Prospect Info: C/RW Matthew Savoie, 9th Overall, 2022 NHL Draft - Traded to Moose Jaw 1/4/24

[Tachycineta]

I'm excited.

 

[Zman5778]

There wasn't a whole of pure offensive talent available for us at 9. Savoie is one of those that oozes pure offensive skill. Great pick.

 

[is the answer jesus]

Love it. Top 5 talent falls to us at 9. Very easy pick to make.

 

[Fjordy]

Very good choice, I love this.

 

[joshjull]

 

[sabres4ever]

Thank god geekie is off the board.

 

[Chainshot]

Black Book ranking #9:

Some of what they had to say -

He also plays a high percentage shooting game. It’s rare for him to attempt a low percentage shot, unless he’s already manipulated the goaltender by laterally dragging the puck momentarily to transition the goalie away from his intended short side target. This made him an efficient and dangerous shooter on the man advantage, where he played both the half-wall and the bumper position.

There are some limiting qualities to his game as well, despite his offensive upside. We mentioned that his straight line speed is good, but it’s not dynamic, especially given his size. This ties into his overall pace of play. He doesn’t keep a great pace, it’s more stable and steady. It’s certainly not bad and he increases his energy rapidly when needing to work and dig for pucks, but it wouldn’t hurt him to find another gear for the overall pace he plays at. Additionally, despite being a significant talent, he can be fleeting in terms of his overall offensive impact on a game-to-game basis. We think his team’s dominance is partly to blame for this though. They ran over teams, so he wasn’t needed to play at his best in a lot of contests. We don’t let him off the hook completely for this, but we did take it into consideration.

Savoie is a rare blend of useful traits. He can hip check bigger players than himself in open ice. He’s a powerful player along the walls who understands leverage, routinely ending up with pucks against much larger players. He’s exceptionally gifted with his stick, which gives him real projectable defensive upside, despite being relatively short. He’s willing to attack the heavy trafficked areas of the ice, while carving through traffic with his exceptional puck handling ability. He’s a natural dual threat with one of the higher skill levels in this class, and he looks to operate at a very high speed. Sometimes he fails to relax his game enough to recognize that his passing options are already gone, but it’s not a big concern to us. Some players require a longer term projection to understand how they can operate properly at the NHL level, but that’s not the case with Savoie. He’s a gifted player that features a high floor, and a high ceiling.

 

[Ralonzo]

Big question is how do I pronounce that last name?

Like Savoy Brown



hope the train ain’t still heading there

 

[Chainshot]

More Black Book info -

We did mention that he’s a dual threat, and there’s a rare shooting style displayed by Savoie. One of the more unique aspects to his shooting game is how often he’s willing to attack with his snapshot, in contrast to using his wrist shot. Most offensive players rely heavily on their wrist shot, but Savoie is very comfortable at relying on his snap shot to generate goals. There’s a reason he’s as confident as he is. He’s scored as many goals with his snap shot, as he has with his wrist shot this past season. His comfort with his shot selection ties into his lack of using a catch and release off of lateral passes to execute shots, which is atypical.

On the one hand, his snapshot directly ties into his rapid assessments, since he likes to attack faster than the defense can react. There’s coherency between his shooting tendencies and playmaking tendencies. On the other hand, in a gifted player, we would rather see them have a more diverse shooting skill set that features catch and release shots more often, since it’s easier to shift shooting angles off of catch and release attempts relative to snap shot attempts. There are times, when depending on the goalies' positioning, catch and releases give a higher likelihood of a goal. However, it’s possible that he can further refine his shooting mechanics, since he does have good handling, which usually ties into being able to develop a solid catch and release system.

 

[Chainshot]

EP also had him at 9OA:

“He can fly and he's got great hands. I think average-ish hockey sense might hold him back from becoming a can't-miss top line player, but he's got as much talent as anyone I've seen this season.” -Eastern Conference scout in May 2022

Few players in the 2022 NHL Draft have spent more time in the scouting community's sights than Winnipeg Ice winger Matthew Savoie. A rejected bid for exceptional status, the first overall pick in the WHL Draft, a trip to the USHL during the pandemic year, and back to a 90-point season with the WHL's best regular season side... he's done his part to command their attention. Savoie's game is one of pure, unrelenting skill. He's built to score, whether that's depositing the puck in the back of the net himself or setting his teammate up for the honour. The result of this skill last season was a 1.38 point per game clip, good for the highest rate among first-time draft-eligible skaters in the WHL.

All of his scoring tools rate as above-average, but the foundation on which his game rests is his skating stride. Heavy crossover use and constant motion propel his high-pace, constantly attacking approach, making his every puck touch an opportunity to create a scoring chance.

There is another couple of pages from both BB and EP on Savoie. I will filter it in - not sure if quoting all of it is allowed any more.

 

[Zman5778]

From Pronman:

Analysis: Savoie is a very talented scorer. He stands out with the puck on his stick and can attack in a variety of ways. Savoie is an excellent passer, who can run a power play, hit seams at a high rate and make tough plays under duress. He has very good hands to maneuver in traffic. He has good speed to beat opponents wide and he has a shot that can score from range. Savoie lacks ideal NHL size, but he competes hard and wins a surprising amount of battles for his size. He doesn’t have incredible speed and skill for a 5-foot-9 player so he may be moved to the wing in the NHL, but regardless I see him as a very good top-six forward.

Thoughts on the pick: Matthew Savoie is a highly talented forward who can make a ton of plays and do so with pace. He instantly shoots high in the Sabres system, providing them much needed dynamic abilities. The big question is whether he’s an NHL center or a wing — most think he’s a wing. I’m sure Sabres fans would at least like to see him tried in the middle, but they have enough good players on the team who can play center that I don’t think it’s a massive issue either.

 

[Zman5778]

From Wheeler:

4. Matthew Savoie — C, Winnipeg Ice, 5-foot-9​

There isn’t a player in this draft class whose game thrills more than Savoie’s does when he’s firing. Inside the offensive zone, he’s lethal. He’s got extremely quick side-to-side hands that help him beat defenders one-on-one off of cuts. He’s got an NHL shot (which he can place with pinpoint accuracy from a bad angle and rip by a goalie clean from a distance, but he also loves to change up and slide five-hole). He does an excellent job creating plays to the slot out of traffic. He’s a burning skater with explosiveness that allows him to win races, separate in transition, and put defenders onto their heels, or dash through holes in coverage to the net (or draw a penalty). He’s a soft small-area passer who blends deception into his movements.

And then on top of those things, he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He’s always engaged, he keeps his feet moving, he plays with a ton of energy, and he finishes all of his checks and knocks his fair share of players over despite being on the smaller side). He’s also sturdier on his feet than his frame might suggest, which helps him play between checks. I see a dynamic, high-tempo, top-six, goal-creating package. He’s an exciting talent in a draft that’s short on them, with clear PP1 upside due to his shooting-skill package and clear five-on-five upside because of his skating and motor. Even in games where the points don’t fall, he’s almost always dangerous and threatening on the ice — and he’s seldom going to leave you wanting more. After suffering a shoulder injury in the playoffs, Savoie is also now out of his sling, which is positive news for the summer ahead.

FWIW -- Wheeler had him above Slaf.

 

[Chainshot]

From EP's writeup -

 

[Dingo44]

 

[Zman5778]

More from Pronman:

8. Matthew Savoie, C, Winnipeg (WHL)

Jan. 1, 2004 | 5′ 9.0″ | 175 pounds | Shoots right

Tier: Projected bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Skating: Above NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Player comparable: Jaden Schwartz

Background: Savoie was one of the top forwards in the WHL as a 17-year-old, helping lead Winnipeg to the top of the standings and ending the season 7th in league scoring. He was a point-per-game player in the USHL as a 16-year-old. Savoie was the top pick in his WHL Bantam Draft after applying for and being denied exceptional status to play at the age of 15. He played at the U17 Challenge for Canada as a 15-year-old and was a top player.

Analysis: Savoie is a very talented scorer. He stands out with the puck on his stick and can attack in a variety of ways. Savoie is an excellent passer, who can run a power play, hit seams at a high rate and make tough plays under duress. He has very good hands to maneuver in traffic. He has good speed to beat opponents wide and he has a shot that can score from range. Savoie lacks ideal NHL size, but he competes hard and wins a surprising amount of battles for his size. He doesn’t have incredible speed and skill for a 5-foot-9 player so he may be moved to the wing in the NHL, but regardless I see him as a very good top-six forward.

 

[Stevie J]

Don’t know much about him, but I like the things I am hearing on this thread. Crazy draft so far.

 

[Mike McDermott]

Don’t know much about him, but I like the things I am hearing on this thread. Crazy draft so far.

Yeah I don’t know prospects well (see at all) but liking the excitement in this thread.

 

[Montag DP]

Big question is how do I pronounce that last name?

I think it's pronounced Sav-ior.

 

[Chainshot]

From the BlackBook:

Matthew Savoie is a dynamic, dual threat center, who is physically one of the strongest and most powerful players per pound, in this class. He might not look very big, but we’ve seen Savoie handle much heavier and older players than himself during physical battles and confrontations. He plays with an edge, he plays a competitive two-way game, and it gives him a lot of substance to go with a versatile skill set.

When we see a developing prospect listed at his height, we hone in on the skating base to make sure it can translate. Although Savoie doesn’t feature blazing or ideal peak power output in his straight line skating, he’s still a mechanically gifted skater. He features excellent weight shifts that are timed properly, predicated on his ability to incorporate both his inside and outside edges, when looking to pivot or rotate with sudden lateral shifts. His inside edge work is noticeable in his game when generating wide A stances, where he loads on his inside edge opposite to the side he intends to produce the initial fake from.

He combines this approach with a fantastic level of dexterity within his hands, which allows him to slip checks while simultaneously pulling pucks to the opposite side of the initial phase of the deke. One of the advantages with his handling comes as a consequence of his lack of height. Sometimes height can work both ways depending on the player, working to a player's benefit instead. We mentioned that Oslund’s lack of size makes him that much more elusive in the neutral zone, where Savoie’s lack of height allows him to shift with a lower center of gravity, while simultaneously dragging pucks through defenders and across his own body. This allows him to manipulate players while dodging collisions in open ice, or when he’s looking to remain evasive while maintaining possession, as he cuts from an outside position, into an inside position.

 

[Beerz]

Just don't be Tyler Ennis.

 

[Chainshot]

He can also transition off his center point rapidly while remaining balanced due to his stability and low center of gravity, while maintaining proper posture. This helps him generate speed in short order when looking to turn the corners out of his end, before entering the neutral zone most of the time. He has excellent hip flexion, and his lateral arm motions work in unison with his torso rotation to remain fluid.

Perhaps his most gifted skating trait is his linear crossover mechanics. He times them regularly with drop passes to explode into space before identifying a play, while also timing them when in possession, while attempting to generate zone entries. Overall, his top speed is slightly underwhelming considering how technical his skating can be, but he’s still a gifted skater and we don’t think he’s going to have issues when projecting him at the NHL level.

One of the biggest differences between him and a lot of other draft eligibles is that he knows how he needs to play in order to maximize his game. Everything he does is with authority and an intention. He’s very confident in his assessments and his abilities, and this leads to rapid evaluations both on and off the puck. These can appear subtle, yet are critical for extending play. For instance, when cycling the puck, he rarely defers to the point when it would put them in a vulnerable position, instead he reads if he has multiple teammates down low, which can create a possession-driving cycle play instead. When he makes streamlined backhand passes off the wall, he doesn't puck watch, he immediately looks to support relative to the positioning of his teammates along the boards. This kind of thinking can be extended through all three zones. He’s almost always looking involved in some way, even if he hasn’t been offensively dominant in a game.

When in possession, he doesn’t just focus solely on his own teammates' and opponents positioning relative to his own, he also focuses on the defenseman's intentions, which allows him to modify his attack, depending on his reads off of them. These modifications occur through exaggerated A-stances, where he manipulates opposing defenses with postural fakes before finding his options. Quick passing fakes where he extends before pulling his hands back in tight to the puck, and impressive head feints, where he stares off his own teammates while trying to advance his own positioning with the puck.

The Black Book, continued.

 

[Zman5778]

Just don't be Tyler Ennis.

Tyler Ennis was a legit top 6/9 player for a long, long time.

 

[Beerz]

Tyler Ennis was a legit top 6/9 player for a long, long time.

He was poop.

 

[Dingo44]

Kid is in

 

[Dirty Dog]

Also, is there any doubt that the sabres are going to develop him as a center? I don't think they follow the winger projections