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Prospect Info: CBJ Development Camp 2023 at Chiller North | July 2-6

Byrral

Byrral

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Aug 2, 2006
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Good time. Today I focused mainly on new guys or guys I know least about (no disrepect but not the invitees).

I love it when they drop the puck because guys that looked just ok in skills practices or drills suddenly turn into good hockey players.

Brindley looks like he should have been a first round pick. Is it time they finally get lucky with a 2nd round pick? He will grow a lot next season away from Fantilli instead of being hitched to him at the hip. No concerns for me on him.

Luca Pinelli plays bigger than his size and has more skill than I thought.

Hunter McKown impressed today. He was really good.

William Whitelaw plays a fast and fearless game.

James Fisher is a big guy whose hands got better from last season.

Andrew Strathmann got caught out of position or overwelmed a bit today but he's a smooth skater that can control the puck pretty well.

Tyler Peddle tries hard and looks a lot like James Fisher did last year.

Aidan Hreschuk is one of the guys who been around before that was really trying. I just don't think he will ever make it as a NHL roster regular.

The goaltending depth is the worst I've ever seen in this organization . Even if none of the former players ever made it be anything they looked better on paper than our depth looks today. I can't believe Jarmo is done looking at this position especially at the NHL level.

Guys that have done this before that I expected them to be ahead of most of these guys but looked disinterested: LDBB, Jordan Dumais, James Maletesta, Mikael Pyyhtia.

Guys that have done this before and played like they cared: Martin Rysavy, Denton Mateychuk.

Guy that had no business being there: Samuel Knazko.

Guy that has no offensive skills but I continue to be intrigued by: Guillaume Richard.

Guys I wish would have played: Corson Ceulemans and Stan Svozil.

Some guy named Adam Fantilli also showed up. I think he may be around for a while.
 
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cbjthrowaway

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Jul 4, 2020
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Byrral said:
Hunter McKown impressed today. He was really good.

William Whitelaw plays a fast and fearless game.
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idk if mckown makes the roster out of camp but he has 'top nine NHL forward' written all over him imo. obviously it's a crowded room and as a UDFA he doesn't get talked about nearly as much as some of the other guys, but man… he'll play.

whitelaw's speed/hands/shot combo could take him pretty far, too.
 
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Doggy

Doggy

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Oct 11, 2011
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For those commenting on Brindley being hitched to Fantilli. I got the impression from reading articles that Brindley started last season on the fourth line. That he EARNED his way up the depth chart to the top line. To me that suggests he doesn't need Fantilli to be a quality contributor, though I am sure it doesn't hurt. I am unworried about the upcoming separation of the two and expect Brindley to be just fine at Michigan without him (of course he will still be playing with great players).
 
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Doggy

Doggy

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aRussian said:
...

Brindley: Has his own set of skill but I’ll offer perhaps an unpopular thought. I have to wonder how he’d look removed from Fantilli’s hip? He frequently would have more space because they defense were more drawn that way. Just have to wonder if he can maintain the skill and possession if he’s under more pressure. Maybe he can and that would make him that much more of a solid pick....
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Brindley had 12 Gs and 26 As last season.
  • Fantilli assisted on 6 of Brindley's Gs and
  • Brindley assisted on 10 of Fantilli's Gs
I wonder how Fantilli is going to look not attached to Brindley's hip ;)
 
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majormajor

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Jun 23, 2018
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Ice9 said:
Buddy from the Ytown area said Willie Whitelaw played kinda like Matt Tkachuk. Well...I hope there's a kernel of truth to that.
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That sounds not like Whitelaw... Whitelaw is a high skill dangler guy about 5'9. I never saw anything about him being tough or useful around the net.
 
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Cowumbus

Cowumbus

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I know people have said that they wanted more from Dumais, but he was exactly what I expected. He’s not a puck carrying play driver, but rather a sneaky player with finishing ability. He’s the type of player who is best when the puck is not on his stick (if that makes any sense), creeping in back-door to finish a play off.

Pinelli is one of my favorites from the week. A lot of skill, he had one pass where he was standing on the boards and angled his skate to chip a puck behind the D to a player coming in on a breakaway.

Peddle had a hard time receiving a pass IMO. Again, that’s one of the tell tale signs of an NHL player. Good players (and NHLers in general) can revive a pass over a wide area, there were times where he would get a tape-to-tape pass and it would bounce off and he’d lose control. He’s a project though, so he can develop that skill. The guy definitely works hard though.

I thought Mateychuk looked really good, calm on the puck and a great skater. He was matched against Fantilli/Brindley the whole time so I thought it was a pretty good test for him. I noticed him a lot during ozone play, he was pretty good at walking the line or finding a passing lane to keep the puck in the zone.

Undrafted Kocha Delic was IMO a decent player. I noticed him a lot on the back check, he has a knack for picking up pucks from players with a one-handed swipe (similar to the Connor Bedard poke check from the WJC). Delic had good speed and made a lot of plays along the boards in the neutral zone, finding players with speed, that to me were NHL level.

Knazko was fine, but for a guy that has played NHL games I expected him to stand out. I’m not sure if they didn’t want the D to shoot from the point or not, but Knazko had a few instances where he would be at the face off dot with a shooting lane open and decide to make a pass across the crease.

Malatesta’s shot was a treat to watch, but he struggled to keep it on net.

TBH I didn’t even realize Richard was there, I wish I knew, would have made more of an effort to watch him.

Hreschuk was physical which I liked, I don’t know what I expected him to be like (don’t watch BC) but he was definitely one of the more aggressive players.

McKown was pretty good, his shooting ability is better than a lot of the guys at camp. He looked like a kid who scored 20+ goals in the NCAA.

Brindley has always been my guy…. and he still is. Took all the faceoffs on the right side, I’d wager he was maybe 40 percent in the dot? His first three steps are explosive - he and Fantilli reach top speed quick. Anyway, he was great along the boards, won battles then would come up the halfwall and find the open man. He’s going to be a great complement to a top 6 line one day… although he says the guy he models his games after is Brayden Point, so who knows…

Whitelaw can score. I felt like he had a lot of breakaways, not necessarily cheating/cherry-picking but maybe close to that. I like him, he’s just got to continue to develop. Hopefully Wisconsin isn’t a tire fire this year.

Strathmann looked like a fourth round pick, has all the tools, just needs to play a half step faster. NCAA should help with that.

NGL, I don’t really care about anyone else at camp.
 
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Xoggz22

Xoggz22

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Mar 4, 2002
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CBJ goalie said:
Curious how last man picked Peddle is doing?
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I'll comment in a separate post about a bit I saw in the scrimmage but I think this kid is the next late round gem. He has some work to do but he has some nice hands, good size and a very good shot - what little I saw. I was very impressed with him and would not have pegged him as a 7th round pick (perception). I'm very excited to see if he can pull everything together and become what was thought when he was drafted so high into the Q
 
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Xoggz22

Xoggz22

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Some have already echoed some of the things I'm sure to touch on here but here's a few of my takeaways from the scrimmage yesterday (with a grain of salt that I know it's development camp and none truly have NHL experience):

McKown - that kid has an NHL future. I was very impressed with his skill, size, motor and I think he won every faceoff I think he took. He looked the part of a future NHL player. If he's not the 1C in Cleveland to start the year, I suspect he will be soon enough. He'll add center depth to CBJ

Delic - I'd like to see them sign this kid. He looked to have serious wheels, some skill and was a hound on the puck. May not be a future NHL player but I think he could be a depth guy and he's only 19 so coudl still improve.

Fisher - I think I said, out loud, why is this kid even here when the scrimmage started. He looked awful, didn't think he could skate and simply just looked like a big body. As the game went on he showed some strength and puck skills that I did not expect. He worked hard and could be organizational depth. I'm no expert on skating but he really looked like he used the side of his boots instead of his blades when he tried to turn. His skating is terrible (from my view) but if he got going he could move. Not agile or shifty but if he gets stronger and fixes those edges I think he could be a 4th line 13/14 forward some day. Not a lot of upside

Mateychuk - kid can skate, pass and he was very good on the puck. Not afraid to join the rush and even went deep (again, dev camp). great lateral movement and I think he has high upside based on skating and smarts. Still super young too so I expect a big step this year. easily a top 3 prospect for me in our pool (behind Fantilli and Jiricek).

Whitelaw - good motor, good shot and pretty good hands. Seemed to work hard and had some sneaky good plays. Like all new draft picks he's going to need time but going to college will do him good. He has a future

Dumais - I wasn't overly impressed and then he shows you the skill you hear about. Certainly not a poor skater so I'll take others at their word that it's improved. He and Brindley were the same size - smallest guys on the ice. Not TFW small but they'll need that one or two traits to make it. I think Dumais has that with skill and vision. And I was not a fan of his but I'm coming around.

Peddle - Really like this kid. Don't know why he jumped out to me but has good size, can skate and looks like he has a nice release. Needs to learn to use others but he's a guy I can see on the forecheck and add skill. Will need some time but he's my late round gem pick.

Pinelli - has some slick hands. Didn't focus much on him but needs to use those around him better. maybe tried to over impress. He's a long term prospect and I'm not sold he has enough to carve out a spot in the top 12 in the future.

Lalonde - I thought he was reasonably controlled and made a few nice stops. Likely a future depth guy but has some skill. Not easy on goalies in this setting as there were only a few checks and tight plays on D.

Hreschek - I may be unique but I though the looked really good. Not big (about Mateychuk size?) but he actually threw the body. One huge check (don't recall on who but they had to shake it off) and he seemed pretty poised with the puck. Another depth guy but I could see him getting a contract once done with college. He's going to need to show something this year to remain somewhat relevant in that D group but he skates well and seemed to keep his head up and looked for the play rather than watching it. Nothing special but better than I expected.

Richard - I may be crazy but I think this kid has a NHL career. Good size, skates well and distributed the puck pretty well too. Just seemed to be in the right place, right time all the time. maybe I just caught the good plays but he's clearly a defense first guy but I don't think the puck is a grenade on his stick, he just gets rid of it quickly. Didn't see him carry the puck much and really wasn't that noticeable a lot but that, to me, was a good thing. If the offense comes around at all, I think he's a #4 type guy and a PK guy that won't hurt you 5v5.

Rysavy - He's simply got a quiet game. I really didn't pay much attention because there wasn't much to see from him. I'm a fan but I'm not really sure he gets a contract. As good as he might be on a forecheck or grind game, I don't know if he has enough to be a NHL player. Good size, decent skater but just didn't stand out to me.

Strathmann - plays with some attitude. Has a dust up with McKown (who leveled him and then sat on him, which pissed him off) and gave him a few cross checks. good skater, not big. He fits in with a guy like Hreschuk to me but with more edge to his game. Didn't see him join the offense too much but he's active in his zone and looks to make contact. Don't think he'll be as good as Blanks and not the hitter but he's kind of the one that came to my mind when watching him. Again, one showing.

You know about Fantilli and Brindley already and I didn't notice Malatesta much but wasn't keying on the players we knew. The two that I kept finding myself commenting on were Delic and McKown. Really liked those two.
 
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CBJx614

CBJx614

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Iron Balls McGinty said:
Unrelated note but won't Bally Sports just go away already so we can fix the ability to watch games long term. I don't want to go back to cable but I'm honestly still sticking with Directv Stream because I don't want to lose all my Ohio sports teams.
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I will say from an out of towner ESPN+ was really nice and convenient until the Jackets played Chicago or STL... Then I couldn't watch, also can we take this opportunity of their failure to get rid of blackouts?!?
 
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