Shane Wright- Player Discussion

[PoolPartyPuljeejarvi]

Hello all- I wouldn't mind hearing what people think about Shane Wright? Im pretty opinionated on prospects but he's a guy I just vant get a good read on. Sometimes ill read a take and feel like he was just overrated too early and sometimes I read a take and think people are just being hard on him. I know that he's struggled to some degree- his numbers look pretty decent but maybe not what we were hoping for from a supposed gamebreaker but I think the more disappointing turns were the WJC where he was kind if a non factor and a similar effort with Guelph in the post season where he got 3 in 4 as they got swept. Even worse they were a 1st vs 8th seed and I think I read thats literally never happened before lol! That doesn't sound like being shaky anymore- that sounds like falling short...

Here are a few of my thoughts in no particular order:

- Hes from that generation that missed a big chunk of development from covid. I do believe he missed some injury time as well. Lastly while Settles "plan" to get him i to the ahl was largely seen as a win it did mean sitting him for 10 more nhl games or whatever. I'm just saying I don't care who you are- you can't just skip huge chunks of your development and just turn out fine. Rossi is a guy who i sort of see a similar issue and I wouldn't be surprised if he took off next year..

- On HF boards i read that he ays suck a straight forward, defensively sound game that he scores about the same in every league lol! A poster said if he spent a week in his beer league he'd get 4 points in 5 games Is this sort of a fair statement though? Another poster said Wright "wishes he was Nick Suzuki" who carried his junior teams on his back for multiple rounds. When I heard this I thought that maybe hes just trying to stick to the script no matter what to show NHL teams he can play in a system? Maybe hes not hungry enough to cheat for offense when they need scoring?? Like I said i don't have a firm opinion here but If so id agree that it doesn't seem to be working great for him...

- I'll end on a positive note- I've heard hes got an almost "Crosby-like" will to get better and address areas that hes not strong in. I'm wondering if thats why his game seems to "plateau" a little bit at each level before kind of breaking the mold again. If so it would also explain why hes so confident that his game will catch up. For poolies I think that will mean he'll address his "simple" approach to offense as Seattle spreads there's around through every line and with such a great surrounding cast he won't be leaned on so heavily as the "all around guy" or "don't cheat for offense" guy.

What's the verdict?

Is he a total bust? Maybe this disinterest is the red flag people were talking about during the interview process and hes going to struggle at every level where his gifts don't carry him? I really don't think thats the case but I'd love to hear of thats what people are thinking.

Is he a guy more like Jonathon Toews whose complete game, refusal to take short cuts offensively and straight forward approach will limit his upside. Could we be looking at a guy who absolutely plays in the NHL but has a legitimate scoring outlook in the 50-70 point range?

I kind of feel like he breaks into the league at that rate but his will to practice, work on specific parts of his game and get better get him closer to a 70-80 point level down the line.

Or is he a straight up superstar who has just had a few early setbacks that he should overcome relatively easily? It feels less like this everyday- and the last thing I want to do is be a doom sayer- just saying.

My take is the 3rd option but I will admit the WJC bothered me (although I chalked at least some of that up to it being Connor Bedard coming out party) and Guelph getting swept really shook my confidence. This is multiple levels in multiple team/linemate/deployment situations where hes not finding a way to impact the game when it matters most. Any reasons for optimism out there? Anyone seen him play outside the WJCs want to weigh in??

[2014olympicgold]

Wright will be a slow burn producer. We've been spoiled with instant success 1st round picks for a stretch and then we hit a stretch where the top 3 guys weren't franchise guys and we switched to instant bust.

Wright I think will be a solid C1. But not the Matthews, Crosby, MacKinnon, Point, Zib kind of center. But the Bergeron, JT, Giroux, Kopitar level of guys where he is the #1, but relied a lot more in the all around game, than 110pt center.

But because of that, he won't spike instantly. They have Berniers too, and he's looking like he'd be that offensive guy.

[Axeman33]

It's hard to guess on things like that at this early point in his career. We can assume what we think he will be but no one can answer your question. I doubt Shane Wright himself could answer this at this point.

I am definitely not calling him a bust. That's ridiculous. He's barely started his career.

As far as who he projects like, my crystal ball sees him as a solid two-way forward who will be a good scorer and a good penalty killer. Hes a competitive kid who plays a good 200ft game. I don't see him as a high end scorer but a good scorer (65-70 pts most seasons).

Look at RNH. Before this year his career high in points was 69pts. No one considers him a bust but maybe a disappointment being a 1st overall, before this season.

Like a lot of kids coming coming along these days, no matter where they are drafted, he'll take a few years to develop to a consistent level of play where people will be satisfied to give a more accurate assessment on his situation.

[PoolPartyPuljeejarvi]

Great points- i feel the same although I do wonder if beniers will actually help him as there is a good chance that they end up on pp1 together. I feel like Kane propped up Toews point totals a little more than maybe he might have without him. Those examples sound spot on though- Bergeron, etc.

Great points axe- I feel like rnh with a defensive conscience is pretty spot on. Probably means a 70ish point career with the odd 80 or even 90 point season thrown in to keep people on their toes- if we're lucky i mean...

[Pengwin7]

Hardest part about Wright is this... the OHL is a pretty "watered-down" league right now.
And has been for several years - sorry to OHL fans, my opinion.

And with developmental "dips" for the kids that didn't maintain high-development curves through COVID.

As an example:
Jason Robertson
Nick Robertson

Both had absolutely insane D+1 years in the OHL.
And one is now a super-duper-star and the other... might be... but probably not.

So... I think Wright could still be "either".
And I think we are kidding ourselves to think we know.

Probably my biggest concern on Wright is that he seems to have elite hockey sense, passing, shooting.
I think he's going to be an absolutely high-end PP weapon.
At even-strength, his output will depend on his linemates. I don't think he's going to fully "drive" a line.
But if he finds the right NHL linemate, I mean, I think he could be 100pts. Without that electric linemates, more like 65-75pts.

[I had a #1 draft pick last year - and put a lot of effort into researching Wright - but eventually settled on Slaf - moreso... because... when an NHL team takes a winger over a (more-useful) center... they see something incredible in the winger's upside.]