What is this supposition based on, other than your personal impression? According to the BetMGM site there were 17 players 20 or younger in the league for the 22/23 season (They listed 18,, but one of them was Wright). That's just over half a player per team--"a young man's league" doesn't seem to include a lot of players fresh out of juniors or close to it at all.
Prospect Info: Shane Wright (Round 1, Pick #4, 2022 draft)
- Thread starter Fistfullofbeer
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RainyCityHockey
Registered User
Good article on Shan Wrights situation by Sound of Hockey.
soundofhockey.com
Let's hope there's a way for him to play in the AHL next season and he doesn't have to go back to major junior.
Shane Wright's short-term outlook with the Kraken remains to be determined
Shane Wright's short-term future with the Kraken and where he can play in 2023-24 remains unclear even now.
soundofhockey.com
Let's hope there's a way for him to play in the AHL next season and he doesn't have to go back to major junior.
GrungeHockey
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- Sep 14, 2021
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Thanks for posting that. Very interesting article. Played 24 games so technically not 25 games, if that holds it's just brutal.
It appears his year in junior has not helped his development as he still has the same problems/weaknesses he had before. This doesn't mean he's a bust, but it does mean he needs more development at a higher level. Ideally this would be in the AHL as the article states, but if the rules prevent that, I wouldn't send him back to junior. You have to keep him on the Kraken roster then, even if he sits in the press box more often than not and then he goes to the AHL the year after. There's no good alternative,
Reminds me a little of a guy like Casey Mittelstadt in Buffalo. Looked like a bust, they had nowhere to put him so he got NHL minutes and sucked bad, missed time, then did an AHL stint and now he's looking like a mid level NHLer. It took time and a lot of coaching though.
It's an awkward situation for sure.
I wonder if there's a way they could have him play in Europe? Not sure it helps, but it would be different. Whatever the path, lots of coaching required along with physical growth. and time.
It appears his year in junior has not helped his development as he still has the same problems/weaknesses he had before. This doesn't mean he's a bust, but it does mean he needs more development at a higher level. Ideally this would be in the AHL as the article states, but if the rules prevent that, I wouldn't send him back to junior. You have to keep him on the Kraken roster then, even if he sits in the press box more often than not and then he goes to the AHL the year after. There's no good alternative,
Reminds me a little of a guy like Casey Mittelstadt in Buffalo. Looked like a bust, they had nowhere to put him so he got NHL minutes and sucked bad, missed time, then did an AHL stint and now he's looking like a mid level NHLer. It took time and a lot of coaching though.
It's an awkward situation for sure.
I wonder if there's a way they could have him play in Europe? Not sure it helps, but it would be different. Whatever the path, lots of coaching required along with physical growth. and time.
The Marquis
Moderator
This dudes worst decision was to play in the OHL. That league is just f***ing him at this point. First the full season shut down, second that 24 game rule. Third, the deal with the NHL that prevents him from playing in the AHL. Truly disappointing.
wewantyoursoul
Registered User
Some guys just take time. Look at Kartye. He's 22, undrafted and appears to be NHL-level talent. No one gave that guy a chance and he kept working. Paying huge dividends for him (and Seattle) even if it took him a little longer to break through. I'm willing to be patient on Wright. Just need to find the right coach to get him in the right mindset for personal and athletic growth. The good thing is that we have the time to wait...right? We've got a pretty good stock of current and upcoming players...and we'll reload with another big haul this draft.
Another approach would be to find one of the current players to mentor him and let him come up to the big club and find his way here. Being exposed to the coaching staff on a daily basis might be a big help for him.
(Disclaimer: I know nothing about hockey prospects...and my views reflect this as such.)
Another approach would be to find one of the current players to mentor him and let him come up to the big club and find his way here. Being exposed to the coaching staff on a daily basis might be a big help for him.
(Disclaimer: I know nothing about hockey prospects...and my views reflect this as such.)
Am I the only one that thinks another year in juniors is not the end of the world for a prospect like Wright?
I mean, yes, I would prefer he be playing in Coachella, but watching him in the AHL this season, he has NHL top 6 skills but 4th line OHL hockey sense.
He is still incredibly young, so either way, not all is lost. Watching him this season it feels like:
He works hard and puts in the effort on D, but his defensive reads are almost non-existent as he mostly chases the puck around the ice.
He seems to be pretty good at finding shooting lanes for his teammates to pass the puck to him, but with the puck on his stick he fails to create time or space and forces everything.
A slower league seems like it might not be the worst place to train him to make better reads. The trick would be to get him to change the way he plays, as it is obvious that his skill alone offers him an avenue of success in Juniors, so he may fall back on that and not work on the other areas he desperately needs to improve to find success at the next level. I honestly thought Savard might be a guy that could unlock some of that in Shane, but there is talk he may be looking to leave Windsor for a different coaching opportunity.
I mean, yes, I would prefer he be playing in Coachella, but watching him in the AHL this season, he has NHL top 6 skills but 4th line OHL hockey sense.
He is still incredibly young, so either way, not all is lost. Watching him this season it feels like:
He works hard and puts in the effort on D, but his defensive reads are almost non-existent as he mostly chases the puck around the ice.
He seems to be pretty good at finding shooting lanes for his teammates to pass the puck to him, but with the puck on his stick he fails to create time or space and forces everything.
A slower league seems like it might not be the worst place to train him to make better reads. The trick would be to get him to change the way he plays, as it is obvious that his skill alone offers him an avenue of success in Juniors, so he may fall back on that and not work on the other areas he desperately needs to improve to find success at the next level. I honestly thought Savard might be a guy that could unlock some of that in Shane, but there is talk he may be looking to leave Windsor for a different coaching opportunity.
I don't think it's junior that's the problem. It's not really the level of play. Actually the easier comp should be an opportunity for Shane to work on what he needs to the most, which is to play a more aggressive offensive game and take the passivity out of his playstyle. He needs to develop the ability to make plays under pressure.
It really depends more on the coaching. The biggest problem with his coaching in Kingston (which was falsely blamed for making it too hard for Shane to shine by giving him weak linemates) was that they praised and encouraged his passive defensive playstyle and didn't push him to try things offensively. Savard and Windsor was a welcome break from that, Savard wanted to push Shane for offense and I think a full year together might finally unlock things for Shane. I'm not sure though, not like we have much of a window into coaching at any level.
I don't see an off puck IQ problem (though he is certainly no Bergeron, where did that idea come from?).
It's really just how panicky he gets when pressured. He seems to be trying too hard to not make mistakes instead of trying hard to score. The puck is hardly ever on his stick, and that's a recipe for low value overall.
As to the first part, Just watch his shifts when the opposition has the puck.
Watch his eyes never leave the puck. Watch him skate in a circle chasing it around, mesmerized by it, never checking for other open players that he would be bettered served to cover, never looking up to evaluate the big picture on the ice.
I think in Junior, his puck hounding tenacity does serve him well to some extent, with his athleticism allowing him to likely disrupt offensive execution before the slower reacting players can make plays, but it tends to lead to bad habits and poor on-ice awareness.
The second part i completely agree with. I don't watch OHL hockey, so I don't know if he plays differently than when he is playing in the AHL, and it may all just be nerves and him panicking as to why he dishes the puck as soon as he gets it, but I would think he wouldn't have nerves in juniors, and I think you have mentioned that he did the same thing with Kingston usually. That could be just not knowing any better, but it all comes down to an inability to read the situation and take advantage of all options, and I would think learning that as a 19 year old in the OHL will be easier than in a higher pressured situation in the AHL - maybe a small silver lining if he is not eligible for Coachella.
Wright wasn't a tenacious puckhound in junior at any point. Or at least he tries to break up plays a little further up the breakout. More like Wennberg. Maybe he's trying to be more of a tenacious player in the AHL and it isn't working as well?
I think my use of "tenacious puckhound" likely drew a picture I was not trying to portray. What I meant to portray with "tenacious" was "always chasing". He seems to take short shifts, but he is always moving his feet following the puck around, but I certainly would not call his defense scrappy or hard nosed battling, which is probably the impression my choice of words elicited, which is not what I was trying to portray. Sorry for the confusion.
I don't think "always moving his feet following the puck around" describes OHL Shane Wright either. His off puck game was more cerebral and efficient.
That would most definitely not describe the games i have watched of him in Coachella, so maybe it is nerves.
Kat Predator
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- Nov 28, 2019
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Sounds like a good argument to have him play in Coachella. Another year of playing the wrong way isn't going to help anybody.
PS: Of course, he turns 20 just 5 days after the deadline. (sigh)
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I am hunk he is too deferential with his teammates and should hold on the puck longer. Maybe another year in junior could help under Marc Savard could help
hotcabbagesoup
"I'm going to get what I deserve" -RutgerMcgroarty
GrungeHockey
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- Sep 14, 2021
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I only agree with the last paragraph. So yes, he does need a fair bit of good coaching, but from what I saw this season in the games he did play, the article nails it. Too tentative and too careful. It's just an adjustment thing. He needs to go through the process and keep playing with better competition and slowly getting over that at each level. It was just too much too soon.
Another year of junior will just make him lazy. It'll be too easy.
I agree that you want to slowly get over it at each level, but let's be clear, he's never gotten over the fundamental problem in junior. He still rushes plays there too.
show us dont tell us
Brain cramp. Oopsshow us dont tell us
hotcabbagesoup
"I'm going to get what I deserve" -RutgerMcgroarty
when i was a hunk just like you i had to tell myself to tone it down cause all the blood was going to my mussels and not to my brain
RainyCityHockey
Registered User
brewski420
Registered User
Somehow reading Bylsma's comments about Shane and seeing that picture of him at the presser took me back to his Penguins days. Not a good feeling.
Fistfullofbeer
Moderator
I think that is tough love from Bylsma with that statement. I don't recall much of his Pens days but I think its fair. You have to show a player that he can't just expect to be part of a team at the next level based on his talent. Its hard work and then what you produce on the ice.
Scomerica
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Fistfullofbeer
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brewski420
Registered User
Bylsma got the Pens job mid-season on the back of a very good AHL resume and went on to a Stanley Cup that year. He had a lot of success after but no other cups with contending teams. My impression and I think others were he played favorites with certain veteran players and not giving younger talented players much time to succeed. Eventually wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh and was fired. Went to Buffalo and was run out after two years after players apparently not willing to play for him. He just always struck me the wrong way when he had press conferences and such. Kinda smug and sticking to his favorites. All just my opinion but I know a lot on the Pens HF board felt similarly. Just not a fan at all. He is doing a great job in Coachella Valley!
