2. Kierros, 34. varaus – Bobby Brink (RW, 5’8’’ / 165 lbs):
Toinen päivä alkoi Flyersin osalta kaupalla, kun vaihtoivat Nashvillen kanssa vuorot 45th ja 66th vuoroon 34th, jolla nappasivat USHL:ssä tuhoa tehneen Bobby Brinkin.
Mielestäni Brinkissä on paljon sitä, mitä toisena päivänä pitääkin pyrkiä hakemaan. Ei tuolla ole enää niitä edes suhteellisen valmiita ja varmoja tapauksia jäljellä vaan mennään enemmän ja enemmän arpojen suuntaan. Brinkiltä puuttuu kokoa eikä se liikkuminenkaan ole riittävän terävää, mitkä yhdessä ovat selkeä ongelma, mutta kaikesta muusta tässä hobitissa voikin sitten pitää, suorastaan rakastaa. Itseäni ainakin järjestäen hymyilytti, kun katsoin pojan pelaamista kuluneella kaudella. Todella taitava ja luova kaveri, joka myös menee terrierimäisesti ja kontakteja arkailematta tilanteisiin sekä kamppailee ja taistelee loppuun saakka, missä päin kaukaloa hyvänsä. Liikkeen pitää ilman muuta parantua, mikäli mielii haaveilla NHL-urasta, mutta paljon mieluummin tällaisia projekteja alkaa seuraamaan kuin, jonkin liukasliikkeisen ja kädettömän ajokoiran koulutusta. Brinkillä on kuitenkin asioiden mennessä nappiin mahdollisuus nousta merkittäväksi pelaajaksi myös NHL:ssä, joskin yhtälailla se ensimmäinenkin ottelu voi jäädä unelmien tasolle. Syksyllä ura jatkuu Denverin yliopistossa.
Tässä aika laaja kattaus muiden ajatuksia ja kuten arvata saattaa Brink jakaa vahvasti mielipiteitä.
McKeen’s Hockey (33rd):
”A former USHL Futures Draft first round pick, Brink came into his own this year, after splitting last year between Minnetonka High, Sioux City and the USNTDP U17 squad. On a rate basis, he was far and away the most prolific non-USNTDP scorer in the USHL. His offensive game is led by an NHL level wrist shot. It is an A-grade weapon that can be used to deadly effect anywhere from the blueline on in. From in tight, he is surgical in his accuracy. He can vary his release point, too, giving goalies something else to think about when getting set up. Brink also has excellent puck skills. Playing on an undermanned Sioux City squad this year he would often rag the puck for extended periods in the offensive zone as his tired linemates tried to get open. When he keeps his feet working, he shows his vision for linemates and has the ability to hit them with well-timed passes both short and long. That note about his feet is also why we could not rank Brink in the first round (pretty close, though!). Simply put, his skating is a bit of a let-down. Bigger, more forceful players can get away with it, but I am not as sure that Brink will find the next level so easy. His top speed is OK, but he lacks explosiveness or any type of second gear. Young players can get faster with the right training, but he has a way to go in this area. He is incredibly smart and is able to mitigate some of his speed concerns through positioning and anticipation, but he will need to prove that those reads will be as useful to him at the next level. We have confidence in him, but not enough to advocate for a Day One pick.”
Hockey Prospects (15th):
”Bobby Brink opted to join Sioux City full time this year and that proved to be the right decision. He Finished 2nd in USHL scoring with 35 goals in 43 games—including 9 game-winners—despite missing significant time with a foot-injury. After his injury, his line that featured both Marcus Kallionkieli and Martin Pospisil (CGY) had difficulty producing without him. This suggests that Bobby was the line-driver; he extended his driving of play to the World-Junior-A-Challenge where he produced 8 points in 6 games while capturing the MVP award. Brink has shown the ability to raise his game to another level time and time again. Going back to last season during Minnetonka’s run to the Minnesota State Title, Brink saw his team down on a couple of different occasions throughout the playoffs and put the team on his back and took over hockey games. Our staff saw that same ability this season for Sioux City down the stretch, where his play helped push his team into the playoffs, scoring 11 goals and 10 Assists in the final 10 regular season games. He finished his 18/19 season by joining the NTDP team at the U18’s in Sweden where he complimented a talented U.S squad, registering 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games in helping USA win Bronze. Brink has little left to prove at the USHL level but is still a Junior in High School so it’s possible we may see Brink back in the USHL next season before heading to Denver in 2020.
We have compared the differences between DeBrincat and Caufield, yet we find there’s several similarities to discuss between DeBrincat and Brink which have made us believers in his ability to translate his game. However, there is one noticeable difference which Brink will have to overcome in order for him to convert his game at the highest-level. In DeBrincat’s case, his average-skating was the result of his lack of strength and leg-extension, for Brink there’s more concerning issues. There are few players in any class that have skating-mechanics as awkward as Brinks. He’s extremely rigid, making him look like he’s “trapped” within his frame when attempting to fully-extend. Despite this, his two-step area quickness is surprisingly above-average due to how he gains traction in his initial push-off. However, after the initialsteps, his skating breakdowns due to a lack of a deep-knee bend, inability to maintain proper posture, and his inability to kick-back in a straight-line. He can’t stabilize when attempting to direct himself in a straight-line since he doesn’t maintain a heel-to-toe motion when extending. When he kick’s back during recovery extensions, he’s off to the side as opposed to keeping a straight-line as well. Additionally, the inside-edge of his skate blade isn’t always last to touch down on the ice with each subsequent stride. The above mechanics don’t allow him to have a separating gear that can translate to the NHL-level. Though, when a player is looking to reconfigure a lane, they rely on their ability to pivot— reopening their hips—which gives them additional options; Brink is one of the better players in this class at doing just that. His size also lends well to having a lower-centre of gravity which does allow him to recover when attempting to rebalance himself after physical altercations. In conclusion; he can’t maintain adequate straight-line speed but he does accelerate well, can pivot, and has decent cross-over mechanics, which help him get around the ice better than his coreskating-mechanics would suggest. Perhaps the biggest issue in projecting his skating is that it’s not just a strengthconcern, it’s how comfortable he can become with cleaning up his skating fundamentals. The main takeaway though, is that if he can’t clean up his mechanics, he still gets from point A-to-B at an adequate-level depending on the distance, and has a rare set of high-end attributes necessary to compensate for his glaring flaw.
The most important-skill that Brink has to compensate for the above concerns is a trait he shares with DeBrincat—they’re both gifted at dynamically altering the tempo of a play by freezing their opponents. Much like a chess player manipulates his pieces to set-up traps for his opponent; Brink does the same with his deception. Defenseman at the highest-level will be able to close distance on him quickly, so it’s vital to his success when translating that he has the ability to slow them down. The best way to stall an opponent is to remain difficult to read, which Brink is exceptional at. Much like DeBrincat, Bobby uses static body-posture, head fakes, shot-fakes, and pivoting mechanics to alter the perception of the intended play. If his fakes are read, his processing speed allows him to assess his time and space so that he can threaten by threading pucks past his opponents. We feel that Brink can make dynamic passes and that his playmaking is ahead of Alex’s at the same age. This gives him the opportunity to generate high-percentage plays despite having his skating lanes cut-off from him. This leads to another very important trait that he shares with DeBrincat; they’re as equally dangerous when in motion as they are from a stationary position. This extends to both their play with the manadvantage. Much like DeBrincat, Bobby is a duel-threat option. Over the past couple of seasons, Brinks shooting ability has improved; as he’s now developed a varied arsenal of shots, including good one-timing ability from the circles, as well as the ability to rapidly shift-the-angle of his release point on his wrist-shot. His shooting mechanics allow him to generate a surprisingly powerful release for a smaller player. Though, DeBrincat’s release point was slightly ahead at the same age and he opted to use a snap-shot more than Brink does. Where they did share similarities was how often they used screens to set-up their release. The last area to note with Brink’s skill-set is in regards to his hands. Bobby is capable of beating his opponents one-on-one but more importantly uses his dekes at the right-times. This is another area that Bobby must excel in, since he needs to be able to guard the puck at a higher-rate than faster-forwards.
Away from the play, Brink and DeBrincat share another important aspect of hockey-sense, which is their ability to findsoft-ice. If Bobby can’t drive play in the NHL to the extent he currently does in juniors, he has an excellent fall-back option, which is how quickly he can anticipate what his teammates are attempting to do with the puck. His skating will limit him more than some with his ability to lead the rush or attempt too many transitional-zone-entries, so he’s going to have to rely on becoming the trailing option or finding backdoor lanes. Another plus attribute of Brinks, is his ability to anticipate off the forecheck. His frame isn’t going to translate well at the NHL-level, yet his puck-tracking skills and motor allow him to reduce the amount of times he needs to physically initiate along the boards by beating opponents to the puck. Despite his skating concerns mentioned earlier and throughout this write-up, Brink keeps a very good-pace which is another element to his game that helps him compensate for his overall-average at best speed. There’s a high-octane engine built into this kid, and it’s made him one of the better overall competitors in this class. He plays a fearless brandof-hockey, looking to attack in heavy traffic areas. Though, his competitive spirit doesn’t completely translate as well in the defensive-zone as it does in the offensive-zone.
Brink left us with a defining feature to his game that can’t be understated—he makes his teammates better. The hallmark of high-end hockey-sense is adaptability, and Brink has it in spades; adapting his current weaknesses should allow him to translate his game. As a result, we view Bobby as a cerebral duel-threat winger with the attributes needed to produce in a top-6 role at the NHL-level.”
“So many of these guys in this league (USHL) are so overrated and over hyped. Look at Brink, he can't skate.” - NHL Scout, September 2018
“He skates like he was at a Frat Party last night but I still like him.” NHL Scout, September 2018
“Late rounder at best. Kid can't skate .” - NHL Scout, October 2018
“He was my 2nd ranked player in the USHL but he probably just moved to #1 after that tournament(WJAC).” - NHL Scout, December 2018
"The small guys who can't skate that make it in the NHL are few and far between.” - NHL Scout, December 2018
“He kinda reminds of a guy like Jake Guentzel because he doesn’t fit that traditional look of a top prospect All he does is get the puck more than anybody and make more plays than anybody. I’ve even come around a bit on his skating.” - NHL Scout, December 2018
"Skating is important but it's not the end all be all. When you have what he has with the exception being skating, you can play in the NHL. Logan Couture comes to mind.” - NHL Scout, December 2018
“He’ so smart and plays such a mature game. He’s a great playmaker and is such a determined player. he’s an easy top 25 guy on my list.” - NHL Scout, January 2019
“The brain and skill and compete level are so high that I am giving him a bit of a pass on his skating. - NHL Scout, February 2019
“Skating is obviously not a strength but lateral agility and in small areas he’s not as bad as some people think." - NHL Scout, February 2019
“Barely a draft for me, maybe a late rounder. I don't see all this skill you see and his skating is a huge problem. - NHL Scout, March 2019
“Brink and Rees, two great players who are bad skaters.” - NHL Scout, March 2019
“At the WJAC his skating scared me a bit but I’ve dug deeper to watch it a lot more. He does get separation for himself. It’s not like he’s got players catching him all the time. I saw some ridiculous forechecks too. He gets there." - NHL Scout, March 2019
“I’m sold and he looks bigger than 5’8”. I think he's closer to 5’9.5” 5'10" 170.” - NHL Scout, March, 2019
“How good was he (Brink) at the U18. Holy sh**, if only he could skate.” - NHL Scout, May 2019
“He’s Alexander DeBrincat.” - NHL Scout, May 2019
“We'll see at the combine but I think he's closer to 5’10" 170.” - NHL Scout, May 2019
“He’s got that clutch gene that you look for, bigger the moment he seems to be able to elevate.- ” HP Scout, Dusten Braaksma, March, 2019
“He’s challenged himself and has excelled each and every time, whether it be playing Minnesota High School hockey in his bantam year, going to the USHL a year earlier than most MNHS kids do or jumping on a plane and going to the U18 tournament and performing well for USA team playing on very little rest, he’s just been impressive since I started watching him 3 or so years ago.” HP Scout, Dusten Braaksma May, 2019
“Saw him right from the get-go in Pittsburgh at the Fall Classic. Had a goal and an assist and showed plenty of his tools. At that point I was much more concerned about the skating than I am now.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, March 2019
“He may not look like a speed demon off the rush but he has great lateral skating ability. He plays with great pace.” - NHL Scout, March 2019
"I love Brink. I'd take him top 20 without even thinking about it and I think he’ll go as high as 15 and won't slip past 25.” - NHL Scout, April 2019
“The kid was puking before his flight overseas and still played on the day he arrived. He’s a gamer.” - NHL Scout, May 2019
“I heard there is a team in the mid to late teens who loves him.” - NHL Scout, May 2019
"I don't like Bobby Brink at all. He can't skate and he didn’t do himself any good at the Under 18. It looked so bad on that big ice. He’ smart and can make plays but that skating is non starter for me.” - NHL Scout, June 2019
“I love that he can make plays under pressure. He thinks the game at such a high level and his playmaking and scoring abilities are high end. His hockey IQ helps offset some of his skating decencies. Most of the poor skating stars in the NHL think the game at a high level." - HP Scout, Mark Edwards April 2019
“There is another player I love in next year’s draft who is also lacking in the skating department. Some ugly skaters can still be great when they are so high end in all the other facets of the game.” HP Scout, Mark Edwards, April 2019
"Scouts I spoke to were all over the map on him. Some loved him and had had him ranked as a lock to be a first rounder. Others hated the skating and couldn't get past it. I know a few Scouts who saw him as a mid round prospect at best. I let them know my difference of opinion.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, April 2019
“One of my personal faves in this draft class. He's so good that I'll accept his size/skating combo. He is high-end in the big three areas I look for: Smarts, Compete and Skilled. Skating is obviously not a strength but I think it's more visually ugly than bad. It isn’t pretty to look at but I see him win a ton of puck races and I can’t remember too many plays where his skating hurt him. An NHL Scout made a DeBrincat comparison to me yesterday and it was funny because we had mentioned several similarities in house earlier this season.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, May 2019
“The first time I saw Kyle Connor play I loved his game.and we ended up ranking him very high in his draft year. I felt the same way about Brink when I saw him for the first time. Compete and hockey sense stood out almost immediately with Brink.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, May 2019
“Scouts liked him during combine interviews and gave me positive feedback but several noted that they wished he was a bit more aware of his need to have a plan this summer regarding his skating. I interviewed him and he is a very likeable kid, but when I asked him myself if he had any plans to work on anything this summer, I understood what the teams were talking about. He’ll figure it out soon enough.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, June 2019
Future Considerations (37th):
”A competitive and skilled offensive forward, he’s very active and involved in all three zones. He has a very fluid skating stride, great speed and excellent agility. His great acceleration and strong edges allow him to take off in a hurry, with or without the puck. Displaying great intensity, he does a fantastic job of always pushing the pace and keeping the pressure on, making opposing players really have to work to defend against him. While he reads the ice well and sees plays developing quickly, he will often sacrifice his defensive positioning to create a rush. Crafty with the puck, he always has his head up and uses his teammates well offensively. While in transition and at full speed, he’s still able to show off lightning-quick hands and very good passing abilities. He’s not afraid to try no-look and behind-the-back passes, making him even harder to defend. Has an impressive ability to receive and unload one-timers, but he doesn’t get a lot of power behind his shot. Due to the fact he keeps his feet moving through body checks, he’s able to draw penalties because of it. He has solid awareness and hockey sense, although he does look a little lost in his own zone at times. His small size is obviously a factor against him, but he does everything that small players need to do to be successful at the professional level.”
ReCrutes (45th):
”Scouts are prepared to start giving shorter forwards first-round consideration. It looks like Cole Caufield will make history as the first player under 5-8 taken in the first round. It took a record-breaking performance for that to happen, but it is progress for the little guy.
There has also been a lot of talk about Brink also going in the first, but for many scouts that is simply a bridge too far. “Brink's a great player...but 5-8 and can’t skate great means you go late,” said one poetic scout. “I wouldn’t take him in the second round but that’s where he’ll go. His skating scares me. He has no separation speed.”
What he did separate himself from was every other USHL player in points-per-game from the first month until season’s end, and finishing fourth overall in points despite missing one quarter of the season.
”I love him, I’m in”, said one US-based scout in early March who saw the Bobby Brink Show on at least a half dozen occasions. “He’s so smart, crafty and driven. His puck skills make up for his speed issue in the offensive zone.” Brink’s terrific season earned him a rare USHL invite to the U-18 on a team that is predominantly represented by the USNTDP. Brink was plugged into a top-six role after arriving late and managed six points in five games.
“You talk to some guys and they just can't get enough of this guy,” said one scout who has him tabbed as a second-round pick.“ He's so competitive...once he gets it in the offensive zone he can get away from guys. But it's those feet through the neutral zone. He just has no wheels. All that said...he likely gets picked early on Saturday. He’ll be an early second-round pick.”
Corey Pronman – The Athletic (23th – Very good NHL Prospects / First-round pick -tasolla):
”Brink was the best player in the USHL this season and a driving force for whatever line he was on. Brink is an interesting player in that he doesn’t look the part of a top prospect. He’s listed at 5-foot-8, he skates awkward, and he doesn’t look all that smooth and coordinated. His hockey sense is just fantastic, though. He’s an elite passer with the patience, anticipation and overall vision to make unique passes seem routine. I’ve seen him hover around the zone, waiting out options as defenses scramble to figure out what play he’s going to make. Brink has very impressive hands and a good shot, too, but what will get him to the pros is his ability to make plays. He competes and even killed penalties at the junior level. What may hold him back is his skating. He moves with a weird stutter in his stride, and his feet flail. His top speed is fine due in part to his size, and he’s got good power on his edges to allow him to maneuver around the ice. But he lacks any kind of explosiveness you want in a player that size.”
Sioux City Musketeers assistant GM Andy Johnson on Brink: “Bobby is a cerebral winger who makes up for an average skating stride with incredible awareness, anticipation and overall elite hockey sense. He has great all-around skill with the puck. He can dish and score, and is one of the most competitive players I’ve seen in my time in the USHL.”
Scott Wheeler – The Athletic (14th):
”Speaking of overstated concerns about skating! Believe in Bobby Brink, people. Allow yourself to believe in him. The astronomical numbers he put up in the USHL this year were his own doing and once he adds a little more strength the foot speed will catch up to the skill level that made him the USHL’s Forward of the Year. Brink will take a little longer than some of the other top prospects in this draft to get to his ceiling but that ceiling is exciting. Centres are more often the driving forces on their lines at the next level but Brink’s ability to win back pucks with his stick, get open and break teams down tactically once he has it is a joy to watch. There’s a risk in everyone outside the top-12 in this year’s draft but the reward on a player like Brink is a dynamic puck-handling winger who can involve his teammates when the player is there or do it himself when they are not. Sometimes you have to swing for the fences. I’d take that chance on Brink, who also has a late birthday (July 8, 2001).”
