He is a nice guy with quite a bright brain. He is more selfconfident than it's natural in an average Swiss personality and this is irritating some coaches, and people who surround him. As a player he is maybe the most talented prospect coming out of Switzerland, in my eyes he is more talented than former 1st-rounder Michel Riesen was,
i has an excellent so called "upside". Right now he is a very raw diamond with wholes in his game as not using his body enough, needs to add some grit to his game (although he has a good, strong body and very strong legs), not being involved defensiveley enough, not shooting enough). But all these things are more or less easy to learn and improve. If he has good coaches in the future and if he will learn from them - then he has a very bright future because no Swiss player has as smooth hands (he has one sensational move on his forehand), no Swiss player has such smooth and effortless skating - he has very good acceleration from 2nd to 3rd gear. In addition he has very good offensive vision because he doesnt' need to watch the puck while stickhandling, he can dish out brilliant passes and he can rush down the ice and create danger out of nothing because he is very dangerous in one on ones. He also must work with his consistency, he sometimes has shifts where he looks like a sure fire first-rounder and then he has shifts you don't even notice him. He is definitely not a can't miss prospect because he will never play in a third or fourth-line in the NHL but he has the potential to become a first- or second-liner. So if you are an organisation who is looking for a brilliant skill/skating-package with the chance to make the difference in powerplays and in creating chances out of nothing then take him quite early (between late first and early third-round). If you are looking for solid up and down grinders, reliable, no mistake-players, gritty players with and edge and the ability to shut-down the opposing offense then you won't take
i at all. To finish this statement: He is really prepared to do everything he needs to become an NHLer, he doesn't want to sit out his originally planned Swiss way if he can develop better in NA. He is prepared to do whatever it takes. All stories about "he never will come over", "he will go for the fast and easy money in Switzerland", "he has a bad character and is a spoiled brat" - all this is just bad rumours coming out of the still existing "Swiss reputation" - but don't forget - it's personalities not nationalities and in terms of Swiss personalities just judge what Mark Streit did do in his career. I gues he is a posterboy of somebody who really grinded out his way to the NHL despite having the chance of becoming rich in the Swiss league. I don't tell that
i has the personality of Streit but he is definitely also not the opposite.
