Los Angeles Kings

What Are Wagner, Watson & Moverare's NHL Futures?
May 9, 2017, 9:04 AM ET [8 Comments]
Sheng Peng
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It was a relatively quiet week for the Los Angeles organization last week -- Ontario was eliminated on Tuesday, while the World Championships kicked off in Europe without the presence of a single King. In fact, besides LA, only one other non-playoff squad (New Jersey) has zero representation at the World Championships.

However, in the CHL, the Los Angeles organization has three prospects participating in the WHL and OHL Finals respectively: Austin Wagner, Spencer Watson, and Jacob Moverare.

I caught up with WHL expert Paul Figler from DUBNetwork to talk about Wagner and OHL expert Brock Otten from OHL Prospects to discuss Watson, Moverare, and former Kings prospect Erik Cernak. These guys are both excellent resources leading up to the NHL Draft, please give them a follow!

Wagner's Regina Pats are currently tied 1-1 against the Seattle Thunderbirds; they play tonight in Seattle.

There's a fair amount of excitement surrounding LA's 2015 fourth-round pick, who's "probably the fastest guy in the league, if not the CHL" according to teammate Adam Brooks. The 6'3" left winger's 14 playoff goals is also second in the league.

One scout tells me that Wagner is faster and more physical than Trevor Lewis right now -- the 19-year-old projects to be a forechecking terror. Figler, however, exercised some caution with even this assessment:

HockeyBuzz: Austin Wagner is enjoying a breakout postseason. We all know about his incredible speed, but do you think this scoring spree is indicative of an untapped scoring potential?

Paul Figler: I think that Austin is seeing a little bit more ice time with the loss of [Jake] Leschyshyn and then in the playoffs when Adam Brooks was injured. The team is looking to him to provide more offense. He does have the ability to put the puck in the net, but this is certainly a little bit of an anomaly.

HB: What do you think Wagner's NHL ceiling is at this point? Elite third-line, two-way forward? Or top-six scorer? Can you give me an NHL comp?

PF: I would not be certain in calling him an elite third-line, two-way forward. Drayson Bowman is a comparable player who was not quite NHL material (180 games, 33 points) but more closely AHL material (264 games, 147 points). Adam Lowry of the Winnipeg Jets is also somewhat comparable.

I would think his ceiling is third-line, two-way forward. He does have speed to burn and can make a case for sticking around in the NHL for longer than a cup of coffee.

A very good third-liner sure, but I am not sure on elite.

HB: Besides his skating, what are some of Wagner's other skills? What's lacking in particular?

PF: His top skill is certainly his skating. He has a very strong transitional game, isn’t afraid to get into the dirty areas and has a lot of compete. He does play a strong two-way game and is reliable in his own end. Appears to be a coaches' player, takes assignments, and completes them as required.

He's lacked finish throughout his career. I have seen so many breakaways from this kid, he just can’t put it away as often as he could. That’s my one knock.


Watson and Moverare's Mississauga Steelheads are down 2-1 to Erik Cernak's Erie Otters; they play on Wednesday in Mississauga.

Every season, the OHL has a coaches poll, ranking the league's best prospects in a variety of skills. Otten did his own version of this poll and Watson stood out -- the 2014 seventh-round pick was tabbled by Otten as top-three in the Eastern Conference in these categories: Smartest Player (1), Best Playmaker (2), Most Dangerous in the Goal Area (1), and Best Stickhandler (3).

The 5'9" or 5'11" right winger -- depending on who you believe -- is also tied for the league lead with 14 playoff tallies.

HB: Watson is great at getting his shot off -- of course, he led the OHL in shots on goal last season with 353. Do you think that skill will translate professionally?

Brock Otten: Not really. This year, his shot totals decreased immensely (from 5.5 a game to 4.1). I've always felt like Watson is a more natural playmaker and last year's insane shot totals were more a reflection of the Frontenacs needing him to be a scorer.

This year in Mississauga, he was able to exist more in that playmaker role, utilizing his skill with the puck and creativity to be more patient in the offensive zone. While he possesses a quality shot, I think his lack of size, in combination with lack of elite speed, will prevent him from being a consistent scoring threat. He'll be more suited as a guy who can work the possession game in the offensive end, and be a solid powerplay guy.

HB: Perhaps a related question, but at this point, what in particular does Watson have to improve to make the NHL?

BO: Well, I already touched on it, but his skating will need to improve. It's already come a long way in the OHL and he's actually above average now, I'd say.

But lacking elite physical skills and stature, you really need to have that extra gear to be a consistent offensive contributor. Finding another gear would be great for his game.

The other thing is adding strength.

As I mentioned, I think Watson is the type of guy who'll need to be a strong possession player at the next level, and not necessarily a play creator off the rush. If he's going to continue to extend plays in the o-zone, he'll need to rely on more than just his stick and puck skill to do at the next level.

He initially struggled with playing through traffic when he came to the OHL (one of the reasons he fell in the draft as late as he did). I could see him initially struggling at the AHL level next year too. But he's skilled enough to adapt eventually.


Otten rated Moverare tied for third-best Defensive Defenseman in the Eastern Conference.

“Moverare, in my opinion and our staff’s opinion, had the highest hockey IQ of defensemen in the Draft," said Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yannetti of the 6'2" 2016 fourth-round pick to John Hoven. "Not [just] Europeans, in terms of all defensemen, we think he had the highest hockey IQ, period.”

HB: The biggest knock on Jacob Moverare is his skating. How much improvement have you seen from him in this department this year?

BO: Moverare is still a little stiff back there, but I have seen improvement from start to finish this year. His overall mobility (lateral agility, backwards skating) looks better. On the powerplay, he looks less rigid walking the line and it's made him a better PP QB. And defensively, he's doing a better job of staying ahead of forwards. Seeing him walked around way less than we did at the beginning of the year.

He's become a very solid defender in his own end. Straight-line speed and acceleration are still rough and it limits his overall effectiveness offensively. Don't see a ton of offensive upside. But he's a solid prospect with a chance of developing into a solid #4-5 IMO.


Cernak was LA's 2015 second-round selection. However, he was dealt last Feburary to Tampa Bay for goalie Ben Bishop amidst scuttlebutt that Dean Lombardi and company had lost some enthusiasm for him.