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

UnSandvich

UnSandvich

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IDvsEGO said:
IQ and vision are hard to really identify with that entire line. Theyve played together for what 3 years now?
Hard to identify those two things when theyre that coordinated.
Thats why theres people who say they need to split the line up.

Also hard to really challenge IQ when smith is ahead of the play due to speed. Thats one of the reasons we got burned with Hajak. He was faster than most defenseman so we didnt realize he was a step slow to plays.
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There's a lot of "wish" and "hope" plays to Smith's game. Hail Mary stuff that wows you if it works, but kills you when it doesn't. Tbh i think Zegras is his ceiling, one that'll take a lot breaking right to hit. Smith definitely has the advantage in terms of skating, but I think Perreault makes up the ground with just how high his hockey IQ is. If he skated like Smith does, Perreault was probably a Top 5 pick, even with position accounted for
 
wolfgaze

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Perreault has fantastic hands, stunning hockey sense,

IMG_20240114_220659.jpg
 
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bhamill

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IDvsEGO said:
IQ and vision are hard to really identify with that entire line. Theyve played together for what 3 years now?
Hard to identify those two things when theyre that coordinated.
Thats why theres people who say they need to split the line up.

Also hard to really challenge IQ when smith is ahead of the play due to speed. Thats one of the reasons we got burned with Hajak. He was faster than most defenseman so we didnt realize he was a step slow to plays.
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IQ and vision are obvious With Gabe. Not hard to identify at all. If they are hard to identify with Smith maybe it’s because they are not his Forte.
Smith is only ”ahead of the play” on the rush. You can watch him in the OZ and see that his IQ and vision cant compare to GP. He doesn’t do or see the things GP does. It’s not a mystery. They have different strengths to their games, and when it comes to IQ/V, GP is head and shoulders above Smith. And pretty much almost the entirety of the NCAA. GP IS ELITE in that category and Smith simply is not.
 
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bhamill

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bobbop said:
Smith will be gone after this year. Leonard may or may not go.
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Watching Smith NOW he is not ready for the NHL. Maybe a year in the AHL? I would say the same for Leonard and Gabe, for various reasons. In Gabe’s case its strength. He’s still growing is s not physically ready for the NHL. His O game is ready but D and transition need work. Smith and Leonard are more physically ready but their games are not. I’d be surprised if ANY of them go pro before the NCAA season is up in ‘25. … Unless one of them just EXPLODES in the second half.
 
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GoAwayPanarin

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Will Smith appears "ahead of the play" not because his of his speed (which isn't anything crazy) but because he's always cheating up ice.

Despite this, he has the weakest transition numbers on his line. Thats been consistent with their time at the NTDP too.

I kind of agree with @UnSandvich, there are a lot of solid to even great tools there (for instance, when he has time and space he can be very deceptive) but there is no cohesion within said tools. He has alot of the same habits as Ryan Spooner.

I think if he were to go pro this year it would be a massive mistake. He's definitely improved from the beginning of the season but not exponentially. He's not a good tight area creator and honestly a very overrated passer overall.

I don't know how an NHL team could have seen him and Benson and decided "you know what, I want Smith!"


bhamill said:
Watching Smith NOW he is not ready for the NHL. Maybe a year in the AHL? I would say the same for Leonard and Gabe, for various reasons. In Gabe’s case its strength. He’s still growing is s not physically ready for the NHL. His O game is ready but D and transition need work. Smith and Leonard are more physically ready but their games are not. I’d be surprised if ANY of them go pro before the NCAA season is up in ‘25. … Unless one of them just EXPLODES in the second half.
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I think Leonard is ready. He's a gamer and his game translates really well to pro hockey.

Gabe is actually good in transition. D can be worked on at the next level but his body needs time.
 
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bhamill

bhamill

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GoAwayPanarin said:
Will Smith appears "ahead of the play" not because his of his speed (which isn't anything crazy) but because he's always cheating up ice.

Despite this, he has the weakest transition numbers on his line. Thats been consistent with their time at the NTDP too.

I kind of agree with @UnSandvich, there are a lot of solid to even great tools there (for instance, when he has time and space he can be very deceptive) but there is no cohesion within said tools. He has alot of the same habits as Ryan Spooner.

I think if he were to go pro this year it would be a massive mistake. He's definitely improved from the beginning of the season but not exponentially. He's not a good tight area creator and honestly a very overrated passer overall.

I don't know how an NHL team could have seen him and Benson and decided "you know what, I want Smith!"




I think Leonard is ready. He's a gamer and his game translates really well to pro hockey.

Gabe is actually good in transition. D can be worked on at the next level but his body needs time.
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Yeah, Leonard may be more pro ready than the other two, but I dont think he’s ready enough. Again, I’d LOVE if we were able to steal him somehow.
Gabe isn’t AWFUL on D and he’s OKAY in transition but they both need a lot of work for the pro level. For him I think it’s more of just filling out and getting stronger. His skating is good and has already improved this year. He just needs physical maturity.
 
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bobbop

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bhamill said:
Watching Smith NOW he is not ready for the NHL. Maybe a year in the AHL? I would say the same for Leonard and Gabe, for various reasons. In Gabe’s case its strength. He’s still growing is s not physically ready for the NHL. His O game is ready but D and transition need work. Smith and Leonard are more physically ready but their games are not. I’d be surprised if ANY of them go pro before the NCAA season is up in ‘25. … Unless one of them just EXPLODES in the second half.
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With a good team, he would probably gets another year in college. San Jose?
 
The Crypto Guy

The Crypto Guy

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bobbop said:
Smith will be gone after this year. Leonard may or may not go.
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Smith is not NHL ready. If they want to rush him because he was 4th overall than that will be their mistake. Leonard would get killed in the NHL right now, nobody took bigger hits than him in the WJC, plays a very reckless game and needs to get smarter.
 
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