I think this was an excellent pick by you guys in the 4th round. I had Hendrickson late second round (#63).
I feel like there's a common misconception about the NTDP that ended up effecting Hendrickson and effects some players every year.
People feel the NTDP is like a guaranteed ticket to be drafted higher than you should because scouts watch every game and the best players score a crazy amount of points. Maybe there are elements of that which are somewhat true.
But what about the guys that aren't picked round 1? A lot of them are playing small roles, they play roles that don't suit them, and they certainly don't get to pad their stats. If anything, it the inverse. They would be top players on other USHL teams or CHL teams, and would have great stats.
Hendrickson is one of those that I think this applies to. It's true that he wasn't as good as Smith, Perreault, Moore, Leonard, Nelson, and those guys. He didn't deserve a top 5 minutes role with great situations, line-mates, and PP time. But he was kind of the level of player after those guys. He could've played second line and at points did, but he was constantly moved around. Some times, it's 2nd line, sometime it's 3rd line, sometimes it's 4th line. I think the nature of him being kind of like a swiss-army knife style player that can play in any role worked against him. Instead of working towards developing towards hitting his upside, which I believe at the top end is a second line center, he was the glue guy after the star players.
I hope at Minnesota that he can work towards hitting his potential and they are a team that cares about him reaching that because I think this guy doesn't really have a flaw thats keeping him from being an NHL'er. He's big, he skates well, he has some skill, he has some grit, and he can play in every situation, or any forward position. It probably won't be year 1 at Minnesota, but if his development is dealt with right, I think we could see him be a big time player for Minnesota in year 2, year 3, and shudder I say the dirty phrase for NHL fans of maybe year 4 of college hockey. So in a sense, you guys got an undervalued guy that has all the tools, but wasn't in a good environment for him to be drafted where his potential indicates he could've been. He really could've easily been a first round pick if he took a different route or USNTDP decided early on he was one of their main guys they were going to try to prioritize. He may only be a good bottom 6 guy, but I feel there's also a reality where he ends up a second line center.
dom.hockey
