StevenToddIves
Registered User
RD Seamus Casey, US-NTDP (STI Ranking #47, McKenzie #51)
Seamus Casey's wildly divergent consensus rankings may have as much to do with how certain scouts and draft writers idealize defensemen as it does with his own game. I've seen him with multiple rankings in the #11-#12 range, but I've also seen him as low as #50 (Button) and also quite low on the most generally accurate of the big rankings, Bob McKenzie's scout poll (#51). He is generally up-ranked by the more "new age" stat-based rankers, who do not see his 5'10-160 frame and lack of top-speed or much physicality as an issue. Right now, it's a fair argument that he is the top two-way defenseman for the heralded US-NTDP team, but in terms of projection there are certainly problems and questions in his overall style of play which will not affect stronger and faster defenders.
The native Floridian is an excellent example of how the tool of skating is often misconstrued in the scouting process. While Casey's straight-end speed is good but not great, his edges and ability to spin on a dime while deceptively and elusively manipulating the puck with his elite stickhandling makes him extremely difficult to defend. In transition, Casey often makes the opposition look downright silly, manipulating the puck to draw them in and then making a litany of quick moves in a lightning-quick directional change to leave them in his dust. Straight end speed is not everything, and Casey's high IQ and hockey awareness see him always playing faster than he actually is.
Unlike most small defenders, Casey is not simply an offensive guy. This is what I like about him the most. Casey grades as excellent in terms of defensive awareness, positioning, gap control, and effort. His compete level is sometimes misconstrued as average because he's just so smooth and natural out there it seems as if he's not trying. But Casey is certainly a guy giving it his all, and his brain never takes a moment of any shift off. He has an active stick and active feet, and will never be a defensive liability. That being said, Casey can also be beaten one-on-one, both in open ice against faster players and in tight by more physical ones. It's the nature of the beast when you're 5'10 and lack the preternatural strength of a defenseman of similar height like Brian Rafalski or Kris Letang and no fault of Casey's, but at the higher levels you're going to have to pair him with a Carlo or Slavin-type in order for him to succeed in a top 4 capacity.
Seamus Casey's wildly divergent consensus rankings may have as much to do with how certain scouts and draft writers idealize defensemen as it does with his own game. I've seen him with multiple rankings in the #11-#12 range, but I've also seen him as low as #50 (Button) and also quite low on the most generally accurate of the big rankings, Bob McKenzie's scout poll (#51). He is generally up-ranked by the more "new age" stat-based rankers, who do not see his 5'10-160 frame and lack of top-speed or much physicality as an issue. Right now, it's a fair argument that he is the top two-way defenseman for the heralded US-NTDP team, but in terms of projection there are certainly problems and questions in his overall style of play which will not affect stronger and faster defenders.
The native Floridian is an excellent example of how the tool of skating is often misconstrued in the scouting process. While Casey's straight-end speed is good but not great, his edges and ability to spin on a dime while deceptively and elusively manipulating the puck with his elite stickhandling makes him extremely difficult to defend. In transition, Casey often makes the opposition look downright silly, manipulating the puck to draw them in and then making a litany of quick moves in a lightning-quick directional change to leave them in his dust. Straight end speed is not everything, and Casey's high IQ and hockey awareness see him always playing faster than he actually is.
Unlike most small defenders, Casey is not simply an offensive guy. This is what I like about him the most. Casey grades as excellent in terms of defensive awareness, positioning, gap control, and effort. His compete level is sometimes misconstrued as average because he's just so smooth and natural out there it seems as if he's not trying. But Casey is certainly a guy giving it his all, and his brain never takes a moment of any shift off. He has an active stick and active feet, and will never be a defensive liability. That being said, Casey can also be beaten one-on-one, both in open ice against faster players and in tight by more physical ones. It's the nature of the beast when you're 5'10 and lack the preternatural strength of a defenseman of similar height like Brian Rafalski or Kris Letang and no fault of Casey's, but at the higher levels you're going to have to pair him with a Carlo or Slavin-type in order for him to succeed in a top 4 capacity.
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