Prospect Info: 2019-20 WJC Thread

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Great gold medal game with a weird delay of game no-call ending. Shame.

First real chance to see Bahl, I liked what I saw a lot. I can imagine him having a 10 year NHL career with his skill set, team needs to make it happen. He could be very helpful, nice job by Shero.

Smith...man. Sometimes you see him touch the puck make the perfect pass and feel great but overall I didn't think he stuck out too much in a good or bad way. He seems like he's gonna be solid but with young players you always dream that they are gonna be dynamic game breaking talents and I guess that just isn't gonna happen here. Jared Spurgeon is his ceiling I guess, who is a great player and the team would be lucky to have for 7 cost controlled years but I can't help but feel a little disappointment, especially after his camp 1.5 years ago.

Misyul looked like he belonged on the ice with some of the best young talent in the world. Another solid prospect, hope for the best there.

The D prospect pool looks promising!

 

[StevenToddIves]

Yea my opinion of Smith has changed a bit. I was expecting a bit more dynamic offensive ability, but I don't think that will come at the NHL level. He will probably get points, but not in a way someone like Cale Makar does. However, he seems like a guy who will thrive on a good team with a good system (cough...cough...cough), and eat up minutes while playing a strong, but not overly dynamic game. I know everyone here desperately wants some franchise-level #1 D, but you really don't need that. You do need a solid grp of d-men though...and sorry to say it, but the devils d (current) is...not good.

Drysdale has been every bit as impressive as advertised....do want him

I agree with everything you have to say. People can be harsh critics, but I say all the time -- don't hate a player for what they're not, it's better to appreciate them for what they are.

Which is to say, would every team in the NHL want a smart, mobile, competitive, two-way #2/#3 defenseman who can play 20+ minutes a game in any situation? Absolutely. Would any team want a defenseman who is a force on the PP and PK and scores 45-50 points per year? Without a doubt. This is the type of player which Ty Smith is on the road to becoming.

Again, I don't see 20-goal, 65-point seasons out of the kid, and of course Smith will never be a shut-down beast like prime-era Zdeno Chara. But I think he will give the Devils a little bit of everything and be a terrific NHL defenseman.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Great gold medal game with a weird delay of game no-call ending. Shame.

First real chance to see Bahl, I liked what I saw a lot. I can imagine him having a 10 year NHL career with his skill set, team needs to make it happen. He could be very helpful, nice job by Shero.

Smith...man. Sometimes you see him touch the puck make the perfect pass and feel great but overall I didn't think he stuck out too much in a good or bad way. He seems like he's gonna be solid but with young players you always dream that they are gonna be dynamic game breaking talents and I guess that just isn't gonna happen here. Jared Spurgeon is his ceiling I guess, who is a great player and the team would be lucky to have for 7 cost controlled years but I can't help but feel a little disappointment, especially after his camp 1.5 years ago.

Misyul looked like he belonged on the ice with some of the best young talent in the world. Another solid prospect, hope for the best there.

The D prospect pool looks promising!

I haven't mentioned Misyul, but he was solid two ways all tournament long. I did not see the physicality which had been hyped so much for him, but he was extremely smart and fluid. In my mind, he was in the mix with another two guys for the second-best Russian defenseman after Alexander Romanov (who, to me, was far and away the best defenseman in the tournament).

I'm sure Misyul would like to have back his missed read on Akil Thomas' game-winning goal, but that was kind of a fluky play. Most of the tournament Misyul was just solid. I remain sold on his NHL upside as a very good #3/#4 two-way defenseman -- which is one heck of a value with a third-round pick.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I haven't mentioned Misyul, but he was solid two ways all tournament long. I did not see the physicality which had been hyped so much for him, but he was extremely smart and fluid. In my mind, he was in the mix with another two guys for the second-best Russian defenseman after Alexander Romanov (who, to me, was far and away the best defenseman in the tournament).

I'm sure Misyul would like to have back his missed read on Akil Thomas' game-winning goal, but that was kind of a fluky play. Most of the tournament Misyul was just solid. I remain sold on his NHL upside as a very good #3/#4 two-way defenseman -- which is one heck of a value with a third-round pick.

I don't know about that. Zamula (Flyers prospect...grr) looked better than Romanov to me actually. At the very least those two were head and shoulders above Misyul.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I don't know about that. Zamula (Flyers prospect...grr) looked better than Romanov to me actually. At the very least those two were head and shoulders above Misyul.

Zamula was one of those two other guys I spoke of. Zamula was a mixed bag for me -- he made some outstanding plays, but also some boneheaded ones; defensive lapses in the USA game and discipline/mental lapses vs. Canada. Romanov was outstanding in every aspect, all tournament long. I would rank the top D in this tournament (not as prospects, mind you):

1 Romanov
2 Bernard-Docker
3 Soderstrom
4 Sandin
5 Seider

Though not as many defensemen stood out with dominance as forwards in this year's 2020 WJC, there also weren't too many big-name guys who hideously disappointed. I would say that list was limited to Matthias Sameulsson and Philip Broberg, both of whom often seemed overmatched. I think Jamie Drysdale gets his own category -- he only was unleashed for one game in the tournament (vs. Finland in the semis), but he was the best defenseman in the ice that game and looked absolutely dynamic in every respect.

 

[glenwo2]

If Ty Smith isn't going to be gamebreaker on Defense, I at least want him to be a Steady Stalwart that we can count on.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Smith is actually pretty fluid and has good edgework & agility (unlike our friend Will Butcher who is a very clunky skater in general), it's just his top-end speed that isn't all that impressive. I don't recall Greene being blisteringly fast in his prime, although he probably edges out Smith at current but he still has time to improve.

I don't remember Butcher's skating being an issue in college (although the lack of speed was noticeable). The faster pace of the NHL is what has exposed Butcher's deficiency in skating imo and to an extent (but it's a small sample size so hard to say), it seemed to be the same with Smith, but like it has been said he has time to improve.

Greene in his prime was pretty damn fast, not a speedster like McDavid, but not many are