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LW Austin Wagner - Regina Pats, WHL (2015, 99th, LAK)

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R S

R S

Registered User
Sep 18, 2006
25,466
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About time that he gets his own thread ahead of the 2015 NHL Draft as he's been a guy that has steadily improved as the year has gone on. Originally watching him in the pre-season I basically called him "a guy to keep an eye on" but since then he's continued to produce and stand out.

With the Regina Pats recent selling of some veteran forwards, he'll be given even greater opportunity to play significant minutes and produce.

From my midseason WHL rankings:

27 (HM) – Austin Wagner – LW/RW – Regina Pats – Players like Wagner are always the best part of the NHL Draft season, coming out of the woodwork and making a name for themselves. He’s done exactly that. He’s slowly climbed up the usage chart in Regina, providing a mix of size, speed, energy and skill to their club. He’s got a bit of a hunched skating stance but gets around well, possessing a hard shot and a willingness to throw big hits. I continue to like a lot of what he does on a game to game basis.
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http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2014/12/2015-nhl-draft-rankings-midseason.html
 
His rise has been very reminiscent of Brett Pollock last season for me. Kind of looks like a plumber in his rookie yr, then looks like a late-round option early in the year and steadily rises as the season progresses. I don't see him going first round like the above poster, but he is definitely a lot closer to a guy like Adam Musil than most people might think IMO. Ranked 81 by us at FC at the Midterm.
 
zjh said:
His rise has been very reminiscent of Brett Pollock last season for me. Kind of looks like a plumber in his rookie yr, then looks like a late-round option early in the year and steadily rises as the season progresses. I don't see him going first round like the above poster, but he is definitely a lot closer to a guy like Adam Musil than most people might think IMO. Ranked 81 by us at FC at the Midterm.
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I see him going late 2nd to early 3rd. This is a riser for sure. Has a lot of tools that teams will really like. Hopefully he doesn't fall in love with playing a skill game because he gets a bigger role in the coming years and lets laziness creep into his game like Pollock has. Has tools to possibly be an effective player later on as a pro if he maintains his hard-working mentality but convincing himself he is a skill player is the worst thing that can happen to a guy like this. Still question how Wagner can think the game but there is a lot of tools here. Interview will be important with this guy to find out where his head is at and find out the player he really wants to be and thinks he is.
 
Bumped with more info on him from FutureConsiderations.ca

The rebuilding Regina Pats have been given a shot in the arm by second-year forward Austin Wagner. The product of Calgary, AB only had a pair of points last year in 42 games. Fast-forward one year later and his growth has been absolutely astronomical.

The speedy winger is quickly approaching 20 goals and 40 points on the year while also showing the ability to kill penalties and bring a physical edge. And the word speedy doesn’t really do Wagner justice. His pure speed is NHL-ready now. Combine that elite speed with his 6-foot-2 frame and a great wrist shot and you have a game-changing player who is remarkably similar to someone like Erik Cole.

NHL teams should consider snapping him up within the top 75 selections come draft day. While he may not seem like a prototypical sleeper given that he could be end up as a second round pick, the scouts at Future Considerations are adamant that Wagner’s stock continues to rise in an impressive fashion.
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http://futureconsiderations.ca/plenty-value-whl-sleepers/
 
Took a hit from his own teammate in a game on Monday afternoon. Was a rather scary play as it looked rather innocent but he laid motionless for quite a while. It actually looked like his teammate Colby Williams took the worst of it. Trainers from both teams and the doctor came out and were feeling his spine and everything. In the end he got up and was helped off by teammates and was feeling towards his jaw after getting up.

The hit can be found here: http://www.saskatoonblades.com/video/53166

He hasn't played since so we'll have to keep an eye on how he looks.

I also recently featured him on my blog regarding WHL forwards who combine size with skill.

http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/02/whl-offers-abundance-of-size-and-skill.html

Austin Wagner – RW/LW – Regina Pats – 6’2 – 180

Games: 56
Goals: 19
Assists: 18
Points: 37
Pts/Game: 0.66
PIM: 49

The consistent rise of Austin Wagner has been well-documented throughout the year. When I first caught him in training camp for Regina, he really impressed me. He stood out more than I expected based on his two point performance in 42 games last year. He was physical and generated a few good rushes due to his speed in the pair of games I caught. He finished the exhibition portion of the year with 3 points in 4 games and used that as a big stepping stone and confidence booster for the regular season. Flash forward a few months and he’s considered a potential top 75 pick for the NHL Draft with nearly 20 goals and 40 points under his belt in just under 60 games. His production has been impressive, but the most intriguing part of it is just how raw of a player he continues to be. There is still major untapped potential with him. The biggest thing that separates him from some others in the 2015 draft class is his pure speed. He has high-end acceleration and unique pure speed for someone with a 6’2 frame. He has shown the ability to score off the rush due to a great wrister and isn’t shy about taking it to the net. Mix in some decent defensive instincts and some punishing hits, and you have a kid who is an attractive piece for an NHL scout. He will be extra impressive once he gets up near 200 pounds, as long as he can maintain his speed and quickness. His style of game reminds me a lot of NHL veteran Erik Cole and surely NHL teams will give him a long and hard look inside the top 60 come June.
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Comes in at #11 on my final WHL player rankings for 2015: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html

#11 Austin Wagner

Team: Regina Pats
Position: RW/LW
Shoots: L
Height: 6’1
Weight: 178
GP: 61
Goals: 20
Assists: 19
Points: 39
Pts/Gm: 0.64
PIM: 53

Player Analysis: Austin Wagner is a rangy winger with absolutely blazing speed for the Regina Pats…owns arguably the best straight-line speed of any draft-eligible WHL forward…he isn’t just fast for his 6’1+ frame, he’s an absolute burner in general…has extremely good acceleration with the ability to get up to nearly full speed in only 2-3 quick strides…owns that elite speed despite a somewhat hunched stance with his upper body…has quick feet and makes use of crossovers to change angles to generate a bit more speed while in tight space…uses his straight-ahead speed to generate regular breakaway chances and 2 on 1’s…is hard to slow down once he gets going and likes to drop his inside shoulder and drive to the blue ice off the rush…he also likes to spin back into his defensive zone without the puck in order to gain a running start before charging through the neutral zone, joining the rush…drives lanes aggressively once he’s in the offensive zone…owns a good wrist shot that he likes to fire while on the rush…has a heavy shot but it’s still an area that could be refined with time regarding his ability to get it away when in traffic…hasn’t scored on nearly as many plays as you would expect given how many grade-A chances his speed helped generate…his puck handling ability in tight spaces wouldn’t be considered a huge strength but he has shown some growth there…has a tendency to get ahead of himself when carrying the puck…has consistently shown me that his feet might be faster than either his hands or his head…has been prone to skate into traffic or leave himself prone to being stick-checked because he gets up the ice and into the teeth of the defence ahead of his linemates…hands will need to be refined…isn’t a pure receiver of the puck and tends to bobble the puck fairly frequently…away from the puck his physical play is a noted strength…throws massive, thundering hits with regularity…that speed, size, physicality combo allows him to excel on the forecheck…while I do have some already-noted concerns about his offensive processing ability I don’t have those same concerns defensively…he reads the play well without the puck on defence, aided by the fact that he was brought along slowly as a 4th line player as a rookie in 2013-14…this season he spent time in a variety of roles inside the Pats top 9 forward group, including having the ability to play both wings…saw time both on the powerplay and the penalty kill and has good two-way value looking forward…Pavel Padakin and Adam Brooks were common linemates for him this season, spending 25 of Regina’s final 55 regular season games together despite injuries and some line shuffling…is definitely one of the biggest risers in the draft this year after scoring only one goal in 42 games last season…was very consistent in his offensive production this year with his first half numbers nearly matching his second half numbers (0.65 PPG compared to 0.63 PPG)…his 20 goals during the regular season were good enough to be tied for 8th in that category among all first-year draft-eligible WHL forwards….15 of those goals came at even-strength, with that tally being the 9th best among all first-year draft-eligible WHL forwards…suffered an upper-body injury late in the season which forced him to miss several weeks worth of action…is listed at 6’2 on his WHL page but only 6’1 by Central Scouting…he definitely looks taller and longer than 6’1 to me…his style of play reminds me a lot of Erik Cole as both are big guys who can really skate, have two-way sense and own great shots…was a 5th round choice, 94th overall, by the Regina Pats at the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft…overall I project Wagner to be a guy who offers a team a lot of versatility as he will be able to play any role on any line with the proper development…ideally I see him as a top 9 winger with 20 or 25 goal upside at the NHL level…I anticipate we’ll see him slide off the board some time within the top 75 picks (I have him rated as a late 2nd or early 3rd myself), although I wouldn’t be shocked if some teams liked him as a top 50 guy given his frame, NHL-ready skating ability and versatile overall skillset…
 
I like him as an option for the Jets , kind of has some of EK9's strong points , which the Jets could use , but pick 47 is a bit early for me and imo he won't last till the mid third.

If the Jets do some manouevering I would like him if he falls to the early third area of the draft.
 
landy92mack29 said:
47 wouldn't be too much of a reach for him. Think he'll go late 2nd
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Not if they are sold on him , but I can see the Jets being fluid in the draft , so they may be moving around a bit , but they also may not like him .

I like some of the things he has in common with EK9 , obvioulsy not the level of talent or scoring , but the forechecking , the speed , the size ...
 
Guy Flaming was on the radio yesterday and mentioned him as someone he really liked a bit deeper in the draft . Thinks he goes mid second and that his hands are beginning to catch up with his feet .

As I mentioned I like some of the things he has in common with EK9 and the Jets pick at 47 could be a match.
 
Size and speed are excellent.

He has an underrated shot and hands.

Really good, yet underrated prospect.

I personally have him rated as a top 100 prospect.
 
McMozesmadness said:
Size and speed are excellent.

He has an underrated shot and hands.

Really good, yet underrated prospect.

I personally have him rated as a top 100 prospect.
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Yeah everytime Ive seen him play, even though I have not been looking at him specifically, he has stood out.

Really underrated and his speed is SOOO deadly.
 
Finally recovered from gnarly injury and expected to make his pro debut tomorrow for the Reign.

Pumped to see this kid as a pro.
 
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