Bob McKenzie Mid-Season Draft Ranking

[WarriorofTime]

I usually say I’m not surprise by Bob’s scout list because it’s predictable enough by this point of seeing what NHL teams prefer and don’t prefer, but this was a little off the wall and looks more like the list of one person.

Is it fair to ask if Bob is still a plugged in as he was in the past? I’m not at all saying that he’s not doing his work to ask scouts, but is he asking the senior scouts at NHL teams? Does he still have those connections and know those people? He’s not been full time for a few years now. He’s barely part time, and his job requires building connections. Seems like something that you need to be regularly working at to do.

This draft is just harder to peg than normal. Some good, but not really elite CHL forwards, the USNDTP crop are basically all 2nd/3rd round picks other than the guy who is an engima, one of the worst years for Sweden in a really long time, good crop of Russians but they haven't played internationally so many haven't been seen in person, a lot of good defensemen which are harder to place.

 

[Bubbles]

I really don't get the Lindstrom hype. At No. 3, I want to be absolutely sure about the player. Lindstrom still has a lot of questions about his game.

I've watched probably 40 MH games over the last two seasons and when he's on, he is on. He CAN physically dominate games but out of the 40, I can count around 5 where he is the best player on the ice.

He's not like guys like Catton/Basha where they do not take games off.

I'm quite high on Lindstrom mind you. I just don't think he's no. 3. He doesn't drive play and defensively he's pretty lost.

He reminds me a lot of Conor Geekie. Everyone marveled about his skating, size and projections but forgot about consistency.

 

[Frk It]

I've watched probably 40 MH games over the last two seasons and when he's on, he is on. He CAN physically dominate games but out of the 40, I can count around 5 where he is the best player on the ice.

Edit - brain fart, im dumb

 

[thrillhous]

I couldn't believe the volume of rambling in this article

Sit down for a few margaritas with drunk Uncle Bob

 

[leafs4life94]

If you are talking about Hage (Is Hage too long to type?) hasn't he been pretty injured over the last year or so? Wouldn't that probably impact how physical he can be on a nightly basis?

Given the context of Cayden Lindstrom discussions it seems a little clear it's Medicine Hat?

 

[Bubbles]

If you are talking about Hage (Is Hage too long to type?) hasn't he been pretty injured over the last year or so? Wouldn't that probably impact how physical he can be on a nightly basis?

Medicine Hat

 

[Frk It]

Medicine Hat

Given the context of Cayden Lindstrom discussions it seems a little clear it's Medicine Hat?

Makes a lot more sense now, got it.

 

[TLEH]

Seems like a draft where no one is really standing out after Celebrini so its people chasing elite tools rather than actual on ice performance. I still don't see how you can watch the WHL and think Lindstrom is at the level of Catton right now, but I fully understand falling in love with what he COULD be.

I mean Spokane literally does nothing without Catton. He has a point in nearly half their goals for the entire season.

 

[Bubbles]

Seems like a draft where no one is really standing out after Celebrini so its people chasing elite tools rather than actual on ice performance. I still don't see how you can watch the WHL and think Lindstrom is at the level of Catton right now, but I fully understand falling in love with what he COULD be.

I mean Spokane literally does nothing without Catton. He has a point in nearly half their goals for the entire season.

Agreed. I think a lot of "scouts" *ahem* are looking at stats (PIM? who looks at that?) instead of watching the game.

On a stacked team like MH, it's been McKenna, Basha and Wiesblatt leading the charge most nights. Rarely have I seen a game where Lindstrom is the play driver. He's getting the points but he's not driving play.

Also agreed on Catton. He's absolutely everywhere. He's defensively one of their best players as well. Leads the league in shorties at 5. I've seen personally lead his team in 3rd period comebacks where is he has that special "will" to make things happen.

If he was 2 inches higher he would be in the conversation for no. 1.

 

[MS]

Seems like a draft where no one is really standing out after Celebrini so its people chasing elite tools rather than actual on ice performance. I still don't see how you can watch the WHL and think Lindstrom is at the level of Catton right now, but I fully understand falling in love with what he COULD be.

I mean Spokane literally does nothing without Catton. He has a point in nearly half their goals for the entire season.

I mean, I don't think anyone thinks that Lindstrom is better than Catton right now.

Lindstrom is rated ahead of Catton because his size/physicality gives him massive upside to be a unicorn-type 6'4 two-way power C like a prime Keith Primeau.

Catton probably projects as a tidy smallish 2C which is nice, but it's pretty obvious which type of player NHL GMs would want for their team.

 

[TLEH]

Agreed. I think a lot of "scouts" *ahem* are looking at stats (PIM? who looks at that?) instead of watching the game.

On a stacked team like MH, it's been McKenna, Basha and Wiesblatt leading the charge most nights. Rarely have I seen a game where Lindstrom is the play driver. He's getting the points but he's not driving play.

Also agreed on Catton. He's absolutely everywhere. He's defensively one of their best players as well. Leads the league in shorties at 5. I've seen personally lead his team in 3rd period comebacks where is he has that special "will" to make things happen.

If he was 2 inches higher he would be in the conversation for no. 1.

I've been impressed with his growth this year in things other than scoring as well. His compete and board play has gotten better and he has learned how to be on the right side of the puck much more.

The amount of times I'll watch him shoulder check, go into the corner, win the puck, and feed Roulette or Bertholet is too many to count.

 

[Chainshot]

I usually say I’m not surprise by Bob’s scout list because it’s predictable enough by this point of seeing what NHL teams prefer and don’t prefer, but this was a little off the wall and looks more like the list of one person.

Is it fair to ask if Bob is still a plugged in as he was in the past? I’m not at all saying that he’s not doing his work to ask scouts, but is he asking the senior scouts at NHL teams? Does he still have those connections and know those people? He’s not been full time for a few years now. He’s barely part time, and his job requires building connections. Seems like something that you need to be regularly working at to do.

From what I've heard, it is a lot of senior guys and people he has blanketed for years. People also volunteer info to him. There are still enough folks around who know Bob and have for years that he's getting good info.

 

[Bubbles]

I've been impressed with his growth this year in things other than scoring as well. His compete and board play has gotten better and he has learned how to be on the right side of the puck much more.

The amount of times I'll watch him shoulder check, go into the corner, win the puck, and feed Roulette or Bertholet is too many to count.

Yeah, I like how he drives into the middle. He's not a perimeter player at all, he will drive to the net when needed.

 

[landy92mack29]

You'd think scouts would've learned(lol they never do) with Benson last year when you have the slightly bigger true center version in Catton. Lindstroms IQ issues will most likely push him from C to LW

 

[CaptainShark]

If the draft was today based on this ranking, SJ getting Celebrini and Buium would be the first good thing to happen in a while for this team.

Somewhere Will Smith and Quentin Musty just shared a tear.

 

[TLEH]

I mean, I don't think anyone thinks that Lindstrom is better than Catton right now.

Lindstrom is rated ahead of Catton because his size/physicality gives him massive upside to be a unicorn-type 6'4 two-way power C like a prime Keith Primeau.

Catton probably projects as a tidy smallish 2C which is nice, but it's pretty obvious which type of player NHL GMs would want for their team.

I mean I understand the projection side of the ranking that puts Lindstrom ahead for some people but I think sometimes people get too enamored with the tools and forget about the entire picture. That is all I was saying.

Beyond that, I think Catton has more upside than a 2C and he's slight for now but he isn't that short. His D0 PPG numbers in the WHL are extremely good, he's on a bad team, and drives play. I just think people overlook good hockey players for the sake of tools.

 

[MS]

You'd think scouts would've learned(lol they never do) with Benson last year when you have the slightly bigger true center version in Catton. Lindstroms IQ issues will most likely push him from C to LW

I don't think Benson's draft position would really change at all in a re-draft.

Draft-watching fans love small skill players. NHL teams value size at C and D and those players are nearly impossible to get other than by drafting them or overpaying in UFA.

 

[MS]

I mean I understand the projection side of the ranking that puts Lindstrom ahead for some people but I think sometimes people get too enamored with the tools and forget about the entire picture. That is all I was saying.

Beyond that, I think Catton has more upside than a 2C and he's slight for now but he isn't that short. His D0 PPG numbers in the WHL are extremely good, he's on a bad team, and drives play. I just think people overlook good hockey players for the sake of tools.

To me Catton is a pretty straight-ahead 2C projection. And that's a compliment.

It's a balance. I think most people here get too enamored with who is most likely to generate the highest GP and point totals if you plug things into a spreadsheet (and I'll freely admit to being one of those people 10 years ago) over trying to get the most valuable assets to build winning teams.

If HFBoards built a team through drafting you'd end up with 12 sub-6'0 skill forwards and 6 smallish PP QBs on D.

And in the case of Lindstrom, it's not like he's just tools with no production. Dude was on pace for one of the biggest WHL goalscoring seasons for a draft-eligible player in the last 25 years until he got hurt. And he's a guy on an absolute ripper of a development curve showing huge improvement year over year.

 

[Dominance]

I’ve been waiting for Catton to shoot up towards 2 and it’s just not happening. He’s Benson but even more talented and more projectable - and it looks more and more likely that he’s going to be an immediate steal somewhere between 8 and 12. A decent team on the rise, like Seattle or Arizona, is probably going to consolidate their future success by snagging him.

18 Canadians projected in the first round is nice to see. Second place goes to Russia with 4.

 

[PAZ]

I'll be surprised if the first defenseman off the board isn't Levshunov, top pairing RHD are unicorns. Chicago/Anaheim/Ottawa all have their LHD locked up for the foreseeable future, and Silayev isn't clear enough ahead (if at all) to entice them to grab him first. Columbus + San Jose most likely goes with BPA, but that's easily up for debate after Celebrini.

 

[smartty18]

Been calling it for awhile now but Luchanko seems to be a massive riser for this years draft. Been getting a lot more responsibility and top line minutes as the season has progressed.

 

[MS]

I'll be surprised if the first defenseman off the board isn't Levshunov, top pairing RHD are unicorns. Chicago/Anaheim/Ottawa all have their LHD locked up for the foreseeable future, and Silayev isn't clear enough ahead (if at all) to entice them to grab him first. Columbus + San Jose most likely goes with BPA, but that's easily up for debate after Celebrini.

For two relatively close Russian-bloc players at the same position, the fact that Levshunov is already in NA (and has been since age 16) will also be a big factor. It's a hell of a lot more 'comfortable' choice for an NHL GM to take a guy playing at Michigan State vs. ?????

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'll be surprised if the first defenseman off the board isn't Levshunov, top pairing RHD are unicorns. Chicago/Anaheim/Ottawa all have their LHD locked up for the foreseeable future, and Silayev isn't clear enough ahead (if at all) to entice them to grab him first. Columbus + San Jose most likely goes with BPA, but that's easily up for debate after Celebrini.

Yeah this is where I'm at.. teams might see Silayev as the 2nd best prospect in the class, but you don't get him in your system for awhile and he hasn't made it over yet. Levshunov is already over, shoots right and can come in to your team earlier.

I think Silayev will go a bit lower than Bob's list will project him at year end.. but who knows, Simashev went at 6.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

I don't think Benson's draft position would really change at all in a re-draft.

Draft-watching fans love small skill players. NHL teams value size at C and D and those players are nearly impossible to get other than by drafting them or overpaying in UFA.

Remember: A year after the draft, Anton Lundell was the best player from 2020 and Byfield was a bust lol.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

If this is accurate, add me to another that doesn’t understand why NHL teams are so low on Catton. Silayev and Lindstrom ahead of Catton and Demidov could look terrible in 5 years.