Someone nominate a pick for Dallas.
Big solid centre-forward who can score. Has come back from injuries and was a top player in the World Junior U-17s. Displays a two-way game, great skills, and uses his body to make space. Right handed centre. Smart, strong, and strong on the puck. Strong on the cycle, makes terrific feeds to his teammates, and dominates when pucks are in contention. can come of the edge with truly strong power moves to the front. He has shown true goal scoring abilities and projects as at very least, top six scorer if the trends continue to improve.
Pretty much hate my pick already. Have only watched Makar in highlights and I really worry if his game is going to translate. AJHL seems like a really weak league. Unfortunately the other options for my pick aren't slam-dunks either, so I'm just going on consensus here and hoping he's as good as everyone says he is...
It's a weaker league than the WHL or USHL, sure, but he's by far the most dynamic player in that league. It's not even close.
The AJ has produced quite a bit of NHL talent, too.
Maybe a spot or two early, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to see Makar go top 10.
Thing is, I read through his prospect thread on the mainboards and some posters made some good points there. Makar was the best D in the AJHL by a mile, which is great, but how good would not a guy like Erik Brännström have looked there? Or Liljegren? Or Välimäki? Yet these guys are routinely rated below Makar. Brännström especially who many scouts doesn't even have in the 1st round, despite being dominant in a better junior league and being good enough to get 35 games in SHL, all while also being almost a full year younger than Makar.
I think Makar is gonna be in for a rude awakening next year in college, especially since he's going to a program who was by far the worst team in Hockey East last year. Either he's talented enough to make the transition, or he's just gonna bust outright. Not sure which one is more likely. Just seems like a very risky pick to make in the top10, but consensus places him there, some even in the top5...So as far as this mock goes, I hope they're right
Pretty much hate my pick already. Have only watched Makar in highlights and I really worry if his game is going to translate. AJHL seems like a really weak league. Unfortunately the other options for my pick aren't slam-dunks either, so I'm just going on consensus here and hoping he's as good as everyone says he is...
For somebody who posts so much prospect info I'm quite surprised you hate your pick. I like Makar, I think as long as he's not rushed his game should translate to the NHL.
Problem is I haven't seen him play myself, which makes it very hard to evaluate him. I could've gone with someone I've seen play, but then I would've had to reach. Plus, Sabres really need D, which made it hard to go with a forward, and there's no clear BPA among the forwards anyway.
Problem is I haven't seen him play myself, which makes it very hard to evaluate him. I could've gone with someone I've seen play, but then I would've had to reach. Plus, Sabres really need D, which made it hard to go with a forward, and there's no clear BPA among the forwards anyway.
As someone who has scouted him since bantam, travelled around to see him live many times and one of the only people to have him as a first rounder before this season even started I can tell you his talent and ability is legit not just because of the league he plays in.
To put his talent into perspective, we all know he dominated the WJAC this season but he was also Canada's top Dman and tournament All Star during last LAST season's WJAC (2015) on a team that included Dante Fabbro.
He definitely needs time at UMass but it isn't uncommon for dominant AJHL players to go on to do extremely well at the NCAA level. typically none of these players are as dominant and as skilled as Makar at 16, 17, 18 years old.
Makar will need to shore up his over zealous defensive play however. He loves to exploit the gap and close in very quickly which is incredibly risky. Has a habit of wanting to take the puck from opponents in the neutral zone but that leaves him out of position at times. He will benefit from getting stronger but he is known for laying some huge hits so he definitely isn't afraid of physical play.
I hope this makes you feel a little better. If anyone else has questions about prospects feel free to ask!
We doing this?
Whenever DipsyMcDoodles makes a pick. Clock is stopped over the long weekend.
His clock technically ran out yesterday.
Im cool with waiting all weekend though. Just feel bad for the GMs waiting to make picks.
Even though the clock is off I was hoping we'd be able to get through a couple of picks during the weekend still, especially with our late start.