My Draft recap:
We will determine any potential draft grade in about 3 years but in the meantime I’ll share my thoughts on Erie’s approach to the draft
What I Liked
I said it before and Mata has alluded to it too but Erie needed to start adding some more size to their team.
it’s something I think they have clearly lacked in recent years and though not their sole issue when it comes to winning games, I think it has made it harder on developing that type of culture where you can take a hit, give a hit. Hard to develop that when half the team is too small to engage in it. And I think it’s also harder for undersized guys to make immediate impact when their potential biggest asset (skating/speed) has to still adjust to older, better players. It’s why Lockhart struggled to find any consistency last year imo
Some insight into this. Since 2016, here are the amount of players Erie drafted that were over 6’0
2020 - 4 (3 were in rounds 12-15)
2019 - 3
2018 - 2
2017 - 4
2016 - 7
They also had not taken a 6’0 or above player in the first 6 rounds since 2016 (Jack Duff). That is a total of 22 straight players selected in rounds 1-6 after Duff that were 5’11 or lower
2021 - 8
This year they selected 8 guys over 6’0, including 3 in the first 4 rounds and Terrance in the 1st
The last time they took a first rounder with some size (over 6’0) was Taylor Raddysh in 2014
I think most impressively for Erie is they didn’t sacrifice speed/skating for size. Teams in the NHL let alone the OHL still do it.. they still want the 6’4 guy who has cement skates. I personally have no use for it especially in the top 4-5 rounds. Skill is still the hardest thing to find, not size. Combining both is another level of difficulty but Terrance is an elite skater and has some size to his game that he isn’t afraid to use to drive the net or hit someone along the boards.
This may be the first time I am confident their 1st round rookie forward (not including Drysdale) could produce out the gate. Though Raddysh, McShane, Lodnia all ended up producing early, I wasn’t sure they could given their size/skating, or just how the roster was built. As an aside, Nick Sima did look like a solid option at 10 (loved his shot from highlights) and though he had some speed when he got moving, he appeared to be sort of a clunky skater which doesn’t totally mesh with Erie’s recent philosophy of top end skating, especially in early rounds. So I’m not surprised Terrance is their guy as it’s exactly what they need/want.
Terrance could have been a top 5 pick if you just looked at skating/size combination and I’ll bet Erie would have snagged him earlier than 10 too. When you watch Terrance skate it is effortless and elite. Granted this is only highlights but it appears to be special already and he’s 16... If he can continue to combine that with size to his game at the next level and is able to finish scoring chances, he’s going to be a reallllly nice player for us
Taeo Artichuk has a smaller frame but great skating as well and tremendous hands. He’s listed at 5’10 but man he looks small in videos. He certainly needs to add some weight but based on his quotes early with Erie media, he’s a fun character. Brown has noted that they stressed pre draft interviews this year more than most. I have a feeling Taeo moved up high for them off those interviews . He seems like a confident and hard working player that can bring energy on/off ice. Fan favorite type for sure.
Everything I read has Taeo as someone who could have went in round 1 all the way to someone as a late second round/ early 3rd pick. Either way the size being his biggest concern/area to improve. I’m much more comfortable with Erie taking this type of player in round 2 (highly skilled/needs to get bigger) as opposed to round 1. So I think this was a good get for them.
What I Didn’t Like
Erie did 2 things I didn’t like
1.
They didn’t take any Pens Elite players/they didn’t take much of any US gambles. The only two are Pirtle and Hopewell. Though Pirtle looks like a nice player, I’m not sure what to make of Hopewell yet. I really wanted them to continue building a super strong relationship with the Pens program but nothing.. even though there was at least 2/3 guys that were clearly worthy. To be fair to them, only Brandon Svoboda was drafted out of there and that was Round 12 by Flint. So it’s possible or maybe even likely that Erie did talked to several players there and all indicated they had zero OHL interest. But I don’t think it hurts to just throw 1 swing in the last few rounds on a player that if he ever changed his mind and signed would be a nice grab. I mean Erie was able to convince Owen Headrick at the last second and that really helped contribute to an OHL title in 2017. I felt with 16 picks, they could have taken another gamble or two
2.
Only taking 2 goalies and one being a US player who has USHL option and likely college options is risky. Sure it is possible Erie has a solid belief that Hopewell will be an option for them in 2 years but kids change their mind often. Erie has never really had elite level goaltending and the only exceptions are some import goalies. I think it’s something they still need to solve but doesn’t help when you take 2 in a draft and 1 is a US gamble and the other is a 14th round pick. I would have liked to see them take another goalie in the 6-8 range.
