I keep seeing Rasanen get thrown in on most proposals...
6'7 RH dman. What's the catch?
His skating is not that good, particularly moving laterally (it's probably more lateral quickness/agility) but that's to be expected at his size (not everyone is a Seth Jones out there- albeit he is bigger than him). Straight-line, he's a fluid skater. He's 6'7 (Chara might be the only active player taller than him) and has an incredibly long reach, it's just about developing that aspect of his game so that he is actively disrupting passing/shooting lanes with his reach/stick. He has as big of a shot from the point you can expect from any junior player ever though.... obviously- with his size and wingspan. His shot would be his biggest asset on a scouting report.
The hope is he can develop into a good d-man with a incredibly long, disruptive, stick.......skating for defenders his size are probably not absolute requisites as much as they are for other positions/commodities on an NHL team.
He's a project big-man, I wanted him, Mattheos, or Lipanov in the 2nd last year with our pick (considering some other guys I wanted went higher). He has a high ceiling but the likelihood of 2nd rounders in general hitting is not extremely high.
The Leafs have been great at developing prospects lately since the regime change.....invested a ton of money into sports science, player development, conditioning/off-season programs....and Keefe with the Marlies has been terrific. He understands his weaknesses (working on his skating, foot speed).....it's just determining whether he develops.
His value hasn't decreased or increased since the draft, really. I thought he was going to go higher, but it's still around a mid 2nd or so. He's probably the highest ranked project Leafs big man by my books..so ahead of Mattinen, Middleton, and Greenway. Gordeev is a tougher call....Gordeev is more soft but his skating is impressive for a big man. If I'm being honest, I would be surprised to see even 1 of them make the NHL, but Rasanen and Gordeev probably have the best shot....Greenway is a tough call since he didn't get to play much this year but that probably says more about his quality than anything.
Ultimately, he doesn't make or break a Tanev deal, his value is a 2nd- not an early one, probably a mid one..as it was last year. This is a good, deep draft (better than last year's). There are players I'd take over him around the same slot.