Prospect Info: 2013-14 Prospect Updates: The Start of the Jim Nill Era

[BigG44]

WHL Tweets:

Drew Wilson ‏@RaidersVoice

Blades 5 Raiders 1 after 2 periods on 900 CKBI. Mike Winther with the lone PA goal.

Seattle Thunderbirds ‏@TBirdsGameday

Troock down boards to Delnov. Delnov to Honey in corner. Honey to Troock coming into slot. Troock beats Cotton five hole. Tips lead 4-2

Kamloops Blazers ‏@blazerhockey

Tie game as Matt Needham puts home a rebound off a shot by Cole Ully on the PP.

 

[BigG44]

Video from Rögle's game from last Thursday.

Niklas Hansson is No. 27. I only noticed him twice, but maybe someone else can pick him out. First, he and teammate were deked but time which resulted in a solid shot on goal. He got spun around on the play.

The 2nd time was celebrating the only Rögle goal.

 

[BigG44]

Rinat Valiev update:

Jeff Hollick ‏@JHollick_ICE

@FishpawWriting no, Valiev still waiting for Canadian visa. Expected to be top 4 Dman when he arrives to WHL

He's not a Stars prospect so I probably won't focus on him too much, but I am interested to see how his season goes.

 

[BigG44]

Niklas Hannson was on the 3rd pair again for Rögle in a 4-0 loss. He was on for 1 goal against, and he picked up a minor.

 

[Systemfel]

Klingberg looked great for Frolunda on Tuesday despite a day of travel. 18:31 of ice time, 3 SOG, helped set up the GWG.

 

[starsfan4ever]

When did things begin to click for Klingberg?

 

[Primetimey*]

When did things begin to click for Klingberg?

The last two weeks. Personally I think he is being over hyped and comparing him to Karlsson and Zubov is a little over the top.

 

[Starry Knight]

The last two weeks. Personally I think he is being over hyped and comparing him to Karlsson and Zubov is a little over the top.

That's really not fair to say since he had a fairly exceptional season last year after returning from injury. Just now all of our brass (and fans) got to see what he can bring to our team. I think we all had hopes he would turn into the player that he is rounding out to be.

 

[BigG44]

When did things begin to click for Klingberg?

Last year was his first too establish himself as a full time pro in a men's league, and he still didn't even play a full season. Last year was the first he really took on a bigger role though.

Sounds like he'll be the #1 in Frolunda though ... or at least top pair which is good.

Don't fall too much for the hype though. I hate being a downer, but Les Jackson compared Philip Larsen to Brian Rafalski. Thought we should bring that up.

That said, the only major issue I had with him was the attitude, and I obviously thought I knew the whole story when I really didn't. His attitude seems fine, he is skilled, and he is an exciting prospect.

I do regret the Karlsson and Zubov comparisons because Klingberg really has done enough on his own to show he's an intriguing prospect. People are going to turn on him just like they did Larsen if he doesn't prove to be the next Zubie .... or Karlsson ... or Rafalski in Larsen's case.

IMO ... Larsen still can be a good D. He just never got the chance.

It's funny, in Ruff's podcast with Bruce today, he took an unintended swipe at Gully when he said his responsibility is to use Goligoski the right way. "We're not going to give him the tough D assignments ... he'll be put in a position to display his assets." Something along those lines. With that attitude ... Goli will be everyone's darling by the end of the season ... count on it. Now that he's actually going to be use properly it seems, Goli should look fantastic.

The same could have been true of Larsen IMO. Fortunately there is hope for Klingberg ... mainly because I have some faith in Ruff to play him the right way.

 

[BigG44]

Emil Molin played an impressive 0:00 during today's game. The live reporting indicated he was extremely intense and focused from the bench.

Bystrom is still getting 3rd pair minutes (just under 17) which is great. I'm hoping he forces the national team to consider him for the U-20. He was left home from the Lake Placid tournament, but he did play in a pre-5 Nations tournament with national squad recently.

Kiviaho served as backup again. Still looking for first start, but it's awesome an 18 year old 5th round goalie is even in the SM Liiga as the backup. I think with Dansk in the same age group, he doesn't have much change at the U-20 as anything more than a backup, but he hasn't really participated in any of the U-20 tournaments or preps.

 

[piqued]

It's not like Goligoski had the tough D assignments last year though. He barely had a positive Corsi Rel QoC. He also had by far the highest percentage of O-zone starts amongst D. I don't know how much more of an advantageous position you can put him in.

 

[Frozen Failure]

Why is Molin not in North America if he's just going to ride the pine in Europe?

 

[BigG44]

It's not like Goligoski had the tough D assignments last year though. He barely had a positive Corsi Rel QoC. He also had by far the highest percentage of O-zone starts amongst D. I don't know how much more of an advantageous position you can put him in.

Stats are great when you pick and choose one single category.

2nd ES TOI, 1st Corsi Relative, and 1st Corsi On Ice

You can skew anything if you want, and by watching the games you could see he was used as much or more than any D on the team.

 

[txomisc]

Les doesnt tend to overhype guys. If anything he usually seems to avoid too much hype. I still think he was right about Larsen (1g 1a tonight) and he didnt exactly hype Klingberg up to be Zubov, just that he reminds him of him in one aspect.

I still really think we are going to regret giving up on Larsen so soon. Maybe these other guys like klingberg will lessen the pain, but Larsen still strikes me as a smart top 3 defenseman who will be a valuable asset to a team in the near future.

 

[Henderson33]

Emil Molin played an impressive 0:00 during today's game. The live reporting indicated he was extremely intense and focused from the bench.

Bystrom is still getting 3rd pair minutes (just under 17) which is great. I'm hoping he forces the national team to consider him for the U-20. He was left home from the Lake Placid tournament, but he did play in a pre-5 Nations tournament with national squad recently.

Kiviaho served as backup again. Still looking for first start, but it's awesome an 18 year old 5th round goalie is even in the SM Liiga as the backup. I think with Dansk in the same age group, he doesn't have much change at the U-20 as anything more than a backup, but he hasn't really participated in any of the U-20 tournaments or preps.

Forgive me if i'm wrong, but isn't Dansk Swedish? Kiviaho would be battling with Korpisalo, Juvonen and whoever else may impress for Finland.

 

[ElGuapo]

Last year was his first too establish himself as a full time pro in a men's league, and he still didn't even play a full season. Last year was the first he really took on a bigger role though.

Sounds like he'll be the #1 in Frolunda though ... or at least top pair which is good.

Don't fall too much for the hype though. I hate being a downer, but Les Jackson compared Philip Larsen to Brian Rafalski. Thought we should bring that up.

That said, the only major issue I had with him was the attitude, and I obviously thought I knew the whole story when I really didn't. His attitude seems fine, he is skilled, and he is an exciting prospect.

I do regret the Karlsson and Zubov comparisons because Klingberg really has done enough on his own to show he's an intriguing prospect. People are going to turn on him just like they did Larsen if he doesn't prove to be the next Zubie .... or Karlsson ... or Rafalski in Larsen's case.

IMO ... Larsen still can be a good D. He just never got the chance.

It's funny, in Ruff's podcast with Bruce today, he took an unintended swipe at Gully when he said his responsibility is to use Goligoski the right way. "We're not going to give him the tough D assignments ... he'll be put in a position to display his assets." Something along those lines. With that attitude ... Goli will be everyone's darling by the end of the season ... count on it. Now that he's actually going to be use properly it seems, Goli should look fantastic.

The same could have been true of Larsen IMO. Fortunately there is hope for Klingberg ... mainly because I have some faith in Ruff to play him the right way.

Glad to hear about what Ruff said about Goose. If they do that, he'll look a lot better out there to the naked eye so you're right, it shouldn't mean as many glaring mistakes to ***** about.

 

[BigG44]

Forgive me if i'm wrong, but isn't Dansk Swedish? Kiviaho would be battling with Korpisalo, Juvonen and whoever else may impress for Finland.

You're right I mixed the country up. Truth be told ... not sure who the Finnish guys you mentioned are.

 

[Dundalis]

The last two weeks. Personally I think he is being over hyped and comparing him to Karlsson and Zubov is a little over the top.

I don't really think you can make that comment, unless you've watched Klingberg as extensively as Jackson, Ruff and Nill have. Hell even Antione Roussell was more impressed by Klingberg than any other rookie at camp.

I'm going with Dallas Stars FO guys over anyone else.

And that's not to say Klingberg ends up as good as either Karlsson or Zubov. No prospect is a sure thing. But it says to me his upside is sky high, and he probably should be much higher on the prospect list with an elite offensive D ceiling.

Which is exciting, given expectations on him were way, way below that previously.

 

[piqued]

Stats are great when you pick and choose one single category.

2nd ES TOI, 1st Corsi Relative, and 1st Corsi On Ice

You can skew anything if you want, and by watching the games you could see he was used as much or more than any D on the team.

I picked 2 categories. The 2 most relevant ones.

The question was whether he was used the "right" way in regards to his assignments, was it not? Not how much he was used or how many shots he generated.

If Ruff is actually serious about using Goligoski the right way then that means playing him on the 3rd pairing at even strength and on the top PP unit (although not as the QB, which he can't handle). Does he mean that? I have my doubts, but great if he does.

 

[ginblossoms]

correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't gulutzan not big into matching up defensive pairs against opponent lines? perhaps ruff does pick specific matchups? enough such that a guy like goligoski is indeed used more "properly" than before? and that's what ruff meant on the podcast?

(an extended post of just questions... never done that before...)

 

[Henderson33]

You're right I mixed the country up. Truth be told ... not sure who the Finnish guys you mentioned are.

Not surprised, Finalnd has been pretty slack when it comes to goalie prospects lately, hopefully Kiviaho can break the curse. Korpisalo was the backup in the U20's last year and Juvonen was the third.

 

[Systemfel]

I do regret the Karlsson and Zubov comparisons because Klingberg really has done enough on his own to show he's an intriguing prospect. People are going to turn on him just like they did Larsen if he doesn't prove to be the next Zubie .... or Karlsson ... or Rafalski in Larsen's case.

Actually, he made me feel like I was watching Subban last night

 

[Jokipakka]

Lindell with an assist last night. I was attending only the first two periods and missed it. He got 2nd pairing minutes and decent amount of pp&pk time. Esa took one stupid penalty which resulted in a goal.

Overall he played well defensively and showed flashes of his offensive potential, including a nice backhand saucer pass during a counter attack.

Lindell now has 1+2=3 in 3 games!

 

[BigG44]

Niklas Hannsen remains on the 3rd pair. Sucks that HockeyAllsvenskan doesn't keep as detailed stats as the SHL, but I can tell you he was on the ice for one goal (no points) and he was not on ice for any goals against (again). Despite a -7 goal differential in the 3 games, I know Hannsen wasn't on for a goal against in either of the last 2. His team is 2nd to last in the league.

 

[Drew311]

How has Nichushkin looked in training camp/preseason?

I'm interested to see if he'll be able to make the jump right into the NHL.