W Beckett Sennecke - Oshawa Generals, OHL (2024, 3rd, ANA)

[Garbageyuk]

Sorry CHL top prospect skills competition.

2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects perform on-ice testing - Guelph Storm

40 of the CHL's Top Prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft completed on-ice testing Tuesday ahead of the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

chl.ca

And he wasn't top 5 in straight line forward but top 5 in several other categories, and 1st in weave agility with the puck.

So he was top 5 in 4/10 categories among draft eligible CHL players only. He did decent in things having to do with technical skating/edges. Nothing here indicates he’s fast even by junior standards, which was the point in question. You didn’t really help your case here because I never talked about technical skating.

 

[majormajor]

So he was top 5 in 4/10 categories among draft eligible CHL players only. He did decent in things having to do with technical skating/edges. Nothing here indicates he’s fast even by junior standards, which was the point in question. You didn’t really help your case here because I never talked about technical skating.

Top 5 fastest in 4 of 10 categories is really good. A test like weaving with the puck is meant to emulate real ability, if that's not persuasive to you then no measurement is going to be.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Top 5 fastest in 4 of 10 categories is really good. A test like weaving with the puck is meant to emulate real ability, if that's not persuasive to you then no measurement is going to be.

The only ones he was top 5 in that have to do with speed as we mean it here is the backward skate. And it’s out of just 40 players. Decent, but again, it indicates he has decent edgework and technical skating, not speed. Unless you think they’re going to start playing entire games skating ass first.

 

[Samsonite23]

So he was top 5 in 4/10 categories among draft eligible CHL players only. He did decent in things having to do with technical skating/edges. Nothing here indicates he’s fast even by junior standards, which was the point in question. You didn’t really help your case here because I never talked about technical skating.

He was top 5 in 5/10 categories. Top 4 skater overall. Plus, eye test. He’s not slow at all. And he’ll only get faster when he grows into his body.

The only ones he was top 5 in that have to do with speed as we mean it here is the backward skate. And it’s out of just 40 players. Decent, but again, it indicates he has decent edgework and technical skating, not speed. Unless you think they’re going to start playing entire games skating ass first.

That’s just not correct lol.

 

[montreal]

Other than the not actually slow and not actually having balance issues, sure. Fine description.

I would say he has some balance issues, reminds me a bit of Benoit Pouliot.

 

[le_sean]

Nah, there's no real comparison to be made there at all.

This is just a Habs fan who heard they might take Sennecke, it's not the prospect he likes, so he's on a player assassination trail as if his opinion on a message board changes how this guy is perceived by NHL teams.

The hype is real, NHL teams love him, he may go as high as 5, he may still go in the teens, that's how wide open the draft is.

KK comparison makes no sense. Since his hands and shot were as slow as his legs. I don’t think KK ever successfully toe-dragged a player let alone pull the skill moves off that Sennecke has.

 

[Garbageyuk]

I would say he has some balance issues, reminds me a bit of Benoit Pouliot.

Been saying this for a while. It’s really his best comparison. Stylistically and attribute-wise. Pouliot wasn’t even a bad player, but people will take it that way. If I remember correctly, Pouliot lost his mother the year after he was drafted and dealt with a lot of injuries in his career. He could’ve been more than what he was. He still ended up being a solid middle-six winger for quite a few years, and in the best of those, he produced like a 2nd liner, albeit in partial seasons due to injuries.

 

[McGees]

He's lanky and needs to gain strength for his new frame but the skill is definitely there.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

I’m suprised by the number of people who claim to watch tons of Oshawa generals hockey

 

[NotProkofievian]

So this kid is a top 5 skater in the CHL, a body that invited a comparison with Ryan Getzlaf, the best hands in the draft outside of Demidov, a defensive stalwart, has sky high hockey IQ, and a plus shot.

So why the low production?

 

[Zilo44]

So this kid is a top 5 skater in the CHL, a body that invited a comparison with Ryan Getzlaf, the best hands in the draft outside of Demidov, a defensive stalwart, has sky high hockey IQ, and a plus shot.

So why the low production?

Same pace as Lindstrom in the second half of the season

 

[NotProkofievian]

Same pace as Lindstrom in the second half of the season

We're rounding up here, but that doesn't really answer my question. Why isn't he scoring at will with what's being said about him in this thread?

 

[Zilo44]

We're rounding up here, but that doesn't really answer my question. Why isn't he scoring at will with what's being said about him in this thread?

Scoring at will is a vague concept.

My point is if you take his 2nd half + playoffs (which is the same sample size as Lindstrom’s season), you have a slightly better production for Sennecke compared to Lindstrom.

Add to that, the OHL is a better league/easier league scout than the NHL. They play a more translatable game if it makes sense.

The other thing is projection.

Slafkovsky scored 5 goals in the Liiga at 17. He had a 20-30-50 season at 19 in the NHL.

Sennecke’s linemate Ritchie did not score at will last year. This year he is one of the best CHL forwards.

People are excited by Sennecke progression and forgive his early season « struggles » do to his insane growth spurt (5 inches in 18 months).

All that being said, I still take Lindstrom in front of Sennecke, but it’s closer than people might want to admit

 

[NotProkofievian]

Scoring at will is a vague concept.

My point is if you take his 2nd half + playoffs (which is the same sample size as Lindstrom’s season), you have a slightly better production for Sennecke compared to Lindstrom.

The other thing is projection.

Slafkovsky scored 5 goals in the Liiga at 17. He had a 20-30-50 season at 19 in the NHL.

Sennecke’s linemate Ritchie did not score at will last year. This year he is one of the best CHL forwards.

People are excited by Sennecke progression and forgive his early season « struggles » do to his insane growth spurt (5 inches in 18 months)

Okay, I see what you mean by "last half." To me that doesn't really cut it. Drawing lines around a prospect's most productive stretch of games only to arrive at production that is hardly unbelievable is a restatement of the initial observation: that he doesn't produce very much.


But the assessments in this thread are that he's basically faultless with several elite traits. The story doesn't add up to me.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I’m suprised by the number of people who claim to watch tons of Oshawa generals hockey

I liked early eye test stuff and then when the noise got loud, I went to go watch. I'm sure some others did that, too.

So this kid is a top 5 skater in the CHL, a body that invited a comparison with Ryan Getzlaf, the best hands in the draft outside of Demidov, a defensive stalwart, has sky high hockey IQ, and a plus shot.

So why the low production?

I think the only thing true here is the best hands piece, the IQ is a plus and the shot is a plus with room for improvement.

The low production can be explained pretty easily:
Massive growth spurt that took time for him to get coordinated and used to his new length.
He had no offensive support on the team until Ritchie came back, he had a linemate that he could create and play off of and those two things helped click and sky-rocketed his production through the year.

The production kept ticking up instead of going up, leveling off and then going up again, it really was a spike.

I'd also hesitate to accept any hyperbole as fact on either side, because if you look at posts from people who resist risers this late in the process, you'd ask yourself, why is he getting top 5/top 10 buzz from scouts when he can't skate, can't shoot, has low IQ, sucks defensively, and is Kotkaniemi mixed with Benoit Pouliot?

 

[Peasy]

Okay, I see what you mean by "last half." To me that doesn't really cut it. Drawing lines around a prospect's most productive stretch of games only to arrive at production that is hardly unbelievable is a restatement of the initial observation: that he doesn't produce very much.


But the assessments in this thread are that he's basically faultless with several elite traits. The story doesn't add up to me.

It holds a lot more weight when youre discussing draft eligible prospects. If a prospect has a really good first half, and bad second half, theyre likely going to fall in rankings. But if a prospect had a meh first half, but has just been on a steep rise the rest of the season people going to take notice. You always want to see progression at these ages. These arent 28-30 year olds were talking about, theyre just scratching the surface with their abilities.

Just look at Cowan last draft. Really meh first half cause not much opportunity, started to turn it on more late in the season, was one of London's best playoff performers, gets taken 28th overall, people scream what a reach, he was ranked in the 2nd/3rd! Well look at that, he just won OHL player of the year, OHL MVP, and nominated for CHL player of the year.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I liked early eye test stuff and then when the noise got loud, I went to go watch. I'm sure some others did that, too.



I think the only thing true here is the best hands piece, the IQ is a plus and the shot is a plus with room for improvement.

The low production can be explained pretty easily:
Massive growth spurt that took time for him to get coordinated and used to his new length.
He had no offensive support on the team until Ritchie came back, he had a linemate that he could create and play off of and those two things helped click and sky-rocketed his production through the year.

The production kept ticking up instead of going up, leveling off and then going up again, it really was a spike.

I'd also hesitate to accept any hyperbole as fact on either side, because if you look at posts from people who resist risers this late in the process, you'd ask yourself, why is he getting top 5/top 10 buzz from scouts when he can't skate, can't shoot, has low IQ, sucks defensively, and is Kotkaniemi mixed with Benoit Pouliot?

Right, that makes sense to me. My read on him is that he really does have amazing hands, he displays good offensive vision, has a good shot, and a large frame, and so far as his skating goes his edges are very good. But his acceleration is poor, he's physically weak because he's 6'3 177 (Getzlaf?), he does make careless rushed plays sometimes, and his overall rate of involvement in the play is low, although that involvement is sometimes spectacular.

I think this explains why some people are so excited, why he's rocketing up draft boards, while some are very critical, and why he hasn't lit the world on fire.

 

[montreal]

Been saying this for a while. It’s really his best comparison. Stylistically and attribute-wise. Pouliot wasn’t even a bad player, but people will take it that way. If I remember correctly, Pouliot lost his mother the year after he was drafted and dealt with a lot of injuries in his career. He could’ve been more than what he was. He still ended up being a solid middle-six winger for quite a few years, and in the best of those, he produced like a 2nd liner, albeit in partial seasons due to injuries.

but that's just where he's at now as who knows what he might look like once he's physically matured and adjusted to his lanky frame.

 

[Garbageyuk]

but that's just where he's at now as who knows what he might look like once he's physically matured and adjusted to his lanky frame.

Completely agree. His development may take a different trajectory than Pouliot’s, and hopefully he does not have to deal with the same luck as far as injuries go. As I said before too, I don’t feel like the Pouliot comparison is an insult to Sennecke at all - Benoit was a great prospect, he just had some things happen that were out of his control.

 

[simonedvinsson]

I once grew six inches in a year, and it took me a solid year to catch up to where I was before the growth spurt. I wouldn't be so quick to downplay the impact that makes on a kid, especially when you factor in the success he had later in the year. Give this kid a couple summers to bulk up, and he's one of the top guys coming out of this draft.

 

[Trojans86]

Right, that makes sense to me. My read on him is that he really does have amazing hands, he displays good offensive vision, has a good shot, and a large frame, and so far as his skating goes his edges are very good. But his acceleration is poor, he's physically weak because he's 6'3 177 (Getzlaf?), he does make careless rushed plays sometimes, and his overall rate of involvement in the play is low, although that involvement is sometimes spectacular.

I think this explains why some people are so excited, why he's rocketing up draft boards, while some are very critical, and why he hasn't lit the world on fire.

I’m not sure getzlaf is a good comp. He was a little bigger and very strong on his skates and his greatest strength, by far, was his vision and hockey iq. Like best in the nhll. He kind of reminds me of Perron.

 

[Garbageyuk]

I’m not sure getzlaf is a good comp. He was a little bigger and very strong on his skates and his greatest strength, by far, was his vision and hockey iq. Like best in the nhll. He kind of reminds me of Perron.

People in here are just tacking on whatever comparison sounds good to them, with maybe a quick glance at stat lines and height. I watched Getzlaf live a lot when he was in juniors and Sennecke is nothing the same, and he certainly isn’t anything like the NHL version of Getzlaf.

 

[Trojans86]

People in here are just tacking on whatever comparison sounds good to them, with maybe a quick glance at stat lines and height. I watched Getzlaf live a lot when he was in juniors and Sennecke is nothing the same, and he certainly isn’t anything like the NHL version of Getzlaf.

Getzlaf was such a unique player it’s really hard for him to be a comp for anyone imo. I get what he was saying with respect to size and skill and not the fastest, but that is ignoring his most defining characteristic

 

[Garbageyuk]

I once grew six inches in a year, and it took me a solid year to catch up to where I was before the growth spurt. I wouldn't be so quick to downplay the impact that makes on a kid, especially when you factor in the success he had later in the year. Give this kid a couple summers to bulk up, and he's one of the top guys coming out of this draft.

By the sounds of it, this kid grew maybe 3-4 inches in 2 years, so it’s nothing that extreme or even out of the ordinary really. Plenty of kids that age have growth spurts.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Getzlaf was such a unique player it’s really hard for him to be a comp for anyone imo. I get what he was saying with respect to size and skill and not the fastest, but that is ignoring his most defining characteristic

True. Getzlaf was ridiculously strong on his skates like you said, physically imposing, tough, and a beast along the boards and down low at winning puck battles. In juniors, he’d basically just go wherever he wanted in the offensive zone and there was not much opposing players were going to do about it because they couldn’t move him. That, combined with elite vision, passing, and IQ made him a very unique player. He was also really good defensively. Sennecke has none of that, to be frank.