I think that sounds right. 2 years away with an outside chance to see him play a handful in 1 year. I can't wait for development camp this year. Talk about adding some skill to the prospect pool in just a year.
Rumor has it that Fiala is heading to the QMJHL to for the Ramparts. I don't know how to feel about this, let him year it up in juniors against kids his age while playing a North American style OR play in the 3rd best pro league against men..
Both have their advantages. Playing against men is always a good thing but it's on a larger ice surface. Playing against lesser competition while adjusting to the smaller ice surface is good and bad too. He can build confidence while adjusting to the smaller space and time he'll have over in NA. I think getting adjusted to the smaller rink size is a bigger issue and the sooner he does it the better he can be.
Both have their advantages. Playing against men is always a good thing but it's on a larger ice surface. Playing against lesser competition while adjusting to the smaller ice surface is good and bad too. He can build confidence while adjusting to the smaller space and time he'll have over in NA. I think getting adjusted to the smaller rink size is a bigger issue and the sooner he does it the better he can be.
Rumor has it that Fiala is heading to the QMJHL to for the Ramparts. I don't know how to feel about this, let him year it up in juniors against kids his age while playing a North American style OR play in the 3rd best pro league against men..
I think this is a good point. Never thought of it that way before.I really think the fact that Josi and Moser are in the organization will be great for him. Hopefully we can get a good fanbase over in Switzerland, and as more young guys hit UFA, they want to come play here.
I actually think this is part of a larger movement to make the Predators more international. North Americans tend to want to play in traditional hockey markets (Suter, Hamhuis), while Euros tend to like it more in smaller markets (Josi, Rinne). I think there is definite reasoning behind Poile acquiring guys like Jarnkrok, Forsberg, Fiala, etc. Of course, not every move follows this pattern, but I think we are going for Euros, generally speaking.
This kid is amazing.
I am pretty happy he landed here.
I watched many games last year with HV71 in SEL.
Sometimes you won't see Fiala, and sometimes he dominates the whole ice being the best of both teams even if he is 17 only. HV71 is a third tier team, the coming of Fiala almost lifted the team in the mid. But after the first games, he became less present ... and the team went back to 3rd tier team. (in the first 4 games, he had something like 7 points ... it was unreal)
He has a super IQ, super IQ being ... well above the high IQ's. He sees some things in advance ... . Knows how to break the pace (rythme). Has great skill. Actually he reminds me a bit Granlund/Wild in his passes. Same style. Thanks to this, he makes his linemates better. (Christiansen, a Canadian player that joined the team during the season ... with HV71, he was average at best. ... Then Fiala came from junior, in the mid of the year, he played with Christiansen who started scoring and ended up best scorer relative to number of games played with HV71)
If he heads for the CHL, he'll be a top scorer ... specially if he is teamed with another high flyer.
Ahh! and he is of small size and obviously younger than most other players, yet he seems to be a pack of muscle and is not that much played with by bigger players.
I think this is a good point. Never thought of it that way before.
The problem, of course, is that the US and Canada are still the top two producers of hockey talent in the world.