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C Connor Zary - Kamloops Blazers, WHL (2020, 24th, CGY)

NJ Fan 12

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Eegs said:
As someone who lives in Kamloops and is a fan of Connor, this was pretty cool. Thanks for the share.
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Hoping you could help since I rarely get to see WHL and did not see the Blazers last year. Looking at the record the team had a strong year but of their Top 15 scorers only defenseman Quinn Schmiemann was drafted thus far.

Is that a case of the style of play or are there other reasons for this to be the case?
 
Eegs

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Amerisuomi Kiekko said:
Hoping you could help since I rarely get to see WHL and did not see the Blazers last year. Looking at the record the team had a strong year but of their Top 15 scorers only defenseman Quinn Schmiemann was drafted thus far.

Is that a case of the style of play or are there other reasons for this to be the case?
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Other than Zary, they have a good batch of older players that seem to fit their system well. Then they have a few, talented young kids that are not draft eligible yet. Stankoven and Pillar are both high-upside kids, especially Stankoven. I think he'll be a better offensive player than Zary at his draft time with maybe not as much 2-way play as he'll always be smaller.

Hope this helps. Didn't see much of the team last year either, but this is how I see it.
 
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Mandar

Mandar

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Just bumping this because I'm not seeing any chat about Zary.....a mid to late projected first rounder.

I've heard concerns about his skating, and that he's....holy shit....about a WHOLE year older than other prospects. Anyone think that this guy is gonna be a fine NHL player?
 

StreetHawk

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Mandar said:
Just bumping this because I'm not seeing any chat about Zary.....a mid to late projected first rounder.

I've heard concerns about his skating, and that he's....holy shit....about a WHOLE year older than other prospects. Anyone think that this guy is gonna be a fine NHL player?
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He will be a solid Centre. Plays bigger than he is.

Skating stride has been noted as odd, but edge work is good. His comp style wise is Bo Horvat, though Bo is like 215 lbs. As a Canucks fan, I would wonder how Zary's skating style compares to former Canucks/Sabres/Pred Cody Hodgson. He had shorter legs and short strides which ultimately, along with his back injury held him back.

Zary, Schneider, and others are like a week away from being selected in last year's draft.
 
Llamamoto

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Mandar said:
Just bumping this because I'm not seeing any chat about Zary.....a mid to late projected first rounder.

I've heard concerns about his skating, and that he's....holy shit....about a WHOLE year older than other prospects. Anyone think that this guy is gonna be a fine NHL player?
Click to expand...

I don't get why that's such a big deal. There are always players at the older end of the draft. Marco Rossi and Braden Schneider are examples in this year's draft.

I think he's going to be a more than 'fine' NHL player. I'd project him as a 40-60 point defensive center, especially if he can improve his speed over the next couple of years. His hands are extremely underrated, and his backhand is one of the best in the draft. (Along with his playmaking of course).
 
Daximus

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Llamamoto said:
I don't get why that's such a big deal. There are always players at the older end of the draft. Marco Rossi and Braden Schneider are examples in this year's draft.

I think he's going to be a more than 'fine' NHL player. I'd project him as a 40-60 point defensive center, especially if he can improve his speed over the next couple of years. His hands are extremely underrated, and his backhand is one of the best in the draft. (Along with his playmaking of course).
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Yeah Lafreniere, Zary, Schneider, Rossi, Lundell, Quinn, Holloway, Gunler and many more are all on the older side of this draft.
 
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Llamamoto

Llamamoto

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Daximus said:
Yeah Lafreniere, Zary, Schneider, Rossi, Lundell, Quinn, Holloway, Gunler and many more are all on the older side of this draft.
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One benefit of drafting older prospects (from the CHL) is that they can play in the AHL in their D+2 year.
 
Daximus

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Llamamoto said:
One benefit of drafting older prospects (from the CHL) is that they can play in the AHL in their D+2 year.
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Yeah very true. Sometimes you have to factor that extra development time into your draft day decision though. Like what are some of the younger kids going to look like next year when they progress to a similar level some kids are already at in their development?
 

RoadWarrior

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Mandar said:
Just bumping this because I'm not seeing any chat about Zary.....a mid to late projected first rounder.

I've heard concerns about his skating, and that he's....holy shit....about a WHOLE year older than other prospects. Anyone think that this guy is gonna be a fine NHL player?
Click to expand...

Zary is a smart player. He's an average athlete with average skating but has a high hockey IQ. The one touch passing shows he has great anticipation. Not enough for a top line but could be a responsible middle six player.
 

DuklaNation

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Intriguing player. Good hockey sense, nice backhand (a lost art) and I'd project him on the top PP on the right team as he sees the ice very well. I'd think NJ is hoping he falls in the 18-20 range. He really fits into that team that has already started the rebuild and needs complimentary players.
 
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landy92mack29

landy92mack29

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Good interview with Zary about what the draft will look like from the prospect perspective

He should go top 10 but some lucky team will get a steal it seems in the late teens-early 20s
 
bert

bert

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landy92mack29 said:


Good interview with Zary about what the draft will look like from the prospect perspective

He should go top 10 but some lucky team will get a steal it seems in the late teens-early 20s
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Most years he could be a top 10 pick not this year. The strength of this draft is the depth of its top 12/13. I think there are 13 players that warrant top 5 selections. Which in turn makes the top 20 pretty deep too. I agree he is going to be very good value wherever he gets picked in the mid to late teens or even the early 20's. Was hoping the sens could get him with the Islanders pick but it slipped too far.
 
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Bounces R Way

Bounces R Way

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Smart player, high compete, good hands. Definitely a Brad Treliving pick.

Got a ways to go but really glad the Flames finally picked up a decent C prospect.
 
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BigRangy

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I would have gone with Lapierre but 2 3rds and go with the 2nd guy on my list at 19 sounds good too.

Flames must be scared of Lapierre’s injury history to pass on him twice though.
 
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