LD Travis Sanheim - Calgary Hitmen, WHL (2014, 17th, PHI)

[caley]

Really been impressed with him, as of late. Early in the year, he was a solid stay-at-home guy who didn't make a lot of mistakes, paired up with the slightly more adventurous . But, since about December-ish, his confidence has soared and now he's jumping into the play without hesitation and making great plays. In mid-February, he had a game where he posted 3 assists, then in their Hitmen's next game, he put up 5 assists. He's not up to 28 points with Calgary. He's got a nice frame (6'3", 189 lbs), a real knack for finding the open man with a pass and an inborn talent for knowing when to jump into the rush. But, he's also a really solid d-man in his own zone. I rarely see him get beat, he just makes safe, simple plays in his own zone.

Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report had a write-up about him in their latest draft rankings

Rising

Travis Sanheim (Calgary): Has been a revelation of late. Huge, rangy blue-liner's confidence has been soaring, and we love his combination of size, skating, puck skills and shot.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...nhl-draft-red-line-report-defensemen/5952761/

 

[PRNuck]

Really been impressed with him, as of late. Early in the year, he was a solid stay-at-home guy who didn't make a lot of mistakes, paired up with the slightly more adventurous . But, since about December-ish, his confidence has soared and now he's jumping into the play without hesitation and making great plays. In mid-February, he had a game where he posted 3 assists, then in their Hitmen's next game, he put up 5 assists. He's not up to 28 points with Calgary. He's got a nice frame (6'3", 189 lbs), a real knack for finding the open man with a pass and an inborn talent for knowing when to jump into the rush. But, he's also a really solid d-man in his own zone. I rarely see him get beat, he just makes safe, simple plays in his own zone.

Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report had a write-up about him in their latest draft rankings


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...nhl-draft-red-line-report-defensemen/5952761/

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I was at the game a few weeks ago where he set the Hitmen assists in one game record. It's funny because I wasn't actually blown away by his game, I didn't realize he had all those points until they announced the three stars. I liked his puck movement and shot on the PP, but I found his skating a bit clunky, particularly his backpedal while walking the line on the point. I didn't see a great stretch pass from him, but that was just one game, it's not like the opportunity for one is always there. Big frame and lots of skill to work with.

Personally I'm a little higher on his partner Ben Thomas.

 

[caley]

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And that was after I caught my own misspelling that had Sanheim "humping into the play"!

Personally I'm a little higher on his partner Ben Thomas.

I'm flip-flopping on them. One game I'm firmly on Team Thomas, the next game Team Sanheim.

I know if I'm a GM picking somewhere in the 8-16 region, I wouldn't be upset if I came up with a member of the Hitmen in each of the first five rounds (Virtanen, Thomas, Sanheim, Fazleev, Lang).

 

[PRNuck]

And that was after I caught my own misspelling that had Sanheim "humping into the play"!


I'm flip-flopping on them. One game I'm firmly on Team Thomas, the next game Team Sanheim.

I know if I'm a GM picking somewhere in the 8-16 region, I wouldn't be upset if I came up with a member of the Hitmen in each of the first five rounds (Virtanen, Thomas, Sanheim, Fazleev, Lang).

Haha you could probably even scoop the previously undrafted Rankin in the 6th.

 

[CornKicker]

he has been great since christmas, i think his stock will rise once the playoffs start, same with thomas

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Loving this call. He made my December newsletter for watchlist in the Dub.

After seeing his physical tools and steady play, though limited minutes back in late November, I naturally looked up his past. He was a big time player in the MMHL. He has it in him.

 

[R S]

Been impressed with him lately too. I have him ranked higher than his recent D-partner Ben Thomas, who was definitely a bigger name guy to start the year.

 

[MPStoEberletoHall*]

Where do people think Travis is going to go? Seems like a guy with huge upside

 

[zjh]

Where do people think Travis is going to go? Seems like a guy with huge upside

Word on the street is that someone will take him in Rd. 2. I have him ranked in Rd. 3.

 

[McMozesmadness]

Where do people think Travis is going to go? Seems like a guy with huge upside

I have him going 40th in my last mock.

I've liked him for a while now here is what I wrote about him at the start of March

Travis Sanheim -RD - Calgary Hitmen - 6'3 190
-Sanheim is in first year in junior and has taken time to adjust his game, but what he has done lately will have many scouts taking notice (13 points in 13 games in the month of February). Sanheim has an excellent frame, that will support more muscle and weight going foreword. Sanheim has good mobility and has an good first pass. He is a 2-way D-man, with an excellent shot and good vision from the backend. He regularly runs PP and is reliable breaking out of his own zone. The flaws in his game would be in his own zone as he can be flustered by hard forcheck and the fact that he is not overly physical. Despite all this Sanheim is still very raw and whomever drafts him will have a project on there hands. Sanheim has all the tools that would lead me to believe the payoff may be huge.
-Playing style: Cody Franson
-NHL potential: 2nd pairing, 2-way D-man
-Round: 2

 

[Huffer]

Word on the street is that someone will take him in Rd. 2. I have him ranked in Rd. 3.

Would love to get more thoughts from people on where they think he is going to go.

If it's the 2nd, I'd love for the Jets to somehow trade into the 2nd to pick him.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Would love to get more thoughts from people on where they think he is going to go.

If it's the 2nd, I'd love for the Jets to somehow trade into the 2nd to pick him.

Button mentioned first round. He's playing like it and his trajectory has been steep.

DraftBuzz Hockey article The Real Roland McKeown Has Emerged

 

[Huffer]

Button mentioned first round. He's playing like it and his trajectory has been steep.

Good for the kid. Too bad for my hope for him on the Jets then. Maybe if we still had the 39th we would have a chance.

 

[Hiishawk]

He's moved into the first round based on his tremendous development over the course of the season and with the dearth of defensemen in this draft.
I'd say about 25th overall is a good bet.

 

[McMozesmadness]

If this guy learns to use his massive frame better, both psychically and defensively he can become really good.

 

[zjh]

Sure looked good at the U18, didn't see dangles like that during the season. Good for the kid. Perfect example of how much a players skating improves during his first Junior season.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Another strong game today by him. Should be a 1st rounder, IMO.

 

[JAVO16]

He's looked great in the semi-final game today. Looked like a very smooth skater with relatively good acceleration for his size and nice, controlled puck handling. He showed excellent hockey sense and poise under pressure too to the point where he controlled the play on many of his shifts. He looked quite as good, if not better, than Fleury in this game.

 

[NikF]

With the lack of D this draft, could see him going 1st round.

 

[arsmaster*]

Biggest riser from the U18's.

Liked him better than every other Canadian dman in this tourney. Agrees with Javo16, in this tournament he definitely outshone the likes of fleury and mckeown.

How Mckeown wins player of the game today is beyond me.

 

[islandermaniac]

Another strong game today by him. Should be a 1st rounder, IMO.

really? once the game was 3-3, he seemed confused several different times and the czechs had multiple chances to score when he was on the ice. basically, i thought he was awful when the intensity ramped up and the game was on the line. i'm sure he will be a fine prospect but i didn't see what you saw on this particular day.

 

[islandermaniac]

Biggest riser from the U18's.

Liked him better than every other Canadian dman in this tourney. Agrees with Javo16, in this tournament he definitely outshone the likes of fleury and mckeown.

How Mckeown wins player of the game today is beyond me.

canada's player of the game should have been barzal, despite his brainfart in overtime. he was canada's most dangerous player, in my opinion.

 

[arsmaster*]

canada's player of the game should have been barzal, despite his brainfart in overtime. he was canada's most dangerous player, in my opinion.

You reading my posts in the Canucks forum. Agreed wholeheartedly.

Barzal should have been running the OT PP.

Really disappointed in McCann and if only Konecny didn't double post that sick feed from Matthew in the 3rd he never would have had a chance to make that mistake (that I still put on others as much as barzal, like why the hell was Hicketts leaving the zone and where was the other dman that forced Barzal into being the last man back).

 

[helicecopter]

some poor defending plays by Sanheim though

 

[islandermaniac]

You reading my posts in the Canucks forum. Agreed wholeheartedly.

Barzal should have been running the OT PP.

Really disappointed in McCann and if only Konecny didn't double post that sick feed from Matthew in the 3rd he never would have had a chance to make that mistake (that I still put on others as much as barzal, like why the hell was Hicketts leaving the zone and where was the other dman that forced Barzal into being the last man back).

haha! nope, i haven't been over in the vancouver forum so i guess it was just obvious to at least one other person that barzal was canada's best. i was shocked not to see him on the first pp unit in overtime.

that entire overtime was weird. it looked like canada had never played 4 on 4 hockey before. they looked totally disorganized. on the goal, each guy needed a smack for being foolish.

anyway, to get back on topic, canada's best and most notable players were barzal, konecy, and virtanen, and most certainly not sanheim.