Prospect Info: 2017 HF Devils Top 20 Prospect Rankings: #9

[britdevil]

Bastian had a really disappointing season, at least in my eyes.

I'm not really surprised by the lack of attention Mueller is getting. We virtually know nothing about him. He should probably be a lot higher on the list.

 

[Zippy316]

Bastian had a really disappointing season, at least in my eyes.

I'm not really surprised by the lack of attention Mueller is getting. We virtually know nothing about him. He should probably be a lot higher on the list.

He was also injured (knee injury mid-season) and played 2C most of the year when he's likely better at RW.

It was disappointing, but his season is very reminiscent of JQ's draft +1.

 

[JimEIV]

He was also injured (knee injury mid-season) and played 2C most of the year when he's likely better at RW.

It was disappointing, but his season is very reminiscent of JQ's draft +1.

I agree. And I think Bastian is more skilled than Quenneville.

It'll be an interesting first year for him in Binghamton. But I am really expect him to come out of the gate strong.

But even if he doesn't, I still wouldn't worry. Rick Kowalsky has had a history of bringing some young players into the fold a little bit more slowly than others it seems. But with such an organizational need on RW, I really could see Bastian ascend quickly. It'll also be interesting to see if the organization uses him as a center all in the AHL

 

[Cheddabombs]

Anderson, add Maltsev

 

[JimEIV]

A kid that just had a .907 SV%, which was one of the lowest SV% in the AHL for goalies that played over 35 games and a second round pick that if everything turns out perfectly probably wont be physically mature enough to play in the NHL for 3 or 4 years , if ever...

over Wood or Anderson??? I'd honestly put Bastian over Blackwood and Boqvist right now.

Edit:
Timeline should also be factored in IMO...

We mostly likely wont see an Anderson, Blackwood, Boqvist or Rilly Walsh for 2 or 3 years minimum. We know this probably true for Rykov as well.

In my opinion that puts a Wood or a Bastian maybe even Gignac over these guys

 

[Cheddabombs]

A kid that just had a .907 SV%, which was one of the lowest SV% in the AHL for goalies that played over 35 games and a second round pick that if everything turns out perfectly probably wont be physically mature enough to play in the NHL for 3 or 4 years , if ever...

over Wood or Anderson??? I'd honestly put Bastian over Blackwood and Boqvist right now.

Edit:
Timeline should also be factored in IMO...

We mostly likely wont see an Anderson, Blackwood, Boqvist or Rilly Walsh for 2 or 3 years minimum. We know this probably true for Rykov as well.

In my opinion that puts a Wood or a Bastian maybe even Gignac over these guys

If Blackwood has a higher SV% he would have gone higher in these rankings. It's difficult to adjust from juniors to the pros but Blackwood seemed to have done well and only got better as the year progressed. His potential is amazing. A massive goalie that can move like he can around the crease is a deadly combo, he just needs more time. And Boqvist's potential is also insane, I don't see how you can just discount it. The league has seen more and more smaller players come in and dominate, it's not like Boqvist will need to add 40+ pounds to be effective.

Again, these polls are very subjective and have a lot of factors that play into them. You value certain things and qualities in a prospect that others might not, or at least not value them as highly as you do.

 

[JimEIV]

If Blackwood has a higher SV% he would have gone higher in these rankings. It's difficult to adjust from juniors to the pros but Blackwood seemed to have done well and only got better as the year progressed. His potential is amazing. A massive goalie that can move like he can around the crease is a deadly combo, he just needs more time. And Boqvist's potential is also insane, I don't see how you can just discount it. The league has seen more and more smaller players come in and dominate, it's not like Boqvist will need to add 40+ pounds to be effective.

Again, these polls are very subjective and have a lot of factors that play into them. You value certain things and qualities in a prospect that others might not, or at least not value them as highly as you do.

I guess I do value results over a promise...

Today Wood has 8 NHL goals...We most likely wont see 8 NHL goals from Boqvist, Walsh, Rykov or Annderson cominded until after 2020...By then I am sure Wood will have produced 20 or 30 more ...

It's like last night my wife made dinner and I wanted to go out. She started cooking at 4:00pm and we didn't eat until 6:30. It was very good and I enjoyed it...But I could have been to the restaurant at 5:00 and home by 6:00. Ya know what mean?

 

[AfroThunder396]

Listen, I think Anderson should have went #5, but are we really going to bury a 20 year old goalie who 12 months ago was voted Best Goalie in the OHL because he didn't blow the doors off at the professional level in his draft +2 season?

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Anderson also played on a pretty stacked and experienced top line. Wood produced those #'s while not on a top line. Also not sure what the pp breakdown is on those #'s. Kind of assume Anderson played and produce more with the man advantage then did Wood.

And of coarse judging the potential of a player goes beyond their respective #'s at a similar level of play.

Anderson came in as a true freshman and earned top 6 minutes on a top team while producing. Wood didn't earn top minutes on a lesser team.

 

[JimEIV]

Listen, I think Anderson should have went #5, but are we really going to bury a 20 year old goalie who 12 months ago was voted Best Goalie in the OHL because he didn't blow the doors off at the professional level in his draft +2 season?

Bury? No! By no means. But I don't think he is top 10 in this prospect list....And if he is, it is not higher than 9 or 10. We've seen prospected like Quenneville and Bastian flogged here for getting injured in a season and not producing to liking of the masses...Blackwood just plain sucked for most of last year.

 

[My3Sons]

Bury? No! By no means. But I don't think he is top 10 in this prospect list....And if he is, it is not higher than 9 or 10. We've seen prospected like Quenneville and Bastian flogged here for getting injured in a season and not producing to liking of the masses...Blackwood just plain sucked for most of last year.

Didn't Blackwood show some fairly reasonable improvement last season? Wasn't he below .900 for a good chunk of the season and then righted the ship? I think with such a young kid being asked to play key minutes for most of the season that's probably all you can ask for is improvement. He was mentally prepared to be a backup and then had to mentally adjust to starting most games. At his age that has to be a challenge.

 

[JimEIV]

Anderson came in as a true freshman and earned top 6 minutes on a top team while producing. Wood didn't earn top minutes on a lesser team.

Miles Wood will be off his ELC before Anderson plays an AHL game. So while he is a better prospect, we wont be seeing him until at least until at least 2020, maybe 2019.

A lot can change in a year of college hockey...Especially when all the older play at Duluth will have graduated. 7 players are graduating from that roster including their leading scorer Alex Iafallo who scored nearly twice as many goals as any other player. Joey had a comfortable first year with a good support system...And that is why I think people are making too much of PPG. I am not trying to take away from his achievements, they are very good but it seems to me too much is being made over it.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Miles Wood will be off his ELC before Anderson plays an AHL game. So while he is a better prospect, we wont be seeing him until at least until at least 2020, maybe 2019.

A lot can change in a year of college hockey...Especially when all the older play at Duluth will have graduated. 7 players are graduating from that roster including their leading scorer Alex Iafallo who scored nearly twice as many goals as any other player. Joey had a comfortable first year with a good support system...And that is why I think people are making too much of PPG. I am not trying to take away from his achievements, they are very good but it seems to me too much is being made over it.

He had a great support system on the WJC team, you know, the first line. He has made an early career of "being made by his linemates". At some point it has to be him.

 

[JimEIV]

Didn't Blackwood show some fairly reasonable improvement last season? Wasn't he below .900 for a good chunk of the season and then righted the ship? I think with such a young kid being asked to play key minutes for most of the season that's probably all you can ask for is improvement. He was mentally prepared to be a backup and then had to mentally adjust to starting most games. At his age that has to be a challenge.

My goal isn't to rip apart ANY of our prospects here...But Blackwood was bad for a solid 20 of his 36 games...He would have a decent game and then give up 5 or 6 in the next game. At one point I think his SV% was something like a .885...

I am just of the mind that after a season like that his stock should fall while other prospects that have shown more should rise.

 

[JimEIV]

He had a great support system on the WJC team, you know, the first line. He has made an early career of "being made by his linemates". At some point it has to be him.

I liked him back when he was playing on a line with Bellows and Keller and then I thought he wasn't getting enough credit..So I completely agree with you...But he is still a little ways away from being here I think. That should be a consideration, don't you think?

 

[Triumph]

Blackwood was the youngest goalie in the AHL. I don't even have to look it up to know that that's true. Maybe I should. But he was probably the youngest goalie. He showed improvement as the season went on and arguably his best game was the final game of the season. He's really hard to judge right now because if he repeats that .907 he's way overrated on this poll and if he puts up a .920 he is way underrated on this poll. Skaters typically do not vacillate like this.

And frankly I shouldn't even have to mention this to a person who knows full well that Brodeur had one of the worst save percentages in the AHL his first pro season and then won the Calder Trophy the next.

 

[Cult of Hynes]

Didn't Blackwood show some fairly reasonable improvement last season? Wasn't he below .900 for a good chunk of the season and then righted the ship? I think with such a young kid being asked to play key minutes for most of the season that's probably all you can ask for is improvement. He was mentally prepared to be a backup and then had to mentally adjust to starting most games. At his age that has to be a challenge.

Yea, and he had a save percentage of .928 in the playoffs and was the only one to show up in the elimination game and stopped 50 out of 51 shots or 51 out 52 shots.

 

[My3Sons]

Yea, and he had a save percentage of .928 in the playoffs and was the only one to show up in the elimination game and stopped 50 out of 51 shots or 51 out 52 shots.

I agree it's difficult to compare goalies to skaters. That said my impression is that Blackwood has all the physical tools needed to succeed and not in a borderline fashion. He tested as quite an athlete at the combine and he has the size current goalies possess. Now what is between the ears and above the neck remains to be seen. I think he will improve again this season and by the second half of the AHL season I expect him to become a consistently good minor league goalie.