Colton Gillies

Rise from the Ashes

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Sep 13, 2005
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Gillies was shifted from forward to D and back again last night vs the Pats. Not sure why, but he responded well. He had two penalties early in the first and then was put on D. Moved the puck quite well. Then, in the 3rd, he was back up front. Got a breakaway but was hooked from behind and forced to his backhand. Made a nice hit in OT, and scored in the shootout. Great turnaround. Now, if he had consistency.

He is faster than any player out there.

And he is 6'4; sounds like a Gainey player.
 

knowitall

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Simmer Down

All you people who think he will be a 4th liner or career AHL'er because he isnt showing his offensive prowness at 17 think back to a certain Justin Williams who is a pretty pure scorer now and only had 4 G in 47 games as a 17 year old in the OHL. Williams went on to score 37 his draft year (18 yr) be a 1st rounder, make the show as a 19 year old, win a stanley cup and become a 30+ goal man and point a game player in the show. Give the kid some slack.....he will be good. Not saying he will do what Williams did either, but he has a very good skillset albeit raw. Obviously you people never played hockey cause you would realize that he is on a bad team and players with the talent he has dont come along every day.
 

Form and Substance

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I've been sort of hard on Gillies over the past year and a half (because of the #1 pick talks which is still INSANELY absurd), but I'm definitely intrigued with his package. He's got size, speed, talent, stickhandling, and a willingness to work hard yet he...just doesn't really understand the game all that well. Still I'd be happy if the habs could pick him in the 2nd-3rd round and shift him to defense. See what that does for him, hopefully the Burns comparisons aren't that far off.Since the habs have 2 first rounders, I may consider taking him with 2nd choice.
 

Redwingsfan

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Jul 15, 2006
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I've been sort of hard on Gillies over the past year and a half (because of the #1 pick talks which is still INSANELY absurd), but I'm definitely intrigued with his package. He's got size, speed, talent, stickhandling, and a willingness to work hard yet he...just doesn't really understand the game all that well. Still I'd be happy if the habs could pick him in the 2nd-3rd round and shift him to defense. See what that does for him, hopefully the Burns comparisons aren't that far off.Since the habs have 2 first rounders, I may consider taking him with 2nd choice.

no!!! hes got hands of stone.
 

Redwingsfan

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Jul 15, 2006
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I've been sort of hard on Gillies over the past year and a half (because of the #1 pick talks which is still INSANELY absurd), but I'm definitely intrigued with his package. He's got size, speed, talent, stickhandling, and a willingness to work hard yet he...just doesn't really understand the game all that well. Still I'd be happy if the habs could pick him in the 2nd-3rd round and shift him to defense. See what that does for him, hopefully the Burns comparisons aren't that far off.Since the habs have 2 first rounders, I may consider taking him with 2nd choice.

so because williams developed an offensive side gillies will to?? there is allways examples of bad players who turn out very good, but gillies will never be a dominant offensive player in the NHL. he has like 27 points this season. thats terrible no matter who you play with. and williams started scoring in hes draft year. this is gilles's draft year and he is still not scoring:teach:
 

Hiishawk

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no!!! hes got hands of stone.
Gillies is probably the most mis-analyzed player in this draft. One poster said he kept reading that he's a slow grinder, otheres have said that he has no hockey sense (his defensive and board games are excellent), and now another says that he has hands of stone- and quite definitively too. Too many people are making up scouting reports of this guy in their heads. He's big and is not a great scorer (although he rarely sees power play time) so..... people fill in the holes with speculation.

True- he is not a great finisher. He seems snake bitten around the net, doesn't get into scoring position very well but that is not the same as stickhandling. People should actually watch a player (and not just the prospects game) before saying such things.
 

Hiishawk

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Just a bit more about Gillies and Saskatoon. This is a low scoring team- and Gillies sees, as I said above, very little power play ice. He does not play (except on rare occasions) with Menei and McCrae, the Blades' two best scorers. The Blades have no quarterback type defenceman to carry the puck in and dish it to forwards by the net or even a defenceman whose forte is the breakout pass.

Stats don't show a lot this stuff. I'd also be willing to bet that he leads the league in near misses.
 

nuckfan insk

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Kraft had 155 points in 124 games for the Raiders, that includes a 40 goal season and finished 13th in scoring 1 year. Kraft was a superb junior player.

he also had something like 41 points in 60 games the last tiome he played in the nhl. and guess what that was on a low scoring poor penguins team with little pp time:teach: .

gillies is a great skater but very overrated. with the talk of him being a lock for # 1 of course people are gonna be dissapointed. with his reach and speed he is solid defensively. he does get a fair bit of powerplay time too. only time will tell but i dont see him even being a dominant junior plater
 

Hiishawk

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with the talk of him being a lock for # 1 of course people are gonna be dissapointed.
I have never, ever heard this said- anywhere. Not even close. The closest was that he was top 5 material, and this was in the season opening preview rankings.
In fact, most people here (and some scouting services) are dissing him pretty badly now so its pretty hard to say they're going to be disappointed. Since many people are saying he's a 2nd-3rd rounder with only 4th line potential recently, I think the opposite scenario is more likely- that he will be a bit of a sleeper or a pleasant surprise.
 

turnbuckle*

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Just a bit more about Gillies and Saskatoon. This is a low scoring team- and Gillies sees, as I said above, very little power play ice. He does not play (except on rare occasions) with Menei and McCrae, the Blades' two best scorers. The Blades have no quarterback type defenceman to carry the puck in and dish it to forwards by the net or even a defenceman whose forte is the breakout pass.

Stats don't show a lot this stuff. I'd also be willing to bet that he leads the league in near misses.

Gillies is probably the most mis-analyzed player in this draft. One poster said he kept reading that he's a slow grinder, others have said that he has no hockey sense (his defensive and board games are excellent), and now another says that he has hands of stone- and quite definitively too.

Too many people are making up scouting reports of this guy in their heads. He's big and is not a great scorer (although he rarely sees power play time) so..... people fill in the holes with speculation.

True- he is not a great finisher. He seems snake bitten around the net, doesn't get into scoring position very well but that is not the same as stickhandling. People should actually watch a player (and not just the prospects game) before saying such things.

All well and good. Near misses are misses. IMO he does not have good hands, lacks vision, and isn't a stickhandler of note - I really don't think those are unfair descriptions. I've been told by three or four pro scouts that they think he lacks hockey sense, and I don't think he's teeming with it, but no one's saying he lacks character. I'm not sure being good along the board means you have good hockey sense. Certainly when it comes to offensive hockey sense, Gillies doesn't top the charts.

There have to be reasons why some are still liking him; because I've heard pretty much every excuse too why he's not producing.

He's on a bad team...yet he gets no power play time. Doesn't sound like a typical first round prospect to me. Hamill plays on a strong team and he gets lots of powerplay time.

If Saskatoon is such a poor team, why doesn't he get more ice time. and also...if he's such a good prospect, why isn't he making them a better team? Top two pick in his second WHL season - you can't tell me the team isn't disappointed with his production.

I chatted with a fellow who knows Gillies well and worked with him on his game and conditioning the past few summers. He said the one thing they can't remedy is his hands - he just doesn't have it around the net. It happens - Chad Kilger displays that every couple nights in NHL arenas.

Gillies is going to play in the NHL - I don't think that's under debate - if you want to spend a first round pick on a third liner...be prepared for what you're getting.

Late note - he has been intriguing some scouts when he's played back on the blueline. It's where he played right up until bantam. If he does go higher then I figure he might well go to a team that wants to play him on the blueline, or even a bit of both. In this day of the salary cap, it doesn't hurt to have a versatile player like Streit.
 
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Hiishawk

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Well, he's not Maxwell or Mueller with the hands but when rushing through the neutral zone he can show some nifty puck skills. True- he can't seem to do it around the net. But "hands of stone" isn't a fair description either.

I'd say play along the boards CAN be included under hockey sense- look at what Steve Downie accomplishes there by using his sixth sense, anticipation, as well as positioning his body etc. It's not only power and effort. I've heard and read scouts' talk of his lack of hockey sense too. Sense for getting into scoring position? Yup- lacking. Sense for knowing when to pass vs. when to shoot (around the net)- also lacking. Other hockey sense- neutral zone, defensive coverage, boards, when and how to rush the puck? Pretty good. My opinion. Shared by some. not by others.

It's true that everybody (including Colton) thought he'd be getting on the scoresheet more this season so no doubt he has been duly downgraded on that count. What I sense though is that he may start burying those chances next season.

I'm not sure why the Blades don't use him more on the PP (although they have since he went back to DF) or why he doesn't get as much ice time as McCrae. I know that they don't want all the talent on one line but maybe a Blades' insider can answer this better.

I'm not making excuses for Gillies but I am trying to paint a more accurate, rounded, picture for those HF posters who see only the stats.
 

Askel

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Apr 19, 2004
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I think the Canucks will pick Gilles unfortunatly, he seems like a canuck draft pick. Fast , big defensevly aware, cant score. Delorme (canuck headscout) likes to pick from the WHL.
 

Round John

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Kraft had 155 points in 124 games for the Raiders, that includes a 40 goal season and finished 13th in scoring 1 year. Kraft was a superb junior player.

Kraft was an excellent junior player, however as an NHL'er he was a bust especially when you consider players like Brad Richards, Pavel Datsyuk, Scott Gomez, Erik Cole and Jonathan Cheechoo were all taken after him.

I still contend dannoabram's list is lacklustre, it doesn't help him prove the case he is trying to make regarding Gillies. I think it is way too early to pass judgement on a kid like Gillies or for that matter former Raider Colliton even though some are inclined to do just that given others in Jeremy's draft class who have made the show.
 

johnny canuckistan

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All well and good. Near misses are misses. IMO he does not have good hands, lacks vision, and isn't a stickhandler of note - I really don't think those are unfair descriptions. I've been told by three or four pro scouts that they think he lacks hockey sense, and I don't think he's teeming with it, but no one's saying he lacks character. I'm not sure being good along the board means you have good hockey sense. Certainly when it comes to offensive hockey sense, Gillies doesn't top the charts.
...
Gillies is going to play in the NHL - I don't think that's under debate - if you want to spend a first round pick on a third liner...be prepared for what you're getting.

Late note - he has been intriguing some scouts when he's played back on the blueline. It's where he played right up until bantam. If he does go higher then I figure he might well go to a team that wants to play him on the blueline, or even a bit of both. In this day of the salary cap, it doesn't hurt to have a versatile player like Streit.

That pretty much closes the book on this guy in my view. It always puzzles me that after a well-researched post like this, there's always someone else who posts and says: "yeah, but, no, but, anyway, he's a great player with nifty skills" even though Turnbuckle just more or less effectively negated that argument before it was even posted.
 

Hiishawk

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That pretty much closes the book on this guy in my view. It always puzzles me that after a well-researched post like this, there's always someone else who posts and says: "yeah, but, no, but, anyway, he's a great player with nifty skills" even though Turnbuckle just more or less effectively negated that argument before it was even posted.
Well, if you're referring to me I've done my research and I'd take the guy 20-30th (1st round) because I think he can play in your first two sets in the NHL. Turnbuckle knows the players well as a scout for McKeen's and I respect that but his opinion hardly "negates" other opinions or "closes the book". Isn't the point of such threads to have well-informed debates with (naturally) some different perspectives and insights?

That would be the case at McKeen's or ISS too where a guy like Turnbuckle might say his thing and another scout says what I said. Happens all the time. Anyway, there are certainly some NHL teams who see Gillies as a 1st round pick although I'm sure many may be thinking like Turnbuckle too.

Edit- Well there you go. ISS has Gillies at #12 for March. They may be wrong, I may be wrong, Turnbuckle may be wrong but it's hardly a closed book on the guy.
 
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nuckfan insk

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Kraft was an excellent junior player, however as an NHL'er he was a bust especially when you consider players like Brad Richards, Pavel Datsyuk, Scott Gomez, Erik Cole and Jonathan Cheechoo were all taken after him.

I still contend dannoabram's list is lacklustre, it doesn't help him prove the case he is trying to make regarding Gillies. I think it is way too early to pass judgement on a kid like Gillies or for that matter former Raider Colliton even though some are inclined to do just that given others in Jeremy's draft class who have made the show.

it was said gillies has will be better then any raider in the lasyt ten years, so i listed a few whom gillies would be luch to achieve what they have
 

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