We have a good friends' kid who played in/against a lot of those OHA/RINK Kelowna teams over the last few years, it's so strange to see so many of them being talked about heading into next season's draft. But yeah, a lot of them are really good.
I will say seeing Verhoeff play a couple years ago for the first time, I turned to my wife and said 'that kid is going to play in the NHL'. Big, good skater, plays a ton of minutes in every situation, good enough skater, good shot......basically a coach's dream. I'm not saying he will be as good as Lidstrom (good luck), but I get the same vibes style wise. Quietly very good everywhere. He will play for a long time, in every situation, and be very dependable.
Preston also is highly ranked for a reason. Very highly skilled, decent skater, but great shot, great stickhandler, makes things happen basically every shift, he can dominate offensively. He was the straw that stirred the drink offensively every time I saw him play, which is saying something since he played on a line with the Ruck twins a lot.
The Rucks remind me of a bargain version of the Sedins. No........they are not nearly as good as the Sedins. Just that they have great chemistry (especially with Preston). I think they are both skilled, but if they get separated in the NHL it might be a big struggle for both. I'm not sure what to make of them, tbh. If a team could somehow swing some moves to reunite the Rucks and Preston it might be a genius move down the road. They are both wild cards, imo.
I didn't see Rudolph play a lot of games, but I liked what I saw. Almost a slightly lower tier than Verhoeff (not by a lot) who seemed to play a ton and be involved in everything. Pretty nice consolation prize, imo. He's going to be good.
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