Prospect Info: Max Graham (C - #139 Overall - Round 5 - 2024 Draft)

[Ripshot 43]

very little.......


That guy had 135 pim's?

Imagine the damage you could do with that thing lifted over your head!

 

[evnted]

named kelowna captain. thus concludes his 24-25 season highlights in fairness he actually had, what i would now like to dub, a max graham hat trick the other day: a minor, a major, and a misconduct (all on separate plays, mind you)

Rockets name leadership group for 2024-25 season with Max Graham as 29th Captain in team history - Kelowna Rockets

The Kelowna Rockets have announced their leadership group for the 2024-25 campaign. Twenty-year-old forward Max Graham has been named the 29th captain in franchise history with defenceman Caden Price and forwards Tij Iginla and Andrew Cristall named assistant captains. “We’re excited and pleased...

chl.ca

 

[devilsblood]

named kelowna captain. thus concludes his 24-25 season highlights in fairness he actually had, what i would now like to dub, a max graham hat trick the other day: a minor, a major, and a misconduct (all on separate plays, mind you)

Rockets name leadership group for 2024-25 season with Max Graham as 29th Captain in team history - Kelowna Rockets

The Kelowna Rockets have announced their leadership group for the 2024-25 campaign. Twenty-year-old forward Max Graham has been named the 29th captain in franchise history with defenceman Caden Price and forwards Tij Iginla and Andrew Cristall named assistant captains. “We’re excited and pleased...

chl.ca

A 20 year old Max Graham playing junior's hockey just ain't right, but him being captain is pretty cool.

Let's see what kind of numbers he puts up. Really don't think a lot of fights needs to be part of the mix. But if he can build upon the solid goal scoring from last year that would be cool.

Wonder if he get's special teams minutes.

 

[Sheros expletives]

A 20 year old Max Graham playing junior's hockey just ain't right.

It says twenty-year-old right there

 

[devilsblood]

It says twenty-year-old right there

My glasses were off.

I did correct it.

 

[evnted]

have mercy on me i spent my friday night watching max graham play hockey

• most of his offensive contributions centered around setting up shop right outside the crease and fighting for space. he was extremely competitive in this regard, but he struggled to make himself a consistent option. basically, he was constantly battling defenders and so infrequently actually tried pulling away/getting his stick in position for a redirect
• when he did possess the puck in the off zone, those playmaking flashes i talked about were still very apparent. surprisingly good reads/timing to find linemates for dangerous scoring chances. confident carries, too. never stationary, always circling the zone with a lot of momentum
• i dont know if its implicitly trying to tie him to tom wilson or what but i feel like he should be a better shooter than he is and its just not the case. struggled to get pucks through to the net, had some ill-advised decisions to curl the puck out in traffic, even in tight a lot of his chances didnt wind up being anything great because either the placement wasnt there or he couldnt get it off in time
• i cant believe im saying this but his backchecking was actually really good. legitimately. multiple, multiple intercepts, be it from proactively taking away lanes, getting a clean stick check in, or just huffing it back and creating pressure. jumped started many plays in transition with a mix of carries and quick passes
• the hits he was finishing man...they looked like they hurt. he was coming in with some heat tonight
• impact was felt specifically in puck battles. wasnt always coming away with it (more often than not he did), but his stick caused havoc and he was making defenders pay the price for being involved
• as is the trend, he was really good at being disruptive off the puck. lifting sticks to clear lanes, using his body to get defenders off balance as hes crashing in on the forecheck, etc.

i need to contextualize some things
--hes a 6'3" 209lb captain playing his 4th season in the whl. regardless of how much weve roasted the pick, hes supposed to be halfway decent lol
--he plays 1LW with tij iginla (who im sure you all remember me hyping up this past draft) and andrew cristall who, while having some warts to his projection, is a tremendous playmaker. by design, graham is letting them do a lot of the work offensively

he...kinda can hang with talent. the big thing is gonna be getting him to figure out how to be an active threat in front and not just a nuisance to defenders, but he keeps up, moves pucks well, and creates space. the off puck contributions are quite good. the picks still hard to like given the options we passed on, but i appreciate the fact that it didnt already blow up by now lol

 

[Guadana]

have mercy on me i spent my friday night watching max graham play hockey

• most of his offensive contributions centered around setting up shop right outside the crease and fighting for space. he was extremely competitive in this regard, but he struggled to make himself a consistent option. basically, he was constantly battling defenders and so infrequently actually tried pulling away/getting his stick in position for a redirect
• when he did possess the puck in the off zone, those playmaking flashes i talked about were still very apparent. surprisingly good reads/timing to find linemates for dangerous scoring chances. confident carries, too. never stationary, always circling the zone with a lot of momentum
• i dont know if its implicitly trying to tie him to tom wilson or what but i feel like he should be a better shooter than he is and its just not the case. struggled to get pucks through to the net, had some ill-advised decisions to curl the puck out in traffic, even in tight a lot of his chances didnt wind up being anything great because either the placement wasnt there or he couldnt get it off in time
• i cant believe im saying this but his backchecking was actually really good. legitimately. multiple, multiple intercepts, be it from proactively taking away lanes, getting a clean stick check in, or just huffing it back and creating pressure. jumped started many plays in transition with a mix of carries and quick passes
• the hits he was finishing man...they looked like they hurt. he was coming in with some heat tonight
• impact was felt specifically in puck battles. wasnt always coming away with it (more often than not he did), but his stick caused havoc and he was making defenders pay the price for being involved
• as is the trend, he was really good at being disruptive off the puck. lifting sticks to clear lanes, using his body to get defenders off balance as hes crashing in on the forecheck, etc.

i need to contextualize some things
--hes a 6'3" 209lb captain playing his 4th season in the whl. regardless of how much weve roasted the pick, hes supposed to be halfway decent lol
--he plays 1LW with tij iginla (who im sure you all remember me hyping up this past draft) and andrew cristall who, while having some warts to his projection, is a tremendous playmaker. by design, graham is letting them do a lot of the work offensively

he...kinda can hang with talent. the big thing is gonna be getting him to figure out how to be an active threat in front and not just a nuisance to defenders, but he keeps up, moves pucks well, and creates space. the off puck contributions are quite good. the picks still hard to like given the options we passed on, but i appreciate the fact that it didnt already blow up by now lol

Thanks for your work a lot!

I still would prefer to find potential Iginlas and Crystalls in later round, because mostly Grahams are free on the market, can be found in ncaa. And I'm talking about better versions.
But we should move on. He is the pick, so. Its interesting that he is on his place with better players. He is very experienced and I woukd like to see him play in harder league but may be a couple of better players woll teach him how to be ready for their fast decisions. If he wil be average with his passing it will really help him to survive. For now I will be happy if he will become more than bottom line player in ahl.