C Mathew Barzal - Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL (2015, 16th, NYI) II

[enigmatic]

when i was at the isles prospect scrimmage, barzal and ho-sang stood out to me the most of any prospects (dal colle, beauvillier, pulock, mayfield, etc. were all there)

he has burning speed, hockey IQ, and vision that you simply either are born with or will never have.....i fond that his coasting speed while looking to make a play was still faster than man people's north-south game....very impressive

lets hope he has a monstrous year

 

[Passchendaele]

The WHL site has him at 6'0" 187. Hardly undersized.

 

[SanDogBrewin]

I trust that you watched the Bruins camp and while I have no knowledge of what transpired there, I also have full confidence that there is no chance you've watched enough of a) Swift Current; b) Sault Ste Marie; and c) Seattle to qualify the second part of your post. Stat watching does ≠ scouting

No box score watching, viewed plenty online at WHL and OHL neulion. Also I trust there is a reason Bruins scouts went off the board. If Barzal is better than he will make players around him better.

Time will tell.

 

[TheScoutQWO]

5 Assists tonight

 

[Mathew Barzal]

5 Assists tonight

Doesn't matter, he isn't the one scoring the goals. There are probably a bunch of secondary assists in there too.

 

[Zaddy]

Doesn't matter, he isn't the one scoring the goals. There are probably a bunch of secondary assists in there too.

I know you're sarcastic but 4 of those 5 were primary assists and he was +4. Pretty great start for Barzal. Love this kid, he's going to be a beast.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Nothing wrong with assists as a Center. All that means is you are doing your job. Distributing the puck to wingers making them better. 15 points in 8 games. I had him ranked as the 5th best prospect last draft. I'm sticking with this opinion. Terrific player.

 

[The Greatest 101]

Can't believe we trade him for that bum Perron.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

he was UNBELIEVABLE last night. He lifted his game to a new level against the powerhouse team Brandon Wheatkings. A lot of Wheaties top players were all minuses last night and Barzal made a lot of them look silly.

Also a huge season so far from his linemate and CBJ pick Keegan Kolesar. He is turning into a beast in Seattle and Oilers draft pick Ethan Bear is rising his game to a new level this year with the absence of Shea Theodore who is now in the pro ranks

 

[leafs in five]

Can't believe we trade him for that bum Perron.

Perron's been traded for picks that became Barbashev and Barzal.

 

[Riseonfire]

Still smile everytime I think of that Reinhart for 16+33 trade.

Barzal is killing it.

 

[boredmale]

Still smile everytime I think of that Reinhart for 16+33 trade.

Barzal is killing it.

Beauvillier ain't doing half bad either, 8 goals, 20 points in 10 games

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Still smile everytime I think of that Reinhart for 16+33 trade.

Barzal is killing it.

Garth Snow has made some nice moves lately, that deal was a steal IMO. Reinhart is going to be a decent D man, but I would take Barzal over him without a 2nd thought.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Garth Snow has made some nice moves lately, that deal was a steal IMO. Reinhart is going to be a decent D man, but I would take Barzal over him without a 2nd thought.

Ya im sure almost everyone would take just Barzal over Reinhart in a trade.. the fact that they ended up getting Beauvillier out of that deal as well is unreal... just a weird draft day trade. Couldn't believe Oilers made that deal with the players still available

I cant wait to see Barzal this year in the WJC... he is going to be unbelievable on the big ice in Europe

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Still smile everytime I think of that Reinhart for 16+33 trade.

Barzal is killing it.

One of the worst trades ever. Reminiscent of Milbury, at least you were on the right side this time around.

 

[SI90]

One of the worst trades ever. Reminiscent of Milbury, at least you were on the right side this time around.

To be fair, Reinhart could still become a very good player. Too early to call this Milbury esque

 

[scott99]

To be fair, Reinhart could still become a very good player. Too early to call this Milbury esque

Agreed, as much as I love Barzal and 1/2 of Beauvillier for Reinhart, you have to give something to get something. The Isles gave up a lot in Reinhart. Nothing spectacular, but good solid defensive play, reminds me of Marc Staal (minus the skating). Later in his career he might be able to up his offense a bit. Good trade for both teams, this coming from an Isle's fan.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Matthew Barzal continuing his torrid scoring pace of 2 PPG with a 3 point night last night. Now 18 points in 9 games. With a game on tap tonight.

I recall some were worried about his points totals last year. Barzal is putting an end to this, this year. No worries at all.

I had him as my 5th best prospect last year only behind Mcdavid, Eichel, Hanifin, and Strome.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Barzal continuing his torrid scoring pace of 2 PPG with a 3 point night last night. Now 18 points in 9 games. With a game on tap tonight.

I recall some were worried about his points totals last year. Barzal is putting an end to this, this year. No worries at all.

I had him as my 5th best prospect last year only behind Mcdavid, Eichel, Hanifin, and Strome.

Ya that wont be a problem this year. If he didn't miss a handful of games at the start of year while with NYI and miss some games during WJC later this year, he would be a top 3 scorer in the WHL by seasons end. I still expect him to finish top 10 even though playing less games than others

 

[RMimagery]

Matthew Barzal continuing his torrid scoring pace of 2 PPG with a 3 point night last night. Now 18 points in 9 games. With a game on tap tonight.

I recall some were worried about his points totals last year. Barzal is putting an end to this, this year. No worries at all.

I had him as my 5th best prospect last year only behind Mcdavid, Eichel, Hanifin, and Strome.

Agreed. Feel bad he was injured last year, but it worked out for the Isles who had him targeted and pounced when he was still available.

Isles said he was the best prospect in camp even though most has a year or three on him.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Ya that wont be a problem this year. If he didn't miss a handful of games at the start of year while with NYI and miss some games during WJC later this year, he would be a top 3 scorer in the WHL by seasons end. I still expect him to finish top 10 even though playing less games than others

I know it is silly for anyone that watches junior hockey that would question his offensive talent. But there were some uninformed opinions on him last year where I posted. This kid is an offensive talent. He is an elite distributer with excellent vision and patience. He makes his wingers better, which is what great Center's do. I have no regrets touting him so high. Good point about the injury. Isles stole him at #16.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

I know it is silly for anyone that watches junior hockey that would question his offensive talent. But there were some uninformed opinions on him last year where I posted. This kid is an offensive talent. He is an elite distributer with excellent vision and patience. He makes his wingers better, which is what great Center's do. I have no regrets touting him so high.

haha no im with you here.. I had him extremely high too. I don't really want to get into it for who I always said I would have drafted him over and how high cause a lot of people disagreed with me and I just don't want to get in to it again!!

Either way everyone knows who he is now and I would imagine everyone is well aware of his offensive abilities. I took a lot of heat over the past few years hyping Barzal and Theodore from Tbirds up, but Im happy they are doing extremely well now

 

[The Winter Soldier]

haha no im with you here.. I had him extremely high too. I don't really want to get into it for who I always said I would have drafted him over and how high cause a lot of people disagreed with me and I just don't want to get in to it again!!

Either way everyone knows who he is now and I would imagine everyone is well aware of his offensive abilities. I took a lot of heat over the past few years hyping Barzal and Theodore from Tbirds up, but Im happy they are doing extremely well now

Better, older team this year helps too. No worries mate. Barzal is doing his talking on the ice. He's not going to slow down if he stays healthy. Like you I always saw him as a top 7 pick. His under 18 was the clincher for me to put him all the way at #5. Proving he was worth that projection thus far this season.

 

[Brodeur]

I recall some were worried about his points totals last year. Barzal is putting an end to this, this year. No worries at all.

One thing I liked to point out last year was that Barzal's first half of the season was spent with Justin Hickman as a linemate. Hickman was trying to play through a bad shoulder injury which eventually ended his season. Seattle was then able to bring back Robert Lipsergs in the freed up overage spot.

By the time Barzal came back from his knee injury, Shea Theodore had also returned. In the second half, Barzal had great production (over a full season, close to a 100 point pace) with a full complement of weapons.

 

[boredmale]

Is Barzal second in PPG in the WHL? I believe Point is slightly above 2PPG.