1st Pick - 26th overall: Jake DeBrusk
GM's Comment: We had a list of four players that we would be very happy to come away with at the 26th pick, and three of them went between 21 and 25. So we are very happy with this selection and think Jake will absolutely become a good NHL player someday. He plays a two way game but also has
good offensive skills, which is the kind of player we lean towards.
Mark Lamb, Manger of the Swift Current Broncos had this to say:
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Originally Posted by Mark Lamb
“His hockey sense and his skating are his strengths. He’s ahead of a lot of other players when anticipating plays so his offence is very high end.”
Lamb mentioned that DeBrusk has drawn a lot of attention from hockey scouts particularly with his offensive play.
“His goal scoring ability in front of the net is an area that scouts notice. He goes into traffic really hard and tips pucks. That’s how he scores a lot of his goals by being really competitive in front of the net.”
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Zach Hopkins at The Hockey Writers agrees:
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Originally Posted by Zach Hopkins
What scouts love the most is his natural goal-scoring ability. At times, he is very fleet of foot and when given space, he makes it almost impossible to knock away from the puck. Add in his attention to the back-check and you’ll discover he is quite the two-way player most teams would covet.
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2nd Pick - 87th overall: Matej Tomek
GM's Comment: We wanted to come away from this draft with at least one goaltender, as our prospect situation at that position is frankly a disaster. After we passed on Samsonov in the first round, we were looking at picking a goalie here and ended up with the player we had ranked 3rd among goaltenders. He apparently had an interview with the NHL Flyers GM which is promising.
Alleged "expert" Kyle Woodlief had this to say about him:
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Originally Posted by Kyle Woodlief
"While we liked Tomek a lot as an underager for Slovakia on the international stage last year, he simply made a mockery of the North American Hockey League’s season-opening showcase event. And while it might be bold, we’ve already moved him into our first round and feel as though he could challenge Barrie’s Mackenzie Blackwood (our presumptive preseason favorite) for the top spot among all goalies.”
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RLR also seem quite high on him:
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Originally Posted by Red Line Report
“Long, lean, flexible netminder who is fluid in all his movements. Has the agility and balance of a cat. He’s calm under pressure and very quiet in the net, with little wasted motion. Tomek tracks the puck well and reads/reacts to shots like a seasoned pro. Occasionally kicks out a big rebound, but is quick to recover for second shots. A real student of his craft with the desire and work ethic to continually improve. Has the chance to become one of the best goalies of the past five years.”
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User Mikey 48 from HFBoards.com poses a good question:
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Originally Posted by Mikey 48
The real question is why is he playing in the NAHL? You'd think he's good enough for the USHL with those numbers...
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3rd Pick - 99th overall: A.J. Greer
GM's Comment: Once again, the last guy on our list at this draft position. However this is the player we feel has the best chance to get drafted much higher than this in the NHL draft. We look at Greer as more of a "project pick" as we don't expect him to be able to contribute for at least 3 years (more like 5).
Shawn Reznik seems to agree:
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Originally Posted by Shawn Reznik
A 6’3″ left winger with some room to grow, Greer has legs like tree trunks and can whiz around the ice – an aspect you don’t see in many power forwards. Excellent at using his body, AJ knows the best way to keep the puck away from defenders and create openings for his linemates. He wears down on his opponents with his size and grit and causes them to second-guess their decisions, often creating turnovers. Greer has a heavy slapshot that he used in the semifinal game against North Dakota, but he doesn’t use it often.
His defense isn’t terrible, but it’s not great either. While his top speed is excellent, his acceleration and skating stride could use some buffering. It might take all four years of college hockey before Greer fully grows into his body and understands just how big a force he can be in the NHL, but it will be well worth the wait.
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4rd Pick - 106th overall: Jesse Gabrielle
GM's Comment: After we selected Greer, all of the guys we had targeted for these first 4 picks had been selected, so I don't know much about Gabrielle. According to
this article he seems to be a bit of an agitator with some offensive upside. Hopefully he can turn into a decent bottom 6 guy down the road. According to his EliteProspects page he had 259 points in 117 games in Bantam A. Also had 44 points and 105 PIM in 66 games in the WHL last year.
5th Pick - 134th overall: Anthony Richard
GM's Comment: Anthony Richard is a very intruiging prospect for us. He is undersized (5'9") but still manages to get involved offensively as he scored 91 points in 66 games last season for Val d'Or. McKeen’s expresses concern about his consistency from game to game, they note that he “dangles in and out of traffic areas … interprets the game quickly” and “has excellent puck control at top speed.”
Blue Jackets 2015 CPHL Draft Debrief
