Prospect Info: Round 5, 135th overall: Carter Sotheran, RHD, Portland (WHL)

[GKJ]

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[sa cyred]

Carter Sotheran - 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Carter Sotheran is a big, defensive defenseman who skates well and shuts plays down with his large frame and his stick work.

thehockeywriters.com

He boasts a better physical game than most 17-year-olds I’ve ever seen in junior hockey, ragdolling guys in board battles and boxing out opposing forwards in front of his own net with ease. The crazy thing is that Sotheran has even more room to grow into his frame, which should allow him to handle NHL physicality in a few years. Sotheran’s gap control (the ability to maintain a safe/smart gap between him and the opposing attacker) is quite mature already and he’s always ready to be the last man back on defense, especially when his regular defense partner, Luca Cagnoni, cheats a bit for offense.

Sotheran’s offensive game hasn’t been particularly dynamic for most of his draft year, which is why he isn’t being heralded as a top-two round pick by most people. However, I think a big reason that’s the case is that he was paired with Cagnoni for most of the season, one of the best pure-offensive defenders in the class. Carrying the defensive load for the entire pairing this year left Sotheran much fewer opportunities to show off his offensive skills.

His hockey sense shows up again when he’s transitioning the puck up ice, where Sotheran is good at attracting attention before passing ahead to teammates in space. He has shown glimpses of skill with the puck, moving around and through defenders in traffic, but he hasn’t been empowered to play that way for most of the year so his offensive game has looked pretty limited for much of the year.

 

[Appleyard]

 

[wankstifier]

Was he on the 2nd or 3rd pair? I like that reports highlight he's a transition player. Seems like there might be an offensive breakout in D+1?

 

[saophim]

McKeen's:

Sotheran was one of the best-kept secrets in the WHL early on in the season, but word quickly spread and that didn't last long. He was far from a lock to even make a Winterhawks team that was already deep on the blueline, and not only did he crack their roster as a rookie, but he also formed an established 1-2 punch with Luca Cagnoni, working as the defense-first yin to the offense-first yang of his partner. Even more importantly, his steep upward trajectory strongly suggested that a lot more progress is on the horizon for him.
Tall, smooth-skating defensemen can dictate the play at the NHL level to a degree that other types of players cannot. It was exciting to watch Sotheran this season because you could see him slowly but surely learning this in real time, sometimes even one shift to the next. He just kept getting more efficient and effective with how he could swallow up opposing forwards, separate them from the puck, and help his team take the first steps with their newest stretch of possession. Sometimes he made it look incredibly easy and other times the execution wasn't quite right, but there was never any doubt about whether his success rate would keep ticking upwards. His upside starts to seem even more enticing once you learn just how much he dominated U18 Triple A hockey in Manitoba last year, winning defenseman of the year after leading the league in both goals and points by a blueliner. Just wait until his confidence reaches another level and Portland lets him play more minutes.
If his offensive game can start growing at even just a fraction of the rate that his defensive game is growing now, then the sky could be the limit for him.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Hopefully he can become this. Time will tell, as always.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Was he on the 2nd or 3rd pair? I like that reports highlight he's a transition player. Seems like there might be an offensive breakout in D+1?

If you're gonna be a defensive bigboi then you best be good at pushing play up ice. I also like that.

 

[sigma six]

Tall, smooth-skating defensemen

Shades of Coburn, another former Winterhawk? I haven't had a chance to watch him yet.

 

[Rebels57]

Niskanen
Braun
Ellis
Ristolainen
DeAngelo

Attard
Samson
Bonk
Sotheran

RHD traded for or drafted by the Flyers since Flahr has been here.

 

[Don Nachbaur 26]

McKeen's:

Sotheran was one of the best-kept secrets in the WHL early on in the season, but word quickly spread and that didn't last long. He was far from a lock to even make a Winterhawks team that was already deep on the blueline, and not only did he crack their roster as a rookie, but he also formed an established 1-2 punch with Luca Cagnoni, working as the defense-first yin to the offense-first yang of his partner. Even more importantly, his steep upward trajectory strongly suggested that a lot more progress is on the horizon for him.
Tall, smooth-skating defensemen can dictate the play at the NHL level to a degree that other types of players cannot. It was exciting to watch Sotheran this season because you could see him slowly but surely learning this in real time, sometimes even one shift to the next. He just kept getting more efficient and effective with how he could swallow up opposing forwards, separate them from the puck, and help his team take the first steps with their newest stretch of possession. Sometimes he made it look incredibly easy and other times the execution wasn't quite right, but there was never any doubt about whether his success rate would keep ticking upwards. His upside starts to seem even more enticing once you learn just how much he dominated U18 Triple A hockey in Manitoba last year, winning defenseman of the year after leading the league in both goals and points by a blueliner. Just wait until his confidence reaches another level and Portland lets him play more minutes.
If his offensive game can start growing at even just a fraction of the rate that his defensive game is growing now, then the sky could be the limit for him.

ooh. That's a swing on a player. Ok, I"m on board.

 

[scumpup]

Niskanen
Braun
Ellis
Ristolainen
DeAngelo

Attard
Samson
Bonk
Sotheran

RHD traded for or drafted by the Flyers since Flahr has been here.

u just wrote the same guy 9 times but with varying skill level...

 

[FLYguy3911]

Sotheran was ~0.5 PPG for a good chunk of the early season with no PP time. Playing with Cagnoni helped (crazy they only went a few picks apart). Rate dipped in the second half. The reason he caught my attention was because he was a CHL rookie producing well at ES and he was a big point producer in minor hockey. Led his team in scoring his last two seasons before Portland. Young. Big frame. Similar profile to Sanheim (not that skilled obviously and Sanheim kept ascending). It's hard to find late round gems from the CHL, but these are the ones that pop if they do. He probably won't explode next year with Cagnoni still there but hopefully in his age 19 season.

Skating needs to come a bit and you hope that's just a case of his body maturing. I think he could turn out to be a modern day, defensive defenseman that can actually move pucks and keep cycles alive.

 

[deadhead]

Niskanen
Braun
Ellis
Ristolainen
DeAngelo

Attard
Samson
Bonk
Sotheran

RHD traded for or drafted by the Flyers since Flahr has been here.

Left out Grans.
Doubt Flahr had anything to do with the veteran acquisitions.

 

[Magua]

Doubt Flahr had anything to do with the veteran acquisitions.

Anything?! He's the f***ing AGM and VP of Hockey Ops!

 

[Beef Invictus]

Reminder that Flahr is technically Briere's f***ing boss.

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I like the pick. Watching video and reading scouting reports, he seems like a Willie Mitchell type of defender. I'm intrigued about his offensive upside though because it seems like there's some untapped potential there.

 

[Rebels57]

I like the pick. Watching video and reading scouting reports, he seems like a Willie Mitchell type of defender. I'm intrigued about his offensive upside though because it seems like there's some untapped potential there.

Willie Mitchell is an archetype now? Lol

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

Willie Mitchell is an archetype now? Lol

Willie Mitchell was a decent defensive defenseman. I always liked players who played to what their skillset was. Mitchell would also give you an honest 20 minutes a night. You need those guys that will do the dirty work and just go about their business.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I didn't mean to undersell his skillset by predicting his future role. He has a pretty good skill level. Likes to join the rush and activate. He's kinda similar to Bonk tbh. Just with less polish. He just won't be running PPs.

 

[PDX Flyer]

I didn't mean to undersell his skillset by predicting his future role. He has a pretty good skill level. Likes to join the rush and activate. He's kinda similar to Bonk tbh. Just with less polish. He just won't be running PPs.

From my huge sample size of one game against Seattle lol.....he will need to make strides in processing the game when the puck gets on his stick. I saw a lot of hot potato passes to his partner, chip outs up the boards and stretch passes to no one that led to icings.

He is a RHD with size that can skate though. Look forward to catching some games in his D +1 year. Should get a look at more special teams as well.

If we took him with a 2nd or 3rd I’d be wtf but I see a potential upside pick IF he can progress in his transition game, especially while under pressure

 

[deadhead]

Not much physical projection, just turned 18 and listed at 6'3 205.
So in a sense, what you see is what you get, at best some incremental improvements.
Any jump will come from experience.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Not much physical projection, just turned 18 and listed at 6'3 205.
So in a sense, what you see is what you get, at best some incremental improvements.
Any jump will come from experience.

Weird you told us nonstop that they never draft this way.

 

[scumpup]

if this guy learns how to skate up the ice, he can be a good #5 for our new rotating young bottom pairing Dmen. The Flyers will finally stop bringing in old ppl to play 8 mins a night... right?

To compensate for our inability to get #1 d men if we just have 6 2nd pair tier defensemen we can cope until chris pronger comes back.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

if this guy learns how to skate up the ice, he can be a good #5 for our new rotating young bottom pairing Dmen. The Flyers will finally stop bringing in old ppl to play 8 mins a night... right?

To compensate for our inability to get #1 d men if we just have 6 2nd pair tier defensemen we can cope until chris pronger comes back.

I know you were joking, but I have thought about that scenario a lot - can a team which runs out six second-pairing guys contend for a championship? I think it's pretty interesting. I don't get caught up in whether or not it has ever happened - there's always room for a new paradigm. I just wonder if it's possible.

 

[Striiker]

I know you were joking, but I have thought about that scenario a lot - can a team which runs out six second-pairing guys contend for a championship? I think it's pretty interesting. I don't get caught up in whether or not it has ever happened - there's always room for a new paradigm. I just wonder if it's possible.

Absolutely, so long as the forwards and goalies are good enough to compensate.