Prospect Info: 2018 Development Camp [June 28 thru July 2]
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McMetal
Writer of Wrongs
- Sep 29, 2015
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Alright, so here's my thoughts, player by player, for guys who stood out:
Makar: All right, I officially was wrong about Makar, I know it was just a scrimmage but seeing him live made a big difference. He attacks with serious tempo and defends more than competently. One more year of college and he'll be ready to step into a top 4 NHL role.
As for his shot, live I didn't see it as a muffin at all. He's got a short release, and while there isn't much velocity on it in the air, it comes out of nowhere, and he changes the angle by pulling it into his body very quickly and naturally. I'm also not convinced he's trying to score every time, either. He sent it low through traffic a lot, so I think he shoots for rebounds, which IMO is a smart way for a defenseman to think. Rebounds cause chaos and opportunities in front of the net, I hope that philosophy holds true in the pros.
Kaut: Man, do I like him. Poise, poise, poise everywhere. Scored a breakaway goal at one point with a silky backhand five-hole move. He played with confidence and looks every bit the part of a blue chip forward prospect. There is also no chance in hell he is only 174 pounds. He has some meat on that frame already when you see him live.
Morrison: Speaking of shots, Morrison's wrister is pretty dreadful. You can see it coming a mile away, and it was no threat at all. Way too slow to get it off. Overall does not look the part of a D+2 player.
Francouz: Frankie was a brick wall in goal, not much got by him. He looked to be very in control, and with a lot of the action in close to the net he was quick to find the puck. He also has an extremely active stick and made a lot of poke checks, often into traffic, to get it out of harm's way. It's unusual to say the least. Perhaps @Gigantor The Goalie can comment on how effective that strategy is.
Annunen: I was also really impressed with Annunen. He made some great sprawling second effort saves and uses his angles well. I'm hardly an expert on goalies but what I saw seemed really strong.
Ranta: He's very aggressive and takes a lot of shots. Not all of them hit the net but he's very much a shoot-first player. Moves well too, but hard to figure out his vision in a 3 on 3 scrimmage.
Wiess: Played with a ton of confidence, and cut to the front of the net a lot to get chances. You can see how crafty he is, he's just as willing to slow the play down a bit to find a pass as he is to attack. Certainly wasn't shy about going into traffic despite being a featherweight.
O'Connor: I liked him a lot, his seasoning at DU really shows and he got a lot of dangerous chances and at least two goals. He jumped out with good plays a bunch of times.
Breton: Stood out several times with good defensive and offensive plays. He seemed to read the play really well away from the puck, and he was responsible for a lot of changes in possession.
Anderson: I kind of struggled to get a read on him. He made some good and some bad plays on both sides of the puck. Lost a battle in front of the net that led to a goal at one point. Otherwise it was tough to figure him out.
Shvyrev: He's a really smart passer, made some sharp plays through the neutral zone and kept trying to set people up with cross-ice lasers. Even if most of them didn't connect, they were certainly put right where they should be in tight spaces.
Kovalenko: His skill really stands out, and he has a sneaky good shot. Tries to pick the corners a lot, and succeeded once. Won the shootout portion with a nasty backhand move, almost the way MacKinnon approaches shootouts with a ton of stickhandling moves as he comes in close.
Kotkov: Just can't fathom why he wasn't drafted, I hope the Avs get a contract on him. Got a lot of skill and he makes a habit to be in the right spot to take passes. His skating would probably be a detriment on bigger ice (slow) but that's nothing that can't be fixed.
Lewis: Dangerous everywhere, attacks in a lot of different ways. He seems like more of a goal scorer than a playmaker. I can see what they like about him.
Smirnov: He kept trying to beat the defensemen one on one and never managed it. His feet just don't allow him to be as nimble as his hands are.
The defensemen invites didn't impress me at all aside from Breton. Dime a dozen sorts. That gave a lot of (possibly unearned) opportunities to the forwards which is why the write up was heavy on them.
Makar: All right, I officially was wrong about Makar, I know it was just a scrimmage but seeing him live made a big difference. He attacks with serious tempo and defends more than competently. One more year of college and he'll be ready to step into a top 4 NHL role.
As for his shot, live I didn't see it as a muffin at all. He's got a short release, and while there isn't much velocity on it in the air, it comes out of nowhere, and he changes the angle by pulling it into his body very quickly and naturally. I'm also not convinced he's trying to score every time, either. He sent it low through traffic a lot, so I think he shoots for rebounds, which IMO is a smart way for a defenseman to think. Rebounds cause chaos and opportunities in front of the net, I hope that philosophy holds true in the pros.
Kaut: Man, do I like him. Poise, poise, poise everywhere. Scored a breakaway goal at one point with a silky backhand five-hole move. He played with confidence and looks every bit the part of a blue chip forward prospect. There is also no chance in hell he is only 174 pounds. He has some meat on that frame already when you see him live.
Morrison: Speaking of shots, Morrison's wrister is pretty dreadful. You can see it coming a mile away, and it was no threat at all. Way too slow to get it off. Overall does not look the part of a D+2 player.
Francouz: Frankie was a brick wall in goal, not much got by him. He looked to be very in control, and with a lot of the action in close to the net he was quick to find the puck. He also has an extremely active stick and made a lot of poke checks, often into traffic, to get it out of harm's way. It's unusual to say the least. Perhaps @Gigantor The Goalie can comment on how effective that strategy is.
Annunen: I was also really impressed with Annunen. He made some great sprawling second effort saves and uses his angles well. I'm hardly an expert on goalies but what I saw seemed really strong.
Ranta: He's very aggressive and takes a lot of shots. Not all of them hit the net but he's very much a shoot-first player. Moves well too, but hard to figure out his vision in a 3 on 3 scrimmage.
Wiess: Played with a ton of confidence, and cut to the front of the net a lot to get chances. You can see how crafty he is, he's just as willing to slow the play down a bit to find a pass as he is to attack. Certainly wasn't shy about going into traffic despite being a featherweight.
O'Connor: I liked him a lot, his seasoning at DU really shows and he got a lot of dangerous chances and at least two goals. He jumped out with good plays a bunch of times.
Breton: Stood out several times with good defensive and offensive plays. He seemed to read the play really well away from the puck, and he was responsible for a lot of changes in possession.
Anderson: I kind of struggled to get a read on him. He made some good and some bad plays on both sides of the puck. Lost a battle in front of the net that led to a goal at one point. Otherwise it was tough to figure him out.
Shvyrev: He's a really smart passer, made some sharp plays through the neutral zone and kept trying to set people up with cross-ice lasers. Even if most of them didn't connect, they were certainly put right where they should be in tight spaces.
Kovalenko: His skill really stands out, and he has a sneaky good shot. Tries to pick the corners a lot, and succeeded once. Won the shootout portion with a nasty backhand move, almost the way MacKinnon approaches shootouts with a ton of stickhandling moves as he comes in close.
Kotkov: Just can't fathom why he wasn't drafted, I hope the Avs get a contract on him. Got a lot of skill and he makes a habit to be in the right spot to take passes. His skating would probably be a detriment on bigger ice (slow) but that's nothing that can't be fixed.
Lewis: Dangerous everywhere, attacks in a lot of different ways. He seems like more of a goal scorer than a playmaker. I can see what they like about him.
Smirnov: He kept trying to beat the defensemen one on one and never managed it. His feet just don't allow him to be as nimble as his hands are.
The defensemen invites didn't impress me at all aside from Breton. Dime a dozen sorts. That gave a lot of (possibly unearned) opportunities to the forwards which is why the write up was heavy on them.
McMetal
Writer of Wrongs
- Sep 29, 2015
- 14,142
- 12,130
Never been happier to be wrong.
Never been happier to be wrong.
Seeing him defend, and how he seems to use his IQ at both ends of the ice in person was eye opening. I really love how he doesn't always seem to have a need to make the highlight real play either. His instincts for when to go, and when to keep it simple really stand out.
That's why I think hes going to be more of a Ryan Suter/Duncan Keith than an EK65 or Klingberg/Ghost/Barrie IMO. Which gives him a better shot at being able to be a #1 than having to hit some lofty OFD numbers like 60-70 points with just passable defense.
- Aug 25, 2006
- 9,333
- 7,410
Thanks McMetal Really appreciate it.
Your write up on Kaut and Francouz are very encouraging as well. I was hoping before the draft that Kaut could be a target for the Avs. Glad I was right. Kovalenko is another darkhorse for me.
If we trade for Karlsson Makar has better not be part of the deal.
Your write up on Kaut and Francouz are very encouraging as well. I was hoping before the draft that Kaut could be a target for the Avs. Glad I was right. Kovalenko is another darkhorse for me.
If we trade for Karlsson Makar has better not be part of the deal.
SoundwaveIsCharisma
Moderator
If Breton and Kotkov look as good as has been reported, sign them up. Nothing like a free prospect to brighten up the day.
- Oct 24, 2008
- 22,541
- 29,853
I was excited about Kotkov right it was announced he was coming to our camp. First thing I posted in this thread. Seems like he is off to San Jose’s camp now and has another one after that. Will make a decision after, I suppose. Would love to add him to the Eagles.
McMetal
Writer of Wrongs
- Sep 29, 2015
- 14,142
- 12,130
Kotkov plays in the Q, he can't go to the AHL yet. We can give him the Lewis treatment though and give him an ELC and send him back to Chicoutimi/Russia for a couple years just so he's our property. Would have been way easier to just draft him in the 7th... We could have even kept the Russian streak going.
Breton can go to the AHL right away though, he's 20 and done in the Q.
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Gigantor The Goalie
Speak for the Goalies
Can always try the old "he was loaned to his QMJHL team" bit. Probably send him back for another year in Chicoutimi then for his DY+2 use the loan reasoning to jump him into the AHL early if need be. If they try and bring him in now to the pro's he'd just end up in Utah.
Also I was able to watch the 3v3 game via the BR stream that was posted and it just looked like Francouz was toying with them regarding his poke checks and everything. I wouldn't be surprised to know he likes using an active stick but in this situation it looked like he was just testing how much he could get away with. From when he got in net to when he switched with Annunen, it was obvious Francouz was a KHL Goalie of the Year playing among U22 players. It was a sharp contrast to Petr Kvaca at the other end of the rink who looked like a total rookie. Seeing the difference between the two makes me comfortable in waiting to give Kvaca his ELC.
Anyways thanks for the report above!
If all goes well m he could be called up for the last half of the season . Maybe even sooner
Ararana
Registered User
SoundwaveIsCharisma
Moderator
If he is having success in the AHL and sustains it for half a season or so, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get called up.
I agree his game and just him in general seem mature. He has a big frame and as someone alluded to earlier , I believe he's bigger than 176 .
Freudian
Clearly deranged
- Jul 3, 2003
- 50,441
- 17,248
Avs left Rantanen in the AHL despite being well over a PPG there. I think they'll be patient with Kaut as well.
Avs_19
Registered User
- Jun 28, 2007
- 84,749
- 32,648
Imagine being stuck in a fire and this 13 year old with rosy cheeks shows up......
raistlin76
Registered User
I don't see anything about Bowers. Didn't he participate in on-ice sessions or just wasn't really good?
McMetal
Writer of Wrongs
- Sep 29, 2015
- 14,142
- 12,130
Yes, he was there. I wouldn't say he wasn't good, but he didn't really jump out at me either. Had a breakaway during the 3 on 3, missed it. I just didn't really notice him much.
raistlin76
Registered User
True but the team was out of the playoffs in November so they really didn't have a reason to call him up .
Gigantor The Goalie
Speak for the Goalies
Actually that was the year we were out of playoffs in the final week and traded for Bodker/Matthias to try and get us in. The year we were out of playoffs stupidly early was the next season and it was where Rantanen lead the team in goals.
Oh geez that's right , my bad , yes there were discussions of calling him up to help the playoff run . Thanks for the reminder
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