Arber Xhekaj (MON) and Nick Blankenburg (CBJ), two of Twitter’s favourite rookie defencemen of late, have had a noticeable early impact on their respective teams. Both offer limited scoring but solid peripherals: Blankenburg has 10 hits in four games, while Xhekaj is currently tied for fifth in the league for hits with 26 alongside noted [...]
It only took one game for Nick Robertson to prove he is ready to be the missing piece of the Leafs' top six. https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1583277477727641600 In his season debut, Robertson played 11:40 at 5v5, posting a 60 CF% and leading the Leafs with 64.92 xGF%. The 21-year-old left winger lined up beside John Tavares and William [...]
Watching Samuel Ersson and Felix Sandstrom jockey to claim the Flyers backup job behind the surprisingly hot Carter Hart, I was reminded of Ivan Fedotov, who seemed to have the inside edge on that position heading into the year. He was becoming a popular stash in dynasties due to his excellent KHL numbers, expiring contract [...]
One of the biggest debates coming from the past 2022 Draft Class was determining the top defender. Most pundits landed on either Simon Nemec or David Jiricek as the top potential draftee of that position, with the odd person citing Denton Mateychuk or Lane Hutson as the best rearguard from this class. While it will [...]
The Coyotes grabbed Juuso Valimaki (D) and Connor Ingram (G) off waivers recently from Calgary and Nashville respectively. Both immediately made the opening night roster and will kick off the year with Arizona. Both have solid pedigrees from their draft positions and production at lower levels but they also share an uncertain future. It is [...]
Gabe Vilardi (11th OA, 2017) is a former Golden Boy for the Kings who has flashed potential but also struggled repeatedly with injuries. His resume includes a D+1 OHL season where he scored almost two points per game, a 70-point pace in the AHL, and a 40-point pace over his first 63 NHL games. He [...]
A golden opportunity awaits one of the defensemen for the Tampa Bay Lightning, two of which are prospects. Jan Rutta has left the Tampa Bay organization, which leaves a substantial hole beside the one and only Victor Hedman. One is a more steady and sturdy defensively-minded player. The other has more offensive tools and upside, [...]
It has been much too long since I have written a ramblings article. To all my loyal readers, I sincerely apologize! My work on the DraftCast has taken up most of my time this year. Pat and I were actually going to do a winners and losers video for the latest episode - until Rogers [...]
Welcome to my ramblings, where I’ll be writing down my thoughts on NHL and draft-eligible prospects once a week. I’ll be using the ramblings to keep you posted on the week's events, or let you in on some questions I ask myself often regarding prospects, amateur scouting and player development. This week, I wanted to [...]
Welcome to my ramblings, where I’ll be writing down my thoughts on NHL and draft-eligible prospects once a week. I’ll be using the ramblings to keep you posted on the week's events, or let you in on some questions I ask myself often regarding prospects, amateur scouting and player development. The CHL's 2022 playoffs are [...]
