Bob McKenzie Final ranking

[FlameChampion]

Its crazy that norway has 2 guys in the top 20

 

[Steve Kournianos]

It isn’t a mock and Bob scouted no one, it’s based on a survey of 10 NHL scouts.

The longer I read them, the more I think it's a mock disguised as a scout poll, meaning Bob wants to be right on draft day (and generate clicks/views for TSN), so he polled a handful of off-the-record sources to avoid culpability when things don't go as planned (like last year).

I also think It's quite obvious that Bob's sources are from contending teams or teams without an R1 and /or an R2 pick. They have no skin in the game and can throw names on a piece of paper without fear of compromising their actual draft targets. Using only 10 scouts out of the 400+ employed makes this list read more like clickbait for entertainment purposes, which is exactly what mock drafts are for. Last year's list was way, way off for a guy who is an insider. In 2022, his lone head scout source said there were no stars available and it was below average -- a crop with Slafkovsky, Cooley, Yurov, Mintyukov, Hughes, etc. It was a stupid comment from a top scout with a clear agenda.

I get why people look forward to this but 10 scouts isn't enough. I read one on MLB's site and they polled at least one source from each team. I'd like to see at least 20 polled in this list, that way you know you're getting info from at least four or more lottery teams who are dealing with way more pressure to get their lists right.

 

[JPeeper]

The longer I read them, the more I think it's a mock disguised as a scout poll, meaning Bob wants to be right on draft day (and generate clicks/views for TSN), so he polled a handful of off-the-record sources to avoid culpability when things don't go as planned (like last year).

I also think It's quite obvious that Bob's sources are from contending teams or teams without an R1 and /or an R2 pick. They have no skin in the game and can throw names on a piece of paper without fear of compromising their actual draft targets. Using only 10 scouts out of the 400+ employed makes this list read more like clickbait for entertainment purposes, which is exactly what mock drafts are for. Last year's list was way, way off for a guy who is an insider. In 2022, his lone head scout source said there were no stars available and it was below average -- a crop with Slafkovsky, Cooley, Yurov, Mintyukov, Hughes, etc. It was a stupid comment from a top scout with a clear agenda.

I get why people look forward to this but 10 scouts isn't enough. I read one on MLB's site and they polled at least one source from each team. I'd like to see at least 20 polled in this list, that way you know you're getting info from at least four or more lottery teams who are dealing with way more pressure to get their lists right.

Slaf is coming along, but I'd agree with that statement from the scout. There are no stars in that draft.

 

[canuckslover10]

Catton is going to be this years Zach Benson.

 

[Tuna99]

Becket Secke is more of the same for the Sens it seems but he’s also exactly what they need to replace G next season. Rookie cap hit, big right shot winger who can cycle and cut to the middle of the ice - good on the forecheck. Checks every box for the Sens.

 

[DJB]

The longer I read them, the more I think it's a mock disguised as a scout poll, meaning Bob wants to be right on draft day (and generate clicks/views for TSN), so he polled a handful of off-the-record sources to avoid culpability when things don't go as planned (like last year).

I also think It's quite obvious that Bob's sources are from contending teams or teams without an R1 and /or an R2 pick. They have no skin in the game and can throw names on a piece of paper without fear of compromising their actual draft targets. Using only 10 scouts out of the 400+ employed makes this list read more like clickbait for entertainment purposes, which is exactly what mock drafts are for. Last year's list was way, way off for a guy who is an insider. In 2022, his lone head scout source said there were no stars available and it was below average -- a crop with Slafkovsky, Cooley, Yurov, Mintyukov, Hughes, etc. It was a stupid comment from a top scout with a clear agenda.

I get why people look forward to this but 10 scouts isn't enough. I read one on MLB's site and they polled at least one source from each team. I'd like to see at least 20 polled in this list, that way you know you're getting info from at least four or more lottery teams who are dealing with way more pressure to get their lists right.

A lot of crying and tin foil hat type talk in this post .

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Becket Secke is more of the same for the Sens it seems but he’s also exactly what they need to replace G next season. Rookie cap hit, big right shot winger who can cycle and cut to the middle of the ice - good on the forecheck. Checks every box for the Sens.

A guy who was barely 1PPG in the OHL is ready to step into the NHL?

 

[PattyLafontaine]

How hard can it be to have a good interview? Wear your best suit and be enthusiastic.

Some people aren't good at interviews. You can improve sure, but like all things in life someone people are just more natural and likeable.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

A guy who was barely 1PPG in the OHL is ready to step into the NHL?

I think they meant in a year. "Replace G" and he has 1 year left on his deal.

 

[MatthewFlames]

I bought the Hockey Prospect Black Book this year. Reading through the NHL scout comments on some players really just enforced that it’s still an old boys club on these staffs in terms of overvaluing size, toughness, grit, high floor, etc.

Probably because they watch NHL playoff hockey and know what it takes to make it to the NHL? Size, toughness, grit all matter. Big time. For every Brayden Pointe who makes it there are ten kids who didn't make it and their smaller size was a contributing factor. Despite the smaller skill players who have made the NHL in the last decade there's more big 6'4" and 215lb and bigger players making the NHL than ever as well.

The Florida Panthers only had three players under 6 feet, two of those are 5'11". All were forwards and only Evan Rodrigues is an impact player and he is one of the 5'11"s.

The Edmonton Oilers also only had 1 player under 6 feet - a role player in Derek Ryan.

Both those teams are in the top ten of height and weight of players in the entire NHL. And you may say but Tampa won with Pointe and Kucherov, but those Tampa teams were also the heaviest squads to EVER win the Stanley Cup and only the St. Louis Blues who won the year before were taller.

In fact, the teams who were the tallest entering the playoffs have won 4 of the last 6 Stanley Cups. Teams with the heaviest and tallest defense core also win the Cup more and more.

It's a major factor to winning. And that's why smaller players will always fall in the draft cause a bigger prospect has more value. It's just fact of life, that despite more smaller players making big impacts, by a large margin size still is a KEY factor of making it and of winning success.

 

[Realgud]

Probably because they watch NHL playoff hockey and know what it takes to make it to the NHL? Size, toughness, grit all matter. Big time. For every Brayden Pointe who makes it there are ten kids who didn't make it and their smaller size was a contributing factor. Despite the smaller skill players who have made the NHL in the last decade there's more big 6'4" and 215lb and bigger players making the NHL than ever as well.

The Florida Panthers only had three players under 6 feet, two of those are 5'11". All were forwards and only Evan Rodrigues is an impact player and he is one of the 5'11"s.

The Edmonton Oilers also only had 1 player under 6 feet - a role player in Derek Ryan.

Both those teams are in the top ten of height and weight of players in the entire NHL. And you may say but Tampa won with Pointe and Kucherov, but those Tampa teams were also the heaviest squads to EVER win the Stanley Cup and only the St. Louis Blues who won the year before were taller.

In fact, the teams who were the tallest entering the playoffs have won 4 of the last 6 Stanley Cups. Teams with the heaviest and tallest defense core also win the Cup more and more.

It's a major factor to winning. And that's why smaller players will always fall in the draft cause a bigger prospect has more value. It's just fact of life, that despite more smaller players making big impacts, by a large margin size still is a KEY factor of making it and of winning success.

While this might be true, this line of thought would hold a lot more value if last year's Conn Smythe winner wasn't a 5'9 winger. Good players are more important than size, but you could argue having the bottom of your roster filled with those bigger players help you win in the playoffs, and I could agree with that.

 

[User1996]

Probably because they watch NHL playoff hockey and know what it takes to make it to the NHL? Size, toughness, grit all matter. Big time. For every Brayden Pointe who makes it there are ten kids who didn't make it and their smaller size was a contributing factor. Despite the smaller skill players who have made the NHL in the last decade there's more big 6'4" and 215lb and bigger players making the NHL than ever as well.

The Florida Panthers only had three players under 6 feet, two of those are 5'11". All were forwards and only Evan Rodrigues is an impact player and he is one of the 5'11"s.

The Edmonton Oilers also only had 1 player under 6 feet - a role player in Derek Ryan.

Both those teams are in the top ten of height and weight of players in the entire NHL. And you may say but Tampa won with Pointe and Kucherov, but those Tampa teams were also the heaviest squads to EVER win the Stanley Cup and only the St. Louis Blues who won the year before were taller.

In fact, the teams who were the tallest entering the playoffs have won 4 of the last 6 Stanley Cups. Teams with the heaviest and tallest defense core also win the Cup more and more.

It's a major factor to winning. And that's why smaller players will always fall in the draft cause a bigger prospect has more value. It's just fact of life, that despite more smaller players making big impacts, by a large margin size still is a KEY factor of making it and of winning success.

I mean, multiple things can be true. I never insinuated that having size and other things that typically come alongside it aren’t a factor in winning. All else equal, sure, you want size. I was speaking to a bias scouts have that I find leads them to make questionable decisions every year.

But these quotes I was referring to are not about players where all things are equal. They’re much more indicative of a bias that leads to Hunter Smith getting picked in the 2nd round.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Probably because they watch NHL playoff hockey and know what it takes to make it to the NHL? Size, toughness, grit all matter. Big time. For every Brayden Pointe who makes it there are ten kids who didn't make it and their smaller size was a contributing factor. Despite the smaller skill players who have made the NHL in the last decade there's more big 6'4" and 215lb and bigger players making the NHL than ever as well.

The Florida Panthers only had three players under 6 feet, two of those are 5'11". All were forwards and only Evan Rodrigues is an impact player and he is one of the 5'11"s.

The Edmonton Oilers also only had 1 player under 6 feet - a role player in Derek Ryan.

Both those teams are in the top ten of height and weight of players in the entire NHL. And you may say but Tampa won with Pointe and Kucherov, but those Tampa teams were also the heaviest squads to EVER win the Stanley Cup and only the St. Louis Blues who won the year before were taller.

In fact, the teams who were the tallest entering the playoffs have won 4 of the last 6 Stanley Cups. Teams with the heaviest and tallest defense core also win the Cup more and more.

It's a major factor to winning. And that's why smaller players will always fall in the draft cause a bigger prospect has more value. It's just fact of life, that despite more smaller players making big impacts, by a large margin size still is a KEY factor of making it and of winning success.

Thank you. The reason small guys slip every year isn’t because clubs are run by Neanderthals, but rather because size matters. Smaller guys need to be exceptional to have level of impact that big guys can have just by being pretty good. If clubs knew that catton would be next point, he’d go super high, but risk is that he is guy like schmaltz or ehlers, where you get points without huge impact and you end up with pricey perimeter winger who is of little use in playoffs while guys like Beaudoin will never put up huge points but everyone wants guy like that in playoffs because teams that win rely on guys like him. So Catton will almost assuredly be a steal on draft night and Beaudoin a reach, but which team made better choice will be interesting to see over next several years.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Slaf is coming along, but I'd agree with that statement from the scout. There are no stars in that draft.

Do you realize how dumb of a statement this is? The consensus worst draft of all time still produced star players.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

A lot of crying and tin foil hat type talk in this post .

Totally normal for a major professional sport to have the most publicized draft list made by a retired Canadian journalist who doesn't watch games and STILL thinks Russians are problematic. Yup. No agenda.

 

[DJB]

Totally normal for a major professional sport to have the most publicized draft list made by a retired Canadian journalist who doesn't watch games and STILL thinks Russians are problematic. Yup. No agenda.

The fact you are questioning one of the NHL’s most respected journalists of all time is astounding and reeks of jealousy and insecurity. It’s embarrassing and pathetic and only makes your own work seemingly that much more questionable.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Totally normal for a major professional sport to have the most publicized draft list made by a retired Canadian journalist who doesn't watch games and STILL thinks Russians are problematic. Yup. No agenda.

"STILL thinks Russians are problematic?" He said it can be challenging for scouts to solely judge on video with no live viewings. He also provided a quote from a scout saying the Russian factor is overblown, noting the good ones always come over (probably in comparison with NCAA kids who have more often used their leverage to be traded from their original team).

Seems like the one with an agenda is you.

 

[Mr Kot]

Eiserman gonna be a steal

 

[Kevin Musto]

The fact you are questioning one of the NHL’s most respected journalists of all time is astounding and reeks of jealousy and insecurity. It’s embarrassing and pathetic and only makes your own work seemingly that much more questionable.

Unfortunately for Steve, he's in the same tier as McCagg

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

The longer I read them, the more I think it's a mock disguised as a scout poll, meaning Bob wants to be right on draft day (and generate clicks/views for TSN), so he polled a handful of off-the-record sources to avoid culpability when things don't go as planned (like last year).

I also think It's quite obvious that Bob's sources are from contending teams or teams without an R1 and /or an R2 pick. They have no skin in the game and can throw names on a piece of paper without fear of compromising their actual draft targets. Using only 10 scouts out of the 400+ employed makes this list read more like clickbait for entertainment purposes, which is exactly what mock drafts are for. Last year's list was way, way off for a guy who is an insider. In 2022, his lone head scout source said there were no stars available and it was below average -- a crop with Slafkovsky, Cooley, Yurov, Mintyukov, Hughes, etc. It was a stupid comment from a top scout with a clear agenda.

I get why people look forward to this but 10 scouts isn't enough. I read one on MLB's site and they polled at least one source from each team. I'd like to see at least 20 polled in this list, that way you know you're getting info from at least four or more lottery teams who are dealing with way more pressure to get their lists right.

Except it’s pretty accurate every year. So no.

 

[DJB]

Unfortunately for Steve, he's in the same tier as McCagg

While I have very little respect for McCagg he at least was a real NHL scout for a short period of time .

Steve has zero credibility and his website is nothing but bathroom reading fodder at best similar to any generic fan website

 

[Steve Kournianos]

The fact you are questioning one of the NHL’s most respected journalists of all time is astounding and reeks of jealousy and insecurity. It’s embarrassing and pathetic and only makes your own work seemingly that much more questionable.

He's retired and doesn't watch the games. It's weird, sorry.

Except it’s pretty accurate every year. So no.

It wasn't accurate last year.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

While I have very little respect for McCagg he at least was a real NHL scout for a short period of time .

Steve has zero credibility and his website is nothing but bathroom reading fodder at best similar to any generic fan website

I'm sorry I drove you to this point. Want me to leave so you can touch grass?

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

He's retired and doesn't watch the games. It's weird, sorry.



It wasn't accurate last year.

It was pretty accurate. Most of 1st round ranks ended up going in 1st round.

What about all the years before last?

You just seem bitter here and it’s not like your old lists have aged particularly well.

 

[ORRFForever]

It was pretty accurate. Most of 1st round ranks ended up going in 1st round.

What about all the years before last?

IIRC, it was REALLY accurate last year.