D Ryan Merkley - Peterborough Petes, OHL (2018, 21st, SJS)

[ijuka]

Obviously a big risk, but I still would take a stab at him past the first round simply because he still has a good skill set and I think that the chance that he can be talked some sense and that he can turn his game around still is higher than the chance that a random, relatively untalented 3rd round pick would become an impactful NHL player.

 

[Michael Farkas]

[EDIT: in response to SI90] That's not how lists are created when you get to your table. This isn't a fantasy league where you go "oh snap, Jason Spezza in the 14th round...why the hell not...?" That's not how it works.

I've not personally heard of a team having him as ND. But I don't blame them if they did, his compete level and body language are nightmare fuel to me as a coach. In my write-up on him, I called him a "casual offensive defenseman" which is really unfortunate because he graded out so high in so many categories for me...he'd be another Shea Theodore for me if he had a heart...

 

[Martin Skoula]

Bull****. I don’t Believe these no draft lists exist. If he’s still available in the 3rd round you’re taking him on potential.

Equally skilled prospects have been put on no draft lists for 1/10th of the issues Merkley has. Someone will take him by the 3rd, but good luck getting much more than a sheltered bottom pairing PP specialist out of him if a lot of things go right.

 

[SI90]

Equally skilled prospects have been put on no draft lists for 1/10th of the issues Merkley has. Someone will take him by the 3rd, but good luck getting much more than a sheltered bottom pairing PP specialist out of him if a lot of things go right.

Sounds like MA Bergeron. That’s still an NHL player.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Sounds like MA Bergeron. That’s still an NHL player.

He's MA Bergeron if a lot of things go right for him. He has huge leaps to make in his defensive game/effort to even approach Bergeron. To me, his regular development curve peaks with him playing in a European B-league. All the stuff about him becoming the next Karlsson if he just works on his defensive game a little is a complete farce. If you put Crosby's work ethic and commitment to the game in him tomorrow, maybe yeah he could be a top pair one day. It's not one of those "he needs to party less" issues, it's more along the lines of him needing to completely and radically change everything about his approach to the game.

 

[DownGoesMcDavid]

Why doesnt he just play forward ?

 

[Roof Daddy]

Bull****. I don’t Believe these no draft lists exist. If he’s still available in the 3rd round you’re taking him on potential.

Why is it hard to believe a team wouldn’t want anything to do with a guy who has major attitude issues? If his antics are likely to wear thin at the NHL level, how does that change at any other level? Do you want a guy who is going to turn your locker room upside down having a negative impact on your AHL team and its prospects?

I get that there’s a chance he grows out of the immature phase, that’s up to the scouts/management that interviewed him, but you can’t blame others for not wanting anything to do with the kid if they’ve been burnt before.

As an Oil fan, I think back to Rob Schremp. His issues weren’t as glaring as it appears Merkley’s are, yet I think he caused enough distraction and turmoil every training camp for the first 3-4 years we had him. Razzle dazzle that catches the media’s eye, which leads to 100 questions to the coach about why he can’t crack the team, which leads to public humiliation when the coach has to pick apart his game, rinse and repeat.

I’m sure you’ve witnessed similar tendencies with Ho-Sang (to a lesser degree).

 

[AmericanDream]

Why doesnt he just play forward ?

or soccer....

 

[Mark Edwards]

Constanino referenced HoSang and Deangelo as well.

He says that there is numerous amount of teams that under no circumstance would they draft Ryan Merkley.

This is not big news in scouting circles. An example: One night at a game a few months ago, it was myself and scouts from 4 different teams in a discussion about plenty of different things. The scouts didn't even hide their feelings from each other when one of them referenced a recent viewing of Merkley. All 4 had had him as a no draft. I'll leave out the details.

I'm used to scouts being open about players around me, but not when scouts from three other teams are with us in a discussion. The three other scouts all chimed in.

I have a strong hunch on which team is going to pull the trigger but I'm not sure which round.

June 11 - Oilers Now Seg 3 - Mark Edwards - HockeyProspect.com - Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer - Omny.fm

Towards the end of the interview Mark Edwards goes into some detail on why he has Merkley on the No Draft List.

Unrelated, I really enjoyed doing this interview. I've done a ton of Edmonton interviews over the years but never on that station with Bob.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

A thing to consider: these teams are a lot more plugged in than us. They wouldn't put the kid all the way on the no-draft list if something major wasn't going on. And for it to be several teams... that's saying something. It may well be that the situation was worse than we know, as in beyond just a little correctible attitude problem.

I mean, this is the industry that has no problems with kids doing all kinds of pretty distasteful stuff. A good example is a lot of sexual harassment and even sexual assault has been swept under the rug over the last 10 years. Nothing happened to those kids. Your personal life can be completely insane and they won't turn away from you. So you have to really have something going on behind the scenes for several teams to want to completely stay away.

 

[AmericanDream]

A thing to consider: these teams are a lot more plugged in than us. They wouldn't put the kid all the way on the no-draft list if something major wasn't going on. And for it to be several teams... that's saying something. It may well be that the situation was worse than we know, as in beyond just a little correctible attitude problem.

I mean, this is the industry that has no problems with kids doing all kinds of pretty distasteful stuff. A good example is a lot of sexual harassment and even sexual assault has been swept under the rug over the last 10 years. Nothing happened to those kids. Your personal life can be completely insane and they won't turn away from you. So you have to really have something going on behind the scenes for several teams to want to completely stay away.

sexual harassment we can sweep under a rug...not being able to backcheck...no,no,no...we need to draw the damn line somewhere!!

 

[Breakers]

Didn't Newport Sports who are the big guys dropped him as client.

For them to drop him as client you know he must be unheard of levels of arrogance

 

[37 others]

I think this makes at least a little sense to me. I can see him going wayyyy later in the draft, but, in the first few rounds, I imagine there's much more value to be had picking someone ranked just under Merkely than there is to be lost picking Merkely and having him bust.

 

[AmericanDream]

don't worry, Toronto will take him....they are rumored to drafting/signing everyone on here...

 

[Knies iT]

Teams are really stupid it seems like. It's the same reason that Sprong into the 2nd round in 2015, teams put way too much emphasis on personalities in drafts. As long as a dude isn't a wife beater or something like that, I genuinely don't care about his personality. Now, this is assuming that teams are saying no to him due to attitude issues, which seems to be the most likely reason.

What is the actual issue with Merkley? I see he's bad defensively and has questions about his work ethic, is that it?

He's not remotely comparable to Sprong in terms of attitude issues. As a matter of fact, he's far worse than DeAngelo based on hear say, for example.

He's supposedly lashed out on teammates and coaches on numerous occasions, and is a very un-coachable player who has zero interest in addressing his faults. His issues are more than a few outbursts or lack of drive, but rather systemic instances that have followed him throughout his early career. I've heard of a few different instances that I can't really get in to or prove here without being viewed as libel.

There's quite a few posters on here who have heard similar things.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

The dude just isn't a team player-period.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

The NFL and NBA have had proven winners with rosters loaded with crack heads and wife beaters.

Leadership is an art. Good leaders make bad seeds buy into a philosophy that taps into their strengths. Merkley needs to get out of his Ontario comfort zone. At least that's one approach I'd make to get him on a different path.

Merkley has several issues, but a team saying "Do Not Draft!!!" says more about that team than it says about Merkley.

Sandis Ozolinsh was on a Cup winner. Skilled and fast, but worst NHL defenseman under 35 I ever watched in almost 40 years. Surround a kid like Merkley with the right people and you could hit it big.

Take a shot. Big whoop. Scouts have made way dumber assessments and recommendations than taking a kid like Merkley in Rounds 3 or later

 

[devilsfan35]

Sounds like a chayka pick

 

[McDNicks17]

I don't really understand putting a guy this talented on your ND list.

Yes, he's a headcase, but would you really not take this guy in the 5th/6th/7th round if he somehow makes it that far?

Merkley miraculously maturing is probably just as likely as a good Ontario boy from that range making the NHL.

 

[H3ckt1k]

Great, red wings can take him with a second rounder then

 

[Winston Wolf]

Does anyone know how many interviews he had?

I'm sure plenty of teams wouldn't want someone like him even around their prospects at prospect/training camp.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I don't understand how stupid you have to be as a prospect in 2018 to actively avoid playing defence to the point where it becomes lazy enough to be on a no-draft list.

I mean, these prospects have so much coaching and knowledge provided now of what teams are looking for with the whole 200 foot game spiel. They KNOW that at least trying to have a well-rounded game avoids issues. If you're so arrogant that you won't even make the effort then you deserve to be shunned.

 

[lawrence]

Does anyone know how many interviews he had?

I'm sure plenty of teams wouldn't want someone like him even around their prospects at prospect/training camp.

From some reports I saw, he actually interviewed quite well.

But back on topic, teams have him on the no draft list,, but if 27 people have him on the do draft list, then he will be drafted

 

[boredmale]

I don't get the point of don't draft lists. say this guy is still around in the 5th round, don't you say to yourself, hey what the hell do I have to lose, chances are a 5th round pick won't amount to anything

 

[IslesNorway]

I've no problem understanding why teams would ND a player with personality issues. We've seen it many times before and it will happen again. If you truly believe Merkley is a bad apple then you wouldn't want rubbing off on your other prospects and young players. That could eventually turn the atmosphere at the club poisonous and no team really wants that.

That being said, other clubs don't care and think he can be helped, coached or made to see sense and will draft him based on talent alone. My guess is he'll go 3rd or 4th round, maybe a late 2nd