2023-06-02 15:42:55
The new general manager of the Nashville Predators, Barry Trotz, has just made the greatest gift to his recruiters, at the dawn of the draft.
“Take risks, choose hopefuls of great talent despite the question marks,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the hiring of his new coach Andrew Brunette. I can find third and fourth line players for you with no problem. Opt for players on your side who will get our fans out of their seats. »
Trotz’s statement clashes in the rather conservative environment of the NHL Draft. Recruitment managers can be understood in some ways.
It’s hard to justify keeping your job when the seven or eight players drafted in a year haven’t broken through. To improve his track record, the head scout will often have the reflex to opt for the player who is a little less endowed in individual skills, but whose chances of establishing himself in the National Hockey League are more certain.
This phenomenon is less present among the choices of the top ten where the values are safer, but can be observed more from the end of the first round, sometimes even earlier.
The choice of Ryan Poehling by the Canadian at 25e rank in 2017 is a good illustration of this phenomenon. Poehling confounded CH fans by scoring three goals in his first career game a few years later, but he was first recognized for his efficiency in all three zones, without being recognized as a great attacking center.
Poehling had just 13 points, including 7 goals, in 35 games at St. Cloud State University in his draft eligibility year. “He’s a center with a good size who plays the right way,” said general manager Marc Bergevin after the choice. He has offensive talent and he doesn’t cheat defensively. We believe he is a player with whom we can win. »
The Dallas Stars attempted the home run the way Barry Trotz hopes them in Nashville at 39e rank. After getting Miro Heiskanen in third overall and a keeper immediately after Poehling, at 26e rank, they took a risk with a very productive forward in the Ontario junior ranks, 81 points, including 42 goals, in 68 games in Kingston, but whose poor skating was going to be a major obstacle to his progress. He was also one of the youngest prospects in his class, having been born in July.
Some analysts didn’t even put Jason Robertson as a second- or third-round pick on their list. “He has the potential to play as part of an attacking line, but could also fail if he doesn’t adapt to the speed of play at the next level. wrote Mark Scheig a few weeks before the draft. Picking it early is a risk, but could pay off big. »
As expected, Ryan Poehling has successfully established himself in the NHL. He now plays center on the Penguins’ fourth line and had 14 points in 53 games last season. Pittsburgh got him almost for free since Kent Hughes traded him and Jeff Petry in a trade for Mike Matheson last year to free up payroll and renew Rem Pitlick’s contract.
Several mediocre skaters at the junior level have failed in the professional ranks. Robertson could have been one of those. He nevertheless made his talent bear fruit beyond expectations. This 23-year-old young man has just amassed 109 points, including 46 goals, this season in Dallas. Only McDavid, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, Kucherov and MacKinnon got more.
To fish in such a reckless way, you also have to accept the low success rate associated with it. Nashville took some risk with Eeli Tolvanen at 30e rank due to the short stature of the young man. St. Louis drafted giant Klim Kostin at 31e rank despite the young man’s repeated injuries and the risk of seeing him stay in Russia.
But it was the second first-round choice for the Blues, after Robert Thomas in 20e rank, which always makes risk-taking a little easier.
The Predators weren’t patient enough with Tolvanen. They gave it up on waivers in December. The 23-year-old had 51 points in 135 games since the start of his NHL career. He has since launched his career in Seattle and amassed 27 points, including 16 goals, in 48 games in the second half of the season. Nashville, however, ended up empty-handed.
Klostin, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound giant, never became the big center the Blues hoped for. He was traded to the Oilers in October for same-age defenseman Dmitri Samorukov, still in the American League. Klostin has nevertheless found a niche with the Oilers on the third line.
Predators hold two first-round picks, theirs at 17e rank and that of the Oilers obtained in the exchange of Mattias Ekholm, at 24e rank. They also have two second-round picks and three third-round picks.
It will be interesting to follow their strategy at the end of June, just like that of the Canadian if Matvei Michkov is still available at fifth and with his first-round pick at 31e or 32e rank according to the result of the Stanley Cup Final.
Michael Pezzetta awarded
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Michael Pezzetta
Michael Pezzetta is not a great hockey player. A modest sixth-round pick in 2016, he has amassed 26 points in 114 career games. That he is established in the NHL is already a feat.
At 25, he has just signed a guaranteed two-year contract, for $ 812,500 per season on the Canadian’s payroll. In the worst case, we can send him back to the American League and erase his salary from the mass. The risk is therefore not huge to trust him for two more years.
Failing to produce, Pezzetta brings a certain energy within a fourth line, does not seem to flinch when he is removed from training and accepts the cuffs on the face without flinching if it can serve the cause of the club. Pezzetta doesn’t shake opposing bullies, but her enthusiasm is contagious.
Four players were drafted by CH before Pezzetta in 2016: Mikhail Sergachev in the first round, William Bitten in the third, Victor Mete in the fourth and Casey Staum in the fifth. Few would have bet on his chances of playing at least 100 games in the National Hockey League with a season of 28 points in 64 games in the junior ranks at Sudbury in his year of eligibility.
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