All right, welcoming on for the very first time, and long overdue, the contact director for Elite Prospects. It's Cam Robinson. Welcome to the show, Cam. Yeah, there it is.

Thank you, boys. Thank you. Happy to be here. We're excited to have you on because first off, before we get started here, Steve just signed up for the VIP ultra super special Elite Prospects package.

And then we found out that today you have a 50% off sale that he did not take advantage of. I bought I bought it two days ago not knowing.

Let's talk afterwards, buddy. I'll get you hooked up. We'll sort that out. We'll sort that out for you. He knows the guy.

Free stuff.

Free stuff.

Let's go. So, Cam, the reason we wanted to have you on is because Obviously, everything is jam-packed together. In the same week, we're going to get the Game 7 Stanley Cup, and then we're going to get the draft, and then we're going to get free agency all within six days. So we got to talk draft. Let's talk top five. So what Cam is going to do is he's his top five and where he thinks people are going, and then a sleeper pick, a pick that's a little bit later that he thinks you're going to be a superstar. So, Cam, let's start at number five. Who do you have there? Yeah, let's go backwards. Can we do that? We're going reverse.

We can do that. Oh, absolutely.

You caught me off guard, too.

That was all right. I feel like when we get to one, it's going to be pretty anticlimate. Pretty obvious. No, let's go for it anyway. We're doing it now. We're committed. So what do you got for us, Kam?

Okay, if we're talking mock, this will be a little more exciting until we get to one, like you said there. I'm going Teej, Teej Aguinla at five.

For the Montreal Canadians.

For the Montreal Canadians. Oh, yeah. And I think Calgary is just Their hearts are breaking right now as they hear that. But the way this kid finished his season, there's a reason he's been shooting up all these draft boards. He has electric skills. He's never met a defenseman. He didn't think he could just dangle right around round. He's got a good shot. He's got great awareness. But it's like the details of his game. He is his father's son. He gets in there, he banks, he lifts sticks. He's like a thief in the night, coming back on the back check to strip a guy. Takes great routes on the Korea Korea, I don't know if he's actually going to play the middle of the ice in the pros. He told people at the combine that he wants to move back to center, something that he played growing up next year for the Rockets. But he has the size, the skating, the intelligence to be a center iceman. But he could be a selky level, this type of player. He's that good two-way. And also, unsurprisingly, coming from that family, just a pitch of a human, too.

I got to spend a little bit of time with him in Finland at the U18s, and like, great Eritrean, and just really enthusiastic about life and about the opportunities that he's had. So I'm a big, big fan of Teej. And I think probably he's the third forward that Montreal would like to get at that spot. But the other two are going to before. So he's going to be sitting there waiting for him. They passed on Mishkoff last year. They can't really pass on another high upside forward. I mean, they can, but much to the chagrin of their family, they might.

Let me ask you this. Is it worth Calgary moving up from nine, whatever that cost is going to be to try to get that pick from Montreal?

I do a bold predictions article every year, and this year I'm doing a little spin on it where I give my five, but then I also texted a bunch of GMs and scouts and ask for their bold predictions. So we'll have 10. And three people, their bold prediction was that Teej would fall to nine to Calgary, and they would pass. I don't know if that's some legitimate smoke in the industry or if they're just having some fun trying to pick something bold. But I mean, needless to say, that one's going to go in the article. But yeah, so I think there's a world, just talk about chagrin of the fan base, is that if he's sitting there at nine, there is a world where they pass over them.

That would be very Calgary.

It would be. It would be for sure. I don't think Calgary is probably all that interested. I'm not Craig Conner. I'm not sitting in that room with them right now. But moving up in the top 10, it's difficult. It's costly. And the range this year, like 2:00 to 9:00, 2:00 to 10:00, it's not that far apart. So if they just sit, they're going to have a player that they're going to like in that range.

This is extremely important because I'm easily distracted by silly details. Can you think of another father-son combo in the NHL Bell where the son didn't shoot the same way as the father? It bothers me if it's left-handed. It bothers me a lot.

Because Jerome was right-handed. Yes, it bothers me. Steve brought this up before the show came, and Jesse looked at him and said, I can honestly say I've never thought about that. I have.

It's the first thing I thought of when I saw him.

I don't think he thought about it. I'll tell you this much. I haven't thought about that one specifically, but when my kids first started playing hockey, he's a righty. I went and grabbed him a right-hand stick. He tried to hold a leg left. He was like, No, you are a right-hand. That's what you do. You are learning right-handed, and now that's how he is, and that's how it's going to stay.

Okay, so what do we have for the Columbus Blue Jackets at number 4?

They're going big man down the middle, Caden Lindstrom, arguably my favorite player in this entire class. It probably goes him and then Teej. This kid is the potential to be just a match-up nightmare. He's already 6'4, 215 pounds, and a raw athlete. Hasn't He played a ton of elite high-level hockey growing up. I won't name drop because I was specifically told not to. But I had a high-end player in the WHL reach out to me just unsolicited to say, Hey, Lindstrom is the hardest match up in junior hockey. With his size, his speed, his small area game. He handles the fuck like he's Mitch Marner, but in that massive frame of his. And he's a super powerful skater already, and it's ugly. It looks a little bit like I'm out there in beer league where I'm not lengthening the stride enough, the knees aren't bent enough. So you can imagine you get him with a quality skating coach. He's going to look like Quitten Byfield here in a minute. One of the best releases in the class as well. Almost scored a goal per game in the West this year before the back injury knocked him out.

I know there are some concerns that he has a herniated disk at 18, but he says he's all good. The doctor says he's all good. I'm going to believe that he's not going to be Eric Daza here, and that he's going to be stacked that up with Adam Fantilli down the middle long term. That'll be the envy of the league, right? Down the middle I feel like that'll be just filthy. So as far as size, speed, skill combinations, unmatched, I would say in this class.

I've seen some concerns online about the herniated disk. I think it might have been a podcast you did where they were like, Oh, he just glossed over it. Our herniated disk is not necessarily a long term injury or a recurring injury that he's going to face over and over again. Have you been encountering many worries about that at all?

Not from NHL side, people. The public sphere seems to put a little more emphasis on it, but I trust some of the people that I talk to on the team side, and they're not overly concerned. I'll be surprised, very surprised, if he slips past five this year. And not many things surprise me on draft day, as we know, because wild things can happen, right? So no, he's healthy now. He played in the playoff. He participated in the combine. He's moving good. He's jumping out of the box. Everything looked clean. Nothing was holding them back. And I have to imagine that's going to continue along. And hopefully, we I don't have like, Gabe Velarde, who had to battle through three or four years of a back injury before he could really get his career going. That said, I do think Lindstrom is probably a bit of a wait. We're seeing Bayfield, arguably the most improved player this year at 21, 22. That's probably what we're going to see. This isn't a plug and play player. You're going to get him maybe a year or two more of junior, then get his feet wet in the show.

And then by the time he's 22, 23, 25, then he's like someone that you can win a cup with, thing. He's that good.

I can't wait for Columbus to screw that No. Hey, Adam. Adam. I can't wait. Don't find a way.

Don Wadel is there now. Donny's there now.

You're in a new life in Columbus. You're right. Okay, number three, we got the Anaheim Ducks, Kam Robinson.

Okay, Anaheim. Patty Verbeek and the boys, they march to the beat of their own drum. They took Leo Carlson when everybody thought it was going to be Fantilly. We heard last year that they were taking a very long look at Mat B. Mischkoffs, too. I think they might have done it if he maybe indicated that he wanted to go there. They took Mason McTabish before everybody He thought they would. They're going Ivan Demetov here. And they've got all...

You think he's following the three?

Well, we'll get to that in a minute here because we're going backwards. Wow. Yeah. So he has some of the most electric skills in the draft. Coming to Fort Lauderdale there for that Gold Star camp with Danny Milstein and the boys, everyone got to see that he's speaking English. He's working at it then to be measured up. So we're taking his measurement And it's from his SCAA junior team where they're like, Hey, he's 511, 168. And it's like, Maybe he is. Maybe he's 5'9 and a half, 150. We don't know coming from club team. So the fact that he's now 6'1, weighing in at like, 195 pounds. He's going to play. He's going to be Kareel Capriza. That is honestly the path that I see him taking. And now he's saying, I'm going to play a year in the KHL. I'm going to sign my contract in the spring. I'm going to be in the NHL spring at 25. The concerns around him have to be mostly alleviated here. And for Anaheim, they've got McCavish, they've got Leo Carlson, they've got Cutter Gochey down the middle now. They've got all that talent on the blue line, Pavel Mitzukoff and Holm Zellweiger.

They need these electric wingers, and she's going to be sitting there probably for them. And that's just a home run. This kid is superstar-level talent that I do actually think will be there at three for them. And whether they take them, I mean, I'm not 100 %. They could go something crazy like Anton Soliev, the other Russian, the 6'7 kid. But I'm going And I'm going Demet off here for them at three.

I'm shocked.

There you go. I'm shocked. I guess we got to get to number two then, the Chicago Blackhawks. Who do you have them taking?

I got them taking Maclin. No, I'm just kidding. I'm trying to have a little bit of fun there. I think that Chicago... I shouldn't even say I think. I've heard from some pretty reputable sources that they were impressed with what they saw Demet off at that camp down there. He didn't skate, but we've seen the action throughout the years. But I do think that they're leaning Artim Levschenov. The Belarusian defenseman, arguably the most complete D-man in this class. Early on in the season, this kid never met a play that he didn't want to jump into. So whether that's leading the rush or jumping up as that high option for a drop pass. And then as the season wore on, it started to filter out a little bit, and he was focusing on the defensive side of things a little bit more. But he's 6'2. He skates very, very well. Excellent four-way mobility. When he's fully filled out, he's going to be a handful to really get a hold of there, and he betriebs Paxwell. But for Chicago, they've really prioritized some smaller, skilled talent in recent drops. Obviously, Bedard is there, but they were actively trying to trade up to get Oliver Moore last year, and then he fell into their lap at 19.

They have Franky Nezhar, who they took 13th overall a couple of years before that. High, high talent, smaller body. They've got Lucas Rykiel as well. So they have a lot of these things. But on the blue line, They don't have that peace that they're looking for, that they could be like, This could be our number one D. Now, Lev Shanov is not a slam dunk to be a number one D. Probably a top-pairing guy, but again, we're not going to stamp, or you're not going to bet our mortgage on it yet. So if it's me, the potential to link up Bedard and Dematoff would be too much to pass up on. But I'm also not sitting in the GM seat where I have to make that call. And so I think from all indications, that's where that number two pick is going to go, and they're going to go a little safe over upside. Interesting.

Very interesting.

I'm pretty surprised. It makes sense. I understand the logic.

And obviously, we've heard a lot of Maclin Cellebrini talk. Tell us why this guy is great and why he's going first overall.

I mean, he is a true power center. He has plus, plus feet, hard nose. He will run defenseman through the end boards. He will catch guys with their head down in open ice in the neutral zone and just leave them sucking for air. The handles, he can maneuver in small areas. The shot is heavy. It's accurate. It's quick. A great passer. It's across the board plus rated skills. In our ERP draft guide, we gave him Shades of Sydney Crosby and Jonathan Caves. And it's like, if those two came together and had a baby, that baby is Maclin celebrating me. And going back all the way to Austin Matthews draft in 2016, the only guys I'm taking over him first overall in all those classes It would be Matthews and Bedard. And you can have the conversation with Jack Hughes, who I love. Totally different players, though. But this is the type of player that you win with, that in the playoffs, his game, the power game, the two-way ability is going to really elevate and separate itself from some of these smaller, super skilled guys that maybe injury comes in, maybe when the whistles start to get put away and they don't have the advantage of getting all these power plays and all the extra ice, that he's going to be able to fight through those things.

So for San Jose, he's going to change the complexion of the franchise over the next decade, maybe be that type of player that can drive you on a really deep cup run or two. And that's really all you can ask for for a first overall pick. Yeah.

Does he play for the Sharks next season or stay away for a year?

Really, really good question. If I'm betting on it, I think he's there. Will Smith, their fourth overall pick last year, he's coming out as well at a Boston College. I would have, if it was me, if I was my career, I would have been like, Smith, you stay at Boston College. Will take Celibrini out. Rather than injecting two of these really young kids. Celebrini is still 17, so he's going to be freshly turned 18. He's going to be very, very young. But I mean, what does he have left to prove? He just won the Hoby Baker as the best player in college hockey as the youngest player in college hockey, the youngest player to ever win that award. It's insane what he did. Sure, he could go back and try to win a national championship with BU. But it's like, do you really want to hold him back for that? At the same time, if he did stay, his best buddy, Cole Izerman is coming. They'd be reunited. They used to play together at Shadeck when they were 13, 14 years old. They won a national championship. San Jose could be really, really bad. They could bring two first overall picks in for 2025 if they were bad enough.

They could be like, Here's Salabrini and James Huggins. How much fun would that be? So it's not completely out of the question at this point. And he talked about it at the combine, too, that he's like, it's not... He'll talk to his advisors, his parents, and the Sharks, and see what the best course is. But for San Jose, I don't think Will Smith is a big enough name to really get people out and sell tickets and sell jerseys, and they're going to be so bad this year that they're probably going to want that. They'll try to insulate them, get in Barkley Goodro. They'll get some vets to try to help it out, but it'll be a tough... It'll be a slog next year for them. And I do think he will be there, though.

Now, one of the things I tasked you with was I wanted to know about sleepers. There's sleepers in every draft. P. K. Suban was a second-round pick. Zetterberg was what? Seventh? Six or seventh? Seventh? Yeah.

Listen, top five picks. Yeah, who's going 23?

Yeah. With the Maple Leaves pick. But also, who do you like that's probably going to go, I don't know, 15 to 30 or something like that in the first round?

Yeah. So let's talk. We'll We can talk leaves to pick here. I'm mentally prepared for this, right? So picking 23 or whatever it is. They haven't picked a D in the first since Rasmussen D, if I'm not mistaken.

I think you're right.

They've got Tobi Niemila, who really, I think, took a nice step there in his first year in the AHL. So he's a good prospect, but he's 22 at this point. And outside of that, there's not a lot coming on the blue line. Not a lot coming in the pipeline, to be honest with you. Obviously, Easton Cowen took a huge step. But there's going to be some D available at that spot. Maybe it's Stein Solberg, who has been rising up draft list. He is the most violent man in the class. He loves to hit and hit to hurt playing in Norway, playing in a men's league in Norway, just like dumbying these 30-year-old men. And I took him at the World Juniors and like, You should see the smile he has on his face whenever he gets a chance to talk about hitting people. He's like, Yeah, I like to hit people. Sometimes I do it too much. He fully admits, I'll go chase it. He'll just go chase a big hit because We can. So a kid like that is going to be there. Charlie Elik, another 6'3, right-shot defenseman with plus, plus feet. Don't ask him to handle the pocket in traffic, but he is mean as well.

So another one is going to have probably a 15-year career. Bigger as a middle-pairing guy. So there's going to be some options. Maybe Adam Urasek, who I'm not super stoked on the feet, but he has a lot of upside with his skill, and he has size, and he's on the right side as well. So I think for Toronto, maybe they'll just take some 5'10 Euro kid who's super slight of that spot, too. But if it's me, I'm probably looking at a big burly defenseman who I can be like, That guy is going to play, whether it's as a complementary guy in the top four, or maybe he's driving his own pair, like a really strong number five. Because when you're in that spot, it's like you're not expecting a star. You might get lucky, but there's going to be definitely some options. And then if they don't want to go D, there's going to be some fun forwards there. Liam Green tree's really electric player, playing for Winsor, put up like 90 plus points and had nothing to work with. So the least are going to have... They're going to have some options for sure to get a good prospect this year.

Now, I guess my last question, this is an add-on, so I'm throwing this at you, but one name that's come up over the last few days, guys, is Winnipeg's Wrecker McGordy, who has all of a sudden, he hasn't signed. We hadn't really paid much attention to it, but it's looking like he's going to get moved. If he does get moved, what is the acquiring team getting at this point?

The type of player McGordie is. I'm a big fan of the kid himself. He is bursting with confidence. He's charismatic, he's enthusiastic. He's a really fun, well-spoken, but he's a big body kid who likes to play a power forward game. We saw him destroying guys at the World Juniors there. Open ice, just thunderous hits. Really, I think he has underrated goal scoring ability, too, that we haven't really seen at the NCA level yet. In the first two years, I think he's only popped 15 or 16 goals both years, which is nothing to sneeze out when you're 18, 19 years old. But I think that he has more to give in that regard. He put up 52 points, which was top five in the nation last year. So when he said he was going back for a third season, my spidey sense has started to tingle there a couple of months ago. I was like, why are you going back for a third season. He's physically ready. He's ready. He's ready. Physically, he is large. So physically, he could handle the rigors of the NHL. Mentally, emotionally, he's ready, and he's produced at such a high level already.

I don't really understand why that's happening, and now it makes more sense. And so talking to some people on the team side of things, he was disappointed that Winnipeg wasn't like, We're going to sign you right now in the spring. We're going to get you into NHL games down the stretch. No promises for the playoffs. We're a contender here. But get your feet wet a little bit here. Earn a little NHL money, burn a year off that ELC, and then next year, here's where we envision you playing in our bottom six, but you still have to make the team. If they had said that, I think he signs and he's already that's sold and done. But instead, they're like, no, we won't give you any ice right now, and we can't assure you a spot in the NHL next year. So if you want to come out, we'll sign you, but we're going to put you in the AHL right away. We won't burn that contract here, and then you'll probably have to play there next year. And for him now, like with the NCA, they're getting that NIL money. He's probably going to make more money at Michigan than he would have in the AHL.

So there's a lot of moving parts in this whole scenario. But as far as what his upside is, I think top nine for sure, top six upside, but this versatile power forward who can play in most situations for you, and especially if he can keep those feet moving in the right direction. So he's a little bit like when you're bowser or donkey Kong and Mario Kart. Takes you a little bit to get going. But once you get going, you're hard to stop, right? You're that big body who can run through, guys. So another quicker step, and you can a serious player. And if that doesn't come along, I think a really useful top nine piece.

The Leaps didn't have a pick in that range, but a birdie told me at that draft in 2022, they really, really liked Rutger, and Rutger really, really liked them.

Well, it'd be nice to get two national team players, or three, I guess, with Nye's. Nye's, Matthews, McGordy? That'd be okay. Yeah. It'd be Team USA in Canada.

He grew up as a Leaps fan, right? I think he grew up a Leaps fan, yeah. I believe so. Oh, that'd be great. Him and Cutter Goche are best buddies, right? And now they're both going to spurn the teams that drafted them and bounce before getting their first games in the show.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the reaction in Winnipeg is going to be a little bit more muted than it was in Philadelphia.

Perhaps.

Hard to top that. Hard to top that. Hey, Kam, thank you so much for joining us. Kam Robinson, Elite Prospects. Good luck over the next few days. I know this is your Stanley Cup, so we really appreciate you making time for us..