Prospect Info: Round 4, Pick 106: Matthew Strome, LW, Hamilton (OHL)

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Haha that we do

Thankfully im no longer in the doghouse

I have been there done that with 2 wives. past and current.
at times it is a familiar theme

 

[Flyerfan13]

Was he really a projected 1st round pick as talked about in his post draft interview?

 

[Rebels57]

Was he really a projected 1st round pick as talked about in his post draft interview?

Future Considerations ranked him 29th overall

http://www.eliteprospects.com/draftcenter.php?year=2017&layout=&ranking=Rank4

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Was he really a projected 1st round pick as talked about in his post draft interview?

Bob McKenzie had him 29 on his mid-season rankings. He was at 59 in his end of the season rankings.

 

[Flyerfan13]

Thanks guys catching up on the last 2 days.

 

[Magua]

Since no one posted it yet (should add it to opening page)

 

[tymed]

Just from checking out highlight videos you can see that he's an excellent goal scorer. He can flat out beat a goalie clean with his wrister, find endless soft spots in prime shooting positions, bang home rebounds with ease, and his hand eye coordination seems strong as he had several nice tipping goals and batted a couple pucks out of the air this year.

You don't see much for neutral zone in the highlight vids and so don't much of a taste for his skating but it doesn't seem to stop him from finding open space in the offensive zone. He's got definite trigger man potential on a scoring line if he can get his feet to keep up with the play but the vids show little in terms of playmaking, which doesn't appear to be his objective anyways. He tends always to be to and around the net and clearly relies on playmakers to do the playmaking.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Simmonds isn't even close to slow...

But I was told as much.

 

[BritainStix]

I know it's a highlight video, but gosh, that kid is always in the right place on the ice. His IQ looks off the charts. He's got a mean wrister too.

 

[Roo Mad Bro]

If he can get his skating to just a passable level he could be an NHLer based off his other tools.

 

[Guy Gadowsky]

And you have a Strome, we have a Strome,m everyone has a Strome

 

[dingbathero]

Wasnt the knock against current Sens Mark Stone his skating?

I view our Strome in his light. A knack for getting his shot off while being effective. Skating can improve but his mind is what will be the ultimate resource of his success.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

I agree that he does get to even average NHL skating ability he is going to be a pretty good NHL player. He has time to get that fixed.

 

[Rebels57]

Wasnt the knock against current Sens Mark Stone his skating?

I view our Strome in his light. A knack for getting his shot off while being effective. Skating can improve but his mind is what will be the ultimate resource of his success.

That's an excellent comparable actually.

 

[sa cyred]

I agree that he does get to even average NHL skating ability he is going to be a pretty good NHL player. He has time to get that fixed.

We can see first hand what can happen when a player (Lindbolm) improves their skating. Seems like the Strome family has problems with that though. Hoping our organization though can help with that.

 

[Origina1Master]

I must admit, I was definitely negatively influenced by his name. I am really not a fan of Dylan, even though he will probably still be a pretty good NHL player. Anyways, regarding Matthew, he really seems like a nice, humble kid and I hope nothing but the best for him. He knows what he needs to work on so hopefully he puts in the work and it pays off.

 

[Fragmuffin]

This kid is the closest thing to a steal in this draft for us IMO

 

[Hiesenberg]

I watch that video and say "doesn't look so bad on skates" Then you realize there isn't any shot of him actually skating, mostly just position and gliding.

Also, I can't skate, so even Stromes worst skating day is way better than mine.

 

[WIP CALLER]

getting strome in the 4th is great value if anything. love his shot and iq. lindblom had skating issues that caused his fall as well and he worked hard to overcome that. don't see why strome can t do the same thing. would be awesome if he ends up being the best strome out of his highly touted brothers.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Hextall's comments about him were kind of weird. I like the pick and I like Strome (I think I mentioned him as a guy I would have taken in the 2nd), but Hextall in that video someone posted earlier kind of de-briefing the draft almost sounded reluctant to draft him. Could just be Hextall and the way he talks but it was like they didn't think he'd be there and because he was there they were almost forced to take him or something.

 

[Tripod]

Hextall's comments about him were kind of weird. I like the pick and I like Strome (I think I mentioned him as a guy I would have taken in the 2nd), but Hextall in that video someone posted earlier kind of de-briefing the draft almost sounded reluctant to draft him. Could just be Hextall and the way he talks but it was like they didn't think he'd be there and because he was there they were almost forced to take him or something.

It could be very well that they don't really "like" him, but because he was there in the 4th rd, it made sense to take the shot at him.

I myself was meh on Strome....because people were saying he could be a 2nd rd pick. But getting him in the 4th is good value, even if I am still meh on him.

 

[deadhead]

It's all relevant to the cost.
As a 2nd round pick, you'd want him to flash top 6 talent.
As a 4th round pick, if he can be a PP specialist who plays on a bottom six line, he's great value.

 

[Larry44]

It's all relevant to the cost.
As a 2nd round pick, you'd want him to flash top 6 talent.
As a 4th round pick, if he can be a PP specialist who plays on a bottom six line, he's great value.

I watched at least 10 Bulldogs games this year. Strome and Studenic were the two players who stood out for me among the draft eligibles. NJ took Studenic, who is really fast and skilled but not intense.

I liked that Strome said he has two years in the OHL to work on his skating. That's someone who knows where he is and has a plan. He always impressed me with the smart plays he made. Now he's hired Barb Underhill, one of Canada's figure skating legends (as a skater and coach), to spend the summer working on his skating. Let's hope she can get him doing lutzes by August!

Some of Barb Underhill's work:

If she can find a hitch in Auston's stride, she might be able to help Matthew.
https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2016/07/06/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-gets-skating-tips-from-barb-underhill.html

Underhill quickly noticed a flaw in Matthews’ stride: his left shoulder wasn’t coming across enough.

“She definitely paid close attention to it so I’ll try and work on it throughout the week,” Matthews said.

https://psmag.com/social-justice/woman-whos-teaching-nhl-skate-76542

Brian Boyle is one of Underhill’s more notable success stories. The 6'7", 244-pound forward was a fringe NHL player a few seasons ago, before the New York Rangers sent him to work with Underhill. With a near two-foot height difference between them, they struggled initially to find chemistry on the ice.

“He shows up and he’s looking at me, and I'm looking at him, and I'm sure he was thinking to himself, ‘What the heck is she going to teach me?’ But the next day he came into the rink and he couldn't walk,” she laughs. “His hips were so sore from our session that he knew there must be something to it.”

After an offseason of training together, Boyle’s skating improved tremendously and so did his play. Soon after, he found a role within the team and has remained on the Ranger’s roster ever since.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

God I remember when Boyle was in Manchester. He was a really, really bad skater. Of course they did mess with him a bit switching him around defense and wing. All he could really do in the offensive zone is just stand in front of the net. if he had to move around in the offensive zone especially with the puck it wasnt pretty to watch. But the guy to his credit worked on his skating.

 

[CutOnDime97]

I'm not sure why people are down on this pick. It's a fourth rounder and from everything I have read he's got top-end hockey sense and a ton of skill. Skating does come up everywhere with him, but hopefully that can be corrected. Love the pick.