NHL Draft: Profiles 46-50
46. Riley Nash C, Salmon Arm (BCHL)
As is the case with many
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prospects, there are split
scouting opinions on certain
aspects of Nash's game, most
specifically his physicalness.
"He's so soft and weak it's
scary, not a lot of competitiveness,"
noted one NHL scout
after going to see Nash and
fellow prospect Ben Winnett in
Salmon Arm in February.
Yet another scout that saw
Nash play in Burnaby later in
the season saw no such problems
with his grit, and Nash's
penalty minute totals (84 minutes)
would seem to suggest
that he's not afraid to mix it up.
"He takes a hit to make a
play, will finish his checks and
is fairly effective at taking the
body," noted that scout.
Nash made an immediate
impact in his rookie season,
producing 84 points in 55
games centering Salmon
Arm's top line.
While there is some question
about his grit, no such
concerns exist with his skill
and scoring talent.
"He possesses tremendous
vision and reads the play at an
elite level. He likes to do a lot
of timing plays with his linemates
where he passes the
puck even before the player
has gotten open, but by the
time the player does get open
the puck has arrived.
"He's also extremely mobile
as he can turn on a dime, and
he displays terrific closing
speed and puck pursuit."
47. Brendan Smith D, St. Michael's (OPJHL)
Smith really stepped up his
play at both ends of the rink
near the end of the regular
season and playoffs, contributing
six goals and 14 assists in
16 playoff games.
"He exudes better qualities
at the Junior A level than
against higher competition,"
opined one scout. "When he
played in the World Cup
Challenge his defensive deficiencies
were exposed. He
tended to puck watch."
Committed to the University
of Wisconsin next season,
Smith is light on his skates and
changes directions effortlessly.
He possesses a hard slap shot
and gets it off in full flight.
"He's tall, skinny, and
skilled," opined one Ontariobased
scout. "He shows good
recovery abilities, which he
needs to given the mistakes he
still makes. He's a raw project
with lots of tools to sculpt.
"He takes poor angles in his
own zone when he's going to
cut off the puck carrier. Needs
to improve his defensive positioning.
But going the other
way he's an end-to-end threat.
Smith's older brother Rory, a
teammate on the Buzzers, and
his father are both very strong
individuals, and some scouts
believe Smith hasn't stopped
growing, and will put on 30-40
pounds as he matures.
"Lacks a bit of poise and
polish in his own end, but he
has quick feet for a tall man,
and quick hands."
48. Luca Cunti C, Dubendorf (Sui)
On pure talent alone, Cunti
is a potential top-20 draft candidate.
An effortless and deceptively
fast skater with outstanding
puck-carrying abilities, the
Swiss-born forward loves to
show off his dazzling end-toend
rushing abilities, which he
does with surprising ease, but
often to the detriment of his
team play.
This selfish label contributed
to his demotion to
third-division Dubendorf after
failing to stick in Switzerland's
second division. There were
also eyebrows raised when he
didn't make the Swiss WJC
team as expected.
"He's talented, but does he
care?" wonders one scout.
"When he doesn't have the
puck, he just floats around.
Some might be crazy enough
to take him in the first round. Is
he going to leave Switzerland?
"He's a rich kid who lives in
Zurich on a lake and plays in a
beer league. He won't come
to North America and ride the
buses in the minors I don't
think."
One scout is intrigued by
his style. "His game reminds
me of Robert Lang; he keeps
his upper body stable, but he's
a much better skater with
excellent fluidity.
He takes risks in dangerous
areas of the ice. Accelerates
effortlessly, and is lethal in
open ice. With little effort in
his skating he gets results."
49. Ruslan Bashkirov RW, Quebec (QMJHL)
Selected in the first round,
22nd overall in the 2006 CHL
draft, the 6-0, 185 pound
Russian skates regularly on
the Remparts' top two lines
with twin brother Roman.
Bashkirov rewarded coach
Patrick Roy's confidence in him
with a fine season, garnering
67 points in 64 games.
"A very exciting player who
makes you take notice," said a
Quebec scout.
"Very fast on his skates with
excellent agility, speed and
acceleration to go along with a
smooth stride.
"He is strong along the
boards and on the puck, displaying
good puck protection
with strong individual efforts.
He might try too much from
time-to-time, but he is a very
slick puck handler at high
speed."
Earlier in the season there
were concerns about his willingness
to be involved physically,
but as the season progressed
Bashkirov became
more and more combative, and
finished the season with 117
penalty minutes, second
among all Quebec rookies.
"He definitely plays with an
edge, reckless at times and
undisciplined in certain situations,"
noted a scout,
Bashkirov has second-line
potential if he rounds out his
game and shows more consistency.
He has a tendency to
stand around waiting for the
play to come to him at times.
50. Alex Plante D, Calgary (WHL)
The "big man on defence"
is one of the most perplexing
defense prospects in the draft.
At 6-4 you expect a big,
shutdown, physically punishing
defenceman but that is not the
case with the Hitmen blueliner.
If anything, he is a power
play specialist, a slick passer
and opportunistic shooter with
the man advantage. Mind you,
anyone that saw his father
Cam set points records as a
1980's WHL defenceman for
Brandon wouldn't be surprised
that he's gifted offensively.
He has impressive hands
and is able to make surprisingly
nice moves standing still
and also in flight.
Still, Plante is a bit of a
peculiar skater in that his legs
flail out to his sides in a way
that makes him seem like a
poor skater. While he possesses
surprising agility and
mobility, his straight-line skating
and speed are just average.
"Plante's biggest problem is
that he lags a bit skating backwards
and has trouble containing
smaller, shiftier forwards
on the attack," noted a scout.
"He has top-end potential as a
similar player to Minnesota's
Kurtis Foster."
Even though some scouts
contend they wouldn't pick him
in the first two rounds of the
draft due to concerns with his
skating and pivoting, others
contend he may be a consideration
late in the first round.