LW Andrew Basha - Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (2024 Draft)

[rt]

The comment was probably jumping the gun, right now I'd say Basha is a better player than Lindstrom at this level but ultimately your projecting & your right he doesn't have the physical tools so.. no doubt Lindstrom will be picked first, not even a question.

And that could very well prove to be right, Lindstrom even as a middle 6 FWD will be a very valuable player. But Basha has alot going for him too, the big edge being that he processes the game alot quicker than CL imo. You really see it in his playmaking ability.

He'll be a 1st rounder too imo, lots to like about both players.

I love that Basha is constantly placing the puck right into the most dangerous areas offensively. Also love his zone entries and how he hounds the puck in the neutral zone. He reminds me a little of Nick Schmaltz in some ways.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I love that Basha is constantly placing the puck right into the most dangerous areas offensively. Also love his zone entries and how he hounds the puck in the neutral zone. He reminds me a little of Nick Schmaltz in some ways.

I really love his offensive awareness as far as playmaking. When he gets the puck he can fire a crisp pass in a split second, whether its an obvious pass or a great play, doesn't take him anytime & that's how you have to move the puck in the NHL.

That awareness combined with his motor & hands is what makes him good.

 

[Bubbles]

 

[landy92mack29]

Lindstrom will be picked ahead of him but I'm going with Basha as the better long term player as hockey IQ wins out

 

[Bubbles]

A 4G, 1A performance tonight! He was just everywhere offensively. I would post vids but WHL twitter dropped the ball this evening.

Heres the vid:

WHL Hat-Tricks — Andrew Basha - Western Hockey League

 

[Artorius Horus T]

20 goals, 56 points, 0.80 ppg last season
11 goals, 31 points, 1.30 ppg this season so far

 

[Bubbles]

2G tonight, again the best offensive player for the Tigers.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

2G tonight, again the best offensive player for the Tigers.

The first goal would've been a brilliant pass to Lindstrom for an open net, but I'm sure he'll take the bounce + goal.

Lindstrom could've had the 2nd goal too honestly, was absolutely robbed & Basha made no mistake on the rebound. Basha was his usual shifty/dangerous self but Lindstrom was playing mean tonight aswell.

Between that duo, McKenna, & Yakemchuk it was a fun game to watch.

 

[Bubbles]

4A tonight, and he was creating chances all night and could have had many more points.

 

[Bubbles]

Watched the last game and tonight. He didn't get any points yesterday but he was one of the few Tigers creating offense all the time. He had two primary assists tonight that really showed his vision. I've watched a lot of Tigers games this season and he rarely takes a night off. It's one of his best qualities.

 

[Bubbles]

Showed some grittiness tonight he was clearly injured but came back and had a 2G, 1A night.

 

[Baaaaaaaaaaaaah]

Shocked we are only on page 2 here. He is trending towards a 1st rounder.

 

[MrCreamm]

Shocked we are only on page 2 here. He is trending towards a 1st rounder.

Yeah would be nice in general if the 2024 class was discussed a bit more, in my opinion. Dickinson who is more hyped than Basha only has 4 pages, Greentree also only has two pages.

 

[Bubbles]

Shocked we are only on page 2 here. He is trending towards a 1st rounder.

Not many WHL watchers on here. Which is weird because Lindstrom is rated so highly but watching any Tigers games you have to leave with the impression that Basha is the play driver.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I feel the same way watching Basha play as I did last year watching Brindley play and in 2015 watching Konecny play. Maybe not the highest upside but I would put money on this guy becoming a middle-six winger in some capacity. He’s just Got It, whatever It is.

 

[SI90]

Love this kid as a sleeper center. Just solid and skilled all around. Don’t know if it’s possible but would be cool if a team was in position to get both him and Lindstrom

 

[TLEH]

Basha is definitely the guy who stands out on that line. Ceiling may never be that high but he is definitely a play driver.

 

[RedHawkDown]

Why does everyone keep saying his ceiling isn’t high? Shifty, fast, good IQ…why can’t he be a Point type guy? Seriously asking.

 

[TLEH]

Why does everyone keep saying his ceiling isn’t high? Shifty, fast, good IQ…why can’t he be a Point type guy? Seriously asking.

Well when you compare to someone who goes Top 5 in drafts with great size and skating or something like Lindstrom then his ceiling isn't as high as those. But he still could easily be a 60-70 point NHL winger.

Nothing about Basha really stands out as elite other than his ability to read the play and know where to be.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Why does everyone keep saying his ceiling isn’t high? Shifty, fast, good IQ…why can’t he be a Point type guy? Seriously asking.

Absolutely nothing about him stands out as elite, but he’s extremely effective. His strengths are things that average NHL players have, and there’s nothing about his game that stands out from what the average NHLer has. That isn’t to say that it’s impossible for him to develop an elite skill, but I wouldn’t put money on it. His game is effective and mature, meaning he won’t have to do all that much more developing to hit his potential.

He’s sort of the anti-Lindstrom as a prospect, in a sense. Lindstrom and Basha are about equally effective right now in the WHL (with maybe the edge to Basha), but Lindstrom has so many elite tools that his potential is through the roof, though he’ll have to really develop well to hit it. But Basha will (in my opinion) be one of those guys who pretty seamlessly jumps from the WHL to the NHL and never really looks back, because his game is so efficient and mature and NHL-style already.

 

[Bubbles]

Another huge night, 1G, 3A. His vision is elite in this clip:

 

[MS]

Absolutely nothing about him stands out as elite, but he’s extremely effective. His strengths are things that average NHL players have, and there’s nothing about his game that stands out from what the average NHLer has. That isn’t to say that it’s impossible for him to develop an elite skill, but I wouldn’t put money on it. His game is effective and mature, meaning he won’t have to do all that much more developing to hit his potential.

He’s sort of the anti-Lindstrom as a prospect, in a sense. Lindstrom and Basha are about equally effective right now in the WHL (with maybe the edge to Basha), but Lindstrom has so many elite tools that his potential is through the roof, though he’ll have to really develop well to hit it. But Basha will (in my opinion) be one of those guys who pretty seamlessly jumps from the WHL to the NHL and never really looks back, because his game is so efficient and mature and NHL-style already.

I generally agree with this statement, but I would add that what happens fairly often with these 'heady all-around junior players with no standout skills' is that they end up as nothing vanilla NHL depth players ... see Sam Steel, Payton Krebs, Tyson Jost, etc. who all had similar scouting reports at the same age.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I generally agree with this statement, but I would add that what happens fairly often with these 'heady all-around junior players with no standout skills' is that they end up as nothing vanilla NHL depth players ... see Sam Steel, Payton Krebs, Tyson Jost, etc. who all had similar scouting reports at the same age.

Sure, I’m not saying that Basha is a guaranteed NHL scorer, but I do personally feel that Basha is as close to a guaranteed NHLer as a non-lottery pick can get. Even if it’s just as a “vanilla depth player”, I feel confident that he’ll have an NHL career.

Plus, I just get good vibes from him. Hard to explain, but he just feels like an NHLer.

 

[MS]

Sure, I’m not saying that Basha is a guaranteed NHL scorer, but I do personally feel that Basha is as close to a guaranteed NHLer as a non-lottery pick can get. Even if it’s just as a “vanilla depth player”, I feel confident that he’ll have an NHL career.

Plus, I just get good vibes from him. Hard to explain, but he just feels like an NHLer.

No argument with anything there. I think he'd be a smart pick for a team somewhere in the 21-32 range of the draft and will have a much higher chance of playing 400 NHL games than most players in that range.

I just wouldn't push the floor up too high on him. There are a lot of guys like this who look like all-world high-IQ junior players who just don't have the pop to generate significant value in the NHL.

 

[Juxtaposer]

No argument with anything there. I think he'd be a smart pick for a team somewhere in the 21-32 range of the draft and will have a much higher chance of playing 400 NHL games than most players in that range.

I just wouldn't push the floor up too high on him. There are a lot of guys like this who look like all-world high-IQ junior players who just don't have the pop to generate significant value in the NHL.

You’re probably right, I’ll definitely admit I’m probably biased because Basha is fun to watch. There’s nothing worse for an amateur “scout” like me than watching a CHL game and then feeling like you wasted your time because the prospect didn’t pop off the screen. Probably why I’m a little lower on Sam Dickinson than I should be.