Prospect Info: #208OA - Hurricanes select LHD Ronan Seeley

[DaveG]

5'11 - 176

LHS dman

From Black Book:
Ronan is a very smooth skating defenseman. He glides along the ice with a very fluid stride and good power in his lower body. He is excellent on the puck retrieval going through all the steps of being aware of pressure, head up looking at options and does it all at a high pace due to his skating. He is a huge asset to Everett regarding puck movement as he’s able to rush the puck confidently but also his first pass success rate is among the best for first year NHL Draft eligibles in the WHL. He moves the puck well in the offensive zone and gets pucks on net when shooting. He does not have a very hard shot from the point, but it is accurate. Defensively Ronan has had his successes and failures. On the rush, he has good gap control and strong backwards skating which allows him to time his pivot on the rush extremely well. He’s tough to beat one on one even for skilled forwards. In the defensive zone he’s a little less predictable. There are times where he’s in ideal positioning and others where he’s a little slow reacting to preferred positioning and it has contributed to goals against.

“We were late to start watching this player. He is an exceptional puck mover and an excellent skater. Looks like a player with some rawness in his game but a high ceiling.” - HP scout, Mark Edwards

Ranked #35

How the f*** did we get this kid at 208?

Click to read more...

 

[LastWordArmy]

With an August 2002 birthdate, Ronan Seeley is one of the younger prospects in this NHL Draft. A first-round pick (20th overall) of the Everett Silvertips in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, this later birthdate helps to explain why it took him a little longer to break out and also indicates that he’s a bit further from his ceiling than other prospects in this draft. In 2018-19 he put up just one goal and eight assists for nine points in 52 games with the Everett Silvertips. He also added one goal in 10 playoff games. Things took a definite uptick this past season. Seeley scored three goals and 29 assists for 32 points in 63 games with Everett. He was given more ice-time and responsibility and thrived in the role.

Seeley has also represented Canada on the international level. He was part of Team Canada White at the 2018 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. In midget, Seeley led the Lethbridge Hurricanes Midget AAA squad to an AMHL Championship. He put up seven points in seven games at the Telus Cup and was named tournament MVP. Seeley also helped Team Alberta to a second-place finish in the WHL Cup.

Ronan Seeley Scouting Report: 2020 NHL Draft #57

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Didn’t the SPF have Seeley as one of the steals of the draft??? @42 jerks

 

[emptyNedder]

Didn’t the SPF have Seeley as one of the steals of the draft??? @42 jerks

Absolutely. The Black Book agreed ranking him 35. I am excited that the Canes took him—stunned it was at 208.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Yup. Can't remember if you got any other players you wanted @42 jerks, but congrats on this one.

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

Steal Alert!!

 

[GoldiFox]

Canes had a pretty good 3rd round there in the 7th round

 

[HisIceness]

Another one I remember someone wanted, does Waddell read HFBoards? This rarely happened under JR and Francis.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

Another one I remember someone wanted, does Waddell read HFBoards? This rarely happened under JR and Francis.

Just a hunch, but I would guess he pays Sara to do HFBoards research.

 

[emptyNedder]

Yup. Can't remember if you got any other players you wanted @42 jerks, but congrats on this one.

Seeley is it.
Niederbach and Finley were gone too early. Given the organization's new found fondness for smaller players, I was surprised Berard didn't find his way to Carolina.
I am also a little surprised no team took a late chance on Gut given how he has started this season.

 

[emptyNedder]

Steal Alert!!

When Dave G. sets up the top prospects, I am going to rank Seeley after the first rounders.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I mean, I guess we're not getting any goalies because we feel like we got better than average value at literally every slot, and none of them were worth gambling with.

 

[MinJaBen]

I mean, I guess we're not getting any goalies because we feel like we got better than average value at literally every slot, and none of them were worth gambling with.

Other than Askarov, it was considered a bad class for goalies.

 

[TK 421]

I'm insanely jealous of this pick, great job. I will be tracking him for sure while I'm keeping up with Neighbours.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

I'm insanely jealous of this pick, great job. I will be tracking him for sure while I'm keeping up with Neighbours.

Why aren’t you at your post?

 

[Unsustainable]

Sealed the draft on this one

 

[A Star is Burns]

Sealed the draft on this one

"I'm Unsustainable, ESPNNNNNNNNNN"

 

[SlavinAway]

I always wonder how much information or opinions they have on guys when you get into the 6th or 7th rounds.

Regardless, I'm cracking up imagining Waddell and Dundon on hfboards in the war room going @42 jerks says Seeley's PSF is one of the highest he's seen since Slavin we need to take him!

 

[WreckingCrew]

I always wonder how much information or opinions they have on guys when you get into the 6th or 7th rounds.

Regardless, I'm cracking up imagining Waddell and Dundon on hfboards in the war room going @42 jerks says Seeley's PSF is one of the highest he's seen since Slavin we need to take him!

Dundo so cheap, WE'RE his scouts. Seriously though, it's weird how it seems like damn near every pick was someone we were all talking about, even in the late rounds.

 

[Discipline Daddy]

We really Peg'ged this one.

 

[TK 421]

Well our little buddy is listed on Everett's website as being 6'1, 192 lbs now, wowsers. That's up significantly from his draft measurements of 5'11, 176 lbs.

Everett's season has just gotten underway with 2 GP. Seeley has a PP goal and an assist for 2 pts in 2 games and is a +1. 0 PIMS and 4 shots on goal.

 

[geehaad]

...which means he's now 5'11.5" 192lbs.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I like Seeley. Way too soon to say that he's the next Matt Roy or anything like that, however, he's a slick skater that has historically had good age-adjusted analytics for the league that he plays in. Can't ask for too much more than that at #208 even though I'm skeptical about how his game projects going forward. He's a bit of a jack-of-all, master-of-none, which usually doesn't scream "future NHLer" to me, but that doesn't mean that can't change. We'll see, but to me, I find Pashin the more interesting prospect out of the late-round guys that we acquired in the last draft.

 

[emptyNedder]

I like Seeley. Way too soon to say that he's the next Matt Roy or anything like that

I thought the whole purpose of this thread was to make way too soon comparisons

He's a bit of a jack-of-all, master-of-none, which usually doesn't scream "future NHLer" to me,

If you mean he isn't a big point producer or you mean he isn't physical like Nikishin, then both are true. But scouts (I don't pretend to be one nor have I watched nearly enough junior hockey to form an eye-test opinion) like HockeyProspect and McKeen's plus some avid junior fans here at HFB have stated pretty strongly that Seeley has near-elite 4-way skating, puck retrieval, and positioning.

I understand you used Matt Roy as an example because he is a 7th-rounder excelling in the NHL, but I have always thought the best comparison (not necessarily stylistically because again I haven't watched Seeley enough) is Nate Schmidt. A middle-sized D-man, who wasn't drafted at all, who doesn't stand out at one thing but is really good all over the ice.

 

[emptyNedder]

Big game yesterday for Seeley—1 goal, 3 assists. In 5 games he now has 2 goals, 4 assists, +6. The Silvertips have given up 2 goals in 5 games.