C Jake Wise - Boston Univ., NCAA (2018, 69th, CHI)

[4thline]

Would be more than happy with him at 25, I think there's a fair bit of "fool me onceism" that's keeping him lower in the eye of public concensus

 

[Stand Witness]

Was the 15 draft not considered the McDavid/Barzal draft a year or two out?

In the year before the both would end up going to the OHL/WHL yes it was.

No.

Actually, at one point this draft was McDavid vs Barzal. Not for who was first but expected top 2.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I was actually reading up on your posts, but reading this you lost credibility in my eyes.

Barzal in my 2015 mock draft was 6th. My order was McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Provorov, Hanifin, Barzal, Strome

and that was in one of the deepest drafts of the decade. To say Wise is even close to Barzal is ridicule.

I know ones a defender and ones a forward, but if I had to compare Wise's situation, I'd compare him to Kylington

You are telling me that we should regard your preference compared to eventual draft position for Barzal but we can't do the same for my opinion of Wise? Doesn't make much sense.

Comparing him to Kylington is a joke. Kylington was failing for years, and was losing his prospect shine each year. Wise never really fell. He had a bad season two years before the draft, but was excellent the year before the draft. You won't be able to find 15 players in this draft who had a better season than Wise. I don't think your comparison is anywhere close to a good one.

 

[boredmale]

You are telling me that we should regard your preference compared to eventual draft position for Barzal but we can't do the same for my opinion of Wise? Doesn't make much sense.

I think it's more a case of pre draft hype. In the case of Barzal if you look at the average ranking of him, he was 9th within a earshot of 7th

2015 NHL Draft Prospect Consensus Rankings

Wise on the other hand barely seems to make Top 31 lists

2018 NHL Draft Rankings

2 out of 16 lists(#19 and #22)

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I was giving an opinion. My opinion is that he was somewhat comparable to Barzal as a prospect going into the draft.

I've stopped worrying about the consensus lists or what "expert" has who where. If you have your own opinion, they should really be almost irrelevant.

 

[boredmale]

I was giving an opinion. My opinion is that he was somewhat comparable to Barzal as a prospect going into the draft.

I've stopped worrying about the consensus lists or what "expert" has who where. If you have your own opinion, they should really be almost irrelevant.

yes but Barzal falling to 16 was somewhat a surprise, if Wise gets picked 16 that would be considered a surprise as well but for the exact opposite reason

 

[Rogie21]

I think it's more a case of pre draft hype. In the case of Barzal if you look at the average ranking of him, he was 9th within a earshot of 7th

2015 NHL Draft Prospect Consensus Rankings

Wise on the other hand barely seems to make Top 31 lists

2018 NHL Draft Rankings

2 out of 16 lists(#19 and #22)

Definitely an outlier, but Dobber Prospects's Robinson has Wise at #19
Cam Robinson’s 2018 Draft Rankings (Top 130) – Final Edition

 

[Kevin Musto]

Definitely an outlier, but Dobber Prospects's Robinson has Wise at #19
Cam Robinson’s 2018 Draft Rankings (Top 130) – Final Edition

That's a good ranking. He reminds me a lot of Nick Schmaltz who went 20th. That being said, Schmaltz should've gone higher.

 

[justafan22]

Sandin, Kupari or Wise would be great picks at 25.

 

[Hooz]

with the 35th pick, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select !

Kevin Bahl!

 

[JadedRandom]

Kevin Bahl!

If that's how you like to spell Jake Wise's name, then goof for you.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Yea I don't think Wise (or O'brien at this point) makes it out of the 1st round. And rightfully so.

 

[JadedRandom]

Yea I don't think Wise (or O'brien at this point) makes it out of the 1st round. And rightfully so.

I agree with you. Any team looking for a center would be foolish not to draft Wise after the 20th or so pick. He has tremendous talent, drive, skating and I sincerely believe he ends up one of the ten best players from this draft class in a few years' time.

 

[puckMAN]

I agree with you. Any team looking for a center would be foolish not to draft Wise after the 20th or so pick. He has tremendous talent, drive, skating and I sincerely believe he ends up one of the ten best players from this draft class in a few years' time.

For people that have seen jake play is he more of a Zach Parise in that he has skill but his calling card is his effort and determination?Or is he more pure skill in the mold of a Clayton Keller?

 

[Kevin Musto]

For people that have seen jake play is he more of a Zach Parise in that he has skill but his calling card is his effort and determination?Or is he more pure skill in the mold of a Clayton Keller?

Nick Schmaltz

 

[Scott Malkinson]

Nick Schmaltz

Nick Schmaltz is a really good player.

 

[JadedRandom]

Nick Schmaltz is a really good player.

Yes, that's actually an apt comparison even though they play the game a bit differently. From what I've seen of them, Schmaltz seems to rely a bit more on his skating and fast reads to create offense while Wise relies more on playmaking and slowing the game down to put up points. On the Powerplay as a set-up man on the half-boards, Jake Wise is one of the very best of this draft class and routinely succeeds in making smart and accurate passes that often lead to high-danger scoring chances for his team and a lot of goals for his teammates. I swear, sometimes I watch his recorded USHL games and I see shades of Nicklas Backstrom on the half-boards, I blink, bewildered at what I've just seen, and it disappears, only to return 30 seconds later when Wise gets possession of the puck back and proceeds to make simple effective plays and fakes (that tear apart the defensive scheme) to feed a goal-front presence the puck and get an assist on the ensuing goal.

Overall, I think Wise has a shot at becoming an actual first-line center but most probably tops out as a very good #2 center who excels on the powerplay. If the Montreal Canadiens manage to draft him in the second round this year, I'll be making my very own ''happy-man dance''.

That said, his question marks as a prospect are still definite (shot is only average [release is good, accuracy is good but shot lacks strength, one-timer is actually pretty potent], not physical, too pass-first, injury problems and durability could be a concern, must add strength to negate defenders' checking at the NHL level, etc.) and could ultimately lead him to not making the NHL, but I see too many positives and upside in Jake Wise's game to think that he won't become a solid NHL player.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He has a really good shot, actually. Just doesn't use it enough. He had one injury that we know of. By the same token, we could say any player whose had one injury has injury problems.

 

[Kevin Musto]

He has a really good shot, actually. Just doesn't use it enough.

Hey look! Another similarity to Schmaltz!

 

[Hivemind]

I actually think he uses his shot a fair bit, but many of the shots he takes are ones that aren't going to be available to him at the NHL level (open shots from the circles). It will be interesting to see how his tendencies develop against tighter checking.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I actually think he uses his shot a fair bit

Shots per game

Wahlstrom: 4.65
Farabee: 3.34
Hughes: 3.14
Gruden: 2.21
Wilde: 1.87
Pivonka: 1.81
Caufield: 1.79
Miller: 1.78
Wise: 1.66
Samuelsson: 1.60
Weiss: 1.59
Turcotte: 1.58
Giles: 1.55

 

[JadedRandom]

He has a really good shot, actually. Just doesn't use it enough. He had one injury that we know of. By the same token, we could say any player whose had one injury has injury problems.

From the games I've seen, his shot doesn't seem like anything special to me at the next level, even when you don't take into account his tendency to not shoot the puck. Of course, when compared to players his age on lower leagues it's actually pretty good, I just don't think he becomes a credible goalscorer at the NHL level if his shot doesn't improve. Even with perfect placement, today's NHL goalies will make save after save on Jake Wise's shots if he doesn't increase their velocity and the weight behind them.

 

[Star67]

Was the 15 draft not considered the McDavid/Barzal draft a year or two out?

Played on same Bantam team as Barzal the hype around him was crazy. He went first overall in the WHL draft and he was not on the same hype level as McDavid but two(ish) years out he was right under that McDavid tier.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

From the games I've seen, his shot doesn't seem like anything special to me at the next level, even when you don't take into account his tendency to not shoot the puck. Of course, when compared to players his age on lower leagues it's actually pretty good, I just don't think he becomes a credible goalscorer at the NHL level if his shot doesn't improve. Even with perfect placement, today's NHL goalies will make save after save on Jake Wise's shots if he doesn't increase their velocity and the weight behind them.

I just don't agree. I've seen him beat goalies from the outside too much to think otherwise. Corey Pronman in a recent column said pretty much the same thing. He said his shot is the tenth best shot in the draft.

Wise has a great shot, he just never uses it and prefers to make a play.

Pronman: Ranking 2018 draft-eligible prospects by tools

 

[Juxtaposer]

For people that have seen jake play is he more of a Zach Parise in that he has skill but his calling card is his effort and determination?Or is he more pure skill in the mold of a Clayton Keller?

I’ve seen quite a bit of him and my comparison is Travis Konecny. Definitely skilled (more so than a Parise) but it’s his motor and drive that catch your attention.