Habster:
Canadiens management and fans should be drooling at the thought of another Mike Komisarek type of defenseman in the Habs lineup in the near future. Badgers head coach Mike Eaves certainly knows what he is talking about as he is involved with the U.S junior national team and has seen both Komisarek/McDonagh progress through the U.S hockey program.
McDonagh has been compared to Nashville Predators Ryan Suter by some hockey scouts but Eaves believes he doesn’t possess the same end to end rushing ability as Suter. Eaves does tell Journal de Montreal reporter Brownish Mathias that McDonagh is more similar to Komisarek’s physical, “defense first” type of game.
I have spoken to a couple of OHL amateur scouts who haven’t followed Ryan McDonagh very closely but have talked to U.S scouts who believe McDonagh is a cross between Komisarek’s defensive edge and a younger Chris Chelios’ offensive flair. They believe the potential is there and “potential” is the operative word….. still pretty high praise and a lot of pressure for an 18 year old.
