Prospect Info: Herman Traff (LW/RW - #91 Overall - Round 3 - 2024 Draft)

[evnted]

he knew you were watching and couldn't handle the pressure of having to live up to your expectations.

ill make sure not to go full screen next time

 

[evnted]

hv71 recalling traff for 2 games because they're overrun by injuries right now. maybe he knew he was on his way out and his heart wasnt in it yesterday

Herman Träff återvänder för två matcher

Forwarden Herman Träff är förnärvarande utlånad till Nybro Vikings i HockeyAllsvenskan. Denna veckan återvänder Träff till HV71 och spelar matchen ikväll och på torsdag mot Örebro Hockey.

www.hv71.se

 

[Sheros expletives]

And he scores

 

[evnted]

better energy level today, and he was rewarded for it. hustled hard. challenged defenders. greater physical focus. bit more of a dump and chase style but it worked, he was pressuring on the forecheck

scored his first SHL goal after a heavy battle for position in front, modo D were giving it to him. goal was pretty greasy, jumped on a bouncing puck that was shot into traffic, but he showed good anticipation/timing on when to spin out of the way/position himself for a rebound

had a couple really good setups, too. first one, puck shot past modo D at the blue line and traff raced up the ice to get it near the corner. sauced it over a defender's stick to find his linemate crashing the net. second one, traff had the puck around the top of the faceoff circle, shot it toward his teammate out front looking for a redirect, connected but sent high

puck possession showed some bobbles per usual but i liked the ideas today. tried to be evasive in transition. slipped around coverage, kept the puck moving, shielded it pretty well. some great possessions down low, too. high intensity, incorporated a lot of cutbacks. didnt generate much in terms of chances but you can see how it would wear down the opposition

defensive zone involvement still feels a little passive but he did make a couple plays/pressure for turnovers. had a good clear mid 2nd, grabbed a loose puck in front after a high danger chance and cleanly sent it out. nothing too remarkable, but liked the composure/decision making to not just immediately launch it

if guys start to mix it up after the whistle, he will be there. its almost funny how he just beelines it for any scrum he sees

gonna tempt hv71 into extending his recall if this is how he looks next game lol this was good

 

[evnted]

quick thoughts today. largely the same game as last time. worth highlighting:

• thought he was getting more touches on the forecheck. same ideas but better results. his pressure along the half wall forced a turnover that led to the 2nd hv71 goal
• probably had fewer overall shot attempts (5v5 at least), but the tradeoff was better passing plays. incorporated delays, circled back for space, used defenders at the point, etc. confident/composed possessions
• played right point on pp2. didnt generate much but boy was he firing the puck
• got sent out after orebro scored ENG to go up 5-3 and man, you wouldnt have been able to tell the game was over. he went into overdrive. high intensity on the puck, rifling shots at the net, fighting through traffic, steamrolling the crease, and of course jawing with about 3 different opposing players. thats that statement stuff you see in the playoffs

slated to go back to nybro now. ill keep an eye out if anything changes

 

[devilsblood]

quick thoughts today. largely the same game as last time. worth highlighting:

• thought he was getting more touches on the forecheck. same ideas but better results. his pressure along the half wall forced a turnover that led to the 2nd hv71 goal
• probably had fewer overall shot attempts (5v5 at least), but the tradeoff was better passing plays. incorporated delays, circled back for space, used defenders at the point, etc. confident/composed possessions
• played right point on pp2. didnt generate much but boy was he firing the puck
• got sent out after orebro scored ENG to go up 5-3 and man, you wouldnt have been able to tell the game was over. he went into overdrive. high intensity on the puck, rifling shots at the net, fighting through traffic, steamrolling the crease, and of course jawing with about 3 different opposing players. thats that statement stuff you see in the playoffs

slated to go back to nybro now. ill keep an eye out if anything changes

How would you rate his speed and quickness?

 

[evnted]

How you rate his speed and quickness?

good speed. theres caveats to it in terms of like slowing down when hes stickhandling, but if hes just powering up the ice in transition hes pretty explosive. off puck gets to D in a hurry to pressure. honestly if you factor in that hes 6'3" and 200 something pounds hes actually fast

 

[evnted]

no opportunity to watch today but hv71 did retain him for at least one more game. fans really want him to stay lol

Oklart med Fransson – HV71 behåller Träff

Mer hockey än du trodde var möjligt

hockeynews.se

 

[evnted]

traff staying with hv71 for the week and its already up in the air if he goes back at all. feel for nybro here, but this is a glowing endorsement of our boy. the two games i caught were great, so injury issues aside, its understandable that theyd still wanna retain him

Talangen stannar i HV71 – jagar ersättare

Nybro är beredda att ge sig ut på marknaden.

hockeysverige.se

 

[evnted]

in what wasnt the greatest game for hv71, traff stood out (as well as devils legend nikola pasic lol)

• big snipe on the pp. crisp reception at the point, quick to challenge the net, and beat the goalie cleanly from range. didnt look like a late 3rd round bottom 6 projection on that one
• youve seen me praise his compete/physical game but today seemed a little extra good, he really went out of his way to play into contact and finish checks. some great physical instincts on the puck, too
• solid pressure, quick to jump on pucks, just couldn't get a lot going at even strength today
• couple brain farts on some passing plays otherwise puck movement was fine and even showed good ideas again
• might be time for nybro to give up hope that hes coming back

traff comes off as a more confident/involved offensive weapon on the pp, in fact dramatically so. 5v5 he almost exclusively looks like a checking line forward (which is fine, its what we should be bracing for), but on the man advantage you could be convinced hes a top 6 mainstay. threading cross ice passes, driving high danger scoring locations (not just peppering the net), trying to manipulate defenders and find space rather than just power through them. i dont know if its fair to say the pp runs through him, but there are extended stretches of that being true. makes it feel like theres more to come

 

[My3Sons]

in what wasnt the greatest game for hv71, traff stood out (as well as devils legend nikola pasic lol)

• big snipe on the pp. crisp reception at the point, quick to challenge the net, and beat the goalie cleanly from range. didnt look like a late 3rd round bottom 6 projection on that one
• youve seen me praise his compete/physical game but today seemed a little extra good, he really went out of his way to play into contact and finish checks. some great physical instincts on the puck, too
• solid pressure, quick to jump on pucks, just couldn't get a lot going at even strength today
• couple brain farts on some passing plays otherwise puck movement was fine and even showed good ideas again
• might be time for nybro to give up hope that hes coming back

traff comes off as a more confident/involved offensive weapon on the pp, in fact dramatically so. 5v5 he almost exclusively looks like a checking line forward (which is fine, its what we should be bracing for), but on the man advantage you could be convinced hes a top 6 mainstay. threading cross ice passes, driving high danger scoring locations (not just peppering the net), trying to manipulate defenders and find space rather than just power through them. i dont know if its fair to say the pp runs through him, but there are extended stretches of that being true. makes it feel like theres more to come

You wonder if with more experience some of that finesse and skill can be brought to bear at even strength? Thanks for these reports along the way. Definitely always a great read.

 

[Comparison Ford]

great news to see him do well with the opportunity given

 

[Guadana]

I really hope he and Lenny will continue with their good performances on higher levels and it will help Fitz to stop with drafting RWs again and again. It should help to close this geschtaldt.

 

[devilsblood]

in what wasnt the greatest game for hv71, traff stood out (as well as devils legend nikola pasic lol)

• big snipe on the pp. crisp reception at the point, quick to challenge the net, and beat the goalie cleanly from range. didnt look like a late 3rd round bottom 6 projection on that one
• youve seen me praise his compete/physical game but today seemed a little extra good, he really went out of his way to play into contact and finish checks. some great physical instincts on the puck, too
• solid pressure, quick to jump on pucks, just couldn't get a lot going at even strength today
• couple brain farts on some passing plays otherwise puck movement was fine and even showed good ideas again
• might be time for nybro to give up hope that hes coming back

traff comes off as a more confident/involved offensive weapon on the pp, in fact dramatically so. 5v5 he almost exclusively looks like a checking line forward (which is fine, its what we should be bracing for), but on the man advantage you could be convinced hes a top 6 mainstay. threading cross ice passes, driving high danger scoring locations (not just peppering the net), trying to manipulate defenders and find space rather than just power through them. i dont know if its fair to say the pp runs through him, but there are extended stretches of that being true. makes it feel like theres more to come

You wonder if with more experience some of that finesse and skill can be brought to bear at even strength? Thanks for these reports along the way. Definitely always a great read.

I wonder if it's Traff playing "to his identity". Which is what you want in a game day situation, but maybe not the best way to develop offensive skill in a guy who at that point in his development plays more of a physical grinder type game.

I see him playing on the PP as a good sign, especially and the HL level. Do we know how much PP he has played in previous seasons?

 

[evnted]

You wonder if with more experience some of that finesse and skill can be brought to bear at even strength? Thanks for these reports along the way. Definitely always a great read.

i do wonder. theres one side of this where i say, weve yet to see him play more than 10 games on one professional team. we dont really know what a sort of...acclimated herman traff looks like at the mens level. even in a full season, its not uncommon for these younger players to more or less hide some of their upside because theyre playing a safer game to keep a job. maybe it just comes out naturally over time

traff's buy-in to his role is pretty insane, too. even at the junior level he still largely looked like he does now. of course, he had more flashes of "woah, what a sec" type moments back then (if you search his name on twitter or something im sure you can find some real top of the line highlights), but it wasnt a primary component of his game. so it very well could be something where he has his game and he wants to play his game, but with coaching/development support it might get cultivated via opportunity

another side of me wonders, so many of his best moments are coming with space. on the man advantage, off the rush, catching defenders backing up. remember that line i had about how he feels like an interior player but i dont know if his offensive generation reflects that? he scored a lot from range at lower levels. that part makes me wonder if theres a potential scaling concern, particularly coming to our team. can he do this in a much better/faster league getting, for lack of a better word, uglier minutes?

hes a really intriguing player. im following him this heavily because i really liked the pick, naturally, but im also curious to see how this unfolds. granted its a small sample size, but i would never have predicted him being this good at the shl level right off the bat

I wonder if it's Traff playing "to his identity". Which is what you want in a game day situation, but maybe not the best way to develop offensive skill in a guy who at that point in his development plays more of a physical grinder type game.

I see him playing on the PP as a good sign, especially and the HL level. Do we know how much PP he has played in previous seasons?

for sure, i think playing to identity is a big factor here, and maybe it misrepresents him a bit. maybe thats something these staffs also see and are working to push him past. ive pretty much exclusively projected him in a grinder role (albeit with a range of outcomes, be it low end roster fill in to grease guy next to talent), but maybe thats too myopic of a scope biased by, as you mentioned, playing to his identity. im seeing a more traditional power forward type player on these pp's

unfortunately, i dont know offhand (or would even know where to check) his d-1 pp deployment. i can confidently say he played special teams, even pk which i dont think weve seen at the mens level yet, but it speaks volumes to me that he was a primary pp threat on loan with nybro and is now being treated as one with hv71