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

[evnted]

zoned out and missed the 1st period of his return to nybro (sorry lol)

• straight up buzzing in the off zone. high pace, wanted looks, kept putting himself in good scoring locations. wristers, tips, rebounds, one timers, he was generating chances however he could. cannon of a shot on his ppg. number of near calls throughout the two periods i caught. even drew a penalty at one point over how shifty/hardworking he was down low
• better defensive zone engagement in this one. played deeper, moved his legs more, tried to tie guys up. wouldnt necessarily say he was high pressure but definitely not just hanging around high ice waiting for play to go the other way
• puck management was mixed but mostly fair. moved it well in transition, liked his short range stuff, thought he had good ideas. rushed plays/got a little cute with passes offensively. felt more like experimenting/pushing limits rather than making poor reads or anything
• seemed a little too...brute force-y on puck possessions (beyond actively forechecking i should say, that was fine). not as much respect for getting around defenders or protecting the puck, rather, he was trying to power through them a lot of the time. led to turnovers/getting stood up. i pretty much never comment on intermission highlights but it looks like AIKs 2nd goal was caused by this

looked like a primary offensive weapon (as opposed to more of a role guy with hv71, which isnt atypical for pro league prospects trying to play up/hold gigs). little rough around the edges, but he was consistently dangerous and impactful. while i did like the idea of staying in the shl, this might be a better environment for him to make those mistakes/round out his game

 

[evnted]

quick viewing today because he got tossed again lol

• usual self on the forecheck. disruptive. high pace attack pressured defenders and forced errors, which led to chances. not the cleanest of looks in front but still caused some havoc
• little too intense with the physical play, earned himself a game over it. bad hit caught a defender up high. included a replay at the bottom

like last time, i dont really see ill-intent here, i just see someone getting carried away on the forecheck. hes a very big kid who darts around the ice with a ton of energy, its up to him to show restraint and avoid making head contact in this type of scenario

 

[forceten]

So he's a psychopath!!!!! @My3Sons we might have your man!

 

[evnted]

scored a ppg in his return from suspension (and added a little flair on the celebration lol). if nothing else, hes certainly eventful. optimistic ill be able to catch a game next week

 

[Guttersniped]

scored a ppg in his return from suspension (and added a little flair on the celebration lol). if nothing else, hes certainly eventful. optimistic ill be able to catch a game next week

 

[evnted]

first full game viewing in a minute

• tons of shots/shot attempts. pretty par for the course, but a little more emphasis on it with a great array of attempts. challenging sharp angles, delaying off the rush, finding lanes through traffic, sneaking into the slot, etc. very dangerous player on the puck in the offensive zone. 5 sog, 3 more attempts, and a crossbar for his efforts
• had some extra bite today. normally a physical/chippy player anyway but he was constantly getting into it with guys on faceoffs, after the whistle, etc. not so much fights, just jabs/shoves/hits/etc. (i think i heard them say this was a derby game in one of those intermission interviews so i imagine that was the motivation)
• got called for interference on a hit and...i dont know, it really wasnt that bad. was a bit cuffed on a pass breaking out of his zone and as he came back to try to corral the puck, he saw a KHC attacker going for a chip pass/poke on it and he laid him out straight through the body. the guy didnt actively have possession, no, but he literally just made a play on the puck as traff went for the hit. maybe theres an element of knowing your environment/recognizing that swedish leagues arent gonna tolerate big blow up hits that he should adhere, but honestly i want him going for those plays so i dont care
• still dont think his defensive contributions are anything great but i felt he was better at pressuring the point in this one. got to defenders quickly, helped take away lanes (albeit more reactively than proactively). better intent, wasnt as stationary. still looking for more full def zone activity/engagement
• decision making on the puck was largely good. thought he was smart about when to opt for a dump in versus challenge defenders in transition. thought he was better with not forcing passes/making composed plays under pressure. wasnt perfect, for example he accidentally iced it on a dump attempt and was a little frazzled with his puck movement after the ensuing faceoff, but still solid overall
• good example of the decision making thing came on the pp: had a real nice keep that he was able to turn into an extended possession. good anticipation to get to the puck before it went out, and rather than blind firing it on net under pressure, which he sometimes does, he found a pocket of space in front of him to attack and flashed some pretty decent handling ability to get there, circle back, and re-estasblish a cycle. his high pressure/intensity game is very much valued, dont get me wrong, but the ability to slow down a little and make more controlled plays on the puck will go a long way
• i could legit watch this guy work the puck back and forth along the boards all day. such an intriguing blend of power/possession and finesse/evasion. want him to start thinking more about cutting to the middle to generate chances (as opposed to mainly just looking to the point or back down low), but youre not gonna find many teenagers this dominant on the forecheck. i mean...at one point he got knocked down in the corner, kept possession while standing back up, and slipped through two players to free himself and get a shot off. again, hes like 6'3" 200+lb, how is he slipping through anything

solid viewing. nybro wasnt particularly good today and traff was one of the lone bright spots generating chances. theres a lot to like here, and much of what he does well is stuff youd expect to translate. plenty of work still to be done, but im starting to think hes our next best prospect behind that big 5+yegorov grouping