NOTES: Is Nichushkin really 50-50 on an NHL return? Is this draft getting a bad rap?

I had a conversation with Dallas Stars Director of Amateur Scouting Joe McDonnell on Sunday for a story about the NHL Draft Combine and how the Stars gathered information for the upcoming draft.

(You can read that story here).

I also picked McDonnell’s brain on a couple other things, including drafting goalies and asked for some clarification on the 50-50 comment on Valeri Nichushkin.

Bad rap

McDonnell discussed the perceived strength of this draft class, which lacks a generational talent as the consensus No. 1 pick.

“There isn’t the Laine or the Matthews or the McDavid, and that’s why this draft gets a bad rap,” McDonnell said. “But I see a very good draft. And that’s something that we’re looking forward to. It just gets the one knock against it, but that is ignoring the depth here.”

Judging goalies

Drafting goalies can be a crapshoot. Some of the highest picks never pan out, while those taken in the later rounds seemingly became NHL starters just as often as the higher picks.

So what do scouts look for as they try and figure out the goaltender mystery?

“I guess if we knew that we’d take them a lot earlier. If anyone can tell you the secret of taking one and what you’re looking for, the goalies that turned out would go an awful lot higher than they do go,” McDonnell said. “It’s a total crapshoot.”

So what did the Stars look for in interviews at the combine with goalies?

“How do they handle themselves? Do they talk to us the way they play and are they relaxed and confident,” McDonnell said. “That’s one thing we looked at a little bit this year. Finding the factor in the way they handle themselves.”

Is it really 50-50?

Earlier this week McDonnell was quoted in an NHL.com story stating that Valeri Nichushkin had a 50-50 chance of returning to the NHL this season. I asked McDonnell for a bit more context on that statement.

“I have no idea if he’s coming back or not, I was asked off the cuff and I just jokingly said 50-50,” McDonnell said. “Who knows? It’s up to Val with what’s going to happen there. Nobody knows. So I guess you could say 50-50.”

McDonnell was able to give a bit more clarity on how Nichushkin performed this past season in the KHL.

“He had a bit of a slow start and then started playing a lot more there toward the end and had good World Championships,” McDonnell said. “For me, talking to our scouts who have seen him up close, he was very good and can be a very good NHL player still.”