C Clayton Keller - Boston University, NCAA (2016, 7th, ARI)

[ps241]

I didn't say it was hard to find size, I said it is hard to find big, skilled players. You don't draft a tiny skilled player at 6 when there are big skilled players available. Kanzig, Bruce, Smith are not high skill players. Big skilled players are rare and valuable. Small skilled players can be found throughout the draft. Keller is not as rare or valuable a commodity as some of the other players available at #6

I disagree, you draft a small skilled player if they are your orgs BPA. Keller is a superb talent and I am not sure where he will slot in but the kid is very dynamic, really productive (107 points in 62 games), and if he went in the 6-8 range I wouldn't be surprised. Always hard to tell how teams lists will look so I guess we shall see.

 

[Ace]

I didn't say it was hard to find size, I said it is hard to find big, skilled players. You don't draft a tiny skilled player at 6 when there are big skilled players available. Kanzig, Bruce, Smith are not high skill players. Big skilled players are rare and valuable. Small skilled players can be found throughout the draft. Keller is not as rare or valuable a commodity as some of the other players available at #6

Like when the Hawks took 6'3 size skilled JVR over 5'10 flashy skilled Kane and won all those cups.

 

[Ducks Nation*]

Keller will be the 3rd or 4th best player in this draft.

 

[mike8219]

Keller will be the 3rd or 4th best player in this draft.

i agree

 

[93LEAFS]

I disagree, you draft a small skilled player if they are your orgs BPA. Keller is a superb talent and I am not sure where he will slot in but the kid is very dynamic, really productive (107 points in 62 games), and if he went in the 6-8 range I wouldn't be surprised. Always hard to tell how teams lists will look so I guess we shall see.

This, people act like the only way to ever win the Pacific is to get bigger than everyone else, whereas it might be better to go the opposite way and build around speed and elusiveness. He's a perfectly viable pick at 6 (and in some peoples eyes as high as 4). Personally, I like him more than the "big" option there which is most likely Logan Brown. There is also Alex Nylander who is bigger, but doesn't really offer much in the way of physicality with that size.

 

[Redline]

To a point I understand having size concerns with Keller but I think the smaller player with big fight is just as good a choice as the less talented bigger body nowadays. Without the heart of a lion I don't draft a small player early first at all because that's what they need to compensate.

 

[chunkylover53]

I didn't say it was hard to find size, I said it is hard to find big, skilled players. You don't draft a tiny skilled player at 6 when there are big skilled players available. Kanzig, Bruce, Smith are not high skill players. Big skilled players are rare and valuable. Small skilled players can be found throughout the draft. Keller is not as rare or valuable a commodity as some of the other players available at #6

Unless you see a fall from the top 5 forwards there isn't anyone else as skilled as Keller at #6, unless you somehow believe Logan Brown has the same amount of skill as Keller.

 

[Bouma Fett*]

I really want Keller for the flames. I wouldn't be mad at Nylander though, really like him too. But I think Keller is going to be awesome

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Button loves em, but he has a 'boom' feel to him.

 

[yourbestfriend]

Honestly, i don't see how any team can have nylander above keller. Both are high skilled players, who don’t use size as their meal ticket. So size is a moot point between the two. I would say the only thing that nylander has over keller is his shot. Everything else, i have keller rated higher. He's got that kane/gaudreau feel to him. Super elusive, speedy, inside edge player with ridiculous hockey iq and skill.

With the game being played faster and faster (pens proved speed/skill > size/grit) and all of the recent success of smallish high skilled players (giroux, johnson, kane, gaudreau, marner, drouin, kucherov, kessel) I think keller will thrive in the nhl. The league as it stands now, is perfectly matched for a player with keller's skill set.

 

[BigRangy]

^if Keller had a 5/5 on skating, I'd 100% no doubt about it have him at #5 in the draft. (As it stands I have him at 5 but I'm not super confident in it haha).

I haven't seen him play all that much, so I don't know if his skating (in particular his slipperiness and escapability) will be enough to be a star in the nhl. I think it will be from what I watched at the u18s though.

 

[57special]

To a point I understand having size concerns with Keller but I think the smaller player with big fight is just as good a choice as the less talented bigger body nowadays. Without the heart of a lion I don't draft a small player early first at all because that's what they need to compensate.

Absolutely right! All 5'9", 165 lb'ers aren't the same. Some are weak, others have good durability, others can actually deliver a decent hit. It goes without saying that a small In stature player with a stocky build can take care of himself quite well, I.e. Domi, or Dionne in the past.

In my limited viewings of Keller he didn't look to bea very physical player, even in juniors. More of a Gaudreau type, relying on speed, IQ, and shiftiness to avoid getting beat up. I think a team would be wise to have Keller play as much as possible in college before exposing him to the pro game. It's usually the first few years that are toughest on small players injury wise...a few concussions early on could ruin him.

 

[yourbestfriend]

Absolutely right! All 5'9", 165 lb'ers aren't the same. Some are weak, others have good durability, others can actually deliver a decent hit. It goes without saying that a small In stature player with a stocky build can take care of himself quite well, I.e. Domi, or Dionne in the past.

In my limited viewings of Keller he didn't look to bea very physical player, even in juniors. More of a Gaudreau type, relying on speed, IQ, and shiftiness to avoid getting beat up. I think a team would be wise to have Keller play as much as possible in college before exposing him to the pro game. It's usually the first few years that are toughest on small players injury wise...a few concussions early on could ruin him.

Being smaller your entire life, you develop a different skill set as well as mentality. You obviously can't take hits, so you need to develop certain skills which gives you the ability to evade checks. I would rather take a underweight small guy than a stocky/built small guy. Shows me that, the underweight player got to this level on pure hockey iq and skating ability.
When was the last time you saw kane, gaudreau or t.johnson get leveled? Doesn't happen often if ever.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

^if Keller had a 5/5 on skating, I'd 100% no doubt about it have him at #5 in the draft. (As it stands I have him at 5 but I'm not super confident in it haha).

I haven't seen him play all that much, so I don't know if his skating (in particular his slipperiness and escapability) will be enough to be a star in the nhl. I think it will be from what I watched at the u18s though.

His skating is very good. McDavid and Kylington for example have 5/5 skating, Keller has very good acceleration and excellent lateral movement. His top end speed isn't elite, but further conditioning could easily address that. His skating is absolutely a strength of his game, but like pretty much every 18 year old, it could get better. With his frame, I expect it to be elite at some point.

 

[puckfan13]

What makes Keller better, the same, or worse than Granlund and Teravainen... two other high-skill sub-6 foot prospects that played some centre.

Can you realistically say he will be better than either of them and why? Those are the two guys that played a bunch of centre that are Keller's size taken fairly high in the past number of years. Domi and Skinner were sub 6-footers but they have always been wing... I'd like to hear a few well-reasoned takes on this. Is Granlund kind of what we could expect Keller to be?

And if we were to expect Logan Brown to become a Martin Hanzal type of two-way player, would you rather have that Granlund type C or the Hanzal type C?

 

[Magua]

What makes Keller better, the same, or worse than Granlund and Teravainen... two other high-skill sub-6 foot prospects that played some centre.

Can you realistically say he will be better than either of them and why? Those are the two guys that played a bunch of centre that are Keller's size taken fairly high in the past number of years. Domi and Skinner were sub 6-footers but they have always been wing... I'd like to hear a few well-reasoned takes on this. Is Granlund kind of what we could expect Keller to be?

And if we were to expect Logan Brown to become a Martin Hanzal type of two-way player, would you rather have that Granlund type C or the Hanzal type C?

I like how the expectation is Brown becomes a 2-way player because he's 6'6" and Keller becomes a scoring winger because he's 5'10"....have you seen either play or is there some immutable law I'm unaware of?

Keller is a far superior defensive player at evens and the PK compared to Brown. The weakest part of Brown's game, I found on watching (even during his great U18s), was his tendency to puck watch or lazily backcheck. Defense in general is a weaker spot. I am not even aware he played PK routinely. I don't doubt he can improve because he's smart, but Keller is already an elite PKer and brilliantly reads defensive coverage and is adept at racing to loose pucks to get them out. His all around game is superior to Brown's right now. That's why he isn't Teuvo or Granlund: he's smarter in all 3 zones. He's a center through and through.

 

[puckfan13]

I like how the expectation is Brown becomes a 2-way player because he's 6'6" and Keller becomes a scoring winger because he's 5'10"....have you seen either play or is there some immutable law I'm unaware of?

Keller is a far superior defensive player at evens and the PK compared to Brown. The weakest part of Brown's game, I found on watching (even during his great U18s), was his tendency to puck watch or lazily backcheck. Defense in general is a weaker spot. I am not even aware he played PK routinely. I don't doubt he can improve because he's smart, but Keller is already an elite PKer and brilliantly reads defensive coverage and is adept at racing to loose pucks to get them out. His all around game is superior to Brown's right now. That's why he isn't Teuvo or Granlund: he's smarter in all 3 zones. He's a center through and through.

I have seen both play approximately 10 times each, including in-season not just U18's.

So his advantage as a 5'10" offensive player will be by being an elite penalty killer?

Brown's hockey sense is very good.. he did PK as well... His issue was clearly his conditioning this year as later in shifts he would get bogged down..

I am making the distinction because of projection... If you are 5'10" you better be scoring and a threat offensively, how many primarily two-way defensively elite 5'10" players are there in the NHL? And if you are 6'6 you are going to be expected to be versatile and play two-ways, because your pure skill level is not going to be as high as a 5'10" skill player... but you have an advantage of size, strength, leverage, reach which helps you tremendously defensively, and hopefully offensively as well.

The only player under 6' in the top 20 of PK TOI for forwards is Mark Letestu. Pavelski, Duchene and Pageau are the only players in the top 40 in FO% that are under 6'. Don't fool yourself into thinking size isn't a tremendous advantage in being an imposing defensive player.

 

[yourbestfriend]

What makes Keller better, the same, or worse than Granlund and Teravainen... two other high-skill sub-6 foot prospects that played some centre.

Can you realistically say he will be better than either of them and why? Those are the two guys that played a bunch of centre that are Keller's size taken fairly high in the past number of years. Domi and Skinner were sub 6-footers but they have always been wing... I'd like to hear a few well-reasoned takes on this. Is Granlund kind of what we could expect Keller to be?

And if we were to expect Logan Brown to become a Martin Hanzal type of two-way player, would you rather have that Granlund type C or the Hanzal type C?

The adjustment from euro ice to N.A ice is quite big. This is magnified when your a smaller player. When you lose 1-2 seconds to make a move/play it makes all the difference in the world. Coupled with the fact skilled players can't buy time by using their bodies, they need to make a decision lightning quick every time. Usually, the adjustment time just takes longer for european players. If the player can adjust mentally (thinking 1-2 steps ahead) and if they have elite edge work, it shouldn't take as long.
Keller is not necessarily more or less skilled than Granlund/TT, but he's got a leg up on them because he's played the N.A style all his life.

For Granlund and TT, I think they will still develop into consistent 60 points players. This really was TT's first full season in the NHL and he was close to 0.5ppg.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

After a couple of months reading and watching everything available on this draft class' first round prospects, as a Sabres(8OA) fan I've finalized my personal picks - Chychrun or Keller for my team. I see nothing that separates Keller from Marner who went 4th, getting a kid with Keller's skills at 8th is a steal, he has top 5 talent.

 

[RSeen]

Yeah just watched some of his highlights, I think I would be okay with him slipping to the Devils...

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

After a couple of months reading and watching everything available on this draft class' first round prospects, as a Sabres(8OA) fan I've finalized my personal picks - Chychrun or Keller for my team. I see nothing that separates Keller from Marner who went 4th, getting a kid with Keller's skills at 8th is a steal, he has top 5 talent.

I feel the same, I think at this time next year he will be viewed as an equal prospect to Marner.

 

[Kranix]

Cox said he might be the most talented centre in the draft.

 

[Menzinger]

Cox said he might be the most talented centre in the draft.

I see him being the 2nd best natural centre and would happily take him at 4.

 

[93LEAFS]

After a couple of months reading and watching everything available on this draft class' first round prospects, as a Sabres(8OA) fan I've finalized my personal picks - Chychrun or Keller for my team. I see nothing that separates Keller from Marner who went 4th, getting a kid with Keller's skills at 8th is a steal, he has top 5 talent.

I feel the same, I think at this time next year he will be viewed as an equal prospect to Marner.

Marner's more elusive and has better puck control, Keller is more willing to go to the net and dirty areas, I'd add Marner might have the edge in vision, but its elite for both. They each have their pluses, but most people closely following the drafts have had Marner a fair bit higher in what I've seen (an example would be Pronman's top 30 of the last 5, and he is the highest on Keller of anyone), and where they line up respectively in rankings. Keller's good though, and I personally think he deserves to be in the discussion at 4.

 

[xbestboybandever]

His game and size remind me a lot of Chris Drury. I think he will have a little more offensive upside and I think that teams will be surprised by his two way play.