Prospect Info: - With the the 147th selection in the 2013 entry draft, the Ducks select William Besse | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League
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Prospect Info: With the the 147th selection in the 2013 entry draft, the Ducks select William Besse

To quote myself from the GDT:
Seems a lot like Kevin Roy last year. Small kid, USHL, committed to Wisconsin. Had 48 goals and 28 assists this year in 28 games. I'd guess that skill is not the issue.
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William (Grant) Besse according to NHL.com. Interesting way to put it. Hadn't seen names in brackets, yet.
 
Mr. Hockey in MN winner and a huge steal IMO. Best shooter to come out of MN in a long time, very fast and effortless stride, with excellent defensive positioning. I still don't know why he went undrafted last year and why he fell below so many other Minnesotans this draft, he was clearly superior to Guentzel and I distinctly recall him destroying Hurley on a countercheck in a game this year. Give him some time in college and I don't think ANH will be upset with this pick.
 
Ovechkid08 said:
Mr. Hockey in MN winner and a huge steal IMO. Best shooter to come out of MN in a long time, very fast and effortless stride, with excellent defensive positioning. I still don't know why he went undrafted last year and why he fell below so many other Minnesotans this draft, he was clearly superior to Guentzel and I distinctly recall him destroying Hurley on a countercheck in a game this year. Give him some time in college and I don't think ANH will be upset with this pick.
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Well. Okay. Guy that size better be damn good at something.
 
Ovechkid08 said:
Mr. Hockey in MN winner and a huge steal IMO. Best shooter to come out of MN in a long time, very fast and effortless stride, with excellent defensive positioning. I still don't know why he went undrafted last year and why he fell below so many other Minnesotans this draft, he was clearly superior to Guentzel and I distinctly recall him destroying Hurley on a countercheck in a game this year. Give him some time in college and I don't think ANH will be upset with this pick.
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Sounds great. Thanks for the input!
 
It doesn't seem like he has that elite skating ability. Am I wrong? It's hard to succeed as an undersized forward if you're not a fast skater.
 
Exit Dose said:
It's the 5th round.
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I don't expect a player taken in the 5th round to be the complete package or anything. I'm just saying there aren't a lot of players in the NHL at that height, who don't also have that great skating ability. Am I wrong?
 
Doothpick said:
I don't expect a player taken in the 5th round to be the complete package or anything. I'm just saying there aren't a lot of players in the NHL at that height, who don't also have that great skating ability. Am I wrong?
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Honestly, I don't know enough about the kid to really comment either way. Certainly there are players around 6'0 that couldn't skate but had great hands which made for great NHL careers. Can he grow to be that tall? No idea.

If skating is his biggest problem I think the Ducks are in good shape as skating is something that can be improved with time.

But again as you said, it's a 5th round pick. Not much is expected either way.
 
Doothpick said:
I don't expect a player taken in the 5th round to be the complete package or anything. I'm just saying there aren't a lot of players in the NHL at that height, who don't also have that great skating ability. Am I wrong?
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IMO yes, he is a very fast skater, although his long stride tends to throw some people off, his linemate Labosky was an absolute speedster, Leddy-like skating, and Besse kept up with him all year long, I'll try and find some updated videos or highlights later for you guys. Those breakaways in the YT are all SH from pickoffs from the top of the circle in the D zone, notice how much he was able to pull away from guys playing for their hockey lives.
 
Ovechkid08 said:
IMO yes, he is a very fast skater, although his long stride tends to throw some people off, his linemate Labosky was an absolute speedster, Leddy-like skating, and Besse kept up with him all year long, I'll try and find some updated videos or highlights later for you guys. Those breakaways in the YT are all SH from pickoffs from the top of the circle in the D zone, notice how much he was able to pull away from guys playing for their hockey lives.
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Yeah, he looked fast enough on those clips. Thanks for all the info.
 
Exit Dose said:
There are a lot of them in the AHL. If he falls short(ha!), then he can help Norfolk.
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The goal is to draft a player who you see as an potential NHL player, though, no matter what the round it is you're drafting in. You can get AHL help from almost anywhere.

Professor John Frink said:
Honestly, I don't know enough about the kid to really comment either way. Certainly there are players around 6'0 that couldn't skate but had great hands which made for great NHL careers. Can he grow to be that tall? No idea.

If skating is his biggest problem I think the Ducks are in good shape as skating is something that can be improved with time.

But again as you said, it's a 5th round pick. Not much is expected either way.
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I think the bolded part is important, since the game is much faster these days. If you're not that big, and not that fast, it's now much tougher to make it even as an everyday NHL player. Then there also cases like Brandon McMillan who are smart and fast players, and still might not make it.

And skating can obviously be improved so we'll have just have to wait and see :)

EDIT: And thanks for the info Ovechkid08, it could be just his stride that's throwing me off. I'm also definitely no scout, I just really value speed when it comes to smaller players.
 
Alright well I went back and was looking for some game videos of him (BSM was streamed quite a bit this season so if you're really bored this offseason you can watch some MN hockey) Heres a link to the Shattuck game that BSM won 5-2, Besse with 2 goals and a real nice assist: http://www.prep45.com/vidView.shtml?vID=64265
Time stamps for the Besse (#12) plays are at 28:35, assist at 82:15 and around 96:25 for anyone interested.

Heres a shorter highlights from a blowout, assists on 2nd and 3rd goals are beauties and the 5th and 6th goals very nice as well: http://www.prep45.com/vidView.shtml?vID=62203

http://www.mnhockeycenter.com/view/mbhsh/video-on-demand has links to multiple full games, I'm an Eden Prairie fan but this kid was a real treat to watch for me.
 
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He will attend our official college farm team Univ. of Wisconsin next fall. In general I like the pic BUT with Myles Bell still on the board I would have taken the gamble on him.
 
It's pretty unfair to label a 5th round selection a boom or bust player. It's either he exceeds despite whatever it is that made him slide past 146 other players or he fulfills the expectations of his draft position would be nothing. If this kid doesn't make it he's hardly a bust.

Having said that though this pick is reminiscent to Kevin Roy (though he was taken a round earlier) last year and Chris Wagner in 2010. These are the kind of picks you feel comfortable taking a kid that has a lot of potential and time to grow playing college hockey. I think it's unlikely any of them play but I'm glad they take kids with talent. You can work hard and improve yourself physically but you can't suddenly become more talented. I'd rather have long shots with some game. I like this pick.
 
I just wanted to stop by and say you guys got a hell of a player here. He scored 5 goals for his high school team to win the Minnesota State Championship as a Junior. Instead of making the logical leap to the USHL, like fellow Minnesota State Mr. Hockey Justin Kloos, he decided to return for his Senior season.

160 goals in his HS career, good for 5th all-time in Minnesota High School history. 289 points good for 4th all-time.
 
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