LW Jakob Stukel - Calgary Hitmen, WHL (2016, 154th, VAN)

[M2Beezy]

Here is an update:

http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/canuck-draft-pick-stukel-will-try-to-show-improved-all-around-game-friday-at-lec-against-giants

He has 18 goals, 41 points in 56 games so far this season.

During the the Young Stars Tournament in September, I noticed that his lack of explosiveness hampered his ability to be effective in tight spaces. He has impressive straight-line speed, but his stopping and starting aren't great. Acceleration also constitutes one's ability to generate speed quickly, and the ability to cover a respectable distance in one's first few strides is part of that. I found that Stukel struggled with the pace of last year's Young Stars Tournament and only shined when he could take the puck from end to end -- moments that were few and far between.

Stukel, like Jake Virtanen, is more of a train than a missile. He doesn't burst forth quickly so much as he shifts into multiple gears after he gets his legs moving. In short distances, he can't gather enough momentum to reach those speeds. His top speed is very good.

I find that when Stukel skates from a standstill, he plods through his first few steps. He shuffles his feet very quickly along the ice and gets very little power out of his strides.

Moreover, he is not a particularly agile skater. He loses speed when he turns and takes time to regain speed. His stopping and starting are gradual rather than sudden. He requires better technique to slingshot forward right off the bat and stop sharply. What he is doing right now is winding up and winding down, which isn't good enough at higher levels where abrupt changes to one's movement are needed to keep up with the pace and the constant back-and-forth maneuvering within the game.

If one can not stop and start quickly, they won't be able to get into position quickly enough to contribute positively and will find themselves falling behind the play; the element of surprise offensively, meanwhile, will not exist. At the Young Stars Tournament, Jakob sometimes looked like he was skating in quicksand. He was very lackluster in spite of his straight-line speed; his speed only manifested itself on a few rush chances, but he was otherwise slow and float-y. The junior game is much more sloppy and wide open than professional hockey; the pace is slower. Stukel can keep up. The defensive systems are not structurally sound, so players with good straight-line speed have many opportunities to take advantage of the opposition. Connor McDavid feasted on those opportunities and treated the opposing defenders like pylons; speed decimates the opposition at the junior level. Not even McDavid can drag defenders down or walk around them at the NHL level the way he did with Erie. There is less room; players are in far better position to neutralize the puck carrier.

The NHL is a game of precision, set plays, crisp passes, quick movement, and tight positioning. Players need to be mobile enough to keep up with the pace. A player's straight-line speed will become less effective if they require time and space to wind up and also have trouble stopping and starting at a sufficient level. The opponent won't give him the time he requires. The game will move too fast for him.

He has no burst, and he takes too long to make sharp turns. When he has room to skate, he can create; when he doesn't, he plays a step slower than he should. The last game of his that I watched was the Sportsnet game against the Giants on February 3, 2017. His best shift by far occurred during the 3-on-3 overtime when he had room to carry the puck into the offensive zone and to move around the zone before setting up the OT goal with a skilled pass.

He needs to figure out how to make use of less room; that begins with amending his skating technique. He thinks the game at a fairly good level, but his legs don't always get him to where he wants to be unless he has room to skate.

Perhaps it's because he is trying to play a more complete game this year that he has lost some of his effectiveness. Instead of skating in an efficient manner for offense, he is trying to cover more ground.

So a long shot eh

 

[denominator]

Here is an update:

http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/canuck-draft-pick-stukel-will-try-to-show-improved-all-around-game-friday-at-lec-against-giants

He has 18 goals, 41 points in 56 games so far this season.

During the the Young Stars Tournament in September, I noticed that his lack of explosiveness hampered his ability to be effective in tight spaces. He has impressive straight-line speed, but his stopping and starting aren't great. Acceleration also constitutes one's ability to generate speed quickly, and the ability to cover a respectable distance in one's first few strides is part of that. I found that Stukel struggled with the pace of last year's Young Stars Tournament and only shined when he could take the puck from end to end -- moments that were few and far between.

Stukel, like Jake Virtanen, is more of a train than a missile. He doesn't burst forth quickly so much as he shifts into multiple gears after he gets his legs moving. In short distances, he can't gather enough momentum to reach those speeds. His top speed is very good.

I find that when Stukel skates from a standstill, he plods through his first few steps. He shuffles his feet very quickly along the ice and gets very little power out of his strides.

Moreover, he is not a particularly agile skater. He loses speed when he turns and takes time to regain speed. His stopping and starting are gradual rather than sudden. He requires better technique to slingshot forward right off the bat and stop sharply. What he is doing right now is winding up and winding down, which isn't good enough at higher levels where abrupt changes to one's movement are needed to keep up with the pace and the constant back-and-forth maneuvering within the game.

If one can not stop and start quickly, they won't be able to get into position quickly enough to contribute positively and will find themselves falling behind the play; the element of surprise offensively, meanwhile, will not exist. At the Young Stars Tournament, Jakob sometimes looked like he was skating in quicksand. He was very lackluster in spite of his straight-line speed; his speed only manifested itself on a few rush chances, but he was otherwise slow and float-y. The junior game is much more sloppy and wide open than professional hockey; the pace is slower. Stukel can keep up. The defensive systems are not structurally sound, so players with good straight-line speed have many opportunities to take advantage of the opposition. Connor McDavid feasted on those opportunities and treated the opposing defenders like pylons; speed decimates the opposition at the junior level. Not even McDavid can drag defenders down or walk around them at the NHL level the way he did with Erie. There is less room; players are in far better position to neutralize the puck carrier.

The NHL is a game of precision, set plays, crisp passes, quick movement, and tight positioning. Players need to be mobile enough to keep up with the pace. A player's straight-line speed will become less effective if they require time and space to wind up and also have trouble stopping and starting at a sufficient level. The opponent won't give him the time he requires. The game will move too fast for him.

He has no burst, and he takes too long to make sharp turns. When he has room to skate, he can create; when he doesn't, he plays a step slower than he should. The last game of his that I watched was the Sportsnet game against the Giants on February 3, 2017. His best shift by far occurred during the 3-on-3 overtime when he had room to carry the puck into the offensive zone and to move around the zone before setting up the OT goal with a skilled pass.

He needs to figure out how to make use of less room; that begins with amending his skating technique. He thinks the game at a fairly good level, but his legs don't always get him to where he wants to be unless he has room to skate.

Perhaps it's because he is trying to play a more complete game this year that he has lost some of his effectiveness. Instead of skating in an efficient manner for offense, he is trying to cover more ground.

Good update, I think you're spot on with regards to his "speed". He looked really good last year because he was using that speed well and had better teammates around him - both covering for him blasting up ice and feeding him the puck. This year, not so much.

I think he's been one of the poorer PK guys on the team this year, and his PP role seems to be limited almost entirely to blasting a one-timer. Add that to a small overall size and... yeah, he's a long-shot NHL prospect.