Draft Round 1 #23: New York Rangers Select RW Gabriel Perreault (Boston College, NCAA)

[GAGLine]

Smith is in the nhl likely once this season is over, same with Leonard is my guess.
Perrault stays for a year longer would be my guess.

I'm not sure Smith will be in a hurry to join the Sharks.

Look at Cutter Gauthier. 5th overall pick, put up 37 points in 32 games as a Freshman, and he went back for another year.

This is probably Gauthier's last year, though. If Smith and Leonard leave too, I'm not sure why Gabe would stay.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I'm not sure Smith will be in a hurry to join the Sharks.

Look at Cutter Gauthier. 5th overall pick, put up 37 points in 32 games as a Freshman, and he went back for another year.

This is probably Gauthier's last year, though. If Smith and Leonard leave too, I'm not sure why Gabe would stay.

My biggest concern with Perreault is how he will do away from Smith and Leonard. If Perreault stays for his junior year, we will find out.

I don't think there's any reason to rush him. Look at how patient they are with Othmann... What's the plan with Perreault is he turns pro in 2025? Spend a year in the AHL? I rather have him play in the NCAA another year then.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

My biggest concern with Perreault is how he will do away from Smith and Leonard. If Perreault stays for his junior year, we will find out.

I don't think there's any reason to rush him. Look at how patient they are with Othmann... What's the plan with Perreault is he turns pro in 2025? Spend a year in the AHL? I rather have him play in the NCAA another year then.

Isn't there a concern with how the other two guys will do without Perreault?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

My biggest concern with Perreault is how he will do away from Smith and Leonard. If Perreault stays for his junior year, we will find out.

I don't think there's any reason to rush him. Look at how patient they are with Othmann... What's the plan with Perreault is he turns pro in 2025? Spend a year in the AHL? I rather have him play in the NCAA another year then.

You can't really draw equivalencies CHL to NCAA, but from an age standpoint Othmann would have turned pro after what would have been his Sophomore season.

I'd say thats the most likely outcome here assuming no loss in games played due to injury but I'm also assuming that he will be 10 (or hopefully more) pounds heavier by then.

 

[bhamill]

Isn't there a concern with how the other two guys will do without Perreault?

By all accounts GP is playing very well with Gauthier as well. He hasn't been exclusively with Smith and Leonard.
A smart player like Gabe will get the most out of his linemates, as long as he is playing with capable players that should continue. It's mutual benefit here, IMO. From what little I've seen, and what I've read, GP is NOT a passenger. Didn't he outscore Smith and Leonard last year?

 

[RangersFan1994]

My biggest concern with Perreault is how he will do away from Smith and Leonard. If Perreault stays for his junior year, we will find out.

I don't think there's any reason to rush him. Look at how patient they are with Othmann... What's the plan with Perreault is he turns pro in 2025? Spend a year in the AHL? I rather have him play in the NCAA another year then.

With Perreault smarts I can see him stepping into the NHL from college. Derek Stepan did. I can see Perreault playing next year in college and making the NHL in 25-26.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Smith shouldn't turn pro after this year either IMO. If Quinn stays he definitely shouldn't.

Leonard can. He's physically ready and a bunch of his game is pro ready as well. I don't know that there would be any added benefit to staying the additional year. He is what he is and it may be best for him to hone those skills at the NHL level. I expect his numbers to really pop after the WJCs.

I think smith is more pro ready than Leonard.

 

[TGWL]

wait, what? is that real?

It was a bit of a weird take, but Miller definitely improved his skating. He wasn't very good at pivots, and anytime he had to change direction with a defender coming at him, he often got beat wide because it took too long to go from skating backwards to skating forward, and forwards to backwards. He always had wheels though and is a much better skater at transitions.

 

[Levitate]

My biggest concern with Perreault is how he will do away from Smith and Leonard. If Perreault stays for his junior year, we will find out.

I don't think there's any reason to rush him. Look at how patient they are with Othmann... What's the plan with Perreault is he turns pro in 2025? Spend a year in the AHL? I rather have him play in the NCAA another year then.

Why is that your concern?

I think he'll do fine away from them assuming he continues playing with talented players. If they leave and he's stuck with plugs then yeah he's probably not gonna do as well. If he still has talented linemates he can carry a line.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Why is that your concern?

I think he'll do fine away from them assuming he continues playing with talented players. If they leave and he's stuck with plugs then yeah he's probably not gonna do as well. If he still has talented linemates he can carry a line.

Because they have played together at every level. It's very reminiscent of Ryan Gropp and Karl Henriksson (This is not a player comparison, before some idiot misinterprets this as usual). Gropp played with Barzal in Seattle and Henriksson was always playing with Raymond and Holtz for Sweden u20. Othmann playing with Shane Wright a lot when he was younger, raised similar questions.

How much of Perreault's game is elevated by playing with Smith and Leonard? I'm not saying he sucks without them. Just that if I have to name a concern, that's the one. We simply don't know how he does away from them.

Perreault is a good prospect, with upside. But I think the question marks around his game are justified. There are some weaknesses, otherwise he would have been a top-5 pick like Smith, but it's up to him to iron those out. His compete level, similar to Othmann and Cuylle, is whats stands out and can make up for a lot.

I just want to see how he does with other players on his line. He's off to a great start. Let's hope he can keep this up.

 

[GENESISPuck94]

Listening to some of you defend his skating and mock scouting reports is hard to take after literal years of some of the same people arguing that lias wasn't a bad skater or mocking other that said he was. Gabe is a much better skater than lias, but I have PTSD from so many people saying there were no issues there and it was overblown. That shorthanded goal in the preseason against the devils where he scored on one of the ugliest breakaway strides in a history of hockey was a perfect example when everybody was trying to make fun of any comments about his bad skating. The guy was f***ing terrible. I'm scarred from him still. That being said, Gabe is going to be a legitimate NHL player simply because of the way he thinks the game

He's not a pretty skater but he does get separation from defenders and such.

Here's my thing re: Perreault with Leonard and Smith. Perreault was the leading scorer for USA last year and he's only 1 point off BC lead. If he was riding coattails wouldn't he not be either team lead or 2nd?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

He's not a pretty skater but he does get separation from defenders and such.

Here's my thing re: Perreault with Leonard and Smith. Perreault was the leading scorer for USA last year and he's only 1 point off BC lead. If he was riding coattails wouldn't he not be either team lead or 2nd?

If it was that simple, Perreault would have gone in the top-10 like the other two.

 

[GENESISPuck94]

If it was that simple, Perreault would have gone in the top-10 like the other two.

The ugly stride is probably what kept him out of the top 10.

 

[Levitate]

Because they have played together at every level. It's very reminiscent of Ryan Gropp and Karl Henriksson (This is not a player comparison, before some idiot misinterprets this as usual). Gropp played with Barzal in Seattle and Henriksson was always playing with Raymond and Holtz for Sweden u20. Othmann playing with Shane Wright a lot when he was younger, raised similar questions.

How much of Perreault's game is elevated by playing with Smith and Leonard? I'm not saying he sucks without them. Just that if I have to name a concern, that's the one. We simply don't know how he does away from them.

Perreault is a good prospect, with upside. But I think the question marks around his game are justified. There are some weaknesses, otherwise he would have been a top-5 pick like Smith, but it's up to him to iron those out. His compete level, similar to Othmann and Cuylle, is whats stands out and can make up for a lot.

I just want to see how he does with other players on his line. He's off to a great start. Let's hope he can keep this up.

have you watched him play this year?

e: IMO Smith and Leonard went higher because they have frames that are very NHL projectable and are obviously skilled players with toolkits that fit into the obvious NHL toolkit

​

Perreault is smaller by a decent amount and his toolkit is more abnormal (IQ and shiftiness rather than power and shot).
I don't have a problem being cautious about him and especially letting him develop in the NCAA for at least a few years. I think worrying about him being carried by those particular players is off base though, based on my viewings of him this season. If he can't hack it at the NHL level I think it's far more about whether he apply his best talents at that level. So far he has shown, in my opinion, that he can make the leap to the NCAA and utilize his vision and ability at that level and he's not just being carried by other players. As for any prospect, whether he can bring that to the next level is the big question.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

If it was that simple, Perreault would have gone in the top-10 like the other two.

What about all of the guys that went before Pasternak?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I fail to see the comparisons between Karl Henriksson, Ryan Gropp and Gabe Perreault.

He fell because he isn't a plus skater AND he's small and light. Thats not a combo that NHL teams are particularly tripping over themselves for. Plus some teams ahead of them made really dumb picks (Minnesota in particular.) Who he played with 1000000% had an impact on him breaking the NTDP record for scoring in a season, but he wasn't the only beneficiary on that line or just mooching points off of better players.

The guy taken the highest out of the trio has actually probably been the weakest player of the 3 at BC so far - Go figure.

If there were any concerns about Othmann's production playing with Wright they would have existed before he got into the OHL. Couldn't have been too bad though because he went #2OA in his OHL draft year behind Wright.

 

[duhmetreE]

Adam Fox was taken 66th.

 

[Synergy27]

I made this argument during the draft, but to me, you simply can’t say that the guy that had the most points road any coat tails. Yes, that line had some awesome synergy, and there will be questions as to how the players will do away from each other and against better competition. But, you don’t ride shotgun and end up scoring more points than the guys you are playing with.

Smith and Leonard went higher because their games are easily projectable to the NHL with very little risk. Perreault scored more points than Leonard because he was (and maybe still is and maybe will continue to be) a better offensive player.

 

[rangersfansince08]

I made this argument during the draft, but to me, you simply can’t say that the guy that had the most points road any coat tails. Yes, that line had some awesome synergy, and there will be questions as to how the players will do away from each other and against better competition. But, you don’t ride shotgun and end up scoring more points than the guys you are playing with.

Smith and Leonard went higher because their games are easily projectable to the NHL with very little risk. Perreault scored more points than Leonard because he was (and maybe still is and maybe will continue to be) a better offensive player.

Leonard is the safe pick. Higher floor but lower ceiling but no way he doesn't end up at least a useful middle six player.

 

[NYR Viper]

I think the 'hope' should be that Perrault turns into a winger version of Logan Cooley. Yes, that's high praise but they're not that dissimilar. Cooley lit up the NCAA's as a Freshman but he was also playing BIG minutes for a Minnesota team with Matthew Knies on it who also feasted on the NCAA.

I think Perrault is probably a player who would need to cook for an additional year as compared to Cooley just because he is a bit less physically developed at the same age but playing style and the way they use their IQ to make things happen are actually not that dissimilar.

 

[UnSandvich]

Some further BB stuff, to further whet appetites:
"Simply put, Gabriel is one of the smartest players in this draft class. A quick thinker, if he gets the puck on his stick, it’s never there for too long. He knows what he’s going to do with the puck before he gets it. It does help that he plays with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, as the three of them have developed special on-ice chemistry. Perreault is a highly technical high-end passer with an exceptional ability to make passes that are extremely difficult. He sees things on the ice that very few players see, and passing lanes that simply don’t exist for most other players in this draft class. There are not many others who can pass the puck like he does; guys like Leo Carlsson, Perreault’s linemate Will Smith, and possibly Felix Unger-Sorum (later in the draft) are the other top creative playmakers in this class.

Perreault’s playmaking skills on the power play are lethal. With added time and space, he’s a threat every time he has the puck. His strong creativity level combined with his ability to find his teammates in scoring areas leads to fabulous results. Perreault has become an expert at perfect cross-ice passes to teammates near the net for one-timers or deflections. In transition, his main asset is his playmaking. He may not be a factor with his speed, but if he has one teammate open in transition, he can easily hit him with a perfect tape-to-tape pass. This is more useful for his team’s transition game than if he was rushing the puck by himself in the neutral zone.

As we have just made evident, we love his intelligence and playmaking skills, but what makes him one of the best eligible prospects in this draft is the fact that he’s a natural dual-threat. Like his older brother, Gabriel can shoot the puck at a high level. He has one of the best releases in the whole draft, and is a threat to score from anywhere in the offensive zone. He also adds a good level of deception to his shooting skills, whether it’s his poise that helps him open shooting lanes, his ability to change the angle of his shot, or his delayed-release technique that confuses goaltenders. He has quick, soft hands, can stickhandle the puck in a phone booth, and is a threat one-on-one off the rush and in small-area one-on-one confrontations."

 

[kovazub94]

I don't understand the need to project what he will be. He's a quality prospect who is doing well as an 18 year old in the NCAA. I'm happy about that and hope it means good things for the future, but I'll worry about that future when it gets here.

Second it. It looks like some posters don't understand that the further you project into the future the less room you have for certainty which will create a specific pushback "dynamic" of the responses: more conservative if projections are too optimistic as or vise versa.

Personally I wanted to see how Perreault transitions to college hockey and now I'm just happy to see that it's successful, at least through this early stage.

I'm not sure Smith will be in a hurry to join the Sharks.

Look at Cutter Gauthier. 5th overall pick, put up 37 points in 32 games as a Freshman, and he went back for another year.

This is probably Gauthier's last year, though. If Smith and Leonard leave too, I'm not sure why Gabe would stay.

what, he doesn't have a brother he wants to play in college?!?!

 

[rangersfansince08]

Some further BB stuff, to further whet appetites:
"Simply put, Gabriel is one of the smartest players in this draft class. A quick thinker, if he gets the puck on his stick, it’s never there for too long. He knows what he’s going to do with the puck before he gets it. It does help that he plays with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, as the three of them have developed special on-ice chemistry. Perreault is a highly technical high-end passer with an exceptional ability to make passes that are extremely difficult. He sees things on the ice that very few players see, and passing lanes that simply don’t exist for most other players in this draft class. There are not many others who can pass the puck like he does; guys like Leo Carlsson, Perreault’s linemate Will Smith, and possibly Felix Unger-Sorum (later in the draft) are the other top creative playmakers in this class.

Perreault’s playmaking skills on the power play are lethal. With added time and space, he’s a threat every time he has the puck. His strong creativity level combined with his ability to find his teammates in scoring areas leads to fabulous results. Perreault has become an expert at perfect cross-ice passes to teammates near the net for one-timers or deflections. In transition, his main asset is his playmaking. He may not be a factor with his speed, but if he has one teammate open in transition, he can easily hit him with a perfect tape-to-tape pass. This is more useful for his team’s transition game than if he was rushing the puck by himself in the neutral zone.

As we have just made evident, we love his intelligence and playmaking skills, but what makes him one of the best eligible prospects in this draft is the fact that he’s a natural dual-threat. Like his older brother, Gabriel can shoot the puck at a high level. He has one of the best releases in the whole draft, and is a threat to score from anywhere in the offensive zone. He also adds a good level of deception to his shooting skills, whether it’s his poise that helps him open shooting lanes, his ability to change the angle of his shot, or his delayed-release technique that confuses goaltenders. He has quick, soft hands, can stickhandle the puck in a phone booth, and is a threat one-on-one off the rush and in small-area one-on-one confrontations."

the Adam Fox of wingers

 

[kovazub94]

I fail to see the comparisons between Karl Henriksson, Ryan Gropp and Gabe Perreault.

He fell because he isn't a plus skater AND he's small and light. Thats not a combo that NHL teams are particularly tripping over themselves for. Plus some teams ahead of them made really dumb picks (Minnesota in particular.) Who he played with 1000000% had an impact on him breaking the NTDP record for scoring in a season, but he wasn't the only beneficiary on that line or just mooching points off of better players.

The guy taken the highest out of the trio has actually probably been the weakest player of the 3 at BC so far - Go figure.

If there were any concerns about Othmann's production playing with Wright they would have existed before he got into the OHL. Couldn't have been too bad though because he went #2OA in his OHL draft year behind Wright.

I get "passenger" concerns in general when a prospect gets to play a lot of time with ubertalented teammates. But IMO it goes back to the same question of not making too optimistic projections too early. But it has little to do with the decision of where to play. If anything, using Gropp as a reference - we objectively learned about his true level only when he moved and couldn't keep up in the AHL. In GP case leaving college after two years would seem pretty par for the course for someone in his position.

 

[JCProdigy]

I fail to see the comparisons between Karl Henriksson, Ryan Gropp and Gabe Perreault.

When I think about this aspect, I compare Perreault more to Caufield and Boldy and being away from each other and Hughes.

BTW, They both were fine in College for two years and have transitioned well to the NHL.