Draft Round 1 #23: New York Rangers Select RW Gabriel Perreault (Boston College, NCAA)
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NYR Viper
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The area he is deficient in is exactly what many have said. Puck battles are his area of struggle and that's a strength thing
- Jan 18, 2012
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For sure.
I think it's also relevant to note that based off of this data set he's out performed both Smith and Leonard in puck battles.
I Eat Crow
Fear The Mullet
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Send him to the same training program Zuccarello and MSL went to when he played, whatever they were. Both small guys that are really strong on their skates and stronger on the puck than one would expect otherwise. If he does nothing but gain 10 lbs of muscle and work on defense his sophomore year, I'd be thrilled.
panarin is kind of the same way. hes wiry strong and very good at keeping himself between the puck and the defender when he has it in the o-zone and hes pretty strong on the stick when trying to win a puck in the o-zone.
GAGLine
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He's okay at it, but I think MSL and Zucc did/do win board battles more consistently. Panarin is a bit taller than them. Maybe the lower center of gravity helps.
I wonder how much coaches teach regarding board battles. Something I notice with Mika quite a bit is he'll engage with the defender but end up behind the player rather than in front of him, so that he's no longer between the puck and our goal, giving the defender a lane to move the puck up the boards.
Amazing Kreiderman
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- Apr 11, 2011
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Synergy27
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He’s not small like those guys though. He’s an average sized kid. Just needs to fill out a bit.
The Crypto Guy
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Camp started today. Gabe getting a look on the first PP unit early on:
romba
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Not to derail the thread, but Mika has had his share of concussions and has stayed relatively healthy the past few years. He’s adjusted how he plays especially when arriving at the end board with speed on dump ins (higher risk plays for injury) where he prefers to be the ‘responder’ versus the ‘initiator’, which means letting the defender get body position on the puck putting Zibs at a disadvantage. He also tries to finesse the puck away from the defender without as much physical engagement. When he does go in first he either tries to use speed and agility to get in and out quick, or he’s very defensive with his stick raised off the ice due to using his hands to brace himself against the boards and then uses his skates to kick the puck ahead.
It is what it is, which is why he needs two other guys who can win board battles, something Kakko had struggled with this year, and Wheeler also isn’t so great at.
Amazing Kreiderman
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Correct.
5'11" is not small. It's average. I know a lot of people draw a very arbitrary line at 6 ft for hockey players but the difference between 6 ft and 5'11" is not as big a deal as people make it out to be. People using the metric system would never say "Well, he's not 1m 82 cm so he's too small". 6 ft is just the arbitrary cut-off because it's a round number in the imperial system
There are a lot of players who became successful and even physical contributors in the NHL despite being 5'11".
Kucherov, Bratt, Trocheck, Raymond, Kaprizov, Suzuki, Crosby, Point, Guentzel, Jack Hughes, Keller, Marchand, Giroux, Marchessault, Coleman, Skinner, Teräväinen, Atkinson, Mangiapane, Domi, Haula, Gourde, Pageau, Gallagher, Tatar, Zucker, Lehkonen
To me, size does matter to a degree but it's at most a tie-breaker. As in, you have a 6'4" and 5"11" player who are similarly talented. You go with the 6'4" guy. But other than that, size is massively overrated even in hockey.
- Jul 28, 2011
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It's not the size that matters. It's the motion....
For real, though, being an absolute tank with your lower half will benefit you a lot more than a few inches. Having the ability to be tough to knock off the puck because you're well grounded goes a long way. All size does is give you reach. Of course having size and being a tank is a little different than just counting inches.
For real, though, being an absolute tank with your lower half will benefit you a lot more than a few inches. Having the ability to be tough to knock off the puck because you're well grounded goes a long way. All size does is give you reach. Of course having size and being a tank is a little different than just counting inches.
Height/reach is way more important for defensemen than it is for forwards. Same goes for skating too honestly.
kovazub94
Enigmatic
- Aug 5, 2010
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Size is being used as a substitute for strength and reach - two important aspects. By definition a taller person would be more likely to be both stronger and have a longer reach but it's not axiom.Correct.
5'11" is not small. It's average. I know a lot of people draw a very arbitrary line at 6 ft for hockey players but the difference between 6 ft and 5'11" is not as big a deal as people make it out to be. People using the metric system would never say "Well, he's not 1m 82 cm so he's too small". 6 ft is just the arbitrary cut-off because it's a round number in the imperial system
There are a lot of players who became successful and even physical contributors in the NHL despite being 5'11".
Kucherov, Bratt, Trocheck, Raymond, Kaprizov, Suzuki, Crosby, Point, Guentzel, Jack Hughes, Keller, Marchand, Giroux, Marchessault, Coleman, Skinner, Teräväinen, Atkinson, Mangiapane, Domi, Haula, Gourde, Pageau, Gallagher, Tatar, Zucker, Lehkonen
To me, size does matter to a degree but it's at most a tie-breaker. As in, you have a 6'4" and 5"11" player who are similarly talented. You go with the 6'4" guy. But other than that, size is massively overrated even in hockey.
Yeah I would guess the average defenseman is probably an inch or two taller than the average forward, following that logic you outlined where they're also then going to be stronger with a larger wingspan and better reach. All of which are perhaps more important for a defenseman than a forward.
What is his upside Clayton Keller be a good comparison? Whenever I see Perreault play I get Keller vibes.
The Crypto Guy
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Great WJC for Gabe!
3G / 7A / 10P in 7 games, but more importantly he scored 7 of those points when the real knockout games started (and 3 in the gold medal game).
Congrats on the Gold!!!!!
3G / 7A / 10P in 7 games, but more importantly he scored 7 of those points when the real knockout games started (and 3 in the gold medal game).
Congrats on the Gold!!!!!
Ail
Based and Rangerspilled.
Really nice tourny for him, showed all kinds of skill on both sides of the puck. Rangers finally take the faller and it is looking real good.
ElLeetch
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Perrault and Othmann gonna turn out better than Kakko and Laf. Typical rangers fashion.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
49 might be the ugliest hockey number there is
Edit: sorry I just saw on Twitter that you have his jersey
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The Crypto Guy
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Points are what they are (he is a production machine, we knew this) but the biggest standout for me was how… good he was in the corners?
He won a ton of battles and was a puck retrieval machine in this tournament. Created 2 turnovers in the OZ in the semi final game which led to high danger chances (Smith beefed both.)
Wish we could give him Barbashev’s body.
He won a ton of battles and was a puck retrieval machine in this tournament. Created 2 turnovers in the OZ in the semi final game which led to high danger chances (Smith beefed both.)
Wish we could give him Barbashev’s body.
