Nowhere near as skilled as Garland was in Moncton, but he’s a better skater for sure.
He’s not a big guy, couldn’t have been more than 6ft max, 170 probably pushing it if I were to guess. He doesn’t play a heavy game.
There are probably three RD who are for the most part shutdown D with the exception of Lavois who also can be an offensive D who could all be available in the late 1st or more likely 2nd rd who could be available to Ott (Charlie Elick RD, EJ Emery RD & Tomas Lavoie RD). OR they could just see if Maxime Gunnette RD could fill in that hole on the 3rd pairing RD. Lavoie looks very much like Gunnette, good skater, good offensive producer, good size but lacks a mean streak & hitting that the other two seem to have more of. Given that Emery is going to UND the defenceman factory school could mean Emery may have the inside track though.
Ott could fill at least a couple of holes depending on who they draft in 2024. They also have several potential players in their prospect list who I expect should challenge for positions on this team in the near future like Kleven LD, Ostapchuk C/LW, Sogaard G & Guennette RD. There are also a number of maybees, like Jarventie C/LW, Petersson RW, Boucher RW, Sokolov RW, Donovan LD & Toure RD.
I haven’t loved Mews this year, he was looking great last year but I haven’t seen the expected improvements in his game. I’m not a fan of Dave Cameron coaching and attribute some of the issues to him.
If Tarasenko is traded at the trade deadline they will likely replace him internally for the remainder of the season & look to sign a UFA over the summer to replace him for next season. And there are a couple of UFAs that could be available this summer that we might be able to sign in Toffoli RW & DeBrusk LW.
Hopefully we win a lottery pick too to make it a special draft.
I'm not sure who I would take 1st OA on this yr's draft, IMO Demidov RW is the best forward & Levshunov RD is the best defenceman. They should go one two, but Celebrini being Canadian will likely go first & it could be a few yrs before we see Demidov in NA. The 2024 draft should be interesting this yr with so many possibilities in the first rd & some decent prospects in the 2nd & later rds. If Ott can add a couple more picks they could get another haul this draft.
Celebrini is at the top of virtually all reputable draft rankings, so taking Demidov #1 would be a ballsy move at this time.
Could be wrong, you never know about 17 yr olds & how they turn out, but I think Demidov RW is & will be as good as Celebrini, if not better. Of course, being Russian it could be a couple of yrs before we see Demidov in NA, which should give him some time to grow & fill out.
I watched Celebrini play last week against Northeastern he had a solid game. But last night I watched Michigan State and oh boy #5 is a player. That Levshunov is an absolute beast. He's massive, he skates like the wind. Competes hard on pucks he is skilled and he can shoot it. His goal was an unreal snipe. I've watched celebrini play around 10 times. He's never been that dominant. It's a small sample size for Levshunov for me obviously but the raw tools are undeniable. Everywhere I read is 2 through 9 are interchangeable. But after watching Levshunov its hard to imagine there are 7 other guys as good as him.
I often wonder if there isn't a bias on who is #1 given that most of these sites are based in NA. Levshunov RD would be my choice for the Sens given he fits a very big need right now & is probably very close to being NHL ready. I also like Demidov RW a great deal given he is so skilled & could be a future Giroux replacement.
I am not sure. I know that some players that have played in Russia have mentioned that they call penalties too easily so maybe they eject players off of what would be considered a normal play in North America.
WE've seen a few north american kids fall down the rankings when draft day actually comes. Couturier, wright, patrick, come to mind.
