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Prospect Info: (F) Frank Nazar - 2022 NHL Draft, 13th Overall

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clydesdale line said:
chicago.suntimes.com

Blackhawks prospect updates: Frank Nazar likely to return to Michigan next season

Nazar’s hip surgery, which has held him out of the entire 2022-23 season to date, means the Hawks are leaning toward keeping him in college for another year before he turns pro.
chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com

Mark Eaton confirms it was his hip.
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That really sucks for Hawks/Nazar-- if it was a Hip surgery of the Labrum/or inside... That really lowers the kids Odds of being a "player".... Hope it was a Ligament issue OR the report is just wrong. Labrum/Hip is a very abused and needed joint for Hockey players! With very low rate of full long term /full stability post surgery.
 
wladyslaw said:
That really sucks for Hawks/Nazar-- if it was a Hip surgery of the Labrum/or inside... That really lowers the kids Odds of being a "player".... Hope it was a Ligament issue OR the report is just wrong. Labrum/Hip is a very abused and needed joint for Hockey players! With very low rate of full long term /full stability post surgery.
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Considering this was something that was an on going issue with him, I think he'll be fine. Eaton basically confirmed he could've played this season but they wanted to take care of it ASAP especially givin his age.
“I don’t see [this year] as a setback,” Eaton said. “This was something that was going to need to be taken care of at some point. Better now than three, four, five years from now. It’s an unfortunate thing that some guys have to go through, but it is a part of development, learning how to handle injuries and recover.”
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Styles said:
Are you people stupid?
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ploppsdman said:
Schmaltz is a 100% perimeter player. He offers nothing on defense. I would take Dach all day, everyday and I was never a Dach fan. If Nazar is Schmaltz, Chicago is in real trouble.
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Schmaltz is 41st amongst forwards over the last 3 years (including this year thus far) in 5v5 takeaways.

This is also Schmaltz's shots/goals heatmaps:

1675560415282.png


Right before he was traded, Schmaltz was very frustrating to watch bc he was pulling up on rushes and losing the puck/not making a play and was avoiding areas of the ice. That doesn't seem like it's been a big problem since he's left though. He's definitely not a physically dominant player and he's skilled, so he will try to make plays from the outside but he very clearly gets to the middle of the ice a lot.
 
TheFridge said:
Schmaltz is 41st amongst forwards over the last 3 years (including this year thus far) in 5v5 takeaways.

This is also Schmaltz's shots/goals heatmaps:

View attachment 645851

Right before he was traded, Schmaltz was very frustrating to watch bc he was pulling up on rushes and losing the puck/not making a play and was avoiding areas of the ice. That doesn't seem like it's been a big problem since he's left though. He's definitely not a physically dominant player and he's skilled, so he will try to make plays from the outside but he very clearly gets to the middle of the ice a lot.
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Love the charts. Schmaltz is still very suspect defensively and is terrible outside of the offensive zone. Not missing him at all. Perfect player for Arizona doing nothing of significance but hey that’s a nice chart.
 
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giza said:
It's just too bad folks are contaminating a Nazer post to Shmaltz with Strome comparisons.....
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Ya, I’d prefer not seeing Nazar be compared to a steaming pile of shit.

At least Wheeler says he’d probably be the Hawks best prospect if he didn’t miss this season.

I struggled slotting Nazar because I think had he not potentially lost his entire freshman season (he’s back skating with Michigan, but he and they will have a tough decision to make on whether to throw him into the Big Ten tournament in early March or just start him fresh in the fall) he would have had a chance to rank No. 1 here.

Few prospects dash around the ice and make plays like Nazar does. He’s a threatening player from the hashmarks because of his wrister, which he pops off of his stick with sneaky power and precision thanks in large part to the balance he displays through his weight shift (he’s not a super strong kid, though he is a tremendous athlete).

He’s got quick hands, which help him deftly adjust in traffic to get shots off under pressure. He flashes creativity throughout his game. He plays pucks into space extremely well, regularly executing through tight gaps in coverage. And he’s just a hungry, driven player who consistently targets the middle lane with his greatest asset — his skating.

Nazar’s one of the fastest prospects in the sport, not only in straight lines and winding up through his crossovers, but also adjusting tempos (a learned skill that he really developed at U.S. NTDP). That allows him to impact play both with the puck attacking in transition to turn defenders or creating breakaways, as well as without it, speeding into lanes to get open for his linemates.

He also consistently supports the play high in the offensive zone without possession when that’s his role (another learned habit at the program that came a long way). He can be careless with the puck and try to do too much at times but he’s also capable of going right into coverage to make something happen or breezing to the perimeter to pull eyes to him and facilitate. He moves and does things on the ice that few can and has upside as a dynamic top-six playmaker if he can get back on the trajectory he was on pre-surgery.
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It's a shame Nazar likely won't play with Fantilli. Would've loved to see those two operate together on the PP, possibly even on a line 5 on 5 if their coach would've put one of them on the wing.
 
clydesdale line said:
It's a shame Nazar likely won't play with Fantilli. Would've loved to see those two operate together on the PP, possibly even on a line 5 on 5 if their coach would've put one of them on the wing.
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Don't think that's a foregone conclusion.

Nazar could return in the playoffs.

Also if Chicago were to draft Fantilli, I'd bet that they keep him in Michigan for one more season.
 
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Kevin Musto said:
Don't think that's a foregone conclusion.

Nazar could return in the playoffs.

Also if Chicago were to draft Fantilli, I'd bet that they keep him in Michigan for one more season.
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There was an article recently in the athletic that Nazar will "likely" be shut down till next season. And Fantilli has nothing left to prove in Michigan.
 
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clydesdale line said:
There was an article recently in the athletic that Nazar will "likely" be shut down till next season. And Fantilli has nothing left to prove in Michigan.
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Oh I must have missed that. Last I read, they thought they were going to be able to add him to their lineup for tournament play.

Fantilli could play in the NHL next season and I think most teams would do that if they drafted him, but we know how KD is with being patient. The Blackhawks are going to be a tire fire next year, there'd be no real reason to expose Fantilli to that.

Also I rarely agree with the "nothing left to prove" sentiment. That's what leads to prospects getting rushed and ultimately becoming busts. Have you learned nothing from Stanley's many blunders?
 
Kevin Musto said:
Also I rarely agree with the "nothing left to prove" sentiment. That's what leads to prospects getting rushed and ultimately becoming busts. Have you learned nothing from Stanley's many blunders?
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It would be like the Sabres leaving Jack Eichel in college after he was drafted which is what Fantilli is doing exactly what he was doing in college. Do you think the Sabres should've left him in college? He put up 56 points in the NHL right afterwards. CAN they leave Fantilli in college to cook? Sure, but he won't develop much dominating again with his tools. Ideally, he would be in the AHL if you don't want to expose him to the tire fire in the NHL.
 
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clydesdale line said:
It would be like the Sabres leaving Jack Eichel in college after he was drafted which is what Fantilli is doing exactly what he was doing in college. Do you think the Sabres should've left him in college? He put up 56 points in the NHL right afterwards. CAN they leave Fantilli in college to cook? Sure, but he won't develop much dominating again with his tools. Ideally, he would be in the AHL if you don't want to expose him to the tire fire in the NHL.
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Eichel is hardly a success story.

Fantilli can obviously play in the NHL next year, but compare the situations.

In Michigan he's the alpha, they'll probably give him the C, he'll have teammates like McGroarty, Brindley, Casey, and Nazar to play with, and they'll keep winning lots of games.

In Chicago it'll be even worse than this season, losing constantly, morale draining, and linemate options are a broken Patrick Kane and a broken Tyler Johnson. Maybe Reichel if they decide to play him at wing?

I'm sure that'll go swimmingly...

If instead he comes in for the 2024-25 season, suddenly they'll be an influx of guys like Nazar, Slaggert, Savoie, Ludwinski, etc, a bunch of our prospects fighting for roster spots. The environment will be competitive and guys will be looking to prove themselves. They probably even give him an "A" right off the bat.

That's much more conducive to his long term success.
 
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