Saturday, June 27

 

Here is his blurb from the Prospects Guide:

 

“The Islanders already have several options when it comes to getting offense from the blue line, and in Ryan Pulock they have a stud on the way. So Reinhart will be pigeonholed into a stay-at-home role, which suits him just fine. Blessed with elite two-way talent, Reinhart will still get his points even without the power-play time. But not as many as he could have. There will be seasons where he’ll rack up 40 or even 50 points, but that will only happen when the team needs that from him. Kind of like Jay Bouwmeester in that the majority of his seasons will be lower-scoring, minute-munching performances.”

 

So what changes in Edmonton?

 

For starters, he jumps into a defense corps with three other excellent young rearguards. Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom and Justin Schultz are nice pieces to go along with Andrew Ference. Add Reinhart, and there are five pieces to the puzzle.

For fantasy purposes, in most formats, Klefbom and Schultz are the only two worth late-round fliers, though.

 

Still, the move to Edmonton should be viewed as a boost for Reinhart. There were more road blocks in front of his path to the top of the depth chart with the New York Islanders. He is essentially entering a cleaned slate in Edmonton, especially considering there is a new general manager and head coach.

 

We see this in the NFL more frequently, where new coaching/managing staffs want to turn to “their” guy. Reinhart could be that “guy.” And he is likely ready for a full-time gig at the highest level this fall.

 

It might not be an immediate ascent, but the arrow is point straight up. Don’t forget, Edmonton finished the season with 55 goals over their last 19 games (2.89 per outing).

 

 

***

 

 

Switching it up, I was really intrigued by Dobber’s shot-blocking ban to increase scoring. It makes sense. It would be easy to enforce, and really, I doubt there would be significant resistance, especially from the players.

 

However, does it extend to dropping down to block passes?

 

Specifically, would defenders be allowed to drop down to block a pass on a two-on-one rush?

 

And what about in the offensive zone, are players allowed to drop down along the blue line to keep clearing attempts in?

 

It just seems so much easier to address goaltending equipment. Adjusting rules or dimensions have too many potential connotations.

 

 

***

 

 

I annually purchase The Hockey News’ Draft Preview, although, I don’t really read much. I usually just like to have it close for spelling purposes and nostalgia. Sure, all the information is available for free online now, but I still like my hardcopies for appointment waits and such.

 

Where I’m going with this, though, is that on at least four occasions, I felt like the Sportsnet broadcasting team was basically reading from the guide. Here I am skipping around reading/skimming about the players left, and out of nowhere, I hear nearly word for word what I just read out of the guide.

 

I don’t bring this up as a negative or a point of disrespect to Sportsnet. Instead, I point it out because it is telling how little these players really are known.

 

We and others can prognosticate that Jacob Larsson over Oliver Kylington was the right or wrong move, but realistically, we’re likely five to 10 years from knowing.

 

With that being said, I’m impressed with the shift to skill, speed and character being at the forefront of attributes targeted by teams.

 

Mitch Marner, Denis Guryanov and Zach Senyshyn are prime examples.

 

At the same time, did the Carolina Hurricanes land their franchise defenseman at No. 5? It felt similar to Seth Jones falling to No. 4 in the 2013 draft.