Deep Thoughts • 17/02/2022
Deep Thoughts - February 17th 2022 - Random Thoughts and Olympics
Deep Thoughts
with
Mark Seidel
Deep Thoughts: Welcome to another Deep Thoughts which represent my PERSONAL views & don’t reflect ANY Organization that I work with! This edition is LONG with many different thoughts so unfollow if you don’t want them.
DT: I know I’m late to the party on this but with all of the good that Gary Bettman has done, why does he insist on Arizona being the hill he will die on? How do you ask 31 other Owners to Revenue Share with a team that seats 5K? How do they retain Players or excite a Top 5 pick?
DT: @JeffMarek has been talking about Hall of Fame worthy players that aren’t in & 500 goal scorers that should be close. For me, guys like Turgeon, Bondra & Marleau aren’t HOF worthy but guys like Roenick, Tkachuk, Verbeek should be in b/c they scored AND brought other "skills".
DT: Olympic hockey has been tough to watch. CAN-USA Women are fun to watch but I see enough bad hockey that double digit blowouts don’t do it for me. I support the weaker nations playing & competing against CAN or USA b/c its important but I just don’t find it compelling TV.
DT: Watching the Gold Medal game, it was nice to see 2 players from Sudbury competing. Abby Roque (Wahnapitae First Nation) & Rebecca Johnson played hard & played well & represented the area well. FYI, the Sudbury Lady Wolves U18A team coached by Jason Stos is #2 in the country.
DT: Men's Hockey? I know a few of the players & I’m happy they got the opportunity so I don’t want diminish them but it’s been tough. The kids were fun but I spend EVERY day immersed in players & there were DOZENS playing that I’ve never heard of so that speaks to the quality.
DT: On the topic of Olympic hockey coverage, I have been REALLY impressed with @hailey_salvian during the games. You can tell she lives & breathes the game & puts in the work & will be a star. I don’t think she played at a high level but I almost like that about her more.
DT: Which leads me to another observation: Why does almost EVERY female hockey Analyst have to be a former Olympian? Players have a unique perspective & can bring value but so can non-players like Hailey. @FriedgeHNIC & @TSNBobMcKenzie didn’t play & they are two of the best ever.
DT: DT: At our Jan. 17th meeting, we moved Shane Wright down to #3 overall & there has been no shortage of people ripping us for it. To Wright’s credit, he has 22 points in the 13 games since & is a +9 with 53 shots. FYI, rankings are a fluid entity with changes constantly occurring.
DT: Players have the right to play better & move up in the rankings and Wright has certainly been making his case as the best Player in the Draft lately but it is a process. For example, based on the last 10 days, you could certainly argue Juraj Slafkovsky is the best Prospect.
DT: On the topic of Independent Rankings, Twitter allows EVERYONE to put out a list but how many of these people have actually seen the player Live or on Video? I’m 31 years in with guys around the world, tools like InStat/SportsLogiq & a vast network & it is STILL some guesswork
DT: The Kubota CHL Top Prospect game Rosters came out this week & I know it is tough but I think a few Players didn’t get invited & they should have. Guys we have in our Top 40 CHL players are Beau Jelsma, Tnias Mathurin, Brayden Schuurman, Evan Konyen & Jeremy Langlois.
DT: With last year being lost in the OHL, I think you will see more OA Free Agent signings than usual. Florida scooped Mack Guzda but players like Lucas Edmonds, Tye Kartye, Mitchell Weeks, Robert Calisti, Nathan Staios & Nate Allenson should garner interest & sign contracts
DT: A note to young people moving up in the game. You can’t have revisionist history with the Internet or people with long memories like myself. Not in rankings. Not in your “claimed” successes. Not in your prior employment. Just be honest & credible & work hard b/c we remember.
DT: Update on Sudbury creating one AAA Association for elite players. A group put in hundreds of hours to create the framework for it to happen. I credit NCHA for investigating & agreeing to it but “shockingly” Sudbury Minor Hockey torpedoed it while slandering people. #BeBetter
with
Mark Seidel
Deep Thoughts: Welcome to another Deep Thoughts which represent my PERSONAL views & don’t reflect ANY Organization that I work with! This edition is LONG with many different thoughts so unfollow if you don’t want them.
DT: I know I’m late to the party on this but with all of the good that Gary Bettman has done, why does he insist on Arizona being the hill he will die on? How do you ask 31 other Owners to Revenue Share with a team that seats 5K? How do they retain Players or excite a Top 5 pick?
DT: @JeffMarek has been talking about Hall of Fame worthy players that aren’t in & 500 goal scorers that should be close. For me, guys like Turgeon, Bondra & Marleau aren’t HOF worthy but guys like Roenick, Tkachuk, Verbeek should be in b/c they scored AND brought other "skills".
DT: Olympic hockey has been tough to watch. CAN-USA Women are fun to watch but I see enough bad hockey that double digit blowouts don’t do it for me. I support the weaker nations playing & competing against CAN or USA b/c its important but I just don’t find it compelling TV.
DT: Watching the Gold Medal game, it was nice to see 2 players from Sudbury competing. Abby Roque (Wahnapitae First Nation) & Rebecca Johnson played hard & played well & represented the area well. FYI, the Sudbury Lady Wolves U18A team coached by Jason Stos is #2 in the country.
DT: Men's Hockey? I know a few of the players & I’m happy they got the opportunity so I don’t want diminish them but it’s been tough. The kids were fun but I spend EVERY day immersed in players & there were DOZENS playing that I’ve never heard of so that speaks to the quality.
DT: On the topic of Olympic hockey coverage, I have been REALLY impressed with @hailey_salvian during the games. You can tell she lives & breathes the game & puts in the work & will be a star. I don’t think she played at a high level but I almost like that about her more.
DT: Which leads me to another observation: Why does almost EVERY female hockey Analyst have to be a former Olympian? Players have a unique perspective & can bring value but so can non-players like Hailey. @FriedgeHNIC & @TSNBobMcKenzie didn’t play & they are two of the best ever.
DT: DT: At our Jan. 17th meeting, we moved Shane Wright down to #3 overall & there has been no shortage of people ripping us for it. To Wright’s credit, he has 22 points in the 13 games since & is a +9 with 53 shots. FYI, rankings are a fluid entity with changes constantly occurring.
DT: Players have the right to play better & move up in the rankings and Wright has certainly been making his case as the best Player in the Draft lately but it is a process. For example, based on the last 10 days, you could certainly argue Juraj Slafkovsky is the best Prospect.
DT: On the topic of Independent Rankings, Twitter allows EVERYONE to put out a list but how many of these people have actually seen the player Live or on Video? I’m 31 years in with guys around the world, tools like InStat/SportsLogiq & a vast network & it is STILL some guesswork
DT: The Kubota CHL Top Prospect game Rosters came out this week & I know it is tough but I think a few Players didn’t get invited & they should have. Guys we have in our Top 40 CHL players are Beau Jelsma, Tnias Mathurin, Brayden Schuurman, Evan Konyen & Jeremy Langlois.
DT: With last year being lost in the OHL, I think you will see more OA Free Agent signings than usual. Florida scooped Mack Guzda but players like Lucas Edmonds, Tye Kartye, Mitchell Weeks, Robert Calisti, Nathan Staios & Nate Allenson should garner interest & sign contracts
DT: A note to young people moving up in the game. You can’t have revisionist history with the Internet or people with long memories like myself. Not in rankings. Not in your “claimed” successes. Not in your prior employment. Just be honest & credible & work hard b/c we remember.
DT: Update on Sudbury creating one AAA Association for elite players. A group put in hundreds of hours to create the framework for it to happen. I credit NCHA for investigating & agreeing to it but “shockingly” Sudbury Minor Hockey torpedoed it while slandering people. #BeBetter
Sports. Stories. Honesty. Unbiased.
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