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As I watched the game last night, I found myself pondering, “Is this team getting worse?!” Philadelphia was dominating in possession (save for some nice shifts including some brilliant attempts by Bertuzzi) and Bernier was keeping the score artificially low. In fact, JB was really, really good. Detroit looked out of sorts, and everyone was out of sync. Tyler Bertuzzi is attempting some high skill plays and showing even more creativity. That’s a good sign. Much of the rest of the team just looks lost. Kudos to Philly who is fighting for a spot. They brought it.
Instead of focusing on another lost contest in the worst season I’ve ever seen, interesting news came on the scouting front, and the big boss is on the front lines.
Steve Yzerman is back at it. I’d talked a bit about him being a “one man scouting department”, and ironically news broke of his latest venture, in Germany
Yzerman scouting prospect
My anxieties over getting too attached to the idea of picking first overall were greatly calmed by this. Yzerman is scouting center/wing Tim Stutzle. Here is a brief synopsis from the article:
This German centre-wing is shooting up the draft charts. He is a world class skater who can skate rings around the opposition, quickly turning and twisting through the layers without slowing whether he is out there as a centre or a wing. Very well might be the best pure skater in the class. Probably projects as a winger at this juncture, as his first year in the Germnan senior leagues saw him at centre and there might have been a few hiccups, but time will decide if he is pro wing or pivot. He is more of a set up man than a shooter but has a nice wrist shot as a shooter. Get passes off with snap and touch, and will one touch advance pucks fot teammate scoring opportunities. Likes to set ala Patrick Kane at the right half wall on the power play. Really needs to bulk up and get stronger but has a frame that can add girth. - courtesy of draft site.com
Tell me if this sounds familiar. A German prospect many didn’t know about whose draft stock shoots up late in the year, playing in a men’s league. If you guessed “Moritz Seider last year”, you are correct. Just before the draft his name was briefly mentioned as having impressed many scouts, and was now considered a first round pick. After the shock of the pick, it turns out Seider is the real deal. Scouted by, you guessed it, Yzerman himself.
No part of me believes this kid will supplant Lafreniere as first overall. However, he could make his way into the top 10, or top 4 (depending on how high Yzerman is on him). When you hear comparisons to Patrick Kane, that is exciting.
Germany was, to many, a surprise at the world juniors. It’s a team we still don’t know nearly enough about. Their prospects are on the rise, and Yzerman could well be ahead of the curve in scouting them. When it comes to fantasy drafts, there is a general laziness in regards to “central scouting”. Canada/US gets the most focus. Sweden/Russia/Finland will have some notable standouts. Programs in Germany, France and England have been seeing increased success and are probably the least looked after. For players to come to North America and get noticed in the QMJL or OHL, it is at a great expense and sacrifice that not everyone can make. Russian players have been more and more hesitant to come over, and now Sweden/Switzerland and Finland seem to be happy developing their own talent at home. The opportunity for Germany just hasn’t been the same as it is a relative unknown in the hockey world.
It takes a lot of work to see where hockey will be in 10 years. I get the feeling that Yzerman has been in tireless pursuit for a while. It’s nice to think that Detroit could be on the verge of developing the “next” style of play with the new generation of players. Only time will tell what that will look like.
For more about this up and coming prospect, here is his page on elite prospects
Tim Stutzle 
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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