Prospect Info: Connor Bedard - 2023 1st - C, Regina
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Kevin Musto
Hard for Bedard
- Feb 16, 2018
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Chuck Testa
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TLEH
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Drumman44
Kyle Beach Deserved Better
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Your comment about Michkov feasting on KHL’s bottom feeder teams is sticking out to me now.
Kevin Musto
Hard for Bedard
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The numbers don't tell the whole story with Michkov.
On paper, he's had the best Russian draft year production in a long time.
But there's two things:
1) The KHL is the worst it's ever been.
2) The minutes. The amount of minutes Michkov played are atypical. Probably no other prospect in the last decade played as many KHL minutes as Michkov. Not because of talent, but because that's just how they do it in Russia. The top prospects play for top clubs, and prospects have to work really hard for minutes. Michkov was on a top club, didn't want to work for those minutes so he forced his way to a bottom feeder that had no choice but to play him. So if you look at production relative to ice time and PP opportunities, there's nothing historic about Michkov's situation at all. You could've given someone like Vitali Kravstov the same minutes in his draft year and he would've produced at a similar rate. And also if you look at a breakdown of Michkov's points, they were mostly scored against the weakest teams in the league.
ClydeLee
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Michkov isn't impressive for his KHL producing year only... its not like he only is seen as elite because of his KHL production.
Before last year he was seen as it. I was only wanted to see overall if he could play his style and game, a lot of time around the net, against the pro size. He did just that. So merely saying the KHL is down doesn't change his judgment from watching him and world tourneys
Before last year he was seen as it. I was only wanted to see overall if he could play his style and game, a lot of time around the net, against the pro size. He did just that. So merely saying the KHL is down doesn't change his judgment from watching him and world tourneys
Kevin Musto
Hard for Bedard
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D-1 years (and earlier) are nearly irrelevant.
Plenty of players look incredible and then don't live up to it in their draft year. Michkov clearly did not live up to everyone calling him generational, a rival to Bedard, the best Russian since Ovechkin, etc.
DisgruntledHawkFan
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I think it's a really tough call between the AHL and the Swedish and Finnish pro leagues. They just play a different kind of hockey. There's a reason Finland and Sweden are always competitive in the world's. All those guys can just play.
Liiga is 4th in europe behind SHL, KHL and NLA. I don't see that changing anytime soon. After that it's Czech and Germany.
Why?
Here in Europe I feel like the general opinion is that the Swiss league almost is on pair with the SHL these days and the SHL is seen as a tier above the AHL as in term of overall quality.
Three of the best players in the SHL last year (Theodor Lennström, Antti Suomela, Lukas Bengtsson) all went to the Swiss league this summer and they would all be able to play in the NHL if it weren't for their age profiles. The best teams in the Swiss league are probably better than the best teams in Sweden while the bottom tier teams in Sweden is much better than the ones in the Swiss league.
The AHL has some top end talent that could play in the NHL (our boy Lukas Reichel is a great example) but the bottom players in the AHL are really, really bad and would not be able to be productive in the Swiss league.
I would honestly....almost completely agree with this. Average talent level in SHL, Liiga, and NLA is, in all likelihood, higher than that of the AHL.
There is also no reason for a top euro player to ever come over and play in the AHL. The quality of life, travel, and salary, aren't even in the same stratosphere.
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I don't think Liiga is that much away from Czech and Germany than it is to the Top 3.
I don't know how good the KHL is after all that politics/war, but NLA and SHL is easily above the rest of europe.
TLEH
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The top teams in the NLA are good but the rest of the league is pretty trash.
The AHLs pull is that you are one step away from the NHL. Top guys in Europe come to AHL all the time and barely produce in the past couple years. It’s a different game for sure but the AHL talent level has skyrocketed since like 2019.
Also Liiga is pretty ass now.
The AHLs pull is that you are one step away from the NHL. Top guys in Europe come to AHL all the time and barely produce in the past couple years. It’s a different game for sure but the AHL talent level has skyrocketed since like 2019.
Also Liiga is pretty ass now.
SHL was seen as better than the AHL like 5 years ago. Not anymore.
TLEH
Pronounced T-Lay
Adam Tambellini Is a perfect example. 30 point guy in ~70 AHL games for a couple seasons. Go to the SHL and is a PPG guy.
Suomela left the Marlins as a .5 PPG guy in the AHL in 21 to score 60+ in 40 or so games in the SHL.
Different style it’s hard to completely get it right in the end but multiple people doing analytics share what the eye test shows. AHL scoring is the single highest predictor of NHL success right now.
Suomela left the Marlins as a .5 PPG guy in the AHL in 21 to score 60+ in 40 or so games in the SHL.
Different style it’s hard to completely get it right in the end but multiple people doing analytics share what the eye test shows. AHL scoring is the single highest predictor of NHL success right now.
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DisgruntledHawkFan
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Canada and the US just create so much more people than Sweden and Finland. It's impressive those countries can put out twenty man rosters that can play with NA. They certainly can't put out sixty.
DisgruntledHawkFan
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There's guys playing in Europe that can play in the NHL. The average AHLer I'm confidently putting over any average euro leaguer.
No, SHL is better. Especially now when a lot of players that would have played in Russia plays in Sweden instead.
And Suomela and Tambellini are exceptions. It is way more common to produce less in the SHL than in the AHL.
I can give you several examples:
Matt Puempel came from a good season in Grand Rapids (scoring 39 in 46) and went to Malmö in the SHL. He was let go after a quarter into the season (after 5 point in 15 games).
Josh Ho-Sang came to the SHL and was horrible and let go by both the teams he was on. He then went and scored 35 in 47 for for the Marlies.
Kevin Roy scored at over 0,5 points per game place in the AHL and was let go after only 6 games for Brynäs in the SHL.
Same with Stefan Matteu who was let go after 1 point in 16 games for Linköping this season.
Christian Thomas went to Rögle and was let go after 1 point in 11 games after scoring 34 in 51 games the year prior in the AHL.
There are several of these cases every season so I could give you more examples if you want. SHL is the better league.
WarriorofTime
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If you can get one of the coveted Vet Player slots in the AHL, the money is actually quite good. TJ Tynan makes $775K in the Minors this year after making $500K in the Minors last year.
It's the limited spaces that are tricky.. and the AHL's status as primarily a developmental league that holds it down overall in quality.
EbonyRaptor
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Bedard signed with Sherwood. Here is a little article about it and a first glimpse of Connor wearing the Hawks uniform.
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