Winger Tanner Lam (ranked # 175 NA Skaters) is a graduate of the Halton Hurricanes U16 AAA program, where he was the top-scorer on the OMHA South Central team that featured Tyler Hopkins, Brady Smith, and Matt Schaefer- piling up 38 goals and 71 points in just 35 games. Those numbers contributed to his total of 132 points in 69 games at the U16 level, second only to Lev Katzin, but ahead of several future OHL players. He had to wait until the 2nd-round of the 2023 OHL Priority Selection (41st-overall) to be drafted though, as he was only 5'8" at the time, and 145lbs. Size issues aside, Lam is a highly skilled and dynamic playmaker, and possesses some of the best puck-skills in this draft-class, with elite abilities in one-on-one situations; he can handle through traffic with the puck on a string, with dekes, dangles, and hesitations, making defenders look foolish. Despite his stature, he goes to the net, sprints to every loose puck, and attacks the middle of the ice- even though he often pays for it with physical punishment. His spatial awareness and ability to read gaps are also near the top of the class, as he can instantly locate open space to traverse on and off the puck, find soft spots in the slot to sneak into, and can spot passing seams that few others could see. To deceive and manipulate opponents, he virtually uses every inch of his body- including shifts of weight, feints in his footwork, false angling in the blade of his stick, changes of pace and direction, head fakes, as well as look-offs. It seems like he makes a few highlight-reel plays every game, and is so elusive that he can often carry through exit and entry without being barely touched.
Lam is able to push enormous pace through transition with his excellent speed and handling, hooking up with teammates in give-and-go sequences for clean entries. From there, he can push defenses back in order to leave the puck in space for trailing teammates, or dip into his arsenal of deft cut-backs and delays to open space to wait for the right option in order to maintain possession for his team. Though he could use improvements to his top-speed, he is explosive enough in short-distances to blow past defenders along the boards, separate in open-ice, and beat them wide on occasion. He is light on his skates, with excellent edgework and agility for escapability, and a quick change of pace- he gets off the wall a ton. Lam is a smart playmaker and a skilled passer from both his forehand or his backhand, and stretches defenses out using give-and-go's, but he can also execute short slip-passes through triangles, saucers over sticks, and can pass cross-ice for dangerous chances. It's hard to say if he's truly a high-end creator, but he can drive play. Some have said that his shot is weak, but I disagree; he certainly doesn't use it nearly enough, and might not be able to score often from distance, but his wrister is a laser and he wields a stunning release.
Lam will throw the odd hit, but his physical impact most games is virtually non-existent, and he doesn't contribute much on the forecheck. He has no problem taking a hit to make a play, and keeps his feet moving through contact, but he spends plenty of time in games on his rear-end. It seems to be unanimous among fans and scouts alike that, while he often enjoys a great deal of success due to his puck-skill, Lam's willingness to attack the middle and fearlessness in playing through traffic means that he sometimes takes a ton of abuse, gets bumped off the puck quite easily, and gives up an inordinate amount of turnovers. Some say he will either need to bulk up considerably for the pros, or change his style completely in order to learn how to create offense without putting himself in dangerous spots. While his game in the offensive-third is his calling card right now, his impact defensively is nothing special. He is usually well-positioned all over the ice, but his effort and engagement level in his own zone is in question. At his best, he can be disruptive with his speed, skill, and anticipation, and he displays an ability to make high-end plays on the breakout. Lam will most-likely be a huge offensive producer in the OHL as early as next season, but he appears to be more boom-or-bust as far as his NHL-potential goes. Some team may gamble on his skill at the draft, but if so- he will have to wait until the late rounds.
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I think the Flames end up with Ryabkin and another center.
Do not want. Everything I’ve seen and read about him is that despite great passing ability Ryabkin looks like a lazy, undisciplined, unconditioned 100 foot player. If we use a 1st on him that could be a Hunter Smith level waste.
Please let another team gamble on him!
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Do not want. Everything I’ve seen and read about him is that despite great passing ability Ryabkin looks like a lazy, undisciplined, unconditioned 100 foot player. If we use a 1st on him that could be a Hunter Smith level waste.
Please let another team gamble on him!
Yup.
Zonnon, Fiddler,Murtagh,Moor,Gastrin. Hopefully, Cootes, mayyybbbeee Martin, Lakovic, Mrtka could drop.
In this case the safe pick is the smart one, just too many red flags with Ryabkin.
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Gracyn Sawchyn's little brother Lukas (ranked # 119 NA Skaters), a graduate of Shattuck-St.Mary's two season ago, ended up 3rd in scoring on the Oil Kings- who finished the season 11th out of 22 teams in the WHL this year, and took the Prince Albert Raiders to 7 games in the playoffs en route to being eliminated (Lukas missed 2 post-season games, and finished with 3 points in 5 games). In 2023-24, Lukas tried his hand in the USHL with the rebuilding Chicago Steel, but wasn't able to make much of a dent, posting only 4 goals and 15 points in 60 games. The Sawchyn brothers play together on the Oil Kings, and have some of the same traits; Lukas is a solid two-way performer with dynamic puck-skill, and some grit. His hands are lightning-quick, among the best in this draft-class, and he could probably stickhandle in a phone booth- he can deke and dangle around opponents in traffic, handle around outstretched sticks, catch smoothly in-flight, and he can keep remarkable control of the puck at top-speed. He can manipulate defenders at attacking speed with his handling wizardry, weave in-and-out of traffic with the puck seemingly glued to his blade, and creates extra room with slick one-on-one moves, deception in shifts of weight, and changes in pace and direction. In addition, he reads gaps adroitly, exhibiting good spatial awareness, and processes quickly.
Sawchyn has a fairly good shot that he definitely needs to use more often, and he score from seemingly any angle, but when it comes to putting the puck in the net he's more of a finisher who scores in-close- and he owns soft hands to deke out netminders for highlight-reel goals. He makes frequent appearances in the slot, attacks the middle with aplomb, and drives the net fearlessly. Though he's fairly balanced offensively and possesses solid awareness, it's obvious from his stats that he's more of a pass-first player; he's a quality set-up man and a skilled distributor, showing good space-creation with give-and-go plays, with the ability to draw defenders in order to pry open passing lanes. Sawchyn skates well with above-average speed and fluid mechanics, but he lacks a separation gear, and could use more explosiveness in small-areas. He makes good use of his smooth edges to pivot quickly, maneuver through traffic with shiftiness, spin off of checks, and evade hits. Though he gets criticism for his lack of pace at times in transition, he can skate complex routes through the neutral zone while bypassing defenders on the rush, using delays and hesitations to open space for teammates, and moving the play along with connective passing. He can enter the zone up the middle to force defenders back, thereby opening space at the top of the zone, and will sometimes cut-back upon entry to wait for the right play to develop.
Sawchyn plays with energy, has an aggressive mindset, and is driven by a relentless motor. Though he isn't quite as rambunctious or fiery as his brother, he doesn't back down from the rough stuff, and in fact- he displays a solid board-game, gives second-and-third efforts to win pucks, moves through contact, throws hits to dislodge possession, and battles hard for positioning in front of the net. With a stocky build, he is difficult to knock off the puck, and plays with grit and tenacity- using physicality on the forecheck to disrupt, and force errors. Sawchyn is a solid defensive player who attacks puck-carriers, wields airtight positioning, and displays combativeness in limiting time and space- launching himself into battles, sprinting to loose pucks, and throwing his weight around when needed. Sawchyn is guilty at times of trying to do too much, and often tries to force plays that aren't there. There are also times of indecisiveness where he can hold on to the puck for too long, and then run out of real estate. Going forward, he will need upgrades to his strength, skating, and shot- but I think he's being a little underrated. Look for him in the middle-rounds.
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If you're the team that likes D Quinn Beauchesne, and you miss out on him at the draft, perhaps D Braedyn Rogers would be of interest to you. Rogers, who went unlisted by Central Scouting in their Mid-Term Rankings, toiled this season for the 16th-ranked (out of 20 teams) Owen Sound Attack- who squeaked into the playoffs, only to be swept by the powerhouse London Knights. Though he only put up 2 points in 4 post-season games, it was enough to lead the Attack's defense in points. During the regular season, Rogers was second in points from the backend in Owen Sound with 28 points, second only to James Petrovsky's 41, and he was ahead of the next highest-scoring D-man by a shocking 18 points. Similar to the aforementioned Quinn Beauchesne, he is a two-way blueliner with a solid shutdown dimension, and a physical edge. Rogers specializes in shutting down the rush and denying entries by mimicking his opponents' footwork in applying tight gap control, with sharp timing, an active stick, and solid angling to force low-danger shots and dump-ins. He strips the puck, then guides his mark into the boards where they are finished with a hit.
Rogers is a smooth skater, and though he may not be a burner, he wields excellent 4-way fluidity, and is very light on his edges- giving him the ability to transition seamlessly, pivot quickly, and make tight turns. He's not big as far as defensemen go, but he's a physical player who can sometimes be a little mean in doling out slashes and crosschecks, and he will drop the gloves in defense of a teammate. Though he keeps things mostly simple and safe, he is a jack-of-all-trades type, fairly well-rounded, and a workhorse- capable of logging big minutes for Owen Sound in important minutes, with effectiveness on both special teams. In the defensive zone, he exhibits plus-level hockey sense and anticipation to identify threats early and act proactively, by setting conspicuous picks, tying up sticks, getting inside position, pinning attackers to the boards, and boxing opponents out from the net. He is dependable and reliable in his own-zone, applying physicality to win pucks, putting his body on the line to block shots, and playing a heavy game down-low. In transition, he proves to be a quality puck-mover who sees the ice well, makes generally good decisions, and is a high-value contributor to his team's breakout. Skating with his head on a swivel to inventory his options, he completes smooth retrievals by calmly shaking off pressure, and finds the most efficient escape route to get the puck moving in the right direction by spotting outlets up-ice. When the puck touches his blade, he seems to consistently turn defense into offense, with haste.
Rogers doesn't extend himself too much in the offensive zone, preferring to run the play from the line most of the time, with few meaningful activations into the rush, and he doesn't pinch into the play off the line very often. Any forays into the play usually consist of keeping the play alive in the zone, or stepping up to snuff the breakout in it's early stages. He keeps pucks flowing to the net to give teammates scoring chances, and his shot is very underrated in my opinion. He can beat goalies from a distance with his laser of a wrister and it's deceptive release, and his one-timer explodes off his blade. Age is really working against him, with a Nov. 21st, 2006 birthday, and he needs work on his puck-skills, and strength. I like this kid, but he might be a bit too low-event for a defenseman his size, and I'm not sure he's shown enough this year to be drafted- there were D left on the board after last year's draft who were maybe comparable, or better than Rogers, but he might be a late-round pick this year due to the lack of depth in this draft. I look at D Cam Allen, a six-footer who was drafted in the 5th-round by the Capitals in the 2023 Draft, after posting only 25 points in 62 games- not that I can truly compare the two. I think Rogers has good potential, but he needs to learn to take more calculated risks in the offensive zone.
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Is Ryabkin the next Pavel Datsyuk, or the next Alexander Svitov? Is McQueen the next Joe Thornton, or the next Logan Brown? I bet that there will be enough GMs around the league that will find their upside to be too tantalizing to ignore, and take that gamble, and they will both be gone before the Flames step up to the (zoom) podium this draft. These two players will definitely be drafted at some point, and I think they both go higher than we assume.
If they fell and the Flames drafted both of them, I would personally be both extremely excited at the potential of drafting two 1st line centers in the same draft... but also angry at drafting two busts in the first round. It would push me over the edge into the fun world of bipolar if they Flames drafted them, and I would remain bipolar until they either make it or bust. Sigh.. I want them both so badly.. but I definitely want neither!!
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Flames can talk to the Muskegon coaching and management staff about Ryabkin. They should have some relationship with them as Matvei Gridin played there last year and looking like a solid first round pick of the Flames.
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I generally trust our scouting staff and if we took Ryabkin I would be fine with it, because that would tell me that they did their due diligence in investigating claims about his attitude, conditioning, etc.
Until then, it's only natural to have concerns about those things, but 19 goals and 30 points in 27 USHL games is nothing to sniff at. What worries me the most is his skating, with a 5'11" frame.
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D Will Reynolds (ranked # 78 NA Skaters) is the second-highest ranked defenseman from the Q according to Central Scouting's midterm list, behind Carlos Handel of Halifax at # 66 (NA Skaters), while toiling for the 11th-place (out of 18 teams) Acadie-Bathurst Titan. This year's edition of the Titan are known be a defense-first club and were 13th in goals-for, with Reynolds being their 4th-highest scoring D. A pro-style shutdown defender, he can move pucks and support the play in all areas without flashiness or dynamism. One of his best traits is that he's an excellent skater, especially for his size, with quickness in all four directions and smooth edgework to surf across the ice laterally, pivot effortlessly, transition seamlessly, sidestep checks, and spin off of hits. He can win races to loose pucks with a long, powerful stride, and his mobility moving backwards and sideways helps him to be a staunch rush-defender- giving him the ability to mirror footwork in applying air-tight gaps, and angling attackers to the boards with adroit stickwork where they are finished with well-timed bodychecks, after being relieved of possession.
Though he's not totally immune to mistakes or miscues, another hallmark of his game is his ability to stay calm, cool, and collected in high-pressure situations. He exhibits a high panic-threshold when retrieving pucks while fending off forechecking bombardments, and locating quick and efficient escape-routes. He shoulder-checks thoroughly, and skates with his head up to make quick reads and connect on crisp, accurate breakout feeds to teammates streaking through the neutral zone, displaying composure and poise. Of course, when there are no safe options, he defers to clearing the puck or sending it off the glass and out. Reynolds is an intimidating physical presence who can crush opponents along the boards, and dole out thunderous hits in open-ice that can swing the momentum of a game in his team's favor; he's also quite mean in front of his net. He launches himself into puck-battles stick-first, and uses his size and strength well to come away with possession more often than not. In the defensive-third, he keeps attacks to the outside and applies well-timed stickwork and physicality to dislodge possession, and clear pucks out of danger. He stays quite active in the zone, and exhibits heightened awareness, with intensity in hounding puck-carriers, and taking away time and space from aggressors.
In the other end of the rink, he shows flashes of good instincts offensively, and though he prefers to run the play from the point, he times his pinches in on the weak-side well and displays good judgement of when to jump into the play so as not to compromise his team if the play shifts to defending. Most of the time, the purpose of his activations is to keep the play alive, get pucks deep, or to step up to kill the breakout. A lot of his playmaking revolves around simple shots on net to create chances for teammates, and to wreak havoc on opposing goalies. He doesn't join the rush very often, unless he has a clear-cut safe opportunity to do so, and he's often the last player in the offensive zone, and the first player back. Though he gets pucks through to the net with reasonable frequency, his shot isn't all that threatening, and could use more power with greater deception in his release. Reynolds is somewhat limited in terms of puck-skill, and often defers to teammates to do the bulk of the carrying; he clears pucks off the glass, makes smart bank-passes, and will chip-and-chase with speed, rather than try to beat opponents with his stickhandling. There are instances where he can take himself out of the play in search of the big hit, but mobile, physical, shutdown defensemen are always popular on draft day. Look for him in the 3rd, or 4th-round.
Last edited by Sandman; 04-14-2025 at 02:27 AM.
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I generally trust our scouting staff and if we took Ryabkin I would be fine with it, because that would tell me that they did their due diligence in investigating claims about his attitude, conditioning, etc.
Until then, it's only natural to have concerns about those things, but 19 goals and 30 points in 27 USHL games is nothing to sniff at. What worries me the most is his skating, with a 5'11" frame.
USHL is equivalent to what? Like the US version of the BCHL?
I thought they had a US national team playing in that league.
From what I have read, yes.
Although, at this pace, I suspect he is no longer available after pick 15.
Yeah, definitely. He has a strong 2-way game, solid hockey IQ and a never quit motor. He's also been decent on the dot against other team's top defending centres.
He's got enough skill to be a higher end 2nd line centre, or lower end first liner -- and his floor to me is a defensively-responsible 3rd line middleman, even though he's a little shorter.
He'll probably be gone by the time Flames pick, but maybe teams will knock him down for his size or just because they like that one player more. I'm crossing my fingers.
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