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Prospect Info: At 16th Overall the Rangers Select Brennan Othmann

It's improved, but it's definitely still poor. At its peak, his skating will be NHL average imo, and it goes down from there.

Per the Black Book:

"If there’s a drawback to Othmann, it’s in terms of his skating. We won’t attempt to sugar coat it; Brennan has the worst skating mechanics out of any of the top end players featured in this class. He’s not the most fluid looking prospect on the ice, and his physical limitations can be seen in every part of his skating. With Brennan, it starts with his ankles which lack proper flexion, specifically dorsiflexion. Due to his restrictive ankles, it significantly reduces his ability to transfer his power through his push-offs.

He also features a hunched over posture, rigid shoulder rotation within his upper half when he’s attempting to gain speed, short and sloppy crossovers, and an inconsistency within his inability to counterbalance his weight out of turns. Basically, it looks like he’s fighting through every inch of himself when attempting to push off and propel forward."

...

"Othmann is one of the rarest player types, with a difficult deficiency to overcome. We don’t think all the mechanics within his skating are correctable, his ankles have the mobility of iron rods, and there’s a level of fluidity which he simply lacks, but we also don’t think it’s going to stop him due to the amount of power he’s already generating at his age, and given how raw he is in his physical development. The stride won’t look great but we think his pace and overall competitiveness will help him compensate"
 
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UnSandvich said:
It's improved, but it's definitely still poor. At its peak, his skating will be NHL average imo, and it goes down from there.

Per the Black Book:

"If there’s a drawback to Othmann, it’s in terms of his skating. We won’t attempt to sugar coat it; Brennan has the worst skating mechanics out of any of the top end players featured in this class. He’s not the most fluid looking prospect on the ice, and his physical limitations can be seen in every part of his skating. With Brennan, it starts with his ankles which lack proper flexion, specifically dorsiflexion. Due to his restrictive ankles, it significantly reduces his ability to transfer his power through his push-offs.

He also features a hunched over posture, rigid shoulder rotation within his upper half when he’s attempting to gain speed, short and sloppy crossovers, and an inconsistency within his inability to counterbalance his weight out of turns. Basically, it looks like he’s fighting through every inch of himself when attempting to push off and propel forward."

...

"Othmann is one of the rarest player types, with a difficult deficiency to overcome. We don’t think all the mechanics within his skating are correctable, his ankles have the mobility of iron rods, and there’s a level of fluidity which he simply lacks, but we also don’t think it’s going to stop him due to the amount of power he’s already generating at his age, and given how raw he is in his physical development. The stride won’t look great but we think his pace and overall competitiveness will help him compensate"
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Oddly enough, no where did it say he is slow or can’t maneuver. The criticisms are all about the way he LOOKS when he skates, the mechanics not being proper. No where does it say he looses foot races or battles or can’t get where he needs to be because of it. They even remark on the amount of power he generates, despite the way it looks and how raw he is. Personally I dont care how f***ing ugly it looks, it does the job and thensome. If we are talking about how pretty his skating is, then sure, it’s poor. If we are talking about how effective it is, then it’s not poor. I don’t happen to care how pretty it is.
 
bhamill said:
Oddly enough, no where did it say he is slow or can’t maneuver. The criticisms are all about the way he LOOKS when he skates, the mechanics not being proper. No where does it say he looses foot races or battles or can’t get where he needs to be because of it. They even remark on the amount of power he generates, despite the way it looks and how raw he is. Personally I dont care how f***ing ugly it looks, it does the job and thensome. If we are talking about how pretty his skating is, then sure, it’s poor. If we are talking about how effective it is, then it’s not poor. I don’t happen to care how pretty it is.
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I mean, i did cut out multiple paragraphs. He is a poor skater mechanically and his skating is not an advantage against CHLers. It will be a disadvantage when the pace increases substantially when he gets to the NHL.

"He can’t just rely on his power long term though since he loses energy quickly on high intensity shifts. He’s much more explosive at the beginning of a shift, which makes sense since he lacks the skating efficiency needed to maintain his energy. In the future, if he can’t clean up his mechanics, he’s going to have to rely on his conditioning in order for him to be as effective as we theoretically think he can be."
 
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UnSandvich said:
I mean, i did cut out multiple paragraphs. He is a poor skater mechanically and his skating is not an advantage against CHLers. It will be a disadvantage when the pace increases substantially when he gets to the NHL.

"He can’t just rely on his power long term though since he loses energy quickly on high intensity shifts. He’s much more explosive at the beginning of a shift, which makes sense since he lacks the skating efficiency needed to maintain his energy. In the future, if he can’t clean up his mechanics, he’s going to have to rely on his conditioning in order for him to be as effective as we theoretically think he can be."
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It looks like a half empty/half full situation we have here. They are still not saying he’s a poor skater as far as effectiveness. And they seem think he can be an effective pro. Don’t get me wrong I hope he does clean up the mechanics, he hopefully already has to some extent, because obviously the better he skates the better he will probably be. I also hope his conditioning is high either way. I think overall his skating isn’t going to hold him back from being an effective NHLer, but why not be the best you can. Maybe the word “poor” just struck me the wrong way, but overall I do take your points. Thanks.
 
Poor skating form does not always mean slow and good form does not always mean fast. Duguay used to almost run on the ice to get started but he had good speed. This kid does look like he has a legit chance to be a player. I'm optimistic.
 
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NickyFotiu said:
Poor skating form does not always mean slow and good form does not always mean fast. Duguay used to almost run on the ice to get started but he had good speed. This kid does look like he has a legit chance to be a player. I'm optimistic.
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Adam Graves had a horrible skating stride/style but he turned out ok.

Just keep this kid away from Hack Ciaccao.
 
UnSandvich said:
It's improved, but it's definitely still poor. At its peak, his skating will be NHL average imo, and it goes down from there.

Per the Black Book:

"If there’s a drawback to Othmann, it’s in terms of his skating. We won’t attempt to sugar coat it; Brennan has the worst skating mechanics out of any of the top end players featured in this class. He’s not the most fluid looking prospect on the ice, and his physical limitations can be seen in every part of his skating. With Brennan, it starts with his ankles which lack proper flexion, specifically dorsiflexion. Due to his restrictive ankles, it significantly reduces his ability to transfer his power through his push-offs.

He also features a hunched over posture, rigid shoulder rotation within his upper half when he’s attempting to gain speed, short and sloppy crossovers, and an inconsistency within his inability to counterbalance his weight out of turns. Basically, it looks like he’s fighting through every inch of himself when attempting to push off and propel forward."

...

"Othmann is one of the rarest player types, with a difficult deficiency to overcome. We don’t think all the mechanics within his skating are correctable, his ankles have the mobility of iron rods, and there’s a level of fluidity which he simply lacks, but we also don’t think it’s going to stop him due to the amount of power he’s already generating at his age, and given how raw he is in his physical development. The stride won’t look great but we think his pace and overall competitiveness will help him compensate"
Click to expand...
The good thing about poor mechanics, they can be fixed or improved upon.

Nothing Mark Ciaccio can’t fix
 
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RangerBlues said:
If this kid is not playing in the NHL this season he may just be another Ranger first round bust.
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