Prospect Info: 2023 Draft Thread (Yotes picking #6 & #12)

[Jakey53]

Already there. This season was fun.

We have set a low bar for ourselves. IF we are still in the same position in two years this will stop being fun. But I agree, this season was fun to watch for the most part.

 

[Jakey53]

Obviously I would absolutely love them to win the cup but if I had to choose, I think I'd choose a team who is a perennial contender for a decade but never wins it over a flash in the pan team win manages to Cinderella their way to a cup one year but doesn't do much outside of that. Those old powerhouse Canuck teams with Naslund and the Sedins never actually won but their fans got to watch literally hundreds upon hundreds of awesome hockey games and exciting playoffs and a cup appearance to boot. Same with San Jose with the Thornton and Marleau era. Basically 10 years of awesomeness and some playoff heartbreak would be pretty awesome. Now sure it'd be more fun to be the next Chicago, LA or Pitt but at this point, I just want a team that's one of the regular season darlings for like 10 years and let the chips fall where they may in the playoffs. Maybe a happy medium would be like Washington, amazing, amazing hockey that you just absolutely love watching every regular season game, followed by a ton of ups and down in the playoffs but you finally break through and win one. Yeah...that's a happy medium...let's do that.

Winning the SC is so hard to do, and when you do, it's a feeling that is hard to explain as a fan. It's a relief, and at the same time you feel proud. Something you will never forget, never. Being in the playoffs for years is nice, but winning the SC, if even for once is a different feeling. Living in Edmonton and experiencing playoff success for years was nice, but you forget most of the series, but there is no way you forget a SC year, especially the first one.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

That D'Backs team that won the World Series was worth all the down years because of the deferred payments and then some. Of course that was back when I still watched and loved baseball but that World Series win was awesome. Best thing that's ever happened in Arizona sports and it's not even close. It's a shame Colangelo didn't buy the Coyotes. He would have never let it turn in to the circus it's become.

It would have been a completely different circus.

 

[rt]

Someone mentioned getting together for the lottery. I like the this idea. But I will immediately NOT like this if Ottawa wins. Haha.

 

[rt]

Everyone should pause and watch this video from start to finish, and try not to get distracted.

 

[Sinurgy]

Winning the SC is so hard to do, and when you do, it's a feeling that is hard to explain as a fan. It's a relief, and at the same time you feel proud. Something you will never forget, never. Being in the playoffs for years is nice, but winning the SC, if even for once is a different feeling. Living in Edmonton and experiencing playoff success for years was nice, but you forget most of the series, but there is no way you forget a SC year, especially the first one.

I've experienced it only once. I am a huge Nebraska Husker fan, only fandom that rivals the Coyotes, and in the 90's the Huskers were a force. 3 national championships, back to back undefeated seasons, double digit wins every single year, perrenial top 5 team, etc. In fact I was fortunate enough to go to the 1995 game where they delivered one of the worst beat downs of a previously undefeated team in a title game. That 1995 team is widely debated as the best college football team of all time and I was there! So yeah, I definitely know where you're coming from as far as never forgetting a title. That said, they were basically a dynasty, I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if they sucked most of the 90's but somehow bootstrapped their way to a title in one random year.

 

[Sinurgy]

Someone mentioned getting together for the lottery. I like the this idea. But I will immediately NOT like this if Ottawa wins. Haha.

I'll also be intensely angry if Chicago wins it. A close second would be if Montreal wins it. I could live with just about any other scenario except Chicago or Montreal!

 

[rt]

I'll also be intensely angry if Chicago wins it. A close second would be if Montreal wins it. I could live with just about any other scenario except Chicago or Montreal!

I just don’t want teams behind us to win. But even that doesn’t matter as much as Ottawa not winning. That’s the nightmare. Nothing else matters.

 

[Jagged Ice]

Everyone should pause and watch this video from start to finish, and try not to get distracted.

Awesome video. I like this channel and watch it often. I would love to land him. But over Smith or Benson? I don't know. Maybe. Ask me tomorrow for a different answer. Yesterday I studied Will Smith and... Holy Hannah I want him bad!!
We do need to stack up on D though. They take longer to develop too.

 

[rt]

Awesome video. I like this channel and watch it often. I would love to land him. But over Smith or Benson? I don't know. Maybe. Ask me tomorrow for a different answer. Yesterday I studied Will Smith and... Holy Hannah I want him bad!!
We do need to stack up on D though. They take longer to develop too.

I would much rather draft Benson than either of Smith or Reinbacher. But I don’t know that BA feels the same. There’s just been some discussion around here about Reinbacher being too safe or being a positional reach. I’ve got him 7th. And I think that’s the absolute latest he’ll go.

 

[lanky]

I think he'll go between 4 and 8, in the mix with Michkov, Benson and Smith. I think he'll be closer to the front end of that group, and just out of Bill's grasp.

 

[Jagged Ice]

I would much rather draft Benson than either of Smith or Reinbacher. But I don’t know that BA feels the same. There’s just been some discussion around here about Reinbacher being too safe or being a positional reach. I’ve got him 7th. And I think that’s the absolute latest he’ll go.

The one issue with Smith that worries me is he can disappear. Is he one of these guys that has Bedard level skill but doesn't apply himself? I'll pass all day on that. Alexei Kovalev had the skill to be a 100 pt player but often ended up in that 40-60 pt range. Is that Will Smith? Pass.
Benson is going to be another Mitch Marner. He is dynamite and a can't miss prospect. I wanted him last year already when I was looking at Matt Savoie as a possible '22 prospect.
These two picks are going to be so much fun. The talent level 1-15 in this draft is mind boggling. I've never seen anything like it and we get two of them.

 

[Grimes]

The one issue with Smith that worries me is he can disappear. Is he one of these guys that has Bedard level skill but doesn't apply himself? I'll pass all day on that. Alexei Kovalev had the skill to be a 100 pt player but often ended up in that 40-60 pt range. Is that Will Smith? Pass.
Benson is going to be another Mitch Marner. He is dynamite and a can't miss prospect. I wanted him last year already when I was looking at Matt Savoie as a possible '22 prospect.
These two picks are going to be so much fun. The talent level 1-15 in this draft is mind boggling. I've never seen anything like it and we get two of them.

Agreed about Smith. He reminds me a lot of Duchene. I feel like Duchene could rack up points but wasn't always committed to making the right plays. I feel like he has become a very complete player now but it took him nearly 10 seasons and three teams to get there. I could see Smith having a very similar trajectory. Who knows, maybe we will all have egg on our face and Smith will put it all together when he faces tougher competition. I just don't want to be the team to take that risk.

Full disclosure: I will change my tune immediately if we take him because I trust our scouts, lol.

 

[PHX FireBirds18]

Everyone should pause and watch this video from start to finish, and try not to get distracted.

I admit I’ve been deep diving on some of the lists everyone’s been posting. May even post one of my own for fun. Will say initially scouting Reinbacher, I was leaning towards Pietrieangelo for comparison. After watching that video, I must say he reminds me a lot of Drew Doughty in his draft year. Maybe not as far along in confidence, but play style and smarts are there. Another thing to think of, the last time I remember people being this concerned about upside in lower leagues. LA went out and grabbed their current captain. Can’t say wether or not it would be a good or bad idea to grab him at the spot we are ending up with. I do see see 1st pairing upside there and low end 2nd pairing.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Everyone should pause and watch this video from start to finish, and try not to get distracted.

I was just coming here to shit on this video, lol.

Yes, there are lots of similarities between Reinbacher and Seider. Yes, Reinbacher has tons of tools. He definitely has some offensive acumen, as he has put up quite a few points.

But for one thing, a huge portion of these guys projections of him is the WJC. There's absolutely no way you can look at the WJC alone and say that these projections will come true. He has definitely improved over the season but the way he plays the game hasn't changed at all. He is an incredibly bread and butter player. Defensively, I think that's really good. Offensively, that leaves something to be desired.

There are two main differences between him and Seider, and while it's possible that he follows the same trajectory, personally, I think it's unlikely as we know him now.

#1 difference is that Seider was more of a playmaker in his draft year and was always aggressively looking for offensive plays and trying to make them. Reinbacher is very good at knowing that he can make an offensive play, but he doesn't force them or create them like Seider did. At the time those were just flashes that Seider had, but Reinbacher doesn't have those flashes at all.

#2 is that Reinbacher hasn't shown creativity with the puck like...at all. He's gotten a lot better at using his teammates and creating options for himself by improving his vision and making heads up plays, but when he has the puck he isn't using his skating to create opportunities for his teammates or drawing defenders, he mostly uses his superior physicality to simply outmuscle or outskate other players. If he learns how to pinch a bit better that could make him an effective tool on the forecheck, but that's a huge far cry from someone who can effectively create chances on their own. His skating and IQ aren't quite good enough to carry that into the NHL right now anyways.

Reinbacher is a very very good bread and butter defenseman. He plays for the puck, can intercept passes, make a breakout pass, has a huge shot from the point and his skating is good enough that he can probably transition well with the puck. He's top tier in that regard, for sure. But he isn't the type of player who is going to draw eyes to himself, he isn't an amazing stick handler, his vision isn't amazing and his shot is good but not elite.

I think he's a great player. But I also think that I'd much rather have an elite talent in the top 10, and he ain't it.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I've experienced it only once. I am a huge Nebraska Husker fan, only fandom that rivals the Coyotes, and in the 90's the Huskers were a force. 3 national championships, back to back undefeated seasons, double digit wins every single year, perrenial top 5 team, etc. In fact I was fortunate enough to go to the 1995 game where they delivered one of the worst beat downs of a previously undefeated team in a title game. That 1995 team is widely debated as the best college football team of all time and I was there! So yeah, I definitely know where you're coming from as far as never forgetting a title. That said, they were basically a dynasty, I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if they sucked most of the 90's but somehow bootstrapped their way to a title in one random year.

As a Knights fan I've been blessed by nearly 20 years of off and on playoffs and 2 Memorial Cup Wins in that time. We've had some of the best teams of all time. I really appreciate that the Hunters have been able to put together good teams almost all of those years, but I'd much rather have those 2 cup wins and no other playoffs than not have those at all. They're special. I still have memories from those cup runs that I may never forget and are very special to me. There's a whole lot of other memories in playoffs, for sure, but those especially stand out. The other times they made it to the Memorial Cup also stand out to me a lot, but for different reasons- especially the one in Shawinigan where they barely lost in overtime and it was an incredibly tightly called game.

At the end of the day, look at where we'd be if we hadn't won those cups- a near dynasty of 4 appearances in 5 years and we haven't gotten past the 2nd round of the playoffs since. Ain't no guarantee you ever make it there again or that you win. Best to savour what you have.

 

[rt]

I was just coming here to shit on this video, lol.

Yes, there are lots of similarities between Reinbacher and Seider. Yes, Reinbacher has tons of tools. He definitely has some offensive acumen, as he has put up quite a few points.

But for one thing, a huge portion of these guys projections of him is the WJC. There's absolutely no way you can look at the WJC alone and say that these projections will come true. He has definitely improved over the season but the way he plays the game hasn't changed at all. He is an incredibly bread and butter player. Defensively, I think that's really good. Offensively, that leaves something to be desired.

There are two main differences between him and Seider, and while it's possible that he follows the same trajectory, personally, I think it's unlikely as we know him now.

#1 difference is that Seider was more of a playmaker in his draft year and was always aggressively looking for offensive plays and trying to make them. Reinbacher is very good at knowing that he can make an offensive play, but he doesn't force them or create them like Seider did. At the time those were just flashes that Seider had, but Reinbacher doesn't have those flashes at all.

#2 is that Reinbacher hasn't shown creativity with the puck like...at all. He's gotten a lot better at using his teammates and creating options for himself by improving his vision and making heads up plays, but when he has the puck he isn't using his skating to create opportunities for his teammates or drawing defenders, he mostly uses his superior physicality to simply outmuscle or outskate other players. If he learns how to pinch a bit better that could make him an effective tool on the forecheck, but that's a huge far cry from someone who can effectively create chances on their own. His skating and IQ aren't quite good enough to carry that into the NHL right now anyways.

Reinbacher is a very very good bread and butter defenseman. He plays for the puck, can intercept passes, make a breakout pass, has a huge shot from the point and his skating is good enough that he can probably transition well with the puck. He's top tier in that regard, for sure. But he isn't the type of player who is going to draw eyes to himself, he isn't an amazing stick handler, his vision isn't amazing and his shot is good but not elite.

I think he's a great player. But I also think that I'd much rather have an elite talent in the top 10, and he ain't it.

I should’ve taken more time when I posted it. I’ll be clear now, the video would’ve been better if it contained no content at all about Seider. I just liked the way it highlighted Reinbacher. I wasn’t interested in any of the Seider stuff, personally.

 

[rt]

I was just coming here to shit on this video, lol.

Yes, there are lots of similarities between Reinbacher and Seider. Yes, Reinbacher has tons of tools. He definitely has some offensive acumen, as he has put up quite a few points.

But for one thing, a huge portion of these guys projections of him is the WJC. There's absolutely no way you can look at the WJC alone and say that these projections will come true. He has definitely improved over the season but the way he plays the game hasn't changed at all. He is an incredibly bread and butter player. Defensively, I think that's really good. Offensively, that leaves something to be desired.

There are two main differences between him and Seider, and while it's possible that he follows the same trajectory, personally, I think it's unlikely as we know him now.

#1 difference is that Seider was more of a playmaker in his draft year and was always aggressively looking for offensive plays and trying to make them. Reinbacher is very good at knowing that he can make an offensive play, but he doesn't force them or create them like Seider did. At the time those were just flashes that Seider had, but Reinbacher doesn't have those flashes at all.

#2 is that Reinbacher hasn't shown creativity with the puck like...at all. He's gotten a lot better at using his teammates and creating options for himself by improving his vision and making heads up plays, but when he has the puck he isn't using his skating to create opportunities for his teammates or drawing defenders, he mostly uses his superior physicality to simply outmuscle or outskate other players. If he learns how to pinch a bit better that could make him an effective tool on the forecheck, but that's a huge far cry from someone who can effectively create chances on their own. His skating and IQ aren't quite good enough to carry that into the NHL right now anyways.

Reinbacher is a very very good bread and butter defenseman. He plays for the puck, can intercept passes, make a breakout pass, has a huge shot from the point and his skating is good enough that he can probably transition well with the puck. He's top tier in that regard, for sure. But he isn't the type of player who is going to draw eyes to himself, he isn't an amazing stick handler, his vision isn't amazing and his shot is good but not elite.

I think he's a great player. But I also think that I'd much rather have an elite talent in the top 10, and he ain't it.

He makes smart, simple, high percentage plays with the puck from what I’ve seen. Which is nice. And he’s got a good shot. So definitely some fundamentals and some tools there. A question remains on how it all comes together.

What I like most is how he gaps up on dudes and just neutralizes them along the boards as the enter the zone. Love to see a kid who just erases entries like that. It’s not a skill anyone cares about in the top ten and it shouldn’t be. But it’s just a thing I personally enjoy seeing. Haha.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

No way a Dman should be selected within top 10, most likely top 15 in this draft. Reinbacher is not a #1Dman, more likely a 2-3, which is still good, but not within the top 15 picks with all the offensive firepower that is out there.

I want 2 forwards

 

[Dead Coyote]

He makes smart, simple, high percentage plays with the puck from what I’ve seen. Which is nice. And he’s got a good shot. So definitely some fundamentals and some tools there. A question remains on how it all comes together.

What I like most is how he gaps up on dudes and just neutralizes them along the boards as the enter the zone. Love to see a kid who just erases entries like that. It’s not a skill anyone cares about in the top ten and it shouldn’t be. But it’s just a thing I personally enjoy seeing. Haha.

Agree with all of this. Just don't think that overall he should be going in the top 10. Completely possible he does cause teams just love d-men, but this is a historic draft with a ton of good forwards.

 

[rt]

No way a Dman should be selected within top 10, most likely top 15 in this draft. Reinbacher is not a #1Dman, more likely a 2-3, which is still good, but not within the top 15 picks with all the offensive firepower that is out there.

I want 2 forwards

The last time a defenseman didn’t go top 6 was twenty years ago when Ryan Suter went 7th.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

The last time a defenseman didn’t go top 6 was twenty years ago when Ryan Suter went 7th.

Understandable...just saying scouting has to be in a vacuum regardless of what statistics say...I've watched a lot of most of the top 50 prospects and I don't have Reinbacher as a #1Dman, so therefore I wouldn't select him in the top 10.

Everyone in the top 10 should be considered a top line player or a #1Dman if taken.

The top flight offensive talent is ripe in this draft and it would be great to get 2 of them and then go with Dmen in the 2nd round or even 3rd round where we have so many picks. Plus, it's been proven time and time again that you can get #1Dmen outside the 1st round way more often than top line players.

We need two top flight offensive stars so we can roll 3 scoring lines.

 

[rt]

I’ve literally never seen a Swiss league game. Haha. I only watch NHL, CHL, USHL, and a little bit of NCAA and MHL. I don’t watch the KHL, or Liiga, or SHL or the lesser Euro games at all.

I only watch archived, free NCAA games I can find occasionally and same for MHL which has a bunch on YouTube. But I pay to stream NHL, CHL, and USHL.

 

[Sinurgy]

I know there's still time but as of right now are there any late risers rocketing up draft lists? If I remember right OEL was actually one of those players, as was Makar a few years ago. Players that are highly rated, say top 20, but then late in the season they're suddenly making top 10 and even top 5 lists.

 

[hbk]

I know there's still time but as of right now are there any late risers rocketing up draft lists? If I remember right OEL was actually one of those players, as was Makar a few years ago. Players that are highly rated, say top 20, but then late in the season they're suddenly making top 10 and even top 5 lists.

Wait for U18's. That's where you will see the recency bias in full effect.