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C Michael McLeod - Mississauga Steelheads, OHL (2016, 12th, NJD)

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Kurt Cobain said:
I think anytime a top prospect has 7 point or 6 point night it should be noted. Considering the comparison to Logan Brown is what I assume your're getting at they were even ppg wise before this game, and within one game McLeod separated himself by quite a bit PPG wise. Plus the fact we got Gignac and McLeod by movin down a spot and letting the sens take the so called "better prospect" that never fit wth what were trying to build here anyway, should always be takin into consideration.
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Of course, a 6-7 point night is special. I'm not harping on that. And it's not the Brown thing either, it's more that some people think just because McLeod has had a bit of a hot stretch here that his offensive upside all of a sudden would be much higher than anticipated and the fact that people (I assume NJ fans) now mock the notion that he'll be a middle-six guy in the NHL, just due to said hot stretch, pointing to that as "evidence" that he's something else than what he has shown in the 100+ games prior to that. That's the stuff that irks me. I probably wouldn't care so much if I hadn't just gone through the same (but opposite) thing with Dubois this season with everyone saying he's a bust because of a statistically slow start and a somewhat disappointing WJC, with the worst part of that being that the people making those proclamations were people who had seen him maybe 7 games at most.
 
Zaddy Zads said:
Of course, a 6-7 point night is special. I'm not harping on that. And it's not the Brown thing either, it's more that some people think just because McLeod has had a bit of a hot stretch here that his offensive upside all of a sudden would be much higher than anticipated and the fact that people (I assume NJ fans) now mock the notion that he'll be a middle-six guy in the NHL, just due to said hot stretch, pointing to that as "evidence" that he's something else than what he has shown in the 100+ games prior to that. That's the stuff that irks me. I probably wouldn't care so much if I hadn't just gone through the same (but opposite) thing with Dubois this season with everyone saying he's a bust because of a statistically slow start and a somewhat disappointing WJC, with the worst part of that being that the people making those proclamations were people who had seen him maybe 7 games at most.
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Most people are mocking the discussion that was had on the previous pages that because McLeod hadn't performed well in a small sample of games against top teams (a still unfounded claim), he wouldn't be a successful NHL player. It's equally stupid to use this one game as an indicator of his potential as it was to use a randomly selected small sample that could be manipulated by a single game's performance.
 
Zaddy Zads said:
Of course, a 6-7 point night is special. I'm not harping on that. And it's not the Brown thing either, it's more that some people think just because McLeod has had a bit of a hot stretch here that his offensive upside all of a sudden would be much higher than anticipated and the fact that people (I assume NJ fans) now mock the notion that he'll be a middle-six guy in the NHL, just due to said hot stretch, pointing to that as "evidence" that he's something else than what he has shown in the 100+ games prior to that. That's the stuff that irks me. I probably wouldn't care so much if I hadn't just gone through the same (but opposite) thing with Dubois this season with everyone saying he's a bust because of a statistically slow start and a somewhat disappointing WJC, with the worst part of that being that the people making those proclamations were people who had seen him maybe 7 games at most.
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People feel the need to pump Mcleods tires when he does well because so many people think his potential is a 3rd line center at best which in my opinion is pretty short sighted. He definitely has the vision, speed, skill, and tenacity to be a threat offensively in the NHL which should transition nicely like he has already showed in NHL preseason games and one game or the "hot streak" doesn't prove his potential it was already there even if he was just hypothetically putting up below 1ppg this season. He's just not as offensively dynamic as some other players drafted close to him but I honestly think the potential for him is there to be a special player. He's just never going to be a prolific goal scorer but he'll help win games with all of his other assets and could put up some good points in the process.
 
Last 21 games:

15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points

This is on a team that is middle in the pack in scoring and PP.

I would take McLeod over Brown moving forward, getting Brandon Gignac really tilts this is NJ's favor...at the moment.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
Last 21 games:

15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points

This is on a team that is middle in the pack in scoring and PP.

I would take McLeod over Brown moving forward, getting Brandon Gignac really tilts this is NJ's favor...at the moment.
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Yep. The building enthusiasm over him is because of his performance since returning from the tournament. His game last night certainly boosted him, but he's been really performing well since the middle of January.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
Last 21 games:

15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points

This is on a team that is middle in the pack in scoring and PP.

I would take McLeod over Brown moving forward, getting Brandon Gignac really tilts this is NJ's favor...at the moment.
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I liked McLeod prior to us picking him. I'm still thinking he ends up as a good 2C, but that's a 1.61 PPG pace. He might end up surpassing my expectations.

He has more points now than he did last year in 9 fewer games.
 
VoidCreature said:
I liked McLeod prior to us picking him. I'm still thinking he ends up as a good 2C, but that's a 1.61 PPG pace. He might end up surpassing my expectations.

He has more points now than he did last year in 9 fewer games.
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As he should in his draft +1 season. However, the speed/size combination now with respectable production projects well to the NHL. I doubt he will ever be a PP player but can be extremely useful 5 on 5 DZone faceoffs and on the PK.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
As he should in his draft +1 season. However, the speed/size combination now with respectable production projects well to the NHL. I doubt he will ever be a PP player but can be extremely useful 5 on 5 DZone faceoffs and on the PK.
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He'll absolutely be a PP player. Zajac plays on the PP, so will McLeod.

Edit: Also, it hasn't come up as much lately, but to those trying to attribute his success to Owen Tippett this year and Nylander last year, McLeod has 11 points in his last 4 games, none of which Tippett played in.

Not a great sample size, but that's an unreal stat line. From what I've seen of McLeod, he's fully capable of generating his own offense.
 
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VoidCreature said:
He'll absolutely be a PP player. Zajac plays on the PP, so will McLeod.
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Zajac was known as smooth skating offensive center with playmaking ability as a prospect. 42 points as a rookie in the NHL. Zajac's hands are much better in the offensive zone than Macleod's. Zajac has always slowed the pace down with the puck which works on the PP.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
Zajac was known as smooth skating offensive center with playmaking ability as a prospect. 42 points as a rookie in the NHL. Zajac's hands are much better in the offensive zone than Macleod's. Zajac has always slowed the pace down with the puck which works on the PP.
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Sounds like McLeod. I've said it since we drafted him, McLeod reminds me of a much faster Zajac. I don't agree that Zajac's hands are better than McLeod's.

Hell, we play PA Parenteau on the PP. I can't imagine a scenario where McLeod isn't used there.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
Zajac was known as smooth skating offensive center with playmaking ability as a prospect. 42 points as a rookie in the NHL. Zajac's hands are much better in the offensive zone than Macleod's. Zajac has always slowed the pace down with the puck which works on the PP.
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Holy christ I hope not.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
As he should in his draft +1 season. However, the speed/size combination now with respectable production projects well to the NHL. I doubt he will ever be a PP player but can be extremely useful 5 on 5 DZone faceoffs and on the PK.
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The Devils are assembling a group of fast two-way players. Its going to be a team that's a pain in the ass to play against. Let's just hope there will be enough top end talent.
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
Zajac has good hands in tight spaces and on the cycle, he just doesn't finish well. Finishing ability and hands are two different skillsets.
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Exactly.

Zajac is a very good distributor in the offensive zone and good at opening up space and finding teammates in tight spaces. On the power play, he is our best forward at winning puck battles and getting set up as well as alleviating pressure off the guys on the points.

Would love it if McLeod could be like Zajac with more speed.
 
I'd take a faster Zajac in a second. Zajac doesn't light it up on the score sheet, but he's an elite defensive player who can put up 40+ points a year. You need guys like that on your roster, just unlike the Devils they hopefully aren't your #1 center.
 
Blender said:
I'd take a faster Zajac in a second. Zajac doesn't light it up on the score sheet, but he's an elite defensive player who can put up 40+ points a year. You need guys like that on your roster, just unlike the Devils they hopefully aren't your #1 center.
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I think most agrees. I would take a faster, younger (cheaper) Zajac as our 2C or 3C. Just have to get skilled wings to play with him.
 
MichaelJ said:
I think most agrees. I would take a faster, younger (cheaper) Zajac as our 2C or 3C. Just have to get skilled wings to play with him.
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Younger and faster Travis Zajac is probably 70 point center that plays PP and is elite 5on5 and on the PK. I'll settle for a possession center 40-50 points who is elite on the PK.
 
thethinglonger said:
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Nice tidbit from the article:

The highlight of his week came Friday night scoring his second hat-trick of the season while adding three assists as first star of a 10-1 win over the Eastern Conference’s first place Peterborough Petes. The six points were not only a career-high for McLeod, but also set a Steelheads single game record since the club’s inception in 2012-13.
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Jason MacIsaac said:
Younger and faster Travis Zajac is probably 70 point center that plays PP and is elite 5on5 and on the PK. I'll settle for a possession center 40-50 points who is elite on the PK.
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People forget that Zajac was a high 60 point guy when he was younger and had good wingers. If a #12 pick becomes a 40-50 point 2C that plays all situations that is a huge win. Even a guy like Duchene has only had 60+ points twice in his career.
 
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