Prospect Info: #55 - LHD Kevin Bahl

[XX]

2017-18 Team: Ottawa 67’s (#88)
Date of Birth: June 27, 2000
Place of Birth: New Westminster, BC
Ht: 6’6” Wt: 230 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: D

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[Alberta Yote]

Not even a right shot. Sigh

 

[Mosby]

Saw this guy a few times in the O. He's absolutely gigantic.

 

[LastWordArmy]

scouting

Kevin Bahl Scouting Report: 2018 NHL Draft #59 - Last Word on Hockey

 

[IPreferPi]

When’s the last time a giant D actually became a legitimate offensive force on the backend? Especially with the way the game is trending.

Regardless, best case scenario is that Bahl is another Brandon Carlo. Don’t love the pick but you can do worse than drafting a giant shutdown 4D with a late second.

 

[Alberta Yote]

But that’s his ceiling and is a long shot at best. Oh well, it is what it is. Can’t be happy about every draft like last year.

 

[Brock]

More info on Bahl for you.

My Scouting Report:
OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft - Part 3: 30-11

Notes from my media/scout polls:
OHL Prospects: Final Media/Scout Poll for the 2018 NHL Draft

 

[Chootoi]

Hoping for Tyler Myers. Expecting Mathieu Brodeur.

 

[absolute garbage]

This absolutely screams bust to me. 6'6 behemoth who has 2 goals and 20 assists in 130 OHL games. Wow.

 

[Mosby]

 

[ArizonaCoyotes19]

Heard a lot of people calling him a sleeper heading into the draft. Not huge fan of drafting players just based on the fact that he's huge. There's not many 6'7" players in the league for a reason.

 

[RABBIT]

 

[Mosby]

 

[Mosby]

This guy has worked with Braid in the past as well

 

[Fyreman]

Can you say John Scott? 6'8" 260lbs.

NHL Career

286

5

6

11

-19

544

0

0

0

0

0

0

108

4.6

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MIGs Dog]

Untapped potential...story of my life

 

[XX]

Untapped potential...story of my life

Brock is pretty smart.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Untapped potential...story of my life

Come on now - if you are between the ages of 17 and 20, pretty much all you have is untapped potential

 

[Michael Farkas]

Oh, didn't realize you had two OHL d-men...so I am back for unprovoked thoughts...on the floor, this guy was highly coveted. A couple scouts told me they wouldn't be surprised if he snuck to the top of the 2nd...

I am not quite as high on him as many other came to be but I do see what they see and I understand why he is worth a look...there is a foundation of skating and skill that could be nourished...he isn't just a big guy that happens to play hockey, he offers more than that...

Kevin Bahl (Ottawa [OHL], #88, LHS LD) - Massive defenseman with surprisingly good lateral mobility and forward skating speed. Very strong on his edges and has a small turning radius for his size. Backskating still needs a lot of work. Needs to really work on small-area footwork and adjustments. Often gets caught rotating in his skate blades while flat instead of churning his feet and it costs him leverage. Shows the potential for some puck skills down the line, but it will take him some time to get coordinated with that. Has trouble disconnecting the top half of his body from the lower half, as such some puck movement is a little stiff. Competitor, physical, but controlled. Shows good awareness, communicates on the ice well. Still needs to improve box-out fundamentals in front of his own net. He sometimes looks a little timid to close guys off or use his frame to give himself more time with the puck. He hasn't take the step to the physically dominate the field in every way yet, but that could be a coordination issue. Doesn't seem to pack much of a shot yet.

Hockey Sense: B
Skating speed/power/acc: C-
Skating lateral/edges/agility: B
Vision: C
Puck skills: D+
Shot: C-
Defense technique: C-
Defense urgency: B
Frame/size: A+
Ceiling/Risk: 4-5/Med-High (mid round)

 

[bonjovi0308]

Oh, didn't realize you had two OHL d-men...so I am back for unprovoked thoughts...on the floor, this guy was highly coveted. A couple scouts told me they wouldn't be surprised if he snuck to the top of the 2nd...

I am not quite as high on him as many other came to be but I do see what they see and I understand why he is worth a look...there is a foundation of skating and skill that could be nourished...he isn't just a big guy that happens to play hockey, he offers more than that...

Kevin Bahl (Ottawa [OHL], #88, LHS LD) - Massive defenseman with surprisingly good lateral mobility and forward skating speed. Very strong on his edges and has a small turning radius for his size. Backskating still needs a lot of work. Needs to really work on small-area footwork and adjustments. Often gets caught rotating in his skate blades while flat instead of churning his feet and it costs him leverage. Shows the potential for some puck skills down the line, but it will take him some time to get coordinated with that. Has trouble disconnecting the top half of his body from the lower half, as such some puck movement is a little stiff. Competitor, physical, but controlled. Shows good awareness, communicates on the ice well. Still needs to improve box-out fundamentals in front of his own net. He sometimes looks a little timid to close guys off or use his frame to give himself more time with the puck. He hasn't take the step to the physically dominate the field in every way yet, but that could be a coordination issue. Doesn't seem to pack much of a shot yet.

Hockey Sense: B
Skating speed/power/acc: C-
Skating lateral/edges/agility: B
Vision: C
Puck skills: D+
Shot: C-
Defense technique: C-
Defense urgency: B
Frame/size: A+
Ceiling/Risk: 4-5/Med-High (mid round)

Mike, thanks for all your valuable inputs

 

[TheLegend]

Fun fact....

Dawn Braid was his skating coach in bantams.

 

[hbk]

This kid can skate. Honestly you would think he's 5'10" out there. It's actually quite surprising.

Redline had him as a late first rounder on their list.

 

[_Del_]

I have mixed emotions here. I think he will become a good defender; he certainly has all the tools to be an extremely valuable defensive D who GM's still covet. You can't teach size and reach.
the flipside is that the really solid defensive defenseman typically needs a lot of time (experience) to reach that level. So he's probably 5+ years away from really making an impact unless he's exceptionally gifted with hockey sense.
I mean absolute best case you're looking for Zdeno Chara, which would obviously have an immense effect. But Chara took a relatively long time to go from 1st rounder, NHL player, is-he-a-bust, trade, blossoming into good defender, All-Star.

 

[rt]

This kid can skate. Honestly you would think he's 5'10" out there. It's actually quite surprising.

That’s a bit hyperbolic, I think. I watched him at the U18s and was impressed with his straight line speed but dismissed him pretty quickly as lacking quickness, lateral mobility and the ability to change directions quickly.

I think he’s a powerful skater, who’s fast for his size, but his overall “skating ability” needs a ton of development. I would not have considered him in the top 62. Though, that has a lot to do with offensive upside.

He looks lost in the offensive zone. Like he can’t wait bail out and go play D. It’s sort of like reverse cherry-picking. Like the opposite of how Nikita Filatov would just hang out at his own blue line in the offensive zone, beaver-tailing and just hoping for an off man rush. Bahl seems like he’d be just as happy to never cross his own side of the redline.

Now I’m the one exaggerating.

He’s seven foot tall with a muffin of a shot and a Frankenstein skating style. He’s good defensively and he’s mean, but any big hit he throws in the nhl will be an automatic penalty for checking while tall.

Disclaimer: I’ve one see him play one tournament ever.

 

[Sleestak Nation]

I was watching the second round and when the Leafs took Durzi, I was hoping the Coyotes would trade up or the Pens would have a brain fart and pass on Calen Addison.

No luck.