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C Nick Suzuki - Guelph Storm, OHL (2017, 13th, VGK; traded to MTL)

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Haatley said:
Agreed. I have seen him like 8 times live this year and he just continues to impress.
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Literally the only weaknesses in his game are his size and lack of elite skating. That's it. Guy has been absolutely dynamite, and keeps getting better and better.
 
Have a look at Suzuki's points-per-game average in away games. His play on the road has been on par with the very best players of this draft class. It's been top-tier production.
JetsAlternate said:
Some updated point total splits:
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For those wanting to compare this year's top tier to last year's, the consensus is that Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick would have been drafted somewhere among Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matthew Tkachuk. I think they could easily be regarded as better prospects than Alex Nylander.

Both are centerman, and both have had better draft seasons than Dubois did last year. As such, they would have been in contention for fourth overall in 2016. Hischier is, in my opinion, the best offensive player in the draft class, with 64 primary points (manually counted due to incorrect QMJHL stats) out of the 76 points he has scored in 45 games played this season thus far, the highest points-per-game average in the entire QMJHL, and the highest points-per-game average of all first-year draft-eligible players.

To compare (raw home/away splits):
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2017 NHL Draft Top Two:
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Since we don't have enough of a sample size for Nolan Patrick's current season, we'll look at his 2015-16 home and away splits as well:
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Nolan Patrick (2015-16):

Home: 21 goals, 50 points in 36 games (1.39 points per game)

Away: 20 goals, 52 points in 36 games (1.44 points per game)

2016-17 (Patrick):

Home: 11 goals, 22 points in 12 games (1.83 points per game)

Away: 3 goal, 11 points in 8 games (1.375 points per game)
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Keep in mind the adjustment that Nico Hischier needed to make over the first month of the season, coming to North America from Switzerland. All other players he has been compared to here grew up playing hockey in North America and played at least one previous CHL season. Nico Hischier is a CHL rookie.

In the first 13 games of the season, he had 13 points.

In 6 away games, he had 6 points. In 7 home games, he had 7 points.
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Nico Hischier (2016-17):

Home: 26 goals, 48 points in 25 games (1.92 points per game)

Away: 11 goals, 28 points in 20 games (1.40 points per game)

Since October 26, 2016 (Hischier):

Home: 24 goals, 41 points in 18 games (2.28 points per game)

Away: 8 goals, 22 points in 14 games (1.57 points per game)
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2015 NHL Draft:
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Connor McDavid (2014-15):

Home: 28 goals, 70 points in 24 games (2.92 points per game)

Away: 16 goals, 50 points in 23 games (2.17 points per game)

2013-14 (McDavid):

Home: 16 goals, 62 points in 28 games (2.21 points per game)

Away: 12 goals, 37 points in 28 games (1.32 points per game)
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Mitch Marner (2014-15):

Home: 22 goals, 71 points in 32 games (2.22 points per game)

Away: 17 goals, 45 points in 25 games (1.8 points per game)

2015-16 [Draft+1] (Marner):

Home: 25 goals, 64 points in 29 games (2.21 points per game)

Away: 14 goals, 52 points in 28 games (1.86 points per game)
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2016 NHL Draft:
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Pierre-Luc Dubois (2015-16):

Home: 26 goals, 63 points in 30 games (2.1 points per game)

Away: 16 goals, 36 points in 32 games (1.125 points per game)
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Matthew Tkachuk (2015-16):

Home: 17 goals, 56 points in 28 games (2.0 points per game)

Away: 13 goals, 51 points in 29 games (1.76 points per game)
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2017 NHL Draft:
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Gabriel Vilardi (2016-17):

Home: 8 goals, 26 points in 22 games (1.18 points per game)

Away: 15 goals, 22 points in 15 games (1.47 points per game)
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Owen Tippett (2016-17):

Home: 17 goals, 34 points in 26 games (1.31 points per game)

Away: 22 goals, 34 points in 26 games (1.31 points per game)
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Kailer Yamamoto (2016-17):

Home: 17 goals, 36 points in 25 games (1.44 points per game)

Away: 16 goals, 38 points in 26 games (1.46 points per game)
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Michael Rasmussen (2016-17):

Home: 19 goals, 35 points in 24 games (1.46 points per game)

Away: 13 goals, 20 points in 26 games (0.77 points per game)
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Nick Suzuki (2016-17):

Home: 12 goals, 31 points in 26 games (1.19 points per game)

Away: 18 goals, 40 points in 26 games (1.54 points per game)
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Nikita Popugaev (2016-17):

Home: 10 goals, 26 points in 33 games (0.79 points per game)

Away: 16 goals, 27 points in 26 games (1.04 points per game)
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Can't really figure out why this kid isn't ranked higher. Would take him over a lot of guys right now. Should be in the conversation for top10 IMO.
 
Skinnyjimmy08 said:
Related to the famous David?
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The likelihood of that is small.

Suzuki is the second-most common name in Japan. Over 1.7 million people in Japan have the last name Suzuki.

https://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/the-10-most-common-surnames-in-japan-and-their-meanings
The 10 most common surnames in Japan (and their meanings)
By Philip Kendall
Lifestyle Aug. 28, 2013 - 06:40AM JST ( 27 )

...

2. Suzuki

People with name: 1,707,000
Written: 鈴木
Meaning: “Bell treeâ€. Suzurin 鈴 is a small round bell, the kind of which you might put on a cat’s collar. Why they’re being tied to trees 木 though, we’re not sure.

You may have heard of: New York Yankees’ outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.

...
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Really good at slowing the game down. Excellent playmaker and has a sneaky accurate shot.

Problem is skating and seems to lose many 1 on 1 puck battles. Plays quite soft.
 
ahmon said:
Really good at slowing the game down. Excellent playmaker and has a sneaky accurate shot.

Problem is skating and seems to lose many 1 on 1 puck battles. Plays quite soft.
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Yeah, I'm a fan of his but these are concerns for me as well.

For a guy his size I would want his skating to be elite but it's just slightly above average.

A lot of his other tools are also just average but he compensates with an elite IQ.

I think I slightly prefer Robert Thomas who is similar but with better skating and shot.
 
Watched a lot of him prior to the OHL with the London Jr Knights and with Owen Sound. His style reminds me of Bo Horvat. Great two-way player. Just finds a way to get the job done and produce despite dazzling with "high end skill". Smart player who will find a way to be an impact at the NHL.

With Bo going inside the top 10, it's not out of the question for Nick either but I suspect he'll land somewhere in the 10-25 range.

On his brother Ryan (who I've had the pleasure of watching 33 times ...and counting this year haha). He's actually a more skilled player than his brother. Has a real feel for the game and is one of the best passers I've seen in minor midget. He's got a real chance to be the top pick in the OHL Draft in a few months (a lock for Top 3 IMO).
 
Suzuki's size and skating don't worry me at all. He's got the hockey IQ to make up for the lack of size and blazing speed. He's plenty fast enough. You can have all the speed in the world, but if you don't have the tool kit to go with it, it means nothing. Suzuki will be perfectly fine and a lot of times, these kids that don't have the "high end" speed, it's simply a matter of leg strength. He gets stronger in his legs, he'll get better at pushing off and hitting his stride and speed much better.
 
So some people are not putting this guy in the first round. How realistic is it to expect him to be a 1st rounder?
 
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