Americans may get early draft call
5 from national hockey team program in top 10?
Last September, before warm-ups for the All-American Prospect Game, NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr spotted U.S. stars Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield kicking a soccer ball around to loosen up.
With every NHL team scouting the game, Marr decided to offer free advice.
“You know guys, in a game like this, it’s all about showing what you are about,” Marr told the players. “When you get the chance, you shoot.”
Hughes looked at Marr with a grin. “Dan, do you really think you have to tell Cole to shoot?”
“Point taken,” Marr said.
The 5-7 Caufield would go on to score 72 goals in 64 games for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program to set a program record for goals in a season. Hughes, meanwhile, registered 112 points in 50 games this season to establish a program record of 228 points in a two-season career.
These two players are part of what could be the richest draft of NTDP players the NHL has seen. Hughes is projected to be drafted No. 1 by the Devils on Friday, and Caufield and teammate Alex Turcotte, another center, could go in the first five picks.
It’s not unthinkable that five to seven players from the program could go in the first 12 picks.
“They are going to set a record for the most in the first round off one team,” Marr said, “and another record they will set that will be hard to match will be the number of players off one team in one draft class.”
Seventeen members of the team were invited to the scouting combine. Almost everyone off this U.S team is expected to be drafted. The program has never had more than three players taken in the first round. At least seven, and maybe eight or nine, could be taken this season.
“I’d like to think this is the start of a continuing trend,” said Pat Kelleher, USA Hockey’s executive director.
How did the Americans get to this point?
“It starts with that the game being a national game,” Kelleher said. “We have players from everywhere. These guys are all from different parts of the country. It shows that all over the place, people are giving kids great opportunities. The coaching at the youth level is getting better and better.
“We think the (American Development Model) from the grass-roots level and the NTDP for twenty-something years has been the pinnacle of development on the men’s side. And this year is a great example.”
Matthew Boldy said players knew immediately when they came together they were part of a group with overflowing potential.
“There were those times when Jack, Trevor (Zegras) or basically everyone on our team pulls off a move that everyone oohs and ahhs at,” Boldy said. “But I think how we move the puck and how we carried ourselves was the real ‘wow’ factor.”
A look at NTDP players with a chance to go in the first round:
❚ Hughes, 18: He was the No. 1 prospect start to finish. He handled the pressure with relative ease.
“When I saw him last July, on the ice, with some of the top players in the game, including Taylor Hall, (John) Tavares and Connor McDavid,” Marr said, “he was very much at their pace in terms of his passes, making plays, executing his shot. It was impressive to see how he could keep up with that group.”
❚ Turcotte, 18: The son of former NHL player Alfie Turcotte, the younger Turcotte is a premium two-way center.
“His hockey IQ is off the charts,” Marr said. “Just the way he can read plays and adapt quickly. He can make the play while being checked and under pressure. The way he processes the game makes him special.”
❚ Caufield, 18: Holding the NTDPseason scoring record is a noteworthy accomplishment. He took the record from Phil Kessel. This is a program that has boasted Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane among others. Caufield outscored them all.
The NHL is far more accepting of smaller players, but his lack of size will give some teams pause. Alex DeBrincat’s success in Chicago, with 73 goals in his first two seasons, helps Caufield.
“There is a lot of similarity between him and DeBrincat in that they know how to get open and they know how to score,” Marr said. “Those are two things hard to teach.”
❚ Center Trevor Zegras, 18: Ranked sixth overall by Central Scouting, Zegras is a skilled, heady offensive player.
“He doesn’t like to be outdone or beat on a play, so he is relentless whether he’s on the forecheck or driving to the net,” Marr said. “He has talent and speed. He is 170 pounds, but he gives you 200 pounds worth of game.”
❚ Left wing Matthew Boldy, 18: The 6-2, 196-pounder projects to be a prototypical NHL scoring winger. He scored 33 goals in 64 games this season for the NTDP.
“He has a power forward game,” Marr said. “He can skate the puck to the net and he has NHL speed. He has the package you need to play at the NHL level.”
❚ Defenseman Cam York: He is expected to quarterback an NHL power play some day. He set a record of 103 points by a defenseman over two seasons.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility that some team could step up and take York in that (top 10) range,” Marr said.
❚ Goalie Spencer Knight, 18: He is expected to be the only goalie taken in the first round; the only question is where he could land.
The consensus is that he will fall into the 12-20 range, but he could also be grabbed earlier if a team feels strongly that he is their goalie of the future. He was 32-4-1 this season with a 2.36 goalsagainst average.
❚ Defenseman Alex Vlasic, 18: Central Scouting ranked Vlasic 38th, but he could land near the bottom of the first round. He’s 6-6 and scouts like his imposing potential.
The NTDP has several players ranked in the second round, including center John Beecher, defenseman Drew Helleson, defenseman Henry Thun and goalie Cameron Rowe. One of them could end up rising to the top 31.