Hossa
Registered User
With fans growing ever impatient with the Vancouver Canucks prolonged rebuilding plan, the club will be handing out a mid-season prospect report at next week's home game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Having arbitraily graduated all young players who have not played in the AHL this year, the club decided to focus on those players as well, in a last ditch effort to appease the riot-hungry fans.
Graduated:
Eric Staal - A surprisingly legitimate superstar at only 21, there is nothing that needs to be said about this Hart Trophy candidate.
Andrej Meszaros - Expected to spend a year in the AHL, Meszaros has surprised all year and has led the NHL in plus/minus most of the year.
Ilya Bryzgalov - After a year or two too many in the minors, Bryzgalov has finally hit the NHL full time, wrestling with JS Giguere for the starting job.
Rene Bourque - A pre-season signing who has thrived with ice time in his rookie year, Bourque's cannon shot and solid offensive instincts have led to a solid rookie year.
Francois Beauchemin - Another huge surprise, Beauchemin has been playing nearly 30 minutes a game since being dealt for Sergei Fedorov, and is all of a sudden firmly in the team's future plans.
Prospects
1) Evgeny Malkin - If Crosby and Ovechkin are out of contention, this kid is hands-down the top prospect in the world. Just watch him at the Olympics in a couple weeks.
2) Carey Price - A very talented goaltender with great upside, Price has had an inconsistent season, but remains a top goaltending prospect heading forward.
3) Anthony Stewart - Stewart's first professional season was going extremely well before a wrist injury sidelined him for the last couple of months.
4) Drew Stafford - Finally putting up the numbers expected of him in college, Stafford is beginning to realize his significant goal scoring upside, to go along with great size and all-round ability.
5) Patrick Eaves - Once thought to have limited upside, Eaves has shown surprising offensive instincts since being called up from the AHL. Has definite scoring line upside.
6) Noah Welch - A solid but high-upside blueliner with outstanding tools, Welch has had a solid first professional campaign in the AHL. He will be in Pittsburgh very soon.
7) Alex Polushin - Polushin's position remains based on potential, potential that won't be achieved unless he comes over to North America.
8) Grant Stevenson - Another incredibly surprise this season has been Stevenson, who was all but written off before being called up to San Jose. He has 18 points in 31 games since.
9) Maxime Ouellet - Once upon a time the club's undisputed goaltender of the future, he is likely third on that depth chart now. Although he has played in the NHL as a back-up, he appears to have gone off the rails somewhere along the line.
10) Nigel Dawes - The pint-sized scorer started somewhat slowly but is now an offensive force in the AHL. Dawes' goal scoring potential remains significant.
11) Brooks Laich - After a terrible sophomore season in the AHL, Laich came out flying and soon was playing in Washington. He has impressed with his all-round game and flashes of offensive upside.
12) Kyle Quincey - Yet another player having a fine AHL rookie season, Quincey skated in one game for the Red Wings. He remains a couple years away though.
13) David Krejci - Between posting good numbers in the QMJHL and shining in the WJC, Krejci has had a good season. He remains offensive gifted with an underrated all round game.
14) Alexandre Picard - You guessed it, another AHL rookie. Like Quincey, this young blueliner had a cup of coffee in the NHL as a reward for solid play this year.
15) Bryan Bickell - An enigma on skates, Bickell has the skill to be a lot higher, but has frustrated more often then not. This year though he has thrived, sitting sixth in the OHL in goals.
16) Doug O'Brien - Although in his second year in the AHL, O'Brien is in a similar boat, having recently made his NHL debut with Tampa Bay.
17) Kris Letang - Only the third junior-aged prospect on the list, and the first on the blueline, Letang shone at the WJC for Canada. Talented with the puck, his stock is definitely on the rise.
18) Jakub Sindel - Malkin may be the only prospect with better pure offensive skills than Sindel, but there is little else to say about this soft forward who returned to the Czech Republic after a stint in the WHL.
19) Robbie Earl - A highlight reel forward who continues to produce at the college level, Earl has definite offensive upside. He does have questionable all-round play and character though.
20) Juhamatti Aaltonen - A very late round pick in 2004, Aaltonen has been a steal. In his first year in the Finnish Elite League, he has been productive, with 12 goals.
HM: Ryan Callahan, Wes O'Neill and Stephen Dixon
Graduated:
Eric Staal - A surprisingly legitimate superstar at only 21, there is nothing that needs to be said about this Hart Trophy candidate.
Andrej Meszaros - Expected to spend a year in the AHL, Meszaros has surprised all year and has led the NHL in plus/minus most of the year.
Ilya Bryzgalov - After a year or two too many in the minors, Bryzgalov has finally hit the NHL full time, wrestling with JS Giguere for the starting job.
Rene Bourque - A pre-season signing who has thrived with ice time in his rookie year, Bourque's cannon shot and solid offensive instincts have led to a solid rookie year.
Francois Beauchemin - Another huge surprise, Beauchemin has been playing nearly 30 minutes a game since being dealt for Sergei Fedorov, and is all of a sudden firmly in the team's future plans.
Prospects
1) Evgeny Malkin - If Crosby and Ovechkin are out of contention, this kid is hands-down the top prospect in the world. Just watch him at the Olympics in a couple weeks.
2) Carey Price - A very talented goaltender with great upside, Price has had an inconsistent season, but remains a top goaltending prospect heading forward.
3) Anthony Stewart - Stewart's first professional season was going extremely well before a wrist injury sidelined him for the last couple of months.
4) Drew Stafford - Finally putting up the numbers expected of him in college, Stafford is beginning to realize his significant goal scoring upside, to go along with great size and all-round ability.
5) Patrick Eaves - Once thought to have limited upside, Eaves has shown surprising offensive instincts since being called up from the AHL. Has definite scoring line upside.
6) Noah Welch - A solid but high-upside blueliner with outstanding tools, Welch has had a solid first professional campaign in the AHL. He will be in Pittsburgh very soon.
7) Alex Polushin - Polushin's position remains based on potential, potential that won't be achieved unless he comes over to North America.
8) Grant Stevenson - Another incredibly surprise this season has been Stevenson, who was all but written off before being called up to San Jose. He has 18 points in 31 games since.
9) Maxime Ouellet - Once upon a time the club's undisputed goaltender of the future, he is likely third on that depth chart now. Although he has played in the NHL as a back-up, he appears to have gone off the rails somewhere along the line.
10) Nigel Dawes - The pint-sized scorer started somewhat slowly but is now an offensive force in the AHL. Dawes' goal scoring potential remains significant.
11) Brooks Laich - After a terrible sophomore season in the AHL, Laich came out flying and soon was playing in Washington. He has impressed with his all-round game and flashes of offensive upside.
12) Kyle Quincey - Yet another player having a fine AHL rookie season, Quincey skated in one game for the Red Wings. He remains a couple years away though.
13) David Krejci - Between posting good numbers in the QMJHL and shining in the WJC, Krejci has had a good season. He remains offensive gifted with an underrated all round game.
14) Alexandre Picard - You guessed it, another AHL rookie. Like Quincey, this young blueliner had a cup of coffee in the NHL as a reward for solid play this year.
15) Bryan Bickell - An enigma on skates, Bickell has the skill to be a lot higher, but has frustrated more often then not. This year though he has thrived, sitting sixth in the OHL in goals.
16) Doug O'Brien - Although in his second year in the AHL, O'Brien is in a similar boat, having recently made his NHL debut with Tampa Bay.
17) Kris Letang - Only the third junior-aged prospect on the list, and the first on the blueline, Letang shone at the WJC for Canada. Talented with the puck, his stock is definitely on the rise.
18) Jakub Sindel - Malkin may be the only prospect with better pure offensive skills than Sindel, but there is little else to say about this soft forward who returned to the Czech Republic after a stint in the WHL.
19) Robbie Earl - A highlight reel forward who continues to produce at the college level, Earl has definite offensive upside. He does have questionable all-round play and character though.
20) Juhamatti Aaltonen - A very late round pick in 2004, Aaltonen has been a steal. In his first year in the Finnish Elite League, he has been productive, with 12 goals.
HM: Ryan Callahan, Wes O'Neill and Stephen Dixon
