I was able to get it, but had to do a free sign up (no trial required).Megaterio Llamas wrote: ↑Tue Jul 28, 2026 7:28 pmhttps://www.nytimes.com/athletic/745841 ... gan-state/Why Canucks’ Anthony Romani is a late-blooming prospect to watch
Let me know if the link works for non subscribers (recently this was supposedly changed). I'll quote the text from the article here if not.
It's kind of a nothing write up from Scott Wheeler, but I thought what the heck.
The frustrating part of the article is that it doesn't get into why Romani didn't get drafted the first year he was eligible and fell to the 6th round in his second kick at the cat (after putting up huge junior numbers) and whether those concerns have been assuaged. What we know, though, is that he had a good deal of success on a completely stacked Michigan State team. What I'd add is that his success was not just the product of playing with a bunch of talented players; Romani forced himself into the top 6 when he wasn't projected to be there. And then in the games I saw (caught one live, a few others on tv), he was the guy on his line making things happen. He played as well as first rounder Ryker Lee and much better than first rounder Cayden Lindstrom and second rounder Eric Nilsson, but to be fair he's a couple years older (which matters a lot at that stage of development), and isn't coming off a season lost to injury (Lindstrom) or moving to a new continent (Nilsson).
Wheeler says that hockey IQ seems to be one of his chief attributes. And that's always a tough thing to scout well in terms of how it translates to NHL success. Lots of kids don't demonstrate high hockey IQ when their skills don't demand it for success. For others, losing that half second to make the play at every successive level renders the tool useless if that IQ isn't coupled with extremely high processing speed, and is also can be counteracted when you start playing against more and more players with high defensive IQ who can read you and the play as quickly as you do (and can fluidly translate what they see into what their body does). Still, when high processing speed and hockey IQ exists at a superior level compared to other NHL players, it can be an extraordinary skill multiplier. It buys time and space just like speed; it can get plays into otherwise greasy areas softly without brawn.
At the end of the day, I think there's slightly more to Romani than the annual puff piece article we got about an, I don't know, Palmu (trying to think of another 6th rounder who I remember some Vancouver writer suggesting could be a diamond in the rough). But he's still a long shot.
There's going to be stiff competition again in Michigan State for ice time (and PP time), so if Romani ends up being a critical part of the Spartans, I fully anticipate he'll get a contract and be a dart.
