Vancouver Canucks 2016 NHL Draft Profile: C Tobias Eder

The Vancouver Canucks are preparing for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft — and so are we.

Unfortunately, the 2015-16 season was cut short for the Vancouver Canucks, which means we have a long offseason ahead of us. Canucks GM Jim Benning and his staff will use the time to prepare next season’s roster, and the 2016 NHL Entry Draft will certainly play an important part in that process.

Vancouver started off strong in the fall of 2015 but ended the season with a thud. Thanks to their abysmal 28th rank in the league standings, the Canucks owned seven picks early in each round. That changed after trading the second and fourth-round selections to the Florida Panthers, but who knows what will happen on draft day to get those back. Benning did a great job in his first two years at the job and another successful draft could certainly help boost the rebuild.

Here at The Canuck Way, we will do our best to prepare you for the upcoming event by profiling as many draft-eligible players as we possibly can. Keep in mind that we are not saying these are players the Canucks are targeting. Instead, these are players that we think the Canucks could or should have interest in.

Under the microscope today: German center Tobias Eder of the Tölzer Löwen!

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Name: Tobias Eder

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Height, weight: 6’0”, 175 lbs

Team/League: Tölzer Löwen, Oberliga (Germany 3)

Stats (from eliteprospects.com):

PIM

+/-

269132230?

NHL CSS Ranking: 49th (North American Skaters)

Risk, Reward: 2/5, 3.5/5

NHL-potential: Second-Line Center

Draft Range: Fifth to Seventh Round

Scouting report

"Tobias Eder’s older brother Andreas, who is eligible for this summer’s draft, spent half a season with the Vancouver Giants and eventually captained Germany at the 2014 U18 tournament. Tobias has now led Germany in scoring at the U18, having just turned 17 in March of this year. A forward with a nose for the net, he was one of the few players who continually jumped out for scouts at the 2015 U18 and did so after putting up 32 goals and 65 points in 42 DNL games for Bad Tolz, which led to his being named DNL Player of the Year. While he has put an emphasis on schooling, it’s already known that he’d be very ready to take the next step and head to the CHL. (HockeysFuture.com 2015)"

Strengths

Tobias Eder is a highly skilled forward whose only weakness is his upside. Eder is a hard worker who is far enough in his development to play professional hockey aged 17, but he might never be good enough to play in the NHL. Still, there is a lot to like about the center.

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Eder is a great playmaker with a lot of skill and a good shot. A quick skater, Eder likes to rush past and deke around his opponents, and usually has little trouble doing so. He is very creative with the puck on his stick, always finding ways to get past defensemen and set up his teammates with accurate passes.

Despite a lack of size, Eder works hard and gets into board battles when need be. A relentless worker, he won’t stop digging for lose pucks. That said, his hockey sense and speed often allow him to get to the puck first, which helps avoid physical battles. Once he gets the puck in the corners or behind the net, he displays great hockey sense and vision, as he sees open lanes quickly and finds a way to pass the puck or skate through them.

Furthermore, Eder has a good shot. It could need some more strength, but he has a quick release and does not need much time or room to get an accurate shot off.

While excelling in the offensive zone, Eder is also a good two-way player. He has good defensive awareness, which becomes apparent when his teammates get out of position and he wastes no time to cover for them. Eder does his best to break up passing and shooting lanes, and forces a lot of turnovers in doing so. That is part of the reason why he is used in all situations, including the penalty kill.

Weaknesses

As said above, there isn’t much not to like about Eder. He is a creative playmaker and good skater who also displays good defensive abilities, and there are no apparent weaknesses. Eder does everything well, he might just not have NHL potential.

If I have to name one weakness, I’d maybe say size and board battles. It often seems like Eder doesn’t have to do much to win them thanks to his hockey sense and hands — which is obviously a good thing — but it is questionable if he can translate that to the higher levels. We will find out next season, when Eder plays for EHC Red Bull Munich, the reigning DEL champions.

Final Thoughts

In the later rounds of the NHL Draft, there are no guarantees. But instead of picking a player who has one standout skill and many holes in his game, you might as well go for the good all-around player. If Eder develops well, he can become that all-around player in a middle-six role in the NHL. If not, he’ll be a terrific top-line center in Germany.

After Dominik Kahun and Fabio Pfohl, who were ranked 104th and 106th, respectively, by NHL CSS in their draft years, Eder is the next German center with a chance to be drafted in the later rounds. As opposed to Kahun and Pfohl, Eder has a great chance to be drafted, and he probably should be.

The reason why I am comparing the three is that Kahun and Pfohl are probably the two most talented 1995-born players from Germany, both playing important roles for DEL clubs. Both are highly skilled playmakers who can also score, and both are responsible defensively. Both will be star players in Germany, but they might also stay in Europe forever.

Next: More 2016 NHL Draft Profiles

Now, the big question is: is Tobias Eder just the next in line or will he have a real shot to make the NHL? Whatever the answer to this may be, the Vancouver Canucks would take zero risk with this selection in the later rounds. Eder is a great all-around forward who could come over to the AHL soon and work his way up from there.

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