Prospect Info: With the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, the Ducks select Mason McTavish

[Hinterland]

I agree. McTavish may very well outscore all of his competition in 23/24 but I don't see him compete for the Calder next season. Power is my favourite with chances for Thompson, Johnson, Perfetti and Rossi. I know no goalie has won the Calder since Raycroft but I believe Thompson has a real chance, especially now with Lehner out. Would be a deserving winner as well since he's a very cool late bloomer story. With Perfetti and Johnson, much will depend on their role and with Rossi, everything will depend on his health. The Austrian national team really did him dirty by playing him through long covid. That shit was painful to watch. If he's healthy though, he'll be the Wild top center with no real competition.

Nevermind, Mason (Steve, not McTavish) won it as well. Still, my point remains. Calder trophies are difficult to win as a goalie but I think Thompson has a chance. Certainly a better chance than McTavish.

 

[duckpuck]

I think he will have a similar impact/production that Byfield had last season, and that's perfectly okay. These kids are 18 & 19 years old, some people were predicting him to start at 2C should temper their expectations.

That is an absurdly low bar. Byfield broke his ankle and never really recovered. I hope and fully expect McTavish is way more productive (and healthy) than that.

 

[bsu]

I just realized Byfield only scored 10 pts... yikes even worst production than I was thinking and I was thinking low.... Point still stands though Byfield showed flashes just as I think McTavish will. Byfield did positive things but had a lot to work on just like I think McTavish will. He'll probably scored between 25-35 if he plays every single game and they give him decent time. I don't think we can really predict anything until we see who he's next to, the amount of minutes and zone starts and if he's getting PP time.

 

[ohcomeonref]

The underrating of McT is beginning apparently.

 

[bsu]

The underrated of McT is beginning apparently.

Hes a top 5 prospect in the entire league on most lists.... Just because he hasn't impressed in rookie and training camp doesn't change that , some of you are sensitive about McTavish. We can be honest with our opinions doesn't change the fact he's a top flight prospect... We're just waiting to see him look effective at the NHL level, he's proved himself everywhere else.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I'm not going to argue with the McTavish cult. He was not NHL ready if he was he would have stayed. Our roster was full of replaceable players. He was consistently behind the play. His pace was not NHL ready.... Go re-watch the games.

Are you the Anti-McTavish cult? You gotta be in a cult to recognize a cult, right?

McTavish made the team as an 18-year old. That kinda speaks for itself that it was a close call, otherwise he never would have made the team from the start. You're looking past the sale when thinking about keeping him beyond nine NHL games. You know who didn't make the NHL roster to start the season? Milano.

I think McTavish fell into that Comtois scenario. Comtois got injured in his 10th game as a 19-year old. Although Comtois did put up 7 points in 10 NHL games, the injury and potential Seattle Expansion draft made it easy for the Ducks to send Comtois back to juniors. The 10 NHL games started his ELC, but it didn't count towards a year contract in the NHL and avoided being available for the Seattle Expansion draft.

This is speculation, but I think McTavish playing center in the AHL for his rehab stint might have given the org more weight into putting him back into the juniors to continue to develop at center after his nine NHL games.

Last off-season, I wanted McTavish to play in the NL-A as a centerman instead of going back to juniors. I didn't even think the NHL was a possibility until he made the NHL roster. Still, going to juniors was probably the best move with respect to being a leader and it culminated with him being the captain of team Canada at the WJC-20's.

......

As for McTavish's pace, I don't think McTavish had a long enough burn to get back into playing shape considering he had two injuries, one where his whole training camp was nearly missed. He looked good to start the season, but got injured again in his 3rd game. The Ducks could have kept McTavish in San Diego longer for his rehab stint at a max of 14 consecutive days, but opted to go with the minimal 3-game stint (a week, iirc).

Being injury prone twice in such a short of time puts him into that Comtois scenario where it's probably best to put him back in juniors if he's injury prone and you don't burn a year of ELC with a player who isn't on the ice often.

Again, 20/20 hindsight says McTavish would have been better than Comtois, Steel, Milano, and any other AHL'er we brought up last year. Yes, we were lacking NHL talents last year. Of course, we didn't know that at the time we were sending McTavish back.

 

[AngelDuck]

I think he will have a similar impact/production that Byfield had last season, and that's perfectly okay. These kids are 18 & 19 years old, some people were predicting him to start at 2C should temper their expectations.

Definitely think he’ll be better than this. I’m expecting 18-20 goals

 

[bsu]

Definitely think he’ll be better than this. I’m expecting 18-20 goals

Yeah I didn't realize Byfield only scored 10 points. Yikes. I'll wait to make a prediction until we see his linemates, minutes and situations he gets played in. I'll still make that bet with anyone though lol

 

[Hinterland]

Definitely think he’ll be better than this. I’m expecting 18-20 goals

With regular PP time easily. Especially if parked in the slot. Without it could be difficult.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Definitely think he’ll be better than this. I’m expecting 18-20 goals

As long as McTavish is in a top-6 role, he'll generate offense.

Two seasons ago, McTavish took off playing wing at the NL-B after starting off at center. The NL-B is a men's second tier Swiss league. Here's a recap of what he did, thanks to Scott Wheeler's article:

McTavish made his pro debut on Feb. 2, the day after he landed, playing 8:22 in a 4-1 loss. Though it took him some time to make an impact, registering just one point in his first five games, he eventually took hold of the team, helping them turn around their season in the home stretch.​

​

After losing his first six games, they closed the year 4-1-2, and he scored nine goals and registered 10 points in their final seven games, including a hat trick on Feb. 24. In the league’s playoffs, he rattled off seven points in a four-game sweep of the higher-seeded HC Sierre, playing more than 30 minutes in the 6-5 overtime win that sent Olten to the semifinals.​

Last year, McTavish started off hot in the first three games in the NHL. He got injured during the third game. After his rehab in the AHL for three games, McTavish got another six games in the NHL before being sent back. He still didn't get a long enough burn to adapt and/or flourish.

Now that McTavish will be NHL bound for sure, his mentality to make the team will only push him to do more once he's acclimated. He has a knack of scoring multiple points in games too. That was one of his traits in juniors (D-1 season).

 

[ohcomeonref]

Hes a top 5 prospect in the entire league on most lists.... Just because he hasn't impressed in rookie and training camp doesn't change that , some of you are sensitive about McTavish. We can be honest with our opinions doesn't change the fact he's a top flight prospect... We're just waiting to see him look effective at the NHL level, he's proved himself everywhere else.

What a goofy post. You compared him to a dude with 10 points last year.

 

[bsu]

What a goofy post. You compared him to a dude with 10 points last year.

Byfield didn't need to be in junior, he needed to be in the AHL, which ended up hindering him a bit. Luckily he's a kid.

 

[ohcomeonref]

Byfield didn't need to be in junior, he needed to be in the AHL.

So the comparison wasn't close from top to bottom then.

 

[bsu]

So the comparison wasn't close from top to bottom then.

I would prefer McTavish start in SD if it was an option unfortunately it isn't possible, Byfield was eligible but the Kings dropped the ball there.

I won't make a real prediction until I see who he's playing with, with what zone starts, how many minutes and what situations (PP or not) 4 on 4? 3 on 3 overtime? If he's playing next to Zegras on the powerplay for example he's going to score.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Byfield didn't need to be in junior, he needed to be in the AHL, which ended up hindering him a bit. Luckily he's a kid.

Byfield comes from the OHL. He was allowed to play in the AHL/NHL because the OHL never reopened due to COVID in 2020-21 season. Fellow 2020 draftee D Drysdale and RW Perreault were from the OHL. They were able to play in the AHL/NHL in 2020-21 season.

And the AHL remained an option for the 2021-22 season. Drysdale could have used some times in the AHL, but the Ducks never sent him down. Byfield could have been in the AHL longer if the Kings wanted.

Byfield
2020-21

NHL: 6 games, 1 point​

AHL: 32 games, 20 points​

2021-22

NHL: 40 games, 10 points​

AHL: 11 games, 6 points​

 

[WhatTheDuck]

A 15 goal, 30 point rookie season, seems to like a reasonable meeting point for ambition and moderation. Of course it's going to be largely dependent on how much PP time he receives and his linemates/role at 5on5.

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

A 15 goal, 30 point rookie season, seems to like a reasonable meeting point for ambition and moderation. Of course it's going to be largely dependent on how much PP time he receives and his linemates/role at 5on5.

I'm really not sure what to expect, but this seems reasonable, albeit mildly disappointing given how much hype he's getting outside the organization.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

A 15 goal, 30 point rookie season, seems to like a reasonable meeting point for ambition and moderation. Of course it's going to be largely dependent on how much PP time he receives and his linemates/role at 5on5.

It does, or maybe even a bit more. If we're crediting what Eakins said, then we can assume that now, with the roster rejiggered, there's room for Mason to get the minutes the staff thinks he needs to be successful. He doesn't really strike me as a bottom-6 guy so I wouldn't expect him to spend much time there except during periods where maybe he needs extra sheltering. I assume he'll have some ups and downs.

But I bet, like Zegras and Terry did, Mason will get all the ice time and deployments he needs to produce.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

From Lisa Dillman's latest installment:

McTavish has been on the wing in training camp and the plan is to keep him there.

“If you look down the middle on our team, it becomes difficult,” Eakins said. “We’ve got Strome. We’ve got (Trevor) Zegras. Isac Lundestrom, who had an incredible year, and Derek Grant.

“To try to crowbar something in there, I don’t think that’s the smartest thing. With Mason, his best chance to make the team is going to be on a wing. That’s why we have him playing wing in these games training camp.”

Guess that's that.

Also, Dillman reported how Eakins thinks McTavish has played so much and are going to limit him playing games in the pre-season.

 

[Hinterland]

From Lisa Dillman's latest installment:



Guess that's that.

Also, Dillman reported how Eakins thinks McTavish has played so much and are going to limit him playing games in the pre-season.

Eakins is a smart man and I agree with him. However, if they're aware of the fact that he played too much then I'm not sure why they played him in that prospect tournament. Should have skipped it to maybe play an additional preseason game instead.

 

[AngelDuck]

I’m still not sold on Eakins as a head coach for us long term but have to admit he does a lot that I agree with. His handling of young players has been real good in my opinion

 

[Quack Shot]

I’m still not sold on Eakins as a head coach for us long term but have to admit he does a lot that I agree with. His handling of young players has been real good in my opinion

He seems like a great human being. I wouldn’t actually be surprised if he was the one that called in about Bob. He seems like he really cares about the players as people.

I hope when we do move on for a new coach that he stays in the organization.

 

[AngelDuck]

He seems like a great human being. I wouldn’t actually be surprised if he was the one that called in about Bob. He seems like he really cares about the players as people.

I hope when we do move on for a new coach that he stays in the organization.

Same, I would love him to be an assistant at
Some point. But I think he will probably get another shot somewhere else as a HC if we move on

 

[Kalv]

Zegras propping up McTavish hands at Spittin Chiclets

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

Eakins is a smart man and I agree with him. However, if they're aware of the fact that he played too much then I'm not sure why they played him in that prospect tournament. Should have skipped it to maybe play an additional preseason game instead.

The only benefit I see, and I'm not suggesting that anyone at the Ducks org agrees with this, is familiarizing McTavish with the younger crop of players.

Otherwise it just felt like an opportunity for him to get hurt.