Prospect Info: Carolina Hurricanes select D Brett Pesce at #66

[DaveG]

NCAA dman out of UNH, #52 according to THN

very young dman to be playing a regular shift at the Hockey East level

I like this pick

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[Anton Dubinchuk]

No idea who this is.

 

[MD]

Who??? Lol..

 

[Novacane]

Chantel McCabe ‏@CanesChantel 39s
UNH representing!!!! Canes chose @brettpesce22 in the third round. I swear I did not have anything to do with it!

Bloodlines.

 

[DougieSmash]

bust

 

[Jussijuice]

Top NCAA prospect. 6'3", 175 lbs.

Not a bad pick. Two way D but a long-term project.

 

[vwg*]

No idea who this is.

This.

I like his size and that he already has played one season of college hockey at UNH.

 

[EQV]

Looks like a puck-moving defenseman who's also competent in his own zone. Just finished his freshman season at New Hampshire.

From hockeysfuture.com:

Pesce is a 6’3†offensive-minded defenseman that thinks the game exceedingly well. He is an excellent skater with speed, agility, great feet, and skates equally well both north-south and east-west. Pesce has excellent puck-moving ability and offensive skills, but what separates him from many freshman defensemen is the fact that he rarely makes bad decisions with the puck. Another standout characteristic about Pesce’s puck handling is the great patience he has shown under pressure. Pesce has a very good shot and can get the puck to the net. He also possesses great on-ice vision and reads plays well. Pesce has seen time on New Hampshire’s power-play this season and could quarterback it as his collegiate career moves forward.

Like virtually all freshmen, Pesce will need to continue to add size and strength to his frame. One notable area that has progressed quite nicely over the course of the season is Pesce’s play in the defensive zone. He possesses a very good stick and does a great job of taking away lanes. While he’s very good in one-on-one situations, his lack of strength doesn’t allow him to effectively shutdown opposing forwards on a regular basis.

 

[vwg*]

Chantel McCabe ‏@CanesChantel 39s
UNH representing!!!! Canes chose @brettpesce22 in the third round. I swear I did not have anything to do with it!

Bloodlines.

More nepotism.

 

[dogbazinho]

Who cares, he's trade bait for a 4th liner in a few years.

 

[DaleCooper]

Well, we need someone to replace McBain.

 

[HisIceness]

No idea who this is.

Me either, although I have no idea who most of the prospects past the first round are anyway.

 

[Novacane]

Sites listing him at 170/175 but he says he's really 190. That's good.

 

[cptjeff]

Sites listing him at 170/175 but he says he's really 190. That's good.

He's also in the NCAA, which puts a lot of emphasis on practice and training, so he's in the right place to focus on adding strength.

Promising, but long term project seems appropriate for the 3rd round.

 

[bleedgreen]

College prospects are always a good idea with us, let their college develop them.

 

[Vagrant]

I have heard conflicting reports about Pesce's offensive upside. Most scouts have been high on him as a skating defensive minded defender with a projectable frame to play that style in the NHL. The write up above from HF seems off to me.

Probably something like a Dumoulin type selection here, though Dumoulin was a young entry for his draft year and Pesce is one of the older '94's available. Nonetheless, to have played in the NCAA in his 17-18 year old season speaks to his skillset. Nothing embarrassing about this selection at all.

 

[DaveG]

I have heard conflicting reports about Pesce's offensive upside. Most scouts have been high on him as a skating defensive minded defender with a projectable frame to play that style in the NHL. The write up above from HF seems off to me.

Probably something like a Dumoulin type selection here, though Dumoulin was a young entry for his draft year and Pesce is one of the older '94's available. Nonetheless, to have played in the NCAA in his 17-18 year old season speaks to his skillset. Nothing embarrassing about this selection at all.

Almost exactly what I was thinking. Let's not forget that for a while Dumo was getting comparisons to Ryan Whitney and it wasn't until his sophmore year at BC that things changed once people realized he was MUCH more of a defense-first guy with a nice outlet pass. If Pesce grows into similar for us and grows into that big frame of his this should end up being a great pick. We're not exactly hurting for offensive blueline prospects right now anyway: Murphy, Slavin, Biega, Jordan.

 

[NotOpie]

Almost exactly what I was thinking. Let's not forget that for a while Dumo was getting comparisons to Ryan Whitney and it wasn't until his sophmore year at BC that things changed once people realized he was MUCH more of a defense-first guy with a nice outlet pass. If Pesce grows into similar for us and grows into that big frame of his this should end up being a great pick. We're not exactly hurting for offensive blueline prospects right now anyway: Murphy, Slavin, Biega, Jordan.

I agree with both of you and SB Nation's Western College Hockey blog does too:

"Pesce is a very good player who has tremendous gap control and does an outstanding job of bodying opposing forwards to the outside. Another strength is his stick control as he is adept at getting his stick into passing lanes. Pesce will most likely be more of a shutdown defender than a scoring blue liner at the next level, but his offensive potential is there."

There were other articles that I recall where they indicated that as the year wore on, Pesce used his body quite effectively. He has the making's of the crease clearing guy we desperately need. Love, absolutely love this pick.

 

[DaveG]

Just noticed, but AmericanDream, who's a poster I'd safely say is even more in-tune with the US prospect situation then I am, is extremely high on Pesce. Called him a virtual lock for the coming WJC squad and expects him and Santini to form the shutdown pairing for the US.

 

[cptjeff]

I agree with both of you and SB Nation's Western College Hockey blog does too:

"Pesce is a very good player who has tremendous gap control and does an outstanding job of bodying opposing forwards to the outside. Another strength is his stick control as he is adept at getting his stick into passing lanes. Pesce will most likely be more of a shutdown defender than a scoring blue liner at the next level, but his offensive potential is there."

There were other articles that I recall where they indicated that as the year wore on, Pesce used his body quite effectively. He has the making's of the crease clearing guy we desperately need. Love, absolutely love this pick.

That's nice to hear, that's the kind of stuff it often takes D men a while to get right. Sounds like he has the mental game, but the build isn't there yet, which is the opposite of a lot of D prospects. Often you see guys who are good at hitting everybody and running all over the ice because they're faster and better than everybody, but then have trouble translating to the next level where they can't compensate for the lack of a mental game by being a step removed on the physical game.

I don't care if the offensive game develops much. If he can translate a sound and smart defensive game to the pro level, that's more than enough to make him very valuable to any team. Glen Wesley should make sure that's the emphasis in developing him.

And again, the NCAA is set up to put a lot of emphasis on training and practice, so he's in the right place to get his physical skill up to the speed required at the pro level. From the sound of all this, I'm beginning to really like this pick.

 

[bleedgreen]

Hockey news had this kid in the 50's and wrote a positive review of him. Mentioned jvr skated with the team during the lockout and came away impressed with him. Seems like a lot of scouts like him. A solid choice it would seem.