Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
There is nothing high-risk about drafting Hughes.
Worst case scenario, he's a very skilled winger who puts up huge point totals because he's that much more skilled than everyone else, but can't play defense, plays a perimeter game, turns the puck over a lot in bad areas and has inconsistent effort outside of the offensive zone. Thats still an all-star, and likely a top 2-3 player on any team in the league.
What is the best case scenario? He improves his defensive effort levels, puts on some weight, starts playing a little smarter with the puck and goes more to the dirty areas. At that point, he could stick in the middle of the ice, but its always likely to be as a below-average defensive player whose value comes from the points he scores.
Hughes is about as safe of a prospect as there is in this draft. He has a high hockey IQ, he's incredibly skilled, very good playmaker, scores goals and an excellent skater. That's going to yield a lot of points in the NHL. The issue with projecting Hughes game is whether there's much of a chance he adds value outside of his offense. I don't see much of that in his game right now. I see him as a very high floor player with a little bit of a lower ceiling than some other of the top prospects in this draft due to having almost no variety in what he'll add to an NHL lineup. It'll be a lot of points, and very little else.
I think I have Hughes ranked right around where @Blade Paradigm does, but for different reasons. I don't see any reason to put down Hughes game. He's an excellent hockey player at how he plays the game. I think maybe some people who rank him 1OA are considering a little too much of how his game plays at the junior level, which is not the same style as the NHL, and aren't considering enough about the value he'll bring to the NHL when you also consider the value that others near the top of the draft will bring. The NHL is all about value. Who brings the most to your roster? I think that should be the consideration when picking 1OA.
Worst case scenario, he's a very skilled winger who puts up huge point totals because he's that much more skilled than everyone else, but can't play defense, plays a perimeter game, turns the puck over a lot in bad areas and has inconsistent effort outside of the offensive zone. Thats still an all-star, and likely a top 2-3 player on any team in the league.
What is the best case scenario? He improves his defensive effort levels, puts on some weight, starts playing a little smarter with the puck and goes more to the dirty areas. At that point, he could stick in the middle of the ice, but its always likely to be as a below-average defensive player whose value comes from the points he scores.
Hughes is about as safe of a prospect as there is in this draft. He has a high hockey IQ, he's incredibly skilled, very good playmaker, scores goals and an excellent skater. That's going to yield a lot of points in the NHL. The issue with projecting Hughes game is whether there's much of a chance he adds value outside of his offense. I don't see much of that in his game right now. I see him as a very high floor player with a little bit of a lower ceiling than some other of the top prospects in this draft due to having almost no variety in what he'll add to an NHL lineup. It'll be a lot of points, and very little else.
I think I have Hughes ranked right around where @Blade Paradigm does, but for different reasons. I don't see any reason to put down Hughes game. He's an excellent hockey player at how he plays the game. I think maybe some people who rank him 1OA are considering a little too much of how his game plays at the junior level, which is not the same style as the NHL, and aren't considering enough about the value he'll bring to the NHL when you also consider the value that others near the top of the draft will bring. The NHL is all about value. Who brings the most to your roster? I think that should be the consideration when picking 1OA.
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