dr0zombie wrote: ↑31 Jul 2026 15:19 pm
With age and the risks he has taken to force himself to improve Lawerence is going to be steal in 3-4 years. I am confident he should have gone in top five.
This. Every first round pick just about has the good scoring numbers. What really stands out to me are the guys who develop that character and work ethic early. The fact he risked his draft stock and challenged himself rather than continue being the big fish in a little pond speaks volumes to me. Much moreso than a few extra points would have.
And agreed, Carbs could use some of that awareness.
After watching a lot of video of the top rated pics 1-35 or so and with the input of a lot of good posters, I had settled on Bjorck and then Lawrence as the guys who might actually get a little faster. I really wanted Bjorck to fall to us, but Lawrence is going to be a really good one with more size and could end up a faster skater with the effort he displays.
Lets_Clinch wrote: ↑01 Aug 2026 19:52 pm
After watching a lot of video of the top rated pics 1-35 or so and with the input of a lot of good posters, I had settled on Bjorck and then Lawrence as the guys who might actually get a little faster. I really wanted Bjorck to fall to us, but Lawrence is going to be a really good one with more size and could end up a faster skater with the effort he displays.
Lawrence is definitely the faster of the two and I would expect that to remain into the future. And obviously he’s bigger too.
Where Bjorck holds the edge is his elite hockey sense whereas many consider Lawrence’s to be a bit below average. And while Lawrence’s compete level is high, Bjorck’s is elite.
Bjorck was my dream but I’m not surprised we didn’t get him. Stinks he went to a division rival. My guess is he steps right in and is a good middle-6 C for Winnipeg yet this season.
But I’m happy to have Lawrence. I bet he takes a big step at BU this season.
dr0zombie wrote: ↑31 Jul 2026 15:19 pm
With age and the risks he has taken to force himself to improve Lawerence is going to be steal in 3-4 years. I am confident he should have gone in top five.
This. Every first round pick just about has the good scoring numbers. What really stands out to me are the guys who develop that character and work ethic early. The fact he risked his draft stock and challenged himself rather than continue being the big fish in a little pond speaks volumes to me. Much moreso than a few extra points would have.
And agreed, Carbs could use some of that awareness.
Good points. I believe that willingness to pursue a similar competitive development approach as you describe is what helped Albert Smits to rise up on the radar of top prospects.
I'm reminded of a tennis player. He was coached in the youth levels as all who show some talent are, but during some critical development years, started playing "up" against older competition. While his contemporaries kept playing in age appropriate tournaments, this kid wasn't winning as much against the older players, but his play was repectable, and it helped him hone his game. So while not getting the recognition others were who played within their age group, this guy took his lumps to focus on long term goals.
bud white wrote: ↑02 Aug 2026 09:18 am
I'm reminded of a tennis player. He was coached in the youth levels as all who show some talent are, but during some critical development years, started playing "up" against older competition. While his contemporaries kept playing in age appropriate tournaments, this kid wasn't winning as much against the older players, but his play was repectable, and it helped him hone his game. So while not getting the recognition others were who played within their age group, this guy took his lumps to focus on long term goals.
He ended up being pretty good.
His name is Pete Sampras.
Good call. There was that other kid who could never get his idol's sweater number because some older kid had already claimed it. So he doubled it. He played up so many levels that he couldn't get one that fit his frame. So he had to tuck it in and that began a trend.
