Prospect Info: With the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, the Ducks select Mason McTavish

[Dirk316]

I wish the Ducks drafted undersized perimeter player Eklund instead of McTavish because he had the spinarama goal in the meaningful rookie game. @Zegs2sendhelp

 

[bsu]

I wish the Ducks drafted undersized perimeter player Eklund instead of McTavish because he had the spinarama goal in the meaningful rookie game. @Zegs2sendhelp

or Edvinsson.... What a fit he would be. I think him and McTavish will have similar impacts though, I don't mind stacking the C position especially now that we took even more defensemen in the following draft.

 

[Kalv]

or Edvinsson.... What a fit he would be. I think him and McTavish will have similar impacts though, I don't mind stacking the C position especially now that we took even more defensemen in the following draft.

We're really well balanced now throughout the system. Our weakest point is probably wingers, where we have ''only'' Tracey, Perreault, Pasta and I'm probably forgetting someone.

On McTavish, I have been very vocal of his flaws in his first NHL stint and the Olympics, but during the summer I saw a lot of intriguing instincts that, well... still went with some of his flaws, but I'm quite encouraged.

I would expect 35-40 points "only" this year tho. But I'm actually looking forward to his next offseason. He likely goes to WC if healthy to play some more and perhaps win gold. But then he finally has full offseason to work on. He will probably go crazy without hockey But should serve him well.

He's still raw in some sense.

 

[bsu]

We're really well balanced now throughout the system. Our weakest point is probably wingers, where we have ''only'' Tracey, Perreault, Pasta and I'm probably forgetting someone.

On McTavish, I have been very vocal of his flaws in his first NHL stint and the Olympics, but during the summer I saw a lot of intriguing instincts that, well... still went with some of his flaws, but I'm quite encouraged.

I would expect 35-40 points "only" this year tho. But I'm actually looking forward to his next offseason. He likely goes to WC if healthy to play some more and perhaps win gold. But then he finally has full offseason to work on. He will probably go crazy without hockey But should serve him well.

He's still raw in some sense.

He's definitely going to be a goal scorer, all we are waiting for is how long it takes to adjust to pace. That being said Edvinsson would have been nice he would have paired well with almost every prospect we have. Going to be interesting to see how both develop.

 

[AngelDuck]

Pointless to second guess now since McTavish has done well since being drafted

But Luke Hughes is the guy they “missed” on, if there is one. His upside is higher than any of the guys you all keep mentioning

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Eakins is a smart man and I agree with him. However, if they're aware of the fact that he played too much then I'm not sure why they played him in that prospect tournament. Should have skipped it to maybe play an additional preseason game instead.

The only benefit I see, and I'm not suggesting that anyone at the Ducks org agrees with this, is familiarizing McTavish with the younger crop of players.

Otherwise it just felt like an opportunity for him to get hurt.

Did McTavish really "play" in the rookie exhibition? And the way he did play it seemed like a directive to not get hurt. The rookie exhibition isn't as draining as the WJC-20 during August, which disrupted McTavish's off-season the most. McTavish won an OHL championship, finished 2nd in the Memorial Cup, and won gold at the WJC-20. It's kinda difficult to fault McTavish with those results.

It was just an unusual hockey season schedule for the OHL and WJC. McTavish's talent was in the middle of it all.

.
=== LotR Version ===
Read at your own risk.


This past season was unavoidable given the talent McTavish brought to the table, especially with the month delay to start for the OHL. The OHL regular season usually finishes in March, but this season it finished in April. Because McTavish was added to Hamilton's roster, they were a playoff team. The playoffs for Hamilton resulted in an OHL championship season, where the last game was on June 15th. The reward for winning the OHL Championships was to play in the Memorial Cup, which took place between June 20 -29. Hamilton finished runner-up and banged up in the Memorial Cup.

Between June 30th and reporting to Anaheim for the rookie exhibition in Sept would have been two whole months, provided that McTavish didn't attend Dev camp between July 12 - 16.

The WJC-20 part deux was held between Aug 9 - 20, but players were gathering before Aug 9th. McTavish lead team Canada to a gold medal, 17 points in the tourney, and a "Golden Save".

In hindsight, with the Ducks signing Strome to play center, I kinda don't blame McTavish for going to the WJC-20 where he can still play center. It's doubtful that McTavish will participate in the WJC-20 for this coming season.

Also in hindsight, now we can infer there was an an implied directive for McTavish to not go all out at the rookie exhibition as the org is limiting his time during pre-season. And it showed on the ice the effort was half-assed, but his directing his teammates on the ice was always on. Maybe McTavish shouldn't have participated in the rookie exhibition to give him more time to heal, but an extra week off really doesn't do much. It makes me think that there will be scheduled healthy scratches for McTavish throughout the regular season if the org sees the fatigue setting in.

 

[bsu]

Pointless to second guess now since McTavish has done well since being drafted

But Luke Hughes is the guy they “missed” on, if there is one. His upside is higher than any of the guys you all keep mentioning

I think Edvinsson has higher upside personally but Hughes is going to look better because he plays the typical NHL modern defensemen style. Edvinsson has one of the highest upsides of a prospect I've seen, there is definitely a risk factor here too. He's 6'6 with a huge wingspan, mean, skates like the wind with great edges and has crazy hands/wingspan. Hughes definitely looks really good too.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

We're really well balanced now throughout the system. Our weakest point is probably wingers, where we have ''only'' Tracey, Perreault, Pasta and I'm probably forgetting someone.

On McTavish, I have been very vocal of his flaws in his first NHL stint and the Olympics, but during the summer I saw a lot of intriguing instincts that, well... still went with some of his flaws, but I'm quite encouraged.

I would expect 35-40 points "only" this year tho. But I'm actually looking forward to his next offseason. He likely goes to WC if healthy to play some more and perhaps win gold. But then he finally has full offseason to work on. He will probably go crazy without hockey But should serve him well.

He's still raw in some sense.

You mean weakest at potential top-6 wingers.

LW

Tracey​

Regenda​

RW

Perreault​

Colangelo​

Pasta​

Since we know the game plan was to have Strome at center and McTavish at left wing this year, I wonder how long do the Ducks plan on keeping McTavish at wing? Keeping McTavish at LW changes the dynamic of our top-6 wingers in the system. (I don't want to see that happen.)

With the glut of potential NHL defensive prospects in tow, Anaheim can do what it usually does with this deep cache and trade them for top-6 forwards.

 

[bsu]

You mean weakest at potential top-6 wingers.

LW

Tracey​

Regenda​

RW

Perreault​

Colangelo​

Pasta​

Since we know the game plan was to have Strome at center and McTavish at left wing this year, I wonder how long do the Ducks plan on keeping McTavish at wing? Keeping McTavish at LW changes the dynamic of our top-6 wingers in the system. (I don't want to see that happen.)

With the glut of potential NHL defensive prospects in tow, Anaheim can do what it usually does with this deep cache and trade them for top-6 forwards.

Every single player above could bust/not pan out to what we need and it wouldn't COMPLETELY surprise anyone..... yikes.

 

[Hinterland]

Did McTavish really "play" in the rookie exhibition? And the way he did play it seemed like a directive to not get hurt. The rookie exhibition isn't as draining as the WJC-20 during August, which disrupted McTavish's off-season the most. McTavish won an OHL championship, finished 2nd in the Memorial Cup, and won gold at the WJC-20. It's kinda difficult to fault McTavish with those results.

It was just an unusual hockey season schedule for the OHL and WJC. McTavish's talent was in the middle of it all.

.
=== LotR Version ===
Read at your own risk.


This past season was unavoidable given the talent McTavish brought to the table, especially with the month delay to start for the OHL. The OHL regular season usually finishes in March, but this season it finished in April. Because McTavish was added to Hamilton's roster, they were a playoff team. The playoffs for Hamilton resulted in an OHL championship season, where the last game was on June 15th. The reward for winning the OHL Championships was to play in the Memorial Cup, which took place between June 20 -29. Hamilton finished runner-up and banged up in the Memorial Cup.

Between June 30th and reporting to Anaheim for the rookie exhibition in Sept would have been two whole months, provided that McTavish didn't attend Dev camp between July 12 - 16.

The WJC-20 part deux was held between Aug 9 - 20, but players were gathering before Aug 9th. McTavish lead team Canada to a gold medal, 17 points in the tourney, and a "Golden Save".

In hindsight, with the Ducks signing Strome to play center, I kinda don't blame McTavish for going to the WJC-20 where he can still play center. It's doubtful that McTavish will participate in the WJC-20 for this coming season.

Also in hindsight, now we can infer there was an an implied directive for McTavish to not go all out at the rookie exhibition as the org is limiting his time during pre-season. And it showed on the ice the effort was half-assed, but his directing his teammates on the ice was always on. Maybe McTavish shouldn't have participated in the rookie exhibition to give him more time to heal, but an extra week off really doesn't do much. It makes me think that there will be scheduled healthy scratches for McTavish throughout the regular season if the org sees the fatigue setting in.

I agree. I said myself that maybe they're planning to scratch him for back to backs. The only way around that would probably be to strictly limit his minutes for most of the season. I don't think McTavish can possibly have the fitness/shape/conditioning to have a big impact 5vs5 this season anyway, especially since he's not a good skater to begin with so personally, I'd be fine with 4th line minutes for him. A more simple and direct playing style might even suit him. He's a no nonsense type of player anyway, most effective as a shooter or scoring rebounds and deflections in the slot. Also, PP will be much more important for him next season than 5vs5. He'll need PP-time in his office next season to score a lot of points.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Pointless to second guess now since McTavish has done well since being drafted

But Luke Hughes is the guy they “missed” on, if there is one. His upside is higher than any of the guys you all keep mentioning

I'm curious if other fan bases think similarly about McTavish and his upside?

 

[Hinterland]

Every single player above could bust/not pan out to what we need and it wouldn't COMPLETELY surprise anyone..... yikes.

At this point I think Tracey is a pretty decent bet to turn into a very good NHLer. The rest I agree are wild cards.

 

[bsu]

McTavish doesn't have the skating or explosiveness to have the highest upside IMO. Similar to Clarke, he does all the right things but I think his "top" potential has a ceiling from his pace. Both players have great instincts and hockey sense of where to be and where to put the puck.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Every single player above could bust/not pan out to what we need and it wouldn't COMPLETELY surprise anyone..... yikes.

I take it you're including McTavish in that list.

 

[Hinterland]

Pointless to second guess now since McTavish has done well since being drafted

But Luke Hughes is the guy they “missed” on, if there is one. His upside is higher than any of the guys you all keep mentioning

I agree. I had Hughes ahead of all forwards. Him and Clarke. We'll see how they all work out. Too early to tell.

McTavish doesn't have the skating or explosiveness to have the highest upside IMO. Similar to Clarke, he does all the right things but I think his "top" potential has a ceiling from his pace. Both players have great instincts and hockey sense of where to be and where to put the puck.

Remains to be seen. If McTavish is as good as Pavelski then the defenders have to be pretty decent to have better careers.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

McTavish doesn't have the skating or explosiveness to have the highest upside IMO. Similar to Clarke, he does all the right things but I think his "top" potential has a ceiling from his pace. Both players have great instincts and hockey sense of where to be and where to put the puck.

ha ha ha Geez! Imagine saying that when we drafted Getz and Pears.

 

[bsu]

ha ha ha Geez! Imagine saying that when we drafted Getz and Pears.

The game has changed, the only real player that is not fleet of foot is Drai which McTavish has some similarities too (shot), but he has no where near not even the same planet play making/play driving. He's more of a quick strike player, Drai and him have similar shots but that's pretty much where the comparison ends.

 

[Kalv]

The game has changed, the only real player that is not fleet of foot is Drai which McTavish has some similarities too (shot), but he has no where near not even the same planet play making/play driving. He's more of a quick strike player, Drai and him have similar shots but that's pretty much where the comparison ends.

In juniors McT showed that play driving at least occasionally. This is one of the things I hope he can keep improving on, but certainly will take some time for him on the NHL level even if he ends up being good at that

 

[GunnarStahl]

Also with Getzlaf (and Zegras) not having high end speed isn’t as big a deal as they have the ability to determine how fast or slow the game is going to be played with their playmaking and deception. Although McTavish does have the strength and deception to get pucks to the net. Overall I’d say Mctavish’s not high end skating will affect his playmaking/defense more than his goal scoring/puck retrieval imo.

 

[bsu]

Also with Getzlaf (and Zegras) not having high end speed isn’t as big a deal as they have the ability to determine how fast or slow the game is going to be played with their playmaking and deception. Although McTavish does have the strength and deception to get pucks to the net. Overall I’d say Mctavish’s not high end skating will affect his playmaking/defense more than his goal scoring/puck retrieval imo.

Zegras isn't a speed demon but his skating is top tier, his edges and agility are elite. (just my opinion on it)

 

[Sean Garrity]

I think McTavish's straight line speed is ok, you'll see him pull away from players at times, but definitely could use work on his edgework/agility. I see no concerns with Zegras' skating, sure he's not a burner, but he has enough acceleration to create enough space for himself. I'm sure both will be continuing to work on their skating and be above average in their primes.

 

[Hinterland]

Also with Getzlaf (and Zegras) not having high end speed isn’t as big a deal as they have the ability to determine how fast or slow the game is going to be played with their playmaking and deception. Although McTavish does have the strength and deception to get pucks to the net. Overall I’d say Mctavish’s not high end skating will affect his playmaking/defense more than his goal scoring/puck retrieval imo.

I agree. McTavish is a goal scorer and pucks tend to find goal scorers. While McTavish is incredibly strong on the puck and can easily hold onto it if necessary he's even better without the puck. He's knows where to go against the puck, and, mostly, he's one of the best worldwide in the slot already.

 

[Hinterland]

The game has changed, the only real player that is not fleet of foot is Drai which McTavish has some similarities too (shot), but he has no where near not even the same planet play making/play driving. He's more of a quick strike player, Drai and him have similar shots but that's pretty much where the comparison ends.

Pavelski is an "unreal" player then? If he's not "real"?

 

[bsu]

Pavelski is an "unreal" player then? If he's not "real"?

We were talking about best upside in the draft. I think there will be a player better than Pavelski in the entire draft. On top of that, if McTavish turned into Pavelski all of us would be thrilled.

 

[Hinterland]

We were talking about best upside in the draft. I think there will be a player better than Pavelski in the entire draft. On top of that, if McTavish turned into Pavelski all of us would be thrilled.

Well, Power will most likely but he was the clear cut 1st overall so he's out of that discussion. For the rest I'm not so sure. Hughes maybe. The rest of them I don't think so but we'll see.