LW Nolan Foote - Kelowna Rockets, WHL (2019, 27th, TBL, traded to NJ)

[covfefe]

This guy needs a thread, has been very impressive for a younger Kelowna team this season. A cursory report would be:

- He's only 15 and is about 6'3-180, so size will never be an issue. Should be scary at this level with another 20-30 pounds

- Good skater though I wouldn't describe him as a plus type

- Unbelievable shot that he is not afraid to use, not sure of the exact figures but he probably is up in the top 3 for SOG for the Rockets. Wouldn't describe him as selfish but projects as more of a shoot-first guy right now

- Very soft hands and can dangle surprisingly well. He is a more North-South type but he can sit on the halfwall and distribute the puck as well, and has done well on Kelowna's PP2 in that capacity (Merkley runs PP1)

- Has improved tremendously from the start of the season. This is the most encouraging thing to me - he was understandably tentative at the beginning of the year as a very young 15 year old, but once the points started coming he really flourished. Seems to be finding his confidence now and I am scared to think of how good he could be once he takes off

- Completely unafraid of anyone out there; he mixes it up at any opportunity which is really my favourite thing about him

- Defensive game is what you would expect out of a 15 year old going from US Midget to the WHL; but he is a very intense player and I don't see this being an issue in the long run

- He and his brother have some of the best hockey iq's on this roster, just very smart positional players and really get how contribute. Have high hopes for both in the future

Here's his 1st WHL goal:

Click to read more...

 

[sasha barkov]

Is he a power forward?

 

[landy92mack29]

was going to make a thread for him in a couple weeks after he proved himself some more and I got some more looks at him. He's the real deal it seems

 

[Stive Morgan]

He's my favourite for 1st overall in 2019 right now. Absolutely unreal player.

 

[wings5]

He's my favourite for 1st overall in 2019 right now. Absolutely unreal player.

Umm, would be pretty shocked if this happened. He wasn't even the best player on his own Team Canada Black in the u17 challenge.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I was considering putting him in my top 40 for 2018, and then I realized he was 2019 draft eligible. Its hard to really figure out who are the best players for the 2019 draft, but he is probably in early contention.

 

[Kamiccolo]

How many times do we see guys twice the size of their peers dominate until they make the NHL or their peers catch up? Way too many.

 

[Cor]

How many times do we see guys twice the size of their peers dominate until they make the NHL or their peers catch up? Way too many.

He's a 15 year old who's put up 4 points in his first 7 games in the WHL.

Almost every player in the WHL is older than him, and he looks damn impressive.

 

[Stive Morgan]

Umm, would be pretty shocked if this happened. He wasn't even the best player on his own Team Canada Black in the u17 challenge.

There's still 3 years of hockey left to be played. I know its early but right now he seems to be on the right track.

 

[covfefe]

Umm, would be pretty shocked if this happened. He wasn't even the best player on his own Team Canada Black in the u17 challenge.

Foote was one of two 2019 eligible players on that roster and the only 2019 skater. I would expect as much.

How many times do we see guys twice the size of their peers dominate until they make the NHL or their peers catch up? Way too many.

What? He's playing in a league full of 17-21 year olds and is built like a beanpole...

I didn't say anything about his draft placement for 2019 or how he looks relative to his peers. The only guys I am aware of in western Canada are Dach, Krebs, and Byram. Who knows who pulls ahead. One of the 4 will probably flounder given historical trends.

Right now Nolan looks great for a 15, soon to be 16, year old. He has shown plenty of NHL potential early in the season,I watch lots of Kelowna games and as such felt it was time to start getting the word out about his game. It's a younger team this year so he has every opportunity for success; most other years I doubt he'd even be on the roster as a skilled player probably benefits more from the midget or jr a level than riding the bench and playing 4th line/pressboxing.

 

[covfefe]

So: Foote has continued to impress over the last month. He's drawing a lot of penalties and finding his niche offensively with 6G/3A in his last 10 GP.

I'm sure has the best release of any player on Kelowna, which obviously includes a few high NHL picks and impending high picks like his brother and Kole Lind.

He's taken up the role of halfwall shooter/high slot shooter on Kelowna's 1st wave PP. For a guy who is 3 years out from his draft, that says enough.

I know Dach, Krebs, and others will be coming into the league next year, so I have no draft placement claims right now. It's still too far out to say with any precision where he will go. But, I have been watching Kelowna since just prior to Shea Weber's days and have never seen a kid this young who is this well rounded. He should have been a top 5 bantam pick but I suspect the American factor/his brother's presence in Kelowna encouraged teams to not bother (picking him).

 

[AnArmchairScout]

Nolan will be better than his brother in my honest opinion.

Have watched this guy dominate his peers since his bantam days, guys got the total package and can fill any role on the Rockets if need be, fantastic player for a late 2000.

 

[ps241]

So: Foote has continued to impress over the last month. He's drawing a lot of penalties and finding his niche offensively with 6G/3A in his last 10 GP.

I'm sure has the best release of any player on Kelowna, which obviously includes a few high NHL picks and impending high picks like his brother and Kole Lind.

He's taken up the role of halfwall shooter/high slot shooter on Kelowna's 1st wave PP. For a guy who is 3 years out from his draft, that says enough.

I know Dach, Krebs, and others will be coming into the league next year, so I have no draft placement claims right now. It's still too far out to say with any precision where he will go. But, I have been watching Kelowna since just prior to Shea Weber's days and have never seen a kid this young who is this well rounded. He should have been a top 5 bantam pick but I suspect the American factor/his brother's presence in Kelowna encouraged teams to not bother (picking him).

Good to hear I somehow think he is going to be a Jet since we love our kids of NHL'ers.

Sutter (bomb), Lowry, Lemieux

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Early favorite for 2019 top pick?

 

[covfefe]

It's too hard to say with any clarity this far out from the draft. That said - it's hard to imagine any other 2019s being capable of what he is doing right now at the WHL level. His late birthday and a ton of scouting will probably work against him at some point. But it'll be fun to look back on this thread in a few years time and see how he's progressed. I know Dach and Krebs are supposed to be very solid players, so next year we'll have a better grasp of things.

He is a hell of a shooter though, I can't stress how good his shot is. Just picks corners with such ease.

 

[Daneurism]

2019 has so many talented forwards, so I don't think you'll have a good idea until the 01s start major junior.

Josh Williams and Massimo Rizzo are two other very high end western players.

 

[93LEAFS]

Early favorite for 2019 top pick?

When over half the draft class is still playing AAA hockey it is too early to proclaim someone a favorite unless there is a McDavid like talent.

 

[Daximus]

2019 is definitley a heavy western and Atlantic Canada year.

In the West you have kids like Dach, Krebs, Foote, Barlage, Byram, Sakic, Rizzo, Mutala, Williams, Korczak, Cozans, Gauthier and Bilous.

In the East you have Poulin, Simoneau and Parent.

I'm billing this draft the WHL draft for now. Because the West so far has a lot of the big names.

 

[covfefe]

He has a hat trick against the Giants with most of the 3rd left to go, two on the PP and one excellent shot off an uncontested zone entry. Obviously the Giants are a bad team so it's probably safe to not put too much weight into these kind of games. But all three were pure shooters goals.

He has justifiably been getting a lot of prime powerplay time for the last 2 months as the youngest guy on the team.

 

[passive voice]

He has a hat trick against the Giants with most of the 3rd left to go, two on the PP and one excellent shot off an uncontested zone entry. Obviously the Giants are a bad team so it's probably safe to not put too much weight into these kind of games. But all three were pure shooters goals.

He has justifiably been getting a lot of prime powerplay time for the last 2 months as the youngest guy on the team.

Good lord he can rip it. That third goal was hard to tell--most guys I'd assume it rode up the defender's stick. With Foote I default to "nah, just wired it".

 

[PAZ]

He definitely looks very promising to be a lottery pick and it's really impressive what he's accomplishing, but half of his draft class are probably still in their growth spurts. Not really fair to compare him to other 15-year-olds. He's physically ready for the WHL, almost none of his peers are.

 

[covfefe]

No comparisons to 15 year olds and the high end 2019 players were made. In fact, I've tried to think of his season in a vacuum away from those players because it's simply not fair to rank them on a relative basis this year. Once they are all on the same playing field that debate will make sense..

That aside, the fact that his draft peers are not yet WHL regulars shouldn't limit the discussion on him as a player.

 

[Daximus]

No comparisons to 15 year olds and the high end 2019 players were made. In fact, I've tried to think of his season in a vacuum away from those players because it's simply not fair to rank them on a relative basis this year. Once they are all on the same playing field that debate will make sense..

That aside, the fact that his draft peers are not yet WHL regulars shouldn't limit the discussion on him as a player.

Not only that but it's not like Krebs and Dach haven't been showing how good they are either. Dach had a 2 goal night the other night and has 3 points in 5 games. Krebs has 6 points in 6 games with Kootenay. Give either of those two the whole season and I bet it looks a lot closer than it seems between them and Foote. Barlage has looked good as well with Swift but no points in 2 games. The 2019 WHL class is very very good. There's still a few more high profile guys in the CSSHL and other western midget leagues that look really promising as well. Hopefully they all choose to play in the WHL.
Next few years in the Dub will make for some really exciting hockey.

 

[covfefe]

I won't be surprised at all if/when Foote is surpassed by Dach/Krebs or someone else, but again that's not really the discussion I'm looking to have here. It does look like the WHL has strong years ahead, though. Really just trying to keep people up to date on an exciting player who could be a good one down the road.

 

[Hammer Slammer]