[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Uncut Gems Edition):

-At first glance, RW Griffin Erdman's 41 points in 62 USHL games isn't really inspiring, until you learn that he tallied those numbers playing 3rd line minutes on a stacked Waterloo Black Hawks squad, and that 37 of those 41 points were tallied 5-on-5. In the playoffs, Erdman was Waterloo's top scorer, with 5 points in 3 games. Erdman is a mere 5'10",174lbs, but he plays an extremely hard-nosed game with unrelenting motor, battling for every inch of ice like each shift was his last, even dishing out hits if need be. He's a very good skater with his playmaking being his primary asset, and he has good skill and vision, taking the extra second to survey his options before executing. He attacks the middle, and drives the net like he was 6'2". Scouts would like him to shoot more, although his shot needs work on it's velocity. His skating and heads-up puck skill gives him the ability to skate the puck through transition, or make plays in the neutral zone. He brings the same compete and smarts to the defensive end. It's easy to see him playing in the bottom-6 of an NHL team one day, but he'll have another year in Waterloo, hopefully with expanded duties and ice-time to show his true offense ability, before heading to Northwestern University in 2024-25.

-Ryan Conmy, like Griffin Erdman, is a 5'10" RW plying his trade in the USHL, in this case, the Sioux City Musketeers. 33 goals and 62 points in 60 games, putting his production 14th in the league, and according to Elite Prospects, his even strength per-minute production was second (behind Gavyn Thoreson) for non-USNTDP first-time draft-eligibles- beating out players like Jayden Perron, and Tanner Ludtke. Conmy is not the fastest player on the ice, but he's a high-IQ, 200-ft player with a sterling off-puck game. If he's not facilitating, he's finding the space to make himself an option for a pass, a lane to close down, or he's battling for possession on behalf of his team. He's always dangerous with his hard, accurate shot, or his creativity. He drives the middle, finds open areas, and can do a lot of damage if given a sliver of space to work in. The skills are very well-rounded, and he can stickhandle through traffic, or pass the puck through it. He's headed to the University of New Hampshire next year. He's probably more of a mid-round pick, or else some team will have a steal on their hands.

-C Joseph Henneberry already has an NHL frame, at 6'2",183lbs, and plays a hard-working, energetic power-forward style. 36 points in 59 games is respectable, considering he plays for the QMJHL's worst team- the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Henneberry has plenty of brute strength and physicality, being able to leverage his size in battles and impose his will all over the ice, but he's not without projectable skill. He's often a capable passer and play-connector through transition, moving the puck through the neutral zone, thereby allowing his team entry into the offensive zone. Like a true power-forward, he drives the net looking for scoring opportunities, or he can set up shop in front of the goalie in search of tips, rebounds, or just to set up the screen. He battles hard to gain, or keep possession, and he has good puck-protection skills, as well as puck-control. He keeps things simple, but he has skill and deception in his game, and some playmaking ability. Defensively, he battles hard and stays glued to his man, but needs a bit of work in this area, as well as his skating. I think this is a player who will pop in the next few years as he grows with his team.

-Henneberry's teammate on the Titan, RHD Ty Higgins, missed last years draft by only a few weeks, but his stats caught my eye- 13 goals and 41 points in 68 games to lead the Titan defense in scoring. Higgins eyes the defensive side of the ice as his first priority, but has skill as a two-way, responsible player and has vision in all 3 zones. He's a modern-day styled puck-mover, and he can start the rush from his own zone through the transition with a well-timed pass, or by skating it out himself, and he can kill the other team's rush coming back the other way. He uses his stick well and reads the play, proactively being in the right position to disrupt attackers- and he plays the body well. There's good IQ and vision here, and he consistently makes good decisions without giving up turnovers, and exhibits decent puck-control. Higgins has a decent shot that he can get on net through traffic, and shows deception in his distribution in the offensive zone to pry open lanes. The main problem with Higgins is his skating- he has a messy stride in need of agility, and better acceleration. He would be twice the player he is now if he could add a decent speed factor to his repertoire, and he'll have a few more years in junior to work on it.

-RHD Donovan McCoy is a 6'1",201lb two-way player, with an emphasis on the defensive end of the ice. 13 points, to go with 76 PIMs, in 65 games for the OHL Champions, the Peterborough Petes. He added an impressive 10 points in 22 playoff games, along with a plus-12, to lead the Petes defense in both categories- amazing. We may be talking about a player who will be taken in the first half of the draft. McCoy isn't the fastest player, but his stride is smooth and fluid. He's very physical, both along the boards and in open-ice, but he's smart about not sacrificing his positioning to throw a big hit. He moves well enough to keep good gaps on attackers, but he also has the size and reach to disrupt the play and turn it into breakouts. McCoy is a smart puck-mover, and actually has offensive skill that he managed to show in the playoffs- according to Elite Prospects, he's one of the OHL's top draft-eligible players by tracking data, which indicates that there's much more than meets the eye, and much more offense to come. He showed glimpses of his offensive awareness and playmaking ability in the regular season, but he may have turned a corner in the playoffs.

-LHD Lucas St.Louis, the son of Martin St.Louis, tallied only 24 points in 61 games for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, despite being perhaps one of the best offensive-generating defensemen in the draft. According to an eight-game sample by EP, St.Louis created more chances per 60 than 97 percent of defensemen in the USHL and CHL. St. Louis is small (5'10",170lbs), and has a smooth stride with some agility, but he's not outright fast. To make up for this, he plays with extreme deceptiveness to throw off attackers, and give him the ability to move around the ice untouched. He has a dazzling array of ankle-breaking moves, head fakes, stick fakes, and skate fakes to open lanes and weave through bewildered opponents. There's plenty of work to do defensively, as he needs to anticipate and engage quicker, and keep tighter gaps. If he isn't drafted, which is a possibility, I'll still keep my eye on him.