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

[rt]

"He’s got some poise and processing under pressure, even if his play with the puck on his stick isn’t dynamic per se. He’s just a rock-solid, projectable two-way defenceman"

This is all you need to know. He's a rock-solid 2-way Dman. You don't take Dmen without any dynamic skills inside the top 15, otherwise, you end up with another Juolevi.

Outside the top 15, no problem, but inside the top 15 no chance.

And yet the eye popping production in the NLA.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

And yet the eye popping production in the NLA.

nice to have a 'ying' to my 'yang' - after watching Soderstrom, Mr Vanilla, why would we want albeit taller version of Mr Vanilla?

Not saying he's not going to be a very good pro, probably a #3 ceiling, but without dynamic skills, it's difficult to get into that #1/#2 arena. He doesn't have a great shot, not a truly dynamic skater, isn't all that physical, has nice stick work, but again, nothing exceptional...the one exceptional trait seems to be Hockey IQ, and well, without the tools to go with it, it just seems to be Mr Vanilla, pretty good at everything, not great at anything.

Players inside the top 20 should have two traits that are "dynamic"...otherwise, why are you taking them...take players with huge upside inside the top 20.

 

[rt]

nice to have a 'ying' to my 'yang' - after watching Soderstrom, Mr Vanilla, why would we want albeit taller version of Mr Vanilla?

Not saying he's not going to be a very good pro, probably a #3 ceiling, but without dynamic skills, it's difficult to get into that #1/#2 arena. He doesn't have a great shot, not a truly dynamic skater, isn't all that physical, has nice stick work, but again, nothing exceptional...the one exceptional trait seems to be Hockey IQ, and well, without the tools to go with it, it just seems to be Mr Vanilla, pretty good at everything, not great at anything.

Players inside the top 20 should have two traits that are "dynamic"...otherwise, why are you taking them...take players with huge upside inside the top 20.

I just have no idea. I’ve never seen him in league play, he’s not eligible for the u18s, and the u20s were not conducive to forming any opinion at all, given the context. I honestly don’t count the games I saw there as games I saw. Austria was in their own zone 70% of the games. It doesn’t count. Lol.

He’s a complete mystery to me.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

I watched Reinbacher for a handful of games when Pronman first put him so high. With my untrained eye, it was very difficult though on the big ice where he has plenty of time and space. His compete is high along the boards and he wins most of the battles. He can play physical, but he’s not going to go out of his way and be out of position. His dz retrievals are good and he uses his puck skills to evade pressure. He has a good first pass and can skate it out of the zone with few problems. One impressive aspect of his game that media scouts noted is preventing oz entries by the opposition. He’s putting up offense at a historic pace for his age and the league, earlier in the year he was outpacing Roman Josi’s numbers in the league at the same age. We saw little of those skills at the WJC, but imo that should not impact his draft position. He certainly sounds like a “safe” pick.

 

[Dead Coyote]

After you corrected me on your gender, I guess I should have known, I started to think, for a female you know a lot about hockey, probably know more than any other female I know, and probably more than most male posters on here. Impressive.

Thanks...I think?

I've watched hockey all my life. I just spend a lot of time on it.

Anyways, Reinbacher is a solid pick I think, even though he's not the one I'd choose. He's definitely better defensively than he is offensively but it's his IQ and poise that stands out, his stick work is great and is puck handling is alright, he has a good shot as well.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

Thanks...I think?

I've watched hockey all my life. I just spend a lot of time on it.

Anyways, Reinbacher is a solid pick I think, even though he's not the one I'd choose. He's definitely better defensively than he is offensively but it's his IQ and poise that stands out, his stick work is great and is puck handling is alright, he has a good shot as well.

Poise, that’s it. Gap control also good, see example below. The big question, do those skills translate and to what extent? @GermanSpitfire is high on him, interested to hear your thoughts if you have time.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

Ridiculous numbers against college opponents.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Poise, that’s it. Gap control also good, see example below. The big question, do those skills translate and to what extent? @GermanSpitfire is high on him, interested to hear your thoughts if you have time.

Yes! Sorry for the late reply - was working on some reports for some ‘05 Germans haha.

Anyway - Yes, I absolutley love Reinbacher and his game and would say I was one of the first people REALLY pumping his tires earlier in the year.

He is a 6’2’ late 2004 born Austrian that isn’t afraid of being physical. He only weighs around 185lbs at the moment so there is more room for physical maturity. He has been playing against men since the age of 16 in Switzerland.
This year he is playing in Switzerland’s highest mens leage the NL where he is producing at just under .5PPG against men. For comparisons sake, Roman Josi had 8 points in the NL in his draft season; Reinbacher has 22.

The thing with Reinbacher is offence isn’t the best part of his game, it was my biggest question coming into the season but he has really alleviated those concerns with his play in the NL. He has shown some good offensive IQ this year with his shot selection, in that he is shooting with a purpose wheather that be at sticks for tips, or purposely wide for redirections along the backwall, or even just a seeing eye shot from the point. It’s something has improved considerably since last year. His defence is where I would say his greatest strengths lie. He is really good at using his physicality, in particular how he uses it against the rush, you can see from the clip above he stops that Latvia forward in his tracks by squeezing him out along the boards. He is not afraid at all to lay the body - he will get this twinkle in his eye and zero in on someone and just lay them out. Reminds me of a young Kronwall in this regard of his game. He has a very good stick in the defensive zone and maintains his gaps real well, he does lat times get beat to the outside and is something that he may need to work on going forward, but Overall he is a very stout player in the defensive end.

A few things that he will need to work on is how he moves laterally - he is a great skater, but only really North-South. I don’t find he uses his edges often to cut into the middle of the ice, he more just attacks it if he does if that makes sense - and he doesn’t have that flawless, effortless stride when walking the blue line, he more just shimmy’s around, and if he is caught in a pinch he doesn‘t have the shiftyness to get out of it like a Hughes can and he has a tendency panick And make odd plays as a result. He also needs to work on his puck skills - he bobbles the puck at times and doesn‘t always recieve passes very crisp. This could be because of the talent of his teammates at the WJC because I found this was particularly bad at the WJC. Both these things are things he could work on going forward.

I compare him to Moritz Seider as a draft eligible player - raw player with a interesting profile and skillset with a good deal of room for improvement. I believe he will be in the NHL in 1-2 years.

 

[che]

Thanks @GermanSpitfire . I'm sold. Let's get Reinbacher w the Ottawa pick

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

Thanks @GermanSpitfire, if his upside is Seider, he is worthy of an early pick.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Yes! Sorry for the late reply - was working on some reports for some ‘05 Germans haha.

Anyway - Yes, I absolutley love Reinbacher and his game and would say I was one of the first people REALLY pumping his tires earlier in the year.

Couldn't agree more with everything here. He's a very smart player defensively and he doesn't necessarily have the best raw tools for offense but his offense is still good because of his IQ.

 

[Jakey53]

Thanks @GermanSpitfire . I'm sold. Let's get Reinbacher w the Ottawa pick

He'll be gone by the 21st. pick.

 

[PainForShane]

SorryNotSorry to steer us on a slightly different track -- for anyone who really follows prospects, why does is seem like Michkov has fallen so much? I remember not too long ago he was a clear #2 or #3 and now it seems like everyone is just talking about Bedard, Fantilli and everyone else. Is there a reason (other than the Russian factor) for Michkov's drop? Tia

P.S. Also, thx @GermanSpitfire , appreciate the detailed breakdown on Reinbacher (as I'm sure many of us do including the lurkers of which I'm sure there are many)

 

[rt]

SorryNotSorry to steer us on a slightly different track -- for anyone who really follows prospects, why does is seem like Michkov has fallen so much? I remember not too long ago he was a clear #2 or #3 and now it seems like everyone is just talking about Bedard, Fantilli and everyone else. Is there a reason (other than the Russian factor) for Michkov's drop? Tia

P.S. Also, thx @GermanSpitfire , appreciate the detailed breakdown on Reinbacher (as I'm sure many of us do including the lurkers of which I'm sure there are many)

The ONLY reason for the Michkov drop is “the Russian factor” but his “factor” is more complicated than most. It’s not just the geopolitical climate and the “risk” of him bolting back, or delaying arrival. He’s actually got a long term contract already signed. And teams will have to wait for several years or pony up a ton of money to his KHL club.

 

[lanky]

Does three count as several?

Michkov's contract runs through his D+3 season.

 

[rt]

Thanks @GermanSpitfire . I'm sold. Let's get Reinbacher w the Ottawa pick

I think he’s going top ten.

Does three count as several?

Michkov's contract runs through his D+3 season.

For a top five pick? Yeah. And if you’re the coyotes you have to worry wha this impression is of this team and if he’s eventually going to say “nyet!”

 

[PainForShane]

You know, if Michkov is signed thru D+3 that's about how long it'll be before our arena is ready. If we continue to win games ie mess up our tank, maybe not the worst idea to pick Michkov 5-8OA if he's still around...? Esp since we have already have a really good playmaker in Cooley and according to Elite Prospects Guenther can play both wings which could mean an absolutely sick top line. Or if Geekie hits (or Hayton I guess) then you have a truly dangerous top 6. Hmmm.

Thanks for the assists @rt and @lanky, much appreciated

 

[lanky]

I'm pretty sure the anxiety of waiting 3 years on a Russian would tear forum 40 into miserable shreds.

I think we can all agree that Fantilli would be great here and that he's Bill's type. I hope we win that 2nd lottery.

That being said, I think Michkov will have the better NHL career.

 

[PainForShane]

I'm pretty sure the anxiety of waiting 3 years on a Russian would tear forum 40 into miserable shreds.

I think we can all agree that Fantilli would be great here and that he's Bill's type. I hope we win that 2nd lottery.

That being said, I think Michkov will have the better NHL career.

Well then why not take Michkov? We're not winning the cup for another few years at least

 

[rt]

I’m not sure Michkov is better than Fantilli. The thing about Fantilli is he’d play here next season. With Michkov you have to worry if he’s willing to come to AZ or if he just decides to re-up in Russia because the Yotes have a bad reputation.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I absolutely think we should draft Michkov If our pick isn't 2nd or 3rd. I'm also a big Sale fan so I wouldn't hate that pick (or Benson for that matter) but Michkov is very clearly the second best talent in the draft, and there's an argument to be made for 1st. After all, he's putting up nearly a PPG in a mens league, outscoring plenty of elite Russians who came from that league.

Our club clearly scouts Russians a lot, and we have a staff comprised mostly of scouts. Not to mention we can offer someone like Michkov something other teams probably can't. A lack of pressure. We aren't going to have an arena ready anyways, and I think we've shown recently that we care about our players and will put them in the best position to succeed and make them happy. Tourigny is a great coach, but even off the ice. We traded Chychrun to his favorite team, sent Ghost to a contender for a pittance, traded Timmins to his favorite team in a change of scenery trade...I think the popular opinion that people don't want to sign in ARI is just patently false.

Savunov, one of our former picks, has already played with Michkov as a teammate this season. Fedotov might have practiced with him last year but it's hard to say for sure. Either way, I expect us (and everyone else) to be heavily interested in him and talking to him. We'll know what his plans our and what he's like. That's the whole point of interviews and scouting.

We can talk about his contract and how we have to wait, but there's no guarantee that contract stays in place, there's no guarantee that Michkov himself won't want to break it, or that we can't buy him out. There's no guarantee that even after it's over he won't come over. No one's bitching about Kaprisov being a wasted pick now, are they? Malkin was in a similar situation when he was drafted. He got out. It's even more fraught now with the current climate...and I'm sure there are plenty of incentives Michkov would like to enjoy in NA. Who knows?

The only people who have an idea about what Michkov will do if he got drafted by us are us and him. BA's pretty smart. I think he'll be able to figure out if it's the right thing to do.

 

[Freddy Sjostrom]

The drama surrounding the Habs is hilarious. No Benson or Smith for them

 

[Jakey53]

The ONLY reason for the Michkov drop is “the Russian factor” but his “factor” is more complicated than most. It’s not just the geopolitical climate and the “risk” of him bolting back, or delaying arrival. He’s actually got a long term contract already signed. And teams will have to wait for several years or pony up a ton of money to his KHL club.

I thought I heard the KHL was on the verge of collapse? I wonder if the team that drafts him pays up?

 

[Jakey53]

I absolutely think we should draft Michkov If our pick isn't 2nd or 3rd. I'm also a big Sale fan so I wouldn't hate that pick (or Benson for that matter) but Michkov is very clearly the second best talent in the draft, and there's an argument to be made for 1st. After all, he's putting up nearly a PPG in a mens league, outscoring plenty of elite Russians who came from that league.

Our club clearly scouts Russians a lot, and we have a staff comprised mostly of scouts. Not to mention we can offer someone like Michkov something other teams probably can't. A lack of pressure. We aren't going to have an arena ready anyways, and I think we've shown recently that we care about our players and will put them in the best position to succeed and make them happy. Tourigny is a great coach, but even off the ice. We traded Chychrun to his favorite team, sent Ghost to a contender for a pittance, traded Timmins to his favorite team in a change of scenery trade...I think the popular opinion that people don't want to sign in ARI is just patently false.

Savunov, one of our former picks, has already played with Michkov as a teammate this season. Fedotov might have practiced with him last year but it's hard to say for sure. Either way, I expect us (and everyone else) to be heavily interested in him and talking to him. We'll know what his plans our and what he's like. That's the whole point of interviews and scouting.

We can talk about his contract and how we have to wait, but there's no guarantee that contract stays in place, there's no guarantee that Michkov himself won't want to break it, or that we can't buy him out. There's no guarantee that even after it's over he won't come over. No one's bitching about Kaprisov being a wasted pick now, are they? Malkin was in a similar situation when he was drafted. He got out. It's even more fraught now with the current climate...and I'm sure there are plenty of incentives Michkov would like to enjoy in NA. Who knows?

The only people who have an idea about what Michkov will do if he got drafted by us are us and him. BA's pretty smart. I think he'll be able to figure out if it's the right thing to do.

IF we drafted him and IF we bought out his contract, what would that cost be? Has any Russian worth their salt not come over?

 

[Jakey53]

I’m not sure Michkov is better than Fantilli. The thing about Fantilli is he’d play here next season. With Michkov you have to worry if he’s willing to come to AZ or if he just decides to re-up in Russia because the Yotes have a bad reputation.

These Russian kids see NHL and $$$$. They look at Ovi and Malkin. They want to play in the best league in the world. I personally would never draft a Russian because of all the drama. I know that is stupid but that is just the way I feel.