Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonded
The funny thing is I actually think Honzek is actually a swing for the fences pick. From what I can gather people are upset about him being big. Took a swing that his injury and production caused him to drop lwoer than he should have gone.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...al-in-round-1/ |
Scorp and I were having a discussion about Simashev on this and think it's a similar situation.
Sometimes I think a player can be both a safe pick and a home run swing, and both Simashev and Honzek fit that bill.
Both are big, can skate well, and can play a strong defensive game. Which makes them a safe pick.
But at the same time those same attributes, plus their puck skills and flashes of offensive awareness and IQ make them have huge upside as well.
I'd say Honzek has already shown more of that offensive upside. 1.43 PPG as a rookie in the WHL, especially when guys his size tend to pop offensively a little later in their development curve is very impressive.
And Simashev didn't show any offense in the KHL but once he was in the MHL and got more ice time and a bigger role it took off a bit in the last 20 games or so of his season (including playoffs).
Both those guys are an intriguing mix of a safe pick, while also showing sky high upside.