Crouse’s potential has onlookers divided
The “I” word gets mentioned often when scouts talk about Lawson Crouse.
He’s got intangibles, they say; the kind of intangibles that you have to see in person to appreciate. You need to see the way he skates, see the way he uses his stick to break up plays and how he can close the gap on the forecheck and deliver big hits. You need to see all the things the stats sheets might not always show, like his character and his compete level.
Those last two words have sort of become taboo in today’s NHL, where a player’s worth is measured more by his statistics, whether they are traditional or advanced, than by the old-fashioned eye test.
It is why opinion on Crouse, who is listed as a top-5 prospect on some mock drafts and outside the top-10 on other lists, has become so divided heading into the draft.
Some see the six- foot- four, 215-pound winger as the second coming of Cam Neely or Milan Lucic — a big, power forward who can score goals and cause chaos. Others look at his meagre numbers — 29 goals and 51 points in 56 games — and wonder if he is just another Tom Wilson or, even worse, Tyler Biggs.
“You hear it all the time, people saying if he gets drafted really high, it’s crazy,” said Mark Seidel, chief scout of NACS Scouting, who has Crouse ranked seventh overall. “He’s one of those guys that analytics isn’t going to be a friend of, but if you watch him play and watch the things he does, that’s why I think he’ll go so high.”
Crouse, who was born in Mount Brydges, Ont., was ranked as high as No. 3 on some midterm reports, just behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. But heading into next week’s NHL Draft, the thinking is that the Kingston winger will fall somewhere behind Erie Otters centre Dylan Strome, Boston College defenceman Noah Hanifin and London Knights winger Mitch Marner.
According to some, Crouse could be this year’s Angelo Esposito or Cam Fowler — players that were heavily touted but for one reason or another tumbled on the draft floor.
“His production is an issue there, but I think you can’t make harsh conclusions over that,” said Corey Pronman, ESPN’s prospects writer, who has Crouse ranked 10th overall. “He’s a big guy that can skate. There’s a lot there to like.”
While Strome, Hanifin and Marner are skilled, dynamic players that can impact the game offensively, Crouse is described as a throwback.
That’s not necessarily a knock on Crouse, but rather a way of saying that the kind of player he hopes to become is rare, if not extinct in today’s NHL. You can count on one hand the number of big-bodied players who can hurt you with their size as much as they can with their stick. They just do not exist anymore.