apologies for delay, getting in from traveling...giroux i could also see, although to me brinks a bit squarer / more solid on his feet hence jaden schwartz for me. giroux to me is/was slighter and much lighter on his feet. at the end of the day though i think they both speak to seeing the hands and hockey iq that display *potential* high end production. lot of ifs for sure but, depending whats on the board, brink is a guy i like in wpg pick range. for me it also comes down to i'm a huge fan of guys that continue to produce as they jump to higher levels, kids that improve leading into the draft, and most especially kids that show both of those things while being evaluated as guys that have "skating" issues.
should mention by skating issues i specifically mean point producers w/ hockey iq that tend to have great edges/balance, at least decent acceleration, and can maintain puck control/ice awareness in any situation but carry "skating" or "pace" red flags from scouts (usually guys from lower level leagues or kids with fat faces)...i don't mean 6'4 guys like grachev and gropp that have great straight line speed but can't complete a crossover without tipping over - that type i will never understand drafting. you can add power/explosion to a smart hockey player, but you can't add hockey sense to an athletic specimen. you can teach a freak athlete enough to find a role sure if they have the right effort/mindset, but speaking specifically to high end production guys - my personal opinion is the iq and instinct are either there or not at draft day.
