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

[GENESISPuck94]

#badskater

His skating stride reminds me of Motte's. Short stride. But still quick.

I think a lot of these scouts confuse things. They see a not so pretty stride and equate that to bad skating. But they're not paying attention to how he's getting to the puck before anyone else and still getting back in time to break up plays, and still getting open.

I wouldn't say he's a bad skater at all. I think he could be a more efficient and powerful skater, and that's not hard to fix at all.

 

[duhmetreE]

Muse insists that combination — the lineage, the progress made, and the time he has put in, plus the talent and the historic track record — should make an NHL team very happy.

“I’d be excited if I was a team (picking him),” Muse said when asked about the potential for more growth and development. “I see what he has done here and you’ve got to have somebody that’s going to be all in to make strides off of the ice in terms of nutrition and doing the right things and I’ve seen it now for a year and a half. What you’re seeing now versus if you go back a year and a half, he has made monster strides in that area already and that only indicates that he’ll continue to make strides moving forward. He took full advantage of the strength program. From Day 1, he was doing extra.”

he has 'it'. Maybe Laffy can put in the extra off ice work and nutrition.

2-3 years of college and he's going to be an absolute stud

 

[Savant]

Boston College iirc

BC going to be loaded

 

[nyr2k2]

This is probably my favorite first round pick that we've made since Kreider, coincidentally another kid who went to BC after the draft.

 

[17futurecap]

Swagger for @EdJovanovski

 

[MysticLeviathan]

iirc we downplayed laf’s and kakko’s skating issues after we drafted them and they continue to be their biggest detriments. Good news is this guy isn’t going to straight to us, so hopefully college can help him improve on those things.

 

[duhmetreE]

On top of being the national team’s most productive player, Gabe might also be one of its most improved — on the ice, where he’s gotten faster and has been able to maximize his natural talent, and off of it, where he has made huge gains beginning to fill out a wiry frame.

“Off the ice is huge for me (and) I think I got a lot bigger over last year and the summer too,” Gabe said. “I think my speed has improved a lot, I’ve got a lot more time and space and confidence this year.”

 

[EdJovanovski]

Swagger for @EdJovanovski

This makes up for the lack of skating. (100% srs)

 

[Synergy27]

iirc we downplayed laf’s and kakko’s skating issues after we drafted them and they continue to be their biggest detriments. Good news is this guy isn’t going to straight to us, so hopefully college can help him improve on those things.

The difference is that those two actually have skating issues. This kid doesn’t. I don’t even know why that’s a thing.

People have now had two years to try to poke holes in this dominant NTDP line and that’s the best they could come up with.

Again, this kid should not have been available at pick 23 and we should all be super thankful for our good fortune tonight.

 

[eco's bones]

He's not a speedy skater but he's extremely slippery and a goal and point scoring machine. 130 some points this year for USNTDP. Led the team in scoring. In a mock I did a couple days ago he went 13th to the Sabres. So I wasn't expecting him to be around at 23. Great hands and hockey IQ. Think he'll need at least a season and probably two at Boston College. Work on his skating some more and fill out a bit. He's likely to be a top scorer for his team and Hockey East right away.

 

[Synergy27]

Redline;

12.) Gabriel Perruault - US NTDP - LW

Super smart with hockey sense off the charts. He both creates and finishes at top speed. Initiates most of the scoring plays for the US NTDP’s top line. Makes so many subtle, skilled set-up plays. Has an uncanny sense of where all his teammates are on the ice and how to get them the puck in dangerous spots. Just a highly innovative mind. Makes sublime little delay moves to buy time and space for his line makes to jump into holes, then dishes perfect feeds with fantastic touch off both sides of the blade. Lacks the explosive, game breaking speed of his linemates, but is highly elusive; sharp cuts and change of direction makes him slippery as an eel. Great instincts and and anticipation around the offensive zone. A chess master who thinks 9 moves ahead of opponents and knows where the puck will go next. Can get pushed off pucks when engaged in 50-50’s, but doggedly works to regain possession.

Who does that remind you of?

 

[MysticLeviathan]

The difference is that those two actually have skating issues. This kid doesn’t. I don’t even know why that’s a thing.

People have now had two years to try to poke holes in this dominant NTDP line and that’s the best they could come up with.

Again, this kid should not have been available at pick 23 and we should all be super thankful for our good fortune tonight.

again, downplaying skating issues. people said the same thing about them. “it’s not a big deal.” “skating can be improved”. “it’s not as bad as people make it out to be”. “he just needs to work on it a little bit. it’ll be fine”. “skating can be improved”. all of that ended up being bullshit.

 

[Matt Rentfree]

 

[tlk]

I feel comfortable saying I watch more of the USNTDP than nearly everyone here. He's one of the smartest and most skilled players in the entire draft, and the skating issues are overblown because he plays the game with plenty of pace. This was a great pick by Drury to take someone who had no business being at 23.

So is he a left or a right wing after all?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

again, downplaying skating issues. people said the same thing about them. “it’s not a big deal.” “skating can be improved”. “it’s not as bad as people make it out to be”. “he just needs to work on it a little bit. it’ll be fine”. “skating can be improved”. all of that ended up being bullshit.

I dunno, if you watch him you can see that they're pretty overblown.

If he moved like Smith he probably goes 2 OA.

The other difference is that he has WAY more room to grow physically than the other 2 guys you mentioned but skating isn't the biggest thing holding back Laf or Kakko right now. They can both be MUCH better players with out improving their feet at all.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Pronman

Thoughts on the pick: Perreault is one of the most skilled and intelligent players in the draft. I thought he’d go higher, but his frame, a barely 5-foot-11 winger who is skinny, combined with his subpar skating, gave a lot of NHL scouts pause despite his tremendous offensive abilities, so I’m not stunned he got to No. 23. He has a long way to go to look like an NHL player, but he has the talent to be a top six wing for the Rangers down the line. In an ideal world, the Rangers would have added size, and they wouldn’t have picked another wing, but Perreault was too much talent to pass up at this point in the draft for them.

Pronman can go fly a kite. He hates the Rangers and wanted them to take Draft Bust Stramel.

 

[Draft Guru]

Rangers didn't get cute here. Swung for the fences and I love it. Going to be so much fun to watch this kid at BC. He's going there with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, so that trio could very well continue to pile up the points. Let him get stronger and become a man over the next 2-3 years and we very well could have a real impact player on our hands when he's ready to make the jump.

 

[RangersFan1994]

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

No one should take Pronman seriously.

Also he evaluates skating about as well as Jovo evaluates pizza.

 

[duhmetreE]

This is probably my favorite first round pick that we've made since Kreider, coincidentally another kid who went to BC after the draft.

That line will be fun to watch next season

 

[Kaapo Cabana]

That is fantastic company. Not a single bad player in the group

 

[bhamill]

This guys skating is NOT bad at all. In fact it’s GOOD. Its just not at the same elevated level as his other physical and mental skills, so you can call it his least strong asset, but his other assets are off the charts so…
The “can’t skate” narrative is just plain WRONG here. It’s just a bad take. He’s better than Fox and WAY better than Stepan. And there’s no reason it can’t get even better at BC. This kid looks two years younger than Smith and Leonard he’s going to physically mature and will have plenty of opportunity to improve.
The more I look into this pick, the more thrilled I am.

 

[UnSandvich]

One thing the Black Book did mention was that his skating, specifically both stability and speed, improved as the season went on. So he's clearly working to fix his deficiencies there.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

again, downplaying skating issues. people said the same thing about them. “it’s not a big deal.” “skating can be improved”. “it’s not as bad as people make it out to be”. “he just needs to work on it a little bit. it’ll be fine”. “skating can be improved”. all of that ended up being bullshit.

Have you seem him play? He can skate, moves around well, and is pretty elusive. He's just not a speed skater. He's a damn good pick at No. 23.

 

[duhmetreE]

Rangers didn't get cute here. Swung for the fences and I love it. Going to be so much fun to watch this kid at BC. He's going there with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, so that trio could very well continue to pile up the points. Let him get stronger and become a man over the next 2-3 years and we very well could have a real impact player on our hands when he's ready to make the jump.

that's crazy his comp is Cherapanov another guy that fell to us.

Lets pray it has the exact opposite outcome. Sad, he would have been 34.