Colorado Avalanche 2016 Draft Profile: Jake Bean
The NHL Draft kicks off tomorrow for all NHL teams, and the Colorado Avalanche will have plenty of young prospects to choose from at the tenth pick. Today, Jake Bean stops by for his draft profile.
The Colorado Avalanche are set to hit the draft floor tomorrow, and they’ll have plenty of options available with the tenth overall pick, but one of those options could be left-handed D-man Jake Bean.
Before we begin with his profile though, here’s a list of all the other profiles we’ve done at MHS leading up to this point:
RHD Charlie McAvoy
LW/RW Patirk Laine
C/LW Kieffer Bellows
LW Max Jones
LW/RW Alexander Nylander
Jake Bean becomes just the third defenseman to join the list, but that’s also because Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have historically shied away from defensemen in the first round.
Oh, and Joe Sakic also told the Denver Post that his draft list is more focused on forwards.
We’re going to go with the best player on our list. This year it’s forward-heavy.
So, Jake Bean is probably not a likely pick, but I’ll follow through with the draft profile anyway because he’s a fun kid to get to know, and he quite honestly boasts a lot of potential as a two-way d-man with offensive upside.
Jake Bean’s Statistics
Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 173 pounds
Age: 18
Minor Team: Calgary Hitmen
NHL Player Most Like: T.J. Brodie
Probability of NHL Success: Likely, within 2-3 years as a top four defenseman.
Those numbers were good for 6 overall for defensemen scoring, and the 5 players ahead of him were already drafted, or are not going to be drafted.
Ivan Provorov lead the way in the WHL, with 73 points in 62 games, just 9 more than Bean, and Provorov was drafted at #7 overall in last year’s draft.
Provorov figures to be a better defenseman just because his two-way game is further along, but Bean will definitely find a top-four pairing in the near future.
Jake Bean’s Scouting Report
Here’s what the scouts are saying about him.
Curtis Joe from Elite Prospects:
A shifty and intelligent defenceman that plays with panache and poise. An excellent skater that is a good puck-carrier up the ice. Makes very good decisions with and without the puck, and plays strong positionally. Works hard and doesn’t give the opposition much to work with, but could stand to be a bit more assertive during high pressure situations. That being said, he is not a one dimentional player. He displays natural talent in the offensive end, but also plays a complete defensive game in his own end. He has a proactive stick and boxes the opposition out, limiting lanes. All-in-all, the type of all-around defenceman that you want to have on the ice as much as possible.
And here’s what Future Considerations had to say:
Bean is a slick, pass first, puck moving blue liner who is absolutely deadly in transition. He has quick feet that allow him skate with the puck and the vision to quickly find his passing options. Has solid composure and will calmly skate the puck out of pressure before head manning a pass up to streaking forwards. His defensive ability needs work as right now it consists of an active stick he uses to try to shut down opponents as they’re coming down wide on the rush. Needs some added strength and to improve his defensive positioning.
For my money, I think that Bean is underrated defensively because he has great body positioning, so I’m not quite sure about that scouting report from Future Considerations.
Still, he does need to work on his positioning and willingness to be physical before he is ready for the NHL, but that shouldn’t be too far down the road.
Movie time!
All I can really say is wow… He has a great shot from all areas on the ice.
He also has tremendous vision, connecting on a number of great cross ice passes, and one that sent his teammate on a breakaway.
And man oh man is he a good skater, kind of reminiscent of Tyson Barrie with some of those moves and lateral quickness.
However, that was just a video that showcases his offensive prowess.
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I watched a shift by shift video of Jake Bean and it’s clear that he needs some work in the corners, as well as better gap control, but he’s not that far off.
Perhaps the most enticing part of his game is that he is really good off of the rush, whether he skates the puck up the ice on his own, or if he feeds a player with a perfect breakout pass.
That’s a skill set that is becoming more and more important in today’s NHL, and it’s definitely something the Colorado Avalanche could use more of on their blueline.
Jake Bean’s Potential Fit with the Colorado Avalanche
Obviously Jake Bean would be a great fit for the Colorado Avalanche, but unless he’s there at No. 40 in the second round, then he won’t be playing in Burgundy and Blue anytime soon.
He’s ranked as high as No. 10 (again by McKeen’s Hockey — who are these guys), and as low as No. 18 by Future Considerations. In between those rankings he finds himself mostly in the mid-teens.
If the Colorado Avalanche really want to go defense in the first round, then 1 of the top three defensemen (Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev, Jakob Chychrun) is almost sure to be available at No. 10.
Next: Five Players Likely on Colorado Avalanche Draft List
No matter who the Colorado Avalanche draft tomorrow, the NHL Draft will still take place, and that is all that really matters right now because it means that the offseason has finally begun.
Happy drafting folks!