So he's essentially another potential Luke Glendening?
... Couldn't complain about that at all, with a 7th.
To be fair to Finnie, Glendening’s hands would never be confused with most NHL players. Lol.
Finnie is a great example of pure scouting. Playing 4th line minutes his draft year because of how stacked that Memorial Cup team was, and only being 17 still… He had a run of games playing in the Top 6 when someone was hurt about mid-season in 23’, and that’s when DET started paying close attention. He stepped right in with those skilled, drafted players, and performed. Most teams finally took notice during his playoff streak, when most draft lists were already deep into being decided.
He was an absolute victim of circumstance and system. He also had the big growth spurt many thought might not come. He was only 5’3” when drafted in the WHL. Many teams simply didn’t pay attention to him.
If he was a couple months younger, after what he did last year, there’s a very good chance he would’ve ended up a late 1st Rounder in 2024.. Definitely a Top 50 pick.
It’s very rare to see a 7th Round pick signed only months after being drafted. I can’t think of one in recent memory.
Between Finnie (7th) and Lombardi (4th), it shows how deep Detroit is scouting kids. Well into Midget Minor and Bantam levels. Both Finnie and Lombardi were unique situations, and would be a good bet in 5-6 years, to end up being the steal of their respective draft class. Lombardi’s story is just not seen these days, with the available prospect information in scouting circles. What he’s done after turning 18 years old, and never playing major junior up to that point, isn’t seen very often. We’ll see how the TriFecta goes with Ondrej Becher (3rd Rd), but to be fair, he’s more of your normal re-entry type of draft pick from the 2024 draft.
Detroit has some sneaky skilled players they took later in drafts. Not to mention Buchelnikov, among the leading scorers in the KHL at 21.