Okay everybody, I'm here and I'll give my report on what I saw.
Now just to make clear, I don't go to this camp to see as many prospects as I can in a single day. I'll try to be there everyday, so I'll be able to get to most of the attendees throughout the week. But for each day, I'll probably just be focusing on ~7 prospects a day. That way, I'll be able to take very detailed notes and give you all an in-depth analysis as a result. Now concerning the notes themselves, it's a mixture of what I saw in both the drills as well as the scrimmage. I'll try to back up my points with examples I saw, and I will distinguish whether I saw it in the drills or scrimmage. So with all of that out of the way, here we go.
Tage Thompson:
So I'll start out with the prospect I feel most would expect to see the soonest. Last year, Thompson was impressive with his skating ability and a shot that was as smooth as silk. This year, he's improved on all technical aspects. His edgework is good, especially for his size, his wrister is now quicker, and his control of the puck has improved as well. One of the more notable things I noticed with Thompson was his ability to keep the puck flat in close. Most of the prospects at camp had trouble keeping the puck flat when moving with it or when settling it from a pass. Not even Kyrou could keep the puck from staying on end consistently, so having a guy who's 6'6" do it impressed me greatly. HOWEVER, my concern with Thompson has never been related to his technical capabilities. For me, Thompson's largest shortcoming was his inability to make room for himself in game, and I can't say for certain if that's been fixed or not. It's something that I can only determine in an actual game and not a 4-on-4 or 3-on-3 scrimmage because there is already a lot of room to begin with. Hopefully, he'll be on the Traverse City team in September, and hopefully those games will be streamed, so I can get a better insight. I know most say that he needs to fill out his frame, and while I don't disagree, I don't think that's what's going to keep him from the NHL. I think he can be ready if he can develop that ability to separate himself without needing his linemates to bail him out, and he develops more aggressive tendencies in the offensive zone. But from what I saw, Thompson is well on his way to being an NHL player, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in a Blue note in 2019.
NHL Comparison: Corey Perry without all the after whistle antics
Jake Walman:
So I did send out a post before saying how he looked like a professional among amateurs, and I meant it. No matter what drill was assigned, Walman looked liked the best in each one. His ability to settle the puck, either forehand or backhand, was fantastic. His shot was solid and accurate. His speed and agility has only improved since last I saw. Even during the scrimmage it was clear he was a step in front of everyone there as he always knew where to be and when to jump into a play. It's clear that Walman is ready for the pros, and I echo everyone else who say he should graduate already. But I would like to add that I don't think his play should have been expected. I mean, I know he's been at this camp for the last 4 years now, but even so, he went straight from college hockey to professional hockey, a jump I don't think we should underestimate. I think it speaks volumes about his potential that he can make the jump without missing a beat and look this good while doing it. So long-story-short, his development has been great and I'll be expecting great things from him in the AHL.
NHL Comparison: I actually don't know... Can't think of anyone right now... Maybe Nick Leddy?
Niko Mikkola:
So Walman is definitely the best defenseman at camp, but I don't think it's close who the second best is. Mikkola has always been impressive because his skating is fantastic in general, let alone for someone who is over 6'4". I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say his mobility is better than Parayko's. Mikkola has this ability to glide in the defensive zone with as little effort as possible, and when he gets going, it's scary. But, that's about the only thing he does amazingly well. His wrister is very weak. During one drill, I don't think it got more than 2 feet off the ice when shot from the blueline. His slapshot, while not bad, is nothing to brag about. It's pretty obvious that he'll be a defensive defenseman throughout his career unless he magically sprouts Tarasenko-like pectoral muscles. However, One area he was very weak before was his ability to handle the puck. Last year, he could never keep the puck flat, and because of that, he would be a turnover machine. I'm very happy to see he's improved this. It's not perfect by any means, but you can visibly tell he's worked on this extensively. It's now within what I believe is an acceptable level. Where Mikkola really stood out to me was during the scrimmage. Mikkola was constantly engaged in the play regardless of which zone he was in. He pinched at all the right times and was hardly caught out of position. In fact, the only times there was a real odd-man rush was because his linemates would fumble the puck when they were the last man high. But even then, Mikkola's skating would take over and he would be back in position in no time. Mikkola reminds me of Bouwmeester mixed with Edmundson. He's got an edge, which everyone knows about by now, but his skating is effortless. I don't think he'll scored more than 15 points a year if he hits his potential, but he'll be a stalwart on the defensive end. It's a shame he'll be in Finland this next season, because I would have loved to see him in the AHL.
NHL Comparison: Physical Jay Bouwmeester
Alexei Toropchenko:
Now we come to the player I was probably most excited to see, and spoilers, I was not left disappointed. Toropchenko is a rocket. I think he might be the fastest skater at camp, or at the very least, would give Kyrou a run for his money. I really want to know how much Toropchenko could squat because he would take off in 3 very powerful strides. It's becoming very apparent that BA values skating ability a lot with the amount of proficient skaters he's drafted. Like Mikkola, Toropchenko excelled in the scrimmage. However, Toropchenko stood out because of how well he positioned himself. If memory serves me correctly, I think he picked-off four passes in the defensive zone and one in the offensive zone. From what I saw, he was able to perceive the game at a very fast pace, which would become a dangerous weapon coupled with his speed. But, like Mikkola last year, he can't handle the puck well. I think he needs to relax his grip, because during basic forehand-to-backhand drills, the puck would end up on edge constantly. This would also occur in passing drills when he tried settling the puck or when preparing for a pass. Hopefully he improves this area drastically, because if not, I don't think he'll be an NHL player, or at least not a Blues player. But I do believe he'll do it just from reading about his determination.
NHL Comparison: Andreas Athanasiou
David Noel:
I wanted to check Noel out because of BA calling him a super-sleeper. I'm not going to say he is or isn't, but I will say that he is fresh-out-of-the-slaughterhouse raw. I think it doesn't help that this is his first camp, but he was highly inconsistent during the drills. It was really hard to get a read on him because of that. But, from what I saw, his skating was choppy, his slap-shot would look solid yet not necessarily fast, and his settling of the puck wasn't impressive. From my notes, it sounds like Noel just flat-out sucks. But, at the same time, none of the problems I wrote down are unfixable. I guess a better way to describe his issues is that he needs a lot of fine tuning. In the end, I don't think he doesn't have potential, but he just needs a lot of work smoothing out his game. The best analogy I can think of is a wood chair that needs a lot of sanding before ever being sat in. You can tell what it is and you can tell that it could be quite nice when finished. But, someone needs to polish it up before then, and if nothing happens, it'll end up just being a waste of space.
NHL Comparison: Couldn't tell you because he's too raw to get a good clue
Greg Meirles:
Per the request of Morty, I decided to see what this kid had to offer. If there is one word to describe Meirles, it would be "shifty". He's very agile and doesn't need a lot of room to stop, turn, or get a shot off. From what I saw, he has a "shoot first" mentality, because he constantly be looking toward the net. Given his quick release, I can see why. From a pure "release" standpoint, he might be up there with some of the better prospects at camp. It's faster than most of the guys there, but he just doesn't have the velocity to fool goaltenders, which is what guys like Kostin and Thompson have in spades. During the scrimmage, he would be consistently using his agility to find space around the defending player. In all honesty, he looks pretty good. I'd say he was the best of the invitees at the camp during the drills, and arguably during the scrimmage as well, although Winieki might have something to say about that. He's undersized of course, but it's not so much that he couldn't play in the pro leagues. I'll try to watch him more this week and at the end, I'll give my opinion if he would be worth a contract or not.
NHL Comparison: Kind of reminds me of Brendan Gallagher without the edge
Klim Kostin:
Last, but certainly not least, we have the next Russian tank, and in all honesty, Kostin is more deserving of the nickname than Tarasenko was. Kostin is huge. The guy is built like a house and I'd be scared s***less if he came charging at me on the ice. But what surprised me more than anything was his technical skills. I know videos show him doing those things well, and I am aware that any written report will talk about it as well, but it needs to be seen to truly be appreciated. For example, his wrist shot was insane. Not only was the release quick, but it was consistently accurate and fast. He beat one goalie three times by only shooting high-glove side, and each time the goalie just couldn't react in time to more his glove the three inches to stop the puck. His skating was superb. He might not be a speed demon like Tolopchenko, but he's very balanced because he always stays on his edges. He settles pucks very well, he passes firmly yet accurately, and his handling of the puck in motion was among the best at camp. But now comes the bad news. Even during the drills, you can tell he's not the most adept at perceiving the game at high levels as of yet. He constantly had his head down and would slow down each drill. It could be he's still nursing the injury, and I think that's the reason he wasn't in the scrimmage today, but I also think it's because he needs to survey everything before making any movement. THe way I make it sound, I could be just reading to much into it, and that could easily be the case, but that's what I got out what I saw today. So what I got out the camp is that I wouldn't expect to see Kostin in a Blue note this year. That could easily change during the season, or even the next few days, but that's my opinion as of now. All-in-all, it's really hard not to get excited about Kostin's future.
NHL Comparison: I don't necessarily like the Malkin comparisons, but I can't think of anyone better.
Well that's all I have to say. Team MacInnis won the Scrimmage today 4 - 2 with goals from Walman, Davies, Meirles, and Poganski. Thomas and Winieki got the goals for Team Tkachuk.
Again, I'll be there tomorrow, so please write down any names you want to hear about and I'll be sure to get to them by Saturday. I hope this has been helpful and I'll gladly answer any questions you all might have.
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