C Jake Wise, Boston University Terriers - 69th overall 2018

[Kaners PPGs]

I've been making my way around the website to the different sections to tell certain fan bases picks of theirs I really liked, and I've reached Chicago.

What a pick this was. 3rd round for this kid? NHL teams are dumb. I had Wise ranked 14th.

Wise does just about everything well. He's a really talented and well-rounded center. The only two knocks on him are that he's undersized and he doesn't shoot enough. While he's undersized, he plays bigger than he is. He has a stocky build. He's built like a brick. He has 3% body fat. So while he might only be 5'10, he's a strong 5'10, and he's a very hard worker in all three zones. He's 5'10, but he's the type of 5'10 player you could put in front of your net on the PP, and he'll battle in front with the bigger defensemen. He should be able to stick at center. As for his shot, he actually has a very good shot, but he's a definite pass first guy. Its likely going to be a chore to get him to shoot the puck more.
.

Great stuff Pavel. Thanks for your posting on this forum. I enjoy your Shertorkin updates.

 

[Enyaw]

This team needs Schmaltz to become a solid #2 center .... AA is a 3rd liner .... If Schmaltz isnt a C .... this team has a huge hole .... a Failing Toews / Slowing AA .............nothing else on the horizon to fill a potential 1 or 2 role

 

[wladyslaw]

so many players that have dropped have been success, with Wise, a massive run on defense and teams simply view him as a#2/3 center - up to Wise to prove them wrong and show why he was ranked top 10 at one point. kid can play solid both sides of the puck, is responsible and smart, great at the dot, has a solid shot but doesn't use it enough - kid is like Nick Schmaltz but better away from the puck..

Thanks for the Scouting report... BUT- does he really skate like Schmaltz? I consider Schmaltz to be top End - regarding speed/skating/acceleration.

 

[wladyslaw]

Also-- what were the 2 injuries Wise suffered in last 2 years?

anyone know

 

[DRW204]

Jets/Wings fans here, wanted this kid badly in the 2nd or 3rd.. only knock on him imo is he doesn't shoot as much and is super pass first. same sort of knock barzal had it seemed..

Also-- what were the 2 injuries Wise suffered in last 2 years?

anyone know

broken collarbone that required surgery

 

[Blue Liner]

I've been making my way around the website to the different sections to tell certain fan bases picks of theirs I really liked, and I've reached Chicago.

What a pick this was. 3rd round for this kid? NHL teams are dumb. I had Wise ranked 14th.

Wise does just about everything well. He's a really talented and well-rounded center. The only two knocks on him are that he's undersized and he doesn't shoot enough. While he's undersized, he plays bigger than he is. He has a stocky build. He's built like a brick. He has 3% body fat. So while he might only be 5'10, he's a strong 5'10, and he's a very hard worker in all three zones. He's 5'10, but he's the type of 5'10 player you could put in front of your net on the PP, and he'll battle in front with the bigger defensemen. He should be able to stick at center. As for his shot, he actually has a very good shot, but he's a definite pass first guy. Its likely going to be a chore to get him to shoot the puck more.

Definitely a skilled player who can put up points, hold onto possession, beat players 1v1. He's not going to be Kane in that respect, but he can make plays. Good, not elite, skater. Smart player, relentless worker. And he's a very reliable defensive guy. Might've been the best FO guy in the draft, key PK player for the NTDP program. He was on the top PK.

As I've discussed with @AmericanDream over in the prospect section a lot this season, I think Wise really suffers in perception. He missed the first half the season due to injury after having a bad 2016-17 season. At that point, it seemed questionable whether he'd even get taken in the draft. There are a lot of these guys who are highly regarded, and then fall off the radar before the draft, and you wonder how they've went from big name to not even drafted in two years. Wise quietly stormed back the second half of the season, and had one of the best PPG averages in the USHL for a U18 since 2000. He did this without playing with Hughes or Wahlstrom at ES. He was a second line guy that got a lot of D-zone starts. I think Wise's success really got lost in the Wahlstrom, Hughes, Farabee, Wilde, Miller, etc circus with all these big names from the NTDP. I see no reason to think he doesn't have a good chance to be a top 6 forward from the center position.

I also thought the Boqvist pick was great. I was hoping he'd drop one more spot. I think five NHL teams are going to be made to pay for their mistake, but thats another story.

This. Can't really say anything different. This was an excellent pick in this position. I'm rather surprised he fell this far. Theme of the draft.

 

[AmericanDream]

This. Can't really say anything different. This was an excellent pick in this position. I'm rather surprised he fell this far. Theme of the draft.

I know we are not experts here and that GMs have misses and some hit homeruns, it is what makes the draft so unique and special. I look at a kid like Sean Durzi who went undrafted last year only to hear his named called in round 2 this year, and same with Scott Perunovich. Scouts get things wrong, and other times players deal with things only to blossom the following year. Wise should not have been a third round pick, but it is solely up to him to prove people wrong or right. What he does from this day forward is in his hands and nobody else, so I believe in this kid and a number of others as well. Each year, a number of these kids prove they shouldn't have fallen like Saad and Fowler and to a lessor extent DeBrinact. I think Wise can be in that group as well. Here is to a good all around draft and year of talking up prospects!!

 

[AmericanDream]

I've been making my way around the website to the different sections to tell certain fan bases picks of theirs I really liked, and I've reached Chicago.

What a pick this was. 3rd round for this kid? NHL teams are dumb. I had Wise ranked 14th.

Wise does just about everything well. He's a really talented and well-rounded center. The only two knocks on him are that he's undersized and he doesn't shoot enough. While he's undersized, he plays bigger than he is. He has a stocky build. He's built like a brick. He has 3% body fat. So while he might only be 5'10, he's a strong 5'10, and he's a very hard worker in all three zones. He's 5'10, but he's the type of 5'10 player you could put in front of your net on the PP, and he'll battle in front with the bigger defensemen. He should be able to stick at center. As for his shot, he actually has a very good shot, but he's a definite pass first guy. Its likely going to be a chore to get him to shoot the puck more.

Definitely a skilled player who can put up points, hold onto possession, beat players 1v1. He's not going to be Kane in that respect, but he can make plays. Good, not elite, skater. Smart player, relentless worker. And he's a very reliable defensive guy. Might've been the best FO guy in the draft, key PK player for the NTDP program. He was on the top PK.

As I've discussed with @AmericanDream over in the prospect section a lot this season, I think Wise really suffers in perception. He missed the first half the season due to injury after having a bad 2016-17 season. At that point, it seemed questionable whether he'd even get taken in the draft. There are a lot of these guys who are highly regarded, and then fall off the radar before the draft, and you wonder how they've went from big name to not even drafted in two years. Wise quietly stormed back the second half of the season, and had one of the best PPG averages in the USHL for a U18 since 2000. He did this without playing with Hughes or Wahlstrom at ES. He was a second line guy that got a lot of D-zone starts. I think Wise's success really got lost in the Wahlstrom, Hughes, Farabee, Wilde, Miller, etc circus with all these big names from the NTDP. I see no reason to think he doesn't have a good chance to be a top 6 forward from the center position.

I also thought the Boqvist pick was great. I was hoping he'd drop one more spot. I think five NHL teams are going to be made to pay for their mistake, but thats another story.

hey, get the hell out of our team board and go back to yours!! I know your draft sucked lol!!!

it was a good year talking prospects, we agreed on many disagreed on some, but this kid we both agreed on, same with Musto - he just has to do what he has done the second half of the year, and be that kid at BU the next 2 years...we can be patient with him, but his skill level is much higher than his draft position so I am excited to see how his journey works out!!

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Sounds like a slider. I can dig a potential mild steal.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Thanks for the info on Jake Pavel! Excited to see him progress to the big league.
Re Boqvist .. I am equally thrilled to hear your take on him though I wouldn't mind your sense on his concussion history as I imagine that may be what influenced picks 3 through 7 to pass on him. Thx

I had Boqvist #3 all year, and never moved off that stance. There was a lot of talk about concussions, but I didn't really see any confirmation of that from him or any of his coaches. And either way, not all concussions are the same. You could have one terrible concussion, and never return. You could have 3-4 that aren't as bad, and return within a few weeks. Its just a very unpredictable type of injury. Fans really are not able to properly evaluate it. I think its best left to the doctors. If the doctors evaluated him and cleared him, I don't see why there would be any extra discussion about it.

And Boqvist is very underrated defensively. The assumption made by many is that he's very good offensively, so he must suck defensively. Thats really not the case though. He'll take some chances that a lesser offensive player wouldn't take and maybe contribute his extra share of errors with the puck because of it, but he's not a player who ignores the defensive zone. I think this is a big misperception. He's rather good positionally and can defend 1v1 well against players that aren't significantly bigger than him. Once he puts on some more weight, he'll do a better job in the physical defensive battles, but even without that, he's not bad defensively. He plays a pretty quiet defensive game, so I think he gets a reputation as a player who doesn't play defense well. He's not going to throw big hits or run himself out of position behind the goal line, so some take it as he doesn't try very hard defensively.

Of course he took some short-cuts in junior hockey. Its only normal. He was significantly better than his competition, so he didn't always need to get all the fundamental and hard work plays down 100%. He was able to get by purely on talent. The coach wasn't going to bench him. He couldn't do so, if he wanted to win. A lot of the guys he played against in J20 will probably list their career claim to fame as playing hockey against Boqvist. He really needs to be playing at a higher level, and I think we'll see a more focused player. In his age group internationally against better competition, he was maybe the best player on the whole circuit. Best player at the Hlinka. He was absolutely dominant at that tournament. At the February tournament in Plymouth, he was really good defensively and he had a good offensive tournament, except his teammates couldn't finish the chances he set them up for. He lead the tournament in chances created. And then at the WJC18, he was the best defensemen at the tournament.

So this is a player who has been great against his own age group all year. I'm not sure why that gets overlooked so easily. I didn't at all buy any of the reasons why some had him dropping. They were rather weak reasons, actually, in my opinion. If the concussions were such an issue, how could any team doctor clear him? If the defensive game against junior players was such an issue, why did he defend well against better players? If the lack of pro games he got this year was such an issue, why was it more than okay for half of the first round to play junior hockey this?

 

[Hammer Slammer]

Here's a shift by shift video of him from January playing against Minnesota State.

Jake Wise vs Minnesota State | Jan 27 2018

 

[crazyhawk]

If the concussions were such an issue, how could any team doctor clear him? [/B]If the defensive game against junior players was such an issue, why did he defend well against better players? If the lack of pro games he got this year was such an issue, why was it more than okay for half of the first round to play junior hockey this?

Thanks again for your thorough response. Regarding doctors opinions re concussions ... from my understanding ( and I am merely a fan of the game and not in the medical field ) concussions are still not fully understood by health professionals so I can understand the trepidation by some GM's regarding the long term effects given AB's history. But yes he may be just fine and will go on to have an amazing career! I sure hope so!!

 

[tdfxman]

Pavel,

Thanks for these player views. Wasn't he NOT impressive in his 15 SHL games? 1 point? -7? How did he look for Brynas? I am kinda worried that he can dominate kids and then when exposed to the next level, kinda fell back. I must be wrong, he went 8th lol. I haven't seen any of his SHL games.

 

[BobbyJet]

Here's a shift by shift video of him from January playing against Minnesota State.

Jake Wise vs Minnesota State | Jan 27 2018

The commentators sound like they are calling a chess match. Just terrible.

As for Wise, I'll reserve judgment but I don't see much to get excited about in that small sample of his play.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Jake Wise invited to the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase for Team USA (along with Josh Ess and Evan Barratt)

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Josh Ess looking like a Sikura type steal in round 7?

 

[AmericanDream]

Josh Ess looking like a Sikura type steal in round 7?

another very pleasant surprise so far...

 

[BK]

Wise is 5'10" 190 lbs. Pretty damn solid build.

 

[ChiHawks10]

Wise is 5'10" 190 lbs. Pretty damn solid build.

Damnit BK, stop. Everyone knows 17 year olds are done growing. He'll be 5'10 and 190lbs forever.

 

[BK]

Damnit BK, stop. Everyone knows 17 year olds are done growing. He'll be 5'10 and 190lbs forever.

#truth

 

[Hawkaholic]

Wise is 5'10" 190 lbs. Pretty damn solid build.

smurf

 

[BobbyJet]

I don't recall anyone calling Wise a smurf. Bobby Hull in his prime was roughly the same size as Wise, perhaps 5 lbs heavier. The kid is very likely to be over 200 lbs at 21-years-old, with a low center of gravity.

 

[AmericanDream]

I don't recall anyone calling Wise a smurf. Bobby Hull in his prime was roughly the same size as Wise, perhaps 5 lbs heavier. The kid is very likely to be over 200 lbs at 21-years-old, with a low center of gravity.

I think Fiddy has...but he calls everyone under 6'1 a smurf lol

 

[Hawkaholic]

I don't recall anyone calling Wise a smurf. Bobby Hull in his prime was roughly the same size as Wise, perhaps 5 lbs heavier. The kid is very likely to be over 200 lbs at 21-years-old, with a low center of gravity.

Hawksfan50 calls everyone a smurf

 

[BobbyJet]

The real question with Wise is: does he use that solid stature to his advantage or does he play soft like many of Stan's picks?