I know he's young, however, Barratt looked great last night at the under 18.
Pencil in Poehling then. Bob likes to bring in one of his own.Bob Motzko returning.
I honestly dont know what to think about Hughes. He's obviously skilled but I worry about decision making. I'd love to hear the opinions if people who have seen more of him than I have.
You can forget about seeing USA Clayton Keller in next year WJH tournament. He might be rookie of the year in the NHL.
You can forget about seeing USA Clayton Keller in next year WJH tournament. He might be rookie of the year in the NHL.
Knowing Tippett, I seriously doubt that. I could be wrong but I think he's likely to start in Tucson. He wasn't good when he got the chance to play alongside Dvorak so I suspect they want him and Strome to develop chemistry and and go for a Calder Cup. The Coyotes have guys like Fischer or DeAngelo who should make the roster and with many other young kids already there I seriously doubt Tippett intends to play them all.
Keller is not playing a game in the AHL next year. He is already ahead of Dvorak and Fischer currently. Wish we could have him as he is a massive loss for this team, but he is a NHLer, and his World Championship play has cemented it.
Keller ahead of Dvorak? In what world? The European Ice may even out a but c'mon. I watch a lot of Coyotes games and I can confirm Dvorak played the 2nd half of the season in a top6 role and even took the tougher matchups and defensive zone starts for Hanzal. His role only changed when Hanzal got traded. Dvorak finally got more offensive zone starts, PP time and better linemates but found himself all alone on the Center position with Jooris, Holland and Martinook being Centres 2-4. Martinook isn't even a Center but a bottom six Winger. Despite not being productive in the 1st half, he finished the season with 15 goals and 33 points and a remarkable +7 on a terribly bad team. The 2nd best player in that department who played at least 50% was Shane Doan with -3. Dvorak would have finished even higher if he didn't have to carry Keller for three games, resulting in a -3. Keller surely didn't look like he belonged back then while fellow prospects DeAngelo, Perlini, Chychrun, Fischer and of course Dvorak all had strong debuts. Small sample size but since his first games were about as bad as Strome's, I'm pretty sure the two will start in Tucson. They may get called up at some point but this remains to be seen.
To summarize, you're comparing a top6 Center with a prospect that hasn't shown anything whatsoever in NA pro hockey. Not a good comparison. Keller might be better than I think but you shouldn't read too much into his performance here in Europe.
I based my opinion off of years of actually following these kids.
Keller was better 2 years ago.
Keller was better 1 year ago.
Keller was better this year and will be again next year. He is a better overall player than Dvorak who is a great player in his own right. He is a prospect due to his age only, why that makes him not a better player than Dvorak is beyond absurd.
Keller never played pro hockey before. He showed well in this tournament and he had three poor outings in the NHL. Based on that, he's nowhere near Dvorak who played half of his rookie campaign as a top6 Center and did extremely well. To even compare a player who had nothing but three poor outings in NA pro hockey with a proven top6 Centerman is crazy.
Again, it may be possible that Keller is already a better player than I think...however I'd be surprised if he ever reached Dvorak's level. Dvorak is gonna be one heck of a two way Center.
Keller certainly won't be too much of a factor in the NHL next season. I'm convinced that the Coyotes, after they didn't manage to impress last season, have fixed plans to start both Stome and Keller in Tucson. They would probably need crazy strong camps to make the opening roster.
Half a season doesn't make anyone a proven anything.
Does anybody know the dates of the Evaluation camp in August?