F Michael Misa - Saginaw Spirit, OHL (2025 Draft)

[KeyserSoze81]

He's better than Dahlin at this stage. Better defensively, higher IQ, cleaner puck management. Dahlin's been in the league for seven years and no playoffs, and only two seasons with Norris votes, with his highest finish eighth. He's not even the best defenseman from his draft class.

Yikes man. I have been on the site on and off since 2003, and I don't ever recall seeing one post invalidate 21,000 posts. Bravo. I guess I should just weep at the opportunity to see Schaefer play hockey. We can all tell our grandkids about how amazing this kid was at 17, despite being *checks notes* injured for most of the year.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Yikes man. I have been on the site on and off since 2003, and I don't ever recall seeing one post invalidate 21,000 posts. Bravo. I guess I should just weep at the opportunity to see Schaefer play hockey. We can all tell our grandkids about how amazing this kid was at 17, despite being *checks notes* injured for most of the year.

Dahlin was scared to get hit in his draft year. That trend continued well into his NHL career. The fact remains that he isn’t a generational defenseman as was assumed at the time and is simply within the top-15 of a deep and talented cohort. Denis Potvin, Ray Bourque, Leetch, Pronger, among many others all transformed their franchises. Dahlin is in his seventh season and has yet to achieve greatness.

 

[ColbyChaos]

Dahlin was scared to get hit in his draft year. That trend continued well into his NHL career. The fact remains that he isn’t a generational defenseman as was assumed at the time and is simply within the top-15 of a deep and talented cohort. Denis Potvin, Ray Bourque, Leetch, Pronger, among many others all transformed their franchises. Dahlin is in his seventh season and has yet to achieve greatness.

He literally plays for the most dysfunctional organization of the cap era. It’s amazing you simp so hard for Schaefer yet fail to realize he would be terrible in Buffalo as well if you swapped him and Dahlin.

 

[Nazzz]

disappointing performance in playoffs so far

 

[Kingpin794]

disappointing performance in playoffs so far

Yeah that first line outside of Parekh has been pretty bad these first 3 games. It’s not going to drop him out of the top 3 but this certainly won’t help his case for 1. Still time for that first line to get back to normal.

 

[Castle8130]

Haven't actually watched the games aside from highlights. Does his compete look bad? I know he's not physically strong in the corners, but thought he was good enough. His production in playoff games has been substantially lower than his production in the regular season in the 3 years he's been in the OHL. I know it's supposed to go down, but 22 points in 31 games is way down from always being over a point per game in the regular season. Last season he went from being the 2nd leading scorer on his own team in the regular season to tied for 6th in the playoffs. The year prior to that he went from 2nd leading scorer to tied for 5th in the playoffs. To start this playoff he has 3 points in the 2nd game good enough to be tied for 5th in scoring after leading his team by a significant amount in the regular season and a -8.

Not trying to be a complete hater, but these statistic differences in playoff games vs regular season games is worrying me as a blackhawk fan sitting in the 2 slot.

Going into the playoffs I never thought his place was secure as the #2 pick. There is still a possibility one of Martone, Desnoyers, or Frondell passes him if they elevate their play in these important games.

 

[Kingpin794]

Haven't actually watched the games aside from highlights. Does his compete look bad? I know he's not physically strong in the corners, but thought he was good enough. His production in playoff games has been substantially lower than his production in the regular season in the 3 years he's been in the OHL. I know it's supposed to go down, but 22 points in 31 games is way down from always being over a point per game in the regular season. Last season he went from being the 2nd leading scorer on his own team in the regular season to tied for 6th in the playoffs. The year prior to that he went from 2nd leading scorer to tied for 5th in the playoffs. To start this playoff he has 3 points in the 2nd game (2 of which came when the game was already over) good enough to be tied for 5th in scoring after leading his team by a significant amount in the regular season and a -8.

Not trying to be a complete hater, but these statistic differences in playoff games vs regular season games is worrying me as a blackhawk fan sitting in the 2 slot.

Going into the playoffs I never thought his place was secure as the #2 pick. There is still a possibility one of Martone, Desnoyers, or Frondell passes him if they elevate their play in these important games.

First post season he had a perfectly fine first series. Almost all of his playoff points came in round 1. Round 2 they got swept by a much older and skilled Sarnia squad. 2nd post season he was not 100%. Production reflects that. Had a decent memorial cup. This post season they started games one and two down 2 players on an already no very deep F core. Erie has put all their effort into shutting that top line down. Got guys back and the score was a much more normal game as opposed to games 1 and 2. Line 1 is a bit snake bitten to be honest. Might just take one to break them out of their funk. Also I don't know if actual scouts are going to be a ton of weight into a small sample size when they have a whole season's worth of data to go on. I would hope an NHL team's scouting department wouldn;t be so reactionary.

 

[Castle8130]

First post season he had a perfectly fine first series. Almost all of his playoff points came in round 1. Round 2 they got swept by a much older and skilled Sarnia squad. 2nd post season he was not 100%. Production reflects that. Had a decent memorial cup. This post season they started games one and two down 2 players on an already no very deep F core. Erie has put all their effort into shutting that top line down. Got guys back and the score was a much more normal game as opposed to games 1 and 2. Line 1 is a bit snake bitten to be honest. Might just take one to break them out of their funk. Also I don't know if actual scouts are going to be a ton of weight into a small sample size when they have a whole season's worth of data to go on. I would hope an NHL team's scouting department wouldn;t be so reactionary.

I've been hearing all this chatter the Hawks should take Misa over Schaefer at #1 oa for need and have been getting a little uneasy when I see stats like that. I'm still a little hurt from last year when we went Levshunov over Demidov for defensive need (even though I still like Levshunov).

 

[SympathyForTheDevils]

I really doubt the playoffs have much impact on Misa's draft stock.

Partly because scouting is more about projection than performance; honestly, scouts have probably seen these players play so much already that they know what they're about, and a few playoff games won't tell them anything they don't already know.

And partly because the other top prospects aren't setting the world on fire in these playoffs either:

Schaefer's not playing.
Hagens didn't really shine that much in the NCAA tourney.
Martone is putting up points (mostly on the PP), but his team is down in the series.
Frondell and Eklund have been quiet in Djurgarden's playoffs so far.
McQueen has one goal in 3 games and is about to get swept.
Jackson Smith has had a rough series, and he's also about to get swept.

Desnoyers and O'Brien have had strong starts, and they could make long runs this year. That said, I don't think they're showing anything that they weren't showing before. They could rise, but they're not gonna threaten Misa's draft spot.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I doubt it'll affect his draft position, but these last three games have been the worst hockey I've seen out of Misa all season. At least Parekh finally stepped up last game and prevented Saginaw from sweeping.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Misa has been terrible in almost all areas in all three games. He missed a bunch of open nets as well in Game 3. Always on the periphery or away from battles, murdered at the dot by Fimis for a third game in a row, and was cherry-picking hard after Erie took the 1-0 lead. He was guilty of sloppy passing for most of the first period and a half and his touches were limited thereafter outside of wide-open chances he couldn't convert. Chernyshov once again proved to be the Alpha with the puck.

There's no way scouts aren't noticing this.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

I really doubt the playoffs have much impact on Misa's draft stock.

Partly because scouting is more about projection than performance; honestly, scouts have probably seen these players play so much already that they know what they're about, and a few playoff games won't tell them anything they don't already know.

And partly because the other top prospects aren't setting the world on fire in these playoffs either:

Schaefer's not playing.
Hagens didn't really shine that much in the NCAA tourney.
Martone is putting up points (mostly on the PP), but his team is down in the series.
Frondell and Eklund have been quiet in Djurgarden's playoffs so far.
McQueen has one goal in 3 games and is about to get swept.
Jackson Smith has had a rough series, and he's also about to get swept.

Desnoyers and O'Brien have had strong starts, and they could make long runs this year. That said, I don't think they're showing anything that they weren't showing before. They could rise, but they're not gonna threaten Misa's draft spot.

Bolded isn't true. There's more to the game than scoring. They've been buzzing, drawing penalties, and cycling for long stretches.

Misa has been terrible, a borderline liability. Nobody else in the top tier has been this terrible.

 

[Kingpin794]

Misa has been terrible in almost all areas in all three games. He missed a bunch of open nets as well in Game 3. Always on the periphery or away from battles, murdered at the dot by Fimis for a third game in a row, and was cherry-picking hard after Erie took the 1-0 lead. He was guilty of sloppy passing for most of the first period and a half and his touches were limited thereafter outside of wide-open chances he couldn't convert. Chernyshov once again proved to be the Alpha with the puck.

There's no way scouts aren't noticing this.

Chernyshov hasn't been any better. That whole top line of F's have to step their game up.

Again, scouts aren't reactionaries. They wouldn't be where they are if they were.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Chernyshov hasn't been any better. That whole top line of F's have to step their game up.

Again, scouts aren't reactionaries. They wouldn't be where they are if they were.

No, Misa has been the worst of the three and Mangone replaced Epperson to make the line better. Misa has killed possession after possession.

I really don’t care where scouts rank him. All I know is they’d be lying if they said Misa wasn’t flawed in critical areas. OHL scoring champions don’t wilt in the playoffs.

 

[Captain Clutch]

Fimis has been impressive so far, definitely outshining Misa but Fimis is 20 years old. I think if this series indicates anything so far, it's that Misa would be well served to spend a year or two in the NCAA, get stronger and improve his prowess at the dot. Erie has definitely looked like the better team but Misa is such a smart player it wouldn't surprise me if he were able to make adjustments and still take his game up a notch. And I agree with @Kingpin794 that the scouts won't read to much into this series, at least as far as draft position is concerned. He seems a top 3 lock at this point depending on the preferences of the various NHL scouting staffs. I think it's still Schaefer, Misa & Hagens in some order at the top.

 

[SympathyForTheDevils]

Bolded isn't true. There's more to the game than scoring. They've been buzzing, drawing penalties, and cycling for long stretches.

Sure, but we already know they can do those things at the Allsvenskan level. They have been quiet production-wise; granted, it's not really their fault either. They're on the third line of a pro club and they're doing fine. But I don't see why their playoff performance would suddenly convince scouts that they have the elite potential that would warrant being picked at 1 or 2. Did Frondell's skating significantly improve in the playoffs? Did Eklund grow a couple of inches? Why would their projections change at this stage? And I say this as someone who absolutely loves Eklund, and doesn't understand why nobody's mentioning him as a top-5 candidate.

NHL scouts will have had dozens of viewings of Misa already; they won't overreact to a bad 5-game stretch. I would guess that their lists' top-10 for the draft don't see many changes between mid-March and June.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Sure, but we already know they can do those things at the Allsvenskan level. They have been quiet production-wise; granted, it's not really their fault either. They're on the third line of a pro club and they're doing fine. But I don't see why their playoff performance would suddenly convince scouts that they have the elite potential that would warrant being picked at 1 or 2. Did Frondell's skating significantly improve in the playoffs? Did Eklund grow a couple of inches? Why would their projections change at this stage? And I say this as someone who absolutely loves Eklund, and doesn't understand why nobody's mentioning him as a top-5 candidate.

NHL scouts will have had dozens of viewings of Misa already; they won't overreact to a bad 5-game stretch. I would guess that their lists' top-10 for the draft don't see many changes between mid-March and June.

You said they were quiet to imply that their postseasons are no different than Misa’s, when in reality, Misa is playing like shit in an easier league while Eklind/Frondell are contributing nightly in one form or another against men.

Misa’s been bad for well more than this current stretch. He’s had several periods of ineffectiveness even when scoring, which is easy to do in the OHL. These have been brought up in this very thread, well before the playoffs started. His subpar CHL-NTDP series was in late November. On top of that, there is being cut from Team Canada. Why? Cameron is problematic, but chances are he and his staff were in agreement to cut him for at least one valid reason.

People choosing to stat-watch Misa all season or believing the lazy media (who do the same) is on them. Doesn’t tell the whole story.

There’s can’t be a double standard for the top players. If Hagens is going to get criticized and dropped for not scoring on a near-generational level in the NCAA, then Misa should be docked for a) being a notoriously inaccurate passer, b) rarely driving possession in the offensive zone as a center, and c) having plenty of subpar individual performances in league play, including a ghastly playoff to date.

Someone alluded to Fimis being 20 an excuse or explanation for Misa playing like shit. Hagens faced 23-year-old goalies and 24-year-old defenseman this season. People are being hypocritical in real-time.

 

[SympathyForTheDevils]

You said they were quiet to imply that their postseasons are no different than Misa’s, when in reality, Misa is playing like shit in an easier league while Eklind/Frondell are contributing nightly in one form or another against men.

Misa’s been bad for well more than this current stretch. He’s had several periods of ineffectiveness even when scoring, which is easy to do in the OHL. These have been brought up in this very thread, well before the playoffs started. His subpar CHL-NTDP series was in late November. On top of that, there is being cut from Team Canada. Why? Cameron is problematic, but chances are he and his staff were in agreement to cut him for at least one valid reason.

People choosing to stat-watch Misa all season or believing the lazy media (who do the same) is on them. Doesn’t tell the whole story.

There’s can’t be a double standard for the top players. If Hagens is going to get criticized and dropped for not scoring on a near-generational level in the NCAA, then Misa should be docked for a) being a notoriously inaccurate passer, b) rarely driving possession in the offensive zone as a center, and c) having plenty of subpar individual performances in league play, including a ghastly playoff to date.

Someone alluded to Fimis being 20 an excuse or explanation for Misa playing like shit. Hagens faced 23-year-old goalies and 24-year-old defenseman this season. People are being hypocritical in real-time.

Somehow I'm not surprised that this discussion turned out to be about Hagens all along. Certain posters sure are passionate about this prospect.

To be honest, I'm not particularly invested in either of these prospects, and I'm not interested in derailing this thread into another "CHL conspiracy" shitshow like the Button thread. If you feel Hagens should go ahead of Misa, that's fine. We'll see what happens in June.

 

[Mathieukferland]

His subpar CHL-NTDP series was in late November

Were you watching the same games I was? I thought he was their best forward, and most importantly compared to my Hlinka viewings, engaged off the puck and a physical menace blowing guys up

 

[Jared Grayden]

On top of that, there is being cut from Team Canada. Why? Cameron is problematic, but chances are he and his staff were in agreement to cut him for at least one valid reason.

I don't care about Misa at all, but he wasn't invited to camp so he wasn't able to be cut. And appealing to that team's roster selection is counterproductive to your argument.

 

[Dack]

You said they were quiet to imply that their postseasons are no different than Misa’s, when in reality, Misa is playing like shit in an easier league while Eklind/Frondell are contributing nightly in one form or another against men.

Misa’s been bad for well more than this current stretch. He’s had several periods of ineffectiveness even when scoring, which is easy to do in the OHL. These have been brought up in this very thread, well before the playoffs started. His subpar CHL-NTDP series was in late November. On top of that, there is being cut from Team Canada. Why? Cameron is problematic, but chances are he and his staff were in agreement to cut him for at least one valid reason.

People choosing to stat-watch Misa all season or believing the lazy media (who do the same) is on them. Doesn’t tell the whole story.

There’s can’t be a double standard for the top players. If Hagens is going to get criticized and dropped for not scoring on a near-generational level in the NCAA, then Misa should be docked for a) being a notoriously inaccurate passer, b) rarely driving possession in the offensive zone as a center, and c) having plenty of subpar individual performances in league play, including a ghastly playoff to date.

Someone alluded to Fimis being 20 an excuse or explanation for Misa playing like shit. Hagens faced 23-year-old goalies and 24-year-old defenseman this season. People are being hypocritical in real-time.

I've seen the majority of Misa's games this season so I definitely am not a "stat-watcher" and while I do think you bring up some valid criticism of his game and specifically his play as of late, I really have to disagree with the Canadian WJC team point that gets brought up routinely. I think it's a silly, bad faith argument and just used as a way to denigrate Misa. Misa wasn't cut from the team, he was never even invited to the camp. I think it would be different if he'd been at camp and just played poorly but he never even had that opportunity. Do you (or anyone who brings up this argument) actually believe he shouldn't have been at that camp?

I don't care about Misa at all, but he wasn't invited to camp so he wasn't able to be cut. And appealing to that team's roster selection is counterproductive to your argument.

The team had like 5+ shocking omissions at CAMP, couldn't score goals, didn't practice, lost to Latvia and finished 6th, and people still try and act like Dave Cameron had a point.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Were you watching the same games I was? I thought he was their best forward, and most importantly compared to my Hlinka viewings, engaged off the puck and a physical menace blowing guys up

Passing and turnovers were a problem. This was from late November.

As far as the rest of the preseason elites of the draft class, neither James Hagens (3 goals in 13 NCAA games), Porter Martone (0 5v5 goals in his last 10), nor Roger McQueen (injured), nor Anton Frondell (injured), nor Ivan Ryabkin (demoted in October) have distinguished themselves on a nightly basis, and even a top-line center like Michael Misa (7 assists in his first 12 games before heating up) hasn’t been perfect in the passing department; a problem that was on full display in each of his two games for Team CHL.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

I've seen the majority of Misa's games this season so I definitely am not a "stat-watcher" and while I do think you bring up some valid criticism of his game and specifically his play as of late, I really have to disagree with the Canadian WJC team point that gets brought up routinely. I think it's a silly, bad faith argument and just used as a way to denigrate Misa. Misa wasn't cut from the team, he was never even invited to the camp. I think it would be different if he'd been at camp and just played poorly but he never even had that opportunity. Do you (or anyone who brings up this argument) actually believe he shouldn't have been at that camp?

The team had like 5+ shocking omissions at CAMP, couldn't score goals, didn't practice, lost to Latvia and finished 6th, and people still try and act like Dave Cameron had a point.

The team Celebrini was on also finished fifth. Blaming Cameron was low-hanging fruit for Canadians who needed a scapegoat.

The truth is Misa did not make the team and it’s more reasonable to think it was for specific reasons related to his game than it is to think his omission prevented Canada from another embarassment.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

I don't care about Misa at all, but he wasn't invited to camp so he wasn't able to be cut. And appealing to that team's roster selection is counterproductive to your argument.

Semantics. I say cut meaning he wasn’t good enough for the roster. The staff knew about him and chose to omit him. In retrospect, they weren’t necessarily wrong since it’s not likely Misa by himself would have made a difference. Sennecke was a different story.

 

[Castle8130]

Not getting into the back and forth here. I wanted to note that if Misa continues to have a bad playoff, it will definitely impact how real NHL scouts think of him as a prospect. Although even if he does have a bad playoff, he still has the u18 worlds to pump his stock back to 2nd oa worthy. The issue with that is if he underperforms in both the playoffs and the u18 tourney, I could see him fall as far as 5th oa (everyone behind him really impresses).