Prospect Info: The 2024-2025 Prospect Thread: Part 1: Skate or Die!

[WTG]

Whenever I watch Brzuwesticz I see a player that makes wow plays but all the little things I look for in a defencemen he can't do. Willander is the exact opposite. He definitely needs to really up his transition game, however. I'm not looking for point totals but want to see the ice completely tilted when he's on because he's pushing the puck the other way as quickly and smoothly as possible. He isn't there yet.

Fair enough, everyone looks at prospects differently. Brzuwesticz isn't a canucks prospect anymore so no sense clogging up the prospects thread with a back and forth of him as a prospect any longer.

I'll watch BU tonight and see him play again and see if it changes my mind. Not sure I can watch the whole game but I should be able to watch most of it. Maybe I'll see if I can record some footage too.

 

[credulous]

i don't rate brzustewicz much (not really dynamic enough for his role in the nhl) but i'd rate kudryavtsev above willander right now and i think mynio has a real shot to eclipse him also. willander's skating hides the poor processing that is going to hold him back imo

 

[Diversification]

Based on how this Canucks blueline looks in the early going, I'd say Wilander might not spend a lot of time in Abbotsford. They may have to force-feed him into the NHL.

Given Myer's injury status, the log jam in Abby might start resolving itself shortly.

 

[JT Milker]

Willander could play on an NHL 3rd pairing right now. Brzustewicz probably wouldn’t stick in the AHL right now, no matter how many points he scores playing 4th forward in junior.

 

[Vector]

Willander could play on an NHL 3rd pairing right now. Brzustewicz probably wouldn’t stick in the AHL right now, no matter how many points he scores playing 4th forward in junior.

Brz is in the AHL. Played against Abbotsford yesterday and picked up an assist.

 

[Lindgren]

All six CHL prospects play tonight.

Anyone have a favourite site for tracking NCAA results? Everywhere I look I find sites cluttered and odd—not easy to find a simple list of games with results and stats.

 

[LemonSauceD]

I caught quite a bit of games of Mynio last season and one thing about his skating is that it’s explosive. He takes these really long powerful strides and his edgework is incredible. He’s the fastest skater on his team and he’d probably be our fastest skater on the Canucks right now.

His defensive ability is also extremely impressive. Seattle has had major turnover since last season and his +/- doesn’t show the full story. The little things like gap control, using the net as a screen and exploding down the ice for a quick zone exit + dump for line change, puck pursuit and tracking in the corners, aggressiveness (he’s a feisty player in front of his net), shot blocking, etc. Very well rounded defensively.

His offensive game has taken massive leaps as well and by the end of last season he made his way on the #1 PP and he’s been there since. His passing ability + vision are his strongest suits. I remember during the prospect tournament the amount of long range breakout passes he was making and none of the forwards were able to receive it and resulted in a ton of icings. Pretty similar situation in Seattle where most of the forwards don’t have that skill to accept his hard and crisp breakout passes cleanly and it ruins so many 2 on 1’s or rush chances.

The big thing is that he clearly needs to get bigger. He’s 6’1 181lbs, I expect him to add considerable amounts of muscle and meat considering his scrawny legs. He doesn’t get pushed around a lot right now (amazingly plays a pretty robust physical game himself at the junior level), but once he turns pro it’s going to be a completely different experience. He was overwhelmed a bunch of times by AHL’ers during the prospect tourney and you can see physically he’s just not there yet.

Him taking that next step offensively this year will project extremely well for him in the future and his chances of making the NHL. I easily have him higher than D-Petey on my list in terms of potential.

 

[arttk]

I caught quite a bit of games of Mynio last season and one thing about his skating is that it’s explosive. He takes these really long powerful strides and his edgework is incredible. He’s the fastest skater on his team and he’d probably be our fastest skater on the Canucks right now.

His defensive ability is also extremely impressive. Seattle has had major turnover since last season and his +/- doesn’t show the full story. The little things like gap control, using the net as a screen and exploding down the ice for a quick zone exit + dump for line change, puck pursuit and tracking in the corners, aggressiveness (he’s a feisty player in front of his net), shot blocking, etc. Very well rounded defensively.

His offensive game has taken massive leaps as well and by the end of last season he made his way on the #1 PP and he’s been there since. His passing ability + vision are his strongest suits. I remember during the prospect tournament the amount of long range breakout passes he was making and none of the forwards were able to receive it and resulted in a ton of icings. Pretty similar situation in Seattle where most of the forwards don’t have that skill to accept his hard and crisp breakout passes cleanly and it ruins so many 2 on 1’s or rush chances.

The big thing is that he clearly needs to get bigger. He’s 6’1 181lbs, I expect him to add considerable amounts of muscle and meat considering his scrawny legs. He doesn’t get pushed around a lot right now (amazingly plays a pretty robust physical game himself at the junior level), but once he turns pro it’s going to be a completely different experience. He was overwhelmed a bunch of times by AHL’ers during the prospect tourney and you can see physically he’s just not there yet.

Him taking that next step offensively this year will project extremely well for him in the future and his chances of making the NHL. I easily have him higher than D-Petey on my list in terms of potential.

Stop I can only get so hard

 

[VanJack]

I caught quite a bit of games of Mynio last season and one thing about his skating is that it’s explosive. He takes these really long powerful strides and his edgework is incredible. He’s the fastest skater on his team and he’d probably be our fastest skater on the Canucks right now.

His defensive ability is also extremely impressive. Seattle has had major turnover since last season and his +/- doesn’t show the full story. The little things like gap control, using the net as a screen and exploding down the ice for a quick zone exit + dump for line change, puck pursuit and tracking in the corners, aggressiveness (he’s a feisty player in front of his net), shot blocking, etc. Very well rounded defensively.

His offensive game has taken massive leaps as well and by the end of last season he made his way on the #1 PP and he’s been there since. His passing ability + vision are his strongest suits. I remember during the prospect tournament the amount of long range breakout passes he was making and none of the forwards were able to receive it and resulted in a ton of icings. Pretty similar situation in Seattle where most of the forwards don’t have that skill to accept his hard and crisp breakout passes cleanly and it ruins so many 2 on 1’s or rush chances.

The big thing is that he clearly needs to get bigger. He’s 6’1 181lbs, I expect him to add considerable amounts of muscle and meat considering his scrawny legs. He doesn’t get pushed around a lot right now (amazingly plays a pretty robust physical game himself at the junior level), but once he turns pro it’s going to be a completely different experience. He was overwhelmed a bunch of times by AHL’ers during the prospect tourney and you can see physically he’s just not there yet.

Him taking that next step offensively this year will project extremely well for him in the future and his chances of making the NHL. I easily have him higher than D-Petey on my list in terms of potential.

Tocchet is usually pretty parsimonious when it comes to handing out praise to players, particularly young ones.

So when he said after one of the exhibition games that Mynio really impressed him, it got my attention.

 

[The Iron Goalie]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845244623234777541

2nd assist for Willander's 2nd point of the season. BU up 3-0 now.

 

[WTG]

Turn into Pattersson game, he turns it over, goal against.

Am I just bad luck?

 

[LemonSauceD]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845244623234777541

2nd assist for Willander's 2nd point of the season. BU up 3-0 now.

We need to draft this kid (Zetterberg). That guys insane.

 

[Yultron]

Alriksson had an assist today , and I’m not worried about Patterson at all , only the second week of the season he will turn it on soon , Romani didn’t play today

 

[Blue and Green]

All six CHL prospects play tonight.

Anyone have a favourite site for tracking NCAA results? Everywhere I look I find sites cluttered and odd—not easy to find a simple list of games with results and stats.

NCAA College Men's Ice Hockey Scores, Schedule | NCAA.com

Live Men's Ice Hockey DI scores and schedules, searchable by date and conference.

www.ncaa.com

 

[JT Milker]

Brz is in the AHL. Played against Abbotsford yesterday and picked up an assist.

Mea culpa.

 

[Vector]

 

[sting101]

Interesting takes here. Mynio has impressed me from the first camp. Even before his massive leaps in offensive production he had a tremendous baseline with his effortless 4 way skating.

A acne faced 15yr old looking skinny kid at the time there was the look of potential given the physical maturity had a long runway. His head up play, processing and transition passing look like a quality puck mover at any level. If he can find enough strength to displace pro forwards he absolutely has NHL top4 potential. Agree with @LemonSauceD about his potential but he still has to keep that trajectory moving forward and not stagnate. Exciting to see him break out the way he has.

It sucks to think that we may have given Calgary a top4 RD in the Lindholm trade but Brzustewicz has that upside. From my viewing of HB his issues will be in his own zone and being able to engage and coming away with pucks. Also his first few strides need to improve or he will need sheltering which negates his value if he just becomes a PP specialist. Lots to iron out still. His passing and puck control are high end. See how he does with the pro game now. I'm not a big believer his flaws will get good enough to miss that much

Willander was a big gamble considering that Benson was available and he was still learning how to assert himself and even be a top defenceman. It's absurd though that people would overlook his tools and upside and see a little pro success from others and think they have passed him. @Vector said it best. "He definitely needs to really up his transition game, however. I'm not looking for point totals but want to see the ice completely tilted when he's on because he's pushing the puck the other way as quickly and smoothly as possible. He isn't there yet."

Unless he completely stagnates and can't adapt to the next level mentally like Podz it would be shocking if he's not a top4 D given how dynamic and mature physically he is. It matters when assessing prospects.

 

[The Iron Goalie]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845575223271387316

The reason Romani missed last game.

 

[LemonSauceD]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1845575223271387316

The reason Romani missed last game.

Yikes, that’s at least 3-4 months.

 

[sting101]

That sucks for Romani especially if Hockey Canada had him in their sites. Hopefully he uses crisis as opportunity to work on his leg power.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Interesting takes here. Mynio has impressed me from the first camp. Even before his massive leaps in offensive production he had a tremendous baseline with his effortless 4 way skating.

A acne faced 15yr old looking skinny kid at the time there was the look of potential given the physical maturity had a long runway. His head up play, processing and transition passing look like a quality puck mover at any level. If he can find enough strength to displace pro forwards he absolutely has NHL top4 potential. Agree with @LemonSauceD about his potential but he still has to keep that trajectory moving forward and not stagnate. Exciting to see him break out the way he has.

It sucks to think that we may have given Calgary a top4 RD in the Lindholm trade but Brzustewicz has that upside. From my viewing of HB his issues will be in his own zone and being able to engage and coming away with pucks. Also his first few strides need to improve or he will need sheltering which negates his value if he just becomes a PP specialist. Lots to iron out still. His passing and puck control are high end. See how he does with the pro game now. I'm not a big believer his flaws will get good enough to miss that much

Willander was a big gamble considering that Benson was available and he was still learning how to assert himself and even be a top defenceman. It's absurd though that people would overlook his tools and upside and see a little pro success from others and think they have passed him. @Vector said it best. "He definitely needs to really up his transition game, however. I'm not looking for point totals but want to see the ice completely tilted when he's on because he's pushing the puck the other way as quickly and smoothly as possible. He isn't there yet."

Unless he completely stagnates and can't adapt to the next level mentally like Podz it would be shocking if he's not a top4 D given how dynamic and mature physically he is. It matters when assessing prospects.

With Brzustewicz, I don’t see a player that’s going to be relied upon 22-25 minutes a game. Or someone that kills penalties. He has no sort of physical component to his game at all. He just generally lacks a complete game. If I had to compare him to an NHL’er, I’d probably say he’s a Jake Gardener or a Neal Pionk. That said, his offensive talent is incredible and I’ve said it many times that I had him going in the first round.

With Mynio, I see a defenseman with a bigger tool box especially in the defensive aspect. He’s pretty much a carbon copy of Willander but with an offensive drive. Similar height x weight, defensive background, elite skaters, but lack size.

It’s hard to say which of the two is better offensively. I lean more towards Mynio having the better offensive drive than Willander. Willander obviously plays at a higher level but the thing is I have yet to see Willander really take control of games. He plays a far too reserved game. As an 11th pick taken in what’s probably going to be the deepest 1st round in NHL history, I need to see him show he’s capable of diversifying his game. Right now I don’t see much more than a #4.

I didn’t want us drafting Willander at 11 and I also wanted a different player. I would’ve preferred they traded down if they wanted to grab him. But I’m not worried about whether or not he becomes an NHLer, he’s got projectable qualities. The question is whether he continues to stay on this #4 upside level or if he can grow his all around game and perhaps push that ceiling higher as the right hand man next to Hughes.