RD Roland McKeown - Kingston, OHL (2014, 50th, LAK; traded to CAR)

[UsernameWasTaken]

i'm surprised that there isn't a thread on this guy - sorry if i missed it - i searched - but the only thread i could find was one discussing where he'd be taken in the 2013 OHL draft

in any event - a fantastic player - both on the ice and off the ice. had a great year in kingston and will be playing at hlinka. i'm sure he'll be near the top of the draft board next year - top 5 would be no surprise.

...while the focus for prospects is on their junior hockey career - he also proudly distinguished himself while playing for the marlies - as the captain of his midget team - and while the hype that year was (not unjustifiably on mcdavid) he proved himself as the 'emotional centre', to a large extent, on that team.

he and mcdavid both shared the 'buck houle' award in their minor midget year.

anyhow, i'm really excited about how well he's done for himself and hope he has an exciting draft year ahead

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[Sticks and Pucks]

Does he have a good chance of surpassing Ekblad?

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Does he have a good chance of surpassing Ekblad?

in his career - or b/w now and draft day?

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

in his career - or b/w now and draft day?

Draft day. At this point in their careers, it is possible for anyone to eventually surpass anyone else.

 

[jnk96]

Does he have a good chance of surpassing Ekblad?

If there was a defenceman surpassing Ekblad, It'd be him.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Draft day. At this point in their careers, it is possible for anyone to eventually surpass anyone else.

I would doubt it. But it's possible

 

[DominicT]

Roland McKeown - Kingston Frontenacs - 2014 NHL Draft

This kid is dynamic - great skater with an offensive flare - will most probably (and in some people's opinions) take over as number one d-man from the OHL for the 2014 NHL Draft

He’s described by many as a franchise player at the junior level – a player you build your team around. It should be a great battle between McKeown and Aaron Ekblad as the number 1 defenseman to be drafted at the NHL Draft.

We had the opportunity to speak with Frontenac’s head scout Jeff McKercher:

ITO: There is no question Roland is an excellent skater who possesses extraordinary offensive abilities. How has his defensive game developed?

McKercher: Roland's really improved his defensive game as you can see by his +9 rating right now but I think the biggest thing for him is he got a lot stronger over the summer and this has really helped him out. Let’s face it, it’s tough for any 16yr old to come into our league and then we ask him to play 20 plus minutes a night against quite often the other team's top lines like he did last year. You won't find many 16yr olds that can do what he did. He's really taken his defensive game to another level and it’s been good to see.

http://ohlwriters.com/articles/roland-mckeown-kingston-frontenacs-player-profile

We may be throwing Anthony DeAngelo of the Sarnia Sting into the conversation before its all said and done

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

I know it's early, but from what people have seen of McKeown and Ekblad thus far, can McKeown pass Ekblad this year?

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

I know it's early, but from what people have seen of McKeown and Ekblad thus far, can McKeown pass Ekblad this year?

I think it's close. I'd take McKeown. His personality is better.

 

[scoutman1]

i have been saying for awhile now i like McKeown more than Ekblad....personally, Ekblad is good but to me i think he is over hyped, in the pro's i do not see NHL stud for the hype he gets, Roland i see a great future defender, I think McKeown have better hockey sense and is smoother on the ice.

 

[Michael Brand Eggs]

I think it's close. I'd take McKeown. His personality is better.

Yeah, but who's got the better sense of style?

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

I think it's close. I'd take McKeown. His personality is better.

Can you elaborate? Is Ekblad a cancer in the locker room or something?

 

[theIceWookie]

Can you elaborate? Is Ekblad a cancer in the locker room or something?

Doubt it. He wouldn't have gotten exceptional status if he had that kind of personality.

 

[theIceWookie]

McKeown is 3rd in OHL dman scoring, behind Tervor Carrick and fellow draft eligbile Anthony DeAngelo. McKeown has 7 of his 8 points scored in two games though.

What's really impressive about his season so far, is that he has only ended one game lower than a plus two, and he's already a ridiculous +15.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

McKeown has been the offensive leader of the blueline for the 6-0-1 Frontenacs. He's improved defensively (though he still needs to strengthen up for those crease battles), and his outlet passing is fantastic, always on the tape and never making the forwards break stride to receive a pass. He's money in the transition game.

I think his offensive upside is greater than Ekblad's, but right now Ekblad still has a hefty lead defensively. And Ekblad's got the advantage of size over McKeown. McKeown's hardly small, but he's still only "average" size for a defenseman (around 6'0-6'1, 185-190 lbs.).

 

[mapleleaf979]

Sometimes u see an average skill player who is playing NHL/OHL/AAA because his compete level is higher than his peers. Skill level is lower than most of his peers, but he fits in with hard work. The player knows he has to work hard to stick around. Mckeown has this mindset, even though he is dripping with high end skill. This combination to me, makes him a special player. At the NHL combine, I believe he will turn heads with his VO2 max and cardio outputs. If u had an odometer on his skates, I think he would lead the OHL in distance covered.

 

[DominicT]

Ekblad will lead OHL draft eligible d-men in goals, McKeown will lead them in assists and DeAngelo will lead them in points,

 

[EA Sports GM]

Saw the game the other night, Kitchener @ Kingston, very noticeable player. Made some good defensive plays in his end, scored the shootout winner in late (8-10th?) round. Slapshot from the hashmarks, went top right.

Seems good with the puck, created some scoring chances with passes. On one of Kitchener's goals, he was used as a screen coming back on an odd-man-rush. Other than that, no big mistakes, I think he played a solid game aside from the goal against.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

McKeown's stock seemed to fall slightly, dropping on some of the recent draft rankings released in December. But he's been on fire lately offensively, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him rise up the rankings at some point in the future.

IMO, his offensive production was the one thing keeping him from being rated as a top 15 prospect. I'd wondered if perhaps his lack of numbers had scouts wondering exactly how productive he could be moving forward. After tonight's 4 point effort (2 goals, 2 assists), he's now on pace for 12 goals and 54 points on the season, more than enough to show he's capable of providing offense from the back end. So if his stats earlier in the season were raising some red flags, his play and production in December is erasing them.

He's been outstanding in all areas of the rink this season. His defensive game has improved tremendously from his rookie season last year. He's positionally sound now, he's stronger and able to handle opposing forwards better, and his outlet passes are always on the tape. Add to that his vision and his rocket of a shot from the point, and he's turning into the complete package.

 

[herashak]

is he better than fleury

 

[Woodhouse]

If you grade McKeown against the OHL's top teams (9 GP vs ER, GUE, LDN, OSH, SSM), he's got zero points and is a -7 with 6 PIM. That means in 25 GP vs the rest of the OHL, he's accrued all of his 27 points and is a +39 with 26 PIM. I imagine scouts would prefer to see more consistency from him against those top teams before ranking him higher.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

If you grade McKeown against the OHL's top teams (9 GP vs ER, GUE, LDN, OSH, SSM), he's got zero points and is a -7 with 6 PIM. That means in 25 GP vs the rest of the OHL, he's accrued all of his 27 points and is a +39 with 26 PIM. I imagine scouts would prefer to see more consistency from him against those top teams before ranking him higher.

Love this. If you're around Ikonen, Bennett, Watson and just tap the puck you're going to get points and plus. I don't see the stud many grade him to be. I see Parent, Sanguinetti, etc in him.

 

[Anthony Mauro]

is he better than fleury

No. Fleury's bigger, more physical, with close to the same toolbox or better. Fleury is more confident keeping the puck on his stick to make a play.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

If you grade McKeown against the OHL's top teams (9 GP vs ER, GUE, LDN, OSH, SSM), he's got zero points and is a -7 with 6 PIM. That means in 25 GP vs the rest of the OHL, he's accrued all of his 27 points and is a +39 with 26 PIM. I imagine scouts would prefer to see more consistency from him against those top teams before ranking him higher.

That's a little unfair to judge him like that, given the fact that especially the Guelph and Erie games, Kingston as a whole got absolutely hammered, losing 9-3 and 7-2, respectively. In those two games, McKeown was a -4. It's also an incredibly small sample size when you include the teams in the West, given that Eastern teams only see them twice a season (thus far only once for Guelph and Erie).

Not to mention, I'm not sure why you included SSM in that. Sure he had zero points in the two games, but he was also a combined +3. He was even a +1 in the 4-2 loss to the Soo. He was very solid in his own zone versus a stingy Soo team (Kingston only scored 5 total goals against them in 2 games).

Scouts also tend to judge players on larger sample sizes, not just picking the odd game against an opponent and using that as their measuring stick. Especially when they've only played that opponent once or twice all season.

 

[drw02]

Like this kid but he's not a top 15 player imo. Maybe he goes top 15 because D prospects are pretty scarce in the 2014 draft and a team may reach a little but late 1st seems more reasonable atm.