Didn't know how to transfer poll over, but was just wondering why Mason McTavish has received so little attention in this discussion.
Was it just assumed that he'd be taken before the Devils pick? If not, it's hard to imagine the Devils not giving him some serious consideration.
McTavish is a late riser, he was 11th in McKenzie’s last ranking but he might move up. He would be bit of a reach, he does feel like he could end up a bottom six forward, but I do like him. Don’t see us taking him at 4th.
Some of the buzz is coming from the lack of true centers beyond Beniers which is less of an issue for the Devils and big issue for some other teams, particularly if they don’t see Eklund or Johnson as a center. I’m not sure McTavish stays at center either in the NHL but he does have a shot with his two-way game.
McTavish is a late riser due to limited games in 2021 and many scouts don't want to put a lot of stock in McTavish because they weren't able to scout him in person in the Swiss League (Switzerland men's 2nd tier, also known as NL-B). He only got 13 regular season Swiss League games and 4 playoff Swiss League games, where his team swept for the win. Playoffs cut short because he wanted to participate in the WJC-18, where he played 7 games. To many scouts, the WJC-18 in Texas is the first time they've seen McTavish play in person to scout. It's doubtful many scouted McTavish in the Swiss league as he was already a projected first round prospect in his D-1 year, later first round projections, iirc.
To give perspective on McTavish would be to compare apples to apples. Othmann is a fellow Canadian OHL draft eligible forward who played in the Swiss League in 2021 and played on the same team with McTavish. Difference is Othmann was able to get to the Swiss league in November of 2020, but McTavish was held up due to passport/visa reasons and finally made his way in February to the Swiss League. Othmann was considered a first round pick before the season started.
2021 | | | | | | | |
| League | Season | Games | G | A | Pts | PPG |
Othmann | NL-B | Regular | 34 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0.47 |
McTavish | NL-B | Regular | 13 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 0.85 |
. | | | | | | | |
Othmann | NL-B | Playoffs | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.50 |
McTavish | NL-B | Playoffs | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1.75 |
. | | | | | | | |
Othmann | WJC-18 | | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.86 |
McTavish | WJC-18 | | 7 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1.57 |
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Central Scouting, NA has him ranked #2. Elite Prospects have him ranked #5. There are many online scouts that cite a huge development growth between his D-1. It's these scouts that are pushing McTavish's stock up very high whereas some scouts don't think highly such as Dobber Prospects have him ranked 29th, which can be seen on McTavish's elite prospect's page. Yet, Cam Robinson of Dobber Prospects has McTavish ranked #2 on his rankings.
Where McTavish lands all depends on which scouting report(s) you follow. Some will see him only as a bottom-6 forward. Some as a winger b/c of skating concerns. Others will love him. Here's a podcast with Mitch Brown of Elite Prospects, who is in love with McTavish.
-1:02:14 mark: Talks about 2022 and 2023 guys; Best scorers of WJC and mentions McTavish
-0:52:00 mark: "best point getter" = Eklund love
-0:50:26 mark: "best shooters"; McTavish is the only true "dual threat"
-0:49:06 mark: "guy that does it all" = McTavish love
-0:39:18 mark: More McTavish deep dive.
One other bit of info,
mynhldraft.com has McTavish projected to go 5th overall to Columbus and Othmann going 27th to Colorado. I suppose reach is in the eye of the beholder... or scout(s) you follow.
Just food for thought because the draft is a long ways away.