Cristall still intrigues me...especially if they add another 1st round pick in the 20s.
It's funny because his skating reminds me a bit of Gaudreau when he was younger. Not the most efficient or powerful stride when it came to straight line speed, and at times it made him look like a poor skater.
But just dynamic with his edgework.
And then as Gaudreau did get older and coached a bit more in the NCAA his straight line speed improved.
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Cristall still intrigues me...especially if they add another 1st round pick in the 20s.
It's funny because his skating reminds me a bit of Gaudreau when he was younger. Not the most efficient or powerful stride when it came to straight line speed, and at times it made him look like a poor skater.
But just dynamic with his edgework.
And then as Gaudreau did get older and coached a bit more in the NCAA his straight line speed improved.
Very good comparison. I don’t think Cristall is a down-in-the-dumps skater, but he has deficiencies. He still remains slippery, and has no problem carrying the puck, with good edgework and fantastic puck-protection.
Plus, if he’s this good with deficient speed, imagine how good he would be if he was above average in that regard? He would be a top 5 pick, easy!
I don't mind a project with skating issues if we get a second 1st round pick, but please please please pick someone who can skate. There's a lot of good options where the Flames pick so I'm hopeful. Though I will say that I am higher on Gulyayev than what I've gathered around here just based on watching some footage of his acceleration and edge work.
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I don't mind a project with skating issues if we get a second 1st round pick, but please please please pick someone who can skate. There's a lot of good options where the Flames pick so I'm hopeful. Though I will say that I am higher on Gulyayev than what I've gathered around here just based on watching some footage of his acceleration and edge work.
I've seen Gulyayev pretty high up on some lists, and I believe that he and Simashev are right up there with ASP and Reinbacher, but there's that ever worsening Russian factor.....
Very good comparison. I don’t think Cristall is a down-in-the-dumps skater, but he has deficiencies. He still remains slippery, and has no problem carrying the puck, with good edgework and fantastic puck-protection.
Plus, if he’s this good with deficient speed, imagine how good he would be if he was above average in that regard? He would be a top 5 pick, easy!
Yup.
His skating stride to me is 100% 18/19 year old Gaudreau. Small, and not powerful strides...but man he leaves you in the dust with his edge work and puck protection.
Watching a Cristall highlight video and it immediately reminded me of this kid.
If the Flames get a pick around 20-25 then I'd be all over a high upside pick like this one.
If Cristall is 5'11" and skates a bit better he's a top 10 pick.
I don't mind a project with skating issues if we get a second 1st round pick, but please please please pick someone who can skate. There's a lot of good options where the Flames pick so I'm hopeful. Though I will say that I am higher on Gulyayev than what I've gathered around here just based on watching some footage of his acceleration and edge work.
All 3 of the 1st round projected Russians should go much higher than they are ranked.
Discard the passport argument and Simashev Gulyayev should be top 12 picks, easily.
I'm a huge fan Simashev personally. 6'4" and has elite edgework on top of silky playmaking and some strong defensive acumen. Only area of work I've read up on is scoring and shooting. I can live with that. Slap him with a weegar type, I think you'd have a insane top pairing comparable to the upper echelon of D pairings league wide.
I'm very enamored with Simashev. Even if Gulyayev has a higher ceiling.
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All 3 of the 1st round projected Russians should go much higher than they are ranked.
Discard the passport argument and Simashev Gulyayev should be top 12 picks, easily.
I'm a huge fan Simashev personally. 6'4" and has elite edgework on top of silky playmaking and some strong defensive acumen. Only area of work I've read up on is scoring and shooting. I can live with that. Slap him with a weegar type, I think you'd have a insane top pairing comparable to the upper echelon of D pairings league wide.
I'm very enamored with Simashev. Even if Gulyayev has a higher ceiling.
Agreed on everything. I take Sim over Gully, and there's a massive offensive pop in Simashev just waiting under the surface. He's going to be a steal.
I don't see a lot of upside to Cristalls skating. It needs much more work than Gaudreaus did. Top end speed is fine, edgework is just okay. His God given talents with his hands and IQ are amazing though. Waist up= Elite, waist Down= below average.
Can it be corrected? Absolutely, but that's going to take a lot of time IMO. And he won't have the NCAA to work it all out.
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I don't see a lot of upside to Cristalls skating. It needs much more work than Gaudreaus did. Top end speed is fine, edgework is just okay. His God given talents with his hands and IQ are amazing though. Waist up= Elite, waist Down= below average.
Can it be corrected? Absolutely, but that's going to take a lot of time IMO. And he won't have the NCAA to work it all out.
Disagree his edgework is just okay.
Pretty much any draft profile calls out that his edgework is among the best in the draft class, and thats why he's so deceptive in the offensive zone.
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Pretty much any draft profile calls out that his edgework is among the best in the draft class, and thats why he's so deceptive in the offensive zone.
It's more about the mechanics. He still skates like and knock kneed 10 year old. I haven't seen that almost ever in a draft eligible.
And to counter my own argument about his skating, I'll say if he can get it up to above average overall with a complete rebuild of the mechanical side. Helikely ends up a top line winger rivaling the best in the league.
But there's where his ranking vary so wildly, some think it can be, some think it's a liability that it too big to overcome. We've all done the homework, we all know that's where the risk lies. Question is, is the risk worth the reward with a single pick in an epic 1st round that hasn't been seen since maybe the Crosby draft.
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I don't see a lot of upside to Cristalls skating. It needs much more work than Gaudreaus did. Top end speed is fine, edgework is just okay. His God given talents with his hands and IQ are amazing though. Waist up= Elite, waist Down= below average.
Can it be corrected? Absolutely, but that's going to take a lot of time IMO. And he won't have the NCAA to work it all out.
You're right, and I'm not the world's biggest Cristall fan, but consider the situation with Andrew Mangiapane: he went undrafted in the 2014 draft because of his size and skating. He was just plain awful. It took him some time to get his speed up to par, and while he'll never be a speed merchant, he's quite a good skater now. I could easily see him having a similar trajectory.
You're right, and I'm not the world's biggest Cristall fan, but consider the situation with Andrew Mangiapane: he went undrafted in the 2014 draft because of his size and skating. He was just plain awful. It took him some time to get his speed up to par, and while he'll never be a speed merchant, he's quite a good skater now. I could easily see him having a similar trajectory.
Is it worth a 1st round pick in this specific draft though?
I don't know if it worth the swing personally. Especially if there's guys like Perrault or Leonard hanging around 16.
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-D Martin Matejicek led all Czech players in the U-18's in TOI, averaging 21:39 a night, and finishing with 2 points in 5 games. The 6'2", 205lb rearguard was deployed in all situations, but played a pretty safe, simple game. I keep reading that he's a defense-first, shutdown D, but his 20 points in 44 games in the Czechia U20 league was good enough to finish tied for 20th overall in D scoring, and tied for 3rd for U-18 defensemen, so there's a bit of a different dimension there. His performance earned him 8 games in the second-tier league. He was given the rank of "B" from Central Scouting in their October rankings, meaning they projected him to be a second-or third round pick at that time, and he ended up ranked #86 for International Skaters in their end-of-the-year rankings. It's also important to note that he's one of the younger players in the Draft, with an Aug.5th birthday. Matejicek is well-developed physically, and is a good skater. He does indeed have a well-developed base of defensive acumen, with solid awareness to proactively shut down attackers. He uses tight positioning and an active stick to close lanes, and angle his man to the boards where he can either engage physically, or poke the puck away. He's often putting forth the effort to snuff the rush proactively, before the puck even gets to the red line. There's work to be done on his gap control for the next level, but he's a load to handle along the wall, and he effectively boxes out opponents from his net. He could stand to be more physical, as he's very strong on his skates, and hard to move. The puck skills and handling are there, but in need of upgrading. There wasn't much to see offensively from this player in the U-18's, other than his nice point shot, but judging from his numbers back home, there's plenty there.
-D Matteo Koci, like countryman Martin Matejicek, has been labelled a shutdown defender-and he played that role at the U-18's, while being the main conduit in transition for the Czechs. Also, like Matejicek, he showed a more offense-driven game back home in the Czechia J20 League, with 20 points in 36 games, tied for 20th overall in D scoring (although his .56 ppg were better than 10 players ahead of him), and 3rd for U-18 defensemen. He earned 7 games with the top-tier men's league due to his efforts, and picked up 2 assists. Like Matejicek, Koci is a younger player in this draft, with a June 7th birthday. Koci is 6'0", but has a ton of room to fill out, tipping the scales at a meager 159lbs. The good news is, despite his slight build, he hits hard, and hits often- plus, he's tenacious and competitive in physical battles. Koci is an excellent skater, and uses his speed to limit the time, space, and opportunity of opponents. He's a plus-player on both sides of transition, with the ability to start the rush in the defensive zone with a deft pass, or carry it through the neutral zone with control- and he's able to kill the rush coming back the other way with his smarts and defensive awareness. He's also a very heads-up player in retrievals, scanning proactively for options. In the other end of the ice, he activates often, but he can also distribute quite well from the blueline, and he has a fairly good shot. There are many who doubt Koci's NHL future, mainly due to his decision-making, primarily with the puck. He recieved mixed reviews for his performance in the U-18 Tournament (0 points in 5 games), where he played a little timid in bigger games, and often made bad decisions under pressure.
Last edited by Sandman; 06-17-2023 at 01:59 AM.
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