Hope not .. his ceiling is most likely a #2c. Safe pick, but underwhelming at 5 .If Jarmo wants center prospects, he should focus upon McTaich in the draft rather than a d-man at No. 5
I hope we would gladly take a "safe pick" second line center who plays with a mean streak and is strong around the net. He would fit in perfectly as Roslovic develops into a 1C. In fact, in a year or two we could be feeling very good with a young 1-2 punch of Roslovic and McTavich as our top centers.
I want to hit on a star but McTavish could be a player a lot like Boone but with more goals.
That's his absolute floor. McTavish is going to be a beast in the NHL and score a lot of goals.
Grinders are the ones who help skilled players win Cups.
More of the same of what cbj fans are used to .. bypass skilled players , and playmakers for the comfort of heavy style , hard work type players . I’m not saying we don’t need more grit , but grit and skill can be found all over the draft . Highly skilled playmakers are usually not found later in draft . Mctavish is possibly a top 10-15 talent , but would be a massive reach at 5 . If Eklund is there , you take him . This team has nearly 0 playmakers . You want to improve the powerplay , you get guys that can create , see the ice , great passers . You have guys like Chinakov, Laine , Bemstrom that can snipe the puck . Aside from Roslovic , you have no one that can carry the puck , that can set these players up on a regular basis .I agree. Every Team needs a grinder. A 1st line Center in my definition is usually a play driver, distributor and a 3rd defensemen. In order to do that the skating has to be on point. Remember this is ice hockey and not ball hockey. This is why is Eklund, Beniers, Johnson is there - I would take them in a minute over McTavish. Even though Eklund isn’t a Center - he has significantly higher upside and can find open players
From Hockey’s Black Book
His skating wasn’t the only area that we found faults though. McTavish had a natural release and a goal scorers release last season, but he had difficulty finding his teammates at the rate needed. We originally classified him as a sniper who was going to most likely be a complimentary piece on a line, who lacked the vision necessary to be anything more than a shooting specialist. Yet, this past season, Mason demonstrated from the first drop of the puck that he was a more comfortable and a more aware passer. Is he a dynamic passer like William Eklund or Kent Johnson? No, but he doesn’t have to be. The way that McTavish operates with his playmaking is to use short area passes, in order to set up the conditions on the ice necessary to get off his lethal wrist shot, during give-and-go sequences both off the rush and the cycle. Like Othmann, he also looks to incorporate his frame into his playmaking; guarding the puck on his backhand, and finding trailing options, drop pass options, or quick hook passes through out reached sticks in short areas. He can occasionally thread a high end pass while in motion, but he looks to conduct his playmaking primarily through safer, more efficient options.
Is he a good prospect -yes but not a 1st line talent. Which is what we should be thinking at #5
I’d put Guenther and Johnson over Mctavish as well . From what’s leaked , we know we have interviewed Guenther multiple times.Getting a solid 2nd line center at 5 is pretty good value. Of course everyone wants to draft a star in the top 5-10, but its not always that easy.
I'm not convinced Mctavish is a 2nd line C. I think he has that potential, but I think I see more 3C in his upside. Valuable piece, but I'm not high on the offensive upside. I won't hate if we draft him, he's on my list after all, but I have him near the bottom.
(Asusming Beniers and Power are gone)
1. Hughes
2. Eklund
3. Clarke
4. Edvinsson
5. McTavish
6. Guenther
7. Johnson
I may be ok with Hughes / Edvinsson if they nearly positive they can become Elite defenseman , just from standpoint next yr is loaded with Elite forwards , but totally agree that when bread left , he was a playmaker , and you see what that does for a team . Roslovic , same thing … other than that , you think back on this franchise , what playmakers have we really had ? We traded Voracek just when he was on the brink of becoming a great player .If we take a defensemen or settle for McTavish at #5. We have seriously missed and I have no idea what the front office is thinking. Scoring has been abysmal and the PP has been non-existent. Pick a playdriver/skill. Then pick a defensemen. We only have one puck carrier (Roslovic) and no dynamic passers to get the puck to our scorers (Bjork, Laine, Atkinson, Nyquist)
Notice a different Team with the Breadman (playmaker/skill). The engine as they say is an Eklund, Johnson type of player
If we take a defensemen or settle for McTavish at #5. We have seriously missed and I have no idea what the front office is thinking. Scoring has been abysmal and the PP has been non-existent. Pick a playdriver/skill. Then pick a defensemen. We only have one puck carrier (Roslovic) and no dynamic passers to get the puck to our scorers (Bjork, Laine, Atkinson, Nyquist)
Notice a different Team with the Breadman (playmaker/skill). The engine as they say is an Eklund, Johnson type of player
So yeah , Eklund is a no brainer if not gone .. same with Beniers .. after that I would take Power, Hughes , and maybe entertain trading down a bit if those players are gone . Johnson I think will go no later than 10
5 days to go...
I think he is a 1D, and have for a long time...he is ranked #2 in some pubs, and #6 over all by Bobby mac...Please no Brandt Clarke - He is ranked number 10 as a prospect in 2021 and his skating and defensive lapses drag him down.
Here is the conclusion of his evaluation -
There’s a lot of offensive upside, and plenty of drive and determination. He’s a player who’s learned to adapt his skating, to the point where we believe he can translate successfully to the NHL. We think that there is a chance that everything will need to go right in his development for him to log big minutes as a complete, top-pairing defenseman. Therefore our ranking reflects our evaluation on the likelihood of that outcome. We believe he could develop into an insulated second pairing defenseman who can rack up points for a team.
You don’t spend a #5 pick on a second pairing insulated defensemen. Trade down
More of the same of what cbj fans are used to .. bypass skilled players , and playmakers for the comfort of heavy style , hard work type players . I’m not saying we don’t need more grit , but grit and skill can be found all over the draft . Highly skilled playmakers are usually not found later in draft . Mctavish is possibly a top 10-15 talent , but would be a massive reach at 5 . If Eklund is there , you take him . This team has nearly 0 playmakers . You want to improve the powerplay , you get guys that can create , see the ice , great passers . You have guys like Chinakov, Laine , Bemstrom that can snipe the puck . Aside from Roslovic , you have no one that can carry the puck , that can set these players up on a regular basis .
If we take a defensemen or settle for McTavish at #5. We have seriously missed and I have no idea what the front office is thinking. Scoring has been abysmal and the PP has been non-existent. Pick a playdriver/skill. Then pick a defensemen. We only have one puck carrier (Roslovic) and no dynamic passers to get the puck to our scorers (Bjork, Laine, Atkinson, Nyquist)
Notice a different Team with the Breadman (playmaker/skill). The engine as they say is an Eklund, Johnson type of player