Where did you get he isn't a good skater? He is not a speeder but he is extremely on par in skating and not a weakness. This is HF's take on his skating "Skating (Speed/edges/technique/etc)
Vesey is very strong on his feet. His straight-ahead speed is short of elite, verging closer to average, but he is more than fast enough. Giving him a head of steam, he will find a second gear, but again, he is not a burner. Where he raises his grade is when we include his agility and edge-work. He can move around in all four directions, often with very tight shift from direction to direction. All in all, he is an above-average skater. Grade: 55"
Gilroy? C'on man. Gilroy was also like 24 when he won the Hobey Baker, no idea why he was even playing in college that old.
You need to read some more scouting reports on him and stop reading all the salty comments on the main board that say he is only a 3rd liner in the NHL.
Shestyorkin is ahead of him? He is about as unproven as they come so far. Sure he might be a great diamond in a rough, or he might never even step foot in the NHL.
I'm not saying its the same situation as Gilroy. I'm just using it as an example that not every very good NCAA player is a good NHL player. There are plenty of other examples of very good NCAA players who weren't good NHL players. Vesey's played in the WJC and WC's, two tournaments I watch. I also watch some college hockey. I've watched him play over 10 times. I don't think he'll be a good skater in the NHL. The standard to be a good NHL skater is so high. I like his game, but I'm not sure he has any real standout tool. It would be easier to say what he'll be in the NHL, if he had one or two tools that were so obviously elite for the NHL level, instead I think he's pretty good at most things instead of great at anything. Those are reasons why he could fail in the NHL. I'd be surprised if he did, but there's a chance, I'm not going to just act like Vesey's better than he is because he signed with the Rangers. Middle six winger is what I expect, outside chance he's a first line winger, outside chance he's not an NHL player. You can look at my posts before we signed Vesey, I said four days ago that I thought he'd be a middle six winger.
I think many have made the case for Buch and Skjei above Vesey, so I think you understand my argument for them. Graves has a really intriguing skill-set. Pretty good all around, has excellent size, and an elite shot. He's also more than potential, was an AHL-All Star in his first season, and probably isn't more than a year away from being NHL ready. I think he'll be a good middle pairing defenseman, and if he improves more defensively, he could be a #2D. The case for Shestyorkin is that he's an elite goalie prospect who just hasn't gotten the playing time to match his skills and play at lower levels, so he may be going under the radar, I think he is. If he's eventually an above average starting goalie in the NHL, thats a more valuable player than a middle six winger, and I don't think he's that far from being NHL ready. He's already good enough to start in the KHL, maybe or maybe not with the best team in the KHL, but if he wasn't playing for SKA, he'd probably be a starter in the second best league in the world. Just bad luck the team he plays for.