C Auston Matthews - USNTDP, USHL (2016 Draft)

[Satan]

Pretty neat route

 

[Stand Witness]

You realize he's also sticking it to the CHL, and that they could lose more players like this...

Yeah I don't get what that guys talking about. This seems like it would be utilized more by kids who wanna play in the AHL at 18 or 19

Hey, as a Canadian here I say more power to them. The NHL-CHL can rework their agreement and I have no problems if a kid wants to make an extra 500k.

The draft age should really go by years (96s,97s,98s,99s etc). That would prevent this and get rid of that extra development year for the late birthdays.

 

[Mount Kramer Cameras]

Pretty impressive mentality to be honest. He could've put up 120 points in junior or partied in college, but he wants to leave the country and play against men. He's gonna be fully NHL-ready

 

[Stand Witness]

According to reports he has signed. Haven't seen a tweet in this thread confirming that yet.

EDIT: Nevermind, was already reported.

 

[Terry Yake]

don't know why more players don't take this route. maybe more will now

pretty cool path to take to the NHL

 

[Aceonfire*]

Question for Swiss posters.

What's it like in Zurich? I hear that it is expensive, but is it a big Hockey city?

 

[Plastic Joseph]

The closest thing to this in another sport I can think of is Brandon Jennings going overseas instead of playing NCAA before entering the NBA draft.

 

[cagney]

It's a really strange decision IMO. The NLA is a strong league but it's not a development league. I realize there's money in play here but as someone who wants to see Matthews have a lot of success going forward the unconventional nature of this has me nervous.

This actually really makes me wish the NHL would grant an exception for him to enter the draft this year. If he ended up going to the Coyotes it'd be so awesome. I doubt it happens though.

 

[SCBdude]

Question for Swiss posters.

What's it like in Zurich? I hear that it is expensive, but is it a big Hockey city?

Considering that they have a poor arena they actually draw pretty well. Their season average was 9'300 spectators this season (Hallenstadion has a capacity of 11'200 for hockey) and they have to compete with two 1st division football clubs and outdraw both of them (FC Zürich averages 8'100, Grashopper Club averages 6'300) so that's pretty impressive.

But their not known for having a great atmosphere during their games, which in part is because of the arena (no standing room)

 

[Bonin21]

I might have missed it, but what is the history of draft picks out of this league? I don't see anything in the first round recently. Also, is there an age minimum in the league?

 

[The Noot]

Question for Swiss posters.

What's it like in Zurich? I hear that it is expensive, but is it a big Hockey city?

Depends on what you mean with "hockey city". The Lions have a big following and average between 9k and 10k spectators per game, probably more next season.

Soccer is definitely bigger with its two clubs, but people generally know what's going on in the NLA.

 

[SCBdude]

I might have missed it, but what is the history of draft picks out of this league? I don't see anything in the first round recently. Also, is there an age minimum in the league?

Roman Josi came out of the NLA. He fell into the 2nd round in '08. But a lot of players decide to go to the CHL because they get more exposure to NHL scouts and more playing time.

I don't think there is a age minimum. I know Josi played his first games for SCB when he was 16.

 

[sabresfan129103]

Does this mean he can play in the AHL the year he is drafted? Maybe that's why he skipped playing major junior. He could be looking at this from a developmental standpoint.

 

[dwanmaster*]

Does this mean he can play in the AHL the year he is drafted? Maybe that's why he skipped playing major junior. He could be looking at this from a developmental standpoint.

Matthews will not be playing a game in the AHL.

 

[Bonin21]

Roman Josi came out of the NLA. He fell into the 2nd round in '08. But a lot of player decide to go to the CHL because they get more exposure to NHL scouts and more playing time.

I don't think there is a age minimum. I know Josi played his first games for SCB when he was 16.

Thanks!

 

[Mad Brills*]

If the leafs drafted marner I'd be interested in them doing this. He is already a around a 2.0 ppg in the ohl. Can't play in the ahl until he's 20.

 

[Vipers31]

Definitely an inspired decision by Matthews to not just decide between the typical options. Whether it will work out for the best, we'll see, but definitely an inspired choice, and there are advantages. Not being bound by the NHL/CHL agreeement (although, if he does keep up his draft status, I don't know how likely it would be for him to actually be sent down after the draft...), monetarily now, but also playing against tougher competition, getting used to playing against grown men and with/against some NHL veterans. Spending a year abroad should also be a valuable experience for him on a personal level and help him grow as a human being.

If he succeeds, I could certainly see this route becoming more mainstream down the road given all those advantages.

In Zürich, making 500k means living in the slums

A little exaggerated. The friend I was visiting there wasn't touching that number, and things seemed preeeeeeetty alright.

 

[Rebuilt]

The league should just shift the Birthdate back to September 20th so Arizona can pick the guy.

Here is my reasoning;

Most teams have rookie combines during the summer when many are still 17 and the league takes no interest. The same should apply to the rookie training camps.

When the main training camp opens, then all players need to be 18 to participate. I dont think many of them open until after the 20th anyways.

I know I am bending the rules here just for Arizona but :

1) The guy is only 48 hours too young for the draft
2) Is from Arizona and grew up watching the Coyotes play
3) They desperately need a franchise player -especially a home grown talent to sell tickets and produce more young kids playing hockey

The league should just shift the date 5 days and allow all those players born Sept 16th to 20th decide if they want to be eligible this year or wait till next year .

 

[Bonin21]

Even as the biggest college hockey supporter around, he could truly be a trail blazer and I hope he cements his number one status this season. He might be the best player I've ever seen play at Mariucci, and he was 17 in the game.

 

[Aceonfire*]

Considering that they have a poor arena they actually draw pretty well. Their season average was 9'300 spectators this season (Hallenstadion has a capacity of 11'200 for hockey) and they have to compete with two 1st division football clubs and outdraw both of them (FC Zürich averages 8'100, Grashopper Club averages 6'300) so that's pretty impressive.

But their not known for having a great atmosphere during their games, which in part is because of the arena (no standing room)

Depends on what you mean with "hockey city". The Lions have a big following and average between 9k and 10k spectators per game, probably more next season.

Soccer is definitely bigger with its two clubs, but people generally know what's going on in the NLA.

Thanks for the responses. And when I said Hockey city I meant like does the city rally around the team. It seems they sell tickets but I guess its tough to compete with Football in Europe.

Switzerland must have left a good impression on him after the U18s.

 

[Tripod]

You don't changed the cut off for 1 year.

You have to have some day as the cutoff. Matthews just happens to have a birthday that misses that one. No big deal.

 

[totozenerd]

I'm not quite as enthusiastic as others are for this transfer (and not only because my team will have to face the lad next season).

From the point of view of Swiss hockey, this is obviously a great win, both in PR and interest from abroad and in actual quality of play. There's no doubt that the kid is an enormous raw talent and having him here is great.

BUT

From Matthews' point of view it may have been better to go NCAA or CHL. Why? Because Swiss teams are only allowed 4 foreign players on the ice. As such, the pressure on those players is enormous. The situation is comparable to that of a goaltender, it's easy to lose your place and hard to get it back. But as we all know, youth talents can have "off" periods, cold streaks, and so on - especially after jumping such a talent gap. Secondly, ZSC Lions have no reason to particularly develop him: he'll be leaving next year. So if he underperforms for a while, he <b>will</b> be dropped, ruthlessly. And if it so happens that his replacement plays noticeably better, well, Matthews might not see the ice so much next season. This, obviously, would be disastrous for him.

I hope it won't happen, but it is a possibility.

 

[Richi]

Super excited that I´ll be able to see him play for my favourite team!


Also: He won´t make 500k. And to those who think 500k just puts you in the slums in Zurich...

 

[rt]

What will he make? What's the max? He'll get the max allowable.

 

[tealhockey]

I am curious how Americans feel about this? Choosing the CHL at times over the NCAA programs or USA NDP can cause some friction when it comes do international selections.

What is the general feeling?

I would think Europeans would be pretty happy, especially Swiss. Canadians, disappointed if your an WHL fan maybe.

As for why CHL players don't do this after their draft years, or during the final draft year, I believe its part of the transfer agreements? and the IIHF recognizes the CHL and its dominion over its players. Which I think should end once a players drafted, but that's another story.

Would be find of funny to see if he can go first overall from the Swiss League, would look strange.

I think getting that type of player is a huge boon for any league when it happens obviously, but Matthews, like Eichel did, showed he can do damage against older players and college teams in his 18 year at the NTDP and when you are at that level, who cares? It's not like he'd be leaving to play in Europe forever. The college year, would have been one year and then out most likely. Realistically American fans I believe are excited to see what he does over there next season. Also he was a high school junior in addition to a crazy international schedule this year, which makes it not super easy to accelerate to graduation. I think NHL scouts might give him credit for making it clear he's 'dedicated' to hockey, going way out of your comfort zone to succeed on a professional stage before his draft year. Unlike some other great draft prospects in Europe, there wouldn't be any doubt that he is headed to North America

Developmentally, like a lot of the guys who are a potential very high pick, he is an elite athlete in addition to being a very strong player overall, so I think playing against men at a high level is fundamental to show NHL scouts why he should be #1 vs the other candidates. If he goes to the WHL he goes from doing very well against older players and junior players in the USHL to playing against junior aged players only for the next year. I'm pretty sure Puljujarvi played in Liiga this year so in that sense I don't see a big difference. I think Switzerland makes a lot of sense, play older professional players but it's not such a high-end league that he's gonna be hand-cuffed to the bench in key situations. They also have a north american coach as someone mentioned if it is in fact ZSC he is headed to. I would love to see what guys like Jakob Chychrun, Tyler Benson, Max Jones, etc, other 2016s could do and how they would develop in Europe. Playing on wider ice would be really interesting for that aspect of it..