Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Draft 19th Overall Pick, Braden Schneider, D

[eco's bones]

I agree that he’s very polished but IMO, I think he will spend one last year in WHL before heading to Hartford. I love this pick, glad Gorton made the move and was surprised he was there at 22. His offensive game will probably develop and come into form over the next season or two. Again, he’s very well polished but putting him on the ice with the Rangers within the next season would be rushing him. Not exactly sure where he would fit it perhaps it coincides with Trouba NMC kicking in. As far as a player comparison I’d have to go with Brent Seabrook type... when he’s on the ice yeh puck doesn’t stay in the zone for very long. He excels at taking away space, very strong big physical skater and natural leader. I don’t even want to think about the idea of paring him with Miller down the line... might start feeling bad for the other team. Seriously, Schneider being paired with Miller or Robertson down the line would be a very physical match up for opposing players. Gorton did very well. Now, to move on from TDA, Strome, etc to get a 2C, lol

I can say this the Black Book loves Schneider. They ranked him #11 and Drysdale #12. They make mention of his 4 way mobility and excellent skating and his strong core. They laud him for mistake free hockey saying 'as the season progressed there were several 20 + minute outings where he never made a single mistake that we wrote in our notes. That's an impressive feat for any player and speaks to the mental aspect of his game'. They give him an 8 out of 9 for hockey sense, 8 out of 9 for compete, 6 out of 9 for skill, 7 out of 9 for skating, 8 out of 9 for miscellaneous. That he skates backward with some of the best in the draft. That he's poised and physically and mentally mature. 'He's not a mean player but he plays a physically mature game, meaning he knows how to weigh heavily along the boards, pin effectively, time his hits properly. He is tough to deal with and can dominate opponents with his size and power. 'Most importantly, he plays at high pace and is consistent at matching the urgency of the play off the puck. It's rare to see him puck watching or relying too heavily on his partner.' He has an ability to assess and mitigate risk and doesn't attempt high danger plays in his own zone.

'Schneider is one of the most NHL ready defensemen available in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. We think he projects to be a modern day, two way, mobile puck moving defenseman.....He has no glaring weaknesses to any attributes in his game.....we think his potential would be eating 25 minutes per game in the NHL.'

He'll probably go back to the WHL but this is a guy who might also make a real push for an NHL job in training camp. The skating, size, strength, mental maturity and compete are already there. He's not far away and with Trouba, Fox, DeAngelo, Lundkvist (on the cusp) and Schneider (on the cusp) of our RD something is going to have to give.

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

Am I missing something or did Lapierre not even have concussions? Weren’t they misdiagnosed by a Canadian doctor and then the doctor in Florida discovered it was actually just a minor neck injury? Or is this only true for the last concussion? If he’s had 2 concussions that isn’t something unprecedented by any means

He had at least one serious concussion in 18/10, then he was diagnosed with 2 more last season... later he was diagnosed with some spinal thing that they think MIGHT have given him the concussion syndromes, so concussion #2 and #3 might not have been concussions but they don't know for sure. I think that's how it went.

 

[Edge]

Well, I know for a fact NYR likes Niederbach and Grans and saw/see them as options if they traded down or into the 2nd.

I know that as well. Grans is in their top 20.

But that still doesn’t mean they could find a willing partner last night that would give them that option. That’s a big part of the equation.

They also had Schneider 12th on their list. So faced with the landscape being what it is, that’s the opportunity they went with. But they are definitely still pursuing a second today.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Fwiw kaliyev had a bad interview last year with a few teams and meeting that guy in person. I would stay far the eff away from him...even with all his talent.

I try not to go too much by appearances, but Kaliyev freaks me out. Crazy serial killer vibes...

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

I know that as well. Grans is in their top 20.

But that still doesn’t mean they could find a willing partner last night that would give them that option. That’s a big part of the equation.

They also had Schneider 12th on their list. So faced with the landscape being what it is, that’s the opportunity they went with. But they are definitely still pursuing a second today.

So yeah, that all makes sense... So my big issue is their evaluation of Schneider that made them put him at #12 on their list then.

 

[Edge]

He had at least one serious concussion in 18/10, then he was diagnosed with 2 more last season... later he was diagnosed with some spinal thing that they think MIGHT have given him the concussion syndromes, so concussion #2 and #3 might not have been concussions but they don't know for sure. I think that's how it went.

Correct.

At the very least I can say the Rangers staff was not comfortable with the medical review they did. No one was going to go into specific details, for obvious reasons, but the concern there was very real for teams.

Not just for right now, but down the line, a lot of teams expressed a concern that there was a “push” to make it seem like everything is better and fixed. But these injuries aren’t just like having a broken hand or a jaw repaired. It scared teams because no one wants to go down this road in 2022 or 2023.

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

I'm very glad about that, I didn't want Lapierre at all... Mostly because of the injuries but also because I just don't think he's all that even when healthy.

 

[Edge]

So yeah, that all makes sense... So my big issue is their evaluation of Schneider that made them put him at #12 on their list then.

They’re not alone though. I mean this is a kid Winnipeg considered at 10. A lot of Western teams really rave about him. His average ranking was probably about 15/16.

I don’t think anyone views him as the winner of the skills competition, but the guy is a very good defensive player.

 

[offdacrossbar]

the schneider pick adds another young dman with the ability to play defense.

watch this kid play. the whl plays a tough brand of physical hockey and this kid can punish you and play positionally solid D.

great pick for 2-3 yrs down the road.

well done.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

the schneider pick adds another young dman with the ability to play defense.

watch this kid play. the whl plays a tough brand of physical hockey and this kid can punish you and play positionally solid D.

great pick for 2-3 yrs down the road.

well done.

I'm far from the leading expert on this kid so let me get that out of the way. From the things I've seen and read it sounds like he's ready to play in the NHL now and won't really benefit a ton from years and years of grooming. If that is true, how the heck do we work out our right side defense to get this kid on the ice??? Can he play the left side?

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

The way I look at it is like this, I would have preferred them take a forward. But the Rangers and it sounds like half the league had this kid either top 10 or close to top 10, and the Rangers got him around pick 20

I have a hard time complaining about it

 

[usekakkorightquinn]

I think Trouba is probably one of those guys that was bigger and better than most everybody he played against from a young age. Now, he's on a team where he is way down on the list as far as talent goes. Perhaps that will motivate him to take his game to another level. He played very well in the playoffs. Shame a few other players sucked beyond belief but it worked out as we got Lafreniere.

I've been pushing for Schneider for months as having a team full of 5'11 defenseman simply doesn't win playoff series and Stanley Cups. Schneider will fit like a glove on this team. I've also been saying for months that with elite skill on the top 2 lines Gorton and JD must now build a physical, keep the puck out of your net 3rd and 4th line and put out there at least 4 stay at home d-men types to keep the puck out of the net. Wait for your best players to win games with a play of two. The dumbest theory out there is the game has changed. No. It hasn't. The way to win Stanley Cups is to play outstanding team defense, get solid goaltending, have good special teams and have a few top players provide timely offense. This crap about having fast, puck moving d-men is what that moron AV believed in which is why his teams get worse defensively as time goes on.

 

[Heckler81]

Just like Lindgren and Fox have made an excellent pairing. I can see Miller and Schneider doing the same thing.

 

[Inferno]

I try not to go too much by appearances, but Kaliyev freaks me out. Crazy serial killer vibes...

Yep. First thing I thought when I met him...this guy will end up with his own episode of cold case files or one of those kinds of shows

 

[aufheben]

Honestly if this kid can play both sides and will be ready to step in as soon as 2021-22, this is a pretty great pick. Having him and Lindgren on the left side will be nice, and I respect mgmt’s commitment to balancing skill and being tough to play against.

 

[Fireonk]

If you asked any of us before the draft would you trade a 3rd round pick to land the guy ranked ~15 across the board with our 2nd pick of the day it would have been a resounding yes.

If you truly believe in taking BPA then it was either him or Lapierre, everyone else was generally the next tier. And there are obvious question marks with Lapierre even if that's who I was personally hoping for. Can't get mad at a team for passing on a guy with that kind of injury history.

I get the confusion and concern about taking a RD, but if you are complaining about it I don't want to ever see you post something about the Rangers being too smart for their own good with the draft, etc. Either you believe in taking BPA or you don't.

Some of the takes on this are truly mind boggling. Seems that people forget that getting a Trouba-like player at 19 (or 22nd plus a 3rd rounder) is a huge win. People seem to forget every year that when you are picking in this range you are generally looking at middle 6 players or 2nd pairing defenders in the future.

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

The way I look at it is like this, I would have preferred them take a forward. But the Rangers and it sounds like half the league had this kid either top 10 or close to top 10, and the Rangers got him around pick 20

I have a hard time complaining about it

Basically.

I like the kid, not sure about the resource allocation. If he can play the left, fantastic. Otherwise, even with Dangelo gone, its a potential logjam. But certainly makes them wealthy at a position of constant need.

I guess the concern for me is that with Mika needing a new deal soon I'd rather be stocking the center pipeline now even while we look to deal for another center. But I am sure (hopeful) gorton has something planned.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Basically.

I like the kid, not sure about the resource allocation. If he can play the left, fantastic. Otherwise, even with Dangelo gone, its a potential logjam. But certainly makes them wealthy at a position of constant need.

I guess the concern for me is that with Mika needing a new deal soon I'd rather be stocking the center pipeline now even while we look to deal for another center. But I am sure (hopeful) gorton has something planned.

For sure

It sounds like they know center needs to be addressed which is why Gorton is looking to get into the 2nd round. Lotta good centers and forwards in general availabile today

 

[Fireonk]

There is also no guarantee he doesn't get turned around and flipped pretty quickly. If this is a guy who has more trade value than what they think they would have received with the 22 pick and a random 3rd rounder then it's just a great move from an asset management point of view.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Again, I highly recommend folks watch the video @pblawr dug up to get a sense of Schneider's game.

I thought this shift by shift of him against the Oil Kings, who were the 3rd best team in the WHL this year, was pretty interesting:



A couple things stood out to me:
- He played almost 23 minutes and I don't think his team gave up one good 5v5 scoring chance with him on the ice except for one play where I'm pretty sure his poke check bounced off of his teammate and back to the player on the other team.
- He's really smart, aggressive, and effective with his pinches. He steps up a lot and he breaks up the play almost every time he does while rarely giving up chances on bad pinches. He stopped a lot of chances before they developed.
- He broke up a few plays in front of the net and I don't think he got beat off the rush (although there weren't many rushes against him because he normally broke the play up before it got to that point).
- I don't think he had one bad turnover and almost every time he had the puck on his stick, it ended up on one of his teammates tapes in improved position.
- He seemed to distribute the puck pretty well in the offensive zone.
- He seemed to be one of the better skaters on the ice.

In general, he seems like a guy who is very good at preventing the other team from getting chances and very good at moving the puck. Between the defense and the puck distribution, his corsi must have been like 80% that game. He didn't make any wow plays, but he might have made every play his team was relying on him to make without any mistakes.

I'm not sure where he fits in with Trouba, Fox, ADA, and Lundkvist already in the system, but I think guys who play effective defense, make the plays their teams are relying on them to make, and help their team control the puck are really valuable, even if they don't score a lot, so he seems like a pretty interesting prospect to me.

 

[RGY]

I just dont know how i feel about taking a RHD there.

I like this kid. Think he is going to be a solid player. But there were still centers on the board there. We have 0 depth at center. Zero. We at least have Fox and Lundkvist if we do trade DeAngelo.

Of course this can all change if they trade for a center

 

[NYR Viper]

Man I know comparisons have been thrown around for McDonagh, Carlo, Lindgren, etc but from the few videos I've seen this morning and reading multiple reports the guy who he SEEMS to resemble is Ekholm. You know, the guy many of us thought would be a real nice piece on the Rangers back-end this season if Nashville was looking to cut salary.

I'm a fan of this type of pick. What this also does is it gives the Rangers, with a high level of probability, (2) NHL players already from this draft. There's not a HUGE amount of risk of Lafreniere or Schneider not making the NHL. We'll have to see what that does for Gorton and his team going into Day 2 as far as being able to take a few more risks with their selections.

 

[Cmox]

There is also no guarantee he doesn't get turned around and flipped pretty quickly. If this is a guy who has more trade value than what they think they would have received with the 22 pick and a random 3rd rounder then it's just a great move from an asset management point of view.

His style is too different and needed from the rest of the rangers d. They’ll just trade the 50 Offensive rd they have, haha

 

[Fireonk]

His style is too different and needed from the rest of the rangers d. They’ll just trade the 50 Offensive rd they have, haha

I'm not saying I expect him to get traded, just that he has a lot more trade value league wide than the player they otherwise would have picked at 22 most likely. Ranked high by a lot of teams and a lot less question marks than the players that were left on the board.

 

[aufheben]

Can we wait until he plays at least 1 NHL game before we pencil Nils Lundkvist into the lineup for the next 10 years?