turnbuckle*
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I posted this on the Habs board, figured i may as well put it here too.
I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon having beverages with an NHL scout , and I followed that up with a phone call to another one who I highly respect - they're both heading to Vancouver tomorrow.
Heard lots of interesting stuff, including that Fischer is the biggest "idiot" of the draft. Mr. Fischer spent the majority of his combine interviews espousing his greatness and putting down his coaching - and I mean "really" putting down his coaching. This was not an isolated thing - Fischer managed to turn off pretty much every team he interviewed, and the scouts had a running joke going after awhile. One scout told me that he ran into a colleague partway through the interviews, and he said "Did you interview the idiot yet?" He asked who it was, and the fellow scout replied 'Oh, you'll know when you talk to him."
The next time he met scouts in the hallway, others began talking about whether others had interviewed "the idiot" - he was perhaps
the most obnoxious interview they had ever had. It became a running joke.
Both scouts concurred that there's not a lot of difference between the 2nd and 7th prospects. The one that spends a lot of time out west was quite impressed with Mueller, and would be tempted to pick him over both Kessel and Brassard. "They're all so close," he said. "But I saw Mueller play some outstanding games. He's really smart and skilled."
Anyway - Berglund got a big thumbs down from these scouts - they're not sold on him being a first rounder, let alone a top 20 pick. Not smart with the puck; has a tendency to try to go end-to-end with the puck. Not always willing to put in the effort.
Stewart will be a great pick at 16 if he's there, but these scouts doubt that he'll last that long. BTW - both said they would take Stewart over Frolik.
I asked both of them who their top defenceman is after Johnson -
- both of them said Summers and Sanguinetti. I asked them if Summers was a top 20 pick, and they both concurred.
As for Little - they both have him in their top 10.
Okposo wasn't as popular as I thought he would be - in fact one of the scouts has Okposo rated after Little, Tlusty, and Sheppard.
"He's an enigma," said one scout. "I saw him play four times - he didn't seem to have a defined role. He didn't score, he didn't playmake...and had one shot on goal. I wasn't very impressed."
I asked the same scout about Kessel - he had him ranked 7th. "I don't like him," said the scout. "I see selfishness. I could see him maybe being on his third team before he's a star; that type of player." The scout concurred that Kessel was one of the players at the under-18s that didn't sign the sweater for the disabled equipment trainer that Jack Johnson asked his teammates to sign. "Johnson got him to sign it in a hurry."
Grabner was considered a top 20 pick by both scouts, they like his skill.
Neither scout has Giroux rated in the top 20, but they like him in the first round. Vishnevsky and Williams are not listed in either scouts' top 30.
Foligno versus White - they like both players, but Foligno is considered to be better. "He's a better skater than White and smarter" said one scout.
These are the scouts' top 17 picks:
Johnson
Staal
Toews
Backstrom
Mueller
Kessel
Brassard
Little
Tlusty
Sheppard
Okposo
Stewart
Sanguinetti
Frolik
Summers
Bernier
Grabner
The more I hear about Summers; the more I think he'll be a good pick. Both think he'll be picked in the top 20.
McBain got mixed reviews a solid character but lacking the defensive skills/size to be a first rounder. Maxwell was also not considered to be first-round material, same with Clutterbuck.
Anisimov, Varlamov and Alexandrov are the most coveted Russians with both scouts - Vasyunov too much of a hot and cold player to be considered for the first round.
Burki and Geoffrion are not first rounders according to these scouts, nor is Emmerton, but they all should go in the 2nd round.
Lewis - 3rd rounder. Said a scout: "He's not the most willing guy."
Nigel Williams - neither are fans. Said one scout "He doesn't have a clue how to play defence. Great athlete, but that's it."
Wishart - they see him going in the first round, but both have problems with his first step. "He's slow footed," said one, which surprised me. Neither is impressed by his aggressiveness, or lack thereof.
Vishnevsky - "Some shifts he looks like a world beater, so much skating talent, but he's really poor in his own zone; he just bails out. Too much of a risk to take in the first round"
Mathias - A solid second rounder after his Under 18 performance, not necessarily before. "I like him - he competes," said a scout. "He's non-stop."
I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon having beverages with an NHL scout , and I followed that up with a phone call to another one who I highly respect - they're both heading to Vancouver tomorrow.
Heard lots of interesting stuff, including that Fischer is the biggest "idiot" of the draft. Mr. Fischer spent the majority of his combine interviews espousing his greatness and putting down his coaching - and I mean "really" putting down his coaching. This was not an isolated thing - Fischer managed to turn off pretty much every team he interviewed, and the scouts had a running joke going after awhile. One scout told me that he ran into a colleague partway through the interviews, and he said "Did you interview the idiot yet?" He asked who it was, and the fellow scout replied 'Oh, you'll know when you talk to him."
The next time he met scouts in the hallway, others began talking about whether others had interviewed "the idiot" - he was perhaps
the most obnoxious interview they had ever had. It became a running joke.
Both scouts concurred that there's not a lot of difference between the 2nd and 7th prospects. The one that spends a lot of time out west was quite impressed with Mueller, and would be tempted to pick him over both Kessel and Brassard. "They're all so close," he said. "But I saw Mueller play some outstanding games. He's really smart and skilled."
Anyway - Berglund got a big thumbs down from these scouts - they're not sold on him being a first rounder, let alone a top 20 pick. Not smart with the puck; has a tendency to try to go end-to-end with the puck. Not always willing to put in the effort.
Stewart will be a great pick at 16 if he's there, but these scouts doubt that he'll last that long. BTW - both said they would take Stewart over Frolik.
I asked both of them who their top defenceman is after Johnson -
- both of them said Summers and Sanguinetti. I asked them if Summers was a top 20 pick, and they both concurred.
As for Little - they both have him in their top 10.
Okposo wasn't as popular as I thought he would be - in fact one of the scouts has Okposo rated after Little, Tlusty, and Sheppard.
"He's an enigma," said one scout. "I saw him play four times - he didn't seem to have a defined role. He didn't score, he didn't playmake...and had one shot on goal. I wasn't very impressed."
I asked the same scout about Kessel - he had him ranked 7th. "I don't like him," said the scout. "I see selfishness. I could see him maybe being on his third team before he's a star; that type of player." The scout concurred that Kessel was one of the players at the under-18s that didn't sign the sweater for the disabled equipment trainer that Jack Johnson asked his teammates to sign. "Johnson got him to sign it in a hurry."
Grabner was considered a top 20 pick by both scouts, they like his skill.
Neither scout has Giroux rated in the top 20, but they like him in the first round. Vishnevsky and Williams are not listed in either scouts' top 30.
Foligno versus White - they like both players, but Foligno is considered to be better. "He's a better skater than White and smarter" said one scout.
These are the scouts' top 17 picks:
Johnson
Staal
Toews
Backstrom
Mueller
Kessel
Brassard
Little
Tlusty
Sheppard
Okposo
Stewart
Sanguinetti
Frolik
Summers
Bernier
Grabner
The more I hear about Summers; the more I think he'll be a good pick. Both think he'll be picked in the top 20.
McBain got mixed reviews a solid character but lacking the defensive skills/size to be a first rounder. Maxwell was also not considered to be first-round material, same with Clutterbuck.
Anisimov, Varlamov and Alexandrov are the most coveted Russians with both scouts - Vasyunov too much of a hot and cold player to be considered for the first round.
Burki and Geoffrion are not first rounders according to these scouts, nor is Emmerton, but they all should go in the 2nd round.
Lewis - 3rd rounder. Said a scout: "He's not the most willing guy."
Nigel Williams - neither are fans. Said one scout "He doesn't have a clue how to play defence. Great athlete, but that's it."
Wishart - they see him going in the first round, but both have problems with his first step. "He's slow footed," said one, which surprised me. Neither is impressed by his aggressiveness, or lack thereof.
Vishnevsky - "Some shifts he looks like a world beater, so much skating talent, but he's really poor in his own zone; he just bails out. Too much of a risk to take in the first round"
Mathias - A solid second rounder after his Under 18 performance, not necessarily before. "I like him - he competes," said a scout. "He's non-stop."
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