Coachcorner
Senor Martinez
- Sep 28, 2017
- 6,285
- 4,989
Dayme mayne. Like is he like a half of a killa nowadays sire...? Like that's like notorious big for us mayne! Big tyme!
I'm like waiting to see him play and waiting to inhale now sire!Prospect Info: 2021 2nd Rd Pick (#57 OA) - Matthew Knies (LW) - Tri-City (USHL)
- Thread starter BertCorbeau
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I'm like waiting to see him play and waiting to inhale now sire!
Maplebeasts
I See Demons!!!!!
He's interesting. Big body with great hands and a shot that can beat a goalie from range. I would have preferred Behrens or Pastujov but he did have a wonderful second half to the season after putting up an excellent d-1 year. Would not be surprised if he turns into a top 6 guy for us when Barb spends some time with him.
CantLoseWithMatthews
Registered User
- Sep 28, 2015
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I think he's playing tomorrow at the WJSS for USA's blue team
Forewarning: I've expressed pessimism on this pick on previous threads. For my analysis, I did try to be optimistic. Feel free to criticize this post, but I'm pretty sure I was objective.
Matt Knies Shift by Shift Commentary
First 40 seconds - wins loose puck and throws a hit
It looks like he botches a potential clear, but the reason he turns and protects the puck instead is because he has no support. He is looking for an easy pass to another teammate (possibly #3 white) so that teammate can clear the puck. #3 white changes position which is why Knies decides to hold it. Unfortunately, omaha sustains possession. What I have a problem with is what happens after. #3 white has his back turned to the net. #17 red is the real threat and therefore I would have preferred it if Knies drops down and covers #17 red who scores.
Makes a nice between the legs pass
Tries a drag move because he doesn't have support (if he dumps it, other team gets it/can't pass it to the point because someone will intercept it/passing lanes are blocked).
Zone exit on a pk, gets to high danger area, shot is blocked
Finishes a check, later on shoots a low danger shot
Crashes the net
Smart pass under pressure
Note: at 14:29 I cannot tell if Knies is involved in the play. I apologize if I missed something.
Throws a devastating hit. Then throws another hit. Failed pass.
Some puckhandling on the pp
Uses his reach to poke the puck out of defensive zone on pk
Other team wins face off, but knies skates past the center and wins possession. He protects puck well and then throws a hit after a successful pass. Then one storm dman pinches, knies recognizes this and covers to play the point. He tries to attack the opposing player with the puck, but it leaves an open lane for another omaha player. There's two interpretations on this play.
#1: He attacks the opposing puckhandler. His teammates should have covered for him by backchecking even harder. The defenseman back doesn't even recognize this threat. He gambles by trying to divert the puck but fails horribly and this leads to a breakaway save. It's his teammates responsibility to cover the dangerous threat.
#2: Knies is a slow skater. He miscalculates the risk and reward. If he had continued to skate backwards and cover the threat, the dangerous opportunity would not have occured. Horrible defensive play on knies.
He exits the zone clean, dekes an opposing player and executes a clean entry. Holds onto the puck because he has no support and then gets hit into the boards.
Fights for the puck, leads to tri-city storm possession and high danger scoring chance
Evades forechecker, executes clean exit. Tries a cross-seam pass, it barely misses. Tries to dump it, but it goes the other way
Attributes:
- physical- threw at least three hits
- mobility in skating is lacking: When he's applying pressure to the point on the pk, he's slow. The point is able to have extra time in moving the puck as knies is transitioning from D to D.
- straight line speed can be improved. When he picks up speed, he's quite hard to stop
- when he gets in front of defenders while hunting for the puck, he's unstoppable
- he may be miscast on the pp: He's was stationed on the halfboards/point area. I wonder if he's more effective as a bumper guy. He doesn't make mistakes, but putting him on the bumper may result in more goals
- likes to shoot on his off wing a lot, usually results in a low-percentage play
- his zone entries were successful in this game
- There are times when Knies makes the right play, but his teammates don't give him puck support
- he alternates between f2/f3. He is money on the rare times where he is first on the puck
The Zach Hyman Comparison: I've seen people make the comparison. It's wrong.
- He's not used as in the Zach Hyman way. Knies, at least in this game, is not used as a F1. Knies will work hard in puck battles and can try to hold the puck, but if you're expecting Knies to be that player who will forecheck hard and be that first guy in the offensive zone, you may want to temper your expectations. When he is forechecking, he is effective, but he is rarely the first guy in the offensive zone because his skating is average at best (that's being polite).
Matt Knies Shift by Shift Commentary
First 40 seconds - wins loose puck and throws a hit
It looks like he botches a potential clear, but the reason he turns and protects the puck instead is because he has no support. He is looking for an easy pass to another teammate (possibly #3 white) so that teammate can clear the puck. #3 white changes position which is why Knies decides to hold it. Unfortunately, omaha sustains possession. What I have a problem with is what happens after. #3 white has his back turned to the net. #17 red is the real threat and therefore I would have preferred it if Knies drops down and covers #17 red who scores.
Makes a nice between the legs pass
Tries a drag move because he doesn't have support (if he dumps it, other team gets it/can't pass it to the point because someone will intercept it/passing lanes are blocked).
Zone exit on a pk, gets to high danger area, shot is blocked
Finishes a check, later on shoots a low danger shot
Crashes the net
Smart pass under pressure
Note: at 14:29 I cannot tell if Knies is involved in the play. I apologize if I missed something.
Throws a devastating hit. Then throws another hit. Failed pass.
Some puckhandling on the pp
Uses his reach to poke the puck out of defensive zone on pk
Other team wins face off, but knies skates past the center and wins possession. He protects puck well and then throws a hit after a successful pass. Then one storm dman pinches, knies recognizes this and covers to play the point. He tries to attack the opposing player with the puck, but it leaves an open lane for another omaha player. There's two interpretations on this play.
#1: He attacks the opposing puckhandler. His teammates should have covered for him by backchecking even harder. The defenseman back doesn't even recognize this threat. He gambles by trying to divert the puck but fails horribly and this leads to a breakaway save. It's his teammates responsibility to cover the dangerous threat.
#2: Knies is a slow skater. He miscalculates the risk and reward. If he had continued to skate backwards and cover the threat, the dangerous opportunity would not have occured. Horrible defensive play on knies.
He exits the zone clean, dekes an opposing player and executes a clean entry. Holds onto the puck because he has no support and then gets hit into the boards.
Fights for the puck, leads to tri-city storm possession and high danger scoring chance
Evades forechecker, executes clean exit. Tries a cross-seam pass, it barely misses. Tries to dump it, but it goes the other way
Attributes:
- physical- threw at least three hits
- mobility in skating is lacking: When he's applying pressure to the point on the pk, he's slow. The point is able to have extra time in moving the puck as knies is transitioning from D to D.
- straight line speed can be improved. When he picks up speed, he's quite hard to stop
- when he gets in front of defenders while hunting for the puck, he's unstoppable
- he may be miscast on the pp: He's was stationed on the halfboards/point area. I wonder if he's more effective as a bumper guy. He doesn't make mistakes, but putting him on the bumper may result in more goals
- likes to shoot on his off wing a lot, usually results in a low-percentage play
- his zone entries were successful in this game
- There are times when Knies makes the right play, but his teammates don't give him puck support
- he alternates between f2/f3. He is money on the rare times where he is first on the puck
The Zach Hyman Comparison: I've seen people make the comparison. It's wrong.
- He's not used as in the Zach Hyman way. Knies, at least in this game, is not used as a F1. Knies will work hard in puck battles and can try to hold the puck, but if you're expecting Knies to be that player who will forecheck hard and be that first guy in the offensive zone, you may want to temper your expectations. When he is forechecking, he is effective, but he is rarely the first guy in the offensive zone because his skating is average at best (that's being polite).
Last edited:
therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
nice job, basically all the scouting reports concur on the need to sharpen up his passing accuracy, also mentioned that he gambles and occasionally forces plays that lead to TO's, but hey he's young and as long as he doesn't repeat those plays he's learning, so I see it as a good thing. He's not afraid of getting his hair messed up and goes hard into the corners but it isn't really his game, he likes to carry the puck into the O zone and sweep outside and hold the D off until he cuts into the net. At 6'3" 208lbs I like that and the Leafs need that, he's just a kid and lot's of room to grow. I haven't read anything about his strength level, but busting guys to the outside and then moving them off when you break requires lot's of lower body and strong shoulders. He is supposed to have an above average wrist shot with good accuracy and can get through traffic to get open and use it. He'll take a hit to make a play but can also dish out and take opponents out of the play. He's smart enough that he gets regular PK mins which means he's well on the way to becoming a 200 foot player. His first couple of steps need improvement, but he's an above average skater with room for improvement, he's a stand up type skater so his top end is average, but he can work on that with the Gophers starting in the fall and maybe see if he can get a spot at Underhills school to polish his skills.
All in all, this is a wait and see, but if this kid keeps working on his game and irons out a few wrinkles that might keep him in the minors he just might end up playing a middle 6 role. He'll be at least 3 years developing I think which will put him at 22, a rookie perhaps even playing on the 33 year old JTs' LW in his first season. It would be the old extra added bonus if that all came to pass.
Welcome to Toronto Matthew
leafsfan2point0
Registered User
- Jun 8, 2011
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SeaOfBlue
The Passion That Unites Us All
- Aug 1, 2013
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The number one thing this guy needs to improve is his skating ability. It is hard to tell how good he will be until that improves, because a lot of his issues stem from that. He tries to cheat because he knows he does not have breakaway speed. He can't keep up defensively because he can skate. He tries to overhandle the puck because that is the only real way he can beat guys.
Seems like a great pick to me, especially for so late in the 2nd round. He seems to tick all the boxes. I love that he's got size and plays with jam, and he seems to have no shortage of skill and IQ. I can see tons of upside with this pick and even if he makes the NHL in a lesser role he can still be a Goodrow type player. You gotta draft big guys if you want big guys on ELCs, so I'm thrilled to see us draft a big guy. Dubas has drafted very well, hope Knies is another steal.
Clark4Ever
What we do in hockey echoes in eternity...
It’s actually probably a Lilley pick, he’s the guy who runs our drafts.
Fogelhund
Registered User
- Sep 15, 2007
- 24,331
- 29,438
So in summary, if his skating can be fixed, we’ve got a middle six forward, if it can’t, we have a bust.
Worth the chance where he’s picked, we could use the size, on an ELC
Worth the chance where he’s picked, we could use the size, on an ELC
From what I've seen, skating seems to be an asset more than a problem. You can clearly see that once he gets going, he has separation speed and uses his body well to protect the puck from D and at times he even leans on the defenseman to cut to the net. He might appear slow because his first few steps are a little choppy and being a taller player, their strides are longer and less frequent so it's not the most visually pleasing.
Overall, I like this pick. He seems like he was due for a monster USHL season after putting up over PPG as a 16-year-old but the kid was hit with Covid and put on hold for a few weeks then had to deal with the constant uncertainty and game cancellations that probably held him back from getting into a groove. Every pro athlete thrives off of consistency in their lives and certainly, the lack of consistency affected him quite a bit in the beginning but he closed out his season strong putting up nearly 1.6-1.8 PPG pace over the last 15 games or so leading into the playoffs. That seems to be well on track with the expectations most had after his ppg season. I think this has the possibility to be an absolute home run pick for us. He just needs to work on keep getting stronger and perhaps become a little more physically assertive. He seems to have that elusive behavior similar to Ilya Mikheyev where he thinks he's 5'7 and able to sneak by defenders along the boards instead of just trucking players with their 6'3 frames. If he pans out, I think we have a pro-ready player by as early as 2023 who can step into our top 6 and provide much-needed size, finishing, and skill. I really don't see a ton of Hyman in his game other than his versatility in being able to play all situations. Their playing styles are very different. Zach initiates and seeks out contact quite often, whereas Knies seems like he's more calculated in that aspect. Knies also seems like a much better skater than Zach and has an NHL shot vs Zach who relies mostly on garbage goals.
This kid gives me Brandon Saad vibes. Big player with, good hockey IQ, good hands, good shot, good but not amazing skater, is not overly physical but can hold his own. Overall I think he will be a very useful middle 6 guy. The one thing he does that Saad does not and did not is PK. I think that bodes very well for him.
Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
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Maplebeasts
I See Demons!!!!!
Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
- 83,096
- 62,014
I like the pick too and clearly there's some development that has to happen, which is normal for a guy taken near the bottom of the second round. A 6'3" power forward candidate who can skate like the wind is probably going top 10, let's be honest.
He reminds me an awful lot of Matthew Boldy as a guy who is a similar size and build who put up PPG at a 16-year-old in the USHL and proceeded to put up around 1.5 PPG as a 17-year-old in his draft year. He went on to play for BC for 2 years and last year ended up with the AHL team for Minny after closing out a very good 2nd season in the NCAA. If we can get something similar out of Knies, we made out like bandits.
Also, Matt Boldy was selected #12 overall in 2019.
Matt Boldy at eliteprospects.com
Gauthier went from literally not being able to walk after the Dotchin incident to having the best skating ability of his career. She also took Dermott from an above average skater to high-end in all directions.
Brown, Brooks, etc. were all below-average to average at best skaters in junior and are now average to above average at the NHL level.
Brian Boyle said she taught him how to skate and without her he wouldn't have made the NHL. She's probably made more noticeable improvements in Tampa's skaters though.
Clark4Ever
What we do in hockey echoes in eternity...
I don't know about "fixed", but she has worked with notable players like Matthews and Tavares and they improved. I remember Gauthier made significant strides with Underhill as well.
Just saying, a kid that age with all the other tools can improve as well.
leafsfan5
Registered User
- Jun 14, 2014
- 15,212
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LeafChief
Matthew Knies Enthusiast
If he can develop like Matt Boldy, we'll be laughing.
I'm not expecting him to be that good. Hopefully he can pan-out as we can use a player of his toolkit.
SeaOfBlue
The Passion That Unites Us All
- Aug 1, 2013
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He has enough skill to be a legit top 6 forward, depending on your definition of "middle 6". Maybe not a top line guy but a guy who can be more than a complimentary piece on a 2nd line, which is better than most middle 6 guys in the NHL.
My definition of a middle 6 guy is a really good 3rd liner who can step into a top 6 if necessary, like Hyman or Kerfoot.
The Podium
Registered User
CantLoseWithMatthews
Registered User
- Sep 28, 2015
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had 2 assists today and 5 shots on goal. I'm not sure what his likelihood is of making the WJC team, but I think he should be able to play his way onto it
