I can't seem to find the post but someone had said "read his scouting report and it's basically the Center version of Seider's report"...and I kind of get that.
Seider's original "huh?! who?" reaction (myself included) kind of ended up with a frantic search around looking for info and the overwhelming consensus opinion from the "experts" was - low profile, unimpressive, second tier league/team with middling results and not a lot of coverage. A solid, low maintenance, steady defenseman. Liked his size, maybe that could be something, but really not any offense to speak of. Seems like a good, low risk, middle pair Defense with some size. Really like his defensive presence and maturity, that was easy to project into the NHL but limited upside - end report.
Except with him there was all this kind of "huh, that's interesting" things like - he was so young in a men's league. Played a lot of minutes in key situations for a professional men's team despite his low point totals. Teammates and coaches raved about him, etc. Showed off and well in international play against his peer group, etc. etc. Like there was hints that this was more situational and he was doing the things that we asked of him without complaint, to help his team win and just didn't have the flash and the offensive dazzle that would draw any real attention to him. He was quiet, unassuming, and just took care of business.
Fast forward to Danielson, and you kind of get the exact same feel. This guy is a "meat and potatoes" player, not a lot of flash but is good at everything but doesn't have that "wow" factor. He's unassuming in his play and his numbers don't jump out at you (not exactly a slouch either), it's really the anecdotes in the same way it was with Seider. Bedard says he was the hardest to play against, Benson saying it was a real battle for Manitoba against Danielson. He was a captain as a 17 year old with his team, also not normal and has the respect of his team mates and when he talks, they listen. When playing on a super junior teams of Canada, he held his own international comp with talented teammates. Professional scouts have him ranked super high (within the Top 10) while the magazines and pundits have him in the 20's+. Like all this little stuff about him that kind of adds up to something more being there then just this 50pt ceiling, offensively limited defensive prospect.
Again it all feels like it's more situational, and there is something there, like there was with Seider.
At the very least we know we have a 6'2" 190+ Center - which is comparable to Carlsson and Fantilli in size for C's, and that's about it in the 1st Rd. So, a solid frame. We also know this kid is fast. We know he plays defense and he's good at it. So literally at the very bare minimum, we have a big, strong, fast, and defensibly responsible center.
The open ended question is...just how high is his ceiling offensively? Is he Rasmussen? Or is he Seider? ...that's a really interesting question and not one I'm prepared to answer but I like all those other things
