Travis Sanheim 180lb 6'3" D anyone know if this was a good pick.

[Cheesesteak]

I like that they're trying to actual get a good defense drafting all this D lately.  We're in bizarro Flyers land

 

bit of info

http://www.broadstreethockey.com/flyers-draft-nhl/2014/6/27/5851224/travis-sanheim-flyers-nhl-draft-2014

Edited June 28, 2014 by Cheesesteak

[Howie58]

The draft TV team seemed to have great things to say about the guy--he moved from off the radar screen to being among the top North Americans.  It's nice to know that after years of neglect, the team is taking D seriously and trying to build a core of folks with speed and skill instead of size and immobility. We can keep our fingers crossed and hope that things turn out for the best.  But I think many on this board might say it will be 3-6 years before we really know what this guy is about. 

 

Now we wait for the next few rounds....

 

Howie

[xganarchy]

I'm not necessarily complaining but...can't we draft a kid who didnt just "come out of nowhere"?

[off_the_post]

I don't mind taking another dman.  In today's NHL you can never have enough dman in the stables.  Everything said about him on TV make him sound like he has blue chip qualities except for the fact he was off everybody's radar until this year.  I worry about being off the radar - either way I certainly am not disappointed.

[TimKerrFan12]

 I was like..."who"?   But the more I read about him,  I like the pick.   I think its a good sign that he is playing for Canada's National teams.

[OccamsRazor]

I'm not necessarily complaining but...can't we draft a kid who didnt just "come out of nowhere"?

 

 

He didn't just come out of nowhere.

[doom88]

No one knows, and won't until he's 25.

[xganarchy]

So the broadcasters were lying? Ok....came out of nowhere based on earlier rankings?

[OccamsRazor]

 I was like..."who"?   But the more I read about him,  I like the pick.   I think its a good sign that he is playing for Canada's National teams.

 

 

Eliteprospect has him listed at 6-3 205.

 

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=120938

 

 

He is only 18 give him time to grow. Kid has some massive hands too.

[OccamsRazor]

So the broadcasters were lying? Ok....came out of nowhere based on earlier rankings?

 

 

So you believe everything you here....i got some beach front property in south dakota for you......real cheap!!!!!!!!

[aziz]

So you believe everything you here....i got some beach front property in south dakota for you......real cheap!!!!!!!!

So, they WERE lying that the kid jumped 100+ spots on all scouting lists over the course of one season, including starting out entirely unranked on one prominent list? Pretty ballsy of them to just make really specific things like that up.

[OccamsRazor]

http://instagram.com/p/pxOPMTQ_JV/

 

Nice to see we shouldn't being any crazy McDonald trades in the near future with all these guys in the pipeline.

 

Morin Hagg

Ghost Alt

Sanheim Vasilev??

[pilldoc]

here is another clip or two

 

 

[OccamsRazor]

So, they WERE lying that the kid jumped 100+ spots on all scouting lists over the course of one season, including starting out entirely unranked on one prominent list? Pretty ballsy of them to just make really specific things like that up.

 

 

Well he only played one year this year. And guys are always moving up and down and you don't believe in this stuff anyways he's just a prospect and they get it wrong all the time! 

Edited June 28, 2014 by OccamsRazor

[pilldoc]

Bill Meltzer @billmeltzer

Scouts crave the 4 S's in a D prospect: Size, speed, skill and sense. Chris Pryor texted me TS (Travis Sanheim) may have all 4 as he fills out and develops.

 

Bill Meltzer @billmeltzer

Sanheim isn't a "sexy" pick like a scoring fwd prospect but he's a pretty safe one (as Dmen go) with good two-way NHL projectability.

 

Bill Meltzer @billmeltzer

The fact that all 30 NHL teams interviewed @sanheim17 at Combine tells you how fast he rose up the ranks. His CS ranking was way too low.

 

 

take it for what it is worth.

Edited June 28, 2014 by pilldoc

[OccamsRazor]

 

Bill Meltzer @billmeltzer

Scouts crave the 4 S's in a D prospect: Size, speed, skill and sense. Chris Pryor texted me TS (Travis Sanheim) may have all 4 as he fills out and develops.

 

take it for what it is worth.

 

 

 

He went straight from Metro Midget to WHL usually they play a game or two here and there their first year. Kid can skate for a BIG kid. I was checking out a picture of him with Berube kid has some huge hands too.

[jammer2]

@OccamsRazor   A *lot* of things to like about this kid. I don't care at all that he came from left field, young players shoot up the draft boards all the time. The one thing I really liked hearing is that Craig Button had Travis going #8 overall.....Button is known for some shock value when making his picks, he does not stick to traditional rankings many times, it's kinda what he does.....BUT, he knows his stuff cold, so when Craig thinks he is #8....well, we got a flat out steal.

 

  Two things that really stuck out when they were talking about...his skating and smarts. A kid 6'3 (and still growing) with nice wheels and awesome hockey IQ.....that is a real nice place to start. I love this pick. I'll have to watch some video to check out some of his offensive upside (think he should have some, but his stats were not earthshattering)....but any offense from a 17 year old d-man is nice to have when you throw it in with skating, shot and smarts.

 

 It is becoming obvious Hexy wants a new breed d-man back there....big, strong skater who can move the puck.......LOVE having another fine young skating d-man in the stable.....VERY nice pick Hexy!!!

[pilldoc]

And one more from Meltzer.....his live blog. 

The more I read about this kid .... the more I like.  Sounds like Hexy did his homework.

 

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=60917#.U64eWNpDLkU.twitter

 

 

FLYERS SELECT SANHEIM WITH 17TH OVERALL PICK (9:00 PM EDT)

With the 17th overall pick of the first round, the Flyers selected Calgary Hitmen (WHL) defenseman Travis Sanheim.

The Flyers took a long time to come up to the podium. It was possible they were thinking of trading down -- most likely, they had Sanheim as the best available player at that point with the forwards they preferred the most off the board. Ultimately, they made the Sanheim pick.

Scouts crave "the four S" attributes in a defense prospect: size, speed, skill, and hockey sense. Shortly after the Flyers made the pick, Flyers scouting director Chris Pryor texted me that it is fair to say Sanheim has the potential to have all four of those attributes.

The speed is already there. The size should be as he fills out his still lanky 6-foot-3 frame, The hockey sense appears to be above-average. The skill level is the area that opened eyes in the second half of this past season as he gained confidence, but he has the tools to be a two-way defenseman.

This is what I wrote about Sanheim in my June 5 blog


The 2014 NHL Draft may not have as many highly touted names as last year's crop of talent, but that by no means makes this a subpar year for NHL prospects. Every year, it is common to hear that, beyond the top few picks of the first round, there really isn't much of a difference between the projected ceilings of most of the players chosen in the top 40 to 50 picks.

That does not mean, of course, that no one thinks there will be breakout stars beyond the top couple picks or that some players will develop into NHL regulars while others will not. Likewise, it does not mean there won't be some pleasant surprises (or even a future star or two) to emerge from the later rounds.

What it means is that every team will have its own internal rankings of prospects that could, on the surface, differ widely from what other teams and Central Scouting produces. One team may have a player in its top 10 whereas another organization has the same player 35th and Central Scouting has him 15th on its North American/European list. The rankings vary widely but the disparities in the actual evaluations are usually subtle ones.

For example, in his most recent Draft-related podcast on TSN, former Calgary Flames general manager Craig Button opined that this year's draft could prove to be a rather deep one in terms of players who go on to become NHL regulars for a number of years. He added that he had puzzled over whom to leave off of his personal top 60 and top 100 rankings for TSN this year, whereas that is not is the case in other years.

One of the biggest late-risers in the 2014 NHL Draft class is Calgary Hitmen (WHL) defenseman Travis Sanheim. Although he doesn't get much notice among those who rely primarily on Central Scouting's ratings to determine the top prospects in each year's Draft class, the 53rd-ranked North American skater is very much on the radar screen of NHL teams to the point that it would not be much of a surprise -- or a reach by the team that selects him -- if he is taken in the first round of this year's Draft. Even in the Central Scouting ratings, Sanheim rose with a bullet from his mid-term (167th) to final ranking.

Sanheim reportedly met with all 30 NHL teams at the recent Combine. A team not meeting with a player is not necessarily due to a lack of interest (for instance, the Flyers did not meet with Sean Couturier in 2011 but selected him with the eighth overall pick). However, when a team does meet with a player, they do so because they like something about the player on the ice and want to find out a little more about him.

In Sanheim's case, the odds are pretty good that even teams that were simply doing a little extra due diligence on the player but have early first-round picks would consider taking him if they were to acquire an additional pick later in the round. If he makes it to the second round, Sanheim is a strong potential candidate to be taken by the first team that does not have a higher-ranked player on their internal list fall to them.

Sanheim fits the profile of the type of defenseman that NHL teams look for nowadays. He has a 6-foot-3 frame that still needs to fill out a bit but also has good wheels and two-way upside.

An untouted first-year WHL player, Sanheim kept things very simple early in the season. He posted three points through the first 21 games of the season as he focused mainly on positional play. His physical profile, skating and first-pass ability along with his general reliability in his own zone were sufficient to get him the 167th spot on the Central Scouting mid-term list.

Thereafter, Sanheim got increasingly comfortable and started to assert himself offensively. As his role grew into that of all-situations player, Sanheim's point totals rose steadily. Paired with fellow 2014 Draft prospect Ben Taylor, Sanheim finished the season with five goals, 29 points and a plus-25 ranking.

Sanheim also made a strong final impression on NHL scouts. Once again paired with Taylor, he had a very strong Under-18 World Championships tournament for Canada, posting six assists and a plus five rating in seven games while also taking care of business in his own of the ice.

Travis' twin brother, Taylor, is a forward whose WHL rights belong to the Brandon Wheat Kings. He was limited to nine games -- all at the Junior A level -- this season. In the meantime, Travis shot up the charts among NHL scouts. The Sanheim twins turned 18 on March 29.

Travis Sanheim's rapid development this season, which was partially hastened by an injury to Hitmen captain Jaynen Rissling (a Washington Capitals prospect), was remarkable. Rather than being a "reach" of a first-round Draft candidate, he may actually be a fairly safe pick relative to the inherent risks of drafting defensemen and nurturing them through their learning curve.

Does Sanheim currently project as a franchise defenseman in the NHL? No, and he may not be a number two, either.

However, assuming that he continues developing and stays healthy, Sanheim has all the tools to become the type of two-way defenseman that moves the puck efficiently, occasionally chips in some timely offense and also provides reliable coverage in his own zone without being outmuscled by the league's big, strong forwards. Those players are highly desirable.

Players like Sanheim will never be "sexy" draft picks because they probably won't post eye-catching point totals. However, he fits the profile of many long-tenured NHL defensemen when they were his age. That is not a guarantee of an NHL career but he's off to a good start in the pre-Draft phase of his development.

[OccamsRazor]

I'll have to watch some video to check out some of his offensive upside

 

I posted a video of him one page back. Yeah i don't care where he came form either if they beamed him down from Mars as long as he develops and eventually makes the BIG club.

[pilldoc]

@OccamsRazor

@jammer2

 

I too also posted some video, different from OC.  It is right under his post.  Looks to me he has a pretty decent shot.

[jammer2]

@OccamsRazor  Of course we will never know, but I wonder if Sonny Milano would have been the pick had he not gone to the Blue Jackets the pick before us. Not unhappy at all with the Sanhiem pick, just curious if they would have went Milano....we will never know.

[OccamsRazor]

@OccamsRazor  Of course we will never know, but I wonder if Sonny Milano would have been the pick had he not gone to the Blue Jackets the pick before us. Not unhappy at all with the Sanhiem pick, just curious if they would have went Milano....we will never know.

 

That name would have fit Philly no straight gangster sound right up there with Frank Nitty!!!

[xganarchy]

Well the scouting profiles seem positive. It looks like the d should be a strength in years ahead.

[OccamsRazor]

So, they WERE lying that the kid jumped 100+ spots on all scouting lists over the course of one season, including starting out entirely unranked on one prominent list?

 

I see what you're saying now about the central scouting rankings.

 

I don't look at stats like that, i watch game film and highlights and what not not the numbers the scouting sites put on him well cause sometimes those numbers don't matchup to teams and their systems and their needs combined.

 

So yes he did jump up by those numbers but he only played one year in the WHL this past one. 

 

Not that there is anything wrong with going by those rankings but they can be misleading some times.

Edited June 28, 2014 by OccamsRazor

[jammer2]

@OccamsRazor  There are so many variables when these ranking come out. Sometimes, a kid will grow 2-4 inches from the time they are 17-18 or so. Sometimes a kids speed and dexterity pop off the charts in a matter of a few months due to the fact he is now used to being 6'3 or 6'4. Some kids struggle more than others when placed with a billit family for the first time,  they basically replace their family during the hockey season. Injuries, playing with more talented linemates....the list goes on and on....so not even a minor concern he was not ranked higher. Also have to remember, these kids are young teens, so females coming and going can be vary serious.....losing a girl you thought you'd be with forever type thing, that can throw a kid into a tailspin so quick....a love sick teen will not always be able to block that sutff out, kids are very impressionable, and quite often not able to put things in the proper perspective due to lack of experience in life.