I haven't seen him play at all so can somebody chime in and tell me how he looks? Is he a product of Drouin or is he actually a good out of the blue prospect?
Do you think somebody takes a gamble on him at the draft or is he more likely a training camp invite?
He's talented offensively. Thinks the game well, has decent hands, good vision and really excels at being in the right spot at the right time. That ability is critical because of the aforementioned issues with skating and size. He needs to be elusive in the offensive zone in order to survive.
Has benefited from Drouin being able to put the puck on his stick when he gets in those spots to score, but you need to have the ability to know where to go and get the puck in the net too.
That said, he's a bit older than your normal draft eligible (turned 20 in February) and it has to be asked:
1. Is he going to get much bigger? He might get stronger with a dedicated S&C program.
2. Is he going to get much faster? Again, something that would be easier to figure out with fitness testing etc.
That's why it's so important for a team to get him into a development camp. Get him on the ice without a Drouin beside him, see how he does. Do fitness testing on him and see what his potential for improvement with his skating is.
When talking to scouts, one of the players we used as referenced was Alexandre Grenier (Vancouver prospect). Grenier played half a season as a 19-year-old (same as Gadoury) and was a third-rounder in 2011. But the similarities end there, with Grenier having good skating ability and a 6'5 frame.
So if you use a player like Grenier as a barometer, in my opinion that puts a guy like Gadoury in the later rounds. Do you take a flier on him, knowing that he's going to be an over-ager next year, that you have two years before you have to sign him and that he more than likely won't have Drouin feeding him passes in the fall?
Might be worth it for a 6th/7th round pick.