Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Hockey Life, presented by fan Tracks. Here's
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Speaker 1: Here's your hosts, Jesse Severe and Victor Nuno Fantasy Hockey.
Speaker 3: Live once again. Jesse Severe, Victor Nunio talking fantasy hockey.
How you doing today, Victor?
Speaker 4: I'm doing great, Jesse. Much like the team we're going
to cover today, a lot of the talk is going
to be about the future. We're looking ahead, and we're
looking ahead to our team previous season and we've got
a lot of great stuff coming up still, so I'm
looking forward to that. How are you doing, my friend?
Speaker 3: Yeah, man, it's future forward. We're always thinking about the
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We're non discriminatory toward the directions of temporal space and time.
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Speaker 3: And we'll be right back after this.
Speaker 5: To start our interview, we welcome back to the show
Ben Cope of the Chicago Sun Times to talk Chicago Blackhawks.
Speaker 6: How you doing today, Ben, I'm great, Thanks for having
me as always.
Speaker 3: Yes, outstanding. We're happy to be talking with you. And
the Blackhawks are a puzzle. They're Rubik's cube that we
are all triving to solve here today. It didn't happen yet,
the good turnaround that we've been hoping for. The Blackhawks
still had a pretty rough year, thirty first in standing points,
partly because they allowed the second most goals against and
we're twenty sixth in goal scored. That would do it.
They actually had a pretty good power play, scoring nearly
twenty five percent of the time, but they only had
the third fewest turns on the power play, so they
didn't get many chances at that. They had the tenth
best shooting percentage in the league. The bad news is
they had the dead fewest number of shots on goal.
So they took advantage of cap space. They laundered Taylor
Hall and money that they weren't going to spend on
Miko ranton It's contract that it's not going to carry
over to future ear on Mico ranton It's contract to
help enable that trade, and got themselves a third round
pick out of the deal. They also made the massive
trade of Seth Jones for Spencer Night. We'll talk about
Spencer Night later. Seth Jones not so much because he's
no longer on the team. And then they took I
thought of a weird trade where they took Akuatu and
apparently it was worth trading a fifth round pick and
a whole lot of Rocky Worth bucks to Shay Weber
that they presumably are going to have to pay, although
he won't be a cap hit. They'll be in line
to bring in a blue chip prospect at number three
this summer, So that's a good sign. Are the Hawks
headed in the right direction?
Speaker 7: Ben?
Speaker 3: And what's going to happen? What do you think of
this year and what do you think is going to
happen next year?
Speaker 6: It was definitely disappointing here ters of on ice results.
They were hoping to take a step forward and did
not do it. Wasn't like anyone who was expecting them
to be a playoff team, but they were hoping to
not be second to last again. But in terms of
the long term rebuild and vision, nothing has really changed
that much. Like it was still a pretty promising year
in terms of prospect of element and probably their best
stretch of the NHL season was the last few weeks
when they had a bunch of those prospects up in
the NHL. In terms of the guys who matter long term,
everything is still trending in a positive direction and others,
so there's no real reason to panic in terms of
anything with that. Connor Bedard obviously hit a bit of
a sophomore slump and he's going to be probably the
most important part of that rebuild. If anything. Maybe that
would be the slight reason for concern, but there were
also guys like Frank Nasar who came in and had
excellent years who are also going to be big long
term pieces. Generally positive year for that, even though the
NHL results weren't great, and certainly there's a bit more
impatience in the fan base now understandably they've dealt with
five pretty brutal years at the NHL level, but within
the front office, with within the organization, there's quite a
lot of patients still and that they still believe that
they're on the track that they intended to be all along.
Just a year that to be forgotten at the NHL level,
but it'll be much more relevant what happens at the
NHL level a year two from now, and.
Speaker 3: We know where we got to start with this team.
Connor Bedard not an ideal year. I guess we could
say he took a lot of flak. It seemed like
in his sophomore year, perhaps another example of if the
team struggles, why don't we just blame the best player
on it for some reason type of narrative. But his
points increased from sixty sixty one to sixty seven points,
though it was in a full eighty two games rather
than his injury shortened rookie year. The shots per game
were down, Advanced stats had him as one of the
worst on the team and expected goals by replacement on
even strength defense not so great on the D side
right now. The yards linemates were scrambled all year, like
much of the teams as Chicago tried to find something
that was working. He enjoyed no more than thirty one
point three percent of his even strength minutes with any
one other forward. So it just was a revolving door
and that was an injury driven. Four of his top
five line mates last year played at least seventy eight games,
so that he was out there with the same guys,
they just kept changing him around. So I don't know,
what do you think, did Connor Bedard take a step
back this year or is that unfair to the young man?
What does next year look like? Going forward?
Speaker 6: It certainly wasn't the year he expected it to be,
and I think he admit that it was frustrating for
him and disappointing, and he was hoping to get more
out of it. In terms of what went wrong, I
think there's a whole lot of different things that contributed.
I think coaching wise, that is one factor that was
out of his control. It was been saying as you
referenced there, how often Luke Richardson was shuffling his linemates.
They brought in Taboo Terravine and Tyler Bertucday last summer
to play with him, and they really didn't get that
much time together. And that was probably the biggest reason
behind Richardson's firing in and with and Andrew Sorenson coming
as his interim coach, that was his number one instruction
was to find a way to get Badard going. So
he did open up the system a little bit, worked
more one on one with Badar to hopeing him to
get the pluck moving more, just to find ways collaborating
with him to improve his situation. And he did stabilize
his linemates a bit, although we still especially later in
the season, Stall saw a good amount of rotation there
after all, even under Sorensen, But the second half of
the year was a little bit better, although coming out
of the Four Nations break he had definitely the worst
slump of his career, and I do feel like maybe
he wasn't completely one hundred percent, even though he didn't
miss any games, and the fact that he didn't go
to the World Championships instead staying home to rest and
then start his off season training maybe indicative of that.
So it's going to be a crucial off season for
Badar to get stronger, to get faster, because that's one
area where analytically he was one of the slower forwards
in the league this past year, and actually quite a
bit slower than he was his first year just in
terms of skating speed. So I think that's going to
be a big area of focus. He knows that he
needs to get faster this offseason, and Jeff Blaschhill coming
in and his introductory press conference, talked about how he
wants Bedard to try to get atle bit more separation
in the offensive zone, just in terms of creating space
to make a player to get a shot, because just
being a smaller guy he can get knocked off the
puck a little bit if an opponent's able to get
a hand on him or a stick on him. So
those are going to be some big emphasies for Badard,
and this coming year is going to be absolutely crucial
for him. Not only is it his first contract year,
since he'll be eligible for an extension starting in July,
but more likely than not probably won't sign that until
during this coming season, if not after. And also just
to prove that in his third year he can take
that step and get himself on that superstar trajectory that
most expected when he came into the league, where there's
now a little bit of concern about whether he's going
to hit that highest ceiling, even though he's already been
the leading scorer on the team in each of his
first two years. So I think some of the disappointed
and is maybe a little bit overdone just in terms
of the outside criticism that he faces a few of
my thoughts, there's endless ways to analyze the Dard's game,
but that'd be where I'd say things were and where
they're going.
Speaker 3: Dard certainly takes up a lot of the mind space
for folks who were following the Blackhawks, But there were
some pleasant surprises for the team, even in the midst
of what we described as maybe not a season that
would want to be remembered, and Ryan Denato has to
be pretty high on the list of pleasant surprises. Advanced
metrics had him with the biggest even strength offensive expected
goals of a replacement on the team. Certainly the plain
old points, sixty two of them was more than double
his previous career high. That had to be a surprise
to Blackhawks' staff. His thirty one goals also topped the
team by eight over the next higher the runners up.
Denado throws more than a hit per game. That's the
type of thing that fantasy players like me like to see.
One catch is that he was a free agent now,
so hopefully you'll have to tell me whether he's expected
to be bat black in red and black next year.
But overall, what did you make of the career year
for the twenty nine year old Tonato? Will he be
a Hawk next year and if so, what will he
be able to do to repeat this amazing performance?
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was very impressive and surprising to see talking
about skating speed and not have been a relatively slow player.
Most of his career, and he worked on his skating
a lot last summer and tried some new techniques, programmed
himself skating wise, and it really paid off. He's not
like a speedster now, but he was significantly faster this season,
and that helped him in a.
Speaker 8: Lot of ways.
Speaker 6: He was able to make a difference in transition, get
some points off the rush, which previously wasn't really a
big part of his game. And he kept that kind
of hard nosed for checking aspect too, like he didn't
trade one for the other. And so for him to
be the all around player that he had been able
to contribute in a lot of different ways and also
have that scoring touch really elevated his game to a
completely different level. I think it might be a little
tough for him to replicate sixty two points again. That
it's going to be pretty difficult, just with regression to
the mean to do that again, and his shooting percentage
was pretty high. But I do think he's raised his
floor above where it was before. I think the skating
improvements are a tangible thing that is going to stay
in place, and that he's planning to work on it
even more this summer. With his trainer down in Florida,
and I feel like just the experience of Okay, this
is what works, this is how I can score that
should carry forward as well. As you mentioned, the big
question is whether he's back next season. He's publicly said
several times that he would like to resign. The fact
that this has been a losing team doesn't seem to
weigh on him that much. He's bounced around the league
a lot in his career. He just had his first
child this past season. I think some stability would be
nice for him, and I think he is emotionally invested
in the team and in the rebuild. But obviously he's
going to want to get a financial reward for this
perfectly time breakout year. The Hawks offered him an extension
around three years of four million per year, and it
sounds like he's going to want more than that. Remains
to be seen if the two sides will come to
an agreement before July first. Obviously the Hawks have plenty
of cap space, that's not going to be the issue.
But it's more they don't want to hand out a
huge contract and then have to not overgress. It's playing
the odds to that. I do think there's a decent
chance that he will re sign, but I was very
confident in that at the end of the regular season,
and now the time has passed and we're halfway to
the startup free agency, my confidence in that has decreased
a little bit. But if they do lose in that's
going to be an even bigger hole to fill from
a team that already wasn't good. So I feel like
it would make sense from all parties to find a
way to get this done. And going into next year,
I mean, he, as I mentioned, probably won't put up
exactly the same point total and maybe longer term, won't
have quite as big of a role in terms of
ice time and power playtime and that sort of thing.
But I do think he should be at least a
forty point guy.
Speaker 3: Moving forward Toivo Terra Viynen. In his second tour at
the United Center, Toyvo did about his normal type of damage.
He is a pretty reliable guy. Slightly discounted for the
team context. That's a little different in twenty twenty four
to twenty five Chicago than it is in recent Carolina
Hurricanes vintage teams, But fifty eight points in eighty two
games close hugged very closely to his career fifty six
points per eighty two games over his entire career. One
concern is he doesn't get off shots very much, anymore
less than one point five per game for a guy
who has a career average over two. We talked about
the overall context of Chicago as having trouble in that area,
but he's one of the stable vets brought in to
compliment the young talent. It's difficult to fault him if
things didn't blow up this year. His even strength offense
and defense both rated out as quite positively through advanced metrics.
How do you assess terror Vinyan's first year back in
Chicgo and is there any reason to expect that we'll
get anything different in the next three years that he
has signed to remain Hank, It.
Speaker 6: Was a pretty status quo year what you'd expect from Terrorvinen.
He slipped into a more defensive role his last few
years in Carolina, and I think that continued really this season,
where that was he was more relied on as a
third line defensive specialist who still got some second line
and some powerplay opportunities, but maybe not the bread and
butter of his game and most of his points came
through his passing and playmaking or other than goals. He
was mostly an assist guy in the second half of
the year. He was a lot more productive in the
first half. He was nearly a point per game from
January through March, I believe, But yeah, nothing that stands
off out of the page too much with Terrvinen. I
think that's probably the way it'll continue to be moving forward,
where he's a solid secondary player and honestly probably one
of the best forwards in the team, but just not
a big, flashy guy. And off the ICE's like that too.
He really does not enjoy attention very much. It's always
funny to mess with him about that. So I don't
know if from a fantasy perspective he'll be that much
different than he's been for pretty much his whole career
moving forward, but definitely a guy who can pick up
some assists and probably has a pretty steady role throughout
his contract on the.
Speaker 3: Team, and Tyler Bertuzzi he has an additional four years
on his contract. That's the furthest out any forward goes
on this team, I believe, and I don't know why
it's difficult for me to internalize that he's already a
nine year NHL vet. It appears to his twenty one
twenty two season in Detroit is gonna possibly stand out
as his career year when he had sixty two points
and sixty eight games, and it is wandering. Since leaving
the Motor City, he's settled into kind of a I
don't know, it's a top six, lower scoring type role.
His shot rate was also down close to one and
a half per game, which is unfortunate because he's a
fourteen point four percent career shooter, which is real good.
What did you make of Tyler Bertuzzi's first year as
a Hawk and is he going to maintain a prominent
role in this offense.
Speaker 6: Bertucsi had a funny year where he was extremely streaky.
He had nine goals in fourteen games. At one point
he also had a twenty game goal is strout and
threw all of those ups and downs. He ended up
exactly where he had been the last two years pretty much.
I think he was twenty three goals, twenty three assists.
He scores almost every goal from within five to ten
feet of the net. He pretty much has one above
average any Hill skill, and it's that it's finishing in
the crease. But he is really good at that, especially
on the power play. I think almost half his points
around the power play, and he was a factor in
then finishing. I believe seventh in the league in powerplay percentage.
He's very effective in that role. He just he's not
a very fast guy. He doesn't really create a whole
lot five on five. He struggles defensively at times, and
he's very streaky. He has one amazing skill on a
lot of things that leaves some stuff to be desired.
I mean, he's probably going to continue being that way.
It was maybe a little surprising that we didn't see
him play more with Badard if five on five, that
when they did play together, they had some decent results,
even if their analytics weren't great, just because neither of
them are that strong defensively, and so I think as
possible we see that more this coming year. Another factor
is that that career year in Detroit that you mentioned
was under Jeff Blaschhill, who is now his coach in Chicago.
So Blaschhill may know how to get the best out
of him, But which is an interesting thing to follow.
I know he made some comments that he was really
excited about that hiring in particular, So we'll see if
that changes anything for next year, but I think he'll
probably in general keep being around the net finisher who
doesn't do a whole lot else.
Speaker 4: All right, let's move on to one of the younger players,
Frank Nazaar. He played most of the season in ANHL
fifty three games with a forty point pace. He had
fifteen to fifty two tome on ice, with a good
chunk of it on the power play over a minute.
His linemates moved around quite a bit, but from what
I could tell, mostly not with Badar, though he certainly
did spend some time there. Ben, how did you view
innizar season and what do you think we can expect
from him next season?
Speaker 6: When you look at Nasar's overall point total, it maybe
isn't that impressive to an outside perspective, but internally, I
think he was one of the brightest, most exciting parts
of the year. He came into Rockford and the fall
absolutely tore it up. Was one of the leading scorers
in the AHL at over a point per game when
he got called up in December. Then he took a
couple months to figure things out in the NHL, and
then really improved a lot the last two months of
the year. I would say over the final month from
mid March to mid April, he was arguably the hawks
best forward in April. In those two weeks, he was
around a point per game. He took over basically some
of their late season games, big win in Montreal and
Ivan Demidov's debut, in which Andrew Sorensen pointedly said afterward
that Nasar was the best player on the ice on
either team. He was very impressive down the stretch, and
he has offensive skills. He has a good shot, he
has good vision, good playmaking, and he also just has
this tenacity about him where he wins battles and has
a sort of heart and soul personality on the bench
that has made him already an integral part of the team.
So I think it's he's a guy who could really
surprise people around the league next year and really exceed
the kind of the external expectations on him. The Hawks
love to mention the development and it isn't linear, and
I'm sure he's not going to be like perfect next year,
but he's the guy who seems to learn really quickly
and improve at every level. And he even talked about
that after the year that his start at Michigan wasn't
great in college and had to overcome a hip surgery,
but then he got better progressively as he went there.
And he's done that at every level, which really feeds
the excitement that who knows how high his ceiling could
be in the NHL if he's able to maintain this
rate of growth when he gets two, three, four years
at a certain level. So I think he's the guy
who's going to get a much bigger role, and you're right,
probably won't play with Badard that much. I think they
the Hawks and vision Badard and Nasar is their top
two centers long term, and it's possible one or both
can move to the wing, hopefully not both from their perspective,
but I think in general they will be anchoring their
own lines if things go as planned. But he is
a guy who could still put up quite a few
points next year.
Speaker 4: I wanted to ask a brief question about the draft
because you mentioned that these being their top two best
forwards of the future in Bizarre and Badar, neither of
which are big. Do you have any sense whether Chicago
is going to try to go out and get a bigger,
potential top six forward who's a little bit taller and
stockier in this draft, or are they not going to
try to go positionally Based on anything you've heard, I.
Speaker 6: Think they'll definitely go for a forward, and that would
have been the case even if this wasn't such a
forward heavy draft. But it is quite a question mark
on who the number three pick will be. A lot
of fans are hoping for Port and Martone, who is
a bigger guy, but from what I've heard, he's maybe
not quite as scrappy and physical as a size would suggest.
And then there's other fans who hope they trade up
for Michael Misa. I think that's unlikely, but it is
something they'll explore. And then kileb Denia has gotten some
buzz as a potential fit as more of a defensive
minded true center that he's not the biggest guy, but
he's a little bit bigger than Badar and Asar and
could compliment them in that way. And then I think
Anton Frondel is in the mix as well, and maybe
James Hagen's although he's a little bit too, similar perhaps
to Badard and Nasar. Unlike the last two drafts, where
it was obvious they were going Badard in twenty twenty three,
and it was obvious they were choosing between Levshanov and
Demidov last year, quite a few options this year, and
it's hard to get a sense exactly which way they'll go.
None of the options are perfect, like they all are
have flaws. There's no guarantee any of them turns into
a star player, but they all have reasons to believe
they might. That's going to be really interesting what direction
they go with that, and then also whoever they pick,
whether that guy gets a chance to start in the
NHL next year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I have a feeling it's not gonna be Hagens
because of the size issue, that it probably will be Lendeller.
That's just my sense though, Okay, thank you for entertaining
that sidebar. I wanted to move on to Oliver More
and I know he only played nine games for the Blackhawks,
but he did score four points and had a second
really strong season at the University of Minnesota. We've known
for a long time that his skating has been NH already,
since he was at the NTDP and we're looking to
the future here, so just wondering what you think, because
in store for more next season. I don't know that
he'll be a full time NHL or he probably could
use some AHL time. Maybe this is our maybe this
is his their third line center or middle six kind
of guy.
Speaker 8: What are you thinking about Oliver More?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think he probably will spend some time in Rockford,
but if he has a great training camp, he definitely
could also start the year in the NHL. I don't
think anything set in stone with that. As you mentioned,
his speed is definitely his number one attribute, but I
think he showed some nice awareness that he could use
it defensively in addition to offensively this year, and that's
something he's worked on the lot in the last two
years and that the Hawks have talk to him about
when he was in college. I'm trying to find different
ways to take advantage of his speed. I don't know
if he's ever going to be a big point producer.
He wasn't by top prospect standards in college, wasn't a
huge point producer, and he didn't have that many chances
in his nine games at the end of the year.
But I do think he'll be a guy who can
put up some points, be a secondary contributor offensively, and
I have more of a two way role. I think
a third line is probably a fair projection for his
long term role. But he's a guy that because of
that speed, it's hard to put him into a box.
It's possible that he could end up being a little
bit different than expected, just because he is so elite
in at least one category. But I think it's just
going to take more time to see exactly what he's
going to be. I think compared to Nasar, he's a
little bit less far along in the development curve, and
so it's a little bit harder to project what his
role will look like next year.
Speaker 3: All right, let's throw a pick em to you of
two of the maybe depth, shall we say, forwards on
this team, Nick Felino, Iliam mckayev and contrast Fellino the
grizzled veteran thirty five points to seventy eight games, and
mckayev actually advanced stats adored him this year. In eighty games,
he had thirty four points, but he also expected goals
above replacement, was the most valuable player on even strength
defense and in fact the most valuable player overall on
the Chicago Blackhawks. So he seems to have had a
nice season, even if the scoring department doesn't necessarily seem
to reflect it. What do you think of these two
players going forward for the team.
Speaker 6: Yeah, mckayev was a bright spot this year for sure.
He really was impressive defensively. He has great instincts in
that regard. It's funny that each of the past two
years the Hawks have had kind of a sky Selky
Trophy candidate, and Jason Dickinson here before last and then
McKay of this year, and both of them they got
a draft pick from Vancouver to take their contract and
then turn them into elite defensive forward. Those are two
of the savvier trades that Kyle Davidson has made in
his time. But yeah, mckayv was impressive with that and
scored some goals as well, especially in the latter half
of the year. It picked up in that regard. Leno, meanwhile,
was on the opposite trajectory where his first year in
the hawksy he had a bit of a more bigger
role just because there wasn't anyone else to fill that role.
And then this year. As it went on, his ice
time went down substantially and where he was playing on
mostly the fourth line the last couple of months of
the year, and at his age, I wouldn't expect that
to change next year. So I think you could pretty
safely pick mckayev between the two of them. Again, I
don't know if mckayv's going to quite replicate his goal scoring,
especially because his focus is not more on defense, But
I do think he will have a bigger role and
get more ice time than Felino, who at this point
is almost a player coach, just in terms of his
off ice impact is a lot more than his on ice.
Speaker 3: Sure. Yeah, And here's what I'm interested in because he's
been breaking my heart in multiple leagues, Ben, and that's
Lucas Reichel. Is Is he going to come around and
get some points and be a valuable NHL player? What
do you think of Lucas Reichel's progress.
Speaker 6: Yeah, the time is definitely running low on Richel turning
into what the Hawks thought he would be, or even
fifty percent of that. It's been a frustrating few years.
He wasn't as much of a liability. I would say
this year but he still didn't do a lot of
special things. He had a couple of highlight reel plays
where you can see his speed and his agility. He
really is just incredibly smooth out there, and in terms
of carrying the puck through the neutral zone, he's really
an asset with that, but once he gets into the
offensive zone, he really struggles to do that much, or
at least has so far. So this is going to
be a crucial summer for him. I think it's not
out of the realm of possibility that he's traded, but
whether he is or isn't, I think he knows that
he's got to take a big step forward. He's working
with a skills coach at home in Germany for the
first time, and he said he's hoping to work on
gathering pucks off the wall, winning puck back, and being
able to make a play in traffic to like take
it into a scoring area because he can often be
a perimeter player. So he does seem to have a
better sense of where he stands and where he needs
to get to. I think he also was doing a
lot better confidence wise. That was definitely something that was
a weakness for him early in his career where he
was just a little mentally fragile at times. So he's
taken some steps in some of the smaller areas, but
he still hasn't taken that big step in terms of
becoming an impact player, and certainly not in terms of
putting up a lot of points. He was mainly a
fourth line guy this past year, which is an odd
fit for someone with his skill set. So if he
is back on the Hawks next year, his back's going
to be against the wall to prove that he can
be part of this rebuild long term. And he does
have the skills. We've always seen that, so it'll just
be a matter of trying to put it together. And
I don't know if I'm super confident at this point
that he'll be able to, but it's definitely possible, especially
if he has a big summer.
Speaker 3: All right, and over to the blue line Alex Blassik.
Until connor Bidar gets paid on this team, the guy
with the longest contract ahead belongs to Alex Flassk. Believe
it or not, The twenty three year olds under contract
until twenty thirty at what might end up looking like
a very reasonable four point six million dollars per year,
Plastic had a breakout year topping defenseman on the team
in power play, tom and ice, especially after the Jones
trade filled into that and he took on heavy minutes
twenty three sixteen, his points jumped to nearly double of
that rookie year high that he had up to thirty
in eighty two games. We're about to talk about some
hot shot defensive prospects who are hot on Alex flastiks heels,
but he's definitely been one of the great surprises for
this team in the last couple of years. Do you
expect him to hold down a sort of high responsibility
role as a defenseman on this team going into the future.
Speaker 6: I think when you look ahead touch the Blackhawk's future
depth chart, certainly of Lastic as a top four guy.
Without question. He's their most establish defenseman by far. I
think more likely he settles into more of a second
line shutdown role than a top pairing role, although he
certainly can fill that when necessary. His workload was big
this year, as you talked about, and he actually mentioned
that he got worn down a little bit by that,
just as energy levels dipped in the latter third of
the season and his play wasn't quite as consistent, so
I know he's going to work on his conditioning and
stamina this summer. But I think for a guy his
size at six' six and for the responsibilities that he
has in the defensive, ZONE i think ideally he's more
of a twenty twenty one minute guy long, term once
some of their, prospects as you, mentioned can blossom into
those star players that maybe have a little bit higher
ceiling than. Him But blastic has certainly established himself as
a guy that every team's going to need if they're
going to succeed in terms of reliable defenseman who can
contribute offensively but be especially strong in his defensive. ZONE
i think he's also a sneaky candidate to be the
next captain of the. Team he's taken over a big leadership,
responsibilities great guy in the, room really nice to talk
to always WHENEVER i run into. Him that's another area as,
Well BUT i think he's probably going to keep putting
up with thirty points or so as he did this,
year BUT i don't think he's gonna increase that a whole.
LOT i, think especially in the power, play it was
more of a short term fill in, thing and next
year they're probably going to look at some other options
in that. ROLE i don't think he's going to continue
being a regular power play quarterback long, term but he
certainly block shots and he's not the most physical guy
for his, size BUT i know that's something he also
wants to increase in terms of just getting more hits
and you go finishing through the body rather than finishing
through his stick as something specifically he's talked. About BUT
i think long term he's probably more of a second
pairing guy if everything goes well for this.
Speaker 4: Rebuild all, right and we're going to talk about a
couple of the younger defensemen because that is the future looking,
Ahead and we're going to start with Artam, lichschunov who
did play in THE ahl mostly this. Season he had
fifty two games there and twenty two. Points he did
sit up for EIGHTEEN nhl, games and he played a
lot when he did play more than twenty. Minutes what
did you see From leshunov in THE? Nhl and do
you think he's their future top pair defenseman and do
you think he'll run that power?
Speaker 6: Play, Yeah levshinov is fascinating to watch at this point
he's you really don't know what you're going to get from,
him not only in every, game on every, period every,
shift but even every individual. Moment he's not the most structured,
guy still hasn't fully grasped what works and what doesn't
AGAINST nhl, players and he also has just a very
kind of bold confidence. Mindset it's funny to watch him
at this point as an eighteen nineteen year old in
terms of you you never know if he's going to
charge at, somebody or if he's going to hang, back
or if he's going to go for a big hit
or try to pope, checker and then offensively he's going
to join the, rush if he's going to hang, back
if he's going to, pass if he's going to hold
on to. It you just never know what he's going to,
do which obviously isn't great if he is always like.
That BUT i think The hawks have a lot of
confidence that he will learn and mature and figure out
how to play a bit more, predictable consistent. Game and
you can see he's immensely. Talented that was very obvious
because even though he's so, erratic he does make it
work a lot of the, time and that was in
his first two months in THE, Nhl so you would
think that after several years that he'll his success rate
will be even. Higher with each of those individual, THINGS
i think, offensively he probably will he Or Sam renzel
or Maybe Kevin, korchinski it will be one of their
will be their power play quarterback long, term And libzhanov
maybe has the highest probability of the three to. Do
he is very trigger. HAPPY i haven't seen many defensemen
ever who are as eager to shoot the puck as.
Him he blasts it whenever he, can and he has
a very good. Shot he's really good at getting it through.
Traffic it's, strong it's, accurate. Powerful that's something where maybe
he can dial back a little bit in terms, of,
okay this is going to get. Blocked maybe not the
best idea to. Shoot but he definitely is an eager,
shooter And i'm sure from a fantasy perspective that is.
Enticing AND i think we're just going to see a
lot of refinement in his game this coming. Year that's
really going to be the key emphasis now that he's
proven that he can hold his own talent wise against
this pro. Level so another guy where it's just going
to take more, time but certainly the sky seems to
be the.
Speaker 4: Limit, indeed and you Mentioned Kevin kortinski was going to mention.
Him he played seventy six games back in twenty three twenty.
Four this season he only played sixteen in THE nhl
and fifty six games in THE, ahl and that was
where he did most of his work twenty seven point
nearly half point per game in HIS ahl. Time he
also played the most time on ice by a significant
margin in THE, ahl even more quite a bit more
Than lipschunoff when he was down. There and overall it
was a strong, season maybe regaining his confidence in THE.
Ahl But, ben what did you think Of kortchinskis season
and what do you think the future? Hold the same
question about running the power, Play, yeah that was.
Speaker 6: The big emphasis this year was to regain his confidence
after being three into the fire and having some struggles
in his ROOKIE nhl. Season and WHILE i do think
he did, that it wasn't maybe quite as explosive a
year as he or The hawks hope for where it
just seems like he's maybe on a little bit slower
trajectory than you'd. Expect for a top ten, pick but that,
happens especially for a, defenseman it were sometimes it does take.
Longer he came. Up he had TWO nhl, stints one
In december where came. Up his first game was against The,
rangers and it was probably the most impressive game he's
had in THE. Nhl he looked, great especially showing off
his defensive, improvements but then he faded a bit as
it went. On and the same thing at the end
of the year where he came up for the last
month and played really immediately and then faded a bit
as it went. On and he just needs to gain
more strength as really the number one priority for him moving,
forward where that's going to help him defensively a. Lot
he really struggled to box out and win battles this
year against bigger, Guys but it should also help him
offensively too in terms of winning battles there also having
more power on his shots because he's he's a true
offensive defense and that's at least what he was when
The hawks drafted, him and so far his two years
pro have been more about him surviving defensively than excelling,
offensively and so that's maybe been the biggest disappointment is
that he hasn't been able to do more, offensively but
he also hasn't just hasn't spent that much time in
the offensive zone because he's stuck in THE d zone so. Much,
so if he can get stronger and a little bit more,
MATURE i think hopefully he would take a step next,
year but he might just be on a little bit
longer timeline where maybe it would take a couple more
years to see what he can turn.
Speaker 4: Into all, right and you Mentioned samronzell. Already this guy
has been one of my favorites for a long, TIME
i think a little bit less heralded than a lot
of their other. Prospects he was drafted twenty fifth The
brawl back in twenty twenty two and finished his second
straight strong season at The university Of. Minnesota got into
nine games for The, blackhawks and he looked really good
as far AS i could tell some of his underlying.
Metrics even though small sample size of under two hundred,
minutes he had some pretty strong numbers of expected goals
for and of course he against of course limited sample
size of course a big asterisks. There BUT i think
that there's potential for him to evolve into a pretty significant.
ROLE i don't know if he can creep all the
way up to top, four BUT i think they have
a really strong defender. Here what do you think is
in the future For? Renzel AND i imagine he gets
SOME hl time next, season though maybe he makes the
team out of.
Speaker 6: CAMP i think it's actually a pretty significant chance that
he's in THE nhl right. Away The hawks like to
be conservative with, that and that would be the reason
why if he starts In rockford that he. Does but
he looked VERY nhl ready in his nine games at
the end of the, year immediately became their number one,
defenseman SO i think his ceiling is definitely top, four
if not a top pairing. Guy, obviously he didn't have
a ton of competition for that, role and it is
as small sample size as you, mentioned but he had
just a remarkable season one of the top defensemen in college,
hockey and then immediately translated that into THE. Nhl there
were some learning, moments one that he liked to talk
about where he got completely blown By nathan McKinnon in
one of his first, games but his ability to move
the puck and get around, guys and his confidence to
do so in all three zones is really, impressive and
he has a pretty good offensive touch. Too he hit
a couple posts and. Crossbars he easily could have scored
two or three goals even though he didn't get his
first one. Get AND i think he had four assists
in those nine games, too and could have had a
couple more. There he looked honestly great in those nine.
Games those are also the team's best nine games of the,
year and you could say that maybe that helped, him
but also he played a pretty big role in those
being their best nine. Games SO i think he is
a guy who liked azarc could really surprise people externally
next year or just in general moving, forward and could
be a pretty sneaky sleeper pick from a fan fantasy
perspective in terms of a guy who's maybe as much
warrant so.
Speaker 4: Far, indeed in a lot of VETERAN nhl defenseman get
blown By nathan, McKinnon SO i don't think that's too
much to be upset. About let's move over to the.
Goalies The blackhawks were ranked twenty ninth and expected goals
against for sixty eight even, strength conceded the thirty first
actual goals for sixty and at all strengths they were
not so. Great they had Soder bloom at a little
bit above, expected they Had marazak a little bit below
And Spencer knight a little bit. Above it was an
interesting kind of up and down season in terms of their.
Goalies i'm not sure what we should expect from them moving.
Forward obviously they have a little bit end of the
season than they did at the beginning in terms of
who they're going to have moving. Forward Spencer knight came
in and got quite a few games under his belt
and looked really, good and that seems like probably a
big factor moving. Forward so what do you think we
can expect from him moving forward in terms of how many,
games what the splits are going to, be and how
Does bruswa feit into.
Speaker 6: That, YEAH i would Expect Spencer knight to definitely be
the clear number one next. Year, hey they used him
as that down the stretch at the end of this past,
season and just based on his talent and is already
his role in the, TEAM i would expect that to
continue long. Term they definitely see him as their future
number one and really current number one, goalie their long
term number one. Goalie in terms of his play down,
low he's probably one of the best goalies in the league,
already extremely quick and, agile can stop rebounds as pad
use since it's. Great he showed a little bit of
a weakness in terms of his glove and his pad
allowed a few goals up high as the year went,
on But i'm sure that's something he'll work. On he's
also extremely, smart which is another big factor in his.
Favor in terms of the number two goalie that is
certainly a little bit. Murkier Arvid saderbloom had a bounce
back year after a really rough twenty three to twenty four,
season but he did fade a bit in the second
half until a couple of strong starts at the, end
but His february And march were not. Great he's a
pending restricted free. AGENT i think the team will probably
resign him this, summer but nothing and teed for, him
and Then bresois is also a big question. MARK i
missed the entire season after two miniscus. Surgeries we really
didn't even practice at. All he was pretty much just
the ghost of fifth third arena at The hawks practice.
Facility davidson said at the end of the year that
The hawks are holding out hope that he might be
healthy for next. Year we'll have to wait and see on.
THAT i haven't heard any. Updates if he is, HEALTHY
i think it's possible he gets, traded considering he's just
much older and only has a year left under contract
than those other two. Guys but it might be a
situation where you have to play some, games whether in
the preseason a regular, season to prove to other teams
that he's healthy if they wanted to trade. Him and
then also If soderbloom falls back to where he was
two years, ago it's possible he wins the backup. Job
not written out by any, means but a very big question.
Mark it's also it's tough to come back after missing
an entire, season so there's that factor. Too BUT i
would Expect knights to be the number one pretty clearly next.
Speaker 3: Year, Outstanding, Ben this has been very enlightening about The Chicago.
Blackhawks how should people keep up with all the work
you do throughout the.
Speaker 6: Year, yeah you can read to my work on The
chicago sometimes sometimes Dot, com and you can follow me
On twitter At Ben pope.
Speaker 3: Cst outstanding thanks so much for coming on and giving
us the lowdown on The.
Speaker 6: Blackhawks, yep thanks for having.
Speaker 2: Me Thankin Ben, well that's good, Fire, Pat oh my,
goodness long with a cat.
Speaker 3: Gram now it's your weekly goalie. Talk But Kat Silverman Kat's.
Speaker 4: Instincts time once again For Cat's Instincts With Kat silverman
Of ingold mag we're Talking Chicago blackhawk, goalies And Drew
cameso is who we're going to start. With he had
his second full professional season with THE Hl Rockford ice
and he improved his. Numbers he went from a nine
zero six to a percentage to nine to eleven DECREASES
ga a little. Bit winnstayed about the same and better
in the, playoffs which was nice to, see and he
actually got into TWO nhl games couldn't go particularly. Well
one was in relief one he took the L nice
to see him get rewarded that. Way will also not
putting too much pressure on. Him i'm looking at the
hockey prospecting For. Kumeso it doesn't look super. Exciting he's
hovered in that low thirty ish percent for a.
Speaker 8: While.
Speaker 4: Now he actually has a pretty reasonable comp to another
goalie who followed the same trajectory as. Him two years
at THE, ushl three years at THE, ncaa TWO ahl
seasons and That's Joseph fall and he's done pretty, well
minus some, Injuries he's been a pretty COMPETENT nhl, goalie
so maybe he can follow that. Trajectory But, kat tell
us your instincts About, komeso.
Speaker 7: Drink And messo has been a lot of fun to.
WATCH i, know back when he got, drafted we talked
about how he was the fun antithesis To Spencer, knight
Because Spencer knight was a little bit more, controlled, conservative
confident with his, movement And Drew camesso was The Charlie day.
Wildcard liked to be a little bit more active on his,
skates really liked to move a lot, more like to
be a little bit more. Unpredictable but he has just
an enormous arsenal of safe selections that he can. Make
and usually when you see goaltenders like that really like
to be just a true jack of all, trades there
can be a learning curve when they're getting used to
the pacing because they don't just have the luxury of
trusting their own. Process they really have to get a
feel for what's going on around, them for the, pacing
for the types of shooters they're going to be playing,
against for the way that their defense is. Operating and
that's what we ended up seeing From, cameso where he
needed a little bit of he needed a little bit
of a longer runway to get himself. Going but he
still looks like he hasn't changed his confidence. Level it
looks like he's still really consistent and how he, operates
how he, skates how he makes his safe, selections and
that's really reassuring to. SEE i don't know IF i
would move him up to THE nhl full, time BUT
i think he's getting close to at least being the
kid that you push into the deep end to see
if you'l syncrease when because he doesn't have a whole
lot of technical structure needed left to. Learn he has
his game pretty well. Established he just needs to see
how well he can translate it to THE nhl. Level
we'll see how, that see how that. GOES i THOUGHT
i knew What chicago was going to, do and it
seems every, year once we get a good handle on
who they have as their goaltending depth, chart they flip
everything on its head bring in someone really, bizarre and
so we'll see what they. Do whatever we think they're
going to, do they're going to do the. Opposite so
it'll be fun to.
Speaker 8: See, yeah it's.
Speaker 4: FUNNY i remember when that trade went down With spencer
NIGHT i remember thinking back to this conversation and how
fun it's going to be that those two who were
at THE ntdp and now are going to BE nhl,
teammates although perhaps not at the same, time at least
not right, now but how their styles are different and
how that's going to be an interesting contrast for. Them
so we'll. See but, yeah as a, reminder we Have
night bois under contract for this season And bloom which
we don't know what they're going to do.
Speaker 8: With he's AN.
Speaker 4: Rfa they might bring him, back and they'll just have
a whole load of goalies In chicago And, rockford and,
yeah who knows what they're going to, do but they have.
Options let's talk about the next goalie who might be
an option down the, road and that Is Adam. Guyane
he's FIRST ncaa season was not. Great that was this
past season for The university Of Minnesota. Duluth eight eighty
five save, percentage three point three, THREE ga, seven twelve
seven and twelve record and the LAST ushl season also
was great after being. Drafted the main success he's had
so far is at THE u Twenty World Junior champions For,
silakia and those strong performances and SMALL samplea sizes may
not be indicative of his. Talent maybe it seemed like
in that draft in twenty twenty three that was a
big part of the storyline for. Him and if you,
remember he was the first goalie off the board and
he was an overager in that. Draft he was taken
ahead Of Michael, Horabble Trey, augustine And Jacob, fowler just
to name a. FEW i didn't think at the, time
AND i don't THINK i would take ANY i would
take him over any of those. Guys, NOW i wonder
what you, think, KAT i think that you would agree with.
Me but just looking at the hockey prospecting for Guy,
on it's always been, low partially because he initially was
in THE nahl and that is in The Super Strong.
League although he did well, there none of his other
numbers have been super. Reassuring, sure the best comp for
HIM i have is Probably Chris, mason who was AN nhl,
Goalie we can say, that AND i don't know much.
Else there's not all the rest of most of the
rest of the guys were bus that have the similar
numbers As. Guyanne Curtis sandford is maybe another. One, kat
tell us your instincts on Guyan and do you think
he'll wind up being the best goalie from the twenty
three to three?
Speaker 7: Draft not even. Close, no no offense To chicago and
their scouting, team but not even. CLOSE i don't know
with that. One he looks like he is playing up
WHEN i watch HIS ncaa, games where it looks like
he is doing a good job of not panicking in,
games but he looks like he's an underage player who
is playing against an older team just to get his feet,
wet and like it looks like he's just a beat
behind everyone. Else and it looks like he's making saves
that look like they're high stress saves that really shouldn't.
Be it looks like it should be a really easy routine,
save and it looks like he's making it at the
last second because he finally figured out what's going. On
AND i do think that he looks like he's got
strong skating. Skills it looks like he's got pretty decent,
Hands so THERE'S i don't, know there's a toolkit there
to work. With BUT i would say That chicago wanted
to make sure that they weren't clogging up their. System
but we've seen teams Like anaheim And pittsburgh and Even
chicago in the, past And washington teams have drafted more
goaltenders than they needed and used those as bargaining, chips
and they don't need to make a weird.
Speaker 3: Reach pick.
Speaker 7: Just to make sure that they aren't clogging up their
system For Drew, kmesso and that's not the first time
they've made a really bizarre. Pick Dominic bass was another
one THAT i. KNOW i think the last time that
we mentioned him For, chicago we were, like this guy
did not need to get, drafted this guy should not
have been. Drafted this guy's a weird fit For chicago's.
System good luck to, him and it seems like they're
continuing with that. Strategy SO, i LIKE i, SAID i
don't really know What chicago's. Doing maybe they're playing THREE
d chess and there's a reason for taking guy. On
but as of right. NOW i don't love his, game
And i'd love to see him prove me. Wrong that'd
be cool for, him BUT i don't necessarily see him
as a huge part of their future per.
Speaker 4: Se, indeed good job Picking Drew cameso and Acquiring Spencer Night.
Chicago other than, that, yeah good, luck all, Right Thanks
god forgiving us your instincts on The chicago Black Hawk gullies.
Speaker 3: Will be back right after this dig did She Tago blackhawks?
Edition The blackhawks have a great farm, system number five
in THE nhl according to your. Rankings victor starts out
with your no brainer. Prospect who is?
Speaker 8: It no?
Speaker 4: Brainer? Is Nick lardies twenty twenty, three sixty seventh overall,
Pick round, three five to, eleven one hundred and eighty five,
pounds seventy one goals this season and one hundred and
seventeen points in just sixty five. Games lardis ended up
sixth all, time tied With Eric lindras with that seventy
one goal. Season he's been going behind a few other
players that maybe didn't work out quite so. Well some
of them are before our, Time Ernie, Gordon Ray, Shepherd Tony,
tanti And steve, gatsos but since nineteen ninety ninety one
that's the second, most where he tied With Eric lindras
And John tavares two thousand and. Six two thousand and
seven had seventy two goals in a. Season pretty great
company to put yourself, in and he was also pretty
great in the playoffs fifteen points in seven games For.
Bramford looking at his tracking data For Mitch, brown the
scoring as you might expect and the shots off the
charts expected goals expect a shots per sixty all that
leads to pretty incredible offense ninety fifth. Percentile although very,
interesting his expected primary, assists slot passes and slot success
pass success rate were pretty. Low in, fact if that
were all he, had if you were just looking at the,
playmaking it would be pretty. Subpar so that is a
bit of an. Issue is he just someone who's a
finisher and isn't going to get a whole lot of,
playmaking get a whole lot of Assists that might lower
his point. Totals looking at his transition data For Nick,
lartis this also looks very. Good lots of controlled, entries
lots ofs and. Success, defensively though he was not good
thirty second. Percentile so, Overall mitch has some really nice.
Tools the, pace the, shooting the, handling the, translatability all
that looks really. Good the passing is just above, average
and the physicality is really low at twenty first, Percentile
so that's interesting With. Lartis looking at HIS fhl player,
CARD i have him at a six point seventy four
seventy four percent chance of being a six and that
might surprise you based on THE ohl season he, had
but it's just a question of. Translatability he is a
little bit of a smaller forward who isn't very physical
and might have a difficult time getting to those spots.
Speaker 8: Where you can.
Speaker 4: Score his shots are a ten out of ten one
hundred percent. Tile his hits and blocks that are below,
average so you might not get a whole lot of
bash from, that but his shots are so elite that
his overall bash will probably be pretty. Decent but let's
hear a little bit more about him from OUR fhl Scout.
Speaker 3: Jesse, yes, sir the nick lardest scouting report IS fhl
Scout craig's. Responsibility he, says the skeeting is above. Average
he always wins, races to the, puck tracks down defenders
and causes his. Turnovers he also shows off his speed
coming down on the, rush catching, defense flat footed passing
and handling above, average great visions setting up teammates for easy.
Goals puck handling is also above. Average rarely do you
see players coming down and being able to dek opposing
players out like. That several Times craig watched him put
the puck in defenders skates and then turn them, around
sometimes several times in one. Rush shooting above, Average lartis
hays a good shot and is able to beat goalies
from all ankles and THE iq average very little, panic
rarely turned the puck over for. Checking slightly above, average
creating turnovers using his speed and good stick. Work below
average at playing the. Body when games got chippy and
he attempted to throw some, hits he looked so far
out of his comfort. Zone defense, average nothing really stood,
out but when a defensive play needed to get, made
he would get it. Done the best assset offensive. Skills
not a two dimensional, player and when the goals aren't
going to, in he still is going to be able
to rack up. Assists the biggest concern is artist is
an older player in THE, nhl So craig does question
if this is a product of beating up on younger.
Competition the top tier outcome here seventy point player with limited.
Bash that's if it all breaks right and he could
translate his offensive, game the talent will be. There the
median outcome more like tier, three, say fifty five to
sixty points with no. Bash that's because there's a, solid
all around great game. Here and he believes That lartis
is IN nhl or even if some of the fancier
plays don't, translate he should have a good. Floor stylistic
comparable reminds creg of a Cheap Mitch marner with the
fancy stick work in the. Moves And Nick lardis goes
up in the Tidy CHAMPION nhl Rank King Mason black's,
Poll Nick lardis Versus Joshua wah And lartis in a
lark sixty five to thirty five. Percent, victor do you
Like lartist that much better Than Joshua?
Speaker 4: WAH i was going to say a large, slide but
that doesn't sound Very, oh.
Speaker 3: That's great, stuff game recognized, Game.
Speaker 4: VICTOR i think that people are a little bit down
On joshua because of his kind.
Speaker 8: Of regression or sort of perceive.
Speaker 4: Regression they after a strong season last season in THE,
nhl kind of thought that he'd be in THE nhl full.
Time this past, season he, was and he stunk it
up out of, camp but then had a really GOOD ahl.
SEASON i still, think actually THAT i would Take joshua,
here even though that may be a little. UNPOPULAR i
JUST i don't. KNOW i heard What craig was, saying
AND i can see a path to him being a
very GOOD, NHLer BUT i just don't know that it's super.
Likely AND i would definitely dial back my enthusiasm about.
LARTISTS i, think as he did, mention he is an
older player taking advantage of THE ohl and putting up
really gaudy number in a positive, Situation so you can't
fault him for. That BUT i also don't know that
might have raised his stock a little bit too, much
AND i think we need to dial it back a little.
BIT i think That wah's game is much more translatable
to THE. Nhl he's not just relying on his, shot
he's not just relying on burning people out. Wide he's
not just relying on his, shot Which i'm not Convinced
lardis is gonna BEAT nhl ers with consistently with his
shot washed The chiefs offense and in different.
Speaker 8: Ways he's much.
Speaker 4: Smarter he's really good at has really good, vision and
really good at. Playmaking SO i am much more confident
In wah being able to translate his. Skills i'm actually
going to go against the grain here and side with
the thirty five percent that Picked. Joshua looking at the
hockey prospecting between the, two it's pretty. Similar wah had
a similar star percentage To lartis in HIS d plus two,
season which was twenty one percent For lartis and was
eighteen percent For. Waw waw graduated at just eleven percent
chance of being a, star but that's a few seasons ago,
now and, yeah so it looks good for. Art he
looks like seventy percentile of being AN, NHLer which is
similar To. Wall looking at some other comps For, LARDES
i think a good one here Is oliver Byork. STRAND
i think that's probably pretty. Reasonable similar, Size York shannon
is an inch, taller someone who has a very good.
Shot the rest of his game isn't, incredible but certainly
AN NHL, r AND i Think lardest could be that
and be middle six to depth. SCORE i think that's
a very realistic outcome for lards and certainly upside for
more if all. Breaks looking at the J fresh card For,
lardest three percent chance of being a star twenty four
percent chance of being AN nhl are so a bit
more pessimistic For, lartis AND i think that IF i
were IF i Had, lardis WHICH i don't in any
of my, LEAGUES i would probably try to sell him.
Now i'm not sure that his stock is ever going
to be, higher AND i don't really think that based
on how people are projecting him now because of his
AMAZING ohl, SEASON i think that people are over estimating
how well he can translate. That SO i would strike
all that and try to get something a little bit more,
secure even if it's a little less.
Speaker 3: Upside, Jesse, yes, Sir and who is the need to
know prospect.
Speaker 4: Need to know is going to Be roman Kent serov
twenty twenty, three forty fourth overall pick back in the second.
Round he was and still is five foot nine hundred
and seventy six. Pounds he has been in THE khl
the past two, seasons and even for a small, guy
he has had some pretty incredible. Production the first season
in THE khl he had fifteen points and fifty three.
Games this past season thirty eight points and forty seven
games For Metalurg, magnetigorsk and overall really strong. Production he
had an amazing postseason last. Season this, season the playoffs
didn't go so well for Metal, urk but, overall you
gotta love that he was doing really great in the playoffs.
THERE i need to update MY fhl card projection for
him BECAUSE i think he deserves a little bit better
than the four out of ten THAT i have him.
At he actually has pretty good bash for a smaller.
Guy his shots or nineteh. Percentile his hits are seventy percent,
tile and his box are typical for a, forward not,
great but overall he's got a bash at eightieth. Percentile
so you love to see. That let's hear what else
we might love to see From Kensera from our every tail, Scout.
Speaker 3: Tony is on the cancer off case says skating very,
positive skater, quick, agile good, acceleration passing and. Handling that
is also a positive according To, tony and the shooting
very good, shooter able to get his own shot with SHIFTINESS,
iq very high HOCKEY iq vision strong to get teammates
the puck or get around a. Defenseman tonyer didn't see
a whole lot of panic except perhaps on rush. Defense
for checking did show some for, checking was able to
turn over the puck from opposing players and defense some
for check, defense and his ability to get the puck
to teammates or around defenseman with puck. Possession that's his best.
Defense so the best, asset the puck, handling the. Passing
the concern the smaller size means That toner doesn't expect
a lot of bash, here but as long as he
can avoid too much, physicality he should be. Okay top
tier Outcome tier two middle six forward with some power play.
Time that's Because roman, skating, shooting passing and puck handling
AND iq all lead to a solid middle six. Role
the median outcome tier three fourth line type player with
not enough bash and overall cancer off Reminded tony Of Connor,
garland and maybe that would be a decent line made
For bedard Thinks. Tony it all depends how it breaks
Out victor THE nhl Ranking Mason black puts A roman
Cancer off up Against Cole bodwin and that is quite
a mismatch according to the people out there On twitter
land because they said Cancer off is the sixty to
forty percent winner Over Cole Bodwin. Victor is that how
you rank these? Two?
Speaker 8: YEAH i think.
Speaker 4: So and if you listen to Our mammoth, episode we
actually Mentioned boudouan and, yeah he is someone who's also
an interesting prospect and should certainly be someone that you're interested.
In even if his scoring isn't, incredible he has some
pretty good bash to go along with his. Scoring but
looking At, KONSEROV i do think that he is someone
WHO i like that comp actually quite a lot tony
good job On Connor. GARLAND i think he's someone who
just can make things, happen even as a smarter. Player
he doesn't have any fear he's going into the hard.
PLACES i think he has even a little bit more
skill and slipperiness Than garland. Does maybe the motor isn't
quite as, good but it's still, Good so overall there's
some there's a pretty high upside there for a good.
Speaker 8: Outcome SO i really like.
Speaker 4: THAT i think that there's probably there's certainly more scoring
upside for For. Kenser Often bodan is going to have
the amazing bash though he's ninetieth percentile for overall, bash
and it's not all from his. Shots his hits and
blocks are. Incredible his shots are also ninetieth, percentile so
overall you have a super high.
Speaker 8: Flow with Cold.
Speaker 4: Woodwan even if he doesn't score a, LOT i could
just see him Being people are going to say he's
the Next Tom, wilson which he's probably, not but he's
someone who's going to have a super high floor for
hits and will hopefully translate some of that. Scoring although
he didn't have a whole much whole lot this season In,
barry so that was a little bit. DISAPPOINTING i think
Kent serov doesn't give up too much in terms of the.
Bash he doesn't quite block as, much but he hits fair,
amount especially for a smaller, guy AND i think that
there's much much more scoring, Upside So i'm definitely taking
cancer off between the. Two if you look at the
hockey prospecting between the, two Can saroff has twenty three
percent chance of being a star To budwan's just nine,
percent so big difference. There definitely more interested in Can.
Saraff you look at some other comps. There one of
the ones here that's interesting Is Kyler, yamamoto also a smaller.
GUY i think Ken seraff has a little bit more
physicality and a little bit more strength Than yamamoto. DOES i,
mean he was playing at five one hundred five eight
one hundred and fifty four, pounds And Kent seraf isn't that.
Small he's still needs at a little bit more muscle and,
strength but he's definitely a little bit thicker in stock.
Here one of the other comps in terms of just
numerical Is kyle O'Connor For, kenceraff AND i don't think
the upside is nearly. THAT i think that there's some
potential there. Actually interestingly, Enough Frank nazar is another comp
in terms of, percentages so obviously they would love to
have someone with that much potential to play With. Nazaar
looking at THE J fresh model For kent serahf thirteen
percent chance of being a star thirty four percent chance
of being IN nhl are pretty solid numbers FOR J,
fresh which is always a little bit more.
Speaker 3: PESSIMISTIC i Had victor and who's to keep your eye
on prospect?
Speaker 4: Today of, course we couldn't help, ourselves but Mentioned samrenzell.
Earlier he is twenty twenty two to twenty fifth overall
pick sixty, four one hundred and ninety. Pounds he was
drafted back in twenty twenty two when he was primarily
playing out of high. School AND i always say this
about these high school guys is that it's always.
Speaker 8: Really challenging to.
Speaker 4: Evaluate but he was in a really in that Strong
minnesota state high school, system and he looked. Great what
was interesting about him is we also saw a little
bit of him in THE ushl AND i think that
really helped his evaluation because he just looked so smooth
and so in control and read the play really. Well
and so the increased pace even way back, when didn't bother.
Him and you heard some of that From Ben pope
in the interview that even making the jump from college
to The Chicago, blackhawks which is a pretty huge, leap
he seemed relatively unbothered and looked like they're best defenseman
right out of the gate, there which is pretty awesome to.
See and, YEAH i think we should be really excited about.
Him thirty two points and forty games for The university Of,
minnesota just really great. Numbers twenty two of those were
assists and five assists and NINE nhl, games all looking really.
Great looking at his track data From Mitch, brown overall eightieth,
percentile ninety three percent, transition eighty one percent in, offense
although that's not necessarily his, game but he's also had
some really good defensive numbers. Overall some of his highest
attributes are slot pass success rate controlled, exits which is really, important.
Speaker 8: Which is probably why he looks so good In.
Speaker 4: Chicago some of the things he didn't look so good
at as some of his defensive corsi against and boards
to the middle, play but overall looking really. SOLID i
mentioned in the main show some of his evolving hockey
metrics looked really good in a small sample. Size looking
at THE fhl player, CARD i haven't had a six
point seventy nine seventy nine percent chance of being a
six which is pretty good for someone who's a little less,
heralded and then some of our top prospects that don't
have as good a, Ratings so definitely someone you should
be interested in his bash is looking like overall ninetieth.
Percentile most of that is driven by his shot has
some pretty decent hits as, well and then the blocks
are a little bit, lower but that might come up
with a little bit more. Time let's hear a little
bit more About Salmon zel from MY rhl Scout jesse And.
Speaker 3: Craig has this to say in terms of skating average
top end speed, lacking but he makes up for it
with Good edgework's able to transition and maintain speed on the,
edges but when it comes to puck, races he will
not be winning. Them passing and handling slightly above average puck.
Handling he makes the odd move along the blue line
to fake out a, defender but isn't going to dazzle
the crowd with. Moves shooting below, Average he does well
getting the puck through opposing shin, pads but rarely on
net or any challenge for the GOALIE iq above average
low panic, meter controls the puck with heads, up usually
finds the best outlet. Pass didn't see much for, checking Did,
craig but the defense solid defensive game uses his big
body to rub guys out and control the front of the.
Net the odd time he did get caught watching the
puck in the offensive player was able to walk. Him
this will be something easy to correct at the next.
Level best, asset defensive game and calmness when controlling the
puck looking for outlet. Passes the biggest concern the lack
of any meaningful fantasy. Points the top tier outcome That
craig can foresee A tier Two if he can translate
any sort of, offense he could be a fifty point
guy with average. Periffs the justification there he was a
top power play in THE ncaaa in top power play
In chicago for the short stint at the end of the.
Season most likely lack of other options will help him
out if that's the, case but it does show a
little bit of. Hope the median Outcome tier three a
thirty five to forty point guy with average. Perifs he's
got a top four defenseman written all over, him Says.
Craig lucky to the points will come with the amount
of minutes he's going to be. Playing in the stylistic,
Comparable he's going to go With jake, McCabe a solid
top four defenseman with modest. Points Sam renzel goes up
Against Riiker evans in THE Nhl Rankking, pole And nzel
is the clear, winner sixty to forty Over Riker Evans.
Victor is that how you rank the?
Speaker 4: Two, yeah, Definitely i'm Taking renzel every day there Over.
EVANS i think he has more. UPSIDE i think his
floor is also pretty. High evans has been pretty good
In seattle on who's been a bit blocked By Vince
dunn And, monteur and he's certainly made his own way
and been pretty. Impressive BUT i Think. RENZEL i just
Think grenzel has a lot. More i'm glad That Ben
pope was pretty optimistic and singing his praises, too BECAUSE
i feel Like i've been saying it into an echo
chamber for, years so it's nice to hear other people saying.
IT i just think he's much better than people give
him credit. For AND i Think jake McCabe is probably
under selling the upside That renzel. HAS i think he
has a lot more offense than it might. Seem we
were talking about who's going to run the power play In.
CHICAGO i don't think you should be surprised if It's.
AMRENZEL i think that certainly left shoot off IS i,
think as you heard From ben erratic maybe a good,
word very, unpredictable and sometimes that isn't what you want
in a power play. Quarterback so maybe he's out there
in a different. Role But renzel is just so, calm,
collected so good, defensively good. STICK i think he's someone
who you're very confident to have back, there and as a,
coach you don't want someone that's going to be a
little bit unpredictable and maybe lead to some. Chances, again
SO i would certainly wouldn't put it out of the
question That renzel is at least power play two, guy
and maybe more SO i definitely like That he's got
pretty good. Bash as you can, Tell Ryker evans has
been certainly pretty solid for the hits and. Blocks hasn't
been a big of a, shooter but there's and there's
a decent number of minutes, there so overall he's a
pretty solid. Guy if you look at the hockey prospecting
between these. Two Because rinzel WAS d minus one AND
d zero in high, school some of his equivalentsies don't
look that, high but he was actually able to raise
it quite a bit with his college, play but it
only went up to eight. Percent still looks a little
bit more pessimistic in this range and overall pretty similar
To evans, Actually but THE pnhl Has renzel up and
up above sixty percent almost seventy sorry nine percent up
to seventy, points which is pretty. Awesome evans is down
in the forty, range which is where a little bit
above where he actually is pace wise in THE. Nhl
looking at some other comps For, renzel there's some interesting ones,
Here Alex, Kulogowski Justin, Schultz Jacob, Bernard docker someone he
looks a little bit alike in this. Model BUT i
think there's upside for a lot more than. THAT J,
fresh As jfresh is going to, do is pretty pessimistic On.
Rerenzel one percent chance of being a, star twelve percent
chance of being IN nhl are not super. Optimistic BUT i,
think As i've said, along there's more upside. There so
go ahead and get excited About Sam. RSEL i would
say that's all for Our. Blackhawks Dig if you're a,
patroon you can listen to my top ten prospect recap On.
Patreon if you're interested in, scouting you can shoot me
A dm On, Twitter, discord or email.
Speaker 8: Us and that's. It, jess you're right back to close
up the.
Speaker 9: Show before we close out, now to remind, you fantracks
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