He’s been falling a lot from scouts that watch these kids a lot . Lot of people have him 20-30 range now .
RD Logan Hensler - USNTDP, USHL (2025 Draft)
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WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
Was gonna say.. thread is quiet because he's not a top 10 pick. He'll go somewhere in round 1 because of his pedigree and position, but I don't think you are looking at more than a #4 at best, but more likely a 5.
AlternateSideParking
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I’m talking about real NHL scouts, not the clueless geeks in the media.
AlternateSideParking
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AlternateSideParking
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Anyway, Hensler was pretty good last night as Wisconsin snapped its winless streak in a win over Notre Dame. Gap was tight and finished his checks with authority. Earned a primary by dropping down around the net and finding Melenbacher in the slot. He looks like a pro defenseman despite being a freshman on a young and banged-up team in the nation’s toughest conference.
He’s not going top 15 because he shouldn’t . The fact people had him slipping in the top 10 in the beginning of the year was the issue .
Patty Ice
Mighty Luca
He wasn’t great at world juniors and he’s having an average but solid year at wisconsin . He doesn’t do anything really good and he projects as bottom pair dmen - that sound like a top 10 pick lol . Outside Schaefer the dmen in the class from what i watched and scouts that i listen too think it’s a weak class . I think he goes 17-24 probably which is great but I don’t see top 10 pick and I think he’s 4 -5 th dmen taken .
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Patty Ice
Mighty Luca
Much more reasonable. I tend to agree that he's likely not going to be a top 10 pick, I do think you are selling him short. I think he is handling himself very well as a freshman and with this weak class plus the fact that he is a righty, I don't see him falling out of the teens (even though I would love it if he was around the Stars pick). I think he has the makings of a very solid if unspectacular top 4 damn that would fit very well with the group the Sharks have collected this far.
HuGort
Registered User
Patty Ice
Mighty Luca
I'd use another (former) Canes defenseman Brett Pesce as a comp as far as what his offensive production might look like and being a righty.
Nothing flashy but damn solid. A top 4 guy on a contender in his prime.
My wish is for Grier to sucker some GM drafting in the teens to take the Stars pick and the Sharks second so they can pick him up.
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Hi, Wisconsin season ticket holder here. Here are my thoughts on Hensler:
Hensler’s skill set and size are quality traits towards an NHL projection. Hockey IQ leaves a lot to be desired. There are a ton of chances against/goals against this year that can be traced back to a decision he made in the offensive zone and neutral zone. He will often try to make the hero play instead of using his teammates as well.
Playing 18 minutes a night in D1 NCAA is better than 23 minutes a night in the CHL.
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Logan Hensler is the most boring 6-20 range prospect ever. He’ll go somewhere in that range. He’ll be like an NHL 3 or 4. People work themselves up about him way too much. The thread isn’t lively because he’s not exciting.
AlternateSideParking
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The bolded can be said about Dexheimer and Palodichuk as well. If you recall, Hensler was more reserved when paired with Laatsch, who got hurt and forced Hastings to mess with his pairings.
Hastings said on his radio spot that he was counting on Hensler to be more aggressive, which explains why 10 of his 12 points have come in the last 18 games. Then he paired him Dexheimer which made sense offensively but led to plenty of odd-man rushes. Seems like the coach is the one putting pressure on Hensler to create since the blue line is green. Hastings has even had to use a forward on defense because of the injuries (think it was Hornach and someone else).
I don’t think it’s an IQ problem at all and I definitely don’t see his turnovers coming in bunches. Saying “a ton” is a stretch. Werenski, the Hughes brothers and Levshunov were turnover machines in their draft years, way more than Hensler’s been.
If you need specific examples, I’m talking about the Michigan games after the WJC, the Gopher series in Mariucci, and last night against ND.
Besides, Hastings has always been a coach who pushes his dmen. It’s an up-tempo system and Hensler has looked good all things considered.
AlternateSideParking
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It’s a shitty year for defensemen. But he’s been more involved on offense the last few weeks. He was more vanilla in the first half, but he was new to the NCAA. Hanifin was boring as well early at BC but produced in the second half. Youngest defender on a top-heavy team in the toughest conference in the nation.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
"Vanilla 6'2" right-handed NCAA defenseman who was solid at the WJC" is an archetype that will get drafted top-15 comfortably IMO. If he was a lefty, he might fall into the second round.
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Yeah, I'm not low on Hensler. I think he's better than most people do. I don't find him exciting, but I think he will go higher than people think and should go higher than people think, if they think he's a late first. He's a top 10-15 pick for me all day, likely top 10.
AlternateSideParking
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I hated his WJC, but I def agree that a prominent 6’2 righty will go higher mostly because many lottery teams have sucked for some time and likely already loaded up forwards. We see it every year. Hensler’s skating ability makes him even more enticing.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
Yeah, any 6'2" RHD who can skate like Hensler can and hold his own in the NCAA at 18 has a really easy projection as a Cody Ceci type in the NHL. Doesn't have to have good hockey IQ to be a useful cog on a good team.
I think you like Hensler to the point of ignoring problems that exist in his game.
My expectation for dmen is to not be a detriment in the goals against department unless you are elite offensively. 12 points on the year going into the final regular season game is not elite.
Dexheimer for sure has stupid plays all the time. Dexheimer and Hensler are the worst dmen on the team by a country mile in terms of +/- and that is 100% earned through their poor decision making. As for Palodichuk, he has been injured almost the entire season… he’s played 8 games. He was my favorite player last year and I expect a bounceback season next year.
I am blown away by the comparison to Q Hughes, L Hughes and Werenski. Just a wild comparison. Not the same player type at all. Zeev Buium is a much better comparison to the Hughes brothers. Not Hensler; his offense isn’t good enough. Hensler’s type should be more Suter/McDonagh (if all goes right), if I’m comparing to past badgers.
Question for you, do you follow Badger hockey or do you just follow the team because Hensler is on the roster?
I’m not overly negative on him just think it’s a stretch he’s a top 10 in the draft . The argument on him is he top 10 and top 4 potential dmen verse 15-25 and more 4-7 dmen in the nhl . Great insight from people who watch every game . At least we got lot of people talking about him and his potential .
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