Ville Meuronen: It was tragic loss for draft fanatics when you quit blogging on Bruins Draft Watch and joined Red Line Report. How was your first season with them?
Kirk Luedeke: Thank you. I enjoyed writing the draft watch blog, but being officially with Red Line Report after previously doing some side work with them has been a fantastic experience. Being around Kyle Woodlief and the rest of the RLR staff reminds me that there is a great deal about the game and players I don't know. Being in the rinks is a constant learning experience and so I'm looking forward to this next season getting underway.
VM: Your area of expertise is the Northeast region of the USA. What actions have been made there in the last decade? Something has clearly happened as US hockey has produced lots of young talent during that time span and the national team has had great success not only in junior level but in the Olympics also.
KL: I would not attribute any one or even a few things to account for the recent surge in talent. If anything, there were indications just five or six years ago that the players coming out of the New England states were trending downward from the glory years of the 1980s and early 1990s when you had players like Bobby Carpenter, Tom Barrasso, Jeremy Roenick Tony Amonte, John LeClair, Bill Guerin, etc. all coming out of the region to become legitimate NHL stars and impact players. This past 2012 draft was the best one for New England in terms of depth with 12 players selected than we've seen in quite awhile, but we have yet to see a consistent showing of top NHL talent aside from a few outliers (Keith Yandle, Jonathan Quick, Chris Kreider, Dustin Brown) like we did during the "golden age." I am excited for the 2015 NHL draft, though-- the late-1996/97-born class is really shaping up as something special. There's a lot of time between now and then I realize, but Noah Hannifin, Jack Eichel, Colin White, Casey Fitzgerald, Lincoln Griffin and Cam Askew are all guys who are shaping up to be prospects to watch with potential high-end upside.
VM: 20 high schoolers were drafted this summer and GM's are willing to make risky picks on these lesser known prospects. How hard it's in your mind to recognize talent from High School Hockey? Do you use different scouting methods for HS Hockey and NCAA?
KL: It's challenging because you're trying to project how that player is going to be able to compete at the higher levels, so you have to take a lot of things into account. Without getting into the details here, one of the things you have to guard against is getting too excited about certain players based on their production. There's a fine line between watching a guy who's physically more advanced than everyone else having his way with everyone and lighting it up, but having some real flaws in his game, versus that raw project player who is still growing into his body and whose NHL-calibre traits you look for haven't quite emerged yet.
I look for things that every player can bring to the table no matter what: compete level, intensity and consistency of effort. Most of the time, if a player isn't trying all that hard at one level, he's not likely to suddenly turn it on later. Sure, there's a maturation process and some guys do end up figuring that out as time goes on. But for me, if a guy has a non-stop motor at the lower levels, there's a good chance he'll will himself into being a player at the higher ones. I don't think you can teach a player to have that kind of burning fire that so many of the top players in the NHL have inside them. Talent is most of the equation, but I think you have to find that balance between a guy who has the tools and skills to be a player, but who also wants it more than maybe the next player who might be a little more talented but isn't as driven.
VM: Prototypical Canadian Junior League player uses his free time away from books. Do you think college players reach smarts advantage thanks to their studying?
KL: I'll try to stay away from blanket comparisons and just say that every case is different, and that going to college doesn't necessarily equate to smarts. Sure, there are specific advantages to the NCAA and being at university, but I think a lot of that is cultural. One of the smartest men I know never took a single college course but read voraciously and was self-educated. I don't doubt that there are CHL players out there who fit that description even if their focus isn't more on academics in many cases like the NCAA players are required to do. By the same token, I'm sure there are some brilliant student-athletes in colleges and universities who are getting the most out of their education opportunities, just as there are guys who would rather be eating, sleeping and breathing hockey. In the end, I think it boils down to the specific program and what is important to the players and their families. I'm sure there are many other factors, but this is just my own view and we could have an entire interview on major junior vs. NCAA alone!
VM: Some top NCAA prospects may know they have talent to spend rest of their lifes around hockey. How much emphasis these talents put on school?
KL: As I said in the previous question, every player approaches their hockey development differently. I remember a guy who played for the Bruins in the 1980s named Frank Simonetti who graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Norwich University (a Division 3 school) on a 3.9 (out of 4.0) grade point average. He was a brilliant student and the top player on his team, making it in the NHL briefly as a role player for Boston. But when he realized that he didn't have a steady future in pro hockey, he didn't stick around and went on to open his own successful engineering firm. You see, to me it all comes from what is inside the person and what is most important to them. Some of these student-athletes have the talent to be stars in both the classroom and on the ice. That isn't everyone in the pool, so those who can put a lot into their studies and benefit academically are the ones who realize that if the pro hockey thing doesn't work out for them in the long term like some of the other players out there, they'll have that educational foundation to fall back on.
VM: You have been fortunate to live in a NCAA fan's paradise as Boston College and Boston University have combined four of the last five NCAA championships. What makes them quality NCAA programs?
KL: It all starts with the recruiting. Both coaches-- Jerry York and Jack Parker-- are legendary NCAA people who bring distinctly different styles to the mix, but have proven track records of not only success and winning programs, but putting some pretty fine players into the NHL. Those schools are some of the finest brands in the world when it comes to looking at some of the players they have developed over the years, and it starts with the men at the top. Boston is also a fine city and a real sports hotbed. I think that those players who are local want to stay closer to home, while recruits who come from other parts of the country or even the world are taken with Boston's history and how much there is to do there. Of course there are also the programs and facilities themselves-- both BU and BC not only have the on- and off-ice infrastructure to aid in player development, but they have notable strength and conditioning programs and robust coaching staffs that players can get the most from. But again, I go back to the storied head coaches-- two of the winningest men in history and how they tie in to the proud traditions of those hockey schools.
VM: 2012-2013 season is about to start soon. Can you name some players from your region to follow for the 2013 NHL draft and tell a little bit more about them? Are any of them first round worthy?
KL: Adam Erne is the best New England-born and trained kid in the draft, but he's entering his second season with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. He's a power forward with offensive upside but folks will have to go up to Quebec to see him play. Locally, I also like Ryan Fitzgerald, who is former NHL forward and current Pittsburgh front office member Tom Fitzgerald's son (as is Casey, whom I mentioned earlier in the 1997-born class). He's a bit on the small side, but has terrific hands and hockey sense as a Boston College recruit who will play this season in the EJHL with the Valley Jr. Warriors. On the prep side, I like a couple of Hotchkiss guys who are huge-- forward Tyler Hill, who is from Ontario and is about 6-foot-6 and plays like it. There is also Wylie Sherman, a raw defenseman about the same size who is developing his mobility and could be an interesting long-term project player with his natural height and wingspan. Down in New York/New Jersey, I like a couple of defensemen on the U.S. NTDP-- Steve Santini and Connor Clifton who are solid defensive shutdown guys. Liked Clifton's puck-moving ability in games I saw from him late last season when he was with the EJHL's Jersey Hitmen, so he has some untapped potential, I feel. There's also an intriguing winger named Justin Bailey from Long Island coming out of the Royals program there that I am looking forward to watching in the upcoming Ivan Hlinka. He's very tall at 6-foot-4 and athletic-- he had a strong Select 17 showing and could be on the rise this year as a player to watch.
VM: Are there any sleeper candidates you would like to mention here and possibly look like Nostradamus next June?
KL: It's a bit early to see the sleepers start to emerge yet, but I think it was a mistake that teams passed on Devin Tringale at this last draft. The Harvard recruit from Medford, Massachusetts will be skating with Fitzgerald in the EJHL this season and he's a big-game player who could be like Jimmy Vesey this season and turn the draft snub into success in 2013. I also like undersized forward Tyler Kelleher, another Mass. kid who has done some good things at the NTDP.
VM: Who fits the mold of phrase ”he is the kind of player NHL teams love”?
KL: That would be Tyler Hill-- he has the size you can't teach and plays with an edge plus has offensive skills to boot. He's still pretty raw, and being in prep hockey after being drafted by the Ottawa 67's won't do him any favors in some circles, but he seems fine with his choice of development, and if he breaks out this season, look out. The problem for him is that he's going to have to dominate. He's probably going to be in a bit of a catch-22: if he lights it up, then it was expected given the competition level. If he doesn't, then his stock will likely take a big hit. That's the danger of playing prep, but I talked to him last week, and he seems like he's leaning toward going back to Hotchkiss for one more year (he does not have a NCAA commitment yet either but is leaning towards Ivy League schools). We'll see-- until the season starts, anything is possible.
VM: Who are top candidates from Hockey East and ECAC to compete for Hobey Baker Award? Are any of them undrafted and possibly a highly sought-after free agent next spring?
KL: I'm not very good at predicting these things, to be honest. Obviously, Flames prospect John Gaudreau had a sensational freshman season for the Boston College Eagles in helping lead them to another NCAA championship in the spring, so he'll be a hot Hobey topic if he has the same kind of year. Matt Nieto (Sharks) is another guy who could put up big numbers as a junior after scoring 42 points in 37 games last season. One dark horse kid I like in the ECAC who could make a run at the Hobey Baker is Cornell goaltender Andy Iles from Ithaca, N.Y.. He played every minute of his team's season in 2012 going 19-9-7 with a 2.12 GAA and although is pretty small, is just a winner. I saw him lead Salisbury School to the 2009 prep championship and he won a gold medal in the world U18s as Jack Campbell's backup in 2010.
Thank you Kirk!
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