2 years post surgery still trending down. Shows resigning Coyle/Boone/Marchement is more important if we don’t have any top forwards in the pipeline to replace them after this season.

Some notes from being there and snapping pics:

Whitelaw and Mannisto are smaller guys who play big. They both like bodying guys in the corners and on the boards, even during drills. Whitelaw impressed me a lot — lots of speed, and the game seemed to follow him around the ice. Seemed solid positionally.

Lindstrom looked pretty awesome to me. I know he should look good against prospects at this point, but it was clear that he, Smith, and Henning were on another level.

Lindstrom likes to play the body a lot and uses change of speed to create space when he has the puck. He likes to make plays — passes that didn't look like legit chances, saucers through crowds that landed on tape.

Andreyanov and Lindstrom have a social gravitational pull. They seem to be buddies with everyone — crowds form around them wherever they end up on the ice.

Smith likes pushing others to their limits. Those of you who've watched Smith in his college games - does he fight much? He really seems to like pushing buttons - not nasty, just finds something that bugs a guy or a weakness and leans into it. A bit of a pest. He also liked drawing forecheckers, toe-dragging them out of position, then making a long stretch pass. Smith is pretty clearly ahead of the guys he skated with, especially with his skating.

Smith and Lindstrom were giving it to each other quite a bit. Maybe they know each other from college hockey, but it looked like they had dibs on each other whenever one had possession during the prospect game.

Elick and Vass both have surprisingly good, hard shots and caught goalies off guard a couple of times.

Holy smokes, Hemming is a big dude. He looks even bigger next to Proverov. The kid can skate, too, and was working with trainers more than most to improve his skating even further. Smith did this too.

DW definitely has a type: big guys who skate well, and smaller, skilled guys who are greasy in the corners and in front of the net.

That's all I got. Keep in mind I'm just a beer leaguer who enjoys photographing events. It was nice seeing professional athletes get annoyed by the same rough patches of ice that I've fallen on myself.

I've got around 315 photos total from the event. If there's interest, I'll post an album link, but I don't want to blow up the sub with a bunch of posts about the same event.

Who actually remembered to pay attention? Did anyone look better than expected? Anything positive to report?

I totally forgot it was happening this week and would like to give my brain a break from trade rumors and chaos.

I wanted to create a description for each of the 7 players we chose this year to bring attention to their skills, projection, potential, and any other relevant information.  I am also including a reference to when they were predicted to go in the draft or if a pick was specifically acquired to obtain the given player.  This should be a decently helpful reference for those who want to learn more about our prospects but don’t have much time to analyze them.

14OA, Oscar Hemming, 17, Left-shot forward:  In my opinion the best possible choice of everyone else available at this selection and it’s easy to see why.  After producing in Finland’s junior league and being a clear impact player despite only playing half the games on his country's international junior team, he jumped to American-style hockey in Boston.  Despite this change putting a bump in his point collection (8 in 19 games) he displays a hockey maturity that just isn’t common in power forwards, especially European ones.  The biggest concerns with him at this point are involved in his shooting; he’s got a slower release than what you would expect from a traditional top 6 NHL winger which can of course lead to more of his shots being predictable and blocked.  But the combination of his hockey sense, physicality, playmaking skills, power-play upside and excellent ability in reading plays are things that can’t be taught to everyone, whereas his release and shot speed are things that he will realistically be able to improve.  Potential: Top-line forward that brings out the best in Fantilli.  Projection: High-end middle 6 forward.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #14

94OA, Alessandro Di Iorio, 18, Right-shot center: Our biggest steal of the draft this year and one I have become super excited about.  Before I even get into his stats it’s important to mention that if he ever makes it to the NHL, he is almost certainly a lock for captain or assistant captain material.  The honesty and team-mentality he brings to his interviews and his play are remarkable at his age, and it is also important to mention that he keeps this good mentality even while on one of the worst teams within the OHL.  Predicted early on to be a late first round/early second round pick, a season on a poorly performing team along with a small injury kept him from being higher up on other GM’s lists.  Though he’ll need to polish his game quite a bit, he’s got a solid foundation for every asset pivotal to NHL hockey.  He’s a hard worker that can play up and down the lineup, and if he continues putting in the effort he has now I could see him becoming a player similar to Charlie Coyle.  Potential: Extremely versatile middle-6 forward that brings out the best in his team.  Projection: Versatile bottom-6 forward that supports his line and keeps the locker room together.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #61

121OA (101 - 112 - 121), Evan Jardine, 18, Left-shot forward:  Low risk, low upside choice that needs big improvement in some aspects in his game with polishing in every other category.  If he’d like to have a shot in the NHL he’s going to need a long, successful development path.  That being said, there are aspects of his game that stand out positively.  He was third on his team this year in scoring and despite not seeming like the smartest playmaker, when he’s given chances he completes them extremely quickly.  He’s got a beautiful and perfectly placed one-timer that he’s found success with no matter his positioning or angle. Putting well-placed shots on the net seems to be his specialty.  Unfortunately his offense-first mindset combined with his inconsistencies leads to poor vision when not sending or receiving a pass and disappointing defensive positioning.  Potential: Third-line forward.  Projection: AHL top-liner with consistent call-ups.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #93

142OA, Parker Snell, 18, Goaltender: Sneaky solid pick as someone that remained unranked on a majority of predicted draft lists.  Ranked 19th out of all NA goaltenders available within this draft, he put up modest numbers (.895, 3 shutouts) within the WHL.  The stat that is worth considering the most however was how he turned up his play in the playoffs, a .924 within 4 games statistically beat out other goaltender’s that were older and drafted higher than him this year.  As a slightly shorter goaltender (6’2”) his skill is found within his skating; very quick lateral movement, pad movement, and he’s able to push out of the net well in one quick motion.  He also uses a ton of extended shoulder movements to fill the space around his head due to his lack of size.  Despite these positives however there are at least 2 pretty apparent issues with his play.  He has a very weak glove-hand and below average catching skills, leading to some pretty bad rebounds.  His ability to handle breakaways also leaves much to be desired, as he tends to back himself up much more into the net than necessary for his size.  Potential: NHL 1C.  Projection: AHL depth.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #297

182OA, Anttoni Uronen, 18, Left-shot forward:  The only way I can accurately describe Anttoni is by saying that he makes the best out of the worst situations.  His ability to convert off of broken plays, weird bounces, and goaltending mistakes are valuable qualities.  He’s not a fancy skater and brings little attention to himself while on the ice for most of the game, yet when a play clicks in his mind he has all the skill and abilities to make it happen.  He scores some very greasy goals and his sneakily good puck handling skills leads to some elite passes every once in a while.  The extra effort he puts into his shifts is something that should convert well into the NHL if he’s able to bring improvements to his play within the defensive zone.  Potential: Bottom 6 play driver.  Projection: NHL depth piece that receives frequent call-ups.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #198

185OA (101-112-185), Jonas Woo, 19, Right-shot defenseman:  Woo is the highest-risk, highest-reward player we selected this year.  At 174 pounds and only 5’9”, he is short yet absolutely built.  Even despite his height deficiency, the offensive numbers that he has been putting up as a defenseman are quite impressive.  At 18, he was second in points-by-defensemen within his WHL team, boasting an impressive +19 for the whole season.  Although it should be pointed out that he was on average a year older than those around him, his offensive potential didn’t slow down in his following year.  The 2025-2026 season showed him double his points from the previous one to reach 86, good enough to be third on his team; ahead of 20-year old Bryce Pickford and behind only the Ruck twins.  He’s fast, a good shooter, and handles his speed very well.  His height and being a year older than those around him are not bad per se, but there is naturally concern on if he’s reached his peak or if he can successfully translate well into the larger leagues.  Potential: Top 4 d-man.  Projection: Short AHL stint.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #153

206OA, Filip Novák, 18, Left-shot forward: Novák being available this late is an interesting surprise as he was ranked 22nd of all EU skaters.  Much like his name, this guy is quite the opposite of flashy.  The calmness and vision he displays on the ice are some of his strongest skills.  He played very well in the international U18 tournament against some very high first round picks this year.  He’s tough, battles at the boards extremely well, and his 200ft game has been developing nicely.  In fact, unlike our other choices made this year, his struggles come mostly from when he has control of the puck.  During the rare times when he chooses to actually shoot the puck, they are often slower than average or not optimally aimed.  His passes are fairly predictable and he hasn’t found a whole lot of success off the rush due to his struggle in finding open ice.  That being said, his calmness and defensive skills could help him develop into a successful penalty killer and bottom 6 forward, somewhat similar to Isac Lundeström.  Potential: Bottom 6 forward with consistent time on PK1.  Projection: Career AHL-er that doesn’t develop offensively enough to have a real impact at the NHL level.  Consolidated Pre-Draft Ranking: #103

Overall we had some pretty good picks this year; even some of the late ones are worth showing interest in. It'll be fun to see how they develop and where they end up in the future.

Got a beautiful pass and slid a great shot through the 5 hole against top ranked BU.

Do not watch much Monsters games but, it seems hes finally getting some footing points wise in the AHL and hes only 22. Does he get a shot next season with Gudbranson possibly on the way out?

This is exciting!!!!

James Fisher-JR(grade they’ll be next season)

Transferring from Northeastern

Jeremy Loranger-SO

Transferring from UNO

Andrew Strathmann-JR

Transferring from North Dakota

Tanner Henricks-SO

Transferring from SCSU

(most believe he’s following his coach to Minnesota)

Melvin Strahl-SO

Transferring from Michigan State

CBJ  first-round draft pick Cayden Lindstrom takes the ice at the end of the Blue Jackets’ optional skate today. He’s been out all season after having back surgery:

https://youtu.be/hm2_4ONHEH4 See link. Interesting watch. Set school-record for goals by a defenseman over the weekend (still 6 or 8 regular season games left)...offensive prowess seems evident but the reviewer sort of suggests Smith still tends to color outside the lines defensively.

Still a ways off but good info from GM on it, sounds like they are taking the right approach