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

[Omar Little]

Next Fabian Zetterlund?

 

[Sticktape]

Looks like another assist for Traff today.

 

[evnted]

Looks like another assist for Traff today.

missed todays game unfortunately (traff's first one back from suspension, reason its been so quiet in here). heavy shot on the pp to set up a rebound for reber. tertiary assist on the 2nd goal of the game, but did make a legitimate play in high ice. good possession under pressure to get the passing play started

hv71 off for a week and a half so we'll have to wait for more. 2-4-6 through 9 shl games. scoring rate only beaten by edstrom (2023 32OA) and asp (2023 17OA) in terms of nhl prospects in sweden. sample size, pp reliance, etc. etc., i know he probably wont hold that high, but still, this is an impressive start, particularly for being on a team that we didnt really expect hed be able to hold a role on this season

Next Fabian Zetterlund?

think that would be the hope. probably some trade off on natural offensive inclination/pure shot for a better off puck/more physical game, but another one of those players who could be in that same mold in terms of usage

 

[evnted]

back in business

• maybe a half tick up with his backchecking today. obviously hes great at pressuring puck carriers, but its generally off/neutral zone weighted. thought he was making more plays closer to/in his own zone
• good pressure around the net/down low per usual, had a couple decent scoring chances. forechecking engagement was excellent, but i do hope to see some progress with digging pucks out himself, seems to be relying on linemates to come in for him (and it doesnt help when he basically has his back to play as hes pinning a guy along the boards lol)
• dangled the crap out of a defender early into the game. nice rush chance he sent in front that almost went in off a rebound. this was fun until he continued to overplay things/get cute. probably just a byproduct of returning from that u20 tournament, but he did fumble some chances
• puck play was also a bit sloppier than it had been. maybe just the same thing again, its not like he was losing it in open ice or anything, but saw some issues with his handling and botching a couple pass attempts. something to feel out in the coming games
• also thought he was taking too many low percentage shots from range, for really no reason at all. would retrieve pucks along the boards, help set up a good cycle, show off some pretty good small area movement with possession...i liked a lot of what i was seeing, but too many times he ended up throwing away the zone time

good compete but a little rough around the edges today, hopefully just getting back to form after playing at the junior level

 

[evnted]

hv71 goalie looked like vv

• better puck management today. smarter, smaller range passes. not as overzealous off the rush, willing to circle back and reevaluate/send it to the D. tried higher risk stuff on the pp, execution still largely good and ideas made sense
• randomly really good with one touch passes today. connected on multiple attempts in transition, including one between the legs on the pp. no idea where this came from. looked good and made his play off the rush that much faster
• better, simpler off zone possession game. relied more on staying in motion, puck protection, strength, and small area handling rather than flash and high risk attempts. way better on the cycle. wasnt cutting to the interior as much, although thats what got him most in trouble last viewing. still shoot-friendly (fewer questionable shot attempts)
• def zone positioning has never really been his strong suit but today in particular leaned toward the side of...what is he trying to accomplish. too high, too tentative. should be more actively pressuring defenders if hes not gonna be taking away lanes
• hv71 kept taking penalties in the 3rd so not a lot to talk about toward the end of the game. still, as always, appreciate that the forechecking game looked no different in a 6-2 loss

seems back to form

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Oh wow I didn't realize HV71 also had Mattias Tedenby on it. I hope they connect for a goal at some point this year.

 

[devilsblood]

Next Fabian Zetterlund?

In Z's D+1 season, playing in the SHL he put up 3-4-7 in 35 games. 2-3-5 in 8 games in Swe-1.

Traff is currently at 2-4-6 in 12 SHL games. 1-1-2 in 3 Swe-1 games.

I think Traff had some sort of a game misconduct or something so that sways it, but Z only had 6 pims in his +1SHL games. Where as Traff already has 27. Someone here can clarify for sure on this point.

Now Zetterlund was very young for his draft class with an Aug B-day,, where as Traff is relatively old with a Dec b-day.

But overall the comparison looks pretty good in their respective D+1 seasons.

 

[My3Sons]

In Z's D+1 season, playing in the SHL he put up 3-4-7 in 35 games. 2-3-5 in 8 games in Swe-1.

Traff is currently at 2-4-6 in 12 SHL games. 1-1-2 in 3 Swe-1 games.

I think Traff had some sort of a game misconduct or something so that sways it, but Z only had 6 pims in his +1SHL games. Where as Traff already has 27. Someone here can clarify for sure on this point.

Now Zetterlund was very young for his draft class with an Aug B-day,, where as Traff is relatively old with a Dec b-day.

But overall the comparison looks pretty good in their respective D+1 seasons.

Zetterlund had instant acceleration even then. Not sure about Traff as a skater.

 

[devilsblood]

Zetterlund had instant acceleration even then. Not sure about Traff as a skater.

Ya not sure. I always liked zetterlunds end to end skating speed. Supposedly Traff has speed, id guess not as much. So there is likely a trade off, as Traff is a bigger, and maybe more physical player.

 

[Shakir ONeal]

Dang his team ain’t great eh?

 

[evnted]

Dang his team ain’t great eh?

lol no, not lately. last few years have been spent teetering on the relegation/promotion line. its funny bc the hockeyallsvenskan team he was on is also kinda trash, poor kid cant escape it. gotta get him ready for utica somehow

 

[evnted]

named to swedens WJC roster

 

[evnted]

unfortunately not watching today but saw he got back on the scoreboard after a couple quiet weeks. solid possession down low to get play started, and a real nice redirect

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Tough to judge because Sweden is dominating Switzerland but Craig Button has been complimenting his game today.

Should be a better gage of things when they play the Czechs tomorrow.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Just put second goal in nice

 

[Hisch13r]

Just put second goal in nice

Yeah 2 goals for the birthday boy

 

[Emperoreddy]

I'm not saying he is the greatest prospect in hockey, but he might be a greater prospect then McDavid was

 

[Barry Tallackson]

A more physical McDavid

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Big man playing against junior players. Will be interesting to see if he has the same success against the bigger, stronger players in the NHL.

Definitely worth watching.

Only saw the highlights - where was he in the third period?

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Big man playing against junior players. Will be interesting to see if he has the same success against the bigger, stronger players in the NHL.

Definitely worth watching.

Only saw the highlights - where was he in the third period?

Nice to see him get 2 goals on his birthday.

 

[My3Sons]

I'm not saying he is the greatest prospect in hockey, but he might be a greater prospect then McDavid was

When he’s close to thr prospect Lane Hutson was then I’ll be impressed. McDavid is a pretty low bar in comparison

 

[devilsblood]

Big man playing against junior players. Will be interesting to see if he has the same success against the bigger, stronger players in the NHL.

Definitely worth watching.

Only saw the highlights - where was he in the third period?

He was performing rather well against men in the SweHL.

It is good to see him produce when he is playing against the younger guys. Although just checking his numbers from the tourney, these were his first points in 4 games.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

He was performing rather well against men in the SweHL.

It is good to see him produce when he is playing against the younger guys. Although just checking his numbers from the tourney, these were his first points in 4 games.

Didn't see the whole game but according to one of the posters on his other thread he didn't play much other than PP against the Czechs last night.

 

[evnted]

officially back in the lineup after the world juniors (had been sick). tuned in for the start of the 2nd

• basically didnt play lol low minutes (2:19), no pp looks, not even a shift in the 3rd. caught him for just a couple seconds in the 2nd
• kind of pressured a puck carrier at one point...think he threw a hit......
• pre-wjc minutes were trending down a bit anyway, so i cant say this is all about getting him back up to speed, but presumably a decent amount of it is

pointless viewing today lol but figured id still post to confirm hes finally back to playing. to make this a little more useful, im re-linking my impression of his wjc tournament in case it was buried in the main thread

czechs wins bronze, nothing for our boy. disclaimer that i only caught chunks of games and not full length viewings. overall, pretty unspectacular tournament from traff outside of that 2g game. primarily used as an energy, forechecking, net front option with super limited deployment, but i thought he did well enough in the role

• usual game very much on display. quick counterattacks in transition, competitive in puck battles and along the boards, generated chaos around the crease, shifty and strong on the puck down low, extra good at digging pucks out/getting them up to the point
• thought the playmaking game was fairly solid, which isnt always the case, so i appreciated that. smart decisions, good timing/didnt rush things, thought he made better use of short range passes which ive seen him get away from at times in the shl. had a couple notably good reads to find teammates in front for chances. little bit of a habit of leading on some stretch attempts but nothing egregious
• glad he got looks on the man advantage, felt like it was earned from his hv71 performance. sort of in the noesen role on pp2 although a bit more redirect than tap in focused. got pucks back, made plays, screened the goalie, wasnt just a passenger on the unit
• given his usual play style, i thought he couldve been more actively physical. body use on the puck was great, but i didnt see the same hit-based pressure he normally applies on the forecheck
• D zone play, as ive said before, couldve been higher tempo as well. really just covers high ice a lot of the time, which is fine when hes actively pressuring the point, but he can be too passive for my taste
• i will say, i dont think i really saw him make many bad plays (the hold wasnt great lol). its not like he was getting caved on his shifts or struggling to establish a forecheck. he certainly wasnt always the most impactful player out there, but he did feel like he belonged

i dont think we saw anything new here, a lot of the tournament was basically confirming what we already knew about the player, though i dont say that negatively considering consistency wasnt always his strong suit in his DY