It’s NHL Draft season, and Zone Coverage is highlighting a dozen NHL Draft prospects that could be taken by the Minnesota Wild at pick No. 24 of the first round.
Ryan McLeod – C
- 6-foot-2, 205 pounds
- Mississauga (OHL)
- 68GP-26G-44A-70P
Wildest Comp:
Erik Haula. There, I said it. All apologies to those still hurt by the “Vegas Debacle” for bringing up Haula, but the parallels are there with McLeod, maybe not in the finer minutiae of the game, but definitely one standout reason: blazing speed. McLeod is a burner in every sense, and even does very well with the puck on his stick, weaving in and out of traffic and dishing out pinpoint passes while at full speed. This guy even coasts fast. He uses that speed well on the penalty kill, no more apparent than in the shift by shift game of his that I watched.
You definitely want to check out around the 11:30 mark, where McLeod starts at the top of his zone, takes advantage of a great defensive play by a teammate and uses that speed to burn by both defenders en route to a beautiful short-handed goal.
I’m not a scout:
Not without risk, McLeod may actually be hurt by his name. No, he’s not related to Cody McLeod. It’s his brother, 2016 first-round pick Michael McLeod, his teammate in Mississauga, who hasn’t really torn up the OHL since being drafted 12th overall by the Devils.
Ryan may have more skill than his similarly talented brother at the same point, but it’s still tempered expectations to the point where McKeen’s Draft Guide ranks him 29th, and The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, prospect extraordinaire, has him 26th. McLeod should still land somewhere in the first round, such as SBNation’s mock having him go 28th.
If you feel like being positive:
McLeod’s brother shouldn’t necessarily hold him back from being drafted higher, but he will. Ryan is plenty talented, and speed is such a premium, that it’s easy to see why McLeod could be successful in the same vein that Haula had a great season with Vegas. *ducks*
If you want to be negative:
McLeod has a lot of speed, but it’s tough to say that he’ll develop much else by the way of impact skills. So while he probably has a high floor, he’s no safe bet to reach anything above that. He could very well top out as Haula, but the Minnesota Wild version, as a useful but not super productive bottom-six forward.
Tell your friends:
“I guess this dude is super fast, but who knows if he can develop the physical game or scoring touch you’d hope for out of a first-round pick.”
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