Corey Pronman Interview | Minnesota Wild Prospect Pool Rankings | NHL Draft | Buium – Yurov – Ohgren
Joining the show today is senior NHL prospects writer for the Athletic, Corey Prawman. And Corey, really appreciate you jumping on with us. And we were already kind of BSing here before we jumped on, but let’s just rip the band-aid off. I I know the supposed Twitter experts who know so much about scouting and prospect development, not the most thrilled with your assessment on Elaine Hudson in your top uh prospects uh post that came out separate of the Wild article. Bill Garren seems to agree leaving him out of the US camp. Does that does that feel good at all? I mean, I would say it feels good. I think I mean I don’t know what people are saying. I I don’t read the comments when these when these major pieces go up. It It’s not um I like reading criticism and feedback, but at certain times of the year it’s just not useful and this is one of those times of the year. Um I think it’s a really good debate and I’ll be kind of curious to see where Montreal lands on a contract extension for Hudson. Um obviously you know I think where they what they just decided to know at Dobson too. That’d be kind you know different love times in their um you know their play their player cycle in terms that Dobson was closer to being UFA. These are RFA years for Hudson. But interesting bar because I think the the player type the Hudson is, which is, you know, a primarily offense driven defenseman, is one that gives a lot of managers in the NHL nightmares in terms of because I feel like this is a this is something I hear almost unanimously across people in the NHL, particularly with defenseman and this type of defenseman is they get really stressed out by the fact that when it comes time to negotiate contracts, you pay for points, but you don’t but but when it comes time arbitration and contract negotiations, you don’t defense doesn’t tend to get fairly priced in. At least that’s how management types tend to feel. Um, so you know, it’s, you know, I I find a lot of NHL people quite frankly feel like the Norris vote voting in the NHL tends to be a joke because they feel that the media rightly or wrongly just votes based on points. Um, and I think it’s going to be quite fascinating to see where this one ends up because I feel like, you know, Hudson obviously was fantastic last year. And I think you’re looking at him saying, well, he could be Adam Fox. That’s kind of the player comp that gets brought up commonly right now, which leads to a part two of, well, how good is Adam Fox? Like, you know, you saw him at the Four Nations. He couldn’t he couldn’t stay on the ice. Um, the Rangers have had have had a lot of success with him in the playoffs. Um, you know, I think so, you know, I think these, you know, there’s a question whether Adam Fox will even make the Olympic team. And I think these are all, you know, very interesting questions going forward and ones that I’m willing to engage in in a calm um, you know, intelligent manner, but I’m going to guess that I I don’t know what people are saying, but I know it’s a particularly just a fan base that that’s linked to the player. Like he was he if he was a natural predator, I don’t anticipate this is as big an issue. Um, you know, people don’t get all, you know, people don’t get all up in arms when I when people say Sammy Gerard is not a great defender or stuff like stuff like that or, you know, but it’s it’s just more the circumstances surrounding the player. Well, as you saw, the name of the podcast is Fellowship of the Rink uh Lord of the Rings fans here. I wasn’t sure if you’re LOL fan or if you had other nerd itch you like to scratch sometimes your movie series book series anything you like to do that’s kind of like off the beam path. Oh yeah I am a Lord of the Rings I mean I wouldn’t say the a fan fan. I have watched the movies and I have at some point thought about buying the books and never actually never actually done it. Um that’s a good question. I’m really boring. I’m just being perfectly honest. like my life is pretty much just with spend time with my family and if I’m not doing that I’m watching hockey. Um I you know when I was growing up I was like a big Star Wars geek and stuff like that and um but like honestly in the summers is a little different but when hockey season starts every night from like 6:00 to midnight 6:00 to 1:00 a.m. I’m watching hockey games. So I don’t really have a lot of free time for those kind of hobbies unfortunately. I mean, it’s nice when your your job is more or less your hobby. Makes things a lot easier. Yeah, to an extent. I feel like you this was a it’s a little different, too, is that uh you know, when you’re growing up, you’re a fan of the sport and now like it’s hard to ever watch a hockey game. It’s you know, I watch like football for fun more than I watch hockey for fun kind of thing. But obviously, it’s still a great job. I’m not complaining. But it’s like when like whenever people like invite me to like go watch a game with them or something like that like the brain’s always working like it’s hard like if if you just sat me down and told me like let’s watch like a Wild game they’re playing whatever is playing Chicago or something like that. You’re like my eyes are immediately going to go to okay well how does Bard look in this game you know how does Lebun look? You know how’s Rossy looking? You know that’s just going to be how my brain is going to operate. It’s it’s hard for me to just sit back and enjoy the game as a fan anymore. No off switch. That’s fair. I have a quick question before we get into all of the Minnesota Wild stuff. Just kind of a polarizing team right now is the Utah Mammoth being a team that’s they are like well they’re in a spot where they are on the precipice like everyone has them pegged to be the team that gets in that’s on the outside looking in from last year and you have them ranked number three in your pipeline ranking. Like is this a team that’s weirdly in just like the best place of all the teams as far as current roster construct plus prospect pool? Um I would say close to it. Yeah. I think there’s like, you know, if I looked at like San Jose, for example, I don’t think they’re anywhere close to winning, you know, or getting into a playoff spot. But I think long term maybe you’ll like how their team could be built and and how they can build around guys like a Min Cellabbrini with all the other high picks they’ve had. But I think in the short term, you know, in part they they they leapt into the fourth overall pick by jumping from 14 to four in the lottery. You get Caleb Denoier, who I think is a premium center prospect. But other than that, there’s been a lot of positives there. I mean, that rebuild goes all the way back to when they picked Clayton Keller uh back in, you know, you know, nearly a decade ago and they’ve sur you know, some picks have gone well like him. Some picks like Barrett Hayden haven’t gone as well, but they’ve really started to build there. Get Dylan Gunther look very positive now. Logan Culie and they’ve, you know, they made some aggressive moves like going on getting Sergeev last summer and I think you just look at where this roster is right now. A team that nearly made the you know kind of on that playoff bubble this year. They have good young players coming players in the NHL who you think could continue to develop. Uh you know they have those two high rushing picks in Simv and Boot coming over this summer. Um Maverick Lamaru if he’s healthy looks like a good young defenseman. I think this is a team absolutely pushing to get from the outside into trying to be a consistent playoff team in the West. You look at the the Wild system, I know you’ve had them like ranked like 10th before. I think they’re 14th in this year’s rankings. Um, you know, you have some higherend guys that have had some down seasons. So I wonder where that plays into I think I I wonder like if these guys do turn back around is this pool like obviously better than kind of what is rated in terms of the potential there to match up with what they’re building I guess with the core now. Well anytime you don’t have a first round pick. I mean I don’t think they picked it till the 50s this past summer. the rating’s gonna go down notably unless I mean unless uh I basically think they got you know I think I’m smarter than the rest of the league and the Wild think they’re smarter than the rest of the league and they found some star in the second or the third round that tends to be how it goes. Uh there’s a couple of farables there like you said like I think you look like some for high picks like a Carson Lambos he’s been just okay as a pro. Yesper Walstead had a really tough year this year. that definitely plays v plays a little bit of a variable into it. You know, there’s obviously been positives too. You know, Charlie Strable had a very nice year at Michigan State. Ze Boy had another very nice year at Denver. You know, so I but I think this is I’m I mean I know Wild fans may, you know, they’re very passionate, but I feel like mid-range system is pretty fair given where they’ve been picking and how many picks they’ve had in recent years. And you and the top of it is is Zeb Buy, of course. I think he wrote that, you know, he’ll have a lot to do with where the next wave of this team goes based upon how he develops, everything like that. Like what like what’s the ceiling for this guy like in terms of points or just terms of is he like a you know cornerstone defenseman? Is he like an all-star? Is he a Norris candidate? Like where where do you think he ends up fitting I guess in that realm of like that that spectrum? Yeah, you hate to overhype a guy who was a 12th overall pick a year ago or 11th or wherever he went and put unrealist expectations on a guy, but I mean I think the world of boy and you know you can go back in my writing. I don’t like typically give these high ratings out just just you I don’t hand those out typically guys who I think could be impact players but I when I watch him you know he he brings you out of your seats with his talent. He’s so skilled, so smart, so dynamic, great skater. Um, like honestly when I watch him I see Rowinsky like I see that guy at the same age. I think I’m not saying he is going to be an 80 point nor contending defenseman for sure, but like I I think he has that level of talent. Um, I think the question is never never going to be his offense is going to be like, you know, he’s not super physical. He’s not huge. He’s a pretty good skater. Would say he’s elite feet guy. But I mean I so but I think the offense is just outstanding and he’s got some real like true game-breaking abilities that at the college level, the World Junior level, you showed that he showed that he could, you know, really break shifts open and do so in a way that I think will translate to the pro level. And and that’s I think you probably said that this before, but like it’s so the size was the main reason he kind of fell to 12 at that point to the Wild or like kind of like that that kind of Yeah. And he’s not small, but but typically, you know, I mean, most NHL teams want their Demon to be 6’2 or taller if especially if they’re drafting premium picks. And if not, they want the offense to be special, which with him it was, and with Zane Perrick in that same draft, it was, but there was a lot of really good defenseman in that draft. and big defenseman like Sam Dickinson, like Carter Yakinch, like Arty Lunov, like Anton Sallay. And so he kind of falls down a little bit just because I think people were worried a bit about just how the the game would translate and, you know, typically, you know, you look at like Florida for now, for example, you don’t hate to use one team as a copycat, but it’s a general trend in the NHL playoffs that big defenseman tend to be how teams are are built, minus some exceptions over the years in terms of their key players, like a Colorado. Um, so I think that was a variable, but you I talked to teams at the time who had him as their one or two rated defenseman in that draft, too. And I think a year later, they would they wouldn’t shift from that. He’s had another great year in college. And if you believed he had that star ability a year ago, I still think he could have he has it right now. And I don’t you got to build around him the right way like cuz he’s not going to be you know your best shutdown player probably in the NHL. I don’t think he’s going to have a problem with it but that’s not what’s going to be his calling card. You’ve kind of got to in you know get the right kind of defenseman around him. So you know can you win with a team that has Boyam and Spurgeon playing 25 minutes a night? Probably not. But could, you know, guy like Brock Faber, can they find, you know, maybe not a guy like that, but a really good, you know, defensive player that can play in that top four with those guys? Like that’s I think something that makes them more interesting. Yeah, we just need a younger Jonas Broaddin. That’s all we got to figure out. Well, I mean, that’s kind of the tough part for the Wild right now is they have a good team. It’s probably not like an elite team. They have a good system. Like Zeve’s a fantastic prospect. They have some other good prospects. You know, it’s it’s unclear like like what unless like Boyam is just outstanding, which I think he could be. Like I think that is that’s probably plan A here in terms of how you get this team to contending as this guy’s just like this this guy’s just like a rock star and he takes you to the next level. But outside of that, I don’t really see the plan here to get this team to the next level, quite honestly. Well, I think another guy that Wild fans are more curious about in management are curious about that that maybe could help them get to the next level depending on how he pans out is Denil Yurov. And a lot of curiosity because people really haven’t seen it. You’ve watched a lot more than a lot of Wild fans have watched him because of where he plays and all that like making the transition to North America. Like they think he’ll be a center long term whether he starts at center or not. You know, we’ll see. But you could very well see him anywhere from third line, second line or whatever to start. But like what’s a realistic expectation in the NHL level for him with his skill set and I know playing against men of course in the KHL, but it’s definitely a big jump going from there to here. Yeah, I think he could be a top six forward I think as a center like maybe a 2C. Like I think it’s going to be kind of interesting. I’ve never actually envisioned him as an NHL center when they drafted him. And usually you draft a center and then they go to the wing typically. It’s pretty rare you draft a wing and they end up being a center. It’s kind of it’s been an interesting development path for Yurov in that way and and how he’s looked quite good playing the middle in the KHL. Um I don’t know if his offense is so like off the charts good that he could be like a true like play impact top two line center in the NHL. I think that might be asking a little bit more of him. I think if you he could be like a really good 3C, a really good second line wing or like a fine second line center. That’d probably be my projection there for him. I think he’s a really well-rounded player, good skater, high skill level, not super physical, but he works hard. He’s smart, uh, detailed player. I just don’t think his skill can have some eyepopping moments, but I don’t think like the offense is going to be truly special in this game, but I think he’s got a chance to be a very nice player for them, and his success versus men could lend to that being uh quite immediate for the Wild. How was that position? Go ahead. Yeah, I I was just going to say that another guy that kind of stood out to a lot of Wild fans in your rankings and for me like we’ve always been supporters of Charlie Streaml. Everyone knows he had a big year this year after some pretty tough stretches there with Wisconsin. You said on the podcast I tuned in, you labeled him as a middle six center. Is that where you see him now? Whereas a lot of people for a while were like, “Hey, this is a bottom six center. Like you’re happy if he’s a three seat.” Like, is middle six the label you’re sticking with him for now? This interview is brought to you by our friends at Waggle Golf. Waggle Golf believes what you wear on the course should reflect your individuality. Who you are, where you’re from, your hobbies, interests, and passions. All the stuff that makes you, well, you. That’s why every design is inspired by the desire to create a piece of apparel that strikes a chord when you see it. That makes you say, “Wow, that was made for me.” Because in a lot of ways, it was. Ready to get your Wagelon? Go to getyouwagalon.com. Throw in promo code SP10 at checkout to take 10% off your entire order. Well, like if you do a pie chart, you do like, you know, like a like a like a pie chart and you know, middle six and bottom six, there’s some overlap there. You know, you basically see that, oh, there’s, you know, it’s it’s it’s always interesting when you get into these granular descriptions of the player. But yeah, I do think he could be a useful thirdline center in the NHL. Um, you were wondering a year ago, this time was he even gonna play in the NHL. Um, he was, you know, his season at Wisconsin a year ago was nothing short of of a disaster, quite frankly. And you know, but he goes to Michigan State. He’s their first line center on one of the best teams in college hockey. He provides an impact. You know, think with with with Straml, you’re got to be quite realistic on the offense you’re getting. You know, if you get 30 points out of him been all year, that’s probably going to be that’s probably going to be, you know, what you hope for. Not a power play guy. Not a dynamic player, but there’s enough skill there that he could, you know, chip in offense in the NHL. He’s big. He can he can move. He’s highly physical and competitive. He can play a netfront role. He’s great on great great on faceoffs. He can kill penalties. There’s a lot of things that he provides in a positive way. Um, you know, but that’s just not, you know, what he’s going to be. He’s not going to be a scorer. He’s not a top six forward. He’s not a power play guy in the NHL, but but he plays like big centers like that who can move, who can score a little bit, who are highly competitive and physical, like they play. You know, I don’t think he’s this good. You look on the recent Stanley Cup champion like that was the profile in a guy like Anu Lesteran for for a long time and Florida would very much like to hold on to that guy for the next 10 years. uh even though he you know you know his offense you know maybe a little bit higher end at Strales but and but but that’s my you know that player type is still very valuable and uh maybe not like $7 million a year valuable but but I think he’s going to be a useful NHL player and it is safe then for Wild fans to move on from wishing it was Gabe Perau instead of Charlie Stra. I mean, I have strain rate ahead of Gay Perau right now. Quite honestly, I’m sure Rangers fans in the comments today were not thrilled are not thrilled about that at the moment. But I, you know, I have questions on how Perau’s game is going to translate, you know, to the NHL and, you know, he’s going to play his first year this year. We’ll see how it goes. But um yeah, I mean I would rather take the big center who uh as opposed to the 5’11 below average skating winger who was really going to need to score like 60 70 points a year with that profile to justify ice type. It’s it it takes typically takes longer for for defenseman to develop or unless they’re the kind of the superstar caliber guys, especially guys with size. And I wanted to get your thoughts on on your check, your vision of him in his draft year and kind of what you’ve seen. um it’s they’re not going to give up on him this soon because he had a rough year and he had a last rated spleen the end of the season, but what are some things you like about him that you saw in the draft year? What are some things that maybe missing that you didn’t think I projected as much as you thought they would um from when he was picked? Yeah, you saw a lot of things about him in his draft that really stood out. Yeah, he’s his skating is a little below average, but these is this big right shot defenseman. He’s really skilled at the puck. He’s got a big point shot. He’s physical. He’s competitive. like there was like the skill in particular the physicality in his game was always what drew me to him and then he gets to North America and the physicality kind of goes a little bit he’s not coaches aren’t trusting him defensively in the American League and and then but the offense is still there and then this year the offense just completely dried up. So you’re looking at this guy and say well what’s his path to the NHL? What’s his role? Is he a penalty killer? Well he doesn’t even kill penalties in the American the regularly over the last two years. Is he a power play guy? Doesn’t really score. So like that’s you know it’s been a very tough road for Urick and this is a guy who I love like I thought he was you a guy who could be a legit top pair defenseman potentially you know there was some coms like an air necklad type when he was coming out and I thought that was reasonable um you know it’s um it’s been real tough for him but I still think you got to you know see how he does in a full year in the organization. Let’s see if the offense bounces back. Uh let’s see, you know, now that he’s gone out of Columbus, which he didn’t want to be and obviously some things didn’t work out there. You can blame the team or the player or a combination. You know, I’m willing to see how a full year in Iowa goes for him or whether he plays with the Wilder at some points or not too before we start getting too conservative on the fact that he’s not going to play because I still think he’s too toolsy not to at least make it to the NHL. It feels like he needs a little bit more of like an identity, I guess, or what they see from him, right? Like you want to be like, “Okay, this is this is your path. Be this guy.” And everybody can be the offensive defenseman. They’re not only want so many power play slots to have and Bu’s going to have one and Faber’s going to have one, right? So they’re not power play is not an option really there for him. So seems like he’s a guy who maybe needs more of a a niche or like a carved out. Yeah. And he used to be like this super physical nasty defenseman to play against. And I think he probably needs to find that again so that he said, “Okay, he’s gonna be a Dzone guy. He’s going to be a PK guy.” Like that would be a path for him to being a full-time player on the wild. Yeah. And you talk about things working against Uric. I don’t think there’s a player in this pool that had more going against them than Yesper Walstat last year. And I know you’ve pointed out like there’s certainly some holes and reasons for concern, but how do you balance like what you’re seeing in his game versus everything else that goes into this between the mental gymnastics of we’re going to have three goalies in the NHL this year and let’s be real a pretty subpar wild roster down in Iowa. Yeah, I mean the the the roster wasn’t good, but I think even the player himself would admit he wasn’t very good this year. Like I mean his you know whether you just look at the numbers when you watch him play or just just felt like anytime there was a scoring chance around the net it was going in it felt like it was just it was ugly at times for him in Iowa. Um and like here’s kind of the issue with Walstead is when he was coming up you never watched Walstead whether it be in Sweden or even in the American League when he came over and it was and it was still pretty good right away is like he was never like this outstanding athlete. He was like the 6’4 65 twitchy goalie who you looked at you thought well like he’s so skilled he’s so talented he’s just a little raw he’s got to figure it out a little bit. It was always like well they got this really structured really intelligent goalie who just squares up a lot of pucks and always seems a step ahead of the play and that’s what gets you excited about him. So you know you’re not looking at this guy saying well the tools are so good it’s going to you know give him some time. It’s like, you know, he was he’s always kind of been a heavy guy, not great side to side. So, you always just said, well, the stats are so good and he looks so polished. Like, it’s just a m it’s going to translate because he’s just everywhere he goes, he stops the puck. And then this year, he really didn’t stop the puck. So, you you’re looking at this projection now, you’re wondering, well, what are you banking on here? And the reality is you’re banking on the fact that in prior years you thought he was this super smart, polished goalie and kind of hoping that what you saw these last 12 months was not really the real player. Uh I I don’t like to throw out data. I think you got to balance all the information. And that being said, I still think he’s going to play because everything I’ve seen in the past has suggested to me that he is going to play. I do think expectations though may need need need to be tempered unless he really turns it around this coming year and shows you a lot of what he displayed in prior seasons. Has some fan questions want to throw by you. And speaking of Walat, who would you rather have started for you, Kosa or Walstat? Same draft. Kosa. Yeah, Kosa. Just better athlete. They’re giving him some time obviously to marinate as well for Yeah. I’m not saying he’s like anything special either, but I just I think there’s just the the traits there I think are a little bit more interesting, but uh it’s it was it’s it’s honestly it’s gone back and forth. I think this time last year I would have said Walstitch and you know and in the draft I would have said Kosa and then a year after the draft I would have said Walstitch. So it’s you know ask me again in six months. Uh so someone else asked you had the section where guys who could make it. Um people wonder about Adam Ben Bennick. Um obviously um guy who they feel is a not say a steal but a really uh valued player. If he were 61 he’d have been a top 10 pick or whatever you want to call it. You know very undersized at this point. But where do you see him as a prospect and as relate to his NHL future? I mean he’s like a 57 forward who I think is very talented and very competitive. Um, but I just don’t see the special small guy traits. Like he’s a great skater. He’s very very smart. I when I watched him in the US international level last year, I didn’t think he was like a true game breaker with like elite elite talent that you wanted that size. Now, when I saw him when he was 16, I thought that two years ago this like this time, I thought he was going to be that that kind of player. I didn’t think his draft year was that great. Well, he’s a guy people thought might be a top two round pick coming in his draft year. goes in the fourth round or where wherever he went. So, you know, it’s very similar to when they drafted Aaron Kaharu in in some ways, too. So, we’ll see how Bayak’s pro progression goes here into next season, how he does how he does in the OHL. Um, like I wouldn’t call it unreasonable. You know, people always, you know, we mentioned the U23 list that is posted. Like a lot of times, like you maybe argue like five versus 50 there’s a gap and I would push back on some things, but a lot of times people have quibbles. I’ll be like, “Yeah, you know, it’s f that’s reasonable.” like you want to put beac on that category like yeah I mean you basically just missed it for me. So like if I if you’re on the same team and like we’re voting and like and you wanted to vote that way like be like yeah if I’m out vote on that one it’s it’s fine. If you want to say, “Well, you should put him ahead of strain,” we’ll be like, “Yeah, okay. Slow down there, buddy.” Like, you know, like that that’s that’s, you know, there’s so there’s, you know, there’s levels of reasonleness that I think are fine. And if you’re a Wild fan saying, “Well, he’s so freaking talented, great track record, all this stuff. He has a chance to play like, yeah, yeah, sure. Might be right.” Where are you on um Hunter Hate and Riley Height in terms of uh I think Hate’s more well-rounded like this with the skating and I think there’s could be there could be like a two-way game he has there. I think the question is that whatever he is 5’11 something like that like is it special enough to do that? But I think like there’s a path for him to be a fourth lineer who kills penalties and stuff like that. Uh Riley Hate is challenging because he’s got tremendous offense. Like his puck skills, his hockey sense are high end. Uh but he’s not big, not fast, his compete level is average. Um I think there’s going to be major questions on like is he more than American Leager? Like like you don’t see a lot of guys who make in the NHL who are not big and not who are that size and are not fast. Um, and if you’re they are they are they’re like Jonathan Marsh or so who just work their asses off every shift. And I think for height to make it he’s going to need to be that player. I don’t think he’s soft but I don’t think he’s hard. And I think that’s going to be the line for him is he needs to be a hard to play against guy every single night with his athleticism. Is there anybody on that list or maybe not on your list that might surprise people with the Wild system? like I don’t know if it’s a peon or if it’s a Richie is a newer guy obviously in the system but like who are guys that maybe might surprise people. Um I like I like the Kipky guy they drafted in the fifth round this year. He was a re-entry actually. Uh Utah not to sign him and I was quite surprised. He was one of the best defenseman in the western league the last two years. 63 Dman with like pretty impressive skills. His skating is kind of an issue but like I was I was honest honestly I try to be on top of things as much as I can. They don’t want to pretend I know everything, but I try to be on top of the prospect world. But like when the draft happened and they picked him, I was stunned. I I thought like I was I presumed Utah signed him. Couldn’t believe I couldn’t I texted Utah like in the middle of the draft. I’m like, “Why didn’t you guys sign this guy?” I was like very I was very confused. Um so that’s one to keep an eye out and one that’s obviously a little bit older. He’s probably going to play pro hockey this year. So we’ll we’ll see how it goes with him. Fair. I don’t even want to lead the witness with this question, Corey, but just general sentiments around CHL eligibility for NCAA hockey. What do you mean by that? Like, do you want What are your thoughts on what this is going to do for hockey? Like, do you think it’s a good development path? Does this I mean, how does this impact your life as far as scouting these players, too? Um, doesn’t impact it that much. I watch plenty of CHL, watch plenty of Kataki, so that doesn’t really change things that much. I mean, the USHL is getting kicked in the NADS over this. That that’s probably the biggest one because all the Canadians that would usually go there are leaving. And you can you’re even seeing a couple of guys, top players in on the NCDP going to play in the CHL right now. But I mean, for the most part, it’s, you know, I think the big concern was, is this going to really kill the CHL? Like, are they going to lose so many top talents that it waters down the league? And the answer seems to be no because they’re getting a lot of imports coming in now from both US and especially from Europe who want to go play college hockey that it’s helping their league and there, you know, for the 16 and 17 year olds that are coming in for for those years. Uh the Western League kind of got hurt a lot in this recruiting cycle. But maybe it’ll be the OHL next year or whatever kind of thing, but the Western League lost a lot of top guys to college. Um but generally doesn’t impact my life too much. It’s impacting the lives of people involved in those leagues substantially. I mean, you’re seeing like, you know, when I was at the Helinka Gretzky, I had never heard from college coaches in the course of a year as I heard from them that week, quite frankly, because they were so interested in these 17-year-old Canadians in Euros. Um, when, you know, going to CHL games towards the end of the year last season, there were a bunch of college coaches scouting CHL players. Like, that’s just just some new things happening. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it’s it’s very new. Do you think many kids bounce back before the January 10 cutoff? Yeah, it’s possible. I presume not the top kids, but it’s no I mean, there’s plenty of kids who come out of like the USHL or whatnot and try going to college and doesn’t work out very well and and and they go back. So, it’s not really much different than that. I do think it’s I know in talking to agents and talking to college coaches and CHL managers and stuff like that, I think there is definitely a worry that some people will underestimate how hard college hockey is, particularly particularly those top conferences for 18 year olds, 19 year olds to come in and be realistic about the about how much of an impact we’re going to make. I mean, we’re just talking about Strael. I mean, he was one of the top players in his age group, a top player in the NCDP. Um he goes into college in his draft year. It goes just okay after his draft year it goes terribly and he’s a good player. I think he can play in the NHL. It’s a college can be very difficult for a lot for a lot of kids. Okay. Well, kind of hard to not bring the name up since he’s on the jersey behind Scott’s uh there Marco Rossy. Um, obviously you’ve kind of followed him since before his draft year, but has he kind of reached where you thought he would end up in NHL player or is it another level for him to get to uh that he’s already shown in in kind of his time? Um, I think I think he’s he’s around there. like I thought he’d be like a second line center and whether Minnesota agrees with that assessment or not or I mean I know there’s been a lot of I’ll say there’s been some discourse about Rossi over over the last few months but I mean he’s been a highly productive player. He’s shown he can play center even if you know it’s not the level that maybe some people would want it from him. I think he’s shown that he works hard. I think he also shown he has limitations. You know he’s not big, he’s not fast. I wouldn’t call him a true play driver by any means. I think he’s going to be a I think he’s a very good player. You redo that draft, he’s going like 8 to 13, 8 to 14, like somewhere in that range still, like where he got drafted. I don’t think he’s a steal by any means, but he’s a very good hockey player. Um, he’s probably not a premium player, but that’s not really what I expected of him either to to answer your question. Fair. Um, little lead in then for our final question that we ask all of our guests. I know you mentioned it’s mostly watch a bunch of hockey, spend time with family, that’s it. Any golfing at all for you in the offseason? No, I I suck at golf. I’m right there. And it’s not And it’s not for a lack of trying. I’ve tried. I just have like no hand eye coordination. I just It’s just not the thing for me. I just don’t have the patience for it. I can’t. Oh, I definitely don’t have the patience. I absolutely don’t. I’m a workaholic. Like I spend all day on the phone checking scores, watching things like I absolutely could not do what what does a what does a full round take like what 10 hours something like that kind of thing. Like three or four hours unless you’re really bad. Okay. Yeah. For me. Okay. Even four hours like I would not have the patience to do that kind of thing. I could I could barely watch like a full baseball game or you know. So uh All right. Yeah. So no, I’m not a golfer. Final question brought to you as always by our good friends at waggleolf. First, make sure you head over to getyouwagalon.com. Throwing promo code SP10 to take 10% off your entire order. Want three names? It can be celebrity, athlete, dead or alive, anyone. Name three people that round out your dream golf forsome or really just three people you want to sit down and spend four hours with. three. Presuming that again, keep in mind in this golf course and I’m gonna be the one driving the cart and they’re they’re they’re gonna be the ones golfing. Oh. Uh would start with my favorite hockey player of all time, Peter Forsber. I’ I’d want to pick his brain a lot. Um that’s that’s that would be a good place to start. Um, I just for selfish reasons because I’ve always found whenever I’ve talked to him, he’s been just a wealth of wisdom for me in my career. Bob McKenzie. Um, just an outstanding person to deal with and and so uh kind and and knowledgeable. Uh, let’s see. for a third person. Uh just because I need we need we need some some light some some light-heartedness on there. I’ll put some like Jerry Seinfeld on there. Okay, nice. That’s a pretty good It’s a pretty good group. Got the Bob Father and that. And then you got uh Yeah, it’s a good mix. And even if it’s not golf, you could be doing something else. You could be not golf, you could be somewhere else and having a beer at a bar somewhere, right? So, there you go. But uh but yeah, no, thanks for joining us. Uh I know you obviously are busy most of the year. I’m glad you got to get got get to get away for your honeymoon there in Europe. Congratulations on that and uh talk to you uh soon. But thanks for joining us. Thanks, Joe. [Music]
Interview with Corey Pronman to break down the Minnesota Wild prospects as covered on Fellowship of the Rink Episode 80 https://youtu.be/KVRVQVo-MJc
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Minnesota Wild rank No. 14 in NHL Pipeline Rankings for 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6495345/2025/08/27/minnesota-wild-nhl-pipeline-rankings-2025/
Ranking the best NHL players and prospects under 23: Celebrini, Bedard top the list
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6506805/2025/09/02/nhl-prospects-rankings-young-players-celebrini-bedard/
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Corey Pronman Interview | Minnesota Wild Prospect Pool Rankings | NHL Draft | Buium – Yurov – Ohgren
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