Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff profiles Red Wings 2024 draft pick Ondrej Becher today. The Red Wings drafted Becher as a 20-year-old after a 64-assists, 96-point season with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, but Duff notes that Becher believes it’s his defensive play that paved the way for his dominant offensive season:
On the surface, people are looking at Becher’s 32 goals and 96 points for the Cougars last season as the reason an NHL team was was finally calling his name on draft day.
He’ll tell you something completely different.
“I think I started to play more defensively, so I became a two-way player now,” Becher said. “I wasn’t a two-way player before. So I try to improve in the defensive zone and I think I did. I think that’s why I’m here now.”
As Duff notes, Becher’s immediate future is unclear. The 80th overall draft pick is an “overager” at the WHL level of play, which means that he can be one of a maximum of 3 20-year-olds playing on Prince George’s roster; the fact that he’s 20 also means that he’s eligible to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL or the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, too:
If he goes back to junior, Becher, 20, would be an overager. Were he to be sent to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, he might have to adjust to playing on the wing. In Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson and Amadeus Lombardi, the Griffins figure to be deep down the middle.
“He’s a little bit older, a fun guy,” Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary said. “He’s got skills. It was nice to watch him play. We’ll see what transpires here in terms of where he’s going to play.”
Continued; one way or another, Becher should be playing a starring role regardless of where he ends up this upcoming season.
