Grant’s Slant is a season-long collection of Grant’s scouting thoughts displayed in a timeline, and many more from the past six months will be added in the next two weeks. To see all of Grant’s Slant, subscribe today to Recrutes.ca!
2023-24Season
Habs Need to Rebuild Philosophy
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
The Stanley Cup Final Hangover
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Correcting the Caufield Conundrum
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2020-21 Montreal Conserviens
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
The Dirty Dozen #4
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
The Dirty Dozen #2
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Crossing the Colour Line
I first started writing this article when protests were heating up all across North America following the senseless death of George Floyd. I ultimately decided not to finish and publish the article at the time as I was hesitant to interview minority hockey players concerning their treatment over the years, in part because of the […]
The Apprenticeship of Vitali Kravtsov
What Kravtsov is achieving in the KHL playoffs is pretty remarkable. Two more assists today and looking great. Six goals and five assists in nine games. He leads all KHL goal scorers and is in top five in points….no draft eligible 18-year-old has ever achieved that. On top of that, he is doing it with […]
Zadina-Mite!
I had a look at Filip Zadina’s four goals in the last 37 minutes of Halifax’s game versus Charlottetown last night. On his first goal showed off his great shot and release, receiving a pass in the slot that was bulging the twine before he was finishing his follow through. On his second goal a […]
Knights Reload, Foudy Gets Exposure
Scouts have been giving Liam Foudy a certain benefit of the doubt this season as he has not been given an offensive role, so he’s had very little opportunity to show his offensive upside. They pointed to Alex Formenton as an example, a forward who played on London’s fourth line for much of last season […]
The “Other Rasmus” Turning Heads
It’s interesting to see Rasmus Sandin score two goals for the Soo tonight with defence partner Conor Timmins away at the WJC. Given more of an offensive opportunity and he responds right away. There is no issue with his passing skills, nice to see him score a couple of goals. Quite possibly the best first-pass […]
Sutter on a Scintillating Scoring Streak
Everett Center Riley Sutter has been on a terrific tear recently, scoring seven goals and three assists in his last three games, including four goals and an assist in an 11-0 pasting of the Vancouver Giants.
Barrie Deals Nizhnikov
When a team that has OHL championship aspirations over the next couple of years like Barrie deals one of its young “up and comers” like Kirill Nizhnikov for draft picks, it’s a serious red flag for scouts in terms of his character.
Zavgorodny Not Living up to the Hype
Dmitri Zavgorodny and the Rimouski Oceanic visited Hull for their one and only game of the season on Sunday, affording me an up-close look to see if the highly touted Russian was all he was touted to be. He wasn’t.
Knights Last Line of Defence
London Knights defenceman Evan Bouchard has picked up his game lately and has worked himself back into the top 25 discussion after a disappointing start to his season along with much of the London team. Paired now with fellow draft-eligible defenceman Alec Regula, Bouchard has totalled ten points in his last five games after starting […]
Rippon Coming On
Mississauga rookie defenceman Merrick Rippon looks like he’s finally starting to adjust to the step up in competition from the CCHL to OHL. After starting the season with just two assists in his first 14 games, Recrutes spoke to an OHL-based NHL scout about Rippon’s start to the season. “In fairness to the kid, let […]
Scouts Ce Dar Rapid Development in Smith
I was taking a look at the US-U-17 team playing against Cedar Rapids in USHL action today and came across an intriguing player on the Roughriders in rookie USHL center Nathan Smith.
McShane Not Well Without Noel
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Dobson a QMJHL Titan on Defence
This was not without a lot of thought and consideration, and it’s still very early so things could change…but so far this draft year Acadie-Bathurst defenceman Noah Dobson has impressed me more than any defence prospect from the QMJHL since Ray Bourque was a top ten pick by Boston in 1979.
Russian Rookie Rocking in Rimouski
It look like Rimouski Oceanic winger Dmitry Zavgorodniy is not going to slow down any time soon. The talented 5-9 Russian led the Ivan Hlinka in scoring, netting five goals and five assists in five games, and his predilection for fives continued last night as he scored…you guessed it…five goals in a 9-2 Rimouski victory […]
Kravtsov Finding a Regular Role in KHL
I had a look at 2018 draft-eligible prospect Vitaly Kravtsov today in the KHL playing for Traktor Chelyabinsk in his seventh game of the season. He has a regular role on the third line and does not look out of place despite being just 17 years of age. Looks to have decent mobility for […]
Drouin it Right in the Center of Town
There is a strong debate right now among Habs fans about whether Jonathan Drouin or Alex Galchenyuk should be the club’s number-one center. Recrutes put up its second poll on the subject in the past three weeks, and the overwhelming majority are still banking on the Habs starting the season with Galchenyuk centering the […]
Dahlin Has Swedish Competition for Number One
I was a little surprised to receive a text halfway through the Ivan Hlinka tournament from an NHL scout that suggested that Rasmus Dahlin may not even be the best defence prospect from his country, let alone the first overall pick in the draft. The more I studied Adam Boqvist, however, the more I realized […]
Mete Has Been a Plymouth Rock
Ryan Poehling wasn’t the only Habs prospect who has impressed at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, MI. Victor Mete has been one of the more solid blueliners for Canada at the event and Joni Ikonen has been solid in a second-line center role for Finland in three contests. One western conference scout has […]
Marky Embarks on a New Venture
I got some interesting views on the departure of Andrei Markov after 17 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens from an NHL executive this morning who doesn’t necessarily buy that his leaving is all on Bergevin’s shoulders. “Does anyone put any of the onus on Marky?” he asked. “His ex-wife died and left him with two […]
The One Musketeer
I watched Eeli Tolvanen play last night versus the Waterloo Black Hawks in Game 3 of the USHL semi-finals in a match Sioux City won 3-0. Tolvanen went pointless, and apart from one nice dangle in close that almost resulted in a goal he didn’t create much in the way of offensive chances. Tolvanen […]
No Doubting Thomas
A lot of parallels can be drawn between former London Knights center Bo Horvat and 2017 draft eligible center Robert Thomas. Both were considered to be mid teen prospects going into the OHL playoffs on most NHL draft lists…but as scouts saw more and more of what they could do in big games they climbed […]
Pictures of Liljegren’s Upside
As the season has gone on several things have stood out in regards to Swedish defence prospect Timothy Liljegren. There is no question that he is a natural, smooth skater, and that first and foremost is why scouts were so high on him going into the season. He also has good puck skills, and is […]
Finland vs. Switzerland U-18 notes
Heiskanen passed it more times to his d partner in one shift than Liljegren did in an entire game. The simple play is often the wisest. Nothing flashy from Heiskanen in the first…making the simple/safe plays and as always solid in his own zone. Often times the less said about the Finland strikes first on […]
Tyszka Shift-By-Shift
Given that there is a huge divergence of opinion on Jarret Tyszka…ranging from scouts that like him in the first round to some who would be hesitant to pick him in the mid rounds – I decided to have an in-depth video look at him. I focused on the first game of Seattle’s WHL semi-final […]
The Long and the Short of it
We’re seeing a shift in thinking at the junior level in recent years..and there no better example than the OHL Draft, where 14 of the 21 players selected in the first round of the 2017 OHL Priority Draft are under 6-0. A dozen years ago there were seven players under 6-0 selected in the […]
If you Choose Left, is it Right?
Over the past decade at numerous times I have had draft followers mention that such-and-such would or wouldn’t be a good fit as a draft selection because they shoot left or right. I have never in the past ten years factored the way a player shoots into my draft evaluations or mock draft scenarios. To […]
Elias versus Lias
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Tri-Harder-Cities
Tri-Cities season is over and it was mostly disappointing for draft-eligible prospects. Kyle Olson got his first and only point tonight on a goal, Rasmussen missed the playoffs with a broken scaphoid bone, Juuso Valimaki had just one one assist and struggled defensively at times. After a 90-point regular season..once the checking got tighter Morgan […]
Draft Eligible Stats – Mar. 31
Some notable performances from draft eligible players tonight: Ben Mirageas 1g 1a Casey Mittelstadt 1g Mario Ferraro 2a Robert Thomas 1g Morgan Frost 3a Conor Timmins 3a Linus Nyman 1g 1a Jason Robertson 1g 2a Jack Studnicka 1g Nick Suzuki 1g 1a Nico Hischier 1g 2a Shawn Boudrias 1g Josh Brook 1a Kyle Olson 1g […]
Ra Ra Rasmussen…
It appears that Michael Rasmussen has become the whipping boy this season for the advanced stats aficionados as I have gotten plenty of feedback on how having him top five or even top seven is much too high. I have received several tweets suggesting rather strongly that his goals stats are inflated because he got […]
Hischier Willingness to Win is Impressive
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Urho will Fix the Garden
Urho Vaakanainen played a regular shift today in a big SM-Liiga playoff game for JYP with the series tied 2-2. The coaches had no issues playing him regularly in such an important contest, and he didn’t disappoint..almost ending the game in overtime when he pinched in and took a shot on goal from ten feet […]
Heiskanen Sees the Ice Again
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
The Fabulous Thunderbird?
I have great respect for my NHL scouting contacts and consider them to be among the very best talent evaluators on the planet. There are occasions when I disagree with one of their opinions, however, even when I’m only seeing a player on video, and one such instance this season concerns Seattle defenceman Jarret Tyszka. […]
Makar off like Bandits
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Brynas if you Will
The two teenaged forwards on Brynas have really moved up the pecking order in the SHL playoffs. Jesper Boqvist is really wheeling today…it looks like he’s gotten even quicker since he played for Timra…a very fast pace and he’s keeping up no problem. Working hard on the forecheck and getting back defensively no problem. He’s […]
Skating Around the Issue
Lots of folks on Twitter bring up Bo Horvat as an example of why Gabriel Vilardi should be ranked higher on Recrutes’ draft list because he improved his skating so much…well…the guys ranked in front of him are also very good players AND they skate well. Horvat was an exception, not the rule, and his […]
This Brook Lets his Play do the Babbling
Sorry, but you must be a subscriber to view this content. Click here to sign in
Bo Knows Hockey
Brynas is playing Linkopings in the first round of the SHL playoffs and the first game was today. Boqvist started the game on what was listed as the fourth line, but by the end of the game the trio was playing as much as anyone, and playing well. Boqvist was solid once again…I’ve never seen […]
Hischier Skills on Display
With Hischier’s recent drop in production one wondered if perhaps he was hitting a wall..then I looked at the video from his March 15 game versus PEI…and the Nico we’ve all come to love was in full display. We saw in the first two shifts why he’s ranked number one on our list…terrific speed, skill. […]
Meet Your Makar
If Honka was a top 15 pick what does that make Makar? His skating and puck skills are a treat to watch. I loved him at last year’s tournament too…arguably better than Fabbro and Cholowski were. He went to the wrong junior camp – should have been at the WJC.