That said, the drawbacks are also clear with Suzuki. This excerpt from The Hockey News illustrates:
[Scouts] talk about him being undersized, how he's not flashy and how's he's not the greatest skater on the ice...
However, the same clip continues:
...but then you look and see he finished four shy of a 100-point season. He has to think his way through situations rather than rely on his skating, which is usually a lot more difficult. "He doesn't toe-drag anybody, but all he does is be a factor in the game in every way," another scout said. "I think it's ridiculous he's not rated ahead of Owen Tippett."
(The Hockey News excerpt from May 29, 2017 Draft Preview issue, available now.)
Befitting the nature of this year's Draft, it's hard to say where Suzuki will land. LA's #11 spot might just be the place for the 5'11" pivot.
Indeed, from Thomas Hickey to Jordan Weal to Kale Clague, the Kings have shown an underacknowledged willingness to use a higher pick on a smaller project. One NHL scout I spoke with indicated, "It's hard to pass on [him] just because of size."
As for his skating, from Tyler Toffoli to Tanner Pearson to Jonny Brodzinski, they have a recent history of turning slow-of-foot prospects into above-average NHL skaters.
Los Angeles will also like the fact that Suzuki is one of the more complete players in this Draft. Brock Otten from the always-excellent OHL Prospects elaborates:
His playmaking ability is top notch...
He has a deceptively quick release and he's so adept at getting himself scoring chances. This is a well rounded offensive player. Suzuki also uses his motor to play defensively and on the PK, where he's developed into one of the league's premier penalty killers.
One of the comparisons that is thrown around a lot is Joe Pavelski and Suzuki projects as the type of player who can excel in all situations like Pavelski does for the Sharks.
Speaking of Suzuki's motor, Otten adds:
I saw NHL.com's Mike Morreale recently say, "Suzuki plays the game like he's got Red Bull flowing through his veins," and I think that's a very accurate statement.
Check out Otten's more extensive Suzuki scouting report here.
Morreale spoke with Ryan McGill, Suzuki's Owen Sound head coach, who has another NHL comparable in mind:
"I think he'll be a second-line center in the NHL one day," McGill said. "He kind of models his game after Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins), but Bergeron has been in the NHL a long time. A better comparison might be Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund. It took Backlund a few years to become a real solid player; I think [Suzuki] has the potential to be better than Backlund." (NHL.com)
In general, many believe that Suzuki's high-end hockey sense will help him overcome any size or skating deficiencies. Letang explains:
With his hockey sense, you’re not going to see him go in there to try to run guys over, but you don’t see him lose a puck battle in the corners, he’s so good at protecting the puck with his body...
It’s the smarts and knowing how to use his body...
Nick is quick with anticipation and with that stick...so he gets to where he needs to go pretty effectively.
***
Reviewing Suzuki's season, I was struck by the number of the times that he banked the puck off the goalie to score. It was an impressive display of both hockey IQ and daring.
As Letang put it, "Most guys on the ice don’t think to try that."
Suzuki's wider offensive repertoire was showcased against the Guelph Storm in this five-point effort:
***
On Sunday, Kings legend Bill White died at 77.
A member of LA's 1967-68 expansion team, White was a two-time All-Star defender while wearing Forum blue and gold. He went on to greater notoriety with the Chicago Black Hawks, where he boasted three consecutive top-three Norris Trophy finishes. He was also a key cog for Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series.
He might have been a Hall of Famer had his NHL career started earlier -- he was 28 when he debuted for Los Angeles in 1967.
During the season, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bill on a couple occasions for my "50 Forgotten Stories" series for LAKings.com. He was always genial and had a sharp wit.
In February, White was recuperating from hip surgery. He quipped, "Everybody has it nowadays. It's fashionable."
White was also an infamous prankster. In LA, a favorite target of his was goalie Gerry Desjardins:
An appointment was made for him with the club dentist. He got directions to the dentist's office but he didn't get the doctor's name. Bill White, the defenseman, told Gerry, "Just ask for Dr. Pull."
"Like a sap," Desjardins said. "I went for it. I drove over to the medical building where the dentist's office was supposed to be, but I couldn't find any Dr. Pull on the directory. So I went to the drug store and asked a lady if she could direct me to Dr. Pull. She said maybe he was in the next building, about a block away. I went over there. No Dr. Pull." (Maher, Charles. "In Search of Dr. Pull." Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1969.)
Even a hockey immortal like Terry Sawchuk wasn't immune to White's mischief. But that's a story for another time.
Thanks for everything, Bill. You'll be sorely missed.
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