Much of the uproar seemed to be based on him being a winger. So I don't know. He's still a winger. I liked the pick.
Yeah, the problem with his projection is that you need to find enough comparable players--age, playing history, etc.--to actually build a model. How many guys played a year in the CHL and then played in the second-tier Swiss league at age 17? It has to be a very, very small number. Like, infinitesimally small, and not anything you could build a model from. Even if you just wanted to look at drafted prospects who played their age-17 season in that league, it's a very small number; but because he talks about scoring growth you must consider the league he was in previously. It's just not possible, IMO, to build a model that would accurately project a player like Othmann given his unusual playing path.
He does have Bacon for a last name though, so he’s got that going for him which is nice
If I remember correctly at the time there was a lot of concern if he could play in the NHL bc of his size and the way the NHL game was played at the time. I believe he ended up putting like 20lbs of muscle on one summer and his speed advantage completely disintegrated which destroyed the strengths and uniqueness of his game for the times. After that he never seemed to find himself again.
They say the heart rate thing is kind of a gauge of - if not processing speed - at least a gauge of whether or not they can do their thing under pressure.
I think that with young amateur kids, stats are almost meaningless. These guys are evolving so rapidly that the stats from yesterday are referring to an almost completely different player. (Im exaggerating, of course). But really I would rely more on a report from a scout that has seen the player play a number of times over a million stats. Diagnostic stats though might be of some more value but I have no idea what’s available in that regard.
I always worry more about a players position and “nose for the puck” rather than speed. Wayne Gretzky was not a burner but he went to the right place first. That’s the key. If raw speed were a huge deal Michael Grabner would have all the records
It's crazy isn't me seem to some of us, there's some players that are perfectly happy tearing it up in European leagues and don't necessarily feel the need to deal with the NHL grind and the type of game it is that takes a toll on their bodies. I would have to imagine in his case he knew he was a good player and he knew he was a successful player, but then when they tried to change his body and his game and it didn't work I wonder if he just said screw it I'm going to go play in Europe and be able to play my style hockey and have a nice life. For a lot of people that's good enough
