Jumping In On The Zach Benson Debate; Early Favorite Prospects For 2027 And More | Called Up: The Prospects Podcast

You know it's August when the hockey internet is ablaze with player debates. And Called Up was more than happy to jump into one of the most heated player evaluation discussions in recent memory. Before we get to that, though, Chris and Cam dish on their favorite players for the 2027 NHL Draft early on and the players that are intriguing for the upcoming draft season. Dima Zhilkin led the way in that discussion as the Called Up guys discuss one of the more exciting prospects for the class. After that, though, they had to dive into the discourse surrounding The Athletic's recent U23 player rankings from Corey Pronman. Chris and Cam talk about the fervor surrounding Zach Benson being ranked so low, Gabe Perreault not being ranked at all and Jacob Fowler being so low in the Habs pool rankings. Plus, don't miss our regular segments including the Called Up Challenge, Beyond Belief and a timely "You Have To Pick One." And don't forget to subscribe to FloHockey to watch top prospects all season long from leagues like the AHL, ECHL, OHL, QMJHL, USHL and so many more. Sign up ⁠here.

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Video Transcript

Hello, everybody, and welcome to Called Up the Prospects podcast.

I'm Chris Peters of Flow Hockey, joined as always by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects.

And Cam, it's, the end of summer, we're finally getting there, and how the heck are you?

How, how, how are we feeling?

Are we tanned?

Are we rested after the, the Hlinka?

Are we, are we back on track here or no, we're, we're just getting more ramped up here, aren't we?

You know me too well to be asking if I'm tan, sir.

I don't think I've ever been tan a day in my life.

True.

I have a couple different shades, white, red when I get burnt, and maybe if I get enough freckles it could look something like a tan.

Maybe get some more tattoos and it'll cover it up, and I won't look so white.

But, uh- Yeah, that's- No, we're excited.

We're excited for the year.

We're excited for the year.

It's a little quiet right now, so, so, so big thanks to, to Mr. Pronman there for, for igniting and uniting- most of the hockey world to, to give people something to talk about mid-August, eh?

Yeah, no kidding.

It is the perfect summer, summer conversation, argument, fight, what have you.

We will talk about the U23 rankings heard around the world a little later in the show.

But you know what, Cam, I just got back and I, I You know, it is the end of summer, and it is officially the end of summer because I just got back from the Iowa State Fair, which in our state is the official end of summer.

You cannot legally start school in this state until the state fair has been completed, and it has been completed.

Well, not yet.

Can I ask a question?

It'll be completed at the end of the week, but my trip there was completed.

Can I ask a question?

Please do.

Now, my, my, my maple syrup is showing here a little bit.

I've never been to a state fair, okay?

I've, I've heard, I've heard some rumors about it that there's some, some wild food.

There might be like- Yep a biggest pig con- contest or something like that.

Am I, am I- Oh, yeah am I going down the right path?

Is that, is that what's happening?

You are, you are 100% right.

The, the rumors are true.

I, I did see some of the pigs.

They were, they were big this year.

Also saw some horses.

They were, they were trotting around.

They looked good.

I was kind of like, my wife is sitting next to me.

My wife grew up in Iowa, but we, she is not a farm person either.

And, like, I'm just walking around all the pens and, like, these, like, animal enclosures and just, like, commenting as if I know what I'm talking about.

Kind of like, I guess, what I do with prospects- Scouting half the time.

So- Yeah you know, it's just like- Yeah yeah, oh, that horse right there, like, look at that trot.

That little, that little sashay right there is gonna cost them.

There's gonna be a little bit of a deduction, 'cause they do a lot of judging at these things.

There was the cow pitching, contest as well, the, yeah, so there was a lot of throwing- Cow pitching?

Of, of, of animal turds out there.

That was, that was another thing.

But when it comes to the crazy foods, let me tell you, there are a ton of crazy foods there.

How about the funnel cake fries that I had, where they were basically- Right lowered into, like, funnel cake topped with banana cream pudding, bananas, the v- like, all that stuff and, like, you're just eating them like french fries.

That was, that wasn't good for me.

The- Star Spangled Swine, a little pork on a stick there, which was amazing.

I will say, if you've never, like, if you want a real taste of Americana, go to one of these three state fairs and you will get everything you need, and that's the Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota State Fairs.

Iowa- I'm biased.

I'm, I'm not originally from Iowa, but I will take it over the Illinois State Fair, which is where I did grow up.

It is an incredible experience.

Everything you could ever want on a stick is there.

I-I-I and you just eat it right off the stick.

The foot We, we closed the night out with a foot-long corn dog.

So- Naturally but that's- Naturally let me tell you, Cam- As one will if you ever come down to the United States of America in, in the month of August, there is, stuff is happening around there.

So, uh- Big, big it was, it was a good time.

Big.

But anyway, that's enough talk about my summer adventures.

We wanna talk about more of the prospects.

We, like I mentioned, we are gonna talk about Corey Pronman, but I wanna start off on a positive note.

I wanted to start off on a way that we can, get into this draft season, because we're still feeling it.

And obviously last week we talked a ton about Landon DuPont.

Spent a lot of time on Landon DuPont.

We're not gonna talk about Landon today.

We will have plenty of time to talk about him more later.

But Cam, you came up with this idea and I really liked it.

It's like, you know, the very early guys that we're excited about for this class, the guys that are kind of our early favorites, and I wanna give you the chance to lead off, because there's a lot of players that aren't named Landon DuPont, and we've talked about it.

It's, you know, this draft is probably, you know, might be closer to average, but that doesn't mean we can't have our favorites of guys that, you know, are a certain archetype or a guy that just plays a certain way that we like.

You kick us off.

Who do you got?

Who is one of your favorite guys for 2017?

2027.

Geez, w- I'm just Time machine.

Time machine, yeah.

Okay.

So I was just talking in the Slack yesterday about this player, and I, and I, and I, and I said, he might not be the best player in the class, but he scratches a certain itch for me.

You know, one of those guys that just when you watch him you're like, "I like this guy."

So this, he, he's Dima Zhilkin.

This kid's a pit bull.

Yeah.

I really, really appreciate the way he plays, especially at his size.

Like, what is he?

I've got, you know, I think he's only like a buck 80.

5'10"ish.

5'10", 185.

Yeah.

Yeah, 5'10", buck 85.

Runs around out there like he's 6'4", 225.

Is afraid of no one.

Right.

You know, a little older for the draft class, so he had the extra OHL season under his belt, but last year, you know, 36 goals, 75 points, and 100 PIMs.

Like, this kid- Yeah as a D minus 1 was, you know, taking on anybody and everybody.

I l- I just, I love the skill, I love the pace.

I think he's got great feet.

I think that his size is probably gonna w- hold him back from being a guy that lands in the top five most likely.

But for me, he could be top five in my heart.

I, I really, I really appreciate the way this kid plays.

Y- y- yeah, and you know what?

He, he would've probably made my list, too.

I, I really like the player a lot.

I think Saginaw has, has just suddenly become a real factory of, of top prospects for the draft.

It seems like every year- Mm-hmm the Saginaw Spirit have, have gotten some, some real players, and there's gonna be another Spirit player on this list of, of early season favorites that I, that I wanna talk about as well.

But you know, Zhilkin also has the late birthdate.

It's an October birthdate.

That's always a factor, too, especially when you throw in the size and other things.

I do think that there's- Mm-hmm there's a little bit more to, to his game.

I think teams are gonna overlook some of the size com- complaints, similar to some of the guys we're gonna talk about later.

There are just some things that you can do to overcome those concerns.

Yeah.

But I would say that, you know, the other thing with, with Dima Zhilkin is, you know, with him being back at Saginaw next year, it's a chance for him to be a real leader on that team, a guy that's going to kind of- Mm-hmm carry that team a little bit.

We'll see if Klepov ends up having to go back.

If he doesn't make the Ducks, he is not eligible to go to the AHL next season according to the rules.

Mm-hmm.

So he would have to come back to Saginaw since he decided to sign his NHL contract instead of going to Michigan State.

So we'll see what happens there.

Zhilkin, you know, could have some weapons, but he doesn't need weapons.

He can drive a lot of play on his own.

He did have seven points at the Springs under 18 World Championship, where Canada kind of disappointed, but he certainly did not.

He was the best player.

And then he was- Yeah obviously too old to play in the Hlinka, but he did play at the World Junior Summer Showcase and stood out there as well.

So I, I'm, I'm with you, Cam.

I think there's a lot to like.

Anything else about, about Dima?

I think he should be on that World Junior team.

You know, obviously he's- I do too gotta go up and play.

Yeah, no question.

Right?

The first half of the season's- Yeah gonna, gonna dictate a ton here, but, but if he plays like he can play, there, there should be a spot for him.

'Cause again, you know, you wanna get back to that kind of throwback style a little bit.

Well, it doesn't matter like- Yeah how big he is.

Like, he plays that style.

Plus, he has the skill to play up and down a lineup on that team.

Yeah, I want him on that roster.

Yeah, I got, I got a lot of time for him.

I think there's, there's gonna be teams that are gonna have a lot of time for him.

And I think on a lot of early lists he'll be high.

We'll see how teams feel about him as the season progresses, and like, you know, if he's 100 and, you know, 100 plus, 110-point guy in the, in the OHL this year, I think there's gonna be a lot of extra love for him.

I'm gonna go- Mm-hmm on the other side of the border, which is not, you know, foreign to me, obviously, literally.

But I'm gonna go with Gunner Conboy.

And now Gunner had the start of the season at the Hlinka as well.

I think that I probably- Yeah wanted more from him overall in this, in, in the tournament.

But what I will say about this particular player is in this era of players kind of moving all over the place and doing things- Mm-hmm he's one of the guys that decided to stay, and this is gonna be a very interesting test case.

So he plays for the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL.

He is a massive young man, six foot four, over 200 pounds.

You know, played Minnesota high school hockey, ended up going to Green Bay last year, 21 points in 37 games.

Pretty good overall production for that level of games played.

He decided to go back to the Green Bay Gamblers.

Many other players in the USHL, whether they were draft eligible or otherwise, did go to the CHL.

So I think there is a bit- of a gamble here from, from Conboy.

But I also think that this is a player that had some real interesting kind of, you know The, the measurables are there.

I think that the way that he plays is gonna translate very well.

I think the fact that he didn't master the USHL last year but now has a chance to go into a better situation, you know, where he's a leader on the team, where he's got a chance to be a guy that's, that's a go-to guy, and then maybe we see him at the World Under 18s.

Maybe we see him at other places, depending on what his season is doing.

He is, has NHL bloodlines as well.

His dad played, in the NHL.

Tim Conboy, also played, quite a bit in Europe.

But you know, 59 total NHL games, over 465 in the AHL as well.

So you know, he's got some of those pro kind of traits, but he's gonna be one of those guys we have to watch pretty closely in terms of what is he ultimately gonna do.

The other thing that's interesting about him is he not only had the chance to go to the CHL, he also had a chance to get one of those open spots in the national team program.

Decided to stay with Green Bay.

So he's gonna be one to watch for sure.

Probably the most important draft prospect for the USHL this season, and a guy that I think, you know, is gonna pull a lot of scouts into the Fall Classic, gonna pull a lot of scouts into Green Bay over the course of the season.

And that is, you know, ultimately a good thing for the USHL.

Yeah.

Excuse me.

Interesting, like you mentioned how he, he, you know, de- the decision to stay with Green Bay is that, like I had heard that he was offered a spot with the program, too, and he also turned that down.

Yeah.

So that not only is he- Yes not jumping leagues, but he wa- he wasn't interested in jumping teams, either, to the program, which kind of speaks to where that program is at right now, too, I, I think.

But, but he's an interesting player, I agree.

I, I was, I was hoping for a little more dominance from him.

You did see some of that physical stuff- For sure pop a little bit, and, and like he had some energy, and you'd get in there, and he'd run around on the forecheck a little bit.

I mean, the, the standout moment is that goal celebration, right, in the gold medal game where they're down a few and he, and he, and he sold it like it was an OT winner.

I mean, I like- I didn't care.

I did joke, I was like, "Well, that's a, that's a that's a hearty celebration for that goal there."

Yeah, it was a little, it was a little bit.

Yeah, yeah.

A little freeze tap.

You know, yeah, it wasn't even a snipe off the rush or something sick.

But that's all right, that's all right.

He's, he's apparently he's got some personality this one.

He's, he's got a little pizzazz.

So, yeah, I- it, it's an interesting class because of there's a lot of big bodies this year I feel like.

I feel like the- Yes it's a bigger first round than we normally see, and, and he's gonna be one of those guys.

Yeah, and yeah, it is, is bigger and I, and then we look and we see the guys like Dima Zhilko and we see some of the other guys that we're gonna talk about that are- Yeah are not as big, and then, you know, that are the more skilled guys, but then that's the, the debate that's gonna be had over the course of the season is, is are those guys gonna translate better than the bigger guys that might have a little bit more, pro, you know, pro capabilities.

But, you know, I think that there's gonna be a lot, a lot of eyes, on that.

And, you know, I, I did mention last week, it's not an incredibly strong class for American players this year, but- Yeah we're gonna stick with the US in your next favorite- Yeah which I, I think is another guy that, that I'm very intrigued to watch over the course of the season to see where this goes.

But tell us who you got on your list for, for another favorite for you.

Well, it's interesting because like you were just saying how, you know, there is the, you know, I was saying there's a lot of big guys and you're like, yeah, and there's a lot of smaller guys, but it's like, is this, are we seeing like the erasure of, not the middle class, but the middle size?

Are we, or is this, are this the- It seems that way age groups we're starting to see?

Maybe, but, and here we are, I'm about to talk about a middle-sized player, so maybe not.

Carter Meyer.

Carter Meyer, what do we got here?

6'1, 176.

Like, it's a little undersized maybe, a little on the- Yep smaller side of, of average.

But, I, I think I, I've got a lot of time for this player, right?

Like, obviously he's one of the ones who departed the program, the biggest name, you know, arguably to, to take off there, in, in ever.

So, that team was difficult to watch last year, right?

Difficult to, to really pull like what we're expecting from these guys and, and so, you know, his numbers don't really jump off the page, even on that U18 team, you know, he's under a point a game.

You know, the U17- Yeah he was just over a point a game.

So not like earth-shattering numbers that you'd see from a player that you'd project to be like a top five, top 10 pick.

But, I think he has that level of skill to him.

The flashes are really, really high end, I think.

And so the move now to- Yes to the Remparts and the Q is, is it's gonna be fascinating.

It's gonna be fascinating.

I said this about Lexi Joseph last week and, and, and I'll say it about Carter Meyer here, it's like you best be putting up points this year.

Like, there is gonna be no- Big time way to hide.

Like, if he goes out and puts up 55 and 54 or something like that, that's not cutting it, right?

Like, you gotta go big time hunting.

Your 90 plus, 100-point season.

Like, he needs to really, really juice it up for it at his size to justify being one of the top centers taken.

But I think he has that level.

I think he has that level o- of creativity, of puck skills.

I saw, you know, interior play from him at the, at the 18s in Slovakia- Yeah last year where I got to see him, you know, live whatever, four or five times there.

He's a, he's a player that really intrigues me with his skill and his speed.

Yeah.

He, he intrigues me too, and I, and you look at that Quebec Remparts team and, and what they're gonna- Mm-hmm look like here, and, and having Carter Meyer added to that mix is, is hugely important, but they are returning Maddox Dagenais, they are returning Nathan Quinn.

Yeah.

So you've got NHL prospects- He's gonna have some help on your roster that are coming back at the forward position.

You've also got Carter's o- older brother Freddy, and they are the sons of- Yeah Freddy Meyer, who played in the NHL.

And so, you know, you've got that.

There's also other guys that, you know, Ovcharov was a guy that I ranked, did not get drafted, but I think that's another guy that's gonna help you- you know, help you kind of put up points.

The Remparts are gonna be a, a real force to watch in the Q this season.

I mean, there, there, there are gonna pr- potentially be teams that are right there, but you look at the roster and the aggressive moves that Simone Gagne has made as their general manager, drafting Carter Meyer, drafting, um- Mm-hmm James Scannellberry, who is also draft eligible this year.

Mm-hmm.

Who went, who was committed to go to the USHL, played for the Chicago Steel last year, did ultimately decide to sign with Quebec this year.

Um- Yeah there's a lot of intrigue in terms of what Simone Gagne is doing in Quebec City right now, and so I'm really excited to see what that looks like, especially with Carter Meyer because as you mentioned, you know, the numbers for the NTDP, and I think that this was another thing last year that hurt a number of players, numbers were down across the board for all players of the program.

And so you're kind of like sa- trying to say, w- you know, how do we judge that relative to the histor- history of the program?

You look at guys like, you know- Yeah Gabe Perreault, Will Smith, that were putting up the, the historic numbers, but they had each other and, and Ryan Leonard to play with.

I mean, those guys were making history, whereas it's been harder for tho- for those players this year.

Will he be better off in that situation?

It kind of remains to be seen.

But I, I do think that the, the intrigue that Carter Meyer has as a player that's kind of emblematic of this new era of hockey, he's gonna be a case that not just us are watching for the draft, but, but, but otherwise as well.

And one note too about him is that World Under 17 Challenge performance, which we saw a lot of good performances at U17 Challenge that haven't necessarily translated to the older tournaments yet.

We're t- talking about Alexi Joseph- and some others that, that had great tournaments there.

But that was a moment where we said, "Okay, Carter Meyer, he's starting to show he's a little bit more of the guy."

and so- Mm-hmm I think there's still that in him as well.

So any other thoughts on him just in terms of like also just this era that we're in of these players like, you know, moving around and doing all this other stuff, you know, trying, you know, is it more important to raise your draft stock or do you also feel like there's like a developmental benefit for, for doing this?

I think it's, I think it's I think it's twofold.

Now for obviously the players that are out east there and are playing in the program, like a lot of them have their ties to the, to the Q, and I, I think that that- Just for where we are in, in the landscape is that I'm sure guys would like to go to the West or the O instead, and so that might hinge some of these decisions.

But I, but I do, like with what you were saying with Simon Gagne is like we're gonna see that more often.

We're gonna see Q teams- Yeah being like, "I'm gonna take the best American players that are supposed to be at the program and going to college, and we're gonna hope they're gonna come here 'cause they're gonna wanna jump ship."

And we, we talked about this in the summer before we went on break too is that, like if you're Carter Meyer, and last year you're playing on that U17 and U18 teams, and it's like you're just, you're, you're not playing for anything all year, right?

You're not, you're not playing- Right for a championship until the U18s, and then you've got new guys on your teams where you, you can look across the way here and see the CHL players that are like battling for something, battling for a league title, going to the Mem Cup, like really invested in stuff.

And so I, I think it's hard for them.

You know, same with like the rink, like they don't get a ton of fans, it's an older rink.

Like you can go and like, oh my goodness- Right but you go across the border here and, and these guys are selling out 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 person arenas on a Friday night and like having a good time.

And, and so I, I do.

The schedule's bigger and longer.

It's, there's a lot of development, but also like I think just like hockey experience too.

Experience, yeah.

That the program has kind of lost a bit of a, a bit of that in, in recent times here, and that the CHL still offers that.

And you know, some of the top USHL teams still offer that too.

Right.

Right.

Yeah, no, yeah, it's, it's, it's interesting.

And I think the other thing that's kind of the Q, so like for those that don't know, the Q and the O and the Dub all have their US territories in addition to the provincial- Yeah territories that they have.

And so, you know, the, Quebec had typically really struggled to add American players because the eastern seaboard of the United States is very much college focused.

And so for many years it wasn't even possible to go to the Q.

But they are, in terms of proximity, like it's actually in a lot of cases closer to home for some of those guys to play in the Q as opposed to playing in the Midwest in the USHL, which has made some of those players, you know, like all of a sudden their parents have a different option for them.

We also know that, you know, the Q, the O and, and you know, less so the Dub 'cause they're already more prominent there is, you know, looking for that US expansion, which has a ton of complications- Mm-hmm tied to it.

Mm-hmm.

And we still have to wait and see exactly what will happen with that.

But that's, I mean, that's the other thing is now the sh- the tide has shifted and we've seen a lot more Americans.

I mean, Moncton has feasted on American players these last couple of years.

Quebec, you know, the- Yeah the Remparts, even though in a predominantly French-speaking area, are still managing to attract 'cause they have the arena, they have the facilities, they have all those things to, to promote.

And then the other thing- Yeah that didn't hurt Quebec's opportunity is Freddie Meyer had a great experience last year there, and now all of a sudden the brother- is like, "Hey, that looked pretty fun."

So, there are a lot of things there.

People play with your brother.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right, we're gonna- We're done we're gonna do one more American on our list here, and then I'm gonna let you go across the pond so that we can talk about some of, a- another class of intriguing Swedes.

But I, I do wanna stay with one more American, and this is a guy that I think will probably go, you know, he, he's not a lock for the first round by any means.

He's a guy that has, you know, it- he's gonna have to do some work, but i- he's an undersize, you know, a under six foot defenseman, which we talked a lot about with, with, with Landon DuPont last week.

This one is Levi Harper, and Levi Harper also played for the Saginaw Spirit last season, and this is why I'm intrigued by him.

When you look at the draft minus one production for among U18 players, Levi Harper had 57 points in 68 games last year, which was an exceptional level of production.

A number of guys that have put up, you know, more points than him and had a similar points per game rate did reach the NHL.

And, and so like we talked, he, he was in our called up challenge last week.

Tony DeAngelo was a guy who had 58 points as a draft minus one.

You know, Chris Pronger had 62 points as a draft minus one.

Drew Doughty was the big outlier with 74, 74 points as a draft minus one.

But like, you know, Levi Harper is in the top 10 of that list of players.

Mm-hmm.

And so he's-- I, I like his feet, I like his mobility on the blue line, I like his ability to walk the blue line.

I like what he does, you know, with the puck.

I do think that there's gonna have to be, you know, a more, you know, a more steady defensive game.

He did play for the U18s last year at the Under 18 World Championship, but they didn't really use him, and that was, you know, I felt like- that was a bit of a misstep there.

I thought that he had some, some capabilities that they could have used a little bit more.

Offensively gifted, tremendous vision.

I like the way that he pops into plays.

You know, he's a Shattuck-Saint Mary's alum as well.

We know how those guys have, have, have continuously matriculated up the ladder.

And he's a Florida native, which is kind of cool on top of that.

So, you know, you just got a little bit of, things.

He's a Tampa boy.

And so, another guy that is old for the draft class, so that's another factor, older and undersized.

I don't know.

Any thoughts from you, Cam, on, on this particular player?

I mean, y- you're, you're less e- you're less enthused it appears.

Y- you know, he not, not necessarily.

I, I agree, I wish he had more ice there at the U18s.

I, I've seen him shake and bake.

Like he's- Yeah, he can do it.

Yeah he's certainly intriguing on the line, right?

Like he can walk that line.

He can do some fun, fun stuff.

I, I, you know, I think his handling is, is pretty, pretty high end, 6.5, maybe a 7 handler.

Yes.

It's, it's the physical game, the physical tools- Correct and, and kind of that gumption that is, that is like, ugh.

You, you know, I have all these conversations with, with kids I coach and with my kid too.

It's like you can, you can like, you can overcome deficiencies in your game, right?

Like if you're not super smart, you can still pull it off if you're speedy or you have like a separating skill, right?

Or if you're not super fast, you can still if you have a separating skill.

But when you're a smaller D and you don't have that competitiveness, that really, that- Like honestly, I think it comes down to competitiveness.

It, it really makes it difficult because you could have special feet- For sure you could have special hands, but you have to compete to get the puck, and you're gonna get just like blasted into the end boards a bunch too, and you're gonna have to like just take that and move along, right?

Like you're, no one's that elusive that they're never gonna get hit.

And if they are, they're super competitive looking to get the puck and, and move out of those zones too.

So that's what I need to see from him.

I, I need to see more- Right competitive fire a- and, and, and, and battle and, and, you know, not get chasing and, and kind of take lazy decisions in, in zone in the defensive zone.

Right.

Definitely.

I think like that's the thing.

There, there's no question that's, that's gonna have to improve.

I think that that's the easier part to improve.

You've gotta find it.

It's, it's not everybody does it, but that's more of a- Mm-hmm mentality thing to me.

Yeah.

Where that can be kind of shaped and changed.

And if you don't do it, then you suffer the consequences.

What is a lot harder to acquire is those higher end offensive traits, the vision, those things.

Yeah.

And so like that's a thing where I'm like, "Hey, you know what?

Let's see what he's got cooking.

Let's see what he can do with it, with that."

So yes, his is definitely with a caveat of there needs to be improvement in those core areas of the game, but I, I like what he can do.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, fair enough.

All right.

Sorry.

Yeah, he'll be, he'll be fun to watch this year.

Yeah.

Yeah, fun to watch.

I think he's gonna point up a ton.

Right?

In a D node.

And then it's just gonna be a matter of figuring out- Yeah you know, where he goes.

But, but Cam, let's bring this, let's bring this segment home by heading outside of, of North America.

Who you got next on your list?

Yeah, there's a, there's a few Euros.

You know, I was th- I was thinking about doing Joost Wanders, but then I was like, "Ah, he's probably too high profile-" Yeah "at this point."

But I, I like that kid too.

But, this is another one who, who I watched at the U18s live there in Slovakia who really stood out for me.

A- as one of the underage kids, I mean, he's a late birthday, but he was a D minus one last year, was another Meyer, and this is Bosse Meyer.

B-O-S-S-E, Bosse Meyer.

Some guys call him Bo, some guys call him Bosse.

Um- You know, when Anderson went down, they strapped a C on him to, to finish up that tournament.

I thought that was really telling, like he was already a leader on that team wearing an A, and you can see by the way he plays.

Like another guy who's not super big, 5'10", I think he's a little bit lighter too.

What do we got here?

168.

That kid is fearless.

Yeah.

You know, he's, he's a two-way center and he's like, he, I think, you know, he puts a lot of emphasis on getting low in the defensive zone and really battling for pucks and doing all that good stuff.

Then you look at the offensive skill.

Like it's not elite.

He doesn't have elite stuff, but like it's good, good stuff.

Like I think his brain is really high.

Yeah.

I think his handling's good.

I think he's got good passing game.

He's got a good shot.

Like 37 points in 31 games in the U20 last year, tops among all D minus ones.

You know, right there on production with Nordmark, you know, like a, on a, on a, not on a per game basis I guess, but you know, hanging out there with Aaron Molson, all these guys that are a, a draft class ahead of him.

So he's, playing for Frolunda, good program there.

I think he's one of these guys that again, he's, he's a little small, 5'10", and a little under, underweight, but he has the skill, he has the competitive nature that it's, it's one of those guys that's probably slipping into the 20s, into the 30s, but has like legitimate NHL upside, and just one of those guys that I, I really enjoy the way he plays.

Yeah, I, you know, he, I, I liked him too.

I think there's, I think there's some, something going on with some of these, these Swedish, you know, undersized centers that they, they, they grab your attention, no question about it, you know?

Mm-hmm.

I think that he's certainly not, you know, we're not gonna compare him to our guy Viggo, but we are gonna compare him to- No, we're not you know, just the, the, the guys like could he be a s- could he be an Otto Stenberg kind of player?

Could he be a, you know- Yeah could he be even more than that?

You know, those are, those are the things.

And, and Stenberg, I, I like, I like Otto quite a bit too, you know, just in terms of the way that he plays or, you know, like a Noah stlund or something of that nature.

Those guys have found ways to be effective, and we'll see where, where or, where Bosse goes with it.

But I think, you know, you look at, he'll, he'll probably get some games, you know, with the pro team this year, as well.

Mm-hmm.

And, and I'd like to see kind of how he handles that, 'cause really in the end that's, that's a big factor, and you look at why, why did Viggo Bjrk go as high as he did?

Well, he ended up basically showing that he could do all the things he was doing against the juniors, against the pros, and then also even could do it at the world championship level.

And that's, that, that goes a long way.

So I like the player too.

I think it is gonna be a really intriguing year for Sweden in general.

I think there are gonna be some guys that we're gonna see pop as the season kind of goes along.

But yeah, I mean, you know, it is interesting to me though, Cam, like especially in the early things, it's not really surprising a lot of the guys that we talked about are late '08s.

And so like that's the- Yeah those are the guys that are, you know, with the, with the exception of Conboy, those are the guys that might not have necessarily the runway, but they are the guys that have the experience to have a really great season to show what they can, you know, w- why they're, they're ultimately in this lane.

But an- any other closing thoughts on this, on this 2027 group?

'Cause we're gonna be obviously talking about them all year, but anything else that, that jumps to your mind kind of as we, as we wrap this segment?

You know, coming off Hlinka there, it was like the 28s really were shining and, and there were obviously some standout 27s too, but I, I'm, I'm a little reinvigorated after watching some more tape.

Like I'm excited.

I'm excited for the class.

I think there's gonna be, I think there's gonna be enough interesting players that are gonna have a wide range of opinions, and I'm probably gonna have really strong opinions on.

That makes it fun.

That makes it fun.

So it's like I, I'm really- Yes gonna believe in a player that someone else doesn't and other, you know, that, that, that's, that's where, that's where you can kind of justify your work and, and defend it a- and have like that tangible- Yes evidence in, in your, your own scouting background too.

So, yeah.

I, I'm looking, I'm looking forward to the class.

I'm looking forward to digging into it more and getting away from D minus one tape too, so we, let's get some, let's get some fresh stuff.

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, we're getting ever closer.

I mean, CHL training camps are opening, you know, this week.

A lot of the rookie camps have opened and then the, the, the players will be getting back.

The full rosters will be getting back before those guys.

Some of them will be going off to NHL rookie camps.

I mean, we are Less than a month away now from NHL rookie tournaments.

There are fewer this year than there have been, or smaller ones as well, not as many of those, like, multi-team events that we've seen over the last few years.

But we'll still get a chance to get a good look at some of these prospects, as they come through, the guys that were just drafted.

So, it is really starting to ramp up.

We are gonna continue to have a lot of those conversations.

But we wouldn't be a prospect show, Cam, if we weren't talking about the biggest topic right now, and we can thank our friend Corey Pronman and his U23, rankings for basically exploding the hockey internet in the dog days of summer.

And the vitriol, towards Corey and the rankings and everything else is one thing.

Obviously I think we're gonna approach it in a more respectful manner than some people might do on social media.

But we are gonna You know, I think it's worth talking about.

So what were some of the things that stood out?

Well, one, you know, a lot-- I think the thing that's been the most frequent, argument has been about Zach Benson.

Now, we should mention before we start it, Corey ranks the top U23 players.

That means prospects and NHL players, whether or not they, you know, that, that's If they're under 23, they're eligible for the list, and then that gives you an idea of who's on there.

So it's not just a prospects list.

We're not But, but you're still trying to judge the players based on their longer term projection as opposed to what's happening now.

But what's happening now matters.

So Zach Benson of the Buffalo Sabres, Cam, was ranked- Mm-hmm 124th, the 124th best player.

This has gotten I've, I thought, I didn't know if this, how, how people would react outside of Buffalo, but people have reacted outside of Buffalo.

The s- the Sabres fans are certainly among the loudest.

Let's start there.

There are a couple others that we'll get to, but let's start there.

That seems to be the one that has, has driven the most, outrage I, I suppose.

124th overall for Zach Benson, who currently has 101 career points in 211 games played, was the number 13 overall pick in 2023.

Thoughts on that?

Listen, it's, I've spent a lot of time with Corey on the road.

We all have dinners together.

Heck, he, he gives me lifts in, in his car sometimes when we're going from rink to rink.

Like, I, I, I've spent a lot of time with Corey.

I, you know, respect the work that Corey does.

This is indefensible.

It's, it is, and I'd say it to his face.

I'll see him next time.

I'll say it next time.

It's, it's simply indefensible.

And it's, you know, I'm a little more biased too because I was someone who ranked Zach Benson fifth overall in his draft class, and felt like 13 was a slide and a mistake, and, you know, I'm feeling pretty good about that take, you know, a few years later here already.

Um- Yeah when you're looking at that ranking and you have a player like him who's already a 50-point player in the NHL at, what, 21, you know, putting up points in the playoffs.

You can say it was against bad teams or playoff teams.

Like you said, you were generational in that clip.

That was great.

It's, it's, y- y- you know, if you got, you got him at 124, you've got Jack Nesbitt at 43.

Like, you, y- I- Right I understand that you, you're looking at this as a, like, "Oh, who's gonna be the best player at 28?"

Y- you know, you've got David Edstrom at 41.

Y- there, there's just, there's just no way to justify these rankings for a player that is already in the league and producing at a pace, at a f- at a, not a pace, playing at a 50-point player already, and he's moving.

The trajectory is only going up.

He impacts the game right now at the NHL level.

He's going to continue to impact it at a greater level as he moves along.

This is how sport works, unless an injury gets in the way.

And you're, and you're ranking a player 100 spots ahead of him who, who, you know, single digit goals in the American League, who's maybe gonna play 100 games in, in the NHL.

Like, it's just, I just, there's, there's too many things on that list that I really don't think they can be defended, and I think that's why there's been such outrage.

Like you said, you were surprised that, that people outside of Buffalo really cared about Zach Benson that much, and it, it's like I think that they care more about just, like, the integrity of these lists.

And, and that speaks to what credibility Corey has built over these last 15 years doing this, right?

15 plus years.

Like, he was- Yeah kind of the OG at this, right?

Like, and there's a reason for that.

Like, he did a lot of work.

He has a lot of good connections.

Like, he's been to these events dozens of times.

People has t- you know, have really trusted his word, and I think that that, that, that's a hit.

That's a hit, you know?

Like, to, to, for people, the fans of his work, that they're like, "Well, how do you defend this?"

Yeah.

And I, you know, I think, so, you know, on "The Athletic Hockey Show" we kind of did that.

You, you mentioned it.

We talked kind of about, you know, it was myself, Scott Wheeler, Max Boltman, Corey, talking about this, this list in particular.

So I had, I had advanced notice, and we knew where the trigger points were gonna be for, for fans.

Mm-hmm.

And this was one that, you know, I think we more intensely debated more than anything on that show, because part of it is, is that the question about how a player performs in the playoffs, I think really looms large in Corey's, decision-making.

Like, like how players you can win with.

And whether or not, you know, like I, I think there's also a, a, an amount of probability work that's going on there.

But as w- as I said in the, in the clip that people are, are, are distributing now, is that we saw it in the playoffs.

We saw that it worked in the playoffs.

Doesn't matter who you played.

He had nine points in 13 games, and he's a bulldog.

You know, I mean, I think that the thing that, that Zach Benson does, and I think we-- it's important to talk about what he is as a player and why, you know, even Scott and myself were, were pretty adamant about it, was that he plays the style that you have to play at his size and at his skating to be effective.

The thing that we do when we're making these lists, one of the things that I feel like we, we, we have to try to do, and what everybody should be trying to do, finding the guys that are the outliers relative to what their archetype or what their size or what their makeup says they should be.

And there are ways that players can advance that, and I think in, in Zach Benson's case, it's a hockey sense and it's a compete thing at the same time because the hockey sense is remarkable.

And his anticipation ability and his ability to read the game.

There are going to be things that he physically cannot do on the ice that David Edstrom probably could, but David Edstrom doesn't think the game at that level.

Doesn't think And that's not us trying to slight David Edstrom.

This is just Zach Benson is a, is a high-level hockey thinker.

And so that's one where I just got my haunches up on because I feel like he has, he has proven it.

And I do think that you have to go with some of the evidence that is there.

And the thing is, like, you know, I'm not saying anything to the audience that I haven't already said to Corey as well.

Um- Mm-hmm and we have these debates internally.

I- we've had tense dinner arguments.

And I will say this, like, Corey is one of- Yeah my, like, closest friends.

So, like, people think, like, I hate him based on what I just did to him on that podcast.

That's not true.

I can have respectful- You were at his wedding last summer conversations.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I, I mean, like, you know, we're- Yeah yeah, we're, you know, we're, we're, we're tight.

And, and the thing is, is that, you know, I, I said it, we argue like brothers would argue about this stuff, so it gets intense in that way.

So you know, I think that that's kind of the other thing, too, that, that I wanna make clear.

But this also brings me to another player, and we'll, we, we can include Benson more in this conversation, but the other guy, you know, like, one of, one we had, this was like two podcasts ago with Corey that I did, where I had a really impassioned debate about Gabe Perron.

Um- And Gabe Perron doesn't have the track record that Zach Benson does at the NHL level yet.

And, and this even may be a place where I think there's, there's a wide array of opinions on Gabe Perron as well.

So before I do that, so Gabe Perron was not on the list for, for the, for when, when, you know, Corey obviously ranked the, the teams and their prospect systems, but Per- Perron was not on the list at all.

Did that get you as riled up as it did me?

Again, I like Gabe Perron.

I had him quite high that draft year.

I wish I, let's pull it up.

I think I had him, like, 12.

I had him 12.

I had him 12 in the draft year because again, like, there's, the brain is such a separator for him.

Yeah.

Right?

The feet and the size are an issue.

This one, this one doesn't get me as upset, not nearly as upset as, as Zach Benson.

I won't lie.

None of this really gets me upset, but it, it's fun to talk about.

Um- Yeah but it doesn't, you know, like- It doesn't affect our lives.

Like, if you No, no, I'm not losing sleep over this.

If the thing about Zach Benson is that he's such a dog, right?

He's such a dog, and he's already doing it in the NHL, and he's thriving at it, and it's like when he puts up 75 points in a year or two, no one's gonna blink.

Like, that's what we're expecting to happen.

Now we're talking about a pointy game guy who plays like a dog.

Like, he's fearless.

He's absolutely fearless.

And I think he's got maybe a little screw loose because he shouldn't be running around like he does, but he loves it.

He loves it, too.

Gabe Perron's not like that.

Gabe Perron's not like that.

So if you, like, firmly believe that, like, a smaller, slow, skilled, smart guy like Perron isn't going to impact in the, in the playoffs in the middle of his career, in the peak of his career, I could actually have time for that.

I can listen to that and I don't think that's I think that's defensible.

Now, should he be on this list?

Yes, he should be.

He should absolutely.

Should he be the sixth- Yeah or seventh ranked prospect or U23 guy for the Rangers?

Absolutely not.

You know?

And, and that's, but, but I, I think there's a middle ground that we could find and we could argue over.

Yeah.

I think he went too far on the extreme, but it's, but again, he could find a way to defend himself because, because also Perron has improved even though, what did he get, like, 25 points last year in, like, 45 games?

A pretty decent start to the NHL career.

I'm a, I'm a Gabe Perron fan.

It's like- so again, like, I'm fighting on that- Yeah side of the coin here.

But he's not like Benson.

Right.

I mean, I, I look at him- He's not that guy that you're just like, "You can't-" Yeah "you can't defend that."

He's a player.

He's a player in the playoffs.

He's like, he's what you want your sixth- Right or third guy to play like that doesn't always do it.

Right, and this is one of the reasons why I wanted to include Perron in this discussion because he is a bit of a different animal.

Like- Yeah you know, but my, my thing with him is I think, you know, if you look up and down that list, I might be able to count in single digits the players that have better hockey sense, offensive sense than, than Gabe Perron has.

You know, like I, I think it, it's, it's, it's among the top players in his age group and probably among players in that, you know, that U23 segment.

And you know, 27 points in 49 games, that's a better start to a rookie season than Nikita Kucherov, which I brought up on the, the thing a couple years ago, and I was like, here's the thing.

You know, like Nikita Kucherov looking at him doesn't look He, he doesn't get He wouldn't have gotten you excited even though he had this elite, elite, elite hockey sense, and clearly had the hand skills, and it clearly And, and I will say, like, Kucherov has more jam.

He's got more of that kind of like just, like, he, he almost kind of like, I, I believe Dwight Schrute once called Angela evil like a hobbit.

That's kinda what he reminds me of in that way is like that he's, Angela from The Office.

I guess that's my player comp for him.

But you know, he's got this intense, brain that, for the game and I think what Gabe does, and the thing is, is like 27 points on that Rangers roster pretty darn good.

Mm-hmm.

You know, I, I, I think that that was, for, for a guy that, you know, had started the season in the AHL, and both the Rangers and the Wolf Pack last year really struggled, you know, to score.

And so, you know, for him to be able to be a guy that, that could do that, is, is exciting.

And I, I think, like, that's the thing, though.

You will absolutely find NHL scouts who have zero time for him.

Like zero.

You know, I, I mean, that's why he went as low as he did, despite the fact that he was the record-setting player at the National Team Development Program.

So that's one where you say, "All right, w- that, the jury is still out."

A- and I agree with you.

Like, the argument with Benson is different because we have a lot more evidence that suggests that he's there.

But there were, like, other things in there, too, and it's just, again, it comes down to, you know, you have y- you can like who you like and everything, and you can have your set of standards, but I do think that we have to leave room in what we do, even within our own processes, to allow these players to exist, in terms of, like, there are going to be guys that are outside of the archetype that does Like, there are plenty of players that have great hockey sense that only became, you know, high-level AHL players and didn't make the NHL.

Those are players you leave off the list.

I don't think you leave guys off that, that have that elite tool that Gabe, Gabe Perron has.

There's one other guy, too, that I know.

Like, we could have probably gone pick by pick if we wanted to but since Corey's not here to defend himself, I don't wanna do it that way.

But another guy from that same 2023 draft, Jacob Fowler, was another player that a lot of- Mm-hmm people got their haunches up about.

Goalies are a little bit more challenging, but I do understand why.

I, it, I know Habs fans think that Corey, is out to get them specifically.

But, you know, he did have three of their players in the, his top 11, I believe.

So, so I don't think he's out to get them, but there was obviously a wide disagree- disagreement on where Fowler ended up kind of even relative to, among Habs prospects.

What do you got there, Cam?

Any- anything, like, you know, like, so he has Fowler, projected as an NHL backup.

What do we think?

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Well, I think that's pretty light on it.

I think it's pretty light on, on what we've seen from Jacob Fowler so far.

I mean, he put up- Right elite numbers in college.

Corey Schneider- Yes Thatcher Demko-like numbers there at BC, right?

Yes.

And then he steps into the pros, like I should have it up here in front of me here.

Dude had a .908- I got it in the NHL.

He had a .908.

Yeah, .916.

That's pretty good.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's just a cup of coffee.

And then a .916 in the American League as a rookie pro at 21.

He's not 5'11".

He's 5'11", 6'0".

I'm like, all right, you can defend that.

Dude's 6'2".

Pedigree.

Yeah.

Gold medals.

Producing as a pro.

He's- Goaltender already.

Yeah.

Looks like a starter to me.

Looks like a guy who projects to be- He's- a good starter, too.

Top of the, you know, half of the league starter.

That's the thing.

I think for me, like, I think that Fowler has elite hockey sense for a goalie as well.

That's the other thing.

Yeah.

I think, like, hockey sense for goalies is such a critical thing.

He just knows how to play.

And, and- Knows how to play so if you're a Montreal Canadiens fan, you know, I, I think that you have They're in an interesting conundrum right now, 'cause you had Dobesh k- kind of surprised everybody with his rapid ascent.

Yeah, coming out of nowhere.

But the other thing that's remarkable to me about Jacob Fowler is unlikely we'll see him in the AHL next year.

He's, like, had 38, or 30 total career AHL games, not including the playoffs where he played eight games with Laval last year in the postseason.

30 games, that's not a lot of runway.

A lot of guys spend more time.

Most goalies spend more time- Yeah in the AHL at, uh- Yeah by the time they're there.

And the, the thing about it is he's 21.

We continue to see some of these goalies at 20, 21, 22 rising to the NHL faster.

He, it- Mm-hmm.

They do it because, and, and a lot of them seem to have played either college or were Russian, essentially.

European pro.

That's, that's basically- Yeah, yeah where you're at.

So, so, like, you know, you've got Dobesh who played at Ohio State, you've got Jacob Fowler who played at Boston College, and these guys are coming in ready.

Um- Mm-hmm it didn't, like, the Sabres tried to do it with Devon Levi.

They skipped a step.

They did.

And that- Yeah you know, unfortunately for him, I feel like set him back, and it also- Mm-hmm created an insane level of expectation that wasn't ultimately fair, and now he's a member of the Edmonton Oilers, I believe.

So, you know, like, that's where, where things can kind of go wrong.

I think that right now the only problem Montreal has is how much time can you give both Dobesh and Fowler, and I think ultimately- Keep developing if I'm looking long-term, Fowler's my guy.

So I think he's the goalie of the future there.

Yeah.

I wanna close this out just kind of by talking about, like, it, we all have different philosophies.

There are, we all have different value things that we, that we look at, and I think the thing is, is that when we have these debates and when we have these discussions, we're often talking about why our philosophy might be the correct one.

The thing is, is none of us- Mm-hmm has the secret formula and all of us have differing opinions on things.

Cam, I guess just for you, like, as you're building lists, what is kind of like the defining quality?

What is the thing that, like, you're like, you know, there's, there's, there's a mix of wanting to s- you know, I, I don't wanna get into what I say, but I, just, like, when you're building a list for your audience, what are the things that are going through your mind in terms of the, the things that you're gonna go?

'Cause th- this isn't about Corey, this is simply about us.

This is more about how we would, we do things and why we're gonna have these differences of opinion.

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

A- a- and scouts in the NHL differ in their opinions greatly, right?

Like, in-house between organizations, you know.

Yes.

You and I, we've been on shows for years.

Well, way before this one started, this was kinda spawned this was you, you We would go on these debate shows and we'd pick players that we felt differently about, and then we'd go toe-to-toe.

It, it's, it's fun.

Yeah.

It's fun.

Like, that's how you learn.

It is.

That's how you he- like, I love to hear other people's opinions on what they value and, like, on a player that I really, really like, and they point out some flaws, or a player that I don't like so much and they point out some positives.

You know, like, I want those things.

I want all that information.

So that's, that's what makes this, you know, such a uniting kind of m- m- microcosm of humanity on the hockey side of things.

Like, we're just this, we're just this weird little group that loves to watch these young, young raw players and project, and, and we're, we're gambling a little bit on it, too.

So when I'm making a list, you know, it's, it's, it's evolved so much over the years.

I look back at some of my, my previous lists from years and years ago, and I'm like, "Ooh, gosh, I must have got lucky on a few of these," because, like, my process was so far, you know, removed from what it is now.

And so now I'm, like, debating players, I'm looking at them, you know.

Who would I pick, right, if it came down to these two players, if it came down to these two players?

Who do I project, like we're talking about with what Corey did?

Who's gonna be the guy who maybe puts up points in November but doesn't in, in April/May, right?

Like, who is that guy who maybe projects to have that, that ability to rise up in the playoffs and really be an impactful guy when, when the chips are down?

So there's all those things, but also it's like we're only one person, right?

Like, I'm fortunate that I get to be a part of the EP team, right?

And there are so many smart people there that I can listen to and bounce ideas off of and, and, you know, see what they're thinking, too, and then we get together and we make a, a list that, that takes all those things.

But when, when we're just making our individual lists, it's hard.

It's hard to see these guys.

So for Corey- It is to take on something like that, the U23, like, I don't know about you, Peters.

I watch, so much hockey, and it's almost all young hockey, right?

It's all college.

It's all over in Europe.

Yeah.

It's, it's CHL.

It's, you know.

And then I'm at the rink with my kid, I'm coaching, right?

Like, it's I see my NHL watching has gone down dramatically over the years.

Yeah.

And, and, you know, like, I still cover the Canucks for Sekeres and Price, so I watch the Canucks.

You know, and I try.

You know, I still enjoy it.

We have it on in the background, but often I'm cooking dinner, right?

So I don't get a chance to see all these guys.

So for me, like, I wouldn't feel comfortable making a U23 list.

I can tell you how I feel about these players.

Right.

But I'm not gonna sit down and, and make a top 150, because, like, I just don't have a book on these guys anymore.

I have a book on them when they were 17, 18, maybe 19.

Yeah.

And now it's like, now I just get to see them and I get to read about them a little bit and I get to see the highlights.

But so it's, it's an enormous thing to take on as an individual, as one person.

Yes.

And you're gonna leave yourself exposed.

Yeah, and, and- Right?

That, and that exposes you to your, your deficiencies in your knowledge base.

Yeah, and you know what?

The thing that I'll say about, you know, you know, Corey, 'cause I've witnessed it, is just, like, I don't know that anybody grinds as much tape in terms of, like, he's got all those live viewings and then he's on his laptop watching tape sometimes a- during intermissions of those games that he's at.

So, like- Yeah, I've seen it the thing is, he's seeing the guys, so, like, that's the other part of it, is like, you know, he, you know.

And that, the other thing is, like, your book on a player evolves.

And yeah, I'm the same as you.

Mine kind of ends as they reach the NHL.

So I don't do U23 rankings.

I, I do watch it, because I, I still do some of those contributions with TSN, and so I'm looking at those players for the U24 that I do with Craig Button, and that, that, you know, that allows me to, and it really pushes me to watch more of it.

But same, you know, we all have If No one can really get it all.

I think Corey probably does it the closest in terms of see- the most views of anybody that we, that, that's around.

But when it comes to my own personal philosophy, it's all about, you know, trying to find the essence of the player.

Do they have an NHL trait or multiple NHL traits?

Are there things about this player that can allow them to translate when others that are s- of a similar kind can't?

And then also, how does that player achieve?

And, you know, I, I think that I look at, w- especially when I build draft lists, it's more about, you know, who do I think has the best chance, but also who do I think, like I, I also try to think like an NHL team as much as possible, and understanding that, you know, like, "Hey, there is my opinion," but there's also, like, what is the industry's opinion?

And it's not just about what people tell me, it's more about how drafts tend to work.

Like, you can typically say, "All right, well, we know I might have this, this 5'10" winger.

Like, we might have Dima Zhilkin as a top five guy."

A lot of s- Mm-hmm a lot of teams just aren't gonna make that pick.

You know?

Like, that's- Yeah just the way it goes.

So you try to, you try to put that in there, too.

I mean, like, I've, I've gone through a lot of different iterations and, and naturally because jobs change and roles change and other things, there might be other responsibilities.

So I've, I've been, you know, very open, where it's like, "Hey, I have to watch a smaller group of players," and I try to make sure that I get those guys as right as I possibly can.

So, you know, it's an interesting thing.

It's a tough job to do.

But yeah.

And by the way, Cam, this is amazing.

Corey told me that he has a Reddit AMA coming up, and he said there were already 200 comments in the AMA.

So- you guys will have a chance to address these directly with him.

I- Oh, boy I did not, I already did it, so I don't have any questions in the AMA.

So Cam, if you wanna hop on, on a, Reddit burner and, and throw a couple at him, you should.

No way, man.

I'm saving that for drinks on the road.

That, that, we're, we're gonna- Yeah, exactly we're gonna wait for post-game- That's, that's- drinks on the road.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's gonna be fun.

That's gonna be fun.

I, I, I'm looking forward.

I think I'm gonna see Corey at the, at the USHL Fall Classic, and hopefully we can, uh- Oh, there you go have a few yucks at each other's expense.

So, um- And Cranberry all right, so Cam.

What?

Yeah.

Hey.

So, all right.

In, is that where it's at?

Cranberry Township?

Yeah.

Or no, no, we're in Chicago this year.

They moved it?

We're, we're, we're at the- Oh, is it?

Yeah, they moved it.

We're in Chicago.

We are, August 16th- That's cool you'll be able to watch it on Flow Hockey, and I'm excited about it, man.

I'm, I, you know, I'm- September 16th, I mean I'm going back to my hometown for, like, the 50th time this summer because I've, I actually made it home a few times this year, so, um- Nice yeah, we'll be over at the brand new UGS Arena, which is the new home of the Chicago Steel.

A stone's throw from the United Center, so, uh- Nice junior hockey in the city limits.

Who would've thought?

All right, Cam, it's time for the Call Up Challenge, and I'm challenging you today.

Mm-hmm.

We talked about three players in our last segment.

They all came from the 2023 NHL draft.

So I've decided- Okay to make this a 2023 draft true or false.

You may hear some questions that are, are in that, in the mix there, for, for, for this true or false.

And we start with Zach Benson.

Zach Benson All right the 2023 13th overall pick.

Zach Benson has played the most NHL games of any player in his draft class.

True or false?

Oh, gosh.

Well, he made the team- Only regular season, by the way he made it.

Only regular season, 'cause he, he did make the squad at 18, right?

So did Bedard.

He did.

So did Fantilli, so did Leo.

But, but Bedard's been injured.

Gosh, he could.

I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go true.

You're close.

It is false.

Ah.

He has eight fewer games- Worth it than Connor Bedard, which is actually kind of surprising.

But yeah, eight fewer games- Whoa, yeah and then Adam Fantilli is actually second with 213 games played.

Leo Carlsson is fourth with 201, 'cause you'll remember that they had that, the Ducks did kind of like a hybrid rookie season for him- Yeah which- Yeah, I remember that now may have been the absolutely correct move.

Kind of amazing.

Oof.

All right.

Kept his value down so he didn't cost him too much as an RFA.

Yeah.

Jokes.

Got jokes.

Yes, exactly.

All right.

All right, I'm oh for one.

That sucks.

Here's another one for you.

Okay.

Here's another one for you.

Are you, are you ready?

All right.

Are you ready?

Leo Carlsson has the second most- Yeah goals in the draft class.

Yeah.

Again, 'cause of that weird rookie season where he didn't get a ton of play, I'm thinking Bedard's gotta be the top guy this one.

Of course, yes.

I mean, I mean, Mishkoff's- I'll give you that one, yeah gotta be in there, even though he c- even though he came over later.

I'm gonna go false, but I think it's probably close.

It, it is, it is false.

He is not second.

He is not second.

Nice.

Adam Fantilli is second with 67 goals, 61 for Leo.

So 61 for Leo.

Leo does have one more point than Adam Fantilli.

So- Ooh you guys- And similar amount of games, too, eh?

Down in Columbus might wanna sign that Fantilli guy.

I don't know.

Dude's gonna cost a bunch.

Just a thought.

Yeah.

Just a thought.

67 goals there for, for him.

All right.

This is gonna get wild.

This is gonna get wild here.

Connor Bedard leads- Okay the draft class in penalty minutes.

Oh.

I actually think you, you asked me this or, or somebody did something.

I think it's true.

I think he does, right?

It is true.

Does he have a ton of PIMs?

It is true.

Yeah, yeah.

Connor Bedard has 148 penalty minutes in 219 games.

Zach Benson is second- Scrappy with 138.

Matvei Michkov is third with 117.

And- On a per game basis, that's gotta be tops for Mishkov.

Yeah.

I don't know if you remember this, but there was somebody in the, like, during Adam Fantilli's Hobey Baker season, somebody was like, "Well, he had a couple of game misconducts."

He only has- Oh, yeah 72 penalty minutes in his NHL career so far, so.

Pretty good.

All right.

I've got Yeah, I've, I, I Yeah, it's not, not, pretty not bad.

All right.

Last one for me.

All right?

Last one in the true or false here.

True or false: There are five players Sorry, check that.

There are eight- Okay players that- Four have 100 or more points in this class.

Eight players.

Okay.

True or false?

Oh, oh, that was the question.

There are eight.

Okay.

I was waiting.

I thought you were gonna make me name them.

Um- No I was gonna say that, that, that's gonna be fun No, I'm not gonna do that to you.

Okay, there's- Although Oh, wait, do you wanna do that?

Do you wanna name the top, how about the top five scorers in the class?

Do you think you could do it?

Yeah, I think I can.

I'll make it more- So this is fun.

My, my kid and I, we sit around, we just did this a few days ago, and he, like, he'll quiz me- Yeah on a draft year from, like, way back, and he'll be like, he'll be like, "Name the top 10 in order," and then I'll do it for him with some of the more recent ones.

So he was just doing '23, which was fun.

Okay.

So- Yeah top point-getters, Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson.

I, I'm not doing it in order, right?

Um- Right, right.

Don't worry about order, but that is one, two, three.

M- Bedard, Carlsson- Okay, Michkov Fantilli is one, two, three.

Benson.

Number four.

They all gotta be in there.

Nope.

W- top, we're, what, we're not, we're doing top five, not top 10?

We're doing top five?

Top five.

Top five.

Yeah.

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

So there's one you're missing Benson's not in there, then it's, wouldn't be Leonard.

No, it would be Will Smith.

Correct.

Will Smith- Yeah has only three more points than Zach Benson, but he has played in far fewer games.

143 points- Nice for Will Smith, who is another guy that's really good at hockey.

So this 2023 class is actually- shaping up- Really good at hockey real nicely.

I think we're gonna see- Yeah a big year from, Ryan Leonard coming up here shortly as well.

Yeah.

How about Matthew Wood?

He's actually me- So the, by the way, it was false that there were eight players that had 100.

Oh, yeah.

It is six.

But Ryan Leonard.

Right.

So after, this is the crazy dr- Like, this is when you get to these 2023 draft classes, there's obviously the guys that kind of played.

After Benson, who has 101 points, the next closest is Ryan Leonard with 46, so- Wow, big drop off, eh?

It's quite a drop.

Quite a drop.

Quite a drop, yeah.

Wow.

Shout out to Matt Wood, though, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island boy.

Yep.

About ti- Yep, so- About time for Matty Wood.

Yeah.

Matty Wood, yeah.

How about him, man?

Like, he- Yeah he had a, he had a really nice season, so we'll keep an eye on that, but that's very fun.

That was a lot of fun.

Now we're going to take a quick break before we go to our, our, our Beyond Belief segment, and the quick break is just me talking to you guys, because- as I mentioned earlier, we got the USHL Fall Classic less than a month away.

That is the kickoff of our junior hockey season, but we've got so much more coming your way, and now is the time.

Right now, get it right now so you're ready for the season, so you don't have to think about it.

You're, you're listening to this podcast, you're saying, "I wanna watch all the best prospects.

Where can I do that?"

You can do it right here on FloHockey.

FloHockey is where you get that subscription, get that annual subscription.

It's gonna get you this entire year.

It's gonna get you all the way through the playoffs, and then you're gonna feel like, "Oh my goodness, I'm gonna have to just renew it because I've seen all the best players that I wanted to see."

There's a lot of other things kind of percolating around.

We're gonna have some European hockey this year.

If you didn't catch it, we did announce in the United States we will be carrying the Men's World Championship, the IIHF, so that is new this year.

You get that annual subscription.

That is included in that cost.

So you're getting more than 35 leagues, okay?

35-plus leagues that you can watch.

You can watch the AHL, the ECHL, the USHL, the OHL, the QMJHL.

You can watch the SPHL.

You can watch the, the B- BCHL.

You can watch the s- the entire CJHL or most of the CJHL.

So you've got great, great content that you can watch on FloHockey.

You also can catch us on FloHockey 24/7 across many platforms where that is free and there's tons of live games on there.

And also make sure you check out the FloHockey YouTube page.

But if you want every game, if you wanna watch all these players that Cam and I talk about all the time, make sure you get that FloHockey subscription.

That is what we call a hard sell.

So there it is, folks.

So Cam, we're in it, my friend.

We're in it, and I can't wait because there's some stuff, some announcements pending and other things coming along.

Looking exciting.

Another exciting year.

Every single year, it's a little bit more hockey than you could've possibly asked for.

So lots coming your way.

Also, hot tip.

Alaska Fairbanks is opening their season at home against Boston University.

Tynan Lawrence, Caleb Malhotra, Xavier Villeneuve.

I mean, we're talking high, high-end prospects.

Alaska Fairbanks hockey.

Yeah, it's on Flo, so make sure you get that annual subscription- Are we going up?

So you can watch some of those great prospects.

We should maybe go up for that.

I would love to go up.

Never been there.

I should go up.

I have never been to Alaska.

That'd be a good time.

Let's do this.

I might have to do that.

Ooh.

I'm thinking about it.

Ooh.

Thinking about it.

Thinking about it.

Let's take a look at the old- We'll see.

Let's take a look at the old schedule here.

I'm, I'm interested.

Maybe you should go.

I'm interested.

You, you could Can't you drive- That's what I'm saying can't you drive a boat to Alaska?

So there we go.

Drive a boat?

Do you know how big Canada is?

It's like I could just walk probably.

I know, just take a boat from Vancouver Island.

If I leave, if I leave now- Or a sea plane I might make it there by October, yeah.

A sea voyage.

But anyway.

Yeah.

Right.

All right, that's gonna do it- Sea plane for that.

Let's go to Beyond Belief, Cam.

Let's get into it.

Let's keep it with Zach Benson, 'cause why not?

Um- Why not?

This might be extreme.

Zach Benson competes- Yeah, sounds good for a spot at the World Cup of Hockey.

Does he have the juice, Cam?

Does he have the juice?

He'll compete for it, 'cause that kid competes for everything, every inch.

But no, he won't.

That's right.

Because that's just- It's Beyond Belief not how the world works.

He's, he he's certainly not 124 or whatever, but he's, he's not quite Team Canada World Cup of Hockey level yet, so, no.

He, but there's, that's the type of player, that's the type of player we see do that at, like, 28, a la Brad Marchand, right?

He's that type of guy.

He's that type of guy.

Yeah, and- Right?

When we're talking about a guy like Zach Benson- Let's, I mean, let's, and let's also think about- When you see a guy like Brad Marchand's career, that's, that's what we're looking for.

Yeah, and, and it's not out of the realm of possibility.

And you look at Brad Marchand's career and how it grew as he continued to You know, like, he was always a good player, but it just got better and better and better.

Yeah.

And, like- Well, he got that, he got that exposure to Crosby- That's the thing with Benson, he's on a- right?

Right.

Right.

International.

And he's on an upward tr- And I, I think he's, like, attributed that and think about Benson, he's on an upward trajectory.

Yes.

Yes.

He is.

So, you're right.

For sure, and like Benson has been playing with Bedard forever.

They're on the Brick team together.

Yes.

Why not?

I could see it- Yeah I could see it in, in, in six years.

Maybe that's the World Cup of Hockey team he's going for.

I guess four years maybe.

Right.

Um- Right whatever.

Yeah.

When he, when he's 25 or 29- I'd love, I'd love to see him to when he's eight years.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Maybe.

Yeah.

Maybe.

I, I, I'm excit- Yeah I'm excited for watching these guys and seeing Like, that's the thing.

Like, if he does start Like, that's an extreme.

This was a joke- Yeah you know, essentially extreme, but I do think that he's the kind of player that they give a lot of time to.

So- Mm-hmm keep an eye on, keep an eye on that.

All right, you're up, my friend.

Okay.

I, as in you, would rather have first overall in 2027 than in 2028.

Now, there's some things to think about there with that.

There is.

There is, um- And you've got the opportunity to pick first in one of these years, '27 over '28.

Yes.

If I, if I had the choice to pick first in one of these years, I, I would, I would say it's beyond belief that I would want 2027.

And it's, it's hard because I do think that Landon DuPont creates a lot for you.

It's just all of the sudden we're seeing Maddox Schultz.

Like, anytime somebody does something at an incredibly, you know, a young age where he's wearing an A at the Hlinka, he is, you know, dominating games, he is driving play.

You know, like, the other thing is too, is like you get a little bit more runway and you say, "Okay, well, what happens?

Let's see what Liam Pugh develops into, let's see what Joey Cullen develops into-" Mm-hmm let's see what all these other, you know, the players that we haven't even thought about develop into.

I think that the fallback plan for me with, with whatever Landon Du- like if Landon DuPont isn't one with a bullet, I feel like I- Yeah I, I'm looking at 2018-- 2028.

Gosh, why am I 10 years behind right now?

I'm looking at 2028- We should- feeling like these are the guys that can, can bring me to the, to the promised land here.

So.

Yeah.

It's gonna be interesting.

It's tough.

It's tough because, you know- What do you think?

Landon DuPont as a 15-year-old, as a 15, then 16, like he was putting up crazy numbers in the West too, right?

Historic numbers.

You're true.

It's true.

Bigger numbers than Maddox has done so far.

It's true.

But now we're gonna see Maddox too.

So, and also it's like if I'm getting first overall in 2027, I get that guy next year.

You know?

Like I, I- Right I'm with you, where it's like if you just put Maddox Schultz and Landon DuPont into a pile and say, "Pick one," I'm probably picking Maddox Schultz.

But, there does, you know, if I'm a, if I'm a GM and I'm like I'm trying to get, where am I at in my life cycle, I might absolutely prefer what do I have in the cupboard.

I might prefer the number one right shot D, might do it, but Maddox Schultz does seem- Yeah.

Man, it's crazy.

That, it's, it's, it, that is a tough one though.

I, you put that in there and I had to think about it long and hard.

But yeah- that's a, that's a good one.

So we don't do a ton of, you know, like NHL specific stuff, but we've done a ton of it today, so I figured let's keep that train rolling here and talk about a topic that is just weird at this point.

Um- Yeah Detroit Red Wings, as far as we know, still don't have a general manager, Cam.

And let's say the Detroit Red Wings will have a GM named by rookie camp, which is like less than a month away.

Yeah, that's certainly believable.

It would be pretty wild if they didn't have one by that point, especially while their number one center has requested a trade.

My understanding is that Shawn Horcoff is kind of like acting GM right now, but- Mm-hmm isn't, isn't green lit to do anything big.

So it's like he's maybe talking to agents, he's maybe doing like some of the duties that a GM would do, but without any of the actual power to wield it and, and make stuff happen.

So I think that that, like maybe that's a I don't know.

Is that a, is that a tell that it could be a Horcoff who- who's done some great work there for them?

Or are, you know, the reports that they're looking for like an analytically driven guy from the outside gonna work?

But either way, I'm saying these guys have a GM for rookie camp.

Yeah.

There's, it's, it's, it's, it's interesting.

I mean, like, you know, obviously the whole thing this summer has kind of shown like there isn't a plan.

Like that's the thing that I think- Mm-hmm is the concerning part if I'm a Detroit Red Wings fan is that, you know, the, the Yzerman dismissal- I- the Yzer plan after everything kind of happened, you like, you basically gave him a shot to, to, you know, to, to fix things and then didn't and then you move on and now there's like, where are you starting from?

And yeah, I mean, the whole situation with, Dylan Larkin and, and everything else that's still looming, it's just crazy to see the, the Red Wings kind of in this position, when, you know, there, there should be momentum for that organization.

There should be things that are, are, you know, with Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider and, you know, having a core that includes Dylan Larkin and, and, you know, the, the emergence of, of Trey Augustine, and you had to move on from Sebastian Costa last season.

So like there's all these different things that have happened that are like, there's some good things, there's some bad things, and now they still don't have a GM.

So I'm gonna say it's believable, but it's almost like a necessity, right?

You, you have to have somebody in there because you might wanna have somebody at the top of the organization that's gonna be making some of these long-term decisions before the season starts.

Maybe.

Just a thought, but whatever.

Maybe.

Yeah.

Maybe.

Yeah.

You know.

Yeah.

All right.

We'll see.

Okay, last one.

Yeah.

2027 will produce at least three first line centers, and we were talking off air, there's a couple of drafts that jump off that definitely have three or more first line centers, but there's a few that do not.

Will 2027 be one of them?

Yes.

I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say it's beyond belief that there will be three first line centers just 'cause I think it's so hard to do, and I also think that, like, while there are guys that I'm very intrigued by, I haven't seen a guy that I'm just like super confident they're our number one center.

And so, you know- Yeah I think that with this class, there's, we talked about some of the guys, the European guys that have size, the guys that, that, that have, you know, some, some acumen there, but the threshold is so high and you, you look at the years like, you know, there was McDavid and, and, and Eichel, I think you mentioned, you mentioned Aho and, and other like, you know, there are guys that have- Yeah have grown into number one centers.

So it's always possible.

It's just for me, you know- I feel like in those years we had ideas of who they would be, or at least one or two of them, and when I can't give you a confident one, that's where I say beyond belief.

I think it's doable.

I think it's believable.

I think it's believable.

I like it.

But it, but it'll be, but it'll be on the higher end of things for sure, right?

Like, Nushwander, Nushwander?

Don't know.

Sundstrom.

You know, there's a couple guys right there.

Yeah.

Do we believe in Alexi Joseph?

D- d- does he have the upside to do it?

I think with the size and the skill combo- Right I think y- you could, you could argue.

Could a kid like Carter Meyer be one of those guys that really, you know, kind of breaks out?

Could a kid like Brock Anglin, you know, surprise and be that- Right Sebastian Aho type of guy down the middle, right?

Like there, I think there are options here to get it done.

It's gonna be tough.

So I think it's believable, but it's gonna take some, some help on the development side.

So yeah.

Yeah, it's kinda like a volume situation, right?

Like there's, there's a lot of- Yeah centers in the draft, so you know, maybe like the odds of them percolating to that degree, and it's just like the threshold is like, you know, do we believe there's, you know, more than 32, like, you know, like, number one centers in, that aren't number one centers 'cause of the team that they're on?

You know, they're, it's- Mm-hmm it, it's just that, that small number of players that really have the opportunity to be a true number one center is, that's where it's like, wow man, if you could get three out of this, I mean, you'd be jumping for joy I feel like with that class, so we'll have to wait and see.

Totally.

We'll have to wait and see.

Does Wisek play the middle?

All right.

Maybe he could get there.

There's some guys.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

Like that's- Yeah that's the thing is like there are options.

There are certainly options in this class.

So, you know, we, the more we talk about it, we're excited about it right now.

We'll see how we feel next- Getting excited May when we've talked about these guys for- Yeah all year and we've picked them apart and, you know, torn them to shreds, but whatever.

We'll, we'll, we'll get there.

So all right.

So I wanted to wrap this up.

This is two different, you know, l- like these, these guys don't play at all alike, but I said, "Screw it.

We've done practically the whole show on Zach Benson and Gabe Perreault.

Might as well do it here too."

So you have to pick one is where we, I, I give us both an option.

We have to choose one or the other.

We can choose the same one if we want to, but we don't have to.

If you were to bet who was gonna have the better overall career, are you going Zach Benson or Gabe Perreault?

I'm going Zach Benson.

You, you cued me up too easily.

I got to pick first here.

It, it's like, like they, like you said, they're not similar players, but they are similar sized players and one, you know, has- Yeah they both have elite brains.

One has far better physical tools and is already doing it, and I think is just destined to be that snarly, snappy, agitating, high-scoring winger, and the other one's gonna have to be more cerebral and cunning out there to make things happen and probably more reliant on who he's playing with.

So yeah.

It is, it's Benson all day for me, and like I said, I had, I had one five, I had the other 12 in their draft years.

I have tracked them since they've, they, you know, graduated out of that, out of that draft eligible, you know, setup, but not as closely as, I mean, Perreault a little bit more as he's playing in college later.

But, yeah, I, I think- Right I think you're gonna pick the same guy here, but I think they're both good players.

I think they're both good players.

Yeah.

You would think so, but you forget how American I actually am.

So- Oh.

So I made an argument- We should've done this earlier in the show on, on that athletic show, athletic hockey show where I talked, you know, was basically yelling at Corey again about Gabe Perreault.

And I would say between the two players, if I'm, if I'm making a pure upside bet and I'm looking at those two, two players, I believe Gabe Perreault in the NHL has 100-point potential.

Now, that's a big statement.

I totally understand that that is a swing for the fences, okay?

That is a swing for the fences because we do know that Gabe has limited foot, you know, like his, his foot speed is limited.

The physical game is limited.

But I also look at the cerebral assassin nature of the player.

I do think the hockey sense is at such a degree that it doesn't give me as much concern about his feet.

It doesn't give me as much concern about, you know, the, the, like he, he competes.

Like the thing is, is that he doesn't have the physical strength to win all of those battles, but he doesn't shy away from them either.

He is not simply a perimeter pick-it-apart player from the outside, but he's very good at that is the thing, is when he is on the outside, he can pick teams apart.

And so the vision, the play-making ability, I think it, it is incumbent on New York building around him.

But if you give-- If, if we look at these two players and, and the thing is, is like does Zach Benson play a style that helps you win more?

Probably yes.

Does Gabe Perreault play a, a style that helps you score more?

I believe he does.

So this is one where I, I am, I feel these players are very close together in my personal view.

I haven't made a U23 list.

But these guys I have all the time in the world for.

I think that they have, both of them have elite level hockey sense.

I think Perreault's is a hair above in terms of the offensive play-making ability that he has.

These are two exceptional players and, and I think they're gonna be really good NHL players for the, for the bulk of their career.

And so for the interest of both, you know, the sake of argument, but also because the hockey sense thing for me is big, and Gabe Perreault has done it at literally every out, level he's been at.

So, um- Yeah I believe.

I believe.

I believe in Gabe.

Believe in Gabe.

I believe.

I like it.

I'm not mad about it.

I do, I do like, I do like- So- bold claims, big swings.

Those are, those are fun.

Yeah, you know, it's, that is a big one, and like the, the whole thing that I said on that other show too is the, like also just saying, like, you know, we look at Kucherov's trajectory and he was always producing, always producing, always producing.

Got to the NHL, moderate production.

Gabe actually had more points on a per game basis, and then things kinda took off from there.

But, but the other thing that happened with Kuch, when did he get to Tampa?

He got there at a better time than when Gabe is getting in with New York.

So that is- Yeah that is another factor- Just a bit that I have strongly considered and, and, and envi- player environment and setup is so, and fit is so important for that discussion as well.

Massive.

It, it, it is not simply on the player just producing.

Well, Cam, I think we've, we've beaten up these topics enough over the course of the last hour plus, but what are we finishing out the summer with at Elite Prospects?

What do we got?

Oh, we got all sorts of content rolling.

I'm doing a bunch of series stuff for getting ready for the season preview and, and, you know, some, some marketing things like that, so you're gonna see my face all over the site and social media, and I apologize for all you.

But, you know, we're, we're, we're Is that a threat?

You know, we're, we're Yeah, that is, that is basically a threat.

But no, the, the content's gonna keep rolling as it always does here.

We've got our first draft meeting coming up.

We're gonna do a pre-season board this year, a little way earlier than usual.

I think that's in about a week and a half.

It's on my 10-year anniversary, despite my claims that I might not make it another 10 years if I skip out for a draft meeting, but they were nice enough to schedule it at 7:00 in the morning, so maybe my wife will do it.

So that look for that.

We'll have our first board out earlier than normal this year to get some, get ahead of the fray a little bit too and get, get some of our early opinions out there so that we can just completely walk 'em back when we do another one like mid-year.

Yeah.

No.

Well, hey, I, I'm excited to see it and I'm, you know, I'm just excited to get the season rolling.

It's, it's, it's always funny, like I, I c- I needed the break.

You know, I took a little extra break this year not going to Hlinka or Summer Showcase for the first time in a long time, and, I think I needed it, and I think that ultimately I'll be, hopefully better for it this year, to, to make sure that we're giving you guys all the, the, the best prospect information we can.

Lots coming up on Flow Hockey, mostly season launch stuff.

You're gonna see a lot of things coming up about season previews for the OHL, the QMJHL, the USHL, obviously the AHL and others as well.

We'll have more on prospect systems and other things of that nature.

You're gonna see a lot of stuff on Flow Hockey social, so make sure you're on Instagram, Facebook, and, YouTube especially, where we have tons of videos including this very podcast that you can watch, there.

But make sure you are reading and enjoying the things over at Elite Prospects.

Make sure you're watching all the things that we're putting together for you guys over on Flow Hockey, and get that annual subscription.

I'm telling you right now, I wouldn't lead you astray.

It is well worth the savings.

You will watch more hockey than you have ever watched before because it's all right there on your app.

So make sure you do that.

That is gonna do it, Cam.

That's, what a week it was.

Summer is almost over, back to school is underway, and we will be back next week with another edition of this very podcast.

It's called, The Prospects Podcast.

For Cam Robinson, I'm Chris Peters.

We'll see you next time.

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