I promised some NCAA free agent/early departure chatter this week and here it is….
I mentioned on Monday that free agent sophomore defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who has every NHL scout drooling over his 6'3, 190 pound frame, quick feet and smooth skating, had narrowed his list down to two teams. The list might be a bit longer than that, but there are definitely two teams in the lead and both have strong ties to him - Detroit, who he grew up rooting for and who have his former coach Jeff Blashill as an assistant and who's minor league affiliate is also close to home in Grand Rapids, and Tampa Bay, for a kid who grew up a Red Wing fan it's hard not to listen long and hard to anything Steve Yzerman has to say, plus one of his junior coaches is coaching their AHL team in Norfolk. Since then, I have also learned that DeKeyser is also considering going back to Western Michigan for another season so he can be that much closer to earning a degree. While I fully support pursuing an education, I think he's ready for the next step, simply because, despite getting a bit stronger, I'm not sure what else he can learn at the NCAA level. The Broncos have a few things on their side though - IIHF Hall of Fame and former NHL coach, Andy Murray, the sense that they're on the verge of something big in Kalamazoo and a great college atmosphere. It will be an interesting next few months for him and subsequently us.
Another big, yet mobile and offensively gifted player that has NHL scouts drooling is Northeastern freshman Ludwig Karlsson. Problem is, just about every one of those scouts thinks he should stay in school for at least another year, but I've been told the Swedish Sensation and his advisor have visions of him going pro after this season. So while most NHL clubs think he isn't ready to compete for an NHL spot, all of them are impressed enough with his potential that, should he decide to leave the Huskies, no one will want to be the team that let him slip through their fingers and all of them will be clamoring for his services. Definitely keep an eye on him.
And if you really want to go off the board, pay attention to defenseman Gabe Guentzel at Colorado College. I saw him recently in a home-and-home against Denver and I loved everything about his game. While he's got great vision from the point, I was most impressed with his defensive play - his positioning, his shot blocking….his effort. If I'm an NHL scout, I'm taking a long look at this guy and considering how he could fit into my organization.
Sophomore forward JT Brown from Minnesota-Duluth is by far the most sought after NCAA free agent. I'll be shocked if he doesn't sign at the end of the season. Every team not only wants him in their system, they want him on their roster….yesterday. Every scout and NHL executive that I've spoken with think Brown is capable of contributing at the nHL level right away. It will be interesting to see where he lands, but some waves were made in the twitterverse over the weekend when Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell - who has zero connections to the Minnesota native - posted this tweet "Nice GWG for @JTBrown23 this weekend. Win another championship for UMD this. #thiskidisgonnabegood " Coincidence or wooing at it's finest?
In the small but skilled category, I've got a trio for you that are all in the Hobey conversation, but not necessarily in the NHL mix - Jack Connolly at Minnesota-Duluth and Spencer Abbott and Brian Flynn who are both at Maine. Unless one of them - likely Connolly - wins the Hobey, and maybe even if they do, they are much more likely to have a team take an AHL flyer on them rather than a straight up NHL deal. They're definitely skilled and they're definitely fast, but are they skilled enough, fast enough and most importantly, strong enough to make it in the NHL? That's a question all three of them will have to work extra hard to provide a positive answer to, but they'll all be given a chance.
On the early departure front, I fully expect BC juniors Chris Kreider (NYR) and Brian Dumoulin (CAR) to say good bye to the Heights come April as well as defenseman Justin Schultz (ANA) at Wisconsin. Many people will say that CC sophomore Jaden Schwartz (STL) is also in this group, but I'm not as sold on that actually happening, mainly because his brother, Rylan, who actually leads the Tigers with 37 points (one more than Jaden) will be a senior in the Springs and if you know anything about their family, you know how much they cherish their time together. He won't leave early to play in the A. Another guy some expect an early departure from is junior Reilly Smith (DAL) at Miami, but I think after watching his older brother, Brendan, spend his "senior year" in Grand Rapids without so much as a call up, that he too would think long and hard about the opportunities before him before leaving the good thing he's got going in Oxford.
That's all for now….if you want to know about someone specific, let me know!
Also, for those of you that liked the game shows, I'll be post Western Michigan's soon as well as the other features from that episode of the College Hockey Spotlight.
Julie
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