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F Mac Swanson - Univ. of North Dakota, NCAA (2024, 207th, PIT)

SomeDude said:
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Really 3 minutes later and you have to do that?:thumbd:
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Absolute steal. Shame on every NHL team passing on him multiple times.

Sizeitis at it again unfortunately.
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I think it's "playoffsitis", since the playoffs are more like gritty football (unless your team speed is elite), while the regular season is more like a track meet where defense is optional.

Swanson doesn't fit the playoff style, but he could definitely thrive in the regular season with some improvements while at UND
 
Hockeyville USA said:
I think it's "playoffsitis", since the playoffs are more like gritty football (unless your team speed is elite), while the regular season is more like a track meet where defense is optional.

Swanson doesn't fit the playoff style, but he could definitely thrive in the regular season with some improvements while at UND
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I think that's true about some small players. Some of them have the same degree of success. It's hard to figure out who will fit into each category.

I think the key is whether a player needs space to operate or not. The players who are very flashy and handle the puck a lot have less success (Panarin). The players who don't handle the puck as much and make quick touches with the puck I think have more success (Kucherov).

Swanson is closer to the latter category, not that I think he's going to be Kucherov, but he's not a big puck handler. Gets rid of the puck very quickly. Knows what he's doing with it before he even receives it.
 
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Pavel Buchnevich said:
Absolute steal. Shame on every NHL team passing on him multiple times.

Sizeitis at it again unfortunately.
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I feel like he was drafted right where he should’ve been. I’m glad the Penguins took a swing at him. But, he is absolutely a big risk player. I figured he’d go undrafted or 7th round.

Hes got offensive skill, but I just don’t know if his game will translate to professional hockey.
 
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MichaelFarrell said:
I feel like he was drafted right where he should’ve been. I’m glad the Penguins took a swing at him. But, he is absolutely a big risk player. I figured he’d go undrafted or 7th round.

Hes got offensive skill, but I just don’t know if his game will translate to professional hockey.
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Aside from one being more of a goal scorer and the other more of a playmaker, what makes Cole Caufield so much better at the same age?
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Aside from one being more of a goal scorer and the other more of a playmaker, what makes Cole Caufield so much better at the same age?
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Having Jack Hughes helping him breaking the then goals record :)

Im high on Swanson as well, someone have to the bext Fleury, St.Louis and Gaudreau small kind of successfull player in the NHL right, why not Swanson whom been very good at every level so far.
 
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I watched another shift-by-shift on YT from a different game and my impression was more positive overall- though the same issues still remained.

Regardless it’s the kind of pick we should be making.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Aside from one being more of a goal scorer and the other more of a playmaker, what makes Cole Caufield so much better at the same age?
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Well, personally I think what you mentioned is a huge difference. Make no mistake, I respect your opinion on USHL players for sure. However, Caufield is a true sniper with elite level goal scoring and he’s always been on the stockier side build-wise. Cole thinks the game pretty well but his shot is truly something special.

Mac Swanson is a very different player to me. He’s undoubtedly a good playmaker and has always put up great numbers offensively, but if we look at his actual athletic intangibles and physical frame, I think it’s unlikely that he’s an NHL player.

The scouting services that I follow closely, most of which don’t care about size and had Perron ranked very high last year, aren’t high on Swanson either so that impacts my opinion as well. I do respect your opinion though and hope he turns into a player for my team.
 
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MichaelFarrell said:
Well, personally I think what you mentioned is a huge difference. Make no mistake, I respect your opinion on USHL players for sure. However, Caufield is a true sniper with elite level goal scoring and he’s always been on the stockier side build-wise. Cole thinks the game pretty well but his shot is truly something special.

Mac Swanson is a very different player to me. He’s undoubtedly a good playmaker and has always put up great numbers offensively, but if we look at his actual athletic intangibles and physical frame, I think it’s unlikely that he’s an NHL player.

The scouting services that I follow closely, most of which don’t care about size and had Perron ranked very high last year, aren’t high on Swanson either so that impacts my opinion as well. I do respect your opinion though and hope he turns into a player for my team.
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I think hockey sense and playmaking are elite areas for Swanson. I don't think they are merely good. The numbers he's put up (breaking the single tournament assist record at the WJAC19) or USHL (leading the league in assists as a U18). That points more to great than good. Everyone made a big deal about Caufield's goal record at the NTDP. Terrific accomplishment. Swanson didn't play at the NTDP, so he couldn't break records there. Instead he did about as much as he could've where he was playing. I don't know how one can unsee some of the passes Swanson made this past year for assists. These are completely indefensible plays of great offense from an elite playmaker. I feel like Swanson's hockey sense might be even better than his playmaking. How quickly he makes his decisions is insane. He knows where he's going with the puck before it even gets to him. He takes very few puck touches for this reason compared to most playmakers. Swanson was drafted at 5'8 167. Caufield 5'8 175. Not a big difference there.

So I see them as somewhat analogous, but one is a playmaker and one a goal scorer. I give Caufield advantages too. He's a better skater I think and that matters. Caufield deserved to be drafted where he did and it's worked out, but again I'm not sure how that makes up the difference between middle of the first round and middle of the seventh round.
 
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All right, this conversation - on a 7th round pick by the worst drafting team in the last decade, no less - prompted another video from me. Here, I talk about Mac Swanson and the dynamic qualities he may or may not have and compare him to some other comparable guys in their respective DYs...

Once again, not a highlight video - though, this isn't a top prospect, I'm a little less sure that they exist for Swanson - but I hope it's mildly interesting...

 
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Was at the North Dakota Miami Friday game in Oxford a couple hours ago. Thoughts on Swanson:

Swanson flashed glimpses of brilliance that reminded me of his junior days in Fargo. The vision is there, nearly had an assist early on from a nice sauce pass on an odd man rush. Had a secondary assist on Jayden Perron's tying goal with the goalie pulled late. You can see why the skating & obvious lack of size made him fall to the 7th round, but he's going to be a really good NCAA player once things start clicking with linemates and UND gets going offensively.
 
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