Marek’s Take: At 17 he was the best athlete on a stacked Sault Ste. Marie team (has a sprinter’s physique). Great physical gifts and blazing speed. Played on every line with the Greyhounds and found good chemistry with fellow draft-eligible teammate Blake Speers. Is great off the rush but needs to develop other ways to score. NHL Comparable: Chris Kreider
Zachary Senyshyn Strengths
Zachary Senyshyn Criticisms
- At 6’2 (and likely still growing an inch or two), Senyshyn is not just quick, he’s one of the OHL’s best skaters. He explodes down the wing, needing only a few steps to hit full speed.
- He’s not a perimeter player, either. He uses that speed to drive the net, generating not only a lot of scoring chances for himself, but for his line mates, too. As he gets stronger, I’d expect him to develop even more of a power game.
- I also expect his two-way game to develop to the point where his speed can be used as an asset defensively and on the PK.
- From McKeen’s Yearbook (buy here): Boasts an absolutely lethal shot – literally explodes off his stick, leaving goalies no time to react.
- On paper, Senyshyn’s production this year was inconsistent, but I think that had more to do with wavering ice time on an incredibly deep Sault Ste. Marie club.
- Senyshyn is still a raw player. His work without the puck offensively needs some improvement.
- From McKeen’s Yearbook (buy here): Stickhandling repertoire is limited and he is most effective when he charges the net with reckless abandon. Possesses okay hands but struggles at times to handle passes.
AgentOrange said:Went for 26-19-45 in 66 games for Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL
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Button compares him to Joel Ward, gives him 4/5 for skating and smarts and 3/5 for hands and shot.
Senyshyn is an intriguing forward, no doubt. My only issue with the pick is where it came. I really wanted Barzal, who to me has the higher floor and ceiling, and a higher likelihood of reaching that ceiling. Senyshyn is apparently one of the better pure athletes in the draft, and perhaps that is what the Bruins fell in love with. I'm a bit skeptical as to how much raw athleticism translates into production at the NHL level; this is a much more technical sport than the NFL. Honest question: what NHLers have turned their hands from a question mark into something stronger after being drafted? It doesn't seem like this happens much, if at all.
Still, even with less than elite hands, it sounds like he could be a Kreider-type 20 goal, 50ish point winger at his best. And that would certainly be a successful pick.
AgentOrange said:Went for 26-19-45 in 66 games for Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL
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Button compares him to Joel Ward, gives him 4/5 for skating and smarts and 3/5 for hands and shot.
Senyshyn is an intriguing forward, no doubt. My only issue with the pick is where it came. I really wanted Barzal, who to me has the higher floor and ceiling, and a higher likelihood of reaching that ceiling. Senyshyn is apparently one of the better pure athletes in the draft, and perhaps that is what the Bruins fell in love with. I'm a bit skeptical as to how much raw athleticism translates into production at the NHL level; this is a much more technical sport than the NFL. Honest question: what NHLers have turned their hands from a question mark into something stronger after being drafted? It doesn't seem like this happens much, if at all.
Still, even with less than elite hands, it sounds like he could be a Kreider-type 20 goal, 50ish point winger at his best. And that would certainly be a successful pick.
veritas said:
You have to remember he played last season at the age of 17 and no one is saying he has hands of stone. A lot of players that age aren't even freshmen in college yet. He has plenty of time to develop.