Allgemeine News » Jack Hughes and Connor McDavid

"Talk to NHL scouting execs and they’ll tell you that getting drafted is just the beginning: it doesn’t matter what number you’re taken at, it matters what you do after.
Sometimes, the road to the pros takes a little longer and a player may not even end up on the team that originally drafted him. That was the case with defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2017 draft by the Arizona Coyotes, but never signed to an entry-level contract. Now, he’ll get his shot at the pros in Toronto, where he recently inked a two-year AHL contract with the Marlies.
Hoefenmayer is coming off a massive overage season with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, where he put up 82 points in 58 games while earning two first-place finishes in the league’s coaches poll: hardest shot and best offensive defenseman in the Eastern Conference.
Of course, his 2018-19 campaign with the 67’s wasn’t bad either: Hoefenmayer was nearly a point-per-game player on a team that went all the way to the OHL final, winning every game in the playoffs until Game 3 of the final against Nick Suzuki and Guelph, where the Storm promptly turned the tables and smothered the 67’s in four straight. That summer, Ottawa assumed the talented blueliner was gone.
“We didn’t have him pencilled in for this season,” said GM James Boyd. “We thought he would get some sort of pro opportunity. So it was surprising when he returned, but he obviously made a huge difference for our team. We had guys who made big leaps forward and Hoefenmayer was one of them.”
Indeed, the 67’s were actually even better this year than they were the season prior and that was a pretty high bar. Ottawa finished first overall in the OHL last year with a 50-12-6 record, good for a .779 points percentage. This season, the 67’s had an .815 points percentage at the time the campaign was cancelled.
So why didn’t Arizona want this kid? When Hoefenmayer’s draft rights expired last year, the Coyotes had a lot of blueliners already in their system that they liked. The blueliner also kept improving his game after the snub.
“He had the offensive flair, but his whole game rounded out and became a really capable defender,” Boyd said. “And he developed his shot over the years, to the point where this year it was a real weapon for us and the main reason our power play was as successful as it was.”
As I noted yesterday in my blog about Toronto’s signing of Bobby McMann, the Maple Leafs are at a point in their development cycle where they needed to replenish without having the luxury of having a plethora of picks, especially first-rounders. Hoefenmayer’s big challenge next season will be making the jump from being the oldest guy in a league full of teenagers to being one of the youngest guys in a league full of men – and in the AHL, those men are all trying to get to the NHL before he does. But the talented defenseman has gone through the ups and downs of junior and persevered, something that was obvious to the 67’s."
"Sometimes, it’s hard to forget that these are just kids.
Reading the YouTube comments on Saturday during the OHL draft, you’d think these are experienced veterans we’re dealing with – players that have paid their dues and battled the grind for years. Personal attacks, spirited chirps among fan bases, you know it. But they’re just teenagers, still taking high school one day at a time – as well as they can at this time, at least. Spending time with friends is still a high priority and, above all, just having fun as a youth.
And you could hear that in Ty Nelson’s voice after he went No. 1 overall to the North Bay Battalion this past weekend – he was so genuinely excited to be the first among his peers. As per league tradition, the Battalion announced a day prior to the draft that the club would select Nelson with the first pick. Nelson said he found out on Wednesday, but had to keep it quiet for a few days – something that’s not easy for a young kid, but at least it took the anxiety away.
“It was breathtaking,” Nelson said. “When I got the call, I had no words. I was speechless. My dad and mom started crying. My sister jumped around in joy.”
Nelson, a 15-year-old defenseman from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, has been touted as a special player for much of his teenage life, going up against some of his generation’s top talents such as Shane Wright and Adam Fantilli. When the OHL eventually resumes, and, hopefully, that’s on time for 2020-21 in September, Nelson will be one of the most watched players in the league as he showcases why he’s the definition of a skilled, modern-day defenseman. Nelson models his game after Ryan Ellis and Morgan Rielly. Some scouts have likened his game to Jared Spurgeon and Brian Campbell. Either way, he’s in good company.
“There isn’t a player more ready for the OHL than Nelson,” said an Ontario-based minor midget scout. “He reeks confidence. The way he moves the puck, the way he challenges bigger, stronger players, the way he doesn’t take any challenge lightly. There’s so much to love about his game.”
In the past, the top draft prospects have met up in person for photo shoots and other activities shortly after the draft. Nelson’s teammate, Pano Fimis, went second overall to Niagara, but with an isolation order in effect, they were stuck to their respective homes on draft day – one of the biggest days of their lives. Still, Nelson has remained positive throughout the quarantine and has kept active as best as he can. He’s still taking part in school online and stickhandles and does some dryland training by himself to remain fit, which is vital while entering the complete unknown of what the summer off-season has to offer.
Hitting the ice at full stride will be important in living up to the high expectations placed on him as a No. 1 selection, especially after explosive campaigns from Jamie Drysdale and Brandt Clarke the past two years. But like the two top defensemen before him, Nelson has the makings of a future star. In 32 GTHL games, Nelson’s 32 points gave him an 11-point cushion over Matthew Morden for the lead among defenders. Overall, Nelson had 65 points in 61 games, by far surpassing the output of any other Ontario-based defenders – and he did it without Fantilli, considered the top Canadian forward prospect, to pass to for most of the season.
Nelson played against older competition prior to his draft season, taking key minutes for the Jr. Canadiens against a stacked 2003-born draft class that included Wright, Clarke, Brennan Othmann and Francesco Pinelli, among others. Nelson said that experience playing against older, stronger competition will help in his transition to the OHL, where the 5-foot-8 defender will certainly be outmatched physically. But as scouts have pointed out, his elusiveness with the puck and high top speed will make up for any physical shortcomings, and if he hits a late growth spurt, he’ll be even more dangerous.
In his free time, Nelson likes to watch hockey highlights online and research stats and other aspects of the game. And that’s something scouts appreciate – he’s a hockey junkie, of sorts. You tend to see that out of young stars these days: players such as Jack Hughes and Connor McDavid have a vast hockey knowledge that even makes hockey historians turn their heads. Nelson is always learning, both on and off the ice, and his determination to get better is unmatched by most kids his own age."