#TrackingTheDraft with @CraigJButton

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

 
This week's show was awesome as it was mostly about goalies. We took a look at a sure fire first rounder and some others who will be knocking on the door as well as a NCAA free agent who's nickname should be shut out. 

Jesper Wallstedt is a Swedish goalie who will go in the first round, it's just a matter of whether it's inside or outside the top 10. He's playing in the SHL right now. Sebastian Cossa is the back stop for the Edmonton Oil Kings and some have him ranked in the first round. He has massive size which scouts drool over with goalies. Triston Lennox just missed being drafted last year and despite being undrafted, he's the Toronto Marlies roster for AHL games this year, a first for me to see a situation like that. Dryden Mckay is currently stonewalling the WCHA of the NCAA. His Minnesota State Mavericks are undefeated in conference play and he has 8 shuts outs this season.

We also touched on CHL players in the AHL, NHL & UFHL expansion and some NHL rookies. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. 

Craig will be unveiling his top 5 for the 2021 NHL draft on TSN this Thursday, but today I threw some names at him that might be on that list. We discussed the great all around play that coaches crave from Dylan Guenther and Matty Beniers as well as the potential that blue liners Owen Power, Simon Edvinsson and Luke Hughes possess, which each one different from the next. 

We also chatted about the 2021 draft, the age and the potential for one exceptional player in the AHL each year. Hint, Craig railed against my suggestion!!! We discussed how good entry level contracts can be huge in the NHL and UFHL (no fans to complain about rebuilds) providing those players can play, the NHL is not a development league. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

This week we discussed the future of the 2021 NHL draft. Will it happen this year or be pushed back to next year, and what kind of format would that look like? To me the NHL has an opportunity to do the right thing by the prospects, scouts and teams by pushing it back a year and then making it a back to back weekend summer event. As for the players in 2021 we chatted about there was a common theme between Luke Hughes, Matthew Beniers and Mackie Samoskevich. We also weighed in on some of the moves Duckman's Domination made in the UFHL this week that involved adding picks and prospects that Craig recommended. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

 
Craig is freshly out of the bubble that was the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton and we recapped the tournament, from a stellar gold medal game from the Americans to some individual players excelled. 

We also discussed scouting strategies and how you need to be fluid and adaptable in your thinking if you are going to have success. We profiled 3 players from 3 different countries as we try and sort out what kind of season there might be up until the draft for prospects. 

We profiled Simon Robertsson of Sweden, Jimi Suomi of Finland and Logan Stankoven of Canada. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

 
This week Craig and I focused on the upcoming World Junior Championship. From what 2021 draft prospects to watch for to the Oilers, Flames and Canucks prospects in the tournament as we wrapped up our Canadian NHL team focus. We also discussed how trades happen and one hilarious story about a trade request to Craig when he was the GM of the Flames. We wrapped things up by chatting about some key players for a few countries who are and are not in this tournament. Craig and his TSN colleagues will have a tournament preview show on Christmas Eve. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

 
As the World Junior Hockey Championship draws closer players and coaches from different countries have been ruled out. We discussed how things will work when teams start arriving later this week to prepare for the bubble. We also looked at the tournament through the eyes of Maple Leaf and Jets fans, both teams have some serious talent and may be torn during a couple of games of who to cheer for. 

As for the three mini profiles, we looked at a big Swedish forward who you might see in the tournament. Oskar Olausson tore up the J20 league in Sweden to start the season and was quickly promoted to the SHL. Ryder Korczak just missed the 2020 draft and it gives him another year to impress scouts, which he did last year on a really bad Moose Jaw team. Sean Behrens is going to be that player that teams regret passing on because of his size. The American defenceman simply controls the game and is the type of player that allows coaches to sleep at night. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

There are plenty of concerns with Covid19 right now and the World Junior Tournament scheduled to start in Edmonton on Christmas Day, is no exception. Craig and I discussed the concerns as well as what Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senator fans have to look forward to when the teams hit the ice. 

From there we featured three mini profiles with Matthew Knies of Tri Cities in the USHL, Dovar Tinling of Vermont in the NCAA and Fyodor Svechkov of Lada Togliatti in the VHL/MHL.

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

  
The month long camp that Canada is holding for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship has been disrupted by Covid 19. Craig was attending all week and gave us the latest (though things change quickly) and what might happen in the future with the team and the tournament. We chatted about the goaltending spots and what skaters who need to stand out have. 

In our three mini profiles we looked a sniper in Brennan Othmann who has duel citizenship in Canada and Switzerland. A tenacious forward in James Malatesta who scored 20 plus goals as a rookie in the QMJHL. A skilled Swede who gets knocked for his defensive play and has Craig pulling his hair out. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

 
Craig was in Red Deer for Canada's WJC evaluation camp and we discussed how things are going as well as the coaching staff. We addressed the rumour about Kirby Dach and the Hawks pulling him out of the tournament to start the NHL season. Will Canada have last year's MVP in Alexis Lafreniere on it's roster? 

As for the three mini profiles, we looked at Kent Johnson, Luke Hughes and Kirill Kirasanov and where they might fit in for the 2021 draft. 

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.

The Stars of tomorrow are discovered here, Every Wednesday former NHL GM, Stanley Cup Champion and Director of Scouting with TSN, Craig Button and I explore prospects for the NHL Draft. From Top Shelf Talent to The Next Wave to Time Machine and more.

 
As we wait for seasons to get going we are doing mini profiles and chatting about the news in hockey. This week, it wasn't good as the  world lost Howie Meeker and Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, both had a massive impact on TV and Alex Trebek even did some narration in the 60's of some Stanley Cup matches. Craig presents a tribute to both in Jeopardy style. 

We also paid our respects to those who have fought for our freedom on Remembrance Day here in Canada and discussed Russia sending a U20 team and winning the Karjala Cup in Finland. 

The 5 players we discussed are:

Brandt Clarke - D
Stanislav Svozil - D
Carson Lambos - D
Chaz Lucius - C
Benjamin Gaudreau - G

Craig joins us each week courtesy of the UFFS Hotline, become a scout and track the same players Craig and other scouts do, join up at www.UFFSports.com and get paid for your eagle eye when it comes to future stars. Catch past episodes and individual players at www.TrackingTheDraft.ca and watch episodes on YouTube.