1 00:00:03,839 --> 00:00:08,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Hockey Life, presented by fan Tracks. Here'sh QUES, 2 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,839 your source of information and analysis to help you win 3 00:00:14,919 --> 00:00:18,199 your fantasy hockey league. Block off, hop a, step hit on, 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:24,239 stay lock. Here's your hosts, Jesse Severe and Victor Nuno. 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,039 Speaker 2: Fantasy Hockey Live. We're back once again. I am Jesse 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,880 Severe fan Tracks that there is Victor Nuno of EP Ringside. Victor, 7 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:33,479 how you doing. 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,119 Speaker 3: I'm doing awesome, Jesse, finally feeling better after that flew 9 00:00:39,399 --> 00:00:43,119 that that cold that kept on giving throughout the holiday season. 10 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,320 But yeah, new year and doing great. How you doing, 11 00:00:46,359 --> 00:00:48,039 my friend doing good? 12 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's moving along. The year is into January. 13 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,119 The World Juniors are over. I think we even commented 14 00:00:54,159 --> 00:00:56,960 on it last week, but dog on it. It's never 15 00:00:57,079 --> 00:00:59,799 over for us, and it's never over for the people 16 00:01:00,079 --> 00:01:03,719 who follow us in the discord, which you can join 17 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,840 for free by just hitting us up for the link 18 00:01:08,159 --> 00:01:11,560 Fantasyhockeylife at gmail dot com, or reach out to Victor 19 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,719 myself on social media. Victor, there's more than just the discord, 20 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:17,719 even though that's free and that's cool, and there's hundreds 21 00:01:17,719 --> 00:01:20,680 of people just chitting and chatting all the time. We 22 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,200 got other things. What are they? 23 00:01:24,799 --> 00:01:27,439 Speaker 3: Yeah, tons of great extra stuff. One of the biggest 24 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,920 things our tier, dynasty, our tidy we talk often about. 25 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,400 There's actually a couple spots available. So if you want 26 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,480 to get in on that and be in on such 27 00:01:36,519 --> 00:01:39,680 a cool, fun league that we have that you can 28 00:01:39,719 --> 00:01:41,400 work your way up to the top. You can do that. 29 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,040 You got to be a patron, so that's you get 30 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,239 a lot bonus content with that too, But you got 31 00:01:46,239 --> 00:01:47,719 to get in there and get that at patreon dot 32 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:49,920 com slash Fantasy Hockey Life. But you can also get 33 00:01:49,959 --> 00:01:53,719 access to Patreon Priority Channel, Roster doctor, personalized one on 34 00:01:53,719 --> 00:01:57,159 one help, access to Frank's List, all that kind of stuff. 35 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,760 So a bunch of great bonus content over at patron 36 00:02:00,799 --> 00:02:03,560 dot com slash Fantasy Hockey Life, just. 37 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,799 Speaker 2: The place you want to be a butt for. Right now, 38 00:02:05,879 --> 00:02:07,959 we're gonna take a break, We're gonna come back. We've 39 00:02:07,959 --> 00:02:17,039 got a very special guest coming on this episode. We 40 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,400 are very pleased to welcome today a guy who is 41 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,639 over at Elite Prospects. We talk about his work all 42 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:24,039 the time. 43 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 4: Here. 44 00:02:24,319 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 2: It's Mitch Brown. How you doing today, Mitch. 45 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 4: Oh, I am doing great. I'm still coming down from 46 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,360 the World Juniors high and trying to find motivation to 47 00:02:35,479 --> 00:02:40,039 walk to boring on eventful club play and I still 48 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,120 haven't quite found it yet. But thankfully all the CHL 49 00:02:43,199 --> 00:02:45,520 trade deadlines have passed and there were some crazy moves 50 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:47,680 and some interesting ones, so hopefully that'll give you some 51 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,120 more life going into this weekend. 52 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 2: We are here to talk World Juniors and all things 53 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,280 World Juniors. But we had a group of players that 54 00:02:55,439 --> 00:02:57,199 we sent you a list of and we're gonna go 55 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,400 through those and get your takes on them. And I 56 00:03:00,439 --> 00:03:03,280 believe Victor you are starting. We're going to start with 57 00:03:03,319 --> 00:03:06,599 Canada naturally, and Victor, I think you have our first 58 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:08,319 item up for a discussion. 59 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 3: I do so the first guy we're going to talk about, 60 00:03:11,319 --> 00:03:14,159 and a lot of these came from our fantasy ASIC 61 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,879 life patron. So if you want to be able to 62 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,439 ask people like Mitch exactly who you want to hear about, 63 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:24,199 be a patron at pay So. Sam Dickinson drafted eleventh 64 00:03:24,199 --> 00:03:26,919 overall by the Sharks just this past season Place for London, 65 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,240 had a really good draft season, increased has increased his 66 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,080 point total so far, but of course he was part 67 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,960 of that a little bit disappointing, really disappointing showing for 68 00:03:36,039 --> 00:03:38,599 Canada in general and for him in particular. I was 69 00:03:38,599 --> 00:03:40,719 a little disappointed. And when I saw on him, they 70 00:03:40,759 --> 00:03:42,719 didn't give him the reins right away, but when he did, 71 00:03:42,759 --> 00:03:45,680 even when they did as the top powerplay quarterback and 72 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,520 top defenseman with Schaeffer was down. I didn't love everything 73 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,000 I saw, But I'm curious what you think you thought 74 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,680 about his tournament and if that if your perception has 75 00:03:54,759 --> 00:03:56,159 changed on Dickinson long term. 76 00:03:56,199 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 4: Mitch, Yeah, So this is a great example of why 77 00:03:59,599 --> 00:04:03,439 you don't with your stars. Because Sam Dickinson comes into 78 00:04:03,439 --> 00:04:07,360 this tournament, he has a million points halfway through the season. 79 00:04:07,439 --> 00:04:09,199 How does he get all of his points? He gets 80 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,039 them through activating into the play. He's not doing the 81 00:04:12,159 --> 00:04:16,399 Zane Perrek east west lateral movement shot pass thing. No, 82 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:19,680 he's joining the play. He's fine open teammates, He's shooting 83 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,639 off the rush. That's how he scores. So what does 84 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,480 Canada do? They bring him and immediately they decide, actually 85 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,240 they don't like him. So he had to fight his 86 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:30,120 way up the lineup just to be inside the top 87 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,759 six at this tournament. And then when he's in he's 88 00:04:32,759 --> 00:04:36,120 not playing his game. His game is activation, and here 89 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,560 the defense wasn't jumping up very much, so he's forced 90 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,959 to be more of a shutdown, breakout sky. Neither of 91 00:04:42,959 --> 00:04:45,279 those are his strength. He ends up turning the puck 92 00:04:45,319 --> 00:04:48,040 over a bunch, and then when Canada is finally pressing 93 00:04:48,079 --> 00:04:51,959 and they need to score goals desperately, they get Sam 94 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,600 Dickinson on the ice, they start jumping the defense up, 95 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,959 but as a team, they're not used to making those 96 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,519 types of plays in this situation with each other, so 97 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:01,839 the turn are piling up and it all culminates in 98 00:05:01,879 --> 00:05:07,199 that awful performance in the quarterfinals, where you know he 99 00:05:07,399 --> 00:05:11,120 had some really costly mistakes, but he also had ones 100 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,639 that he doesn't normally make, like jumping up into the 101 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,600 play leading to that three to one goal. That's a 102 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,240 that's not a mystery that he normally has. Normally he 103 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,920 stays in the middle instead of going wide, but instead 104 00:05:22,959 --> 00:05:24,680 he's trying to play it a little bit safer, so 105 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,519 he goes to the outside. That forces McKenna to give 106 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,600 him a bad puck. Then he gets trapped, turnover comes 107 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,879 back the other way three to one. Check You, I 108 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,319 would say, given the context, you can't put any way 109 00:05:36,439 --> 00:05:40,199 into this at all. Everything was against Sam Dickinson from 110 00:05:40,199 --> 00:05:46,120 the beginning, and yes he had a horrific tournament, but 111 00:05:46,319 --> 00:05:49,480 I don't think it changes anything too much here, of course, 112 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,120 doesn't highlight that his defense and his transition game, his 113 00:05:53,199 --> 00:05:56,839 retrievals in particular need a lot of work, absolutely, because 114 00:05:56,879 --> 00:05:59,000 when you're that size and you have those tools, you 115 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,279 should be able to make more of an impact in 116 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:04,879 those elements of the game at the stage. But it's 117 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,000 also not going to be much of an opportunity for 118 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,680 him if you're not letting him use his number one strength. 119 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 3: You just mentioned. It doesn't change too much long term. 120 00:06:14,319 --> 00:06:17,920 Do you think he is number one D all situations, 121 00:06:17,959 --> 00:06:20,800 power play, penalty kill. Do you think that's him for 122 00:06:20,879 --> 00:06:22,879 the Sharks or do you think he might be more 123 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,079 of like a second or third defenseman with a little 124 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:26,879 bit different role. 125 00:06:28,079 --> 00:06:32,439 Speaker 4: I think he's probably number two, number three offense focused guy. 126 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:34,240 He can be on the power play, but what you're 127 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,519 really going to have him out there for is to 128 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,920 be with your top forwards and to be jumping into space, 129 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,000 making reads under pressure in the offensive zone, helping them 130 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,720 orchestrate their offensive plays. And of course bringing a lot 131 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,439 of speed up top and killing some rushes from time 132 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,360 to time as well to be able to put his 133 00:06:52,399 --> 00:06:54,519 team back on the attack. Glen London, it's a little 134 00:06:54,519 --> 00:06:58,319 bit of a curious situation right now, like everything flows 135 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,920 through him and the top line in the insane amount 136 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,199 of mints minutes that he plays, So the production probably overstates, 137 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,160 like his raw value in terms of NHL point production. 138 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:09,720 But he's still going to be a highly impactful player, 139 00:07:09,759 --> 00:07:12,800 someone who can probably get fifty points in his season, 140 00:07:12,959 --> 00:07:15,240 rack up a ton of shots on goal play the 141 00:07:15,279 --> 00:07:18,000 power play probably not going to get him to play 142 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,800 on the penalty killer shut opponents down. 143 00:07:19,839 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 2: However, I guess we should, as you mentioned it, we 144 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,360 should talk about Zane Perek next. Oh wait, Perek was 145 00:07:26,399 --> 00:07:29,920 not in the tournament instead, he was subtweeting Hockey Canada 146 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,160 throughout the tournaments, so maybe we won't need to deal 147 00:07:32,199 --> 00:07:35,759 with him instead. Berkeley Catton, the captain of the WHL 148 00:07:35,839 --> 00:07:38,480 Spokane Chiefs, has been burning up the WHL for the 149 00:07:38,519 --> 00:07:41,560 past two years, but one point in five World Juniors 150 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,600 game was surely less impressive. That said, he did get 151 00:07:45,639 --> 00:07:50,399 some decent reviews from tourney watchers that I read Seattle's 152 00:07:50,439 --> 00:07:52,639 a lottery pick from last year. Definitely didn't lift his 153 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,720 team to victory, But what do you get out of 154 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,560 his performance in long term trajectory? 155 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 4: Mitch, So, this was an interesting one because Berkeley Catton 156 00:08:01,759 --> 00:08:05,319 is dynamic rush attacker. He don't see many cycle plays 157 00:08:05,319 --> 00:08:07,040 for him. You don't see getting the puck off the 158 00:08:07,079 --> 00:08:09,959 wall very often. There's a lot of questions about will 159 00:08:09,959 --> 00:08:12,160 he be able to create in the trenches, so to 160 00:08:12,199 --> 00:08:16,639 speak in the NHL, and here he was really good 161 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,560 off the cycle. He was really good at getting open, 162 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,040 spacing the offensive zone and playing off McKenna. He had 163 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,639 the second most scoring chances on the team. He was 164 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,360 even physical at times too, which was really strange. He's 165 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,759 normally Catten. It's he does work hard, of course, It's 166 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,000 just that he tends to avoid contact a little bit 167 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:38,559 too often. So this is one of those ones where, yeah, 168 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,799 he didn't get the points, but he had the chances. 169 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:43,919 He was heavily involved in positions that you don't normally 170 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,279 see him involved in. With a little bit more luck, 171 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,840 he probably has a few more points. Changes the narrative 172 00:08:49,879 --> 00:08:52,279 for his team, and I think Canada probably should have 173 00:08:52,279 --> 00:08:55,559 played him a lot more like he was playing thirteen 174 00:08:55,639 --> 00:08:57,720 to fifteen a night he probably should have been playing 175 00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:58,480 eighteen to twenty. 176 00:09:01,799 --> 00:09:06,519 Speaker 2: And the third and final from Canada Bradley Nadou, a 177 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,720 rising Carolina Hurricane prospect, he dipped out of EHL action 178 00:09:10,799 --> 00:09:13,480 to play for Team Canada this year. Potted goals in 179 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,840 both the USA and Checchio losses. At the end of 180 00:09:15,879 --> 00:09:19,480 the tourney, the only points that he managed is time 181 00:09:19,519 --> 00:09:22,000 on ice declined in those two games actually compared to 182 00:09:22,039 --> 00:09:24,279 other games in the tournament, though he still played with 183 00:09:24,799 --> 00:09:27,759 very talented line mates. Nearly all the Canadian players did 184 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,720 What did you see with Nado during this tournament and 185 00:09:30,799 --> 00:09:32,960 how does it shape your thoughts on his future? 186 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 4: So, first off, he shouldn't have been here if that's 187 00:09:36,879 --> 00:09:38,240 how they were going to use him, he shouldn't have 188 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,440 been on the team. He was dead weight, although he 189 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,440 did lead the team with two goals, but this was 190 00:09:44,519 --> 00:09:46,799 at five on five. He was a complete non factor. 191 00:09:46,799 --> 00:09:48,960 He was just floating around waiting for pucks that never came, 192 00:09:49,039 --> 00:09:53,600 taking sharp bangle shots, miscues, defensively throwing away the puck 193 00:09:53,639 --> 00:10:00,720 along the wall, and transition with extremely favorable usage of teammates. 194 00:10:00,759 --> 00:10:02,840 Not in terms of how the team actually played right. 195 00:10:02,879 --> 00:10:05,120 This is a guy who he scores goals, and he 196 00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:08,480 scores them all off one timers, and they're not getting 197 00:10:08,519 --> 00:10:11,559 him any pucks off cross lot passes. They're not getting 198 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:13,879 setting him up from any chances. I mean, he was 199 00:10:13,919 --> 00:10:16,519 taken one timers from like the corner of the offensive 200 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,200 zone in this tournament because he wasn't getting any other 201 00:10:19,279 --> 00:10:22,200 off the pass looks. So, I mean, if you're not 202 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:25,360 going to play a style of game that allows you 203 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,240 to maximize this guy's strengths, why is he here? Why 204 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:30,240 are you playing? I mean, I think they probably realize 205 00:10:30,279 --> 00:10:32,200 that a little bit too late in the tournament. But 206 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,440 that's really the story of Canada here is that the 207 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,320 coach refused to make any changes, refuse to go away 208 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,200 from his preconceived notions of his players, and they ended 209 00:10:42,279 --> 00:10:44,919 up getting trapped here. But long term, I don't think 210 00:10:44,919 --> 00:10:47,120 it's much of an issue. Again, like he was just 211 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,519 thrown into this fire. As a guy who's not going 212 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:52,879 to be a play driver, I would say that you're 213 00:10:52,919 --> 00:10:55,759 looking at someone who could still be a middle six score, 214 00:10:56,159 --> 00:10:59,600 big one timer threat. He does have some playmaking. He's 215 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,639 not going to be a dynamic player, but he can 216 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,399 get some secondary offense, and of course with the Carolina 217 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,440 Hurricanes in the way that they play, they do have 218 00:11:08,519 --> 00:11:10,960 some transition offense, but a lot of it is about 219 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,080 cycling pucks and getting them to the middle of the rink. 220 00:11:13,519 --> 00:11:17,279 They're going to somehow create more high danger chances for 221 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,279 him than Team canadat the World Juniors ever was able to. 222 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 3: All right, let's move over to the team that eliminated Canada. 223 00:11:27,399 --> 00:11:31,159 That's check Ya two straight years in a row. Sorry 224 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,200 to rub it in Canada, but I think some changes 225 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,399 are coming and next year, even if they screw up 226 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:39,000 the roster, I think they're going to be great. So 227 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,720 it's gonna be hard not to be. But let's give 228 00:11:42,759 --> 00:11:45,080 some kudos to check youa and they had some A 229 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:46,720 lot of players are going to talk about. The first 230 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,559 one is Edward Schaley, and I have to admit, Mitch, 231 00:11:50,639 --> 00:11:53,799 I have been skeptical about this guy since he was drafted, 232 00:11:54,159 --> 00:11:56,360 not because he doesn't have talent, but because sometimes it 233 00:11:56,399 --> 00:11:59,519 seems like he's just not always giving the effort and 234 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,399 his off play has been a little bit to be 235 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,159 desired in the past, and his time in the OHL 236 00:12:05,279 --> 00:12:07,080 wasn't as impressive as I would have hoped, but he 237 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,279 has done really well in Coachella Valley this year thirteen 238 00:12:09,279 --> 00:12:13,159 points in twenty three games, and he was awesome in 239 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,240 this tournament. He had some really big goals and some 240 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,799 big moments. But I would say even more than that 241 00:12:18,919 --> 00:12:21,600 for me is I saw him backchecking and have some 242 00:12:21,639 --> 00:12:24,120 good defensive awareness and some good all around play, and 243 00:12:24,159 --> 00:12:26,759 so that changed my mind more than anything. I'm wondering 244 00:12:26,879 --> 00:12:31,480 what you thought and whether his NHL projection shifted for you. 245 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,279 Speaker 4: Yeah, he was a big winner in this tournament, for sure. 246 00:12:35,879 --> 00:12:38,600 I remember there was a time where it wasn't certain 247 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:40,559 that he would even go to the World Juniors because 248 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,480 he was having so much scoring success, and then I 249 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,799 think he had something like one point in twelve games 250 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:46,519 and the lead up to the World Juniors, and so 251 00:12:47,039 --> 00:12:50,960 that's how he ended up being available, and he looked 252 00:12:51,279 --> 00:12:54,799 greatly improved. So, as you mentioned the defense, the backchecking, 253 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:56,600 but it was also a lot of the offense. He 254 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,559 was much more involved off Puck's skating hard to get 255 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,200 open for return passes and so on. He was much 256 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,399 more involved in the cycle. Of course, Checkie plays a 257 00:13:07,519 --> 00:13:10,480 very counter attack focused game, and so you did get 258 00:13:10,519 --> 00:13:13,159 to see a lot of his dynamic transition elements as 259 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,200 play making, his shooting, his ability to slice through the 260 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,440 defense at speed, and so on. But like I said, 261 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:21,440 there's more diversity in his game than ever before. It 262 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,559 would be really nice to see him continue that route, 263 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,559 because I think even this version of Shale probably isn't 264 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,480 an NHL player, But if he can find another gear, 265 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,799 you're looking at a potential top nine forward. And keep 266 00:13:34,799 --> 00:13:37,600 in mind too, like this is he comes into the 267 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,360 World Juniors after making those improvements in the AHL as well, 268 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:46,200 But he's a prospect. After two years of being on 269 00:13:46,279 --> 00:13:49,240 the fall, he's now back on the rise and starting 270 00:13:49,279 --> 00:13:51,279 to look better than ever. I would say that if 271 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,159 he continues, if he keeps this up, if he returns 272 00:13:54,159 --> 00:13:57,159 to Coachella Valley and has the same sort of pace 273 00:13:57,159 --> 00:13:59,759 and energy to his game, there's a real chance he's 274 00:13:59,759 --> 00:14:02,360 back in the top prospect discussion next season. 275 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 2: Next on the Checchia roster, Jacob Steinschill, I guess that's 276 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,080 how you say it. Colowna Rocket, twenty twenty three fourth 277 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:15,919 round pick of the Saint Louis Blues, had a remarkable 278 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,879 seven goals and three assists for ten points. In the 279 00:14:18,919 --> 00:14:22,480 World Juniors, one off the tournament point lead and topping 280 00:14:22,519 --> 00:14:25,840 the charts in goals scored. He played first line minutes 281 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,279 throughout the attorney scored against the US, Canada and Sweden. 282 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:31,960 On paper, this seems like a breakout for the six 283 00:14:32,039 --> 00:14:34,759 to three left winger. Is that what you saw? What's 284 00:14:34,799 --> 00:14:35,799 the future for this guy? 285 00:14:36,799 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 3: Yeah? 286 00:14:37,159 --> 00:14:39,399 Speaker 4: He was a big surprise at this tournament for me. 287 00:14:39,519 --> 00:14:41,320 So I've seen him a bunch in Colonna at the 288 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,159 start this season, and he's scoring. He's been more of 289 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,080 someone who's scoring based on his minutes and based on 290 00:14:47,159 --> 00:14:51,679 his linemates rather than his individual skill. And the interesting 291 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,000 part is that normally he's getting this bit of an 292 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,799 issue he looks a little bit behind the play in 293 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,960 the Whlby put him in the World Juniors, the pace 294 00:14:59,039 --> 00:15:02,360 is higher, the average skill level is higher, and check 295 00:15:02,399 --> 00:15:05,039 Ya plays a very direct north south game, a lot 296 00:15:05,039 --> 00:15:08,639 of emphasis on speed and fast counter attacks, and it's 297 00:15:08,679 --> 00:15:13,440 the best he's ever looked. The shot clearly NHL caliber, 298 00:15:13,919 --> 00:15:17,279 The awareness and how to get open clearly NHL caliber. 299 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:21,879 The work rate, the anticipation of the game clearly NHL caliber. 300 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,799 So it would be nice to see more diamondism to 301 00:15:25,919 --> 00:15:28,000 his game. In the WHL, it would be nice to 302 00:15:28,039 --> 00:15:32,159 see him show more individual skill at times, but now 303 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,480 with Kloonna having that sell off, he's going to be 304 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,240 their go to offensive threat for the remaining part of 305 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,639 the season. I think we'll probably see him show that 306 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,120 world junior side of his game a little bit more, 307 00:15:43,159 --> 00:15:45,679 and hopefully that can give him the push he needs 308 00:15:45,919 --> 00:15:49,000 to step into the AHL next season. He's probably going 309 00:15:49,039 --> 00:15:51,320 to end up in a bottom six role if he 310 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,480 makes the NHL, but someone who could bring a little 311 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:54,799 bit of value in all three zones. 312 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:03,519 Speaker 2: All right, and we've got Matt to mess Dalyerski. He 313 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,799 put up six points in the tournament, although maybe you 314 00:16:05,879 --> 00:16:08,799 got to asters that as all three of his goals 315 00:16:08,799 --> 00:16:12,720 came in a hat trick during the destruction of Kazakhstan. Still, 316 00:16:12,759 --> 00:16:16,320 the winger played big minutes, went undrafted last year. He 317 00:16:16,559 --> 00:16:20,320 is playing over in Chechya this year. Is NHL teams 318 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,440 going to have seen enough of him at this tournament 319 00:16:23,799 --> 00:16:25,840 not to pass on him a second time? 320 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 4: No, I don't think so. He's a talented player. I 321 00:16:29,399 --> 00:16:32,960 like the way that he plays aggressive, north south, very direct, 322 00:16:33,559 --> 00:16:37,000 very direct. Even for Chechia. He was a straight line player, 323 00:16:37,919 --> 00:16:40,080 so I liked that side of his game, but I 324 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,799 think fading throughout the tournament against better competition, scoring chances 325 00:16:43,799 --> 00:16:47,399 were down, shots were down throughout the tournament. An impressive worker, 326 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,240 but probably doesn't have quite enough to earn NHL interest now. 327 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:55,159 Of course, I'm saying this in January, and I don't 328 00:16:55,159 --> 00:16:57,039 anticipate he's going to come back and be a big 329 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,519 score in the Czech top league. But it is going 330 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,720 to be a weird draft this year, so he never 331 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,200 want to say never, But for me, he's probably not 332 00:17:05,279 --> 00:17:08,000 a guy who's going to get much NHL interest moving forward. 333 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,039 Speaker 2: And next up we have Adam Yeho of the Edmonton 334 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,680 Oil Kings normally but now Checchia. He broke many Canadian 335 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:21,359 hearts by scoring the goal with forty seconds left to 336 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,680 lift Chechia over Canada. He averaged a point a game 337 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,200 at this tourney, a touch better than his season to 338 00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:31,440 date has been in the WHL. And like Stancil, this 339 00:17:31,559 --> 00:17:34,880 big boy winger six ' five he is was a 340 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,359 mid round pick of the Blues. This guy in twenty 341 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,039 twenty four is Yeko, a guy who showed skills to 342 00:17:41,079 --> 00:17:43,759 take him to the next level and can Prague in 343 00:17:43,799 --> 00:17:46,480 Saint Louis just signed his sister's city agreement already because 344 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:47,759 apparently there's a pipeline. 345 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,279 Speaker 4: Yeah, Saint Louis has a good thing going on with 346 00:17:51,319 --> 00:17:54,000 these players. They seem to really understand their strengths and 347 00:17:54,079 --> 00:17:57,559 their weaknesses, and they also it's always the Blues guys 348 00:17:57,559 --> 00:18:01,480 who step up internationally for for the Central European teams, 349 00:18:01,519 --> 00:18:03,920 it seems. But yeah, Yeko is an interesting player. He's 350 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,440 been on the radar for forever. Thirteen fourteen years old. 351 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,440 People are already talking about him as a potential top 352 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,599 five pick. Obviously that didn't happen. A big part of 353 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,799 it is because he just didn't have enough. When you're 354 00:18:15,839 --> 00:18:18,720 a big guy, oftentimes the expectations are going to be 355 00:18:18,759 --> 00:18:20,880 a little bit different. You gotta be physical, you gotta 356 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,559 lean on guys, you gotta hit guys. He doesn't really 357 00:18:23,599 --> 00:18:25,440 do that all. He doesn't really do any of those 358 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,519 all that much, or at least in last season. This year, 359 00:18:28,599 --> 00:18:30,519 he's starting to show a little bit more diversity to 360 00:18:30,599 --> 00:18:33,279 his game. He's more aggressive, he's more of a playmaker. 361 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,920 He's showing more creativity. I think he's a very interesting 362 00:18:38,279 --> 00:18:41,200 project for the Saint Louis Blues. But he remains just 363 00:18:41,319 --> 00:18:44,599 that this tournament though, and on top of that, his play, 364 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,119 especially in the last two months in December and in 365 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,359 the second half of November with the Oil Kings, has 366 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,839 suggested that he's really starting to put together the pieces 367 00:18:54,079 --> 00:18:56,160 and show why he was so highly thought of. I 368 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,759 think if he hits, he could be a third line 369 00:18:58,759 --> 00:19:02,200 player for the Blues and who brings something pretty unique. 370 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 2: That's tremendous. Okay, that is the first couple of teams. 371 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,079 We're going to take a break, come back, and we've 372 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:13,839 got more teams to talk about. His longs, sweaty and 373 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:14,839 these weak hongs. 374 00:19:14,839 --> 00:19:17,079 Speaker 4: And I had beat his vomit on his sweat at already. 375 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 2: He's nervous, been on a service back and we have 376 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:26,559 come to the USA, Victor, you are up all right? 377 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,480 Speaker 3: Yeah. So if we're gonna start with, there's a couple 378 00:19:29,599 --> 00:19:32,960 guys that are worth discussing, and the first one is 379 00:19:33,039 --> 00:19:36,839 Danny Nelson, And I have to say I he really 380 00:19:36,839 --> 00:19:39,319 opened my eyes a bit when he was drafted back 381 00:19:39,319 --> 00:19:41,720 in twenty twenty three by the Islanders twenty ninth overall 382 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,200 out of the usn TDP. I really thought Okay, this 383 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:49,400 is a high floor, low ceiling kind of guy, defensively responsible, 384 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,480 might be able to make an impact as a bottom six. 385 00:19:52,519 --> 00:19:55,559 Serves not not super interested in him, and he's done 386 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,119 okay at Notre Dame twenty three points in thirty games 387 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,559 last year, at thirteen and eighteen this year, and he 388 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,720 was on last year's winning a USA team as well. 389 00:20:04,079 --> 00:20:05,759 But this year I just saw a little bit more 390 00:20:05,759 --> 00:20:09,240 offense from him. I saw a little bit more dynamic skill, 391 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:11,640 not super dynamic, but a little bit more. He had 392 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:13,920 some I didn't have my big go card that he 393 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:15,359 was going to have more goals and assists. I thought 394 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:17,680 if he did have more points, it would be assists. 395 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:19,240 So I thought there was maybe a little bit more 396 00:20:19,279 --> 00:20:21,799 offense there. But Mitch, you tell me, what did your 397 00:20:21,839 --> 00:20:24,240 opinion of Danny Nelson change anymore? Is it just because 398 00:20:24,279 --> 00:20:25,799 he was a little bit older and stronger. 399 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 4: Oh, it's definitely time to be excited about Danny Nelson. 400 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,359 It is definitely time to be excited about him. He's 401 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,279 a power center. He drives the net, he gets off 402 00:20:35,279 --> 00:20:39,519 the wall, he's physical, he has vision, and he can 403 00:20:39,599 --> 00:20:43,079 lock down the opposition's best. He was what he was 404 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,039 the tournament's best fourth line center last year, and then 405 00:20:46,079 --> 00:20:48,839 this year he was number two centered even better and 406 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,759 you see even more dynamic qualities in his game, even 407 00:20:51,799 --> 00:20:54,440 more high end elements in his game. Now, I don't 408 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,559 think he's going to be a top six forward in 409 00:20:56,599 --> 00:20:59,799 the NHL, but I think he's going to be your 410 00:21:00,039 --> 00:21:02,720 star number three center, if that makes any sense. There 411 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,119 are these guys in the NHL who they play a role, 412 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,079 but everyone loves them for playing that role. And that's 413 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:11,160 what I see Danny Nelson as And honestly, I wouldn't 414 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:12,839 be surprised if he comes out of college at the 415 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:13,559 end of the season. 416 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 3: Yeah, I he was very impressive to me, You're right, 417 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,000 like the other teams just didn't have much when he 418 00:21:23,039 --> 00:21:25,880 was out there. There was a it's a really good 419 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,039 guy to be able to roll out there, And I 420 00:21:28,039 --> 00:21:31,000 think you're right, like in terms of they're not all 421 00:21:31,039 --> 00:21:33,319 third line centers are really great their line centers, and 422 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,799 he would be a good one. Let's shift over to 423 00:21:36,839 --> 00:21:39,960 the blue line and talk about Cole Hudson. Back to 424 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,079 back years where we have Hudson doing great things not 425 00:21:43,319 --> 00:21:45,559 only at BEU but in the World juniors for the 426 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,440 USA and He was drafted a little bit earlier than 427 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,440 his brother, forty third overall by the Capitals in twenty 428 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,039 twenty four, and so far has done well. Ad bu 429 00:21:56,079 --> 00:21:58,359 fourteen points in sixteen games. Maybe looks a little bit 430 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,839 less impressive than Lane, but he'll that doesn't have Maclin, 431 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,720 Celebrainian some of the talent around him, but he I 432 00:22:03,759 --> 00:22:06,839 believe he was set a record for leading points eleven 433 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,440 and seven games as a defenseman. That was pretty impressive, 434 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,000 and I think for me also impressive thing was the 435 00:22:14,039 --> 00:22:16,359 defensive game. It wasn't all offense. He was a little 436 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,720 better defensively than I had thought, even though he's Nozy William, 437 00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:21,799 I think we can all agree. But what did you 438 00:22:21,839 --> 00:22:25,640 think of Cole Hudson? Did he improve his stock at all? 439 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,799 And his projection? Did it shift at all? 440 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:31,640 Speaker 4: Absolutely? This is the best hockey I've ever seen him play, 441 00:22:31,759 --> 00:22:35,720 by a huge margin. There's always something about international hockey 442 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,000 that brings up the best in him, but this was 443 00:22:38,519 --> 00:22:41,920 the most dynamic, the most precise, the most explosive, and 444 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:46,000 the most engaged He's ever looked like offensively a lot 445 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,920 of the time. Like the big difference between him and 446 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,359 Lane has been that Cole just does some things and 447 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:53,440 then they don't really work, and then he moves on. 448 00:22:54,279 --> 00:22:56,640 He doesn't really have the same sort of like game 449 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,319 breaking skill, Like he has the ideas, but it just 450 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,599 doesn't work out in the same way. But that was 451 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,480 really different here where he at the start of the 452 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,200 tournament was trying everything. It wasn't all working, but he 453 00:23:07,279 --> 00:23:08,839 was trying a lot of different things, and then he 454 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,359 was getting points. And then throughout the tournament he was 455 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:13,960 starting to streamline his game. He was starting to be 456 00:23:14,039 --> 00:23:17,200 more precise with his plays. His offensive impact was picking 457 00:23:17,279 --> 00:23:20,079 up as a result, even though he didn't replicate that 458 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,400 five is this game, but he had so many important 459 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,200 big plays for the United States down the stretch, even 460 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:29,440 in the gold medal game. He was creating so so much. 461 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,799 And what's interesting too is that with it, I wouldn't 462 00:23:32,839 --> 00:23:35,519 say a strong defender, but he certainly does have some 463 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,599 elements to his game that Lane Hudson didn't have at 464 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,799 the same age. He's a little bit more physical, for example, 465 00:23:40,839 --> 00:23:43,319 he's better at engaging opponents off the rush than Lane 466 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,000 was at the same age. And so I'm not sure 467 00:23:47,039 --> 00:23:50,519 if he's going to be the star that Lane is 468 00:23:50,599 --> 00:23:53,359 on track to become. But I think he could be 469 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:58,519 your power play, secondary, five on five offensive guy, and 470 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,359 he's going to produce a plenty of highlights arolong the way. 471 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,519 And hey, if he brings this back to BEU, that 472 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,759 projection is going to get upgraded real fast. 473 00:24:07,799 --> 00:24:12,759 Speaker 2: Nice. Rudy Zimmer, the Golden Gopher right winger, had a 474 00:24:12,799 --> 00:24:16,720 great tournament for the USA team. His point per game 475 00:24:16,759 --> 00:24:19,960 pace roughly matched what he's been doing in the NCAA. 476 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:24,000 He had an assist on the Teddy Steiga Turney golden 477 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,640 goal at the very end there in the overtime. He 478 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,960 was a Buffalo Saver third round pick last year. Is 479 00:24:30,039 --> 00:24:32,759 Zimmer a candidate to move to Buffalo? And what's the 480 00:24:32,839 --> 00:24:34,440 upside of this guy in the end? 481 00:24:35,519 --> 00:24:39,079 Speaker 4: Yeah, he's a real menace. He's a real menace out there. 482 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:41,640 One of the tournament's best players, one of the tournament's 483 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,480 top scorers. He can do just about anything. We got 484 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,720 to see a shot A shot is that's something when 485 00:24:46,759 --> 00:24:49,240 you see him pull that puck back and let it fly, 486 00:24:49,799 --> 00:24:53,960 It's something that you only see among twenty five thirty 487 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,359 goal scorers in the NHL. He someone who could fill 488 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,440 the net a fair bit. He gets inside. He's a 489 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,680 bit of a playmaker too. He's very physical, very engaged defensively, 490 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,720 He's a leader. I would say that probably the biggest 491 00:25:07,759 --> 00:25:10,160 flying his game is like the skating and the transition game. 492 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,039 He's not really going to beat guys one on one 493 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,799 unless they take themselves out of the play. He's not 494 00:25:14,839 --> 00:25:18,839 going to be your luck transporter, to say, but he 495 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,920 will find a way to make an impact. And that's 496 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,079 been true at every level that he's played it over 497 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,519 the last few years. Brody Zemer's in the middle of 498 00:25:25,519 --> 00:25:28,079 every play. Brody Zemer will find a way to score 499 00:25:28,319 --> 00:25:31,000 and create offense and then to make a big play defensively. 500 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:32,559 I think he's going to be a top guy for 501 00:25:32,599 --> 00:25:34,799 the next year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's 502 00:25:34,839 --> 00:25:37,000 a two to three year guy in college and then 503 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,319 straight into the NHL as a middle six score. Although 504 00:25:40,319 --> 00:25:43,839 it's getting very crowded in Buffalo despite their lack of success. 505 00:25:48,559 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's also lots of rumors about them moving guys out, 506 00:25:51,799 --> 00:25:54,200 So maybe maybe these things work themselves out. We'll see 507 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,279 how it goes. Let's move on to Finland, the team 508 00:25:57,319 --> 00:26:01,119 that made the somewhat supreme run, but maybe not surprise. 509 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:03,480 Maybe we shouldn't be surprised because Finland always needed this 510 00:26:03,799 --> 00:26:07,640 run to the finals. Casper Haltonen is the one finished 511 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,319 prospect I have to ask you about today. Mitch six 512 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,200 to four winger playing for the London Nights in his 513 00:26:13,319 --> 00:26:16,400 day job. He's now after a stint with San Jose's 514 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,079 AHL team at the beginning of the season. He was 515 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,920 picked by the Sharks in the beginning of the second 516 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,000 round of the twenty to twenty three draft and with 517 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:27,920 four points in the World Juniors, he's a bit on 518 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,279 the lower side of scoring for a team that very 519 00:26:30,319 --> 00:26:33,599 nearly won that tournament. Is halton and showing signs of 520 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,319 a future NHLer and what did you see here? And 521 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:38,519 for the future. 522 00:26:40,519 --> 00:26:43,480 Speaker 4: See the points can be crazy because he had what 523 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,519 one goal this tournament and it felt like every time 524 00:26:46,599 --> 00:26:49,599 finn was on the power play, it was horrified. Every 525 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,039 time Finland went on the power play, it felt like 526 00:26:52,039 --> 00:26:54,319 it was inevitable that this guy was going to score. 527 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:58,240 He was hammering post left and right. Every shot that 528 00:26:58,279 --> 00:27:02,200 he took was terrible, fine, like you couldn't even see 529 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,240 it on the screen. He hit that thing so hard. Yeah, 530 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,559 he like just because of that he's gonna play in 531 00:27:08,599 --> 00:27:12,279 the NHL just because he's an insane shooter on the 532 00:27:12,319 --> 00:27:15,000 power play. He's gonna play in the NHL. Now, the 533 00:27:15,079 --> 00:27:18,240 question is will he be more than powerplay specialist? And 534 00:27:18,519 --> 00:27:21,480 I think the signs are pointing to he could be 535 00:27:21,519 --> 00:27:24,480 more than just a specialist. He's showing more physicality and 536 00:27:24,519 --> 00:27:28,680 he's particularly showing more playmaking ability. So if he can 537 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,079 continue to develop that side of his game, move the 538 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:33,440 pucker around a little bit, and move the puck around 539 00:27:33,519 --> 00:27:35,400 not just to get it back, but to set up 540 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,039 chances for his teammates, move it with more of a purpose, 541 00:27:39,279 --> 00:27:41,160 I think he could play in like kind of this 542 00:27:41,319 --> 00:27:46,039 mid six or maybe bottom six role where he's creating offense, 543 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:47,759 very similar to what he did with the London Knights 544 00:27:47,839 --> 00:27:50,519 last year in the playoffs, where he's playing third, fourth 545 00:27:50,559 --> 00:27:53,720 line minutes. He's very effective in those minutes, and then 546 00:27:53,759 --> 00:27:57,000 on the power play, he's just the he's just a nightmare. 547 00:28:02,079 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 3: All right. There are certainly other guys we could ask 548 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,200 you about Finland, but we're gonna switch over to Sweden 549 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,200 and focus on the last two guys to discuss, and 550 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:14,039 the first one is Victor Eckland. Draft eligible Victor Eckland, 551 00:28:14,039 --> 00:28:18,200 brother of William, and not a lot of draft eligibles 552 00:28:18,319 --> 00:28:21,319 played super roles except for Abe, James Agen some other guys, 553 00:28:21,319 --> 00:28:25,400 but Eckland was really interesting for the Swedes. He didn't 554 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,240 get a ton of ice, but he was very noticeable 555 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,359 when he was out there. He's playing for Drew Gardens 556 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,119 right now, a little bit better than half point per game. 557 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:36,319 And one of the things I noticed about Victor is 558 00:28:36,319 --> 00:28:39,160 that he's got a lot more sandpaper to his game 559 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:41,920 than his brother. He's a little bit more feisty, more physically. 560 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,279 He's not really that much bigger or at all bigger 561 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,720 the same size, but there's a little bit more grit 562 00:28:47,839 --> 00:28:50,440 to his game and still plenty of skill. So I 563 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,599 really seeing that. What did you think of Victor Eckland 564 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,960 do you think and maybe compare him a little bit 565 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,240 to his brother at the same age. What do you 566 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:58,720 think his trajectory is looking like? 567 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 4: Oh? I think he's a top six forward. I think 568 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,160 he's a playoff hero. The motor is insane. He had 569 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,440 so many plays in this tournament where he was getting 570 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:10,680 beat down the corner and somehow still popped up with 571 00:29:10,799 --> 00:29:13,839 possession and then immediately created a chance. He's one of 572 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,200 those guys who doesn't just win the puck, but he 573 00:29:16,319 --> 00:29:19,000 knows the next play. As he's winning the puck, he 574 00:29:19,039 --> 00:29:23,240 instantly finds teammates under pressure. He's great at reversing contact too. 575 00:29:23,319 --> 00:29:26,480 He threw countless reverse hits in this tournament, just getting 576 00:29:26,559 --> 00:29:29,039 guys to skate near him, hitting them, giving them a 577 00:29:29,039 --> 00:29:31,599 little stiff arm or in cold shoulder, and then rolling 578 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,799 back away from them to set up someone he gets inside. 579 00:29:34,839 --> 00:29:38,279 He's got great timing with and without the puck. Very 580 00:29:38,319 --> 00:29:42,960 strong defensively. Now, maybe he doesn't have the prototypical size 581 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,799 of a power forward or whatever, but he could definitely 582 00:29:45,839 --> 00:29:48,240 fill that role in the NHL. And I think there's 583 00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:51,039 a lot of similarities between him and Seth the Jarvis 584 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:56,640 or Travis Konecney as these smaller, very physical guys who 585 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,799 then leverage that physicality into offensive impact. I think he's 586 00:30:00,799 --> 00:30:02,599 a top six forward. I think it's probably in a 587 00:30:02,599 --> 00:30:04,559 different way than his brother. His brother is a little 588 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:07,799 bit more of a deceptive playmaker type Victors, more of 589 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:12,599 a physical shooter who gets inside. But as a potential 590 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,519 top six forward, I think he's as close as you're 591 00:30:15,559 --> 00:30:17,720 going to get in this draft outside the top five. 592 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:22,519 Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely impressed with him, so we'll be curious to 593 00:30:22,559 --> 00:30:24,079 see where he goes. As you said, twenty to twenty 594 00:30:24,119 --> 00:30:25,160 five is going to be a little bit of a 595 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,400 weird one, so I can't wait to follow that. And 596 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,240 the last guy we want to ask you about is 597 00:30:30,319 --> 00:30:36,359 Tom Vilander, and he is the twenty three eleventh overall 598 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,480 pick by the Vancouver Canucks. He's a six to one 599 00:30:38,599 --> 00:30:42,319 right handed d and I remember thinking back to the 600 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,960 draft season and just thinking what a great all around 601 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,200 defender he is, but I wasn't sure how much offense 602 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,000 there would be, even though he did well in the 603 00:30:51,119 --> 00:30:53,519 j twenty and then last year twenty five points in 604 00:30:53,559 --> 00:30:56,119 thirty eight games at BU so far, nine points in 605 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,559 sixteen so far this season. But he's just an awesome 606 00:30:59,559 --> 00:31:01,799 all around. I saw a little bit more offense from 607 00:31:01,839 --> 00:31:04,000 him in this tournament, which has made me curious. And 608 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,240 in case anyone's wondering, he doesn't really run the top 609 00:31:06,279 --> 00:31:08,960 power play at BU, but that's because it was either 610 00:31:09,079 --> 00:31:11,400 Laine or kol Hudson doing that, so he hasn't really 611 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,440 had the opportunity. But he did run it for Sweden's 612 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:17,559 top unit and kind of had asp actual sending Pelico 613 00:31:17,559 --> 00:31:19,519 over on the flank, but it seems that they liked 614 00:31:19,599 --> 00:31:21,680 him in that role running it from the top, and 615 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,400 maybe he can do that moving forward out over Quinn Hughes. 616 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,400 But I saw a little bit more offense from him. 617 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,359 What did your opinion offensively change from him at all? 618 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:33,000 And I know he's just super strong all situations defensively. 619 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,480 Speaker 4: Yeah, So for me, he was Sweden's best defenseman at 620 00:31:37,519 --> 00:31:39,640 this tournament. I know we didn't get the points, but 621 00:31:39,759 --> 00:31:43,359 he was the shutdown guy. He was their best breakout guy. 622 00:31:44,279 --> 00:31:47,720 Ice was so heavily tilted in Sweden's favor every time 623 00:31:48,079 --> 00:31:52,720 Blander and his partner Theo Linstein came over the boards, 624 00:31:53,359 --> 00:31:57,400 like they completely controlled the game. With Flander, the hands 625 00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:59,400 are not super great. He does lose the puck. He 626 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:01,640 does put it in poor positions for himself, so like 627 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:03,440 he'll make a move, but he'll have it too far 628 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:05,599 in front of his body so he's got a reach 629 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,680 to get it and then he loses his play. But 630 00:32:08,519 --> 00:32:10,839 in terms of ideas, in terms of space management, he's 631 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:12,880 quite good and he's getting better and better, Like he 632 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,720 has a great awareness of how players are moving towards 633 00:32:16,799 --> 00:32:19,920 him and how they're going to shift the entire defensive 634 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,519 structure as he carries the puck up top, which then 635 00:32:22,559 --> 00:32:25,359 allows him to find an open teammate, like with Sandy 636 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,119 and Pelica for the one timer. He can be deceptive 637 00:32:28,119 --> 00:32:30,599 in moments, and he's a very high activity player as well. 638 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,359 He's someone who when you give him the puck, it 639 00:32:33,559 --> 00:32:35,559 used to be he would just get rid of it, 640 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,480 but now he always moves and tries to make something 641 00:32:39,519 --> 00:32:41,240 so even if it's still going to result in just 642 00:32:41,279 --> 00:32:44,599 a point shot, he's still trying to create that advantage 643 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,920 with his touches. So he was one of the big 644 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,680 winners of this tournament for me. In my eyes, I 645 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,599 think he's I think he looks like a real strong, 646 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,079 potential top board defenseman. Guy who can play penalty kill, one, 647 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,519 power play two, hold down eighteen minutes a night if 648 00:32:59,559 --> 00:33:02,319 need be, yet even strength, so someone who can play 649 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,279 up and down your lineup be highly effective. He's looking 650 00:33:05,359 --> 00:33:09,319 like quite defined by the Vancouver Canucks. 651 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,519 Speaker 2: All right, Mitch, that's some great stuff. We have a 652 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,440 good talk about a number of these prospects. I'm glad 653 00:33:17,599 --> 00:33:21,119 you've got to enjoy the World Juniors just like we did. 654 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,559 A lot of great hockey was played. Once you let 655 00:33:24,559 --> 00:33:26,960 people know how they can keep up with all your 656 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:27,640 workout there. 657 00:33:28,759 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 4: Yeah, so you can head to Elite Prospects dot com 658 00:33:31,279 --> 00:33:33,559 and we got a new stories tab on the top 659 00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:35,599 where you can see all of our written content, including 660 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:40,400 an article that breaks down seventy five NHL drafted prospects 661 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,359 that David Lassie and I wrote, And you can also 662 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,680 follow me at Mitchell Brown on Twitter dot com. I 663 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:47,599 have no idea what my blue sky is, but I'm 664 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,680 sure it's approximately in the same vein. And yeah, we 665 00:33:50,759 --> 00:33:53,880 have lots of good stuff incoming over the next few weeks, 666 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,759 including our next draft ranking, so that'll drop somewhere between 667 00:33:58,799 --> 00:34:01,839 the twenty first the twenty third, so keep your eyes 668 00:34:01,839 --> 00:34:05,039 out for that. 669 00:34:05,039 --> 00:34:07,519 Speaker 2: That's great. Yeah, it while I was watching the World 670 00:34:07,559 --> 00:34:11,000 Junior's Elite Prospects new app was like every other commercial, 671 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,079 and I was pointing at the TV like the Leonardo 672 00:34:14,079 --> 00:34:16,920 DiCaprio meme every time I saw it come up. I'm like, oh, 673 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,320 those guys Elite Prospects, man, they're the best. Thank you 674 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,000 so much for coming on, Mitch, and hope we get 675 00:34:23,039 --> 00:34:24,599 to see some more of your great stuff. 676 00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 4: SOI thanks a lot, Jessy, having I can really appreciate. 677 00:34:36,519 --> 00:34:39,039 Speaker 2: A couple of things you mentioned before I get out 678 00:34:39,079 --> 00:34:41,599 of here today. One of them is our show's brought 679 00:34:41,599 --> 00:34:44,679 to you by fan Tracks. You can move leagues over there. 680 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:46,960 You can play ten different sports. They got all the 681 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,679 different options for scoring, salaries, contracts, all the things you 682 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,000 need to set up your league. They also have a 683 00:34:53,039 --> 00:34:56,199 lot of fantasy content on fan tracks HQ, which you 684 00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:59,199 can find little articles sitting over there on the right 685 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,920 hand column when you're sent in your lineups, Fantasy Hockey, 686 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:06,599 all the other fantasy sports. FHL has a group of 687 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,360 people who help us out to get everything you see 688 00:35:10,679 --> 00:35:14,960 done on a regular basis. Craftzer, Ryan Simoon, and Tim 689 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:19,039 are the commission team for the Tidy Leaks. Jeremy V 690 00:35:19,159 --> 00:35:21,920 and Tony are our lead scouts. We got scouting reports 691 00:35:22,039 --> 00:35:26,760 already starting to work theirselves together. Brandon is a website guru. 692 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:30,599 He's a scout. He helps with prospect ranks and visualizations, 693 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,760 the famous Fantasy Hockey Life player cards for example. And 694 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:36,800 if you've got skills you'd like to lend the show, 695 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,360 Victor would love to hear from you. He's always looking 696 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:41,599 to do more and better. You can find him in 697 00:35:41,639 --> 00:35:45,679 the Discord email or on X or Blue Sky. We're 698 00:35:45,679 --> 00:35:48,960 brought to you by Dabra Hockey, Daber Prospects, Victors and Editor. 699 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,719 There you can follow his work, as well as his 700 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,480 other podcast, Daber Prospects Report with Peter Harlan. Victor's articles 701 00:35:56,519 --> 00:35:59,119 are at Elite Prospects. He's part of the fantasy team 702 00:35:59,119 --> 00:36:01,960 there with Camera Robinson and Mike Clifford, I do a 703 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,440 solo show called Dynasty Sports Life four different Dynasty Sports, 704 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:08,920 some episodes focusing on one sport, some on multiple This 705 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:13,079 week it'll be basketball as my friend Craig Bozik returns 706 00:36:13,159 --> 00:36:16,800 to the show. Follow us on x Fan Hockey Life 707 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:20,000 or Victor Nunio twelve, follow us on Blue Sky V one, 708 00:36:20,119 --> 00:36:25,039 Victor or Just Jesse Severe and rate review on Apple Podcasts, 709 00:36:25,039 --> 00:36:28,199 Spotify wherever else you get your pods. Thank you everybody 710 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:31,960 for listening, and until next time, keep living that fantasy 711 00:36:32,079 --> 00:36:39,480 hockey life.