Interesting. That's not how I see it, nor our team at HP. We graded on a 3 to 9 scale (IQ-Compete-Skill-Skate-Misc.) for Nelson as 7-6-6-7-8 in 2023. Bednarik as 6-5-5-5-5 in 2024. Nelson was ranked 39th, Bednarik didn't make our list of 109 or whatever final number was 114?
I value hockey sense above all else. And Bednarik's good, but it's not awe-inspiring. And as much you can say, he's dealing with "idiosyncratic" players on a line...there's also a measure of predictability with that. Eiserman - for all intents and purposes - doesn't pass. He doesn't pass to a level that is rarely seen for a draftable prospect. Bednarik never has to think about getting the puck back a second time in a shift. So, that takes an element away from his mental game and his progression. I even brush on it in the Eiserman video for a moment, that's not good positioning in that area.
As I wrote in the Blackbook too: In a late season game vs. Dubuque, close game, mid-3rdperiod: Post-faceoff scramble, offensive zone, Bednarik has a clear path to winning the puck and he does. There is pressure on his back. He must be somewhat aware of the pile of bodies in the slot, as he just came from that same pile a stride and a half ago. He is facing away from the Dubuque net, he has two open point men to kick it back to…his body posture is directionally towards them. Bednarik chooses a no-look, spin-around, fadeaway wrister into all five Fighting Saints and one NTDP player. Needless to say, it doesn’t get through and the puck is lost. To be a play facilitator inside, the panic threshold needs to be better; the mental processor needs to be sharper.
His technical skills aren't strong, fine. But it's not like he's an honor roll student either. Not saying dumb by any means, but it's not a genius certainly. And he doesn't compensate for it with his feet or his motor, which are "average" and "good", in that order for my tastes. Now, his motor might be turned down a bit because he's playing in a scoring role. That's fine. But his puck battle wins, his inside leverage game, all that stuff needs to be way, way better for him to have a shot.
For the record, Bednarik did get plenty of power play time. He led the U18s in PP assists, in fact. Though, many of them are off of net-mouth scrambles. He wasn't the quarterback or anything. That doesn't mean they don't count or anything, but - when you talk about the playmaking process - they're a bit of a product of the situation he was in.
Like you said, we'll see. I just don't see the dynamic qualities that you need to play as it stands right now.
