Deep Thoughts • 13/08/2018
Deep Thoughts Twitter - August 13th 2018 - OHL & NHL Thoughts
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! We are in the home stretch of the Summer & the Seasons are going to start so Lets Go!
DT: The Hlinka/Gretzky U18’s last week was a spectacular gathering of players for the next couple of Drafts & scouts appreciate that it was in Canada but can we find a smaller Host City that will attend with enthusiasm & have some atmosphere?
DT: Having it in the middle of August is tough because of the weather but smaller Centre’s like Kingston or Charlottetown would jam the building to watch International hockey. The hosts did a good job under tough circumstances but its time to get back to the roots.
DT: I gave some comments last week about Alexis Lafreniere but I want to re-iterate what a special player this kid is. He will become a franchise player and a superstar in the League because of his skill, vision, competitiveness & leadership & it will be a pleasure to watch him.
DT: The other two 2020 Draft Eligible’s in the event that jumped off the ice were Alexander Holtz & Lucas Raymond. These 2 forwards would be 1st round picks if they were eligible in this year’s draft so I can’t to see them for 2 more years. I thought they were 2 of Sweden’s best players.
DT: As for the 2019 NHL Draft, I’m betting their will be a lot of air miles earned by scouts in heading to the WHL this winter. With Cozens, Byram, Krebs, Dach, Foote, Newhook, Williams, Mutalla & Robertson all being in our Top 31, there will be plenty to watch!
DT: Although there were only 4 OHL’ers on the Gold Medal winning U18’s, we still have 7 players in our Top 31 including Kaliyev, Suzuki, Robertson, Bertuzzi, Murray, Tomasino & Clarke.
DT: The Americans have every right to be upset about the Semi Final finish but I was so impressed with the calm, measured & adult way that USA Coach Cory Laylin handled it. It would have been frustrating as hell but he was pure class & a great example.
DT: The Maple Leafs announced they hired Chris Roque as a full time scout & it was the perfect choice. Chris has worked his bag off, helped build those Soo Greyhound teams & is a phenomenal evaluator so Leaf fans can add that to the list of good things that happened this summer in Leafland.
DT: It was announced today that the Sudbury Wolves have hired Bud Stefanski as their new Assistant Coach. I love Bud and I’m very happy he is getting back into the OHL as we’ve missed him for a few years. He’ll be coaching with his Son-in-Law Cory Stillman so it will be fun.
DT: The recent trade that saw Steve Staois get a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th for Jack Hanley was very impressive. Hanley was part of that group that led Hamilton to the Memorial Cup & is a tremendous kid with character but 3 picks seems a little rich for me.
DT: Mississauga got a 5th round pick from Flint for Emmanual Vella who will go in there and battle Like Cavallin for the starters role. I’m a huge fan of Cavallin so I think Vella will be in tough but Barclay Branch wanted a veteran presence and paid for it.
DT: Niagara was able to get Ivan Lodnia out of Erie for Damiel Singer & a 5th which should be good for the Icedogs. Lodnia is a more complete offensive player but don’t discount the skills of Singer. He had more goals than Lodnia last year & will be the trigger man in Erie.
DT: People don’t want to hear this but London may be unstoppable this year. They brought back a very good group & have added Boquvist, Stranges & Guskov & I believe that Tkachuk will be added to the mix. That will be a fun team to watch but a nightmare to match up with.
DT: It will be interesting to see how Kyle Raftis handles the year because everything says he should sell off & recoup a bunch of young players & picks for the rebuild but I love John Dean as a coach & they have enough talent to be Top 4 in the West at the trade deadline.
DT: Mikey DiPietro may be too good & it may end up hurting Windsor. In an ideal world, Warren Rychel would keep him until January & flip him to a contender for a huge return but I’m hearing rumblings the Canucks are seriously contemplating keeping him in the NHL if he has a good camp.
DT: In other goaltending news, the Sudbury Wolves got the 19 year old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to sign so that will really help that young defense core. I’m assuming that means Jake McGrath will be moving on & I’ll be interested to see the return on the 19 year old goaltender.
DT: Having just completed the Under 15 POE in Sudbury as the Director of Operations for Team NOHA, I can let the world know that this 2003 group in Northern Ontario is the deepest for the OHL Draft in at least 15 years. There are some stars & great depth!
DT: I saw that Daren Millard was leaving Sportsnet & it’s a great loss for that group. I only met him a few times but he was very nice & courteous so I wish him the best. I’m assuming that this will mean an increase in @JeffMarek on the air? Hello, is this thing on…
DT: I am very pleased to announce that North American Central Scouting has added 3 new members to our staff. Kevin Clancy, Jason Maslakow & Austin Lubhoff have joined us to add to our scouting coverage & increase our use of analytics in our player evaluations.
DT: Jason & Kevin will both focus on evaluating players for the NHL Draft as well as the OHL Priority Selection. Austin will be in charge of the Draft/Player Analytics & we will combine the 2 disciplines to maintain our reputation as one of the best Independent Scouting Services in the market.
With
Mark Seidel
Deep Thoughts: Welcome to another Deep Thoughts which represent my PERSONAL views & don’t reflect ANY Organization that I work with! We are in the home stretch of the Summer & the Seasons are going to start so Lets Go!
DT: The Hlinka/Gretzky U18’s last week was a spectacular gathering of players for the next couple of Drafts & scouts appreciate that it was in Canada but can we find a smaller Host City that will attend with enthusiasm & have some atmosphere?
DT: Having it in the middle of August is tough because of the weather but smaller Centre’s like Kingston or Charlottetown would jam the building to watch International hockey. The hosts did a good job under tough circumstances but its time to get back to the roots.
DT: I gave some comments last week about Alexis Lafreniere but I want to re-iterate what a special player this kid is. He will become a franchise player and a superstar in the League because of his skill, vision, competitiveness & leadership & it will be a pleasure to watch him.
DT: The other two 2020 Draft Eligible’s in the event that jumped off the ice were Alexander Holtz & Lucas Raymond. These 2 forwards would be 1st round picks if they were eligible in this year’s draft so I can’t to see them for 2 more years. I thought they were 2 of Sweden’s best players.
DT: As for the 2019 NHL Draft, I’m betting their will be a lot of air miles earned by scouts in heading to the WHL this winter. With Cozens, Byram, Krebs, Dach, Foote, Newhook, Williams, Mutalla & Robertson all being in our Top 31, there will be plenty to watch!
DT: Although there were only 4 OHL’ers on the Gold Medal winning U18’s, we still have 7 players in our Top 31 including Kaliyev, Suzuki, Robertson, Bertuzzi, Murray, Tomasino & Clarke.
DT: The Americans have every right to be upset about the Semi Final finish but I was so impressed with the calm, measured & adult way that USA Coach Cory Laylin handled it. It would have been frustrating as hell but he was pure class & a great example.
DT: The Maple Leafs announced they hired Chris Roque as a full time scout & it was the perfect choice. Chris has worked his bag off, helped build those Soo Greyhound teams & is a phenomenal evaluator so Leaf fans can add that to the list of good things that happened this summer in Leafland.
DT: It was announced today that the Sudbury Wolves have hired Bud Stefanski as their new Assistant Coach. I love Bud and I’m very happy he is getting back into the OHL as we’ve missed him for a few years. He’ll be coaching with his Son-in-Law Cory Stillman so it will be fun.
DT: The recent trade that saw Steve Staois get a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th for Jack Hanley was very impressive. Hanley was part of that group that led Hamilton to the Memorial Cup & is a tremendous kid with character but 3 picks seems a little rich for me.
DT: Mississauga got a 5th round pick from Flint for Emmanual Vella who will go in there and battle Like Cavallin for the starters role. I’m a huge fan of Cavallin so I think Vella will be in tough but Barclay Branch wanted a veteran presence and paid for it.
DT: Niagara was able to get Ivan Lodnia out of Erie for Damiel Singer & a 5th which should be good for the Icedogs. Lodnia is a more complete offensive player but don’t discount the skills of Singer. He had more goals than Lodnia last year & will be the trigger man in Erie.
DT: People don’t want to hear this but London may be unstoppable this year. They brought back a very good group & have added Boquvist, Stranges & Guskov & I believe that Tkachuk will be added to the mix. That will be a fun team to watch but a nightmare to match up with.
DT: It will be interesting to see how Kyle Raftis handles the year because everything says he should sell off & recoup a bunch of young players & picks for the rebuild but I love John Dean as a coach & they have enough talent to be Top 4 in the West at the trade deadline.
DT: Mikey DiPietro may be too good & it may end up hurting Windsor. In an ideal world, Warren Rychel would keep him until January & flip him to a contender for a huge return but I’m hearing rumblings the Canucks are seriously contemplating keeping him in the NHL if he has a good camp.
DT: In other goaltending news, the Sudbury Wolves got the 19 year old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to sign so that will really help that young defense core. I’m assuming that means Jake McGrath will be moving on & I’ll be interested to see the return on the 19 year old goaltender.
DT: Having just completed the Under 15 POE in Sudbury as the Director of Operations for Team NOHA, I can let the world know that this 2003 group in Northern Ontario is the deepest for the OHL Draft in at least 15 years. There are some stars & great depth!
DT: I saw that Daren Millard was leaving Sportsnet & it’s a great loss for that group. I only met him a few times but he was very nice & courteous so I wish him the best. I’m assuming that this will mean an increase in @JeffMarek on the air? Hello, is this thing on…
DT: I am very pleased to announce that North American Central Scouting has added 3 new members to our staff. Kevin Clancy, Jason Maslakow & Austin Lubhoff have joined us to add to our scouting coverage & increase our use of analytics in our player evaluations.
DT: Jason & Kevin will both focus on evaluating players for the NHL Draft as well as the OHL Priority Selection. Austin will be in charge of the Draft/Player Analytics & we will combine the 2 disciplines to maintain our reputation as one of the best Independent Scouting Services in the market.
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