Sporting News: Why is Brady Tkachuk so Polarizing?

Steve Kournianos

@thedraftanalyst
NHL Draft 2018: For polarizing talent Brady Tkachuk, rewards outweigh risks

Let me preface by saying both sides of the argument can make valid points. While I think Tkachuk's puck skills are underrated by the stats watchers, his pre-draft production was rather pedestrian when you factor in how elite the upper tier of wingers are.

On the other hand, Keller, Boeser and Connor were already drafted when they were NCAA freshman. This is where the human factor comes into play. It's probably way, way easier to perform as an NCAA frosh with an ELC under your belt than it is to be fighting for one.

Personally, I don't take Tkachuk ahead of Zadina, Veleno or Farabee. Wahlstrom is the flavor-du-jour but I think a lot of that is Jack Hughes' doing.

You can't dismiss the once pervasive belief that size and NHL bloodlines mean a lot more to decision makers than pure skill. It's still there, which is why I see Tkachuk going higher than the uber-skilled types.

In all honesty, I see Tkachuk at his best becoming a mix of Jordan Staal, Brandon Dubinsky and Scott Hartnell. Very tough to pass that up, even if you're picking 3rd or 4th overall.
 

Andrei79

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
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26,094
NHL Draft 2018: For polarizing talent Brady Tkachuk, rewards outweigh risks

Let me preface by saying both sides of the argument can make valid points. While I think Tkachuk's puck skills are underrated by the stats watchers, his pre-draft production was rather pedestrian when you factor in how elite the upper tier of wingers are.

On the other hand, Keller, Boeser and Connor were already drafted when they were NCAA freshman. This is where the human factor comes into play. It's probably way, way easier to perform as an NCAA frosh with an ELC under your belt than it is to be fighting for one.

Personally, I don't take Tkachuk ahead of Zadina, Veleno or Farabee. Wahlstrom is the flavor-du-jour but I think a lot of that is Jack Hughes' doing.

You can't dismiss the once pervasive belief that size and NHL bloodlines mean a lot more to decision makers than pure skill. It's still there, which is why I see Tkachuk going higher than the uber-skilled types.

In all honesty, I see Tkachuk at his best becoming a mix of Jordan Staal, Brandon Dubinsky and Scott Hartnell. Very tough to pass that up, even if you're picking 3rd or 4th overall.

Those players struggling to get 50 points are actually fairly easy players to pass up at 3rd and 4th overall.
 
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TheBradyBunch

Registered User
Dec 17, 2008
16,316
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In your chart it says that Pavelski played his freshman season in 2003 and was drafted in 2005, but those dates are mixed up. His freshman season was 04-05 and he was drafted in 2003.
 

Steve Kournianos

@thedraftanalyst
Those players struggling to get 50 points are actually fairly easy players to pass up at 3rd and 4th overall.

I agree. That's why I have him ranked seventh. Tkachuk may be better for his team for the intangibles and two-way play, but how do you justify taking him over a kid like Zadina who can play just as good defensively but score 30-35 goals a year to boot?

He'll be a very good player and probably will make a lot of people eat their words (including mine), but I'd rather roll the dice on Zadina, Svechnikov, Farabee and Wahlstrom.
 
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Machinehead

GoAwayKakko
Jan 21, 2011
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If you have him below Farabee and Veleno, I think you have him even further down than most of his detractors do.
 

Bjornar Moxnes

Stem Rødt og Felix Unger Sörum
Oct 16, 2016
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Putting it in an overly simple way: His offensive upside is questionable given his ‘consensus’ draft rankings.

Even his defensive upside is questionable. If people are questioning Wahlstrom's hockey IQ, than they're basically saying Tkachuk is a bust as Tkachuk's IQ is significantly worse than Wahlstrom's.
 

Bjornar Moxnes

Stem Rødt og Felix Unger Sörum
Oct 16, 2016
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If you have him below Farabee and Veleno, I think you have him even further down than most of his detractors do.

I don't, but he doesn't deserve to be above Wahlstrom, Hughes, Smith, Dobson, Bouchard, maybe Boqvist, and that's not factoring needs. When you factor needs of Montreal to Edmonton, Tkachuk deserves to be down even further. Needs speaking taking Tkachuk top 5 is already insane, but BPA wise and the fact that Montreal to Edmonton can all use a player that is still available not named Tkachuk, Tkachuk really shouldn't be a top 10 pick, but he will.
 
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ProspectsFanatic

Registered User
Nov 13, 2012
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On the other hand, Keller, Boeser and Connor were already drafted when they were NCAA freshman. This is where the human factor comes into play. It's probably way, way easier to perform as an NCAA frosh with an ELC under your belt than it is to be fighting for one.

That seems like a lame excuse to me. :huh: Why the NCAA particularly? Because it is an harder league to play in so the pressure is harder to manage? Well Kotka and Kravtsov should be place far above him then. League difficulty or not, if it is the case that not having an ELC (when you haven't been draft eligible yet) affects your play negatively, I wouldn't touch that prospect with a high-end pick whatsoever, you are inevitably going to face a lot more pressure than that at the next level. It simply isn't a valid excuse for lower production in my view.
 

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