Prospect Info: Aiden Fink - RW | 218th Overall | 2023 NHL Draft

[AintLifeGrand]

2 pts against Notre dame last night at wrigley

 

[AintLifeGrand]

2g 1 a last night against Ohio State

Now up to 3rd overall in NCAA Scoring with 34 pts in 23 games

3rd overall in pts per game as well

He has got to be a top contender for the Hobey at this pt

@Porter Stoutheart in shambles

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Surin and Fink are my two favorite sight-unseen prospects. But I’m getting really worried that somebody might be putting some kind of jinx on Fink here, given what has happened with every other prospect who was previously hyped this way? If he turns out like Knak and Fontaine can we ask for a site ban? Mods?

 

[herzausstein]

Fink is currently 3rd for NCAA scoring as a sophomore. If he can translate that to the NHL, he is gonna have a good career. There's a pretty big history of smaller players that can score in NCAA that dont make it beyond AHL though. Hopefully, he isnt one of them. Dude is a play driver

In a shock twist, top prospect Cole O'Hara is 5th in NCAA scoring as a Jr. I'm not sure how many peoples radars he was on going into this season but he has 32 points in 24 games this season. For context, he had 35 points in 69 games between his freshmen and sophomore seasons.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

now leading the NCAA in scoring 44 pts in 34 games

 

[Scoresberg]

Any chance we could see him in Nashville or Milwaukee this year already?

 

[Kat Predator]

He does seem to fit the mold of a Bruno defenseman in our system. But it'll be another decade before he's old enough to put on the ice, at minimum. Which just makes him a good candidate for Barry to T up for a team punishment waiver wire move.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

He does seem to fit the mold of a Bruno defenseman in our system. But it'll be another decade before he's old enough to put on the ice, at minimum. Which just makes him a good candidate for Barry to T up for a team punishment waiver wire move.

he is a right winger....

I also think we sign him and he goes to Milwaukee, prob needs to put on 15 lbs before hes NHL ready imo

 

[herzausstein]

Why would he leave college early to marinate in Milwaukee for 3 years? We may try to sign him but i think it would be silly of him to leave when you see how we handle young prospects

 

[Scoresberg]

Why would he leave college early to marinate in Milwaukee for 3 years? We may try to sign him but i think it would be silly of him to leave when you see how we handle young prospects

True, but I think he's ready for the next step considering he's putting up 1.47 points per game in the NCAA.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Why would he leave college early to marinate in Milwaukee for 3 years? We may try to sign him but i think it would be silly of him to leave when you see how we handle young prospects

He's still only 20. Especially for an undersized guy, he should stay in college and work on strength etc.

Now that transfers are a lot easier in the NCAA than they used to be... I wonder if there would be any advantage in leaving Penn St. for a bigger NCAA program? Like Wood did. (It doesn't seem to have panned out very well for Wood so far, however). Is it better to be the Big Man in a lesser program, or to go somewhere else with a lot more NHL-bound talent around him? I don't have any idea... he's going to keep getting all the prime ice in Penn St., so if he's happy with his studies there, happy with the facilities and coaching and all that... I would probably suggest he just stay put.

 

[glenngineer]

He's still only 20. Especially for an undersized guy, he should stay in college and work on strength etc.

Now that transfers are a lot easier in the NCAA than they used to be... I wonder if there would be any advantage in leaving Penn St. for a bigger NCAA program? Like Wood did. (It doesn't seem to have panned out very well for Wood so far, however). Is it better to be the Big Man in a lesser program, or to go somewhere else with a lot more NHL-bound talent around him? I don't have any idea... he's going to keep getting all the prime ice in Penn St., so if he's happy with his studies there, happy with the facilities and coaching and all that... I would probably suggest he just stay put.

Does it matter the team you're playing for or the teams you're playing against? Some say Hagens stats are exaggerated from the guys he plays with. If he's the only player on that team and other teams can't shut him down, he's a play driver, these are the guys that we have constantly missed on.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Does it matter the team you're playing for or the teams you're playing against? Some say Hagens stats are exaggerated from the guys he plays with. If he's the only player on that team and other teams can't shut him down, he's a play driver, these are the guys that we have constantly missed on.

Then I guess why did Wood leave UConn for Minnesota? The thought was he was on a crappy NCAA team which didn't have any supporting cast, so he needed to go somewhere else with more talent... Then his numbers would EXPLODE to some new level, and... I dunno, I guess some kind of accolades would follow?

I'm not arguing against you... just pointing out what seems to be a typical hockey player mindset. I've seen it at many levels with star players wanting to jump onto "powerhouse" teams... it's the sort of opportunity anyway that is probably going to be open to Fink. Should he take it? I'm thinking probably not, but we casual onlookers don't have enough data... not about the realism of the opportunity... but rather just about all that goes into the "personal fit" side of things.

 

[Armourboy]

Then I guess why did Wood leave UConn for Minnesota? The thought was he was on a crappy NCAA team which didn't have any supporting cast, so he needed to go somewhere else with more talent... Then his numbers would EXPLODE to some new level, and... I dunno, I guess some kind of accolades would follow?

I'm not arguing against you... just pointing out what seems to be a typical hockey player mindset. I've seen it at many levels with star players wanting to jump onto "powerhouse" teams... it's the sort of opportunity anyway that is probably going to be open to Fink. Should he take it? I'm thinking probably not, but we casual onlookers don't have enough data... not about the realism of the opportunity... but rather just about all that goes into the "personal fit" side of things.

I mean people assume Wood left UConn to go to somewhere with more talent, truth could just be that he found himself not caring that much for the school, the experience, or the coaching staff. Heck could be a combo of all of it.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I mean people assume Wood left UConn to go to somewhere with more talent, truth could just be that he found himself not caring that much for the school, the experience, or the coaching staff. Heck could be a combo of all of it.

That is exactly what I mean about the "personal fit" side of things that none of us will ever have any insight into for Fink.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

He's still only 20. Especially for an undersized guy, he should stay in college and work on strength etc.

Now that transfers are a lot easier in the NCAA than they used to be... I wonder if there would be any advantage in leaving Penn St. for a bigger NCAA program? Like Wood did. (It doesn't seem to have panned out very well for Wood so far, however). Is it better to be the Big Man in a lesser program, or to go somewhere else with a lot more NHL-bound talent around him? I don't have any idea... he's going to keep getting all the prime ice in Penn St., so if he's happy with his studies there, happy with the facilities and coaching and all that... I would probably suggest he just stay put.

Big fish little pond for a kid like him.

 

[wmupreds]

It's not like Penn State is some tiny program with no talent. They're a bubble team for the NCAAs playing in a league with several of the top teams in the country.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

It's not like Penn State is some tiny program with no talent. They're a bubble team for the NCAAs playing in a league with several of the top teams in the country.

But you know what I mean. Big school with a big history in other sports... just not so much in ice hockey, right? They only have a couple other drafted players on the roster, and have never graduated a full-time NHLer. Compared to some of the long-standing hockey factory teams, it's a big difference in the eyes of many.

I still say Fink should stay put there, be the big fish in the little pond, assuming he is happy with all the other stuff there, his classes the rest of the campus life, etc. But now that transfers are easy and common in the NCAA, it becomes an inevitable question.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

I imagine he's another year in college, then we look to sign him and bring him to Milwaukee. That's been the path for most of our NCAA guys.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

But you know what I mean. Big school with a big history in other sports... just not so much in ice hockey, right? They only have a couple other drafted players on the roster, and have never graduated a full-time NHLer. Compared to some of the long-standing hockey factory teams, it's a big difference in the eyes of many.

I still say Fink should stay put there, be the big fish in the little pond, assuming he is happy with all the other stuff there, his classes the rest of the campus life, etc. But now that transfers are easy and common in the NCAA, it becomes an inevitable question.

Most of the transfers have been guys who haven't developed as hoped or had the opportunity they wanted at current school. They do it generally to increase chances of getting signed to NHL contract. For guy who is starring at a Big 10 school would be incredibly risky to transfer unless Preds have indicated to him they don't intend to sign him.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Most of the transfers have been guys who haven't developed as hoped or had the opportunity they wanted at current school. They do it generally to increase chances of getting signed to NHL contract. For guy who is starring at a Big 10 school would be incredibly risky to transfer unless Preds have indicated to him they don't intend to sign him.

I'm sure the Preds did not indicate to Matthew Wood that they don't intend to sign him? He shifted from a similarly "small" NCAA school to one of the biggest ones. It's just a new paradigm for the NCAA atm. These kinds of transfers without redshirting a season weren't an option before. So people WILL ask about Fink, since he has put himself on the radar (yay) as one of the top producers in the NCAA. The question WILL come up. As it has here. And he may immediately dismiss it, content in his current situation.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I'm sure the Preds did not indicate to Matthew Wood that they don't intend to sign him? He shifted from a similarly "small" NCAA school to one of the biggest ones. It's just a new paradigm for the NCAA atm. These kinds of transfers without redshirting a season weren't an option before. So people WILL ask about Fink, since he has put himself on the radar (yay) as one of the top producers in the NCAA. The question WILL come up. As it has here. And he may immediately dismiss it, content in his current situation.

Difference is Wood had regressed. His sophomore year was worse than his freshman year. Fink seems to be improving. I just don't see why it would be advantageous for him to transfer.

 

[MrJoshua]

Difference is Wood had regressed. His sophomore year was worse than his freshman year. Fink seems to be improving. I just don't see why it would be advantageous for him to transfer.

Are college hockey players eligible for NIL money? Because I’m reasonably sure that’s why most football players go into the transfer portal.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Difference is Wood had regressed. His sophomore year was worse than his freshman year. Fink seems to be improving. I just don't see why it would be advantageous for him to transfer.

Well, Wood definitely did not regress last year. Somewhere in this thread (or some other Wood-related thread) I showed how his relative stats increased significantly relative to the overall UConn team regression.

Nevertheless, I do think the UConn program had some other issues going on, and while Wood might have progressed slightly in a relative statistical sense, I'm not sure his overall physical development was what we hoped for. Anyway, he transferred to a huge ice hockey factory school... and still hasn't progressed. It is just one data point, no idea if that's a trend or an outlier.

The main point now is that anytime a "top prospect" emerges on a non-traditional NCAA factory team - either from draft pedigree (Wood) or subsequent elite performance (Fink), the question Will Be Asked. So I asked it. It's ok to say he should stay at Penn St. It's also what I'm promoting. (Albeit with totally inconsequential insight into his personal preferences). But that's simply going to be the standard question going forward for players in his situation. Nothing against Fink or Penn St., it just is what it is. The NCAA is undergoing some interesting changes atm.

 

[Armourboy]

Are college hockey players eligible for NIL money? Because I’m reasonably sure that’s why most football players go into the transfer portal.

All college players of any sport are, I'm just not sure how much you are really going to get unless your sport is either producing lots of money or you just happen to have a booster that decides he wants to try and get certain guys in.