To me smaller players can be a big gamble, it's always just a prediction. He may not continue this path and end up a top line guy in MHL? Small guys like Woodworth last year have exceptional skill not jut good that's why I had no problem ranking him round 1. Main question is, can Todd continue being that gritty guy with offense at the bigger stronger level? I'm betting yes but I think there will be 36 guys that I feel more comfortable saying yes about. I won't be surprised if Todd goes two, but I won't be surprised if he goes 5 either. Happens every year.
2021 QMJHL Draft
- Thread starter Wintersun
- Start date
Funny I just looked up Critchlow and he went in the first round, I had forgotten that. He topped out at 50 points as a 20 and if the draft was redone I would say he was a second round Q player. I think the league has gotten weaker and softer over the years which may actually benefit Todd. Frig it I'm taking him in two 
LOL...Critchlow is a pretty solid benchmark, wore a letter for 4 seasons in the Q and 3 in the CIS. I have followed him quite closely over the years, met him and his dad a few times in Halifax, Todd has big shoes to fill comparing him to Cam, but I can some similarities. Cam was a shut down guy at ever level he played...with some offensive upside. Todd needs a ton of work in that area if he wants to play 4th line in the Q at 16...I take him in the 3rd, send him back to cole harbour for a year and get him to work on and his 200' game.Funny I just looked up Critchlow and he went in the first round, I had forgotten that. He topped out at 50 points as a 20 and if the draft was redone I would say he was a second round Q player. I think the league has gotten weaker and softer over the years which may actually benefit Todd. Frig it I'm taking him in two
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I want to just put this out there as the only real hockey to watch as of late was the U18 Finals on PEI. So I wanted to go and watch each game even though I knew who would win. This is what hit me in the face after it was all over.
There is something to say for the players that get the majority of the points on a team. It's hard, no question. Some games they don't produce and in others games they lite it up. I ask myself many times why, what was different or what did that player do or eat before each game, trying to figure out the recipe.
This is what I came up with and you will say to yourself thats right. It's 90% motivavitaion, to have a player eager to work is terrific to see, nothing gets in their way. Now certain hockey players need this motivation to come from an outside source, like a coach/parent/other players. Some find this motivation within themselves to strive to have a great game every game, great gift to have. The reason I'm bringing this point up is the first two games in the provincial finals with the Wild and the Knights the score was 2-0 and 3-1 respectfully. Now in the last 10 minutes of game 2 M. Sentner got caught up behind his net with Stewart and McKeigan throwing punches at him and all three received suspensions. Now without Sentner in the line up game three the score was 9-2 and the fourth 11-1. So if one player can be the glue that holds a team together, I believe Max Sentner must breathe the fight into a team. Now this is something that will never hit the score sheet but if you played hockey before, you may recall a player on your team when you played, that when a certain player doesn't play the team is flat or playing with egg shells in their pants. I feel that's what happened to the Wild in the last 2 games, they must be missing the glue, wasn't much to watch without him. I could be wrong but the teams recipe was surely laking a certain ingredient. Player evaluation hits on all levels and it must be why scouts rely on coaches and team owners to get a feel for a player before investing time and money before the draft.
There is something to say for the players that get the majority of the points on a team. It's hard, no question. Some games they don't produce and in others games they lite it up. I ask myself many times why, what was different or what did that player do or eat before each game, trying to figure out the recipe.
This is what I came up with and you will say to yourself thats right. It's 90% motivavitaion, to have a player eager to work is terrific to see, nothing gets in their way. Now certain hockey players need this motivation to come from an outside source, like a coach/parent/other players. Some find this motivation within themselves to strive to have a great game every game, great gift to have. The reason I'm bringing this point up is the first two games in the provincial finals with the Wild and the Knights the score was 2-0 and 3-1 respectfully. Now in the last 10 minutes of game 2 M. Sentner got caught up behind his net with Stewart and McKeigan throwing punches at him and all three received suspensions. Now without Sentner in the line up game three the score was 9-2 and the fourth 11-1. So if one player can be the glue that holds a team together, I believe Max Sentner must breathe the fight into a team. Now this is something that will never hit the score sheet but if you played hockey before, you may recall a player on your team when you played, that when a certain player doesn't play the team is flat or playing with egg shells in their pants. I feel that's what happened to the Wild in the last 2 games, they must be missing the glue, wasn't much to watch without him. I could be wrong but the teams recipe was surely laking a certain ingredient. Player evaluation hits on all levels and it must be why scouts rely on coaches and team owners to get a feel for a player before investing time and money before the draft.
That's just my point, some may have put him there 2 years ago, and my opinion is that in those two years he has had a myriad of his peers pass him developmentally, plain and simple. He is not even consistently in the top 2-3 forwards for a weaker Mount team that usually gets dominated by a stronger Knights team, but saying he would lead the team in scoring hands down is a farce. No one can say for certain that would be the case as there are too many variables involved.
I think someone seems to have a dog on this fight somehow above just being a hockey fan with an opinion, and I do wish Cam the best of luck I just hope you're not too disappointed if he isn't taken in the first two rounds like you are essentially guaranteeing lol.
I think someone seems to have a dog on this fight somehow above just being a hockey fan with an opinion, and I do wish Cam the best of luck I just hope you're not too disappointed if he isn't taken in the first two rounds like you are essentially guaranteeing lol.
No dog in the fight, just and observer.....and I said he would lead rookie scoring for the Knights, partly because he would be given every opportunity to do so. It's just my opinion after 5+ years of watching Altantic talent very closely, that Cam is a very smart hockey player and his skills translate and will adapt to the next level. When he gets bigger and stronger and he will, he has all the tools to be successful.
So basically the story you heard around the rinks in the exact same one that I heard regarding Sentner, underaged status and Coach Squires. Too bad the kids are the ones caught in the middle. Sentner did try out for the Knights this season and I think when he seen the writing on the wall that he wouldn't be included in the 20-21 Knights roster, he left to try to lock down a major U18 spot in.Kwnsingron. I have it on good authority the Knights weren't interested due to a discipline and attitude concern stemming back to a couple AP games he played in 19-20 before declaring for the Mount. If you look at his PIMs in Kensington this year as well, the story checks out. Definitely raw talent there and I actually quite like his as a skater, I just question whether all the extra noise around Sentner not involving his actual game will scare some Q scouts off. There is alot of Kids in Quebec with his raw skills and none of the baggage or perhaps perceived baggage.
20-21' nb-pei U18 , 8 GP , 1G , 1A , 53 pims. More PIM's then actual TOI. We need to move on from the Sentner discussion.
Man I was rooting for you too, I got half way through your novel and thought, sweet, no Senter talk. Then bang he’s the glue, blah blah blah. My god man your embarrassing the kid if he reads this forum. 114 posts and I bet the kids name is in 100 of them. He has some skill, especially skating, and I hope he gets drafted but if I was representing a team he would be a pass for me before the 5/6 which means he’s generally not a Q player.
For the record I don’t think Todd will ever be the leader Crithlow was, and I don’t think he will ever take the defensive side of the game as serious. My comparison is size at that age and competitiveness. I actually think Todd has as much or more skill, possibly because he anticipates and cheats more then Crithlow ever did. If he makes the Q next year it would be no more then what Foston was last year and I’m not sure that benefits him. You may be right a second year in U18 may be better. Either way he’s a 4th line Q little ice or a 1st line U18 with tons of ice. The team that picks him will have a decision to make on what is better long term.
Sorry, right your wanting to talk about your boy C.Squires. Just thought the way the series went was interesting. It wasn't a conversation about pentality minutes which you always bring to the table when someone says Sentner. You should watch him play and then see if you can say his play wasn't affective. The topic was but about motivation and how a player brings life to a team. You can't have too many Sentners on a team but then again you can't have too many Squires on a team either. The mix is what I like and how the team feeds off good plays and good hitting and desperation as times tick off the clock. I like watching the game with both Sentner and Squires in it and understand how they get the points or pentality minutes.
Here's a question for you.. How many 5'5" players @ 135 pounds plays in the Q and was successful in staying there. It's not baseball and a coach can't just put them in to pitch hit. It's a tough game and it only gets tougher. I would rather to teach a young man how to stay clean than teach a young man how to grow. But what do I know I only played Major Junior hockey and I'll tell you first hand there is more Sentner in those leagues than there is Squires and for good reason.
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No 5-5 135 pound 15 year old has ever played in the Q. Correct
How many boys grow after 15? Well Batherson was 5-4 at 15 I think, he’s what 6-3 today?
mom not sure what Squires will do tbh but when he grows he will be a solid player somewhere.
How many boys grow after 15? Well Batherson was 5-4 at 15 I think, he’s what 6-3 today?
mom not sure what Squires will do tbh but when he grows he will be a solid player somewhere.
This is not about Squires vs Sentner...is just about too much Sentner. I have no idea who you are selling his stock too...this is a forum, not a QMJHL draft board room. Maybe he is super kid and great motivator... but good skaters who can hit are a dime a dozen....sorry. Squires skill set is harder to find..its that simple. BTW...I have seen Sentner play in person, many times over the past 6-7 years.
I'm not claiming Squires won't be drafted in the upcoming draft, but your insistence in including him as someone taken in the first 2 round doesn't make alot of sense watching him this season.
There's a bunch of variables at play here. As you stated he was a top ranked player for his age coming out of ice Jam and not by you. While that may be so, generally I try to watch a players PROGRESSION, as opposed to going on "rankings" based on 13-14 months ago which is a lifetime in player development terms ESPECIALLY during the 15/16 year old season. During the Ice Jam tournament your referencing I talked to one major Junior scout that told me from his own notes, C.Squires started every shift where there was a faceoff in the offensive zone, or at the offensive Blueline, every time except twice during an entire game, which was a lopsided round robin win. In that same game Coach Papa Squires sent out his top PP unit even thought the game was well in hand, trying to squeeze out a few more points for his son with scouts in the crowd. The issue is, at events like this, the hockey men in the stands have a much keener eye than you or I do, and if I'm noticing, you can bet those guys that do this for a living are noticing these same tendencies and likely laughing amongst themselves because it's something we see so often. This can't be justified by saying tournaments can come down to goals for so running up the score is justified,.as I watched the same actions take place consistently on a Friday night regular season blowout where the won 18-0 or something ridiculous. Up by 15 or 16 in the third, again Coach Papa Squires sent out his top PP unit to try to pump another one in. I left the rink that night early after the coaching performance I witnessed in the third, emabarssing. Even if the QMJHL was allowed to draft players in there 2nd year of U15, as some junior leagues are allowed, Squires STILL would have had an uphill battle at that time to go in the first two rounds and 14 months later, I don't think that a realistic expectation for him.
The fact is, since the NS Ice Jam tournament, Squires has been passed by a number of his peers in the Atlantic region. I question whether he would have lead the Knights in rookie scoring because from my understanding he was not a lock for that roster by any means. It was a concern of the coaching staff that Squires wasn't going to be dynamic enough player at this time to crack the Knights top 6 and with his play away from the puck being quite suspect, there was concern taking him in a bottom 6 role.
If Squires is the high end, lock of a too round prospect like you say maybe you can give some insight on his decision to go play 15 AND UNDER, essentially a Junior Varsity Team with players from grade 9 & 10, at Bishop Kearney?
Most high end prospects seek out the top competition year over year to ensure they are getting the most out of there development. Peddle from NS who is a highly ranked skater in this upcoming Q draft, did this and ended up at Shattuck St Mary's, a prestigious preparatory school in the states with extremely high scouting visibility and that at one time, another Nova Scotia Native attended and then was taken FIRST OVERALL in the QMJHL draft the following season. If Squires and his family were truly interested in the NCAA route, and he is such a top end prospect like you say, how come Squires didn't attend some place like Shattuck or even a Notre Dame for that matter? Do you think Squires received more visibility at BK then he would have gotten in the NB/PEI U18 league? More visibility then at Shattuck or Notre Dame?
The reality is Squires was scrambling for a place to play when he realized his prospects of making a Knights team as a first year was slim, and an obviously weak Wild team wasn't going to be acceptable for him, or likely for his father.
The final thing, that no one wants to bring up is, the incident during one of Sentner's evaluation sessions where Coach Squires, who's son Cam also attempted to receive approved status to play with the Knights as an underage last year, berated a HPEI evaluator and caused quite a scene at the rink during tryouts. I think this baggage lead to the Knights questioning whether how much the player would benefit the roster as a whole, even a year later. The issue with Sentner had nothing to do with him leaving Central, and everything to do with the rumour being Sentner was going to receive underage approval and Squires was not.
I'm not sure why either of these two players get brought up so much when there is easily 5/6/7/8 other 05 skaters playing on PEI right now that will go higher then both these young men, and that's ok! High draft picks don't always turn into high end talent at the next level, it's not an automatic, that's why it's called development.
For me, Like Coughlin is the cream of the '05 crop skating on PEI right now and it's not particularly close in my eyes.
There's a bunch of variables at play here. As you stated he was a top ranked player for his age coming out of ice Jam and not by you. While that may be so, generally I try to watch a players PROGRESSION, as opposed to going on "rankings" based on 13-14 months ago which is a lifetime in player development terms ESPECIALLY during the 15/16 year old season. During the Ice Jam tournament your referencing I talked to one major Junior scout that told me from his own notes, C.Squires started every shift where there was a faceoff in the offensive zone, or at the offensive Blueline, every time except twice during an entire game, which was a lopsided round robin win. In that same game Coach Papa Squires sent out his top PP unit even thought the game was well in hand, trying to squeeze out a few more points for his son with scouts in the crowd. The issue is, at events like this, the hockey men in the stands have a much keener eye than you or I do, and if I'm noticing, you can bet those guys that do this for a living are noticing these same tendencies and likely laughing amongst themselves because it's something we see so often. This can't be justified by saying tournaments can come down to goals for so running up the score is justified,.as I watched the same actions take place consistently on a Friday night regular season blowout where the won 18-0 or something ridiculous. Up by 15 or 16 in the third, again Coach Papa Squires sent out his top PP unit to try to pump another one in. I left the rink that night early after the coaching performance I witnessed in the third, emabarssing. Even if the QMJHL was allowed to draft players in there 2nd year of U15, as some junior leagues are allowed, Squires STILL would have had an uphill battle at that time to go in the first two rounds and 14 months later, I don't think that a realistic expectation for him.
The fact is, since the NS Ice Jam tournament, Squires has been passed by a number of his peers in the Atlantic region. I question whether he would have lead the Knights in rookie scoring because from my understanding he was not a lock for that roster by any means. It was a concern of the coaching staff that Squires wasn't going to be dynamic enough player at this time to crack the Knights top 6 and with his play away from the puck being quite suspect, there was concern taking him in a bottom 6 role.
If Squires is the high end, lock of a too round prospect like you say maybe you can give some insight on his decision to go play 15 AND UNDER, essentially a Junior Varsity Team with players from grade 9 & 10, at Bishop Kearney?
Most high end prospects seek out the top competition year over year to ensure they are getting the most out of there development. Peddle from NS who is a highly ranked skater in this upcoming Q draft, did this and ended up at Shattuck St Mary's, a prestigious preparatory school in the states with extremely high scouting visibility and that at one time, another Nova Scotia Native attended and then was taken FIRST OVERALL in the QMJHL draft the following season. If Squires and his family were truly interested in the NCAA route, and he is such a top end prospect like you say, how come Squires didn't attend some place like Shattuck or even a Notre Dame for that matter? Do you think Squires received more visibility at BK then he would have gotten in the NB/PEI U18 league? More visibility then at Shattuck or Notre Dame?
The reality is Squires was scrambling for a place to play when he realized his prospects of making a Knights team as a first year was slim, and an obviously weak Wild team wasn't going to be acceptable for him, or likely for his father.
The final thing, that no one wants to bring up is, the incident during one of Sentner's evaluation sessions where Coach Squires, who's son Cam also attempted to receive approved status to play with the Knights as an underage last year, berated a HPEI evaluator and caused quite a scene at the rink during tryouts. I think this baggage lead to the Knights questioning whether how much the player would benefit the roster as a whole, even a year later. The issue with Sentner had nothing to do with him leaving Central, and everything to do with the rumour being Sentner was going to receive underage approval and Squires was not.
I'm not sure why either of these two players get brought up so much when there is easily 5/6/7/8 other 05 skaters playing on PEI right now that will go higher then both these young men, and that's ok! High draft picks don't always turn into high end talent at the next level, it's not an automatic, that's why it's called development.
For me, Like Coughlin is the cream of the '05 crop skating on PEI right now and it's not particularly close in my eyes.
I personally hope Caleb MacDonald grows because I love his game, but I’m from NS and haven’t seen the pei kids this year. To be honest PEI has 5-7 kids each year worth talking about and the parents of these kids seem to be constantly throwing each other’s kids under the bus. Sad
if Crosby is the player at Shattuck you’re referring to he played U18 there, peddle plays U16 same as Squires at his old school.
if Crosby is the player at Shattuck you’re referring to he played U18 there, peddle plays U16 same as Squires at his old school.
Yes, I agree. This internal PEI bashing needs to stop.
And for the record...you may want to do some research on Bishop's Kearny, they have revamped their program in recent years, brought in some excellent hockey personal and are top 5 in the nation at both the U14 and U16, with exceptional talent from all over the U.S. and Canada.
I watched a few periods of the Knights games,, I would say the first 3 Q draft picks are in the Knights, and Thompson for the Wild and maybe 2 more in what order would be undefinable!
Saint John Vito's force a game 5 last night against a veteran line up in Fredericton. I did not expect the youthful Vito's to be as competitive as they have been this season especially with the young D core. On paper, Fredericton's roster is constructed similar to Charlottetown with lots of QMJHL & MHL draft picks complemented by top 05 prospects (Nadeau, Topolinski etc). They may still be the team to beat however this series, and the season in general, have been much closer than expected.
Man, trying to bring a broader outlook into the game and how the teams re-act with certain players in or out of the line up. It's a topic in the NHL when players are playing or not but I guess your not ready for a different point of view or take into the game like other hockey enthusiast in this forum. Let's go back to your topic of hoping players GROW.... or let's talk about the junior stick they use cause that's in most cases as close of equipment they will see from Junior team, let alone a Major Junior team. Blah Blah Blah
Honestly I’m just tired of you and your constant promotion for Senter. We get it already, if you want to keep pushing big kids then throw another name at least.
Honestly I’m just tired of you and your constant promotion for Senter. We get it already, if you want to keep pushing big kids then throw another name at least.
the fact that you played major junior does nothing for me btw. I played with two guys growing up that played in the O, one is a great hockey player even today, the other was 6-2 at 15 and was never any good....just a big kid that could skate. In today’s game this happens less because hockey is becoming softer but more skilled.
the fact that you played major junior does nothing for me btw. I played with two guys growing up that played in the O, one is a great hockey player even today, the other was 6-2 at 15 and was never any good....just a big kid that could skate. In today’s game this happens less because hockey is becoming softer but more skilled.
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