Of all the picks the Senators made in the 2020 Entry Draft, there was one that seemed to induce the most angst among Twitter scouts.
It’s hard to please everyone on Draft Day but this one had people all riled up.
Not only did many of the experts erroneously suggest that Pierre Dorion and Trent Mann reached on the pick but the idea that they traded up for him really had people worked up.
But when Ottawa selected hard-nosed defenceman Tyler Kleven with the 44th overall pick, they knew what they were getting.
And in one shift during his debut at North Dakota, we saw what Tyler Kleven is all about.
What’s not to like?!
While the questions about Kleven’s upside are fair, that’s usually the case with players selected outside the first round.
What jumped out watching Kleven yesterday is the concerns about his skating and general foot speed are mostly unfounded. For a big guy, he gets around the ice just fine. He also has a big shot and isn’t afraid to use it.
A 6’4 200 lb physical presence that skates well and can shoot the puck.Whether he can put it all together and become an NHL player remains an unknown but the tools are there.
And that’s the thing about draft picks. Sometimes, like in the case of Roby Järventie for example, you’re drafting for upside. A swing for the fences selection. Meanwhile with a guy like Kleven, you can already see the type of player he could be at the NHL level. He still has to reach that ceiling of course but it takes some of the guess work out of it.
Kleven’s development will be interesting to watch this year.
While Jake Sanderson, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Shane Pinto (all three looked great, by the way) will draw most of the attention, Kleven looks like the type of player that’s going be on highlight reels all season long.
And yes, I am probably overreacting to one NCAA hockey game but it’s been nine months without anything resembling Sens-related hockey so can you really blame me?
Here’s the full highlights from yesterday’s game.
