Where's the offensive potential? What's to say he won't be just a third line grinder á helm/abdelkader (yes abdelkader is not a point producing top-6 player on a real team)
I don't think it's good drafting to draft 3rd-line players with 2nd rounders... 1st-2nd rounders must always go to top-4 dmen or top-6 forwards (potential wise that is)
Personally, I don't like this pick at all. Bertuzzi is enough IMO. There were plenty of skilled D-men available at #47 to pick instead
How'd he look at development camp?
Where's the offensive potential? What's to say he won't be just a third line grinder á helm/abdelkader (yes abdelkader is not a point producing top-6 player on a real team)
I don't think it's good drafting to draft 3rd-line players with 2nd rounders... 1st-2nd rounders must always go to top-4 dmen or top-6 forwards (potential wise that is)
Personally, I don't like this pick at all. Bertuzzi is enough IMO. There were plenty of skilled D-men available at #47 to pick instead
Where's the offensive potential? What's to say he won't be just a third line grinder á helm/abdelkader (yes abdelkader is not a point producing top-6 player on a real team)
I don't think it's good drafting to draft 3rd-line players with 2nd rounders... 1st-2nd rounders must always go to top-4 dmen or top-6 forwards (potential wise that is)
Personally, I don't like this pick at all. Bertuzzi is enough IMO. There were plenty of skilled D-men available at #47 to pick instead
Heard he looked pretty good, but hard for players like him to really stand out at a camp like this. The prospect tourney will probably be a lot better place to see the level of the new guys imo
George Malik claims everyone looks good. Wasn't his offensive game an issue at the camp? Seemed to definitely be behind the top guys.
Yeah I think someone claimed he didn’t have the best hands/finish but did great in the corners/front of the net, which is more of his game anyways. Plus its hard to really grind and run on your fellow teammates at camps like this. Players like Givani Smith and Bertuzzi won’t stick out as much there as the prospect camp where you’re allowed to be physical/more of a pest. I honestly don’t think these camps are helpful at all when evaluating prospects, they just do drills and play 4 on 4 and 3 on 3.
Where's the offensive potential? What's to say he won't be just a third line grinder á helm/abdelkader (yes abdelkader is not a point producing top-6 player on a real team)
I don't think it's good drafting to draft 3rd-line players with 2nd rounders... 1st-2nd rounders must always go to top-4 dmen or top-6 forwards (potential wise that is)
Personally, I don't like this pick at all. Bertuzzi is enough IMO. There were plenty of skilled D-men available at #47 to pick instead
How'd he look at development camp?
“He’s a tank out there,†said Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds. “He skates well, he shoots well, he thinks the game the right way. Detroit got a great pick there in the second round. He’s sure of himself but not cocky. That’s good for a young kid.â€
Look at how many points Lucic and Simmonds had when they were drafted in the second round.
For discussion's sake :
Milan Lucic, the year he was drafted : 19 pts in 62 games (147 PIM) in the WHL
Wayne Simmonds, the year he was drafted : 49 pts in 66 games (112 PIM) in the OHL
Givani Smith, the year he was drafted : 42 pts in 65 games (146 PIM) in the OHL
Simmonds is 185 lbs, Smith is 205 and Lucic is 235. All three are around 6'2''.
They all look like similar players and we'll be lucky if we get a Simmonds/Lucic type player in Smith in a couple of years - it sure looks like it.
Givani Smith has been receiving racial slurs and death threats according to some articles after flipping off the Greyhounds bench. Givani obviously shouldn't have flipped off the team but it doesn't justify the racial slurs or death threats. There is no place for racism anywhere.
Kitchener Rangers' Givani Smith victim of racist taunts, death threats
The death threat(s) were from fans after he gave the greyhounds bench the finger."ill kill you" sounds like regular trash talk to me. Saying its a death threat sounds like an exhageration. Would be nice if being Black wasn't something people use to taunt others...