How has Hextalls drafts look so far? Anything look promising?
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* Tristan Broz
Selection: Second Round (58th Overall)
Position: Forward
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 178 pounds
Age: 18
Hometown: Bloomington, Minnesota
Represents: United States
Amateur Team: Fargo Force (USHL); committed to Minnesota
Pryor's Take: "The USHL was one of the leagues that's played all year, so we had a number of viewings on him from a number of people on our staff, which was advantageous for us. We felt we knew the player pretty well. Tristan's got a good skill set. He can skate. He's a competitive kid. He can play center or wing, there's a versatility there. We like the path he's going. We just need to show patience and let him develop."
Read the full feature on Broz here.
* Isaac Belliveau
Selection: Fifth Round (154th Overall)
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 185 pounds
Age: 17
Hometown: Orford, Quebec
Represents: Canada
Amateur Team: Gatineau (QMJHL)
Pryor's Take: "He's got a lot going for him. Bigger kid, got a little edge to his game, he's got some puck skills. In the draft, we tried to make a point of trying to get a little bit bigger if we can without losing the skill set. He checks a lot of those boxes. There's a lot of promise there. We're very happy and fortunate he was there when we picked. He's a good prospect."
* Ryan McCleary
Selection: Seventh Round (194th Overall)
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 180 pounds
Age: 18
Hometown: Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Represents: Canada
Amateur Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Pryor's Take: "He's a raw young kid. If you look at his birth year, he's close to almost being in next year's draft, which is intriguing to say the least. There's a lot to project, but also a lot to like. You think about where he's going to be at this time next year - he's just starting to get into his body and feel for the game. As a big right-shot defenseman, there's a lot of attributes there to like, we just need some and patience. Portland does a really good job from a development standpoint, so he's in a good place. The kid's also got really good bloodlines. His dad played."
Ryan's father is former NHL player Trent McCleary, who skated in 192 games split between the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens from 1996-00 before his career was cut short after taking a slapshot to the throat.
* Daniel Laatsch
Selection: Seventh Round (215th Overall)
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 182 pounds
Age: 19
Hometown: Altoona, Wisconsin
Represents: United States
Amateur Team: Sioux City Musketeers (USHL); committed to Wisconsin
Pryor's Take: "He's an interesting kid. His path is very intriguing, too. Some of these guys, especially the bigger ones, get out of sorts at an early age and just need some time. He went to Sioux City this year, got on track. He's a good-sized kid. He knows how to play the game. He just needs to get stronger and more mature. Wisconsin is known for developing defensemen, so Daniel's got big upside there. We can just put him there and let him develop and grow into his body and get all synced up."
* Kirill Tankov
Selection: Seventh Round (218th Overall)
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 181 pounds
Age: 19
Hometown: Yurga, Russia
Represents: Russia
Amateur Team: SKA-Varyagi im (MHL)
Pryor's Take: "He's a good-sized winger. He can play center. He's got a good skill set. Kind of long and lean. He's over in Saint Petersburg. We have a good eye over there with Alexander. As with the college kids, we can just leave him there and let him develop. There's no rush. There's a lot of promise there, a lot of upside."
