Brandon Prust: Typical Canadian kid living out everyone's dream

A nice feel good story on Brandon Prust: Never drafted to the O and making an impact in his hometown!! What a dream year he's having!

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20050523_124906_4808

He's certainly not the most skilled player in the OHL but definately one of the fiercest competitors and best team players.

I remember Sutter saying after drafting him that "he is close to being NHL ready". I didn't think so then and still think he needs a year or two in the A but will one day be a good player in Calgary!!!

 

Nice scouting by Calgary.

Reminds of a young Matt Cooke, although Cooke probably has a bit better hands. He's a really good skater, which combined with his grit and work ethic should get him to the NHL as a 3rd/4th line energy guy.

 

Matt Cooke is a great example, but he had much more offensive skills than Prust I think. Prust has scored some big goals for London the past few years though.

Was Matt Cooke on Vancouver's first line when Bertuzzi was out? I think Cooke's potential is 2nd line player while Prust's is 3rd line but Prust is a fairly good bet to make the big show in a few years time.

 

Prust's one-on-one moves are underrated. He's a solid third-line NHLer who, like a Brad May for example, may surprise an NHL defenseman on occasion with a sweet dangle.

 

Anyone who saw the London/Kelowna game tonight want to comment on his game and style?

I think he was one of the better Knights tonight and drew a few penalties...great game Prustie !!!!

 

Good read and I really liked the game he played against Rimouski saturday night.

 

Another solid Flames draft pick. These guys are coming in spades for the next few years.

 

He was definatly out there playing hard and making a difference on the ice. A real thorn in the Rockets side and a great on ice leader for the Knights.

Hate how fancy London try's to get all the time. Just shoot the damn puck already....Rodney!!!

 

Prust is much tougher than Cooke, ready to answer the bell when needed unlike Cooke who rarely fights.

 

I was very impressed with him.He definetly plays with heart and he's got
some decent skill for a checking type player.

 

After watching this kid against Rimouski he has gained my respect and I can see him as a typical 3rd line power forward in the future.

 

I'm sorry, I can't see Prust playing in the NHL.

 

Considering he was an overage draft pick, and a 3rd rounder I can see why the odds are stacked against him, but please.. flesh out your ideas. Why don't you see him playing in the NHL?

I for one can see him playing, he has room to grow and to mature, but he has the ability to play in the NHL, at a limited 3rd and 4th line role.

 

Yeah i was gonna mention something along those lines. But I didn't want to have to put up with all the Nuxs fans.

 

Look at the guy: He gets five o'clock shadow at 9 am. He's not going to 'mature' any more.

I think he has a chance to play as a 3rd or 4th liner in the NHL.

 

He is the type of player that Calgary wants in their organization, and if he continues to play the way he has throughout his junior career, he will get every opportunity to fill a depth role in the NHL. I haven't seen anything in his game which indicates he *can't* be an NHLer. He seems to have every trait needed to be a role player in the big show though.

As for the Cooke comments. It's true, Cooke does not often fight, and that's an entirely fair comment. But in regards to Prust, which the thread is about, it is important to consider that just because guys will fight teenagers doesn't mean he will fight men often bigger and stronger than him. In general, someone willing to fight in junior isn't always someone willing to fight in the NHL. Just a thought.

 

So players stop maturing in their very early 20s? Wow...

 

He's an exceptional junior player, but beyond that I don't think he has the skill set to fit in the NHL.

Even a guy like Matt Cooke had 95 points in the OHL when he was 18. Prust's highest point total was as a 19 year old when he had 52 points, playing on a stacked team.

Granted he has been hampered by injuries and has come up big in postseason play, but the guy is a 3rd line checker in junior, so I don't see him being able to play the same role in the NHL.

 

Tell me again, why are these points so important for a prospective (but reliable, possibly even sure-fire?) 4th liner?

 

So he's downgraded to a 4th liner now, interesting, he started the thread as a 3rd liner.

Scoring is important even for an NHL 4th liner because a player's role in junior hockey does not directly translate to his role in the NHL. For example if you are a 1st line player in junior, it's not likely you will be a 1st line player in the NHL. And if you are a third liner in junior, as a twenty year old, like Brandon Prust, your NHL chances are probably small.

 

I don't agree with that for role players. Role players games are largely based on grit, checking and defensice play. IMO, none of those need above average offensive tools. People are way too absorbed with offensive numbers when they rate all prospects it is getting quite old. Not every prospect is gonna be an offensive giant and not every prospect is drafted for an offensive role.

 

I disagree, as proved with Matt Cooke's numbers, you need to be somewhat of a scorer in junior to have enough skills to make the NHL. Prust doesn't have it.

 

Downgraded? That was my first post in this thread.

As for the scoring part, I still have no idea what the hell your talking about. Why won't he make the NHL again? And how does players drafted to be a 1st liner DIRECTLY correlate to Prust's development?

 

Really?

Tell that to this guy, who many have compared Prust too
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid[]=26801

 

Lets see here is a list of players who were never big scorers and yet still managed to make it to the NHL. Remember Prust career year has been 52 points and never but remained around 30 points on average.

Steve Begin
Donald Brashear - career year of 42 points
Todd Fedoruk - career year of 24 points
Michael Rupp - career year of 53 points
Dave Scatchard - career year of 50 points
Kris Draper - career year of 61 points but the rets were all 30 point seasons.

Now that was after doing a few teams from last year. It is quite easy enough to argue that only scoring 30 points a season DOES NOT have much merit when determing the success of making the NHL for 3/4th liners.