505 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:12,960 stats have been pretty consistent in terms of rate stats in his first three years, 506 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:17,920 aside from that shooting. But all this is despite having moved from He 507 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,719 played with Sebastian Ajo mostly for the early part of his career. Now he's 508 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:29,320 pretty much consistently with Jordan Stalin Toylo Terevnen. He leads the Canes in a 509 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,679 lot by goals above replacement in the top twenty in the National Hockey League. 510 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:38,239 If you look at the evolving hockey goals above replacement charts, pretty good. 511 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:45,280 Seth Jarvis Victor, are you encouraged that this guy is making at least a 512 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:50,360 serious star turn, maybe creeping up in close to the point per game category 513 00:36:50,559 --> 00:36:57,440 at career peak. Yeah. Jarvis is such a good player, and part 514 00:36:57,480 --> 00:37:01,199 of the discussion in the article is that I think he'll always be a better 515 00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:05,519 in real life player than he will be in fantasy. He's so good, 516 00:37:05,679 --> 00:37:10,960 and his contributions to the KNES I think will always be more than his contributions 517 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:15,760 to your fantasy team, unless you're looking at him as just like a super 518 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:20,840 great depth piece in a really deep league. I don't think he's gonna be 519 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:27,599 that important to your dynasty win. And I was referencing that synthetic goals metric 520 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,599 for Jarvis. He is amazing at that as well. He's one of the 521 00:37:31,639 --> 00:37:37,480 best on the team, just behind I guess you could imagine Seth Sebastianajo and 522 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:42,440 Andre Sweesshnikov. Those two are better but beyond that, he's really the only 523 00:37:42,519 --> 00:37:46,280 one who plays such a significant role that has a high number there. And 524 00:37:47,199 --> 00:37:52,079 what's great about Jarvis, and something we talked about in his draft season was 525 00:37:52,159 --> 00:37:54,920 just like his habits, like he's always tracking back, He's always you know, 526 00:37:55,000 --> 00:38:00,280 pickpocketing players. He's really smart. He knows how to drive, and 527 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:05,360 he knows when to like delay and circle back and wait for reinforcements. He's 528 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,760 just he's a really smart player. He seems to always make the best play. 529 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:14,599 I think this step forward here is really good and you can see it 530 00:38:14,639 --> 00:38:16,559 coming and as time on ice is up and you know, all the things 531 00:38:16,599 --> 00:38:21,599 that you like to see are looking pretty good, except the shooting percentage is 532 00:38:21,639 --> 00:38:25,000 a bit high. But overall, you know, this sixty four point pace 533 00:38:25,039 --> 00:38:29,559 seems pretty sustainable. I think you can get to seventy. I'm just not 534 00:38:29,599 --> 00:38:32,119 sure that he can do that consistently, and I'm not sure that the Kanes 535 00:38:32,119 --> 00:38:36,280 are going to want to put him in a position to always do that. 536 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,440 And so that's why I'd be a little hesitant about pushing your chips all in 537 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:42,760 for Jarvis. This is true for a lot of Keynes players, right. 538 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,159 We've seen even Smeshnakov have a hard time consistently hit these highs, and the 539 00:38:46,199 --> 00:38:51,280 only one who really seems to be able to is Ajo, who's a total 540 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:54,719 superstar. But even Smeshakov, who's really great, he's in that seventy this 541 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:59,280 season. He's a bit above that, but he's toiled in the low seventies 542 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:04,719 and below that for years, and so I'm not sure that Jarvis is at 543 00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:07,320 that level. But maybe he could be in that range too. So I 544 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:12,360 think he's a great player, but I do worry a little bit of just 545 00:39:12,599 --> 00:39:15,440 and this is true for a lot of guys. Are they just too good 546 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:20,639 in real life to be a superstar fantasy asset. That might be the case 547 00:39:20,639 --> 00:39:25,199 for Jarvis. Well, Carolina seems to know what they're doing with the deployment 548 00:39:25,239 --> 00:39:30,400 of their players, and Jarvis is a important part of that mix. If 549 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:36,760 you ever want to feel good about prospects and our ability or the desirability of 550 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:38,440 them, go back and look at the twenty twenty draft. It'll just make 551 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:44,280 you happy. Seth Jarvis was picked thirteenth, but the guys above him almost 552 00:39:44,599 --> 00:39:49,320 basically none of them above him drafted before him have been complete bus or non 553 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,239 NHL players, and many of them have been very good. I won't go 554 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,599 through the mall right now, but funny enough, it was the guy who 555 00:39:54,599 --> 00:40:00,320 went number one in that draft, Alexis Lafrenier, who in some way has 556 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:04,760 been the struggler coming in the NHL. One might argue, so Mason Black 557 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:09,320 put Seth Jarvis against Alexis Lapregner, the guy who teams were tanking for, 558 00:40:10,039 --> 00:40:15,199 the guy who are our buddy. Ben Burnett came on after the Rangers won 559 00:40:15,199 --> 00:40:21,079 the lottery and did a happy dance about Although Victor did not have Lafrenier ranked 560 00:40:21,079 --> 00:40:27,360 first, Seth Jarvis now in a landslide over Alexis Laprener unsurprisingly seventy seven to 561 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:31,039 twenty three percent in current day, Victor, is that the same thing you 562 00:40:31,079 --> 00:40:38,800 would do? Yeah, definitely. I definitely did not have Lafrenier first in 563 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:44,760 that draft. I was and remain a byfield stand. But also I remember 564 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:50,440 just talking about the ways that Lafrenier was creating offense and Junior. I just 565 00:40:50,679 --> 00:40:53,039 wasn't sure that it would translate, and it hasn't really when you look at 566 00:40:53,119 --> 00:40:58,239 Jarvis and the way he was generating, and it just seems so much more 567 00:40:58,679 --> 00:41:02,719 sustainable. Highs haven't still haven't been that high for him, but you do 568 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:08,599 like the trajectory a little bit better. It's funny because I would take Jarvis 569 00:41:08,599 --> 00:41:13,280 here easily. But imagine this question during their draft season, you would have 570 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:16,679 been laughed out of the room. Even the year after, or maybe even 571 00:41:16,679 --> 00:41:22,360 in twenty twenty two, still you would probably be laughed at. There's no 572 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,480 way that Jarvis is going to be better than Lafrener, but I think it 573 00:41:25,519 --> 00:41:30,400 is. It has come to pass, and I think that Lafrenier could still 574 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,920 get to that point. I think he could still get to being a seventy 575 00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:40,000 sixty five to seventy ish point player. But I just think that Jarvis is 576 00:41:40,039 --> 00:41:44,320 so much more certain to get it and get every opportunity he can get, 577 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:45,800 all the ice time he can handle. He's the coach's dream. They're going 578 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:50,760 to put him out in every situation. Lafrenier he struggled to find the right 579 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:54,480 fit and the right deployment and all that. Because he is a specific player. 580 00:41:54,519 --> 00:41:58,639 He has flexed his tools a little bit more. He has improved some 581 00:41:58,679 --> 00:42:01,119 of the things that were struggling, that were making it hard for him to 582 00:42:01,679 --> 00:42:05,880 produce. He hasn't proved that, so I still think there's a decent amount 583 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:07,559 of hope there. In fact, David set Louis did a great video on 584 00:42:07,679 --> 00:42:12,760 Lafrenier and one of the things he talks about in there, which is so 585 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,159 true, is that when he was playing in junior he was so much better 586 00:42:16,159 --> 00:42:20,079 than anyone else. He never had to learn some of those tools. He 587 00:42:20,159 --> 00:42:23,880 never had to learn to create in different ways. And Jarvis already knew that 588 00:42:24,159 --> 00:42:28,840 in the WHL level and has just been able to continue to improve that. 589 00:42:29,079 --> 00:42:34,960 So I think it's pretty pretty telling. So, yeah, easily seth Jarvis 590 00:42:35,039 --> 00:42:37,119 here, but I think for those Lafarnier truthers out there, there's still some 591 00:42:37,199 --> 00:42:45,840 hope there that he has some decent production. Yvonne Monroe Deshenko in Washington, 592 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:51,000 Victor, everybody knew this guy was hanging out there during the draft year. 593 00:42:51,159 --> 00:42:54,199 It was illness that kept him out of the spotlight in Washington. Washington took 594 00:42:54,199 --> 00:42:59,199 the chance, and very quickly he has made his way into DC. Caps 595 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:05,079 rushing forward are like Sith Lord's always two there are so now that Ageny Kuznetsov 596 00:43:05,079 --> 00:43:10,039 has moved on, Yvonne Muroshnishenko is there to be Alex Ovechkin's understudy, and 597 00:43:10,119 --> 00:43:17,519 he's playing in a line with the Caps increasingly depleted top forwards with Dylan Strom 598 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:23,800 and Tom Wilson. That's pretty good deployment. I guess I did not appreciate 599 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:28,639 it, and it sounds like others did, but I did not appreciate how 600 00:43:28,679 --> 00:43:30,719 physical this guy was going to be. Two hits a game so far, 601 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:36,360 and the hits are consistent with his scouting report, although the ahl perrips were 602 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:42,000 not absolutely outstanding. But the scoring has come slowly, but he has. 603 00:43:42,039 --> 00:43:45,599 He has been scoring goals since he was called up. He has now hit 604 00:43:45,679 --> 00:43:50,760 his ten games, which means he's no longer an entry level slide candidate. 605 00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:54,559 That's very solid. That means the Caps can keep him around and they're not 606 00:43:54,599 --> 00:44:00,239 going to be playing service service time games with him. Victor, what are 607 00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:05,679 your thoughts on Yvonne marush Taschenko. Yeah, I love this guy. I 608 00:44:05,679 --> 00:44:08,760 remember saying at the beginning of the season that he was pretty NHL ready and 609 00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:13,440 that he might might get to see him for some stretches. And then we 610 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:15,719 saw a brief call up, and then he went back down, and then 611 00:44:15,039 --> 00:44:20,199 now he's up and he's up for good. And these darn Capitals. No 612 00:44:20,519 --> 00:44:24,199 one told them that they're supposed to be rebuilding now and that they shouldn't be 613 00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:29,679 competing for a playoff spot. They're right there with Detroit. Between the Islanders, 614 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:31,559 Washington, Detroit. I think one of those three is going to make 615 00:44:31,559 --> 00:44:36,760 it looks like Tampa's in maybe Philly Falters they're in it. They're right there. 616 00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:38,519 They won, they beat Vancouver last night. As we're recording this, 617 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:44,960 they're right there. And Murshashenko is contributing in a positive way. It's not 618 00:44:45,039 --> 00:44:47,679 just the goals. His defensive game is not amazing, but he's average, 619 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:52,480 close to average already for an NHL player, that's all you need to be 620 00:44:52,519 --> 00:44:55,840 is average. If you can shoot like he does and you can finish, 621 00:44:57,039 --> 00:45:00,000 which he's shown he can do. So I think that, yeah, he's 622 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:04,079 a really he's a really fun player, and yeah, the priffs are a 623 00:45:04,199 --> 00:45:07,960 nice welcome bonus. It gives you something else to hold on to. He's 624 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,519 had a pretty strong Perferle floor. His HL numbers are really good. Before 625 00:45:10,559 --> 00:45:15,599 that, he had some physicality there, so I like that. My concern 626 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:20,519 with him was always how much talent would they be around him when he arrives, 627 00:45:20,519 --> 00:45:23,599 So far so good. Obi's still kicking. They've got some great contribution 628 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:29,800 from the Strom Dylan Strom and some of the younger guys have started to play 629 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:35,079 a whole lot better with Protas and McMichael and Hendrix. Lapierre looks like the 630 00:45:35,119 --> 00:45:38,039 player he was before he had the injury issues in his draft years. So 631 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:44,519 things are coming around for marsh Nashenko. I can see him sticking in the 632 00:45:44,559 --> 00:45:49,840 top six. I think he has top six upside and maybe like a Chris 633 00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:52,960 Krider type, could be a good someone to think about in terms of what 634 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:59,119 to maybe expect he I don't think he's quite the skater that the Crider is, 635 00:45:59,159 --> 00:46:05,199 but maybe that type of production. Mason Black's poll, the theme seems 636 00:46:05,239 --> 00:46:09,280 to be for this one the men who equipment managers hate because how do you 637 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:14,800 get this many letters on the back of their jersey. Yvonne marish Nichenko versus 638 00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:22,280 mart Kho's Nadenov Victor Mirichenko in a landslide sixty five point five to thirty four 639 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,239 point five almost doubled him up. Is that what you think about these two 640 00:46:25,239 --> 00:46:30,719 players? Yeah? I like both of these players. I've been a fan 641 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:36,840 of Who's Nadenov since his draft season he was a bit smaller than I think 642 00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:39,480 he was five nine and now I think he's closer to five to eleven, 643 00:46:40,119 --> 00:46:44,360 So the fact that he's grown a little bit really helps him. He was 644 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:47,199 really looked over in his draft season. He fell to thirty seventh overall, 645 00:46:49,039 --> 00:46:53,599 and good on Minnesota to draft him. And who's nadenof has really impressed with 646 00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:59,000 his KHL time effect. I just wrote an article about him too, so 647 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:01,280 if you want to read about him de peering side, you could read about 648 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:06,760 Marat and he just had his NHL first couple of games. So both these 649 00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:10,320 guys are good. I think I would lean Marshashenko a little bit more because 650 00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:15,880 he's destined for top six duty, I would say, and I think the 651 00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:19,719 Caps have a lot more space for him to be a clear top six player, 652 00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:23,559 whereas kuzanidinof I guess he goes by Kuzzi, So there you go another 653 00:47:23,639 --> 00:47:29,519 Kouzi. If he clicks with caprice Off, that could be incredible when they've 654 00:47:29,559 --> 00:47:34,039 they've long been, you know, looking for this compliment to caprice Off. 655 00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:37,159 Maybe a countryman would be a good fit. A lot of us thought maybe 656 00:47:37,199 --> 00:47:42,000 with Marco Rossi could be it. Not no one has really fit that Ryan 657 00:47:42,039 --> 00:47:45,320 Hartman did for a while, so you never know if it could. If 658 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:49,880 Husandinov jives with Caprice off, it could easily be him. But other than 659 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:53,760 that, I think there's just more likelihood in more ways that that Marshashenko can 660 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:58,880 be a positive there. And yeah, the peripheral floor is good with shots 661 00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:01,719 and and hits. You like to see that, and his play driving has 662 00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:06,119 been decent. Kevin, who helps us with some of these show preps, 663 00:48:06,159 --> 00:48:07,960 put in here a nice comp to Hendrix s Lapierre, just to kind of 664 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:12,760 show where these two are since they're both playing right now and they have almost 665 00:48:12,840 --> 00:48:15,559 identical hockey prospecting cards, which is pretty funny. They look almost exactly the 666 00:48:15,559 --> 00:48:19,400 same, And of course they were in very different leagues coming from Russia, 667 00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:23,280 from Urushiashenko and the queue for a lot of Pierre's it's quite a bit different. 668 00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:29,920 But I do think that Maroshiashenko has looked the part so far and has 669 00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:31,679 some pretty decent upside. What have you seen? You've watched him quite a 670 00:48:31,719 --> 00:48:36,320 bit, Yeah, No, I like him. Yeah, it's exciting to 671 00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:40,079 see these guys come into play. It seems like the capitals a lot of 672 00:48:40,119 --> 00:48:44,800 these teams have drafted these first and second round guys in the past few years, 673 00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:46,599 and we just haven't seen them where they play out. It seems like, 674 00:48:46,599 --> 00:48:51,599 even though the Capitals have not been beloved for some of their top picks, 675 00:48:51,639 --> 00:48:54,159 all of them seem to be making it pretty consistently to the NHL. 676 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:59,199 In one role or another, Murshiashenko could be the best of the bunch. 677 00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:02,880 Victor. And the one other thing I will say about this is normally I 678 00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:08,800 would be panning the creativity of NHL players just calling this guy Kuzy. We're 679 00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:12,679 not couzing the dan off. But let's face it, that name is so 680 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:16,119 long that if you tried to pronounce the whole thing when you're asking him to 681 00:49:16,119 --> 00:49:19,599 pass the puck or something like that, the power play would run out. 682 00:49:19,679 --> 00:49:22,239 There's just no way. So let's just go ahead and let them have their 683 00:49:22,239 --> 00:49:27,920 abbreviation fun. Brant Clark, he is another guy you have been taking a 684 00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:31,920 look at. He has been the most prolific scorer among AHL defensemen. He's 685 00:49:32,079 --> 00:49:36,320 just burning it up and he's had plenty of time in the NHL. He 686 00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:39,199 is doing nothing to diminish his prospect ranking, not to blow up. Scott 687 00:49:39,199 --> 00:49:45,360 Wheeler spot behind his paywall over at the Athletic but he has ranked Bran Clark 688 00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:51,320 is the number three prospect in the NHL drafted by a team that it gives 689 00:49:51,320 --> 00:49:55,360 you a sense of how highly Brent Clark is perceived already at this point. 690 00:49:55,920 --> 00:50:00,559 Victor, what do you think of Bran Clark. I think he's amazing. 691 00:50:01,519 --> 00:50:06,840 He's really talented. That overtime game winning goal a few weeks back, a 692 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:08,280 couple of weeks back, I think where he was in the penalty box and 693 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:12,760 he got sprung and went down and put an amazing move on and won the 694 00:50:12,760 --> 00:50:15,960 game. That was That's the kind of talent he has, game breaking, 695 00:50:16,039 --> 00:50:21,039 season altering talent for the Kings. He hasn't quite been able to fully show 696 00:50:21,079 --> 00:50:28,519 it. He's only played sixteen games and he's definitely had the He's definitely had 697 00:50:28,519 --> 00:50:30,639 some really good moments. He's had some not some good moments in terms of 698 00:50:31,639 --> 00:50:36,880 there was one play where he got completely walked around by I forget who the 699 00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:42,880 forward was. But he's had some really bad performances too. Cam Robinson, 700 00:50:42,920 --> 00:50:46,239 who put a quote in on the article that I wrote, I think summed 701 00:50:46,239 --> 00:50:51,880 it up really well in the sense that Clark has always been more of a 702 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:55,280 sum more, he's been more impactful than the sum of his parts. When 703 00:50:55,280 --> 00:51:00,480 you put it all together. He really knows what to do and how to 704 00:51:00,519 --> 00:51:05,559 move, even though his skating has always been a bit wonky. He's so 705 00:51:05,719 --> 00:51:08,199 smart and he just know he sees the ice so well, and he can 706 00:51:08,199 --> 00:51:13,119 deliver on some really great passes and some really great moves. So he's really 707 00:51:13,199 --> 00:51:19,440 dynamic. And I think he will be able to play defensively enough to be 708 00:51:19,679 --> 00:51:22,679 that top pairing guy that can be in all situations, because that's really the 709 00:51:22,760 --> 00:51:28,800 question. Can he play enough minutes that he can actually score enough points and 710 00:51:29,199 --> 00:51:31,719 be that elite value. I think he can. He's not there yet, 711 00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:36,599 and the big problem is that Drew Dowdy is still kicking around. He's still 712 00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:42,159 doing pretty well when he's getting up there, but his contract, his contract, 713 00:51:42,360 --> 00:51:46,320 there's eleven million reasons for the Kings to still want him to be producing 714 00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:51,719 really well and there's no reason for him to. He's thirty four, so 715 00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:53,760 it's not like he's terribly old, but he still has three more seasons at 716 00:51:53,840 --> 00:51:58,719 eleven million for Drew Dowdy. So that's part of the issue is Clark isn't 717 00:51:59,079 --> 00:52:05,440 going to get full fully, the full complement of his value and his potential 718 00:52:06,119 --> 00:52:08,840 until doubt he's a bit out of the way, so we'll see. We'll 719 00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:13,159 have to wait a little bit longer for him. I think next season he'll 720 00:52:13,199 --> 00:52:15,239 probably be a full time We've only gotten to see glimpses so far, and 721 00:52:15,280 --> 00:52:21,519 the glimpses have been super fun. They got a couple of defensemen that maybe 722 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:24,199 might move on and give him some space within the next year or two. 723 00:52:24,440 --> 00:52:29,440 That'll be really good for Clark to be able to really show what he can 724 00:52:29,480 --> 00:52:34,320 do, because I think his upside is tremendous. As Scott Wheeler put in 725 00:52:34,360 --> 00:52:37,840 his rank that there aren't really any other defenseman that I could think of that 726 00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:43,000 you'd rather want as a young, up and coming defenseman on your fantasy team. 727 00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:47,400 And the competition this time Bran Clark versus long time favored of the show, 728 00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:52,599 Olin Zelwegger. Zelwerger's kind of moved down the prospect ranks a little bit, 729 00:52:52,599 --> 00:52:57,800 and Bran Clark trounces him seventy six twenty four in this one victory. 730 00:52:57,840 --> 00:53:02,599 Even in the Mitschikov error era where he surpassed Zellweger in some ways as a 731 00:53:02,639 --> 00:53:08,000 prospect. Do you see the gap between these two is this wide? Not 732 00:53:08,159 --> 00:53:14,559 really, but I do think that Clark has a very clear path once dowd 733 00:53:14,559 --> 00:53:19,559 he's out of the way to elite production, and for zel Weger it's a 734 00:53:19,559 --> 00:53:24,199 little bit cloudy now that Minchikov has assumed that role. There was also worries 735 00:53:24,199 --> 00:53:30,079 about Drysdale, but now he's gone. I do think that there's an opportunity 736 00:53:30,159 --> 00:53:35,559 for both zel Weger and Minchikov to be extremely valuable. They probably won't play 737 00:53:35,559 --> 00:53:38,239 on the same pair. They'll probably both play like twenty five minutes like half 738 00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:44,360 the game and run the power play at times, so I don't think that 739 00:53:44,519 --> 00:53:47,320 needs necessarily has to be in either one or the other. I think they 740 00:53:47,320 --> 00:53:52,480 can both be super valuable. But for Clark, he'll just get all the 741 00:53:52,519 --> 00:53:55,519 best deployment and opportunity, so I think for that reason, because it's so 742 00:53:55,639 --> 00:54:00,599 clearly his throne to sit on, I would lean him. But that doesn't 743 00:54:00,639 --> 00:54:04,360 mean that zel Wegger is chop Liver anymore. In fact, this might be 744 00:54:04,400 --> 00:54:07,840 a really good time to acquire Zelweger if people are down on him. He's 745 00:54:07,880 --> 00:54:13,000 nearly scoring a point per game in the AHL as a defenseman. That's pretty 746 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:15,599 incredible, And yeah, I still think he has pretty good upside, So 747 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:21,400 I don't begrudge the poll because I do think that it's pretty clear who has 748 00:54:21,440 --> 00:54:25,239 a clear path to relevance and it's Clark. But I think this presents a 749 00:54:25,280 --> 00:54:30,559 really great opportunity to go ad Zelwegger and just remembering how young he was, 750 00:54:30,679 --> 00:54:36,519 he's so young for this draft class that he's like a year behind in many 751 00:54:36,559 --> 00:54:40,559 ways, but every year and level he plays that he continues to dominate, 752 00:54:40,639 --> 00:54:45,320 so that hasn't really bothered him at all. He continues to be amazing. 753 00:54:45,039 --> 00:54:49,360 Some of the comps that Bran Clark has, though, are really ridiculous, 754 00:54:49,440 --> 00:54:53,119 like Evan Bouchard victor headman of all guys that he looks like in the Hockey 755 00:54:53,159 --> 00:54:58,519 Prospect Team model and his pH and Lee looks like like eighty point guy out 756 00:54:58,519 --> 00:55:01,000 of which I don't think he'll score quite that much. But everything looks really 757 00:55:01,039 --> 00:55:04,920 good for Bran Clark, and I think you're going to be very happy if 758 00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:08,760 you have him on your roster. Yeah, and Brian Clark was drafted about 759 00:55:08,760 --> 00:55:15,400 a round ahead of Zelwegger that year, so you can't fault Anaheim for that. 760 00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:19,960 Very good player. They got last one for today, Victor Philip Broberg. 761 00:55:20,159 --> 00:55:22,119 Here's an enigma for us to talk about. And I was glad to 762 00:55:22,119 --> 00:55:25,519 see you wrote him up because I'm trying to figure out what to do with 763 00:55:25,559 --> 00:55:29,079 him. I know, and at least one fantasy roster. It's not great. 764 00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:31,800 It's not great. He's been used less in the NHL the last two 765 00:55:31,880 --> 00:55:37,920 years. He's going down in what the Oilers are allowed to do. Last 766 00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:42,000 I saw no points ten in the last ten games AHL scoring pace, even 767 00:55:42,039 --> 00:55:45,960 as declined in baseball. We'd call this guy a threat to be a quad 768 00:55:46,079 --> 00:55:51,920 A player, right the up and down types who are too good maybe or 769 00:55:52,039 --> 00:55:55,280 very good in the AHL, but not good enough to establish himself in the 770 00:55:55,360 --> 00:56:00,519 NHL. If he's in fact great in the AHL, or is he just 771 00:56:00,559 --> 00:56:04,400 a guy who needs a better shot with the Oilers change the scenery somewhere else. 772 00:56:06,320 --> 00:56:09,000 I think it's probably the latter. I think it's possible he becomes a 773 00:56:09,079 --> 00:56:13,119 quad A guy, but I do think he should be in the NHL. 774 00:56:13,880 --> 00:56:17,199 He wasn't great in his NHL time, but he was better than Nurse and 775 00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:22,039 CC defensively, which I know maybe isn't saying a whole lot, but he 776 00:56:22,159 --> 00:56:25,920 needs to regain his confidence. It's been pretty shot. He's gone through a 777 00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:30,280 lot of situations where he's gotten some time and then he gets punished for a 778 00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:34,360 bad mistake, and then he's stable to the bench and he doesn't really get 779 00:56:34,400 --> 00:56:37,800 to learn on the fly, and there's just there's been a lot of there's 780 00:56:37,840 --> 00:56:42,360 been a lot of stress in Edmonton when he's been out there, and it's 781 00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:45,800 hard to gain your confidence. He's been up and down. He's gotten limited 782 00:56:45,840 --> 00:56:49,280 time on ice. Looking at his game log is it's thirteen minutes, ten 783 00:56:49,320 --> 00:56:52,400 minutes, nine minutes, twelve minutes, seven minutes, five minutes, ten 784 00:56:52,400 --> 00:56:58,599 minutes, five minutes. Like you can't learn playing that limited time and worrying 785 00:56:58,639 --> 00:57:01,000 that any little thing you do is gonna pull you out of the lineup. 786 00:57:01,079 --> 00:57:06,199 I do think he needs a change of scenery. I was hoping that Edmonton 787 00:57:06,199 --> 00:57:10,119 would trade him at the deadline, maybe for some other competent defenseman, since 788 00:57:10,119 --> 00:57:15,000 they don't want to play him. But I think also because they drafted him 789 00:57:15,039 --> 00:57:16,880 so high, and because some of the players that went after him, I 790 00:57:16,880 --> 00:57:22,960 think there's always that bug in the back of oiler fans head. They in 791 00:57:22,079 --> 00:57:28,559 twenty nineteen they could have had some other really good players, including Trevor Zegers 792 00:57:28,679 --> 00:57:32,320 who went right after, and there were guys like Matt Bowley, Spencer Knight 793 00:57:32,360 --> 00:57:37,960 who could have used the goalie Thomas Harley. There were some good players who 794 00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:43,920 went after Broberg, but they went for the big, good skating defenseman who 795 00:57:45,519 --> 00:57:49,639 hasn't really quite panned out. And so there's this like bust feeling that people 796 00:57:49,679 --> 00:57:52,519 want to throw at him. But I just I think he needs to play 797 00:57:52,519 --> 00:57:55,519 more, and I think that there might be some untapped offense. But I 798 00:57:55,519 --> 00:58:00,880 think he's an NHLer and he's got decent bash, so you know, if 799 00:58:00,920 --> 00:58:02,760 he goes to another team, I don't think he's going to blow the doors 800 00:58:02,800 --> 00:58:07,760 off. But I think he could be a forty ish point defender who can 801 00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:10,920 run a power play and have decent bash, which is decently valuable. And 802 00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:15,199 that's not where he's being valued right now because he just isn't getting the opportunity 803 00:58:15,239 --> 00:58:17,000 in Edmonton, and I wonder if he's ever going to get it, because 804 00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:21,800 it seems like they hold him to this really high standard that seems unrealistic. 805 00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:29,599 Yeah, looking back, we talk about Edmonton has had some regime change in 806 00:58:29,679 --> 00:58:34,199 some ways, since twenty nineteen, but I believe looking back, ken Holland 807 00:58:34,280 --> 00:58:37,719 did make the pick, so it is still he was still part of that 808 00:58:37,159 --> 00:58:40,719 sheet. Sometimes when teams move on a lot, and obviously they moved on 809 00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:45,039 from some coaches in that time, but they become less attached to their prospects. 810 00:58:45,679 --> 00:58:50,039 Victor Soderstrim is his competition. Talk about two guys. It's good that 811 00:58:50,079 --> 00:58:52,719 I have a fairly thick head of hair of Victor, because both of these 812 00:58:52,719 --> 00:58:54,159 guys have caused me to tear a couple of them out over the years. 813 00:58:54,440 --> 00:59:00,679 Broberg versus Victor Soderstrim of the Arizona Coyotes. Broberg almost two to one, 814 00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:04,199 sixty five to thirty five. That's pretty impressive for a guy who hasn't established 815 00:59:04,280 --> 00:59:08,599 himself much in the NHL. Is that the order you would put Broberg and 816 00:59:08,639 --> 00:59:14,000 Soderstrum in? Yeah, I would take Brower pretty easily here, as I 817 00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:17,320 still think there's a pretty decent upside. It's always fun to play armchair GM, 818 00:59:17,480 --> 00:59:22,360 especially when it's five years later and in twenty nineteen Byram and Cider were 819 00:59:22,360 --> 00:59:25,599 taken as the first two d Those two I think are doing pretty well, 820 00:59:25,679 --> 00:59:29,880 I would say, And then after that it was these two, Broberg and 821 00:59:29,920 --> 00:59:34,280 Soderstrom, and I think both these teams have regretted a little bit or at 822 00:59:34,360 --> 00:59:37,920 least not gotten the value that they thought that they were getting. And it's 823 00:59:37,920 --> 00:59:40,239 funny because right after that, Cam York and Thomas Harley were taken, and 824 00:59:40,280 --> 00:59:43,920 those two seem to be doing pretty well. At least they played a lot 825 00:59:43,920 --> 00:59:46,760 more NHL games. They seem to be contributing a little bit more. Then 826 00:59:46,840 --> 00:59:50,519 it's funny because there were a couple of whiffs after that, Lastie Thompson, 827 00:59:50,599 --> 00:59:53,880 Villie Heinola to be as Bjorn Foot, and then after that, there are 828 00:59:53,960 --> 00:59:58,400 a bunch of guys who have played about as many games in the NHL as 829 00:59:58,440 --> 01:00:02,360 Soderstrom and Brober. Those would be Ryan Johnson, Jackson Lacombe, Kayden Korjak, 830 01:00:02,360 --> 01:00:07,960 Alex Flascik, who's turning into top pair defender practically in Chicago. He's 831 01:00:07,960 --> 01:00:14,440 looking amazing, Samuel Bulduke Nikita Juk, Jordan Spence, Henry Thrun and Zach 832 01:00:14,519 --> 01:00:15,880 Jones. They've all played about the same number of games. I don't know 833 01:00:15,920 --> 01:00:20,039 what this means other than it's just really hard to draft and hit on these 834 01:00:20,079 --> 01:00:23,559 guys. But both these teams I think have been frustrated with what they've gotten 835 01:00:23,559 --> 01:00:29,440 out of these two Swedes. And Soderstrom is a bit more undersized, and 836 01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:30,599 that was always the question with him, is that he was a little bit 837 01:00:30,599 --> 01:00:35,000 more of an offensive guys, a little bit smaller, maybe not as competitive, 838 01:00:35,039 --> 01:00:37,960 but a good skater, and Broberg just had the size and the skating. 839 01:00:38,960 --> 01:00:42,880 But I think that there's a bit more upside still with Broberg. As 840 01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:45,159 I mentioned, I think he might have some untapped potential offensively. I'm not 841 01:00:45,199 --> 01:00:50,639 sure that's true for Soderstrum. His production in the AHL has been pretty good, 842 01:00:50,679 --> 01:00:53,280 though he's been roughly half point per game the last several seasons. He 843 01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:57,960 just seems stuck in the AHL, and he I think is more likely to 844 01:00:57,960 --> 01:01:02,440 be a quad a guy than Broberg because I'm not sure that Soderstrom has much 845 01:01:02,480 --> 01:01:07,599 more to give in terms of another year, So I would take Broberg if 846 01:01:07,599 --> 01:01:10,480 I were buying between the two. I did actually get Victor Soderstrom back in 847 01:01:10,559 --> 01:01:14,320 one deal, just as a throw in, because I was like, why 848 01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:16,199 the heck not I was getting I told him just give me whatever back, 849 01:01:16,239 --> 01:01:21,719 and he chose Soderstrom, which probably says a lot in terms of what he 850 01:01:21,800 --> 01:01:23,440 thinks. That will tells me everything about what he thinks about him. That 851 01:01:23,519 --> 01:01:28,039 there's no chance. But I still think there is some chance. I just 852 01:01:28,039 --> 01:01:30,960 don't think it's very likely for Soderstrom, and I would lean Broberg. What 853 01:01:30,039 --> 01:01:36,239 about you, Jesse, Yeah, that's fair. Roberg at least can cite 854 01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:40,920 the competition he's got among defensemen in Edmonton. Darnell Nurse pretty good, Evan 855 01:01:40,960 --> 01:01:45,760 Bouchard really good. Whereas Victor Solderstrom. Whenever the Coyotes have developed a great 856 01:01:45,800 --> 01:01:50,159 defenseman, they seem to be traded away the last few years, So you 857 01:01:50,159 --> 01:01:52,679 would think he would have plenty of opportunity to rise if he had that sort 858 01:01:52,719 --> 01:01:57,320 of upside Victor. I think that's all we have time to get to today. 859 01:01:57,880 --> 01:02:00,159 But we thank everybody for listening to this. You should go back and 860 01:02:00,239 --> 01:02:06,480 read all of Victor's great articles on these players at EP Ringside. We're buying 861 01:02:06,480 --> 01:02:09,800 the paywall, but worth your time there. Nevertheless, we'll be right back 862 01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:22,719 to close out the show. As I like to say, just a couple 863 01:02:22,800 --> 01:02:25,000 things to mention before we get out of here today. One is our shows 864 01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:28,880 brought to you by fan Tracks. You can move leagues over to fan tracks, 865 01:02:28,880 --> 01:02:31,559 start new leagues, ten different sports to play. There all kinds of 866 01:02:31,599 --> 01:02:37,320 craziness going on that you can get yourself involved with, more options for scoring, 867 01:02:37,400 --> 01:02:39,719 salaries, contracts, rookie eligibility, starting up your league. There's a 868 01:02:39,800 --> 01:02:43,840 chat feature. There's a chat feature tied to trades where you don't just have 869 01:02:43,920 --> 01:02:50,159 to send emails back and forth or have emails attached to actual offers. You 870 01:02:50,199 --> 01:02:53,960 can also just start a conversation with an offer or with a chat and keep 871 01:02:53,960 --> 01:03:00,320 it going in the same thread with somebody. Fan tracks HQs fantasy content articles 872 01:03:00,360 --> 01:03:05,760 on fantasy hockey, other fantasy sports. I wrote an offseason series on Dynasty 873 01:03:05,840 --> 01:03:09,840 Baseball off season prep. There's all kinds of people who help us to do 874 01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:14,400 what we do here at Fantasy Hockey. Live. Content curator Kevin Adams has 875 01:03:14,400 --> 01:03:17,199 been helping with show prep. Admiral Ryan Downey. You hear him on this 876 01:03:17,280 --> 01:03:22,679 show. He is doing yeomen's work, keeping the tidy tiered Dynasty leagues rolling 877 01:03:23,039 --> 01:03:27,880 as we get through the conclusion. Jeremy vi is our lead scout. Jason 878 01:03:27,920 --> 01:03:31,679 has been helping with prospect ranks. Brandon has been killing it with our website 879 01:03:32,039 --> 01:03:37,440 and creating visualizations we've got the new prospect cards. You've heard about him. 880 01:03:38,079 --> 01:03:42,559 He is also a scout with us, and if you have skills you'd like 881 01:03:42,599 --> 01:03:45,719 to lend the show, hit Victor up in the Discord, email or Twitter. 882 01:03:46,159 --> 01:03:50,760 We love to come up with new things to keep making this a better 883 01:03:50,760 --> 01:03:53,440 and better space for people to hang out in. Follow Daber Hockey and Dauber 884 01:03:53,519 --> 01:03:58,039 Prospects. Victor is an editor. Heck, I'm even writing there. Follow 885 01:03:58,119 --> 01:04:02,039 his work there, as well as his prospect Dauber Prospects Report with Peter Harling. 886 01:04:02,440 --> 01:04:05,719 You can check out Victor's articles at EP Ringside. He's part of the 887 01:04:05,760 --> 01:04:11,280 fantasy team there, Cam Robinson, Mike Clifford, all kinds of great folks 888 01:04:11,559 --> 01:04:15,239 writ in Fantasy. I do a solo showed Dynasty Sports Life. I talk 889 01:04:15,320 --> 01:04:18,079 all the Dynasty sports there, not just hockey, sometimes multiple at the same 890 01:04:18,079 --> 01:04:21,119 time. This week, I think we'll be talking a little bit of baseball 891 01:04:21,199 --> 01:04:27,360 as the baseball season starts out in Korea. I think in a couple of 892 01:04:27,440 --> 01:04:30,320 days after you listen to this, follow Victor and myself on X at Fan 893 01:04:30,440 --> 01:04:36,320 Hockey Life or at Victor Nuno twelve v C two R and U N one 894 01:04:36,320 --> 01:04:42,559 to two subscribe, rate, review this podcast in the podcast aggregator of your 895 01:04:42,639 --> 01:04:45,559 choice. A little bit of five stars, a little bit of nice words, 896 01:04:45,760 --> 01:04:48,880 keeps the people coming. Thanks for listening, everybody, and as the 897 01:04:49,079 --> 01:04:55,320 NHL season and the fantasy season draw to a climax, keep living that fantasy 898 01:04:55,400 --> 01:05:08,480 hockey life,