Was Brinkman ranked in the 1st round of any mock drafts? I thought I remember people talking about him.
At one point he was, but he seems to have dropped into the 2nd round, at least. You have to take most of the mock drafts with a grain of salt, though. A lot of their creators have little to no 1st hand knowledge of players, and merely repeat what others have said in lemming like fashion, or formulate opinions off of a couple of clips, or boxscores. Others have a CHL, or European focus.
At this point, I don't have a strong opinion on Brinkman. He doesn't look out of place at all on the Gophers, but the team is near dysfunctional, IMO. Hard to make sense of them as a team, and look good as an individual. It will get much clearer by draft time.... I see some good things from Brinkman , especially with his no nonsense passing, but he is by no means asserting himself. He has been decent defensively, and his physical play has been more than adequate. Would like to see him use his slapper more, but he's not getting any PP TOI.
I want to see if he can take over a game a couple of times later this season. If he does, against players that are in many cases 3-5 years older, then he will be worth a late 2nd at a minimum.
