[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Feb.28th: 19 year-old RW Cohen Bidgood (6'0.75",178lbs) was passed over in the 2025 NHL Draft, and was a 7th-round selection in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection by the London Knights, but he's getting attention as being a possible pick in this summer's draft-class, in his D+1 season; Central Scouting puts him #125 on their list of North American Skaters in their Mid-Terms. The Knights were sellers before January's trade deadline, sending regulars C Sam O'Reilly and D Jared Wooley out on January 7th in order to bring in multiple picks (11 of them), and a few younger players in D Jacob Xu, and 16 year-old prospect Kane Barch. The next day, they sent 19 year-old forward Ben Wilmott to Barrie for the rights to American C William Moore, and 4 more draft-picks, while also dealing D Julian Brown to Owen Sound for youngster D Jacob Vandeven, plus another 2 picks. With holes to fill in their top-six, and O'Reilly spending most of December and early January away at the World Juniors, the Knights have steadily granted Bidgood more and more ice-time and responsibility, and he has even been playing on the top-line in recent games- responding with 8 points in his last 4 tilts. Normally an energy player for London, he helped them claim a playoff-berth with a 4-point game on Feb.16th, and he currently has 11 goals and 32 points (45 PIM) in 41 games.

Even when tasked with top-line duties, Bidgood is still an "energy" player, supplying his team with boundless motor, and dragging them into the battle by constantly agitating his opponents. Obviously, he's a hard-nosed pest, who plays on the edge (and sometimes goes over), with a hard and heavy physical style that has cost him games due to injury. He goes all-out, and plays with pace and intensity, helped along by his speed and sky-high compete-level; he is intimidating and disruptive on the forecheck, and takes away time and space from attackers on the backcheck. A conscientious two-way player, he is trusted in checking scenarios, and kills penalties for a demanding coach in Dale Hunter, who teaches structure and expects defensive responsibility from his players. He will drop the gloves when challenged, wins battles, goes to the net, mixes it up in traffic, and never passes up the chance to dole out a stiff check- he also likes to get in an extra shot wherever he can, and might even take a liberty or two in a scrum. We're actually seeing a more "kinder and gentler" Cohen Bidgood in 2026, as he had amassed 29 PIM in his first 15 games, but only sports 8 in the last 14 tilts. He is good around the net and down-low, finds space to occupy below the dots, makes himself an available passing option off-puck, and will charge the crease to clean up garbage- there is also flashes of higher-end playmaking skill and vision. Bidgood is agile and wields smooth edges, with solid puck-skill to deke and dangle in tight spaces- although he can have trouble with his control and pass-receptions at high-speed at times. Look for him in later rounds, but while he may not have legitimate top-six NHL-upside, he could develop into an impactful defensive forward.