The Red Wings drafted 20-year-old Ondrej Becher, a center who played for the Prince George Cougars this past season, with the 80th overall pick in this past June’s NHL Draft.
It’s a little unusual to see NHL teams draft 20-year-old players, but the Red Wings watched Becher post a 64-assist, 96-point season with Prince George (and then post 19 points in 15 playoff games), and they decided to take the plunge and draft the Czech center.
MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Becher this morning, quoting Red Wings assistant GM and amateur scouting Kris Draper regarding Becher’s realized potential:
“Just looked like everything potentially that he had as a 17-, 18-year-old kind of hit as a 19-year-old,” Kris Draper, Red Wings assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting, said. “He got a great opportunity and took advantage of it and was really comfortable in it. He certainly put up great numbers. His skating is something that when you watch him play, he has that extra gear.
“Just another guy that you’re sitting there and you watch him and he’s able to bring that speed and skill-set. One of those late-bloomers. He’s just starting to come into his own and starting to feel comfortable about the type of player that he could possibly be.”
Becher described himself as a “two-way playmaker,” more of a passer than a shooter. He was a big fan of fellow Czech and former Boston Bruins forward David Krejci.
“He was an amazing player,” Becher said. “He played two ways like I think I’m playing now.”
As Khan notes, the Red Wings may have to sign Becher to a contract in order to afford him a place to play this upcoming season. WHL teams can only have three 20-year-old players on their rosters, so Becher may move around the league as an “over-ager”:
“We’ll see what transpires here in terms of where he’s going to play,” Danny Cleary, Red Wings assistant director of player development, said.
It’s also a little difficult to say whether Becher developed into the point-per-game player that he could become at the pro level, or whether he simply had a tremendous year’s worth of statistics playing as a player a little older against his peers…
But at this point where Becher was drafted, it can’t hurt to take a chance on a young man whose potential explodes into realized results.
