Agree with everything you're saying. I've only seen highlight packs of him. I think he's in a good spot though. Even if he doesn't have the raw skills that Hyman does (Hyman was a monster putting up numbers in college), he should still be a really good bottom 6er.
Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread - Vote Miettinen for the Hobey Baker!
- Thread starter BertCorbeau
- Start date
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The Toronto Marlies have added 5 OHL players on AHL Tryout offers:
F James Hardie (2002)
F Cole MacKay (2001)
F Zack Trott (2000)
F Keegan Stevenson (2000)
G Kai Edmonds (2000)
F James Hardie (2002)
F Cole MacKay (2001)
F Zack Trott (2000)
F Keegan Stevenson (2000)
G Kai Edmonds (2000)
Really like Hardie. Hopefully he can impress. He's one of those guys that I feel would have really exploded this year with his offensive output.
The rest are pretty "meh" and seem like favours / roster filler imo.
SeaOfBlue
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- Aug 1, 2013
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Three Soo guys (Stevenson plays for Guelph though) and two Mississauga guys.Fortunately, I follow Soo and Mississauga so I know quite a bit about them.
James Hardie
Pros: Excellent shot, one of the top goal scorers in the entire CHL as a draft-eligible prospect (it is arguably pro-level already). Very nice skater as well, both in terms of speed, agility, and balance. Solid hands, playmaking ability, and offensive IQ to offer more than just a snipe, but his shot is his main asset. Works hard on the puck, can forecheck quite well, and is solid on the cycle.
Cons: Needs to fill out to be more effective in tight areas. Questionable effort away from the puck, especially in his own end, which is the main reason he went undrafted. As many scouting reports have suggested, he does float around a lot and at times it is so bad that it almost looks like he is a bad skater (although he does know how to skate). Will force shots, but does feel a burden on a Mississauga team that lacks high end offensive talent besides himself.
In many respects, his profile is very similar to Gogolev's. Similar weaknesses, similar strengths, although I would argue that Hardie has shown more at 18 than Gogolev did and has less to work on in terms of his skating and shot. If Hardie shows a renewed commitment to his play away from the puck, and bulks up a little bit, he could end up taken in the mid-rounds where he was once tabbed to be taken in the 2020 NHL draft.
Cole MacKay
Pros: Extremely hard worker in all areas of the ice. Will go to tight areas, lay himself out and play physically and make high IQ plays in the offensive and defensive end.
Cons: He is not very skilled nor large enough to continue to be successful playing his style of play in the pros without bulking up. His shot is pretty much average. His skating is average at best, but more likely below average. His puck skills are nothing special. Even defensively he is nothing overly special. So he is average or worse across the board in the skill department.
He is the kind of character guy you take a chance on with an AHL deal. He works extremely hard and is the kind of guy who, after 3 or 4 years of really hard work, may get a chance to prove himself in the NHL as a bottom 6er. Most likely just settles in as an energy guy for an AHL team, and not a guy you put on draft boards.
As for the other three, I am not going into as much detail. All three are likely going the USports route after their OHL careers are done, and I doubt any of them get more than a game or two in the AHL:
Keegan Stevenson is similar to MacKay, but worse... Which makes him even more of a long shot.
Trott has come a long way from being a 14th round OHL pick and only putting up 3 points in 60 combined regular and playoff games in his DY. I think this is a reward for his hard work in SSM, but he pretty much resembles Riley Wood and Wood was not a huge standout in the ECHL or anything (resulting in him not being brought back this year).
Kai Edmonds was ass to start the year but really picked it up in the second half to become a solid starter for Mississauga. Average OHL starter, but I would take him as over D'Agostini of course. Too bad Lennox can't be the Marlies backup while Woll is in the NHL.
--
To conclude, Marlies are just giving these guys some training time before they go back to the OHL in March. Hardie is the only one with NHL draft upside. They are likely keeping close tabs on him for one of our mid-round picks and seeing how hard he works on his game away from the puck in about a month and a half. He may get a few games. The rest are fighting for AHL contracts in the future, but I think MacKay (and of course, Hardie) is the only one who could end up earning one. Each of the guys will likely get a game or two, but I think the Marlies will want to give more opportunities to their signed AHL contract guys instead.
Leaf Fans
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- Sep 29, 2017
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Leafs at Knight
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Magic Man
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The highlight package from the same game where Tverberg crushed 3 guys from earlier in the year was great. He looks to be the type of player where you have to pay attention when he's on the ice or you could leave the game early. Old school hockey.
kk87
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hockeynorth
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- Aug 31, 2017
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Just to add on to this
Fortunately, I follow Soo and Mississauga so I know quite a bit about them.
James Hardie
Pros: Excellent shot, one of the top goal scorers in the entire CHL as a draft-eligible prospect (it is arguably pro-level already). Very nice skater as well, both in terms of speed, agility, and balance. Solid hands, playmaking ability, and offensive IQ to offer more than just a snipe, but his shot is his main asset. Works hard on the puck, can forecheck quite well, and is solid on the cycle.
Cons: Needs to fill out to be more effective in tight areas. Questionable effort away from the puck, especially in his own end, which is the main reason he went undrafted. As many scouting reports have suggested, he does float around a lot and at times it is so bad that it almost looks like he is a bad skater (although he does know how to skate). Will force shots, but does feel a burden on a Mississauga team that lacks high end offensive talent besides himself.
In many respects, his profile is very similar to Gogolev's. Similar weaknesses, similar strengths, although I would argue that Hardie has shown more at 18 than Gogolev did and has less to work on in terms of his skating and shot. If Hardie shows a renewed commitment to his play away from the puck, and bulks up a little bit, he could end up taken in the mid-rounds where he was once tabbed to be taken in the 2020 NHL draft.
Cole MacKay
Pros: Extremely hard worker in all areas of the ice. Will go to tight areas, lay himself out and play physically and make high IQ plays in the offensive and defensive end.
Cons: He is not very skilled nor large enough to continue to be successful playing his style of play in the pros without bulking up. His shot is pretty much average. His skating is average at best, but more likely below average. His puck skills are nothing special. Even defensively he is nothing overly special. So he is average or worse across the board in the skill department.
He is the kind of character guy you take a chance on with an AHL deal. He works extremely hard and is the kind of guy who, after 3 or 4 years of really hard work, may get a chance to prove himself in the NHL as a bottom 6er. Most likely just settles in as an energy guy for an AHL team, and not a guy you put on draft boards.
As for the other three, I am not going into as much detail. All three are likely going the USports route after their OHL careers are done, and I doubt any of them get more than a game or two in the AHL:
Keegan Stevenson is similar to MacKay, but worse... Which makes him even more of a long shot.
Trott has come a long way from being a 14th round OHL pick and only putting up 3 points in 60 combined regular and playoff games in his DY. I think this is a reward for his hard work in SSM, but he pretty much resembles Riley Wood and Wood was not a huge standout in the ECHL or anything (resulting in him not being brought back this year).
Kai Edmonds was ass to start the year but really picked it up in the second half to become a solid starter for Mississauga. Average OHL starter, but I would take him as over D'Agostini of course. Too bad Lennox can't be the Marlies backup while Woll is in the NHL.
--
To conclude, Marlies are just giving these guys some training time before they go back to the OHL in March. Hardie is the only one with NHL draft upside. They are likely keeping close tabs on him for one of our mid-round picks and seeing how hard he works on his game away from the puck in about a month and a half. He may get a few games. The rest are fighting for AHL contracts in the future, but I think MacKay (and of course, Hardie) is the only one who could end up earning one. Each of the guys will likely get a game or two, but I think the Marlies will want to give more opportunities to their signed AHL contract guys instead.
Leafs had serious interest in MacKay in his DY
hockeynorth
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Tbh my first thought looking at those forwards was ew.
I want SDA into that lineup ASAP
Morgs
#16 #34 #44 #88 #91
Same. Other than Anderson, Brazeau, and mayyyyyybe Elyunik its uninteresting as hell.
LeafChief
Matthew Knies Enthusiast
Hoping this means Robertson gets into a bunch of AHL games next week.
hockeynorth
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Interesting, was hoping he'd get NHL games next week.
Robertson-Brooks-Anderson is much more attractive than Kalle Kossila from a Leafs fan point of view
Hopefully Sandin/Liljegren step right into huge minutes. The defense is deep but these guys need every minute they can.
hockeynorth
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I can't speak to a raw skill comparison, but by production Tverberg is atleast equal if not significantly ahead of Hyman, (albeit very small stretch of games). Like Tverberg was initially planning Hyman played his U19 in junior rather than playing as a true freshman in the NCAA, and then didn't flirt with .5 points per game in the NCAA until his (delayed) junior year - three seasons older than Tverberg his now. His explosion didn't come till his U23 senior year.
I imagine he’s essentially on a conditioning stint. Play next week with the Marlies and then come back up.
Ya it is very hard for true freshmen to put up numbers in the NCAA right away. Especially if you don’t come with the high draft pedigree like a cole caulfield. Which is why I am so over the moon with a prospect like Veeti Miettinen. He is far exceeding his draft position, and truly lighting it up as a true freshmen. And to a lesser degree Abruzzese last year. The NCAA has come a very long way in recent years. It is no longer exclusively the premier landing spot for US born talent. You are seeing more and more high level Canadian talents opt out of major junior to play in the NCAA. A guy like Cale Makar would have never played in the NCAA 15-20 years ago. So to put up numbers in the NCAA is quite an accomplishment. As for Tverberg’s trajectory, he looks to be following Hyman’s model to a T. Going from the OJ to the NCAA, hard worker, will over skill type of player...He has been almost a carbon copy of Hyman till this point. Hyman is a great example of that typical linear progression that you usually see from freshman to senior year players (from a pt total perspective). My guess is that Hyman has a bit more natural offensive skill then Tverberg. Only based on Hymans stupid stat line in the OJ vs Tverberg’s. That said, it looks like Ryan is playing his way into the coaches favour, which should really help him the next couple years getting more opportunities to produce. If he can manage to put up a point/game at some point in his collegiate career that would be fantastic for his growth.
Has anyone seen Ryan O'Connell? (We can all read a stats sheet, no input needed based on his numbers, they're not good)
If so, is there any chance that he's one of those unheralded guys that comes out of nowhere with a mobile defensive game or a just a complete non-prospect at this point?
If so, is there any chance that he's one of those unheralded guys that comes out of nowhere with a mobile defensive game or a just a complete non-prospect at this point?
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Keefe mentioned he's played 1 minute of hockey this season so needs to get some play time with the Marlies before he comes back up. Maybe after the road trip depending how he does.
Ok that’s reassuring. I’d feel gutted for the kid. He’s worked his bag off to get to the show. Passed up a gold medal to make the leafs, and a fluke injury put him in the minors. He’s NHL ready. And we really could use him in the lineup with simmer and Jumbo still out...and vesey being garbagio. Hopefully it’s for a quick conditioning stint, and then back up to the big boys
stickty111
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- Jan 23, 2017
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Holmberg another assist today.
found this nice little pre-draft pack about Tverberg on Youtube. Looks like he has way better speed and skill than I was expecting to be honest. From the clips I had seen previous, he looked more like a mucker/grinder. I know the OJHL is not held in as high regard as the BC and AJ, so maybe the competition is a bit weaker. But in this video he looks like a dominating force. At age 17 that's very impressive
Agreed. A few that are interesting like Brazeau and Gogolev and Anderson. Other than that, it's not very exciting but at least there are some projects in there. I can't wait until next season or the year after for the influx of talent from the recent drafts.
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