C Matthew Savoie - Winnipeg Ice, WHL (2022, 9th, BUF)

[grentthealien]

Plays a very similar game to Crosby IMO. A real gamechanger that battles hard for pucks and is really good at playing that down low game. Not sure if he will ever reach that level but he play a similar style of game. Dangerous all over the ice.

Is his edgework and playmaking similar to Crosby at the same age? I absolutely love players like Crosby and Peter Forsberg who battle weave and twist in the corners to find the right play to set up their teammates.

 

[Daximus]

Is his edgework and playmaking similar to Crosby at the same age? I absolutely love players like Crosby and Peter Forsberg who battle weave and twist in the corners to find the right play to set up their teammates.

Hopefully he grows a bit more before 2022. His brother is a bit heavier but same height 2 years older. He's really strong for his size though. Regularly outworks bigger guys for pucks. I recommend getting a HockeyTV sub. They have 100 or so CSSHL games a year. I imagine he will play on the Elite 15 or Midget prep squad next year.

 

[Red Solo Cup]

So in terms of how highly he is thought of as a prospect, are we talking McDavid level here (at the same age)?

 

[HeavyHitter99]

So in terms of how highly he is thought of as a prospect, are we talking McDavid level here (at the same age)?

No he’s not. I’m not an expert on him but I have scouted for independent scouting organizations and for a WHL team that I’ll leave nameless due to current employment and rules. I have watched Savoie for the past 3 seasons and have closely followed his development.

He is very talented and like his older brother, he plays a very tenacious style and isn’t afraid to get in your face. He is about the same size as his brother but is 2 years younger which is good. His ability to steal pucks at any moment reminds me of McDavid but imo he isn’t on that level in terms of talent. He was probably the best player in all of Western Canada bantam last season but he wasn’t head and shoulders miles better than the competition.

Excellent player that I’ll closely monitor again this season but just not a McDavid/Crosby.

 

[Red Solo Cup]

No he’s not. I’m not an expert on him but I have scouted for independent scouting organizations and for a WHL team that I’ll leave nameless due to current employment and rules. I have watched Savoie for the past 3 seasons and have closely followed his development.

He is very talented and like his older brother, he plays a very tenacious style and isn’t afraid to get in your face. He is about the same size as his brother but is 2 years younger which is good. His ability to steal pucks at any moment reminds me of McDavid but imo he isn’t on that level in terms of talent. He was probably the best player in all of Western Canada bantam last season but he wasn’t head and shoulders miles better than the competition.

Excellent player that I’ll closely monitor again this season but just not a McDavid/Crosby.

thanks for the insight!

 

[Daximus]

So in terms of how highly he is thought of as a prospect, are we talking McDavid level here (at the same age)?

No but he plays a similar style to Crosby. Whether he hits that level remains to be seen. He's always playing a level above where he should be, sometimes two. If he can get into the WHL early and do well that is when people will be blown away. The CSSHL is a very young league and the pundits have no idea what a high end talent would look like coming through it. It's not the the GTHL where we can compare with so much data to back it up. Savoie is the first kid who is doing what he has done in the CSSHL but like I said young league and being from out West will not work in his favour. There will always be twice as much doubt about someone from Western Canada being a talent on that level because no one has done it in the modern draft era. Someone could come through here and put up 4PPG and nobody would know how to peg them because they just have no idea what a high end talent looks like coming out of this league. He is the first of hopefully many.

 

[Red Solo Cup]

No but he plays a similar style to Crosby. Whether he hits that level remains to be seen. He's always playing a level above where he should be, sometimes two. If he can get into the WHL early and do well that is when people will be blown away. The CSSHL is a very young league and the pundits have no idea what a high end talent would look like coming through it. It's not the the GTHL where we can compare with so much data to back it up. Savoie is the first kid who is doing what he has done in the CSSHL but like I said young league and being from out West will not work in his favour. There will always be twice as much doubt about someone from Western Canada being a talent on that level because no one has done it in the modern draft era. Someone could come through here and put up 4PPG and nobody would know how to peg them because they just have no idea what a high end talent looks like coming out of this league. He is the first of hopefully many.

hopefully!

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Who was the last star forward from Western Canada? Don't mean Patrick or Hall level players.

 

[Daximus]

Who was the last star forward from Western Canada? Don't mean Patrick or Hall level players.

I mean drafted as a forward star probably Modano from 1988 draft. American though.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Who was the last star forward from Western Canada? Don't mean Patrick or Hall level players.

Not MVP level

Hall is an Ontario boy anyway. But that's a good question. I'll duck and cover after saying I have long felt the WHL is over-rated. It is certainly over-valued/drafted by a predominantly old western boys club in NHL management. Sakic, Iginla and Modano are probably the last era of mega star from the west.

 

[I am toxic]

Who was the last star forward from Western Canada? Don't mean Patrick or Hall level players.

Barzal might be considered. From Coquitlam if I am not mistaken, played in WHL with Seattle.

 

[93LEAFS]

Who was the last star forward from Western Canada? Don't mean Patrick or Hall level players.

Sakic or Iginla.

I mean drafted as a forward star probably Modano from 1988 draft. American though.

Well, I mean, he's from Michigan, just played in the WHL.

Not MVP level

Hall is an Ontario boy anyway. But that's a good question. I'll duck and cover after saying I have long felt the WHL is over-rated. It is certainly over-valued/drafted by a predominantly old western boys club in NHL management. Sakic, Iginla and Modano are probably the last era of mega star from the west.

Hall lived in Calgary from birth until he was like 13, then moved to Kingston.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Not MVP level

Hall is an Ontario boy anyway. But that's a good question. I'll duck and cover after saying I have long felt the WHL is over-rated. It is certainly over-valued/drafted by a predominantly old western boys club in NHL management. Sakic, Iginla and Modano are probably the last era of mega star from the west.

Hall is a very good player, but we aren't talking about a player that is considered a top 5-10 player in the NHL for a generation. He had a great year and is one of the NHL's best wingers. There's a difference between that and a superstar forward.

 

[Daximus]

Sakic or Iginla.

Well, I mean, he's from Michigan, just played in the WHL.

Hall lived in Calgary from birth until he was like 13, then moved to Kingston.

My bad thought he meant drafted 1st overall.

 

[I am toxic]

If we are talking about Sakic, then we should also mention Kariya.

 

[grentthealien]

How does he compare to say Tavares, Stamkos and Kane at the same age? Or is it too difficult to tell? I remember Tavares had a lot of early hype as well. I consider Tavares, Stamkos and Kane to be the 2nd tier of 1st overall players just before Crosby, Ovechkin and Mcdavid so I feel like they’d be more fair for comparison to see where this kid is at in this stage of his life.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Hall lived in Calgary from birth until he was like 13, then moved to Kingston.

I just meant in the context of the latest star to come from western Canada, he probably wouldn't qualify anyway.

Hall is a very good player, but we aren't talking about a player that is considered a top 5-10 player in the NHL for a generation. He had a great year and is one of the NHL's best wingers. There's a difference between that and a superstar forward.

Oh, I hear you. I was just being a smart ass. I completely agree that he doesn't register as a superstar for me yet.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

How does he compare to say Tavares, Stamkos and Kane at the same age? Or is it too difficult to tell? I remember Tavares had a lot of early hype as well. I consider Tavares, Stamkos and Kane to be the 2nd tier of 1st overall players just before Crosby, Ovechkin and Mcdavid so I feel like they’d be more fair for comparison to see where this kid is at in this stage of his life.

delete, wrong thread thought this was the dach one for some reason

 

[Daximus]

How does he compare to say Tavares, Stamkos and Kane at the same age? Or is it too difficult to tell? I remember Tavares had a lot of early hype as well. I consider Tavares, Stamkos and Kane to be the 2nd tier of 1st overall players just before Crosby, Ovechkin and Mcdavid so I feel like they’d be more fair for comparison to see where this kid is at in this stage of his life.

To early and to difficult to really tell. The CSSHL is a young league in it's current format and we don't really have a lot of info to compare him to another elite player coming through it yet. At this time he's the first of his kind so far and will be the first benchmark to really compare other kids coming through this system in the coming years.

 

[93LEAFS]

How does he compare to say Tavares, Stamkos and Kane at the same age? Or is it too difficult to tell? I remember Tavares had a lot of early hype as well. I consider Tavares, Stamkos and Kane to be the 2nd tier of 1st overall players just before Crosby, Ovechkin and Mcdavid so I feel like they’d be more fair for comparison to see where this kid is at in this stage of his life.

Kane was actually generally viewed as the tier below those guys. People really questioned his numbers due to his size and the fact Rob Schremp just put up crazy numbers there. People thought (and still do, but not to the same extreme) that all Knights star players numbers were inflated.

I'd also add Matthews, Eichel and to a slightly lesser extent MacKinnon to that grouping you have of the 2nd tier.

 

[grentthealien]

Kane was actually generally viewed as the tier below those guys. People really questioned his numbers due to his size and the fact Rob Schremp just put up crazy numbers there. People thought (and still do, but not to the same extreme) that all Knights star players numbers were inflated.

I'd also add Matthews, Eichel and to a slightly lesser extent MacKinnon to that grouping you have of the 2nd tier.

I was debating putting them in there, but I want to wait and see for those guys. Eichel and Matthews are still on the cusp of breaking out and if Mackinnon can replicate what he did last year then I’d Definitely put him in that tier. Hall is another interesting one as he has a Hart trophy, but at the moment I’d still put him slightly below Tavares, Stamkos and Kane. In all reality that 2nd tier is likely going to become a log jam of names. The 3rd tier would be for guys like Nash, Ekblad,RNH and Eric Johnson while the 4th would be for busts.

 

[Red Solo Cup]

So I’ve been watching a ton of NAX games on YouTube and I really do enjoy watching this kids game. He really gives it his all every shift and goes into the dirty areas even though he is smaller than the competition. I think that his shot and nose for the net is pretty underrated. His zone entry’s are something to really behold as well. He is a fantastic skater, not blazing speed like McDavid but very very quick and fast nonetheless. Also you can really tell that his production was very much due to his IQ as a player and not Guenthers. If anything I would say that Guenther actually relied on Savoie more from the games that I watched. Really excited to see how this kid plays this upcoming season. (Gotta say I love the #7 as well, it’s unique and I hope he keeps it)

On a side note: Connor Bedard is another pretty fantastic young player. Sure some of you guys have heard of him. I was watching a few WSI games and he completely dominated. Great edgework for a kid so young and a really fantastic shot. Glad to see Western Canada producing some more potential stars.

 

[grentthealien]

So I’ve been watching a ton of NAX games on YouTube and I really do enjoy watching this kids game. He really gives it his all every shift and goes into the dirty areas even though he is smaller than the competition. I think that his shot and nose for the net is pretty underrated. His zone entry’s are something to really behold as well. He is a fantastic skater, not blazing speed like McDavid but very very quick and fast nonetheless. Also you can really tell that his production was very much due to his IQ as a player and not Guenthers. If anything I would say that Guenther actually relied on Savoie more from the games that I watched. Really excited to see how this kid plays this upcoming season. (Gotta say I love the #7 as well, it’s unique and I hope he keeps it)

On a side note: Connor Bedard is another pretty fantastic young player. Sure some of you guys have heard of him. I was watching a few WSI games and he completely dominated. Great edgework for a kid so young and a really fantastic shot. Glad to see Western Canada producing some more potential stars.

I remember reading about Bedard in a THN magazine. The columnist spoke very highly of him, but he just turned 13 so I don’t want to hype him up too much yet.

 

[Daneurism]

So I’ve been watching a ton of NAX games on YouTube and I really do enjoy watching this kids game. He really gives it his all every shift and goes into the dirty areas even though he is smaller than the competition. I think that his shot and nose for the net is pretty underrated. His zone entry’s are something to really behold as well. He is a fantastic skater, not blazing speed like McDavid but very very quick and fast nonetheless. Also you can really tell that his production was very much due to his IQ as a player and not Guenthers. If anything I would say that Guenther actually relied on Savoie more from the games that I watched. Really excited to see how this kid plays this upcoming season. (Gotta say I love the #7 as well, it’s unique and I hope he keeps it)

On a side note: Connor Bedard is another pretty fantastic young player. Sure some of you guys have heard of him. I was watching a few WSI games and he completely dominated. Great edgework for a kid so young and a really fantastic shot. Glad to see Western Canada producing some more potential stars.

He's such a smart player. Can you point me to some good quality NAX games on youtube? There's a ton that are just filmed from one side of the rink, instead of the middle, and I lack the patience to watch those.

Bedard's edges are just on a totally different level than his peers. He left everyone in the dust at the WSI

 

[Red Solo Cup]

He's such a smart player. Can you point me to some good quality NAX games on youtube? There's a ton that are just filmed from one side of the rink, instead of the middle, and I lack the patience to watch those.

Bedard's edges are just on a totally different level than his peers. He left everyone in the dust at the WSI

Yea most of the NAX games I saw on YouTube were from that same page with a single camera angle. I would usually just watch two periods from a game (one for offensive zone and one for defensive zone).

And yes bedard is really something to watch in those WSI games. He is so far above any other player there.