Getting to Know: Daws and Bednar

The NHL has not yet announced the new date of the NHL Entry Draft, which was postponed from June 26-27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the draft does take place, the Detroit Red Wings will have three second-round picks -- their own, the Edmonton Oilers' pick (acquired in the trade that sent Andreas Athanasiou to Edmonton) and the Washington Capitals' pick (acquired in the trade that sent Nick Jensen to Washington).

For the next several weeks, DetroitRedWings.com will take a look at some of the players, one North American and one international each week, who are likely to be available.

This week we'll profile two goaltenders that are expected to be available outside the first round.

When NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings on April 8, they had Guelph Storm's Nicolas Daws ranked first among North American goaltenders.

In 38 games this past season, Daws went 23-8-3-3 with a 2.48 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and five shutouts.

Those statistics earned Daws the Jim Rutherford Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League's goaltender of the year.

Daws, 19, who was the backup the previous season in Guelph and did not get drafted, made some changes last offseason.

He lost 25 pounds but told TSN's Mark Masters in May that the biggest change he made was the mental one.

"It was a mindset change," Daws told TSN. "I knew that this year, whether it was in Guelph or with another team, I needed to be a starting goalie ... getting passed over in last year's draft really helped me get that motivation."

Daws was also named an OHL first-team All-Star.

TSN's experts, Craig Button and Bob McKenzie, were like-minded in their evaluations of Daws, with Button listing Daws 65th and McKenzie ranking him 64th.

The Athletic's Scott Wheeler had Daws 89th on his final list while Corey Pronman placed him 114th overall.

"Daws was one of the best players in the OHL, as a defensive force in a league where stopping goals was optional last season and a member of Canada's U20 team," Pronman said. "Daws is in his second eligible season for the draft after a pedestrian start to his junior career, but he is very likely to be picked. He is a 6-foot-4 goalie with great poise and sense. He moves around his crease quite efficiently, squaring up a lot of pucks, and is rarely out of position or needing to scramble. I question how quick he is. His lateral ability is good and he gets around his crease fine, but for the NHL level I don't know if he can move at the pace needed to get to the tough save."

The Red Line Report was not as high on Daws, putting him 228th in its final draft guide.

Dobber Hockey said, "The overage netminder has developed nicely and has taken over the starter's net in Guelph. He was on a torrid pace to begin the 2019-20 OHL season and his borderline dominance led to him getting the first crack at the starting gig for Team Canada's WJC squad, although he did relinquish the net to Joel Hofer as the tournament wore on. Daws returned to Guelph and his play regressed a bit prior to an injury. Still, there's no doubt that his development took a step in the right direction over the course of last season."

Jan Bednar has similar size to Daws but did not have quite the same success this past season in Czech Republic.

NHL Central Scouting ranked Bednar second to Yaroslav Askarov among international goalies.

The 6-foot-4, 196-pound netminder played 24 games for HC Banik Sokolov in Czech2, the junior league, recording a 3.26 goals-against average, .873 save percentage and one shutout.

Button did not have Bednar ranked among his top 103 players in his final list.

McKenzie had Bednar 71st out of 93 in his final rankings.

Wheeler did not have Bednar among his top 100 while Pronman placed him 111th.

"Bednar is a very tough evaluation case," Bednar said. "He has the 6-foot-4 frame and high-end athleticism that can make you a believer. On his best night, he looks dominant with the ability to steal a game at the NHL level. His ability to get to pucks across the crease for a goalie his size is fantastic, and he can make some real highlight reel saves. But Bednar can be a bit all over the place in the crease. He tracks pucks well through traffic, but his reads on passing plays are average, and he is out of position a bit too much. He has played against men for most of the past two seasons so he may have just been in over his head, but his consistency has been a significant issue."

Interestingly, Red Line Report had Bednar 68th, much higher than Daws, saying, "Maybe the most consistently inconsistent goalie we've ever seen. Never know whether the 'Good Bed' or 'Bad Bed' will show up -- sometimes within the same game! His great size and positioning goes a long way. Looks huge in net when he stays quiet and lets the play come to him. When he's on top of his game, uses his enormous frame and athleticism to make some miraculous saves that give teammates confidence. Comes out to play the puck often and is active handling it and moving it up. Spreads his long legs out stretching post-to-post, making him very difficult to beat down low. Deflects pucks into corners with his pads and blocker. Doesn't drop down too early, and at his height covers the top corners well. But when he goes off the boil... Yikes! Gets scrambly and wastes a lot of movement. Doesn't react on long, unscreened shots. Mystifying."

Dobber Hockey noted Bednar had a better season the previous year, in which he played 19 games for HC Karlovy Vary in Czech U19, with a 2.39 goals-against average and .917 save percentage, and 10 games for HC Energie Karlovy Vary in Czech, with a 2.73 goals-against average and .917 save percentage:

"Bednar had a great 2018-19 season, impressing observers at the under-17 and under-18 levels internationally and playing 15 games in the Czech Extraliga as a 16-year-old, a great feat in itself. But his 2019-20 season wasn't as good. He bounced around between the top two levels in the nation and posted weak numbers. He was thrown to the wolves somewhat by having to play against the circuit's top teams and he wasn't quite ready for it. Despite the struggles, Bednar has the size (6-4, 187), hockey sense and mobility to become a starting goalie in the NHL."

Bednar, 17, was one of six goaltenders selected in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, going second overall to the QMJHL's Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

"I'm very happy to be part of this great organization. It's a great league with many fantastic players and it's a good opportunity for me too," Bednar told chl.ca. "It's a good step for my way to the NHL … small rink, more shots, and many hard situations for goalies."