I think somebody will give him more as a UFA, especially if he keeps up his current form into the playoffs
I wonder if we're picking the wrong defenseman from the very start
We get the kids who are 6 foot ish with so so skating and tools but have hockey IQ which gives you an NHL player but they don't have high ceilings like Liljegren, Sandin, Niemela etc
I wonder if we should start betting more on high end tools and see what we can produce, the odd bigger body wouldn't hurt either
I think the results are tied to the Directors of amateur scouting and the players they get sold on. Hunter came into the role after the 2014 draft, Lilley in July 2018 and Clark after the 2021 draft. Its more time consuming to look at the area scouts by year but IIRC they canned 18 scouts when Hunter came in so there would have been years of trial and error as successive Directors juggled those spots looking for the right fit, I actually like Clark a lot for Cowan as that would be a selection almost totally driven by him. Later picks have way more input from the area guys so its his minions we have to watch. I read an article from a few years ago where he was pushing hard for SDA with the Panthers 2nd round pick and the fact that he was championing a bust with a high pick is kind of a reverse Cowan move.
I will be more impressed if he hits on Minten and breaks the WHL curse.
2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #64 by Elite Prospects
2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #53 by FCHockey
2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #85 by TSN/Craig Button
2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #101 by McKeen's Hockey
2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #47 by TSN/McKenzie
2022 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #28 by NHL Central Scouting
Without a ton of research it strike me some other clubs are having better results with NCAA bound players, especially D men,