Can Patrik Stefan ever live up to his #1 overall potential?

[JayRice66]

This guy had alot of hype coming into the league. And he's actually improved every year. I just wonder if he can ever be the player he was hyped to be. He is only 25. I hope he breaks out soon.

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[Orr]

I dont think he will ever live up to what everyone thought he would be at this point.

He could be a solid #2 center though.

 

[orangeandblack]

No one ever thought he was going to be an nhl star. the 99 draft was pretty bad as far as impact players. he was taken 1st overall because he was the most nhl ready, he played in the ihl for 2 years before his draft, thats pretty impressive. anyway he is a solid 3rd line center, which is really what atlanta needs now with savard and holik. all things considered only comrie has more points then him from that draft. he is a pretty solid player, never will be an nhl star, but will play in the league for many years. if you did do the 99 draft over again, he'd still be a top 5-8 pick, with no one player head and shoulders above the rest to pick at #1.

 

[The HW]

No one ever thought he was going to be an nhl star. the 99 draft was pretty bad as far as impact players. he was taken 1st overall because he was the most nhl ready, he played in the ihl for 2 years before his draft, thats pretty impressive. anyway he is a solid 3rd line center, which is really what atlanta needs now with savard and holik. all things considered only comrie has more points then him from that draft. he is a pretty solid player, never will be an nhl star, but will play in the league for many years. if you did do the 99 draft over again, he'd still be a top 5-8 pick, with no one player head and shoulders above the rest to pick at #1.

Havlat would almost surely be the #1 pick. He's actually the leading scorer from that draft class.

The whole top-10 from 1999 is pretty weak. Stefan, Sedin, Sedin, Brendl, Connolly, Finley, Beech, Pyatt, Lundmark, Mezei... that should put things into perspective somewhat. Stefan apparently had a good 'lockout' season in Europe, hopefully he comes back to the NHL as a reinvigorated player.

 

[Sam I Am]

No.

 

[orangeandblack]

Havlat would almost surely be the #1 pick. He's actually the leading scorer from that draft class.

The whole top-10 from 1999 is pretty weak. Stefan, Sedin, Sedin, Brendl, Connolly, Finley, Beech, Pyatt, Lundmark, Mezei... that should put things into perspective somewhat. Stefan apparently had a good 'lockout' season in Europe, hopefully he comes back to the NHL as a reinvigorated player.

yea your right, my mistake. havlat would be without a doubt #1.

 

[Vincent_TheGreat]

HELL NO! You pick a guy 1st because he is a franchise/exceptional player. To that degree Stefan will never live up to the hype. However he could still develop into a solid finesse player.

 

[The Maltais Falcon]

HELL NO! You pick a guy 1st because he is a franchise/exceptional player. To that degree Stefan will never live up to the hype. However he could still develop into a solid finesse player.

Wrong. You pick a guy first because he's better than every other player available at the time of the draft - it doesn't necessarily mean he's expected to be a franchise player, which Stefan was never hyped to be as Thornton, Lecavalier, Kovalchuk, and Crosby all have been.

As long as he's better than everyone else picked immediately after him, I'll be happy. It's debatable whether or not he's better than the Sedins, but he's definitely better than everyone else in that top ten. You can't expect a #1 pick to always be better than everyone in an entire draft because there's always diamonds in the rough that excel beyond anyone's expectations, such as Martin Havlat.

 

[AJ1982]

No one ever thought he was going to be an nhl star. the 99 draft was pretty bad as far as impact players.QUOTE]

While it is true that the 99 draft ended up being terrible, at the time it was predicted to be one of the deepest most talented draft pools ever. Stefan was predicted to be an impact player at that time and so it is fair to say he has not lived up to expectations and probably never will.

Here is some information written about Stefan in 1999:

"Patrik is a world-class player," said L.A. Kings General Manager Dave Taylor. "He is a good skater, a tenacious player, very skilled with the puck and possesses excellent size, strength and work ethic." He recently competed in the World Junior Championships and was the youngest player on the Czech Republic team by more than a year.

Said Bob Owen of RHO Hockey, a European and Canadian scout who represents a number or IHL and NHL teams, including the Ice Dogs, "I have followed Patrik's progress since December of 1995. The impression he left with me then and throughout the various tournaments I have seen him play, is that he is the brightest young prospect developed in the Czech Republic since Jaromir Jagr.

Ice Dog's GM/Coach John Van Boxmeer has given the rookie sensation regular shifts and power play time, and Stefan has responded. Van Boxmeer is most impressed by his passing and playmaking abilities. "He's going to be a dominating, playmaking center," he said of the 6-foot-3 195 pounder."He's a guy who looks to make the play rather than shoot himself. He'll be a guy who can get 100 assists and 20-25 goals in the NHL.

And... oh the irony...

"Unlike the 1999 draft class--headed by future star Patrik Stefan--this year's group is characterized more by anonymity than quality IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE next Eric Lindros, Chris Pronger, or Martin Brodeur, don't expect to find him in the 2000 NHL entry draft."
- From the Hockey Digest before the 2000 draft

"There are no Lecavaliers in this draft," Woodlief says. "There are good players in this draft, but nobody in this draft I could envision scoring 50 goals [in a season]. I would characterize it as a below-average draft. There is just not a lot of top talent."
- Might as well take a jab at Woodlief while I'm at it.

 

[KStewart113]

Stefan is at his best I think.

 

[Form and Substance]

No one ever thought he was going to be an nhl star. the 99 draft was pretty bad as far as impact players.QUOTE]

While it is true that the 99 draft ended up being terrible, at the time it was predicted to be one of the deepest most talented draft pools ever. Stefan was predicted to be an impact player at that time and so it is fair to say he has not lived up to expectations and probably never will.

Here is some information written about Stefan in 1999:

"Patrik is a world-class player," said L.A. Kings General Manager Dave Taylor. "He is a good skater, a tenacious player, very skilled with the puck and possesses excellent size, strength and work ethic." He recently competed in the World Junior Championships and was the youngest player on the Czech Republic team by more than a year.

Said Bob Owen of RHO Hockey, a European and Canadian scout who represents a number or IHL and NHL teams, including the Ice Dogs, "I have followed Patrik's progress since December of 1995. The impression he left with me then and throughout the various tournaments I have seen him play, is that he is the brightest young prospect developed in the Czech Republic since Jaromir Jagr.

Ice Dog's GM/Coach John Van Boxmeer has given the rookie sensation regular shifts and power play time, and Stefan has responded. Van Boxmeer is most impressed by his passing and playmaking abilities. "He's going to be a dominating, playmaking center," he said of the 6-foot-3 195 pounder."He's a guy who looks to make the play rather than shoot himself. He'll be a guy who can get 100 assists and 20-25 goals in the NHL.

And... oh the irony...

"Unlike the 1999 draft class--headed by future star Patrik Stefan--this year's group is characterized more by anonymity than quality IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE next Eric Lindros, Chris Pronger, or Martin Brodeur, don't expect to find him in the 2000 NHL entry draft."
- From the Hockey Digest before the 2000 draft

"There are no Lecavaliers in this draft," Woodlief says. "There are good players in this draft, but nobody in this draft I could envision scoring 50 goals [in a season]. I would characterize it as a below-average draft. There is just not a lot of top talent."
- Might as well take a jab at Woodlief while I'm at it.

Which draft is Woodlief referring to?

 

[loadie]

I think Stefan has plateaued, and what you see is what you get.

 

[DuklaNation]

He ranks low in hockey sense and aggressiveness. Those will hold almost any player back regardless of physical tools.

 

[Porn*]

his concussions probably didn't help much.

 

[Douggy]

Which draft is Woodlief referring to?

2000 I suspect.

 

[wedge]

no, but I think he'll have a breakout year and still have the potential to be a 65-point player.

I still believe in him.

 

[Big Phil]

Its funny I remember the '99 draft. They said at the time the "safest' pick was Kris Beech. He wouldnt be the best but the safest. Mainly becuse Brendl was a one trick pony in goal scoring and the jury hadnt been out on the Sedins yet.

But Stefan had concussion problems, but his play in the IHL got him 1st overall. He'll neer be a star, and he'll have to push for 60 points IMO. They projected him as a 25 goal 110 point guy back then I recall. Wow, were they way off. And how BAD was the '99 draft anyways eh?

 

[Matt Gunning]

It depends on what you think Stefan's potential is I suppose. I think his top end is probably 60 points a season with above average defense. This year he will likely center the 3rd line with Petrovicky and maybe Abid as his wingers so it might be hard to hit that number. But he is just entering the 26-30 age when most players hit their peak production so I wouldn't be surprised if he a 55 point effort this year.

 

[chum]

i do remember people raving about how deep the 99 draft was (prior to draft). there was quite a bit of hype between the sedins.


both sedins and patrick stefan looked NHL ready and had competed well in their leagues.



it IS funny looking back and see that it turned out to be a pretty bad year.

 

[Behn Wilson]

The hype was sthere was 4 potential franchise players in Stefan, Brendl, and the Howdy Doody twins.

Hindsight is twenty twenty.

 

[Douggy]

i do remember people raving about how deep the 99 draft was (prior to draft). there was quite a bit of hype between the sedins.


both sedins and patrick stefan looked NHL ready and had competed well in their leagues.



it IS funny looking back and see that it turned out to be a pretty bad year.

I don't remember that at all.

I remember watching the draft and someone on TSN saying "This is a comparatively weak draft except for the talent that will go in the top 5".

 

[The Maltais Falcon]

He ranks low in hockey sense and aggressiveness. Those will hold almost any player back regardless of physical tools.

Disagree with the former but agree with the latter. Stefan has very good hockey sense and vision but any sense of aggressiveness is almost always nonexistant with him.

 

[discostu]

"Unlike the 1999 draft class--headed by future star Patrik Stefan--this year's group is characterized more by anonymity than quality IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE next Eric Lindros, Chris Pronger, or Martin Brodeur, don't expect to find him in the 2000 NHL entry draft."
- From the Hockey Digest before the 2000 draft

"There are no Lecavaliers in this draft," Woodlief says. "There are good players in this draft, but nobody in this draft I could envision scoring 50 goals [in a season]. I would characterize it as a below-average draft. There is just not a lot of top talent."
- Might as well take a jab at Woodlief while I'm at it.

Heatley #2, Gaborik #3.

Don't trust the experts, I guess.

 

[Hug Ben Laf]

Back then everyone believe in the Sedins to be very soon superstar. I still believe in them. But look at this way, the Sedins was co-MVP and did totally ok against NHLer during the World Champions. I would pick them in the top 4 back then without a doubt. But I must admit, I was not hight at all on the 2000 draft except for the DiPietro getting picked 1st overall thing. But it look like the 2000 draft turn out to be super.

 

[AJ1982]

2000 I suspect.

Yes, Woodlief was referring to 200o on that last quote there.