Bubbles
Die Hard for Bedard 2023
Hat trick for a defenseman! Quietly having a good season...I mean really quietly as he's not mentioned in the top 5 of WHL draft eligible D.
Been really impressed with him every time I watch Vancouver. He’s relied on a lot and is basically the only dman on the team who can transport the puck effectively and is not afraid to activate to hold the offensive zone.
It’s a shame this Vancouver team doesn’t have a couple better 2003’s that could help with their scoring problems. Literally only scoring more than the rebuilding Oil Kings, which to me is not good for the young talent on this roster. PG also has young players but have done way better at insulating that talent with older skill.
This is what I'm wonderingDidn't even get a development camp invite? Is there something scaring teams off?
“The general feeling in the scouting world (thanks to my colleague Adam Kierszenblat for that information) is that Leslie will be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. That jives with most outlets as almost all of them don’t have him ranked.”might be some red flag the public doesn't know about
Even so, when you're in the 7th round and teams are drafting guys that had literally 5 assists and 0 goals in their entire CHL draft season, who really have 0% chance of becoming an NHLer...like why not just throw a dart at Leslie?“The general feeling in the scouting world (thanks to my colleague Adam Kierszenblat for that information) is that Leslie will be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. That jives with most outlets as almost all of them don’t have him ranked.”
Mazden Leslie - 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More
Mazden Leslie is an intriguing high-risk, high-reward type of selection. Why should a team take a chance on him at the 2023 NHL Draft?thehockeywriters.com
It seems like his defensive game is just really that bad, that even with the obvious skills on offense, teams want no part of him.
Perhaps they see (or hear) that he’s not willing to work on his defensive game either.
I was quite shocked Leslie wasn’t drafted or invited to a development camp. His defensive game needs work but it’s not terrible by any stretch, especially not DND level. And he’s got good size as well, over 6 feet tall and can separate forwards from the puck along the boards. I think he could be a strong candidate as an overager to be drafted. Looking at the defenseman who were selected in 6th and 7th rounds, shocking they were taken before Leslie.
Samuel Urban was invited to Montreal camp and he’s a 2005 so I believe anyone can be invited but of course until they sign they are still eligible to drafted by a different team next year or the year afterI'm not sure but I believe that invitations to camps only work for prospects already drafted and those who are no longer eligible for the next draft.