LW Brayden Tracey - Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL (2019, 29th, ANA)

[Sticks and Pucks]

I noticed this guy is averaging more than a point per game in his draft year but there isn't much hype over him. What kind of player does he project to be?

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[HockeyMind9]

He's an offensive forward. Worked his way up from the third line to the first line and first PP as a rookie. In his Bantam draft year he was expected to be a 3rd or 4th round pick until he lit up the U-16 Alberta Cup as the leading scorer in the tournament (outscoring guys like Dach and Krebs) with 8 goals, 10 pts in 4 games. He currently has more points than Dach and Krebs in the WHL. He could've played in the WHL last year but stayed in Midget AAA so he could stay in a top 6 role (which is what he likely needs to be to succeed). Smart player with good hands, quick release and gets in the right spots to put up points. Playing with two overage players that are both top 10 in WHL scoring, so maybe scouts think he's just benefiting from them. Will be very interesting to see if he can drive the offense next year or if his points regress without Almeida and Langan.

When Moose Jaw played Lethbridge on Sportsnet, Brayden was noticeable throughout the game and eventually scored the game winner in OT. Seems to score clutch goals. Started out as unranked by most rankings and moved up into the 3rd or 4th round range. I would love for my team to take him there. Could be a project with high upside and lots of skills. The type of guy that could have been on many more radars if he played last year in the WHL and was allowed to be picked to the U-18 team. As of today, he has 7 pts in his last 3 games and 20 pts in his last 10.

 

[covfefe]

Tracey is now the CHL's rookie scoring leader. I have a strong feeling he ends up as one of the better players from out west this year. Extremely skilled and seems to be flying under the radar due to playing in a small/obscure market. Very steep development curve having only played in Midget AAA last year.

If he were in Kelowna, I feel he's generating 1st round hype. Almeida/Langan are two strong players, but Tracey is more than capable of stirring the drink himself. Potential top 6 winger

 

[PKSpecialist]

Tracey is now the CHL's rookie scoring leader. I have a strong feeling he ends up as one of the better players from out west this year. Extremely skilled and seems to be flying under the radar due to playing in a small/obscure market. Very steep development curve having only played in Midget AAA last year.

If he were in Kelowna, I feel he's generating 1st round hype. Almeida/Langan are two strong players, but Tracey is more than capable of stirring the drink himself. Potential top 6 winger

Say what???? I understand that some markets are underscouted - Prince George due to it's geography, but Moose Jaw? Nope. If anything the Moose Jaw/Regina market is overscouted. The thing is with these cities, where there's smoke there's fire. What I'm saying is the fact that Tracey has warts in his game, and in his market, that doesn't go unnoticed. Mainly that he needs to be in an offensive role to be successful. Unfortunately for him, I just don't see any attributes in his game, aside from maybe the hockey sense, that will translate to a scoring role at the next level. I'm sure that's what most scouts are seeing. He's worth a flyer in the draft, but he's a 4th-7th round flyer. Really needs to develop his game not to fizzle out when he gets to the pros.

 

[Stive Morgan]

He's a 200-foot player who gives it all every shift. The kind of pick whom coaches and fans are gonna love. Probably goes in the 2nd or 3rd but deserves to be a late 1st rounder imo

 

[Daximus]

Say what???? I understand that some markets are underscouted - Prince George due to it's geography, but Moose Jaw? Nope. If anything the Moose Jaw/Regina market is overscouted. The thing is with these cities, where there's smoke there's fire. What I'm saying is the fact that Tracey has warts in his game, and in his market, that doesn't go unnoticed. Mainly that he needs to be in an offensive role to be successful. Unfortunately for him, I just don't see any attributes in his game, aside from maybe the hockey sense, that will translate to a scoring role at the next level. I'm sure that's what most scouts are seeing. He's worth a flyer in the draft, but he's a 4th-7th round flyer. Really needs to develop his game not to fizzle out when he gets to the pros.

Moose Jaw is heavily underscouted. Brayden Point went in the 3rd round. Woo in the 2nd. Regina gets scouted Moose Jaw not so much. Tracey is going to be a player when he hits the NHL and were all going to look back at how bad this post looks when it happens.

 

[Frk It]

Moose Jaw is heavily underscouted. Brayden Point went in the 3rd round. Woo in the 2nd. Regina gets scouted Moose Jaw not so much. Tracey is going to be a player when he hits the NHL and were all going to look back at how bad this post looks when it happens.

I don’t think that’s why those players went where they did.

Point was very undersized and Woo was never the same after he came back from his injury.

 

[Stive Morgan]

Moose Jaw is heavily underscouted. Brayden Point went in the 3rd round. Woo in the 2nd. Regina gets scouted Moose Jaw not so much. Tracey is going to be a player when he hits the NHL and were all going to look back at how bad this post looks when it happens.

The WHL is just underscouted in general.

 

[covfefe]

Say what???? I understand that some markets are underscouted - Prince George due to it's geography, but Moose Jaw? Nope. If anything the Moose Jaw/Regina market is overscouted. The thing is with these cities, where there's smoke there's fire. What I'm saying is the fact that Tracey has warts in his game, and in his market, that doesn't go unnoticed. Mainly that he needs to be in an offensive role to be successful. Unfortunately for him, I just don't see any attributes in his game, aside from maybe the hockey sense, that will translate to a scoring role at the next level. I'm sure that's what most scouts are seeing. He's worth a flyer in the draft, but he's a 4th-7th round flyer. Really needs to develop his game not to fizzle out when he gets to the pros.

I respect your opinion but can't say you have changed my mind. Tracey is a player who was getting driven to the rink by his Mom last year, who knows what the limit is with him. All I know is that he already looks very strong on the 1st line, on a good team, in a very tough division. I can't remember the last time a draft eligible kid fresh out of AAA fit in this well on a 1st line on a >.500 team. MJ is shallow up front, too, and the fact that he's consistently faced the toughest opposition with this much success is very telling.

So I guess I take the above and wonder what he might look like in 5, 7, 10 years...

Then I look at Zaytsev, Williams, Foote, Newkirk, Leason, all consistently ranked ahead of him - and I simply think that's got a lot of potential to look bad down the road.

I can't speak to draft position, as I don't watch enough of other leagues to build a comprehensive list. But I do watch lots of WHL hockey and have done so for years. So I feel I am speaking from a place of only relative, and not complete, idiocy

 

[Daximus]

I don’t think that’s why those players went where they did.

Point was very undersized and Woo was never the same after he came back from his injury.

anyone that actually watches these players play every game all season could tell you that both were better than where they were taken. Woo was that player again as soon as the playoffs started last year.

 

[izzy]

brayden point part 2

 

[Daximus]

The WHL is just underscouted in general.

In many places it is for sure. It's a market where a tonne of good players come out of later rounds due to being underscouted. Unless they come in with Patrick level hype they likely won't get many looks in a year.

 

[Daximus]

I was personally hoping Tracey would be overlooked and the Jets would take him in the late 2nd. Great skating, great hands, solid shooting arsenal and a never quit motor. Makes smart plays with the puck and does a lot of things at high speed. Also plays a solid two-way game for a winger.

 

[Stive Morgan]

I was personally hoping Tracey would be overlooked and the Jets would take him in the late 2nd. Great skating, great hands, solid shooting arsenal and a never quit motor. Makes smart plays with the puck and does a lot of things at high speed. Also plays a solid two-way game for a winger.

I guarantee Montreal's going to be making a strong push for him as well. Their type of player and also the Josh Brook connection.

 

[PKSpecialist]

I respect your opinion but can't say you have changed my mind. Tracey is a player who was getting driven to the rink by his Mom last year, who knows what the limit is with him. All I know is that he already looks very strong on the 1st line, on a good team, in a very tough division. I can't remember the last time a draft eligible kid fresh out of AAA fit in this well on a 1st line on a >.500 team. MJ is shallow up front, too, and the fact that he's consistently faced the toughest opposition with this much success is very telling.

So I guess I take the above and wonder what he might look like in 5, 7, 10 years...

Then I look at Zaytsev, Williams, Foote, Newkirk, Leason, all consistently ranked ahead of him - and I simply think that's got a lot of potential to look bad down the road.

I can't speak to draft position, as I don't watch enough of other leagues to build a comprehensive list. But I do watch lots of WHL hockey and have done so for years. So I feel I am speaking from a place of only relative, and not complete, idiocy

anyone that actually watches these players play every game all season could tell you that both were better than where they were taken. Woo was that player again as soon as the playoffs started last year.

Not sure what in my post was so ‘bad’. But anyways, this is my last post in this thread regarding anything other than Brayden Tracey, but let’s use a very recent comparison where all three cities mentioned had players eligible for the draft and expected to go in or near the first round, 2016.

1 - 27 - Brett Howden, Moose Jaw 68GP 24G 40A 64P
1 - 30 - Sam Steel, Regina 73GP 23G 47A 70P
2-56 - Dillon Dube, Kelowna 65GP 26G 40A 76P

Weird that the underscouted guy goes first. All my post argued was that Moose Jaw is not underscouted, based on the arguments given of where Woo and Point were drafted, I guess this really disputes that. Point may have been underscouted in Moose Jaw, because he was literally the only reason to scout on that Moose Jaw team in his draft year. Doesn’t mean it’s an epidemic or something....scouts follow the talent. I’ll be there this weekend to watch the Pats and Warriors. Outside of Tracey, there really isn’t much to see in this game. Adam Evanoff, Sergei Alkhimov and Nikita Sedov have an outside chance of being drafted, but I doubt it. Won’t be the first time I’ve seen them.

The one thing I will tell you from first-hand knowledge and from talking to a few scouts is that they don’t really like watching bad teams play hockey....the problem that arises is an average draft eligible talent, like a Tracey, can look like a first-rounder in a game against a bad team. They prefer to watch these guys against top competition because that is where they are headed to. That may be where you see some of the underscouting of some players, but it isn’t exclusive to a city like Moose Jaw.

Again, Tracey is a draftable player, I just don’t see a top 3 round talent there. His game is based around his offense, and I don’t think his offense translates real well at the next level. I would certainly pick him from the 4th round on, because with his production, he makes for a reasonable bet in those rounds. He has good hockey sense and knows how to play in the offensive zone.

 

[HockeyMind9]

Not sure what in my post was so ‘bad’. But anyways, this is my last post in this thread regarding anything other than Brayden Tracey, but let’s use a very recent comparison where all three cities mentioned had players eligible for the draft and expected to go in or near the first round, 2016.

1 - 27 - Brett Howden, Moose Jaw 68GP 24G 40A 64P
1 - 30 - Sam Steel, Regina 73GP 23G 47A 70P
2-56 - Dillon Dube, Kelowna 65GP 26G 40A 76P

Weird that the underscouted guy goes first. All my post argued was that Moose Jaw is not underscouted, based on the arguments given of where Woo and Point were drafted, I guess this really disputes that. Point may have been underscouted in Moose Jaw, because he was literally the only reason to scout on that Moose Jaw team in his draft year. Doesn’t mean it’s an epidemic or something....scouts follow the talent. I’ll be there this weekend to watch the Pats and Warriors. Outside of Tracey, there really isn’t much to see in this game. Adam Evanoff, Sergei Alkhimov and Nikita Sedov have an outside chance of being drafted, but I doubt it. Won’t be the first time I’ve seen them.

The one thing I will tell you from first-hand knowledge and from talking to a few scouts is that they don’t really like watching bad teams play hockey....the problem that arises is an average draft eligible talent, like a Tracey, can look like a first-rounder in a game against a bad team. They prefer to watch these guys against top competition because that is where they are headed to. That may be where you see some of the underscouting of some players, but it isn’t exclusive to a city like Moose Jaw.

Again, Tracey is a draftable player, I just don’t see a top 3 round talent there. His game is based around his offense, and I don’t think his offense translates real well at the next level. I would certainly pick him from the 4th round on, because with his production, he makes for a reasonable bet in those rounds. He has good hockey sense and knows how to play in the offensive zone.

Just wondering which aspects of his game he still needs to round out and why his offense wouldn't translate to the next level? We both agree that he has good hockey sense and I personally think that's one of the unteachable skills that is most crucial for translating play to the next level. He can skate, works hard, has scoring touch and makes high end plays.

In terms of playing against higher competition, I would have loved to see him in the Top Prospects Game. I know it's just one team, but his stats against Prince Albert (top team by far),
Game 1: 2 G, 1 A, +3 , 2 SOG
Game 2: 0 pts, -1, 3 SOG
Game 3: 1 G, -1, 4 SOG
Game 4: 1 G, 1 A, -1, 1 SOG
Game 5: 2 G, 1 A, +1, 2 SOG
Overall 5 GP: 6 G, 3 A, 9 Pts, +1, 12 SOG

So over a goal a game and almost 2 PPG against the top team in the WHL (2nd best in all of the CHL).

Defensively I'm sure he can improve (basically every young offensive player needs to improve defensively to play in the NHL), but that can be taught. He works hard and back checks (in the games I saw) and at times shows flashes of grittiness. He can still put on more muscle and that's what development years are for. Obviously I'm an advocate for Tracey, but would love to hear the your analysis on what you don't think will translate for him.

 

[PKSpecialist]

Just wondering which aspects of his game he still needs to round out and why his offense wouldn't translate to the next level? We both agree that he has good hockey sense and I personally think that's one of the unteachable skills that is most crucial for translating play to the next level. He can skate, works hard, has scoring touch and makes high end plays.

In terms of playing against higher competition, I would have loved to see him in the Top Prospects Game. I know it's just one team, but his stats against Prince Albert (top team by far),
Game 1: 2 G, 1 A, +3 , 2 SOG
Game 2: 0 pts, -1, 3 SOG
Game 3: 1 G, -1, 4 SOG
Game 4: 1 G, 1 A, -1, 1 SOG
Game 5: 2 G, 1 A, +1, 2 SOG
Overall 5 GP: 6 G, 3 A, 9 Pts, +1, 12 SOG

So over a goal a game and almost 2 PPG against the top team in the WHL (2nd best in all of the CHL).

Defensively I'm sure he can improve (basically every young offensive player needs to improve defensively to play in the NHL), but that can be taught. He works hard and back checks (in the games I saw) and at times shows flashes of grittiness. He can still put on more muscle and that's what development years are for. Obviously I'm an advocate for Tracey, but would love to hear the your analysis on what you don't think will translate for him.

I haven’t watched him this calendar year, all of my viewings were in 2018, but I don’t see anything overly exciting about his game....just lacks wow factor. Good skater, not great, ok shot, not great, good hands, not great. He seems to know where to be on the ice. He’s ultra-skinny. He doesn’t get his nose dirty, more of a perimeter player...maybe that’s changed, it’s why I want to see him against Regina...even though Regina is bad, the rivalry is fierce. I want to see if he gets his nose dirty.

What scares me about the transition of his game to the pros is that from what I have seen he doesn’t have the elite skating, shot or vision to be a perimeter player at the pro level. That said, he is a gangly teenager. When his lower half gets stronger maybe his game adapts....I might have my answer on Saturday.

Good find on those stats against PA. I generally don’t look at stats all that closely until later in the year...other than to find guys that I should be scouting closer.

I will echo your statement about him at the TPG...would’ve been a good eye-test although I don’t personally put a lot of weight on that game.

 

[covfefe]

Not sure what in my post was so ‘bad’. But anyways, this is my last post in this thread regarding anything other than Brayden Tracey, but let’s use a very recent comparison where all three cities mentioned had players eligible for the draft and expected to go in or near the first round, 2016.

1 - 27 - Brett Howden, Moose Jaw 68GP 24G 40A 64P
1 - 30 - Sam Steel, Regina 73GP 23G 47A 70P
2-56 - Dillon Dube, Kelowna 65GP 26G 40A 76P

Weird that the underscouted guy goes first. All my post argued was that Moose Jaw is not underscouted, based on the arguments given of where Woo and Point were drafted, I guess this really disputes that. Point may have been underscouted in Moose Jaw, because he was literally the only reason to scout on that Moose Jaw team in his draft year. Doesn’t mean it’s an epidemic or something....scouts follow the talent. I’ll be there this weekend to watch the Pats and Warriors. Outside of Tracey, there really isn’t much to see in this game. Adam Evanoff, Sergei Alkhimov and Nikita Sedov have an outside chance of being drafted, but I doubt it. Won’t be the first time I’ve seen them.

The one thing I will tell you from first-hand knowledge and from talking to a few scouts is that they don’t really like watching bad teams play hockey....the problem that arises is an average draft eligible talent, like a Tracey, can look like a first-rounder in a game against a bad team. They prefer to watch these guys against top competition because that is where they are headed to. That may be where you see some of the underscouting of some players, but it isn’t exclusive to a city like Moose Jaw.

Again, Tracey is a draftable player, I just don’t see a top 3 round talent there. His game is based around his offense, and I don’t think his offense translates real well at the next level. I would certainly pick him from the 4th round on, because with his production, he makes for a reasonable bet in those rounds. He has good hockey sense and knows how to play in the offensive zone.

Re: the bolded, if anything - you're helping my side of the debate. He has torched PA this season and I am sure you know how good they are. And that's on a one-line team, too, as Moose Jaw's 4th highest scoring FW has 27 points on the year. It's not as if his opponents don't know who to shut down.

So - if they are only watching him against the top teams, what more do they want to see? He's ripped the best one to pieces this year

Also, you seem to be tacitly agreeing that scouts are not putting in their due diligence watching Tracey against teams like SC, Regina, Brandon, Medicine Hat. Those are all bad-mediocre teams lined up down 1000+ km of the highway. With maybe 1 future NHL'er on it for this year's draft. So, I suppose I think it's fair to question whether people are getting the right read(s) on this player, this year.

 

[HockeyMind9]

I haven’t watched him this calendar year, all of my viewings were in 2018, but I don’t see anything overly exciting about his game....just lacks wow factor. Good skater, not great, ok shot, not great, good hands, not great. He seems to know where to be on the ice. He’s ultra-skinny. He doesn’t get his nose dirty, more of a perimeter player...maybe that’s changed, it’s why I want to see him against Regina...even though Regina is bad, the rivalry is fierce. I want to see if he gets his nose dirty.

What scares me about the transition of his game to the pros is that from what I have seen he doesn’t have the elite skating, shot or vision to be a perimeter player at the pro level. That said, he is a gangly teenager. When his lower half gets stronger maybe his game adapts....I might have my answer on Saturday.

Good find on those stats against PA. I generally don’t look at stats all that closely until later in the year...other than to find guys that I should be scouting closer.

I will echo your statement about him at the TPG...would’ve been a good eye-test although I don’t personally put a lot of weight on that game.

You'll definitely have to let me know what you think after you see him against Regina. Based on his stats (I know it doesn't tell the whole story), he started off a little slow and then once he caught fire, he never looked back. I saw him against the Hitmen which was Moose Jaw's third game in 3 nights, so overall they were pretty bagged. Tracey was playing first line, first PP and looked to even be double shifted for good parts of the game when they were down a couple goals. He didn't get any points, but had several chances. He also ended up getting kicked out of the game in the third period for sort of trying to fight (there was a big scrum, one real fight broke out and a few others tried including Tracey). He's far from a fighter, but good to see he doesn't completely shy away from physicality.

 

[HockeyMind9]

For anyone interested in seeing him play, Moose Jaw vs. Regina will be on Sportsnet this Saturday at 1:30 MT.
Sportsnet CHL Saturday Showcase: Regina at Moose Jaw – CHL

 

[tony d]

Sounds like he could be a good 1. Might be a late 1st early 2nd rounder.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Seems a little lackadaisical defensively. Like he's waiting for someone else to get the puck & move it up.

 

[MS]

He’s a prototypical smallish junior ‘hands’ guy. High IQ and knows how to find seams and tuck in rebounds and loose pucks at this level. Works well with skill linemates and on the PP.

But nothing ‘pops’ at this level to allow for an easy projection to higher levels. Undersized, decent skater but won’t be better than average in pro, not a great shot, not really a great motor or well-developed all around game (which Point had coming out of his ears at this age).

The one thing he really does have going for him is a steep development curve. Has come from nowhere to have the season he’s had so it’s hard to know how much his game and weaknesses will still improve.

Would say he probably goes somewhere in the 50-80 range.

 

[turkeyslurpees]

He’s a prototypical smallish junior ‘hands’ guy. High IQ and knows how to find seams and tuck in rebounds and loose pucks at this level. Works well with skill linemates and on the PP.

But nothing ‘pops’ at this level to allow for an easy projection to higher levels. Undersized, decent skater but won’t be better than average in pro, not a great shot, not really a great motor or well-developed all around game (which Point had coming out of his ears at this age).

The one thing he really does have going for him is a steep development curve. Has come from nowhere to have the season he’s had so it’s hard to know how much his game and weaknesses will still improve.

Would say he probably goes somewhere in the 50-80 range.

100%. Don't like the comparisons to Point at all.

 

[PKSpecialist]

You'll definitely have to let me know what you think after you see him against Regina. Based on his stats (I know it doesn't tell the whole story), he started off a little slow and then once he caught fire, he never looked back. I saw him against the Hitmen which was Moose Jaw's third game in 3 nights, so overall they were pretty bagged. Tracey was playing first line, first PP and looked to even be double shifted for good parts of the game when they were down a couple goals. He didn't get any points, but had several chances. He also ended up getting kicked out of the game in the third period for sort of trying to fight (there was a big scrum, one real fight broke out and a few others tried including Tracey). He's far from a fighter, but good to see he doesn't completely shy away from physicality.

Seems a little lackadaisical defensively. Like he's waiting for someone else to get the puck & move it up.

He’s a prototypical smallish junior ‘hands’ guy. High IQ and knows how to find seams and tuck in rebounds and loose pucks at this level. Works well with skill linemates and on the PP.

But nothing ‘pops’ at this level to allow for an easy projection to higher levels. Undersized, decent skater but won’t be better than average in pro, not a great shot, not really a great motor or well-developed all around game (which Point had coming out of his ears at this age).

The one thing he really does have going for him is a steep development curve. Has come from nowhere to have the season he’s had so it’s hard to know how much his game and weaknesses will still improve.

Would say he probably goes somewhere in the 50-80 range.

Tracey had a 3 point game, one goal, two secondary assists. I can honestly say though, his game just doesn't move the needle for me. MS sums it up quite well. He is a perimeter player who finds the open space offensively. He absolutely shied away from contact in this one. He took a nasty crosscheck at the top of the offensive zone on a brutal missed call, but that was late in the game. He then took a bad penalty behind the Pats net because he stopped moving his feet(which I can honestly say he did way too often for my liking) - I would give him a pass on the shying away from contact on this play because he could've been hurting from the crosscheck a few minutes earlier, but he shied away from contact the whole game. He engaged in board battles 3 times in the game. The first he made a very weak attempt with a one-handed stick jab to move the puck, but didn't get into the battle at all. The second he stood behind the Pat defender, but didn't pin him and allowed the defender to move the puck, and the third he got knocked over. His skating was a little rough, but passable. He does seem to have a nose for the net, and will follow the puck there, but I didn't see him take it there in this game.

Nothing changed for me in this game as far as my impression goes. He produces, which makes him draftable, he has good IQ and gets himself in the position to score, but he plays a weak board game and is a perimeter player. I would keep him as a flyer 4-7th rounder. Certainly not in my top 100 right now.

On a side note, Tristan Langan was impressive for the Warriors today. The straw that stirred their drink offensively.

On another side note, Regina is awful. It's going to be a long 5 years for this team.