Magua
Entirely Palatable Product
Been loosely checking out over the last couple weeks some mid-late round CHL guys who got good write-ups in the Black Book that intrigued me, and who I hadn't really watched. One was Drake Batherson, righty center/wing (probably wing projectable), pretty low key/no hype. McKeen's and hockeyprospect have him ranked ~120, Central Scouting around there but for NA skaters. Not a lot of guys by that area of the draft jump out at you, but he's a guy that jumped out at me when watching and someone I'd consider specifically targeting. Actually reminded me of Jason Robertson in a few ways.
Curious profile too. 18 year old re-entry who just finished his rookie year in the Q for Cape Breton. Finished a few points under a p/pg, but he started slowly and finished with 50 points in 43 games and then 12 points in 11 playoff games. Probably not coincidentally, his emergence came in late November, when Dubois went to the u20s and got traded.
Gets more interesting though: he is a big late bloomer physically. He's 6'1 and around 190lbs now and looks/plays bigger even, but within a year and a half prior to this season he grew from 5'5 115lbs. That's quite the late growth spurt and can change your game drastically. In the few games where I watched him, he was really physical too on the puck, in the corners, or finishing hits. Played heavy and was a handful below the dots using his size and skill. Skating is smooth, needs some quickness but not a ton -- when you gain so many inches and pounds, you have some catching up to do there obviously. Soft hands, real good vision, good shot (he needs to shoot more by the numbers.....rode a high shooting % but the shot looked legit, so it could be a positive instead of a negative, provided he shoots more), and he seems to have good hockey sense offensively. Maybe chased a bit defensively at times but hey. He gave off some pro vibes, and for a potential 4th-6th rounder, that means something to me because you don't usually see that. With his profile and skill set, he definitely has some boom potential in his Q sophomore season and beyond.
Curious profile too. 18 year old re-entry who just finished his rookie year in the Q for Cape Breton. Finished a few points under a p/pg, but he started slowly and finished with 50 points in 43 games and then 12 points in 11 playoff games. Probably not coincidentally, his emergence came in late November, when Dubois went to the u20s and got traded.
Gets more interesting though: he is a big late bloomer physically. He's 6'1 and around 190lbs now and looks/plays bigger even, but within a year and a half prior to this season he grew from 5'5 115lbs. That's quite the late growth spurt and can change your game drastically. In the few games where I watched him, he was really physical too on the puck, in the corners, or finishing hits. Played heavy and was a handful below the dots using his size and skill. Skating is smooth, needs some quickness but not a ton -- when you gain so many inches and pounds, you have some catching up to do there obviously. Soft hands, real good vision, good shot (he needs to shoot more by the numbers.....rode a high shooting % but the shot looked legit, so it could be a positive instead of a negative, provided he shoots more), and he seems to have good hockey sense offensively. Maybe chased a bit defensively at times but hey. He gave off some pro vibes, and for a potential 4th-6th rounder, that means something to me because you don't usually see that. With his profile and skill set, he definitely has some boom potential in his Q sophomore season and beyond.
