This! He (Boqvist) has huge upside but he is really raw right now.
- MjulQvist
yeah, I just don't understand how after your team picks 8th overall and gets a player who already has shown abilities that place him above most of the draft class in terms of attacking skills, set up skills,
that you suddenly think bust based on no concrete evidence.
I could go out right now and post Oliver Wahlstrom has a shot, but doesn't project as an NHL player until he is more a perimeter player and unless he starts working to win back pucks and to feed his teammates.
My point is your chief scouts get to the five minutes before they are able to pick, and they get paid a handsome salary, so they better be pretty informed and be making projections...yes, because that's what every team is doing projecting eventual NHL status...and if you take a look at the players selected around each prospect selected, in each and every draft EVER, you can see kids that work to make it, kids that have dynamic written all over them and don't make and kids that do.
That chief scout gets paid handsomely to
choose the best value player, the best fit for now and what his team thinks will be the new NHL in the next four years as to how the game will be played.
That idea in the Athletic article about the hawks staff watching the playoffs and how the games were played is not revolutionary, but smart coaches can cobble out what attributes at which positions will be the guiding abilities to play that "new playoff style."
So it's time for pick #8 and the prospect the hockey news called the second best scoring defenseman in the 2018 draft a guy that was according to the Hockey News going to be gone by slot five is still on the board.
What would you do?
The Hockey News
5. Adam Boqvist, D, Brynas (Swe.): He doesn’t have the size of Dahlin, but he does have the mobility, smarts and puck skills. Boqvist can also take care of his own end, making him a great investment.
Sure you can read the above (what they wrote not me...but mine is there if you click on his name on Draftsite.com
...or I can repost it here:
This player compensates his 5ft 11inch 170 lb size with terrific hands and ability to push the pace, doing a decent job in his own end using his skill set. In the Swedish junior league, Boqvist showcased a nice shot, high end speed, and agility. He may very well be the
top finesse and fine-edge-skating defenseman in the draft, displaying
great balance and
lateral mobility. He is lightning fast and has
great vision. He
distributes the puck unselfishly and he jumps in on the attack -- sometimes leading it. He
opens up and delivers a very accurate one timer. As a slight, smaller player, he gets overtaken, losing puck battles to the bigger players.
Does show good vision in both ends but it is a bigger challenge in his own end.
His fast feet help negate some of his problems in the defensive zone, but it is difficult to ignore his defensive zone positioning issues. As a lightweight anchor, he needs to fill out, get stronger, and build his defensive game.)
Now, you can read all this about a 17 year old kid and feel it is time to make a decision on his future.
but...every single player taken after he was had less of the bolded above, so it comes down to what YOU think the future NHL is going to depend more on, the
bolded above or the old paradigms that are tied to size, physicality, and average hands and decision making.
To me
thinking fast along with
all those other "skilled fasts", if displayed in their age group at the time of their draft count over any placements at higher level leagues where the teammates and their play may influence what you think one way or another.
That to me was the interesting thing about that Corey Prohman Swedish coach Tomas Monten phone interview...
you have the coach answering in a linear fashion: this guy was good here, not good here in this tourney, good in pro league but not a good junior player...because he is watching and basing growth like you do behavior in an adolescent: he was good at the birthday party, but when we took him to the ice cream shoppe with his friends he was awful, acting spoiled, uncharge and rude to his parents....
and you see good ole Corey (set in his ways) already decided on each and ever players abilities "dynamicism" like they are done...that Corey's job is done, they are cast and he is not budging on his decisions on them.
So I ask all to not start attempting to judge draft picks farmhands or call ups as a straight one call up and done sort of judging...
and do the same with Adam Boqvist.
I know one thing, having both Boqvist and Bouchard on the same junior team will give you a pretty good glimpse of what is already there in each of their toolboxes...and what needs to be added.
