Today, with the hockey season well underway across the world, I’m taking questions from readers.

Note: Submitted questions may be edited for clarity and style.

At this point, what percentage would you put on Cayden Lindstrom playing more than 100 NHL games in his career? — Brenden S.

Health permitting, at least 80 percent? Offense is a question, it was even when he was drafted fourth, but the skating/size/physicality combo is at worst third-line quality. Think a Josh Anderson type.

Are people judging Gavin McKenna too harshly at the start of his NCAA time? — Alexander H.

His production is basically the same as Adam Valentini at Michigan, who is the same age, same conference, same draft class and is a projected third- or fourth-round pick. So, no, I don’t think so. You can have reasonable discussions about your evaluation of McKenna and the relative value of a dozen games versus his body of work, but for a guy whose value is essentially his scoring, he’s not scoring enough.

It’s been interesting seeing how your prospect rankings and evaluations have changed over time. Who’s been your biggest influence in your evaluations, and how did that affect your work? – Jared M.

Probably just time. We don’t get the feedback in hockey that evaluators do in sports like basketball and football. It takes a long time for a player to develop and to determine whether you were “right” or “wrong.” I’m old enough that I’ve seen a lot of draft classes come of age, and you use that data to calibrate your valuations. Mentors in the game help too.

Lucas Raymond and Seth Jarvis have (in)arguably been the two best forwards from 2020 for the last 2 1/4 seasons. How big does the gap need to be before a winger gets drafted/redrafted ahead of a centre? Also applies to McKenna and Ivar Stenberg versus Tynan Lawrence. — Jesse J.

If it’s even somewhat close, the tie tends to go to the center or defensemen. I think teams try not to intentionally leave value on the table, though, if there’s a significant gap. Most management types tend to view it through the lens of how hard a certain player type is to acquire in the open market, and I think some would argue that you can get even a star winger more easily than an average top-line center.

What happened with the Emmitt Finnie evaluation? I get that he was on the fourth line in his draft year — how many prospects turn it around so dramatically that he’s playing first line for an NHL club? Every team and analyst missed on him — what are your thoughts, and how can it be prevented from happening again? — John D.

As you alluded to, he played on a really deep Kamloops team, but I also would not call for a hockey intervention just quite yet based on a dozen good games. He looks at least, though, like a potential middle-six winger long-term due to his compete level, and that’s huge value for Detroit.

As a first-time viewer of the U17 tournament, I thought Brock Cripps’ offensive game was incredible. Is he unique, or is there a defenseman like him every year? — Marc P.

He reminds me a lot of the Hutsons, actually.

Alexis Joseph or Gavin McKenna, if you had to choose one? — Rick A.

It would be close. I have minor questions on exactly how elite Joseph’s scoring will be despite his great U17 tournament, but I would say I’d prefer the super athletic two-way center who can score like Joseph.

Considering the blistering start Alexander Zharovsky has gotten off to, would you consider him one of the elite prospects coming up, or is the sample size too small for that jump? — Murray D.

Elite is a step way too far. Should have been a first-round pick? I can support that.

Do you think the relative lack of high-tier center depth in this draft will cause a disproportionate valuation at the position? Will we see teams reach for a center and some very good wingers drop to below where they actually rank? — Adam S.

I don’t think there are substantial center issues anymore in the 2026 class due to the emergence of Caleb Malhotra and Oliver Suvanto. I expect both to be lottery picks and at least one to go in the top 10.

What are your thoughts on Dean Letourneau’s turnaround this year? He looks like a completely different player, and it seems like people wrote him off prematurely. — Aaron H.

He’s a good player, a potential middle-six NHL forward. He clearly shouldn’t have been in college last season coming out of Ontario prep, but if this was his actual freshman season, I think there would be a lot of excitement around a 6-foot-6 forward who can skate and handle the puck like he can. For what it’s worth, I never wrote him off.

What difficulties does it present when you are scouting a stacked team like Brantford as opposed to a team that lacks talent up and down the roster? — Chris P.

There are definitely certain challenges. If a player isn’t a top-five skill type on the team, they won’t get power-play opportunities. Certain players get overrated because they’re on a good team and play with elite talents, but for the most part, I would rather have a player who’s on a winning team than a losing one.

Brady Martin returned to the OHL and scored about 2 points per game for his first few games back. He’s since gone cold on the scoresheet. As someone who doesn’t have access to OHL games, I was wondering which statistical half of his season is more reflective of his play? The hot start or the blank sheet? — Gavin D.

I’ve watched a couple of their games and can’t say I’ve been blown away by him. Offense has always been a minor question for me in his game, although I do still think he projects as a top-six forward with hardness.

Thoughts on Artyom Levshunov’s development thus far? He’s been playing a lot more minutes lately and has been getting good chances. He has eight assists in his last 10 games. — Keenan H.

Positive, but nothing too far outside of expectations. I didn’t come too far off him after an up-and-down rookie pro season. I think he’s a legit top-pair/top-PP type of defenseman who’s probably going to be an average defender.

Who’s Tynan Lawrence’s player comp? — Jackierosemunro

Sebastian Aho is the name that comes to mind.

A couple of Red Wings prospects have started the season with surprising counting numbers in their respective leagues. Far enough into the season that you can say Max Plante (NCAA) and Eddie Genborg (SHL) have raised their stock? — Matt R.

I was a Genborg fan going into the draft, so I can’t say I’m completely shocked by his play so far. I’m not all the way ready to change my evaluation of Plante yet, although if he keeps this up deep into the season/through World Juniors, it may be time to recalibrate and say he looks like an NHLer.

If we’re only talking about defensemen listed in the first round, do you prefer the 2024 draft or the 2026? — Christopher D.

2024. Keaton Verhoeff and Levshunov are analogous, but I think 2024 had more high-end talent than 2026 after the top name.

I’ve heard on the podcast before that teams’ final draft boards would shock the public with how wildly varied they can be. If that’s the case, why don’t we see more variation in the public draft boards? It seems like, by the time the draft rolls around, the consensus has become pretty strong. — Brenden S.

Beyond just asking if the player is good at hockey, some teams will emphasize certain traits much more than others, or have a strict criteria system a player has to hit to be on their list, which creates significant variance. Teams also have multiple layers to their analysis: Medicals, psych, analytics, background info, which a lot of the public wouldn’t have access to.