Prospect Info: Sharks Prospect Info/Discussion Thread XIV

[Lebanezer]

Weatherby was such a random pick.

I means he’s only 6 months OLDER than Blichfeld and Gregor, who were drafted 2 years before him. That’s always a good choice. If he plays four years in college he’ll be 24 when the Sharks can finally sign him to a contract, which they won’t.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Weatherby was such a random pick.

Wasn’t he the guy that went to a 2016 playoff game as a fan? (Yes, I know that Radil did that too, but one of our other prospects also did.)

EDIT:

 

[CaptainShark]

CHL-Update

Gregor with a -1 in a 4-3 loss
Blichfeld with 1g, 2a, +1, named 2nd star in a 5-1 win
Merkley with 1g, +2 in a 6-3 win
Chekhovich +2 in a 5-1 win
Chmelevski 2a, +1 in a 5-3 win

 

[OrrNumber4]

Wasn’t he the guy that went to a 2016 playoff game as a fan? (Yes, I know that Radil did that too, but one of our other prospects also did.)

EDIT:

That's why the Sharks drafted him. Dead serious.

 

[Mayo8898]

Weatherby with an assist
Leonard with a goal

 

[hohosaregood]

That's why the Sharks drafted him. Dead serious.

I mean sure do the feel good stuff in the 7th round. Kinda dumb to do it in the 4th round. I'm aware the odds are pretty bad after the 2nd round to begin with but still seems wasteful.

 

[The Nemesis]

That's why the Sharks drafted him. Dead serious.

I doubt it. This isn't a team drafting a feel-good story like the Devils taking Marty Brodeur's son, or that time a team picked a kid with a heart condition late in the draft knowing he'd almost certainly never be able to play again (I wish I could remember who that was). In the 4th round you're still picking to stock your system. Looking at the board, when Weatherby was picked there were still plenty of players that different scouting outlets had pegged as 3rd/4th rounders still on the board (hell, of particular note are a quartet of players who participated in the WJC this year and who were all chosen after Weatherby: Martin Pospisil, Jack St. Ivany, Milos Roman, and Philipp Kurashev), which means it's way too early to start picking for story or feels. All this likely was was the team getting fooled by a scout or scouts who were enamored with Weatherby's surface production (he led the BCHL in scoring and was the league MVP) and physical traits (6'4, 215), ignored the red flags (over-age player who didn't crack the BCHL until he was 19 and spent the previous years in a Midget U18 league, which is never a good sign for a prospect with high pro aspirations, wasn't an impact player in any league until his draft year, the BCHL doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation for turning out a large amount of NHL talent) and did too good of a sell job on him.

It happens sometimes. You'd like to see it happen well after the 4th round (I likely wouldn't even want to start looking at extreme lottery ticket players like this until you're into the last 60-75 picks of the draft), but it's gonna happen. Not excusing the pick entirely, because the point of a scouting department is that someone should've been checking for this sort of possibility to guard against it, but I can see a much more reasonable "excuse" for the pick than DWjr sitting at the draft table and saying "this dude was at our cup run. It'd be an awesome story to draft him. Do it now." at the high end of the 4th.

I may not be a pro scout, but I can attest that it's easy enough to get sucked into watching a player, liking what they do, and convincing yourself that their faults and flaws aren't a big deal or that there's something worthwhile at the NHL level if you polish him enough. I'm not totally writing him off yet, but it's why I was so pissed the Sharks picked Mark Shoemaker in 2016 when Ty Ronning was on the board. I watched Ronning play 30+ games that year and was convinced he had "it" to get past his size in the new pro landscape and succeed at least as a middle-6 guy. And then I watched him the next season as an over-age WHLer and score 61 goals and look unstoppable. Now he's toiling in the ECHL for the Rangers and while it's not a total death knell, it's enough to make me take a sobering look at just how much I was willing to overlook when I decided "he'll be fine as a pro". And that's at the WHL level. I can only imagine the temptation is even greater when you're looking at inferior leagues where flawed guys can dominate even more once they have an age advantage on most of the rest of the field.

 

[Alaskanice]

I doubt it. This isn't a team drafting a feel-good story like the Devils taking Marty Brodeur's son, or that time a team picked a kid with a heart condition late in the draft knowing he'd almost certainly never be able to play again (I wish I could remember who that was). In the 4th round you're still picking to stock your system. Looking at the board, when Weatherby was picked there were still plenty of players that different scouting outlets had pegged as 3rd/4th rounders still on the board (hell, of particular note are a quartet of players who participated in the WJC this year and who were all chosen after Weatherby: Martin Pospisil, Jack St. Ivany, Milos Roman, and Philipp Kurashev), which means it's way too early to start picking for story or feels. All this likely was was the team getting fooled by a scout or scouts who were enamored with Weatherby's surface production (he led the BCHL in scoring and was the league MVP) and physical traits (6'4, 215), ignored the red flags (over-age player who didn't crack the BCHL until he was 19 and spent the previous years in a Midget U18 league, which is never a good sign for a prospect with high pro aspirations, wasn't an impact player in any league until his draft year, the BCHL doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation for turning out a large amount of NHL talent) and did too good of a sell job on him.

It happens sometimes. You'd like to see it happen well after the 4th round (I likely wouldn't even want to start looking at extreme lottery ticket players like this until you're into the last 60-75 picks of the draft), but it's gonna happen. Not excusing the pick entirely, because the point of a scouting department is that someone should've been checking for this sort of possibility to guard against it, but I can see a much more reasonable "excuse" for the pick than DWjr sitting at the draft table and saying "this dude was at our cup run. It'd be an awesome story to draft him. Do it now." at the high end of the 4th.

I may not be a pro scout, but I can attest that it's easy enough to get sucked into watching a player, liking what they do, and convincing yourself that their faults and flaws aren't a big deal or that there's something worthwhile at the NHL level if you polish him enough. I'm not totally writing him off yet, but it's why I was so pissed the Sharks picked Mark Shoemaker in 2016 when Ty Ronning was on the board. I watched Ronning play 30+ games that year and was convinced he had "it" to get past his size in the new pro landscape and succeed at least as a middle-6 guy. And then I watched him the next season as an over-age WHLer and score 61 goals and look unstoppable. Now he's toiling in the ECHL for the Rangers and while it's not a total death knell, it's enough to make me take a sobering look at just how much I was willing to overlook when I decided "he'll be fine as a pro". And that's at the WHL level. I can only imagine the temptation is even greater when you're looking at inferior leagues where flawed guys can dominate even more once they have an age advantage on most of the rest of the field.

Nem,
This is all because you’re still peeved we didn’t draft Milos Roman.

 

[The Nemesis]

Nem,
This is all because you’re still peeved we didn’t draft Milos Roman.

A little.

I also grew to like Kurashev quite a bit at the WJCs, but I accept that watching a guy for a week and a half in a short-run tournament is not the same as watching someone compete in a regular league over a longer period of time

I've moved on somewhat, though. Moved on to the sad reality that we're not getting Bowen Byram unless a) DW decides to trade a marquee player (or one with marquee name value like Vlasic) b) decides to trade the player from (a) for pick(s) and c) a team is somehow desperate enough to give up a top 6-10 pick for the player from (a).

That said, the sad reality of the above doesn't also mean that I'd be averse to the Sharks using a 3rd/4th on.... say.... Trent Miner? It can't possibly go as badly as the last time the Sharks used a mid-round pick on a Giants goaltender (I see you, Tyson Sexsmith ) if for no other reason than that Sexsmith was 100% a system goalie and Miner isn't.

 

[Alaskanice]

A little.

I also grew to like Kurashev quite a bit at the WJCs, but I accept that watching a guy for a week and a half in a short-run tournament is not the same as watching someone compete in a regular league over a longer period of time

I've moved on somewhat, though. Moved on to the sad reality that we're not getting Bowen Byram unless a) DW decides to trade a marquee player (or one with marquee name value like Vlasic) b) decides to trade the player from (a) for pick(s) and c) a team is somehow desperate enough to give up a top 6-10 pick for the player from (a).

That said, the sad reality of the above doesn't also mean that I'd be averse to the Sharks using a 3rd/4th on.... say.... Trent Miner? It can't possibly go as badly as the last time the Sharks used a mid-round pick on a Giants goaltender (I see you, Tyson Sexsmith ) if for no other reason than that Sexsmith was 100% a system goalie and Miner isn't.

I sometimes wish I had a junior team close by but then my wife might leave me. The Sharks being my passion is more than enough for her. She IS a Sharks fan, mind you, just not as much as I am.

 

[The Nemesis]

I sometimes wish I had a junior team close by but then my wife might leave me. The Sharks being my passion is more than enough for her. She IS a Sharks fan, mind you, just not as much as I am.

I enjoy the WHL a lot. Not just for the opportunity to watch prospects and interesting pre-draft guys (Seeing Byram develop for the last 2 years has been fantastic. He's soooooooooo smooth. Plus next Thursday I can check out Noah Gregor with his new team, along with 2019 probable 1st rounder (that we won't have a shot at, thanks Kane ) Brett Leason and the Leafs prospect goalie who scored a goal this year, Ian Scott), it's just entertaining hockey. Rough around the edges, sure, but competitive and fun as long as you're not one of those snooty "I only watch the best or it's not worth my time." types. Just had a rather fantastic hard-fought OT win game on Saturday which washed away the bad taste of the Sharks disappointing night. And for like $20-30 a ticket to sit 4 rows up from the ice, who am I to argue?

The only downside is that I get **** from some people (*cough* @slocal *cough*) for missing so many Sharks games because I have WHL tickets and they conflict. Which, of course, is happening again this week as Tuesday I figure I might try and check out the local Jr A team for the first time this season. Because why not watch a game in a 2,500 seat arena where the "seats" are actually wood bleachers and the glass looks like it hasn't been replaced since 1996?

Also the food selection at the Giants' arena isn't stellar. Unless you like disappointing, overpriced versions of the burgers from a normally pretty good restaurant chain (who are, I'm sure totally coincidentally, owned by the team's majority owner.

 

[slocal]

Go post more pictures of PDB and Melker, Nem. That's about all you're good for these days.

 

[The Nemesis]

Go post more pictures of PDB and Melker, Nem. That's about all you're good for these days.

 

[slocal]

 

[CaptainShark]

Blichfeld scores his 40th of the season in a 3-2 loss
Edmond with 18 saves in an 8-4 win

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

I enjoy the WHL a lot. Not just for the opportunity to watch prospects and interesting pre-draft guys (Seeing Byram develop for the last 2 years has been fantastic. He's soooooooooo smooth. Plus next Thursday I can check out Noah Gregor with his new team, along with 2019 probable 1st rounder (that we won't have a shot at, thanks Kane ) Brett Leason and the Leafs prospect goalie who scored a goal this year, Ian Scott), it's just entertaining hockey. Rough around the edges, sure, but competitive and fun as long as you're not one of those snooty "I only watch the best or it's not worth my time." types. Just had a rather fantastic hard-fought OT win game on Saturday which washed away the bad taste of the Sharks disappointing night. And for like $20-30 a ticket to sit 4 rows up from the ice, who am I to argue?

The only downside is that I get **** from some people (*cough* @slocal *cough*) for missing so many Sharks games because I have WHL tickets and they conflict. Which, of course, is happening again this week as Tuesday I figure I might try and check out the local Jr A team for the first time this season. Because why not watch a game in a 2,500 seat arena where the "seats" are actually wood bleachers and the glass looks like it hasn't been replaced since 1996?

Also the food selection at the Giants' arena isn't stellar. Unless you like disappointing, overpriced versions of the burgers from a normally pretty good restaurant chain (who are, I'm sure totally coincidentally, owned by the team's majority owner.

I can confirm all of this is accurate. I’ve been to quite a few WHL games - one in Vancouver, one in Seattle, 3 in Everett. Just went to two a little under a month ago. Surprisingly, Vancouver’s arena is a bit of a dump (with meh food as Nem mentioned), Seattle is meh, and Everett is very nice.

The hockey is great and especially rough. There aren’t necessarily a ton of bone-crunching physical hits, but the guys get real chippy.

I would highly recommend a WHL game to anybody who has the opportunity to catch one.

 

[The Nemesis]

I can confirm all of this is accurate. I’ve been to quite a few WHL games - one in Vancouver, one in Seattle, 3 in Everett. Just went to two a little under a month ago. Surprisingly, Vancouver’s arena is a bit of a dump (with meh food as Nem mentioned), Seattle is meh, and Everett is very nice.

The hockey is great and especially rough. There aren’t necessarily a ton of bone-crunching physical hits, but the guys get real chippy.

I would highly recommend a WHL game to anybody who has the opportunity to catch one.

Given that you describe the arena as "a dump" I'm guessing you went to the Giants game in Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum. The Coliseum was the old home of the Canucks prior to about 1996 and it really does show its age as a giant concrete monstrosity. But starting in 2016/17 the Giants were essentially kicked out of there (so the Coliseum owners could book more events without contending with a hockey team schedule to work around. Stuff like Disney on Ice or Cirque du Soleil) and, excepting a pair of games last December where they went back to Vancouver for special events, have since migrated to the 5,200 seat Langley Events Centre in, unsurprisingly, nearby Langley (they actually played 6 games here in 2010 when the Pacific Coliseum was hijacked to serve as a venue for the Olympics). This building is less than 10 years old and while it obviously comes across like a small "minor league" arena relative to the 10,000+ crowds that could pack into the old home in Vancouver, it's actually very nice and clean (just spartan). Plus it's only about 10 minutes away from where I live, vs 1.5-2 hours to Vancouver proper, so there's that. It does raise the question of why they keep the "Vancouver" name, but it's best not to think about it (beyond that it's kind of like a "San Francisco 49ers playing out of Santa Clara" setup where they want the cache of the more prominent city name. Plus I don't want them touching the team's history via a name change or their sweet, sweet uniforms (especially the sexy red ones) with a Langley-centric rebrand) The food selection thing is partially due to the smaller venue. The aforementioned shared ownership between the team and the White Spot/Triple O's restaurant chain ensured that there would be a Triple O's burger kiosk at the games, but it's clear that they prioritize speed and volume over making a burger up to the standards of an actual restaurant (but still charge you $7 for the basic burger and $5 to fill it out to a combo). And then beyond that it's just standard generic arena fare: basic hot dogs, chicken fingers, I think maybe fish & chips, fries, poutine, and a small collection of mildly fancy sandwiches (a rueben, a pulled pork bun, and a roast beef sandwich). Plus on some game days you can come early and for $20 get a prime rib buffet dinner in a banquet hall that adjoins the concourse and hosts the pre/postgame radio broadcasts. There used to be some fancier arena food last year, but I think it must've sold poorly or had indifference from surveyed fans because they've stopped a lot of that. They even got rid of a "candy shack" vendor kiosk that used to sell crappy churros and homemade type treats (cookies, cakey breads and biscuits, rice krispy squares) and an asian noodle cart, and half the selection of the "gourmet" hot dog window so that your only options are basic dog or chili dog.

I will say that the WHL used to be a lot more physical. Probably 10 years ago or so it was by far the most physical of the CHL leagues and there were a lot of big, bone-jarring hits, lots of crunching people into the boards, and a lot more scrapping. Mostly it's been the evolution of the skill side of the game and the attempt to deter the dirty hits, headshots, and boarding plays that has pushed some of that out of the game and somewhat normalized things across all three CHL leagues. But the games remain spirited and scrappy. That OT game I mentioned was against Moose Jaw, who they play once a season at best (because a Jr team traveling halfway across the country by bus is a logistical and travel time nightmare) but they still really went at it with a bunch of post-whistle scraps and some near fights. Maybe on Thursday I'll get some pics of the trappings of the new arena itself, just to illustrate what the major junior hockey experience is like (because the Giants are now in line with like 90% of the CHL, excepting Calgary and Edmonton, who still play out of the pro-sized NHL arenas of the Flames and Oilers. I believe Portland also sometimes uses the Rose Garden when the Trailblazers aren't at home and they can pull the basketball court up.) given that I imagine it's something that most of you in northern California won't get a chance to experience without making an out-of-state trip to, like, Portland or into Washington state (it's not quite the same as the Cuda or other AHL teams since most of their arenas are going to be at least 10,000 seat capacity, especially the Cuda since they play in the SAP Center). Plus it'll actually be kinda topical since it's the Gregor game.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Given that you describe the arena as "a dump" I'm guessing you went to the Giants game in Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum. The Coliseum was the old home of the Canucks prior to about 1996 and it really does show its age as a giant concrete monstrosity. But starting in 2016/17 the Giants were essentially kicked out of there (so the Coliseum owners could book more events without contending with a hockey team schedule to work around. Stuff like Disney on Ice or Cirque du Soleil) and, excepting a pair of games last December where they went back to Vancouver for special events, have since migrated to the 5,200 seat Langley Events Centre in, unsurprisingly, nearby Langley (they actually played 6 games here in 2010 when the Pacific Coliseum was hijacked to serve as a venue for the Olympics). This building is less than 10 years old and while it obviously comes across like a small "minor league" arena relative to the 10,000+ crowds that could pack into the old home in Vancouver, it's actually very nice and clean (just spartan). Plus it's only about 10 minutes away from where I live, vs 1.5-2 hours to Vancouver proper, so there's that. It does raise the question of why they keep the "Vancouver" name, but it's best not to think about it (beyond that it's kind of like a "San Francisco 49ers playing out of Santa Clara" setup where they want the cache of the more prominent city name. Plus I don't want them touching the team's history via a name change or their sweet, sweet uniforms (especially the sexy red ones) with a Langley-centric rebrand) The food selection thing is partially due to the smaller venue. The aforementioned shared ownership between the team and the White Spot/Triple O's restaurant chain ensured that there would be a Triple O's burger kiosk at the games, but it's clear that they prioritize speed and volume over making a burger up to the standards of an actual restaurant (but still charge you $7 for the basic burger and $5 to fill it out to a combo). And then beyond that it's just standard generic arena fare: basic hot dogs, chicken fingers, I think maybe fish & chips, fries, poutine, and a small collection of mildly fancy sandwiches (a rueben, a pulled pork bun, and a roast beef sandwich). Plus on some game days you can come early and for $20 get a prime rib buffet dinner in a banquet hall that adjoins the concourse and hosts the pre/postgame radio broadcasts. There used to be some fancier arena food last year, but I think it must've sold poorly or had indifference from surveyed fans because they've stopped a lot of that. They even got rid of a "candy shack" vendor kiosk that used to sell crappy churros and homemade type treats (cookies, cakey breads and biscuits, rice krispy squares) and an asian noodle cart, and half the selection of the "gourmet" hot dog window so that your only options are basic dog or chili dog.

I will say that the WHL used to be a lot more physical. Probably 10 years ago or so it was by far the most physical of the CHL leagues and there were a lot of big, bone-jarring hits, lots of crunching people into the boards, and a lot more scrapping. Mostly it's been the evolution of the skill side of the game and the attempt to deter the dirty hits, headshots, and boarding plays that has pushed some of that out of the game and somewhat normalized things across all three CHL leagues. But the games remain spirited and scrappy. That OT game I mentioned was against Moose Jaw, who they play once a season at best (because a Jr team traveling halfway across the country by bus is a logistical and travel time nightmare) but they still really went at it with a bunch of post-whistle scraps and some near fights. Maybe on Thursday I'll get some pics of the trappings of the new arena itself, just to illustrate what the major junior hockey experience is like (because the Giants are now in line with like 90% of the CHL, excepting Calgary and Edmonton, who still play out of the pro-sized NHL arenas of the Flames and Oilers. I believe Portland also sometimes uses the Rose Garden when the Trailblazers aren't at home and they can pull the basketball court up.) given that I imagine it's something that most of you in northern California won't get a chance to experience without making an out-of-state trip to, like, Portland or into Washington state (it's not quite the same as the Cuda or other AHL teams since most of their arenas are going to be at least 10,000 seat capacity, especially the Cuda since they play in the SAP Center). Plus it'll actually be kinda topical since it's the Gregor game.

Yes, it was late December of 2012 that I saw the Vancouver Giants. It was a refreshing breath of icy air in a year that had no promise of NHL action...

 

[The Nemesis]

Yes, it was late December of 2012 that I saw the Vancouver Giants. It was a refreshing breath of icy air in a year that had no promise of NHL action...

Makes sense. The Coliseum is a dump. Going there twice in December made me appreciate the LEC a whole hell of a lot more.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Pretty interesting rating for Merkley. I end up lurking the Guelph/Peterborough boards and those guys super do not like Merkley and he's had pretty mediocre numbers since going to Peterborough. Not to mention all the hype for other defensive prospects.

 

[Sharksrule04]

The 32 eligible ranked players are, ordered from best to worst:
1) Merkley, Ryan (D/Peterborough[OHL])



2) Blichfeld, Joachim (LW/Portland[WHL])
3) Chekhovich, Ivan (LW/Baie-Comeau[QMJHL])



4) DeSimone, Nick (D/San Jose[AHL])
5) Gregor, Noah (C/Prince Albert[WHL])
6) Wood, Kyle (D/San Jose[AHL])
7) Perron, Francis (LW/San Jose[AHL])
8) Leonard, John (LW/UMass[NCAA])

9) Chmelevski, Sasha (C/Ottawa[OHL])
10) Dognahey, Cody (D/Orlando[ECHL])
11) Gambrell, Dylan (C/San Jose[AHL])
12) True, Alexander (C/San Jose[AHL])



13) Brodzinski, Michael (D/Orlando[ECHL])


14) Middleton, Jacob (D/San Jose[AHL])
15) Roy, Jeremy (D/San Jose[AHL])
16) McGrew, Jake (RW/Spokane[WHL])
17) Halbgewachs, Jayden (C/San Jose[AHL])

18) Praplan, Vincent (C/San Jose[AHL])
19) Kotkov, Vlad (LW/Chicoutimi[QMJHL])
20) Suomela, Anti (C/San Jose[AHL])
21) Martin, Jon (RW/San Jose[AHL])
22) Cukste, Karlis (D/Quinnipiac[NCAA])
23) Chartier, Rourke (C/San Jose[AHL])
24) Letunov, Maxim (C/San Jose[AHL])
25) Wiederer, Manuel (C/San Jose[AHL])
26) Ferraro, Mario (D/UMass[NCAA])


27) Vela, Marcus (C/UNH[NCAA])
28) Schoenborn, Alex (RW/Orlando[ECHL])


29) Fitzgerald, Cavan (D/San Jose[AHL])
30) Reedy, Scott (C/Minnesota[NCAA])
31) Jackson, Jake (LW/Michigan Tech[NCAA])






32) Weatherby, Jasper (C/UND[NCAA])
-------------------------------------------------

I know the list was done just for fun but I'm not sure how much stock I'd put into this criteria. In no way should a couple of guys in the ECHL be above some of our better prospects (Ferraro, Gambrell, Chartier, Letunov). Donaghey and Brodzinski have very very little chance of being high end AHLers let alone NHL players. I can see the argument for guys like Wood and Perron since they're performing at a high level in the AHL.

 

[The Nemesis]

I know the list was done just for fun but I'm not sure how much stock I'd put into this criteria. In no way should a couple of guys in the ECHL be above some of our better prospects (Ferraro, Gambrell, Chartier, Letunov). Donaghey and Brodzinski have very very little chance of being high end AHLers let alone NHL players. I can see the argument for guys like Wood and Perron since they're performing at a high level in the AHL.

Though I already noted that some of that was likely because the ECHL part of the model was broken, I probably should've been clearer that this is not "here are the best prospects in the system ranked top to bottom" and more "here's how the prospects in the system have performed this year, relative to one another." Once I start building in components to take multiple years into account and can address the issues with some of the leagues (the ECHL, non-elite Euro leagues) then perhaps it evolves into something more properly resembling an overall prospect comparison/ranking structure.

Obviously Chartier, Ferraro, and Letunov shouldn' be so low on overall potential, but there's no way around the fact that the latter two have had disappointing years while Chartier is sabotaged by having spent a good chunk of his season with the Sharks where he had (I think) one point.

 

[The Nemesis]

Mild follow-up on the weatherby discussion and the nature of scouting lower leagues:

For the first time in over a year I managed to take in a BCHL game. And all I could come away thinking was that oh my god the skill drop from the WHL to the BCHL is super dramatic. The game was between a pair of middling teams in the standings, but just watching the players you could see that to the last they all lacked even the one extra gear necessary to compete in major junior. So many offensive plays just died halfway into the o-zone and not necessarily because of defence. Passes that couldn't be completed, shots that never got off because the player couldn't receive the one-timer correctly, dekes that fizzled out because they could barely get past 1 defender, let alone 2+. I imagine the CHL might look similar if its best players left after their draft year instead of 1-2 years later, but I can see how a big guy like Weatherby would probably be able to pull of a "big fish in a small pond" impression on a scout if he led the league in scoring. Especially given the added benefit that the BCHL shows a lot more physical edge in its play than the NCAA or major junior tends to, so someone who's big enough to play the body well is going to stand out even more.

At the risk of making a strident generalization about the scouting process (the kind I usually hate seeing on here, especially considering I'm basing this off of watching exactly 2 BCHL games in the last 3 years), it's hard enough finding validation for picking over-age players out of the CHL or NCAA at the draft table. I'm not so sure I could ever see myself to being talked into taking an over-age Jr A guy unless he somehow had a lengthy history of success and was being held down for an arbitrary or increasingly irrelevant reason (size, non-traditional hockey market origins, etc)

 

[Mattb124]

Bummer. And to think we could have had K'Andre Miller....

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I can confirm all of this is accurate. I’ve been to quite a few WHL games - one in Vancouver, one in Seattle, 3 in Everett. Just went to two a little under a month ago. Surprisingly, Vancouver’s arena is a bit of a dump (with meh food as Nem mentioned), Seattle is meh, and Everett is very nice.

The hockey is great and especially rough. There aren’t necessarily a ton of bone-crunching physical hits, but the guys get real chippy.

I would highly recommend a WHL game to anybody who has the opportunity to catch one.

Man. I am about 45-50 minutes away from Everett, including the ferry ride I need and have been to only 3 games in the last 14 years.

Can definitely vouch for the fact that they are fun.