Prospect Info: Edmonton's OHL Prospect Review

belair

Jay Woodcroft Unemployment Stance
Apr 9, 2010
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21,713
Canada
Solid write up, Brock.

Personally I've got McLeod ahead of Maksimov, but that's based on my feeling that McLeod's game is more translatable in pro hockey. He looked very effective in the AHL playoffs and nobody would've blinked if he were given a nine game look out of camp last season.

Maksimov on the other hand really needs to mature in a hurry. Goals aren't as easy to come by in the AHL, but those penalties definitely are.
 

Brock

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
12,196
3,628
The GTA
ohlprospects.blogspot.com
Solid write up, Brock.

Personally I've got McLeod ahead of Maksimov, but that's based on my feeling that McLeod's game is more translatable in pro hockey. He looked very effective in the AHL playoffs and nobody would've blinked if he were given a nine game look out of camp last season.

Maksimov on the other hand really needs to mature in a hurry. Goals aren't as easy to come by in the AHL, but those penalties definitely are.

Quite frankly, I could see them both struggling a little bit. McLeod is going to have to be much harder on the puck at the pro level and use more than just his skating and hands to create. He's always been the guy for me, that looks great at times, but no chances that I would deem to be dangerous are created by him. Burst into the offensive zone with a great rush, but peel away into the corner rather than cut to the middle. Make a few defenders miss while controlling the puck near the half wall, keeping the puck on a string...but again, it's all surface value stuff. Can look great but at the end of the day, the production just hasn't been there.

Where as Maksimov, he's going to have to clean up his decision making with the puck and just keep things simple. I know it's cliche, but get pucks in deep and go to work in the offensive zone using his tenacity and physicality. If he starts turning the puck over in the neutral zone like he has the last few years in the OHL, he's going to end up in the coaching staff's doghouse pretty quickly. Ditto for undisciplined play, especially those offensive zone penalties. But if he can really simplify his approach and maybe get some time on the powerplay as a triggerman, he could actually adapt quicker to the pro level than McLeod.

But it's sort of tough. I do understand the love affair that Oilers' fans have with McLeod because he has apparently looked so good at your training camps the last few years. I can only tell you what he's done at the OHL level the last few years and it's been pretty underwhelming. I'm not a huge analytics and advanced stats guy (there are others out there who do a great job with it and who I love to read), but I know the odds of a forward who doesn't average a point per game in his 19/20 year old CHL season, becoming an impact NHL player are pretty low.
 
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