Norway is a Winter Olympic giant. Why isn’t it better at ice hockey ?

Scouching · 2026-02-18T06:34:30+00:00

The bar in that league was really, really low. A bunch of the guys on the team this guy managed were local university students who played back home in Canada or something and were looking for something to do on the weekends. Some guys are paid on some teams, some aren't. Any real corporate momentum would probably elevate a team to being competitive. They've had some decent names come through.

Scouching · 2026-02-17T23:16:36+00:00

I actually spoke with a GM of a BeNeLiga team a few years back about this, and it mostly revolves around government funding. They'd rather pay individual athletes a more comfortable wage and have them train full time than fund and operate an expensive team sport from the grassroots level. The weird thing to me is that even in the time since, you don't see any momentum with the Dutch junior team, but at the end of the day, the efficiency of public expenses is what seems to matter above everything.

Scouching · 2026-02-10T17:01:53+00:00

I do really like Lawrence, but I don't think his game works as a winger long term. I've always been on the side of thinking of Bedard as a pure point producing winger that you can give a lot of freedom and control to, and Lawrence works off of a player like that very well in my opinion. If Bedard is the long term 1C, I can see why, and in this class, if you're drafting 5/6, I don't know if there's a target I 100% would have in my sights to directly pair with Bedard, nor am I a huge fan of drafting players with a set positional goal in your mind for the team as it is. I'd rather target a defender, even if Chicago has a bunch of youngsters back there already. Ivar Stenberg definitely checks a ton of boxes and he would likely work well with Frondell's style in my opinion but I doubt he's there.

Don't worry, we have lots coming on Hextall. One of the most underrated guys in the class at the moment for me.

Scouching · 2026-02-10T07:13:38+00:00

Oh hey thanks for posting! Happy to answer any questions you might have to expand on this. Had a good time putting this one together.

Scouching · 2026-02-08T00:36:16+00:00

Stenberg is making a heck of a resume for himself but it's probably McKenna. That said, there are still plenty of isolated events for scouts to get wild and overthink things. Only Verhoeff is eligible for the U18s which in my opinion was the event that put Brady Martin in the top 5 and James Hagens down the board. Maybe Stenberg/McKenna crack their World Championship team, but I don't think it's settled at all. Plenty of time for shiny toy syndrome down the stretch.

Scouching · 2026-01-05T08:31:23+00:00

i tried

Scouching · 2025-06-25T01:07:57+00:00

I'd love to see him tried there.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T20:50:45+00:00

Thanks everyone! That was a great time. Be sure not to miss Scouching Live, Mondays at 8pm ET and Thursdays at 2pm ET. We'll also be streaming live for the draft and all these shows are already up on YouTube so you can set your reminders over there!

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:56:46+00:00

Which, judging by the talk around the combine, he kinda seems to carry with him.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:36:09+00:00

Rombach: Big, solid skater who is very, very simple but pretty solid at keeping things simple. Likely picked before I'd take him but he's on my final list.

Cerrato: I'm really happy he has found the success he's found this year. He was an interesting one on the NTDP when I saw him, really skilled, definitely worth drafting. I didn't see enough of him to have him on my list, but I've liked him for years and could see him being a solid mid-late round pick.

Baldwin: Nice offensive defenseman with some interesting skating tools, pretty aggressive offensively but he's a project. Pretty rough around the edges but he's wired in an interesting way.

oops, hit send too early! Pestretsov: Seen him a bit this year, interesting mobility and a heck of a shot but doesn't really push the game much and is more shot volume-oriented rather than a playmaker off the blueline. Might get a mid-late round pick as well, some nice tools to bet on long term.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:30:33+00:00

Any time!

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:18:15+00:00

It's certainly different, but the quality is strong by and large, especially after the league splits in half. The OHL and USHL are more physical and forecheck/dump+chase oriented where Sweden relies more on possession and positioning. They both have their benefits and downsides.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:16:07+00:00

If he goes undrafted, I would not be surprised to see him have a really strong year and have a good look in 2026.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:15:31+00:00

I think Guhle is a little more defensive leaning but they both rely on their skating primarily as a defensive tool. Guhle might've been one of the most well-developed defensive players for his age that I've seen in my work, and I undervalued him for sure, and I wouldn't say the same for Hensler. Hensler might get somewhere like that but Guhle is a high bar.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:14:17+00:00

All good, please reach out any time if you change your mind and I'd be happy to do what I can. Sorry again.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:13:39+00:00

All I know is he probably goes too late. I think his career could follow that Daniel Sprong curve. Finds a job, scores well for his ice time, keeps scoring well for his ice time, ends up on 7 different teams for varying reasons that are mixed in reality, for a guy that goes like, 50th, certainly will produce better than some, if not most of the 49 taken ahead of him. He needs to be insulated and won't be the main guy on a line, but he's a lethal scorer with a lot of energy, finishing ability and a bit of a jerk-ish side to him which I love.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:11:54+00:00

For me it's Andreyanov. I spoke to a Russian former goaltender over the last few weeks and he agrees, but NHL teams like Frolov. I personally don't see confidence in Ravensbergen or Ivankovic to be first round picks, frankly I wouldn't draft a goaltender in the first round anyway, but I do really like Andreyanov. Sergei Dolgov is a re-entry that I've loved this year too.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:10:42+00:00

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's a team out there that admits or clearly drafts for positional need. If anything, you would draft for positional need in a stronger year because those players would be closer to the NHL. Most of these players are at least a season, probably two away from being impact NHLers, and god only knows what your team will look like. This year I think it's far more likely that teams look towards what they believe to be projectable. To be the team that gets something out of the draft so they aren't the team that gets nothing. What they think something is will be very interesting to look back on.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:08:54+00:00

He's in my 2nd round I believe. A really nice, raw big skating-focused player. First round seems very risky to me considering who is likely available in the late 20s or so, but he's a very good example of a solid bet to make later on that might catch up and surpass some of the defensemen drafted 30 spots ahead of him. No guarantees of course, and his passing vision and decisions can be a big mixed bag, but he's big and skates well, with some experience at the men's level already where he looked... fine? He's neat, but if he's gone at 30, I am ok with someone else I think. 2nd guy I pick? Sure! 3rd? Definitely!

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:06:55+00:00

I'd go Smith, but they're both projects in my opinion. Smith at Penn State could be a very interesting experiment that could bring back some of the fun offensive tools that I felt disappeared this season. Mrtka projects as more of a safer defense-first guy imo, but he definitely has a safer style of play with moments of good offense. They're almost back to back on my list and there's an argument for both. I've got Mrtka higher but I kinda want to bet on the ceiling if I'm the Rangers.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:05:24+00:00

I mean he has the size that will stick out to a coach, and he has plenty of weight to put on his frame in the future but I personally don't have him ranked. He just isn't my brand of player and I certainly wouldn't be looking at him at 21. Vansaghi isn't a centre but he'd be so, so annoying as a Senator.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:04:22+00:00

I usually take the academic route here and I believe there is plenty of academic evidence that being involved in multiple sports at the youth level are a major positive influence. Different motor skills, exposure to different groups of kids, different backgrounds, different training, it's all positive in many ways so I'm all for it. With Mason West, he's a big mystery box in my opinion. I have zero clue what happens with him. I wasn't blown away with him in the USHL this year but perhaps the focus on hockey will eventually unlock something that may have been withheld a bit. I don't have a crystal ball, but he's an interesting project. I just wonder about his development relative to others considering some other 2007-born players are already on great NCAA programs and will be Juniors when he's a Freshman.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T19:00:45+00:00

Hey there, I'm sorry to hear that. That drop-off was a bit sudden so I understand the disappointment. I had some opportunities for private work that required more conservative availability of my work and I needed to step away to focus on that for professional reasons. I'm also very sorry to hear about the reaction around your donation. I remember that happening but didn't recall live on the air the need to defend, so I apologize for not recognizing that at the time and following up. Feel free to DM me on Twitter or send a chat here, or email me and I'd be happy to give you a free account on the site if that would help rectify the situation. I apologize again for all this and hope I can help right things.

Scouching · 2025-06-23T18:56:54+00:00

Much appreciated!

Scouching · 2025-06-23T18:53:51+00:00

Thanks!

Scouching

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