Prospect Info: 2023 Rookie Faceoff

[Deuce22]

I think you're mistaking LaCombe for Minty, Zell, or Luneau. LaCombe plays QB at the top of the zone. He doesn't hold the puck forever and a day nor dive down often. He kinda plays the puck like a European midfielder plays a soccer, moves the ball fast. When Minty scored on the PP, it reminded of a soccer play of give-n-go, but with a no look pass from LaCombe. The pass to Leo, again, LaCombe got rid of the puck fast. Vegas followed Leo with the puck and Luneau was unaccounted for, which Leo took advantage of. LaCombe is constantly scanning and moving the puck around safely, both on offense and defense. Moving the puck around fast means the opposition can't set up and/or causes some confusion. Incidental assists feels like any other d-man could have done it, but none did. Maybe you're mistaking listless for calculating or cerebral.

PV commented months ago that LaCombe made the NCAA game look easy.

I'm not saying LaCombe is a 1D or a top pairing guy, but you are not giving him credit because he doesn't look dynamic on the ice to your liking such as a Minty, Zell, or Luneau. Minty is tenacious on the offensive end that it looks like he's a power forward. Luneau's got a nose for the net as he likes to dive down often. LaCombe just plays a different offensive game. Defensively, right now, I'd take LaCombe over all three because LaCombe played a very controlled and calm game, for the most part. Minty and Zell didn't play on the PK.

I like LaCombe, but haven't decided to become his PR guy. He should play a more mature game than Minty and Zellweger, as he is two years older than those guys.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Will be interesting to see if Luneau gets a look out of camp. I thought he was that good yesterday offensively, obviously many more games (rookie camp and preseason) as well as camp practices to go. I don't think he would stick around very long due to his defensive game, but could earn a few games.

 

[Trojans86]

Love that

I like LaCombe, but haven't decided to become his PR guy. He should play a more mature game than Minty and Zellweger, as he is two years older than those guys.

Minty and Zell move so well that they are great and handling the puck near the blue line.

 

[AngelDuck]

Minty reminds me of Werenski - he’s going to be a real good one

 

[Kalv]

I remember one of the knocks on him in his draft profile was his poor skating but he keeps getting separation and he finds room around the net.

Exactly. He plays kind of sneaky which was also in his draft profile. His sneak per 60 is really good. Plus I saw him making 3 or 4 hits. Not punishing ones, but still those that sends a message that this will be a tough game for the opposition

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Saw this posted elsewhere, but this was first shift for Carlsson where he broke off the skate blade. Used his speed well and got the puck off the defender before what looked like he was maybe going to try a wraparound until his skate had other ideas.

I like that he's always attacking the net. He causes a turnover and he immediately moves towards the net, no break. The only time where he's not doing that is on the PP (which makes sense) but I felt like PP was where he was weakest, last night anyway.

Nesterenko looked really good on the PP come to think of it.

 

[anezthes]

Thoroughly enjoyed that. Lots of impressive prospects. Hopefully they keep it up, because I reckon the real season will be... long.

 

[HanSolo]

I like that he's always attacking the net. He causes a turnover and he immediately moves towards the net, no break. The only time where he's not doing that is on the PP (which makes sense) but I felt like PP was where he was weakest, last night anyway.

Nesterenko looked really good on the PP come to think of it.

Think that's a good observation I didn't think of. He looked better on rushes than he did trying to force cross ice passes on the PP. Aside from his assist, he wasn't converting on the long passes much.

 

[MMC]

 

[duxfan1101]

I really hope Warren pans out. He is a very good skater for someone as big as he is. And he isn’t useless with the puck either, though he did bobble a couple last night.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I really hope Warren pans out. He is a very good skater for someone as big as he is. And he isn’t useless with the puck either, though he did bobble a couple last night.

That type of defenseman is far more rare in the modern NHL at this point than the Zell/Minty mold too. If he can shape into a defensively responsible, bruising, top 4 D he will be the perfect compliment to our other D coming up.

 

[AngelDuck]

I really hope Warren pans out. He is a very good skater for someone as big as he is. And he isn’t useless with the puck either, though he did bobble a couple last night.

The tools are outstanding with him. He’s a legit 6’5” and moves well. A prime-Manson type player is definitely possible

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

That type of defenseman is far more rare in the modern NHL at this point than the Zell/Minty mold too. If he can shape into a defensively responsible, bruising, top 4 D he will be the perfect compliment to our other D coming up.

Still Staying.. He is our pronger version 2

 

[Kalv]

Still Staying.. He is our pronger version 2

What is the minute and point output you expect from him later on in his career?

That type of defenseman is far more rare in the modern NHL at this point than the Zell/Minty mold too. If he can shape into a defensively responsible, bruising, top 4 D he will be the perfect compliment to our other D coming up.

At end of the game and in some PK dituations the D pair was Hinds-Warren. That was cool to see. What a pair

 

[Mr Rogers]

Gaucher is like a frenchman who fought with the yankees against the british in the revolutionary war. a guy you want on your side/team.

 

[KickHisAssZegrass]

Overall thought Leo looked great and quicker than he did at worlds but Luneau was most telling to me, I didnt think he'd be able to do everything he does at the Q against bigger better players so easily. I think there's a good chance he's the best of the d group outside Minty; who makes everything look so easy with pressure you can tell hes thinking the game on another level.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Still Staying.. He is our pronger version 2

He just needs to be the first Noah Warren, and he’ll be OK

 

[AngelDuck]

Still Staying.. He is our pronger version 2

Pronger was a power play QB and put up 50-70 points per year in the dead puck era. He would have been a point per game dman if he were around today. What makes you think Warren has that kind of offense?

 

[GunnarStahl]

The ducks must have some sort of preference or tradition of inherentance or something with rookie numbers. Many get recycled especially for top guys.

51: Zellweger, Palmieri, Getzlaf, Larsson
37: Ritchie, McTavish, Carlsson
34: Mintyukov, Drysdale, Steel
46: Zegras, Gaucher
67: Rakell, Luneau
47: Lindholm, Warren
48: Lundestrom, Myatovic
61: Perry, Terry, Hinds
76: Mahura, Dionicio
54: Ryan, Fowler, Terrance

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

My extended thoughts:

Overall I thought the best period for everyone was the first. A lot of guys got sloppier into the second and third.

Luneau was solid throughout and looked really impressive. For a guy that plays second fiddle to Zellweger and Mintyukov, I was really impressed with his vision, 200ft positioning and play with the puck. He may not be as electric as Zellweger but there's some legit talent there.

Zellweger clearly has the footspeed, vision, and hands to be a threat but there were times I felt he was forcing passes or shots that weren't there. I'm not gonna cry hockey IQ concerns over a rookie friendly but I was hoping for a little better execution from the space he was he wearing for himself. And, on the other hand, he's not used to playing with a lot of these guys.

Same goes for Carlsson. Some sloppy passing angles here and there but it's a slapdash lineup of guys he's barely played with. His skating is good but with a better first step, he'd be even more effective. Clearly has tremendous vision and good game sense, and to say nothing about how nobody on the Vegas side could outmuscle him. His time playing against grown men really showed tonight. He and Zell are definitely in the mix to earn spots and it'll be interesting to see how they look in preseason. I'll say that the play on North American ice didn't look to he much of a factor. Yeah he had less room to work with but he still had plenty of positive plays with the puck. His marking defensively could use a little work but he showed he's not afraid to get in tight on a puck Carrier which is good. Definitely has a bit of Getzlaf in him. Passed up a few good opportunities for a shot opting for the set up play.

Minty had a pretty meh second period but was one of the few guys who looked Improved in the third. Head always on a swivel, very good sense of the space on the ice and where his teammates are paired with pretty consistent passing is a strong combo. He has a good but not great release on his writer. Hoping it's just a work in progress as a little more zip on his shot would go a long way.

I'll be honest. I forgot Pitre was a draft pick from this year. Definitely a spark plug type energy guy who isn't afraid to get up in a bigger player's face. Definitely noticeable out there, but from my vantage point it looked like his puck handling and decision making with the puck could use some improvement. Couple that with maybe like 15-20 more pounds of muscle and the kid could be a real steal from the third round.

Noah Warren is definitely going to be a Dirk favorite. Probably the truest Manson type we have in the system with the physicality. He's imposing and strong on his skates but I'd like to see him work a bit on his agility, the explosiveness in his stride, and a little more work on gap control. With his imposing style of play he showed he can neutralize an attacking player effectively, but when he's not in position to cover the gap, his guy is going to make an effective play with the puck. I noticed that more after the first period. He didn't outright blow coverage in a bad way, but he wasn't neutralizing the way he could have been.

Nate Gaucher seems like a lock to make it as a solid depth guy. I don't really see the toolkit to be a top 6 scoring threat but I can see a solid two way blue collar third liner with the capacity to chip in occasional depth scoring.

I've talked about Lacombe a few times in the thread but I didn't really explain myself. It's not that I thought he didn't look good. It's that he didn't look as good as I was expecting. It's been pointed out that he had multiple assists but what bothered me was seeing the occasional listless play with the puck on his stick and he just didn't seem to either be driving the play with the puck on his stick or scanning the situation to find the best play in a cerebral kind of way. He mostly just got the puck and handed it off. So while, yes, he ended up on the score sheet numerous times, I never felt like he was driving those plays. Felt more like incidental assists. In his own zone he was mostly solid with good gap control and stick positioning. He missed assignments a small handful of times, but nothing egregious. Smooth skating, seems to have good vision. Solid game, just nothing outstanding for me.

Nesterenko was pretty disappointing overall, seemed to make a lot of errors with the puck on his stick. I guess the one thing I can say in his favor was he was effective at getting to loose pucks, just didn't seem to have the capacity to actually do something positive when he had it.

Hinds was mostly unnoticeable except for a few bad moments of blown coverage. Didn't really notice anything negative or positive in the offensive zone.

Myatovic stood out to me from, on more than one occasion losing the puck from being hounded by pressure from Vegas that he couldn't get himself out of. Didn't notice much else from him.

Terrance looked all right but could use work on his passing under pressure.

The other forwards were completely unremarkable to me.

Clang was most solid on short play offense from Vegas but he seemed to go into panic mode anytime they had extended pressure in his zone. Not ideal but definitely something that can improve with experience.

Overall a solid performance by the kids. Unfortunately for the other side of my fandom, Vegas' best players on the ice were Brisson and Cormier and I don't think I could, in good faith put them top ten among a joint Ducks-Knights ranking. I thought as a whole, Vegas' lineup operated better as a unit with better team passing but the individual talent disparity was way too much.

That's exactly what I feared for Zellweger at the next level and what will be the reason why he spends potentially a couple seasons in the AHL before getting a sniff. He was literally told to do what he wants on the ice in junior and jump up in the play anytime and roam all over the place. I was always curious how he would be at the next level where he's playing against grown men and will have to play alot more positionally and not just have free reign as he pleases.

He's a special talent but he needs to play alot more positionally now and not force plays non stop or else he will constantly get lit up defensively

 

[Deuce22]

That's exactly what I feared for Zellweger at the next level and what will be the reason why he spends potentially a couple seasons in the AHL before getting a sniff. He was literally told to do what he wants on the ice in junior and jump up in the play anytime and roam all over the place. I was always curious how he would be at the next level where he's playing against grown men and will have to play alot more positionally and not just have free reign as he pleases.

He's a special talent but he needs to play alot more positionally now and not force plays non stop or else he will constantly get lit up defensively

I would guess his coaches in juniors let him play like that because it helped them win games. As in scoring and creating more scoring chances then he allowed. If you clip his wings in the NHL, he isn’t an NHL player. Because you’re telling him to do what he isn’t good at.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

He was literally told to do what he wants on the ice in junior and jump up in the play anytime and roam all over the place.

From what I've seen over the years (last 2 WJC and mem cup) he always plays like that. I wonder if hes been told to chill a bit.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

From what I've seen over the years (last 2 WJC and mem cup) he always plays like that. I wonder if hes been told to chill a bit.

In the pro game he will 100% be told to be more careful and not be all over the ice

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

I would guess his coaches in juniors let him play like that because it helped them win games. As in scoring and creating more scoring chances then he allowed. If you clip his wings in the NHL, he isn’t an NHL player. Because you’re telling him to do what he isn’t good at.

Yes his coaches allowed him to do that but he was able to easily make up for it vs teenagers when he made mistakes. Coaches in the pro game will make him reel it in a bit and pick his chances to jump in the play more... so we will see how he is when having to play more defensively throughout the game and picking his times to join the rush.

It will be a learning curve season for him in San Diego and i can't wait to see how he progresses

 

[S.S. Giggy]

Overall thought Leo looked great and quicker than he did at worlds but Luneau was most telling to me, I didnt think he'd be able to do everything he does at the Q against bigger better players so easily. I think there's a good chance he's the best of the d group outside Minty; who makes everything look so easy with pressure you can tell hes thinking the game on another level.

Honestly, I feel like the NHL pundits kind of did Leo a disservice by rating him an Average Skater. The only thing that Fantilli has over Carlsson, in terms of skating, is the explosiveness from a stand-still and that can fixed fairly easily. What Carlsson has over Fantilli is hockey IQ and that's something you can't teach to a player.