Welcome to the dog days of summer. I find myself in a bit of a bind these days, pressed by work, pressed by my lack of will to work and then by the invisible hand that is my inevitable lust to talk more hockey. As usual, people who follow my work will be disappointed yet again at the lack of content as my sporadic, almost bi-polar, approach to articles dried up after the draft. Have no fear though, I’m only going on vacation for a week...one filled with vainglorious amounts of alcohol to destroy the last few good ideas my mind could come up with since the worlds largest tobacco farming, smoking, deviant opened up shop beside me and has been roasting my brain through second hand smoke these past few weeks.
Well enough about me and my whinging. Let’s talk future plans, then current events. So while I would love to go into the journalistic styling's of my peers (that I do love reading) where analytics meet anal-retentive arguments over the very merits of its existence, I’ll stick to what has become my bread and butter, prospects. Hell, that’s technically what I’m here to write about these days on HB, though I do love the little bit of free reign they give me. Upcoming will be the usual yearly Top-10 Prospects blogs about each teams...top-10 prospects! Yes, riveting. Also I have been struggling with a complicated narrative on what a rebuild actually is, the more I delve into it, the more I confuse myself, so this will either be one huge idiotic chunk, or a large string of little idiocies wrapped in a bow.
Here I thought I was done whinging like a minge.
Last article I talked about why the 2015 draft had more to offer than simply Connack McEichel (trademark 2013) and why the “experts… are talking it up as a strong draft...especially in relation to 2014. It largely focused on European players, some of whom were rather obscure, this time around I will get more obscure. Enjoy this bit of chicanery.
Oliver Kylington : Left Handed Defenseman, 6’0, 181lbs, 1997-05-19, 17 years old, 32 Games - 2 Goals - 4 Assists - 6 Points for Fà¤rjestad in the Elitserien
While Rasmus Andersson is probably the steadier of the two and obviously more developed, Kylington has some frightening upside that decries his rather modest resume. The Swedish/Eritrean defender was a PPG player in the SuperElit including torching the playoffs with three goals in two games. His play in the Elitserien has also been strong, despite limited playing time. The oddest part about Kylington is that he has yet to play for Sweden Internationally in a major tournament, something that is at once odd and then slightly revealing as one of the few “non-Swedes… to ever come up through their system.
Regardless of politics, elite skating and amazing vision have brought early comparisons to Erik Karlsson (coincidentally just under a PPG during his own draft year), comparisons I hate, but ones there nonetheless. It’s hard to argue though when you see a player who simply skates as well as he sees the ice with the ability to control the game at a moments notice. Scouts rave about his defensive awareness as well which has you wondering...how good is he? A guy who has been extremely comfortable in the Elitserien at 16-17, yet has no logged games for his home country, not even the U17’s...it’s simply strange and I really want to see him play myself (hopefully at the Ivan Hlinka this year).
He’s ranked as high as fourth and as far back as the third round...so ya, a look in progress. Also his name is Kylington, slap a "Dr" in front of that and he's a Bond Villain.
Paul Bittner : Left Wing, 6’4, 194lbs, 1996-11-04, 17 years old, 63 Games - 22 Goals - 27 Assists - 49 Points for the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL
So I’ve seen Bittner play in the Mem Cup when he was a 16 year old nothing player on a stacked team, and as a solid role player for the Americans at the Ivan Hlinka, that’s about it. I keep getting people saying that he is the next “Mantha… or “Saad.… The first question for me is always...what do those two have in common? The second is, do you have good odds or something? A quasi gentle giant that can skate very well and has some intriguingly good hands, Bittner will play a much larger role for the Winterhawks this season and will hopefully burst out offensively. He has shown he can handle lower line roles, now he has to prove he can bring more to the table than just hope and potential where scoring is concerned.
Travis Konecny : Centre/Left Wing, 5’9, 171lbs, 1997-03-11, 17 years old, 63 Games - 26 Goals - 44 Assists - 70 Points for the Ottawa 67’s in the OHL
The Bronze hero of the U18’s for Canada showed why he is one of the deadliest players off the rush in a long time. Konecny is a speedster that understands his role to the letter. When the puck is near him, he is off and ready to go one vs one or get it deep. He’s an effective penalty killer despite his frame, simply because he plays the percentages and knows how to strip players of the puck. The OHL Rookie of the Year led the dismal 67’s in points and as previously mentioned basically won both the Bronze Medal and the game before against Switzerland with his play.
It’s hard to say where he might end up in the draft, he has high expectations, yet still is small and underdeveloped physically. A lot will be determined by the 67’s and how much their players develop along with him as that is a young and fragile group going into the season. The cousin of Bo Horvat (Canucks) will need to show some of the same fire he played with prior to the OHL where he was one of the most penalized players in AAA to make it to the NHL, but there is potential.
Gustaf Franzén : Centre, 5’11, 165lbs, 1996-09-22, 17 years old, 36 Games - 8 Goals - 10 Assists - 18 Points for HV71 in the SuperElit
Intangibles, get your intangibles...whatever they are. Franzén is considered one of the best defensive forwards and most mature players in the next draft. That might not essentially help him in a quest for first round draft status, but the move to the Kitchener Rangers sure as hell might. After being selected 4th overall in the CHL Import Draft, Franzén decided to make the move official, and this will have a major impact on where he is drafted. His numbers in Sweden are mediocre to say the least, especially for one of the oldest 17 year olds in this draft, yet despite that, his reputation is sterling. He’s a leader, he’s a guy who can win major face-offs, he can play both ends of the rink and he seems to have an extra gear when the playoffs and important games are on the line...etc. I’ve seen him do it, so I get where they are coming from, but I don’t see any offensive creativity of his own, or at least, haven’t seen it yet. Despite that, he has that Hornqvist vibe to him, you can just sort of put him out there and the puck will find itself in the net even if he didn’t get a whiff of the score sheet.
Heck he was even captaining the Swedes at the U18’s last tournament and is rumoured to be the captain for the Ivan Hlinka this year...his third Ivan Hlinka which is extremely rare. The move to the OHL will be everything, especially with that small frame of his, let’s hope he can shine.
Maxim Tretiak : Goaltender, 6’3, 202lbs, 1996-10-22, 17 years old, 24 Games - 2.85 GAA - .885 SV% for Krasnaya Armiya Moskva in the MHL
So let’s get the elephant out of the room, yes it’s Vlad’s grandkid, no he isn’t that great. He isn’t bad certainly, but he isn’t as good as his name would hype him up to be. On the level of Russian goalie prospects, he ranks closer to a “Bobkov… than a “Vasilevski.… I’m not a big one for goalie reviews, but I (Along with most) can tell the difference between a guy with elite tendencies and one without them, even if they never reach that potential. He seems to have an awkward style, a very acrobatic style that at once fools shooters with his movement patterns, but fools himself in where he’s going to be next. It makes for entertaining, but erratic goaltending. The physical skills are there, but the polish isn’t and one wonders if his nom de jour isn’t keeping him afloat more than natural ability. Perhaps that seems unfair, but he hasn’t earned the starting role for the U17’s...which he lost nor the U18’s...which he was highly inconsistent, especially when facing a team with a scoring threat higher than a Junior D player.
Maybe I’m being a tad cynical and am early to dismiss him as a named hype factory...but I like to hedge my bets so there you are.
Thanks for reading.