You can watch Skjei play tonight against Notre Dame (Fogarty) on NBCSN. It's a good opportunity for people who haven't seen too much of him or haven't seen him at all. He's been considerably better this season and is playing a larger role for the Gophers.
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As expected, Rangers first-rounder D Brady Skjei on Team USA preliminary roster for World Junior Championships
I haven't put up my Christmas tree yet.Originally Posted by Cash or Czech?
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Definitely excited to see this. Hopefully I can find a safe live stream for while I'm at work for these games.
Is Skjei a possibility to make the team next year?
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I thought the book on him was that he's still a ways away. He's going to be 20 in March, which if he was playing in Canadian Juniors would mean he'd most likely be playing in Hartford next season. But he's playing college hockey, and I don't know enough about him to know if he's going to do 4 years there, what year he's in, etc. But it's not inconceivable (and it wouldn't be bad for his development) that he spends another year playing college hockey, and then at the start of the 2015-16 season he'll go to Hartford (and still only be 21). Then he'd probably spend at least a season there. So he's probably still 2-3 years away, and unless he's a Justin Schultz/Ryan McDonagh type (even though McD didn't go directly to the NHL, he spent only half a season in Hartford) he definitely won't just jump on to the roster without any seasoning.
Nope
Probably looking at another year of NCAA
And then a year of AHL
ah. well, still encouraging that he's getting this chance.
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Skjei with an assist tonight. Now 7 points in 24 games. Having a very good season though. Similar role to what McDonagh had while he was in college.
But not similar pedigree.
I wouldn't say that just yet. It's too soon to tell. Very similar situations actually. Skjei is a little less physical perhaps, but both are 1st round picks with offensive ability who went to NCAA and were asked to play a shutdown role. Both are exceptional skaters and they are about the same size.
McDonagh scored 16 points his sophomore season. We as a fan base may not be too high on Skjei because there are no gaudy numbers, but that doesn't mean the talent isn't there. It's not a stretch to believe the Montreal fan base wasn't having similar feelings about McDonagh prior to trading him. As much was echoed by them after the Gomez trade when they were saying he wasn't going to be that good. If another team traded for Skjei their fan base would likely be very excited about his possibilities.
Two players who have the same career path doesn't make them the same player. Two players who are similar at 20 might not be the same at 25. That's why we have to be careful with name dropping regarding comparisons.
Remember Christian Thomas having a shot LIKE Stamkos? Where's he now?
That's just my $.02, though, I would personally hold off on any comparison. Especially because last year Boo was being compared to Kreider and this year he has one goal. Know what I mean?
Wasn't saying they are the same player, was saying it's too soon to know one way or the other. Just pointing out that it's a similar situation so anything is possible. Mainly saying it's way too soon to give up on or trade away Skjei at this point, as some are ready to include him in deals.
Oh yea, def too soon. I wouldn't let him make or break a deal though.
Considering Moore isn't very good, and Staal may leave in FA, we may need this player.
I'd definitely say McDonagh has more offensive capabilities. If anything McDonagh is more capable of a two way game whereas Skjei is more suited for a shutdown game it's just that he can carry the puck and has a bomb of a shot. I think his season shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. He always had the potential to be better it's just that he was freshman last season who could barely get minutes because his team had an excess of defensemen. I'm just as excited now about Skjei as I was when we drafted him. He has the potential to be something good.
A bit confused by a few attitudes in here. Is Skjei a lock or even likely to become like McDonagh? No. But let's think of where McDonagh is right now. How many defensemen under 21 are there in the world who can hope to become a top-10, arguably top-5 defenseman?
I've watched a handful of games and spoken to people covering USA Hockey as well as the NCAA; nobody has anything but great things to say about him. One called him close to the best defenseman in college hockey. Let's also remember that we're looking at McDonagh with hindsight. McDonagh had a lukewarm sophomore season and it's part of the reason why Montreal scouts were willing to let him go.
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I think the McDonagh comparison is fair and at the time Skjei was drafted and slightly before he was drafted I said I wanted him because his similarity to McDonagh. Stylistically they're very similar, but Skjei compares more to the more shutdown McDonagh we saw when he first came into the league. His offensive capabilities don't quite compare. That's not saying Skjei isn't offensively capable, but he's definitely more shutdown oriented. I think a lot of people who have gotten down on him in the past have gotten on him because of his lack of offensive production when that isn't really his game.
For the most part I think a good amount of people are excited about Skjei, but we also have to temper our expectations. He could very well be another McDonagh or a player of a similar mold, but we need to wait another year or two to see how he progresses in college. The potential is definitely there. He's physically capable of being something great, but he needs to keep working hard.
I have not heard anyone call him the best defenseman in college hockey.
But if he is, awesome.
He's not the best defenseman in NCAA
He's only a sophomore
That being said the ONE player he gets compared to is McDonagh
And that's not because he's ranger property
Well about to watch him for the first time in a while, so I'll report back. Anyone with Directv channel 652-1, game starts in 10 mins.
Skjei just threw a huge hit and the announcers noted that he's 6'3 206 lbs, which is bigger than I was aware he was. Means he's added an inch and 10 lbs.
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