Florida Panthers Top Ten Prospects: The Next Ones (+ 5 HMs)

[UpsideHockey]

Another perspective on Panthers Top prospects.

Excerpt from intro:

"Panthers NHL Prospect Pool Power Ranking: ___
***
Panthers State of the Union

Dale Tallon was brought in as General Manager to make the Florida Panthers a real contender. How is he doing going into his sixth season. Let’s look at some of the key ingredients added under his watch:

Core Players: One of the main keys in winning the Stanley Cup in the salary cap era is that a team has to have four or five core players that the team rides on. Last year the Chicago Black Hawks had Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Do the Panthers have four or more key players? Here is my assessment:
Aaron Ekblad: Yes, the winner of the 2014-15 Calder Trophy as NHL top rookie. Aaron would be a core player on any of the 30 teams.
Aleksander Barkov: Not yet but he will in the next two to three years. Aleksander’s game turned upward last year as soon as he was paired with the old master, Jaromir Jagr.
Jonathan Huberdeau: Yes, Jonathan Huberdeau like Aaron Ekblad won the Calder Trophy as NHL top rookie, Jonathan in 2012-13. Jonathan, however, followed up his Calder Cup with a disappointing sophomore season. Last season he faired much better with 54 points in 79 games. Is Jonathan Huberdeau good enough to be considered a core player on a Stanley Cup Winner? No, net yet at least. Offensive players generally start to show their peak production in years 3 or 4 of their career and Jonathan is entering his fourth season. This year, therefore, will likely tell the tale as to whether he is merely just a very good player or could be a core on a Stanley Cup championship team.
Roberto Luongo: Right now, my gut feeling is that, yes, he is. The question is, at age 36, how much longer will he be?
Lawson Crouse: It is way too early to consider Lawson Crouse a core player and besides, he has not yet demonstrated the offense necessary to be a core forward.
The Others: There are other good players on the Panthers but none who have shown to date that they are likely to be core players on a Stanley Cup winner..."

In addition to Top 10 highlights the obvious U21 lads already on the roster, plus 5 honourable mentions along with the rest of the 2015 draft class.

As well, "E-Mac's Impact Prospects" are noted along with how the Panthers stack up with the rest of the league with respect to their prospect pool.

Sample - Top 5 from the article:
- more info & stats in the article

1. Crouse
2. Matheson
3. McCoshen
4. Trochek
5. Petrovic


Link to full article

Comments and critique welcomed...

Click to read more...

 

[Gentle Man]

No mention of Bjugstad on the core players = epic fail.

Ekblad, Barkov, bjugstad Huberdeau, and Id say Pirri....then Kulikov and maybe, maybe Gudbranson

 

[Brokin]

After watching Brickley in quite a few games last year, he is the guy that will continue to fly under the radar but has a solid chance to turn into a Justin Abdelkator type of player. He is a powerful guy and plays much bigger than his size. The question mark is will he revert back to the college durability issues at some point.

Unless I'm wrong, he is the only guy in this camp to score for the Cats 5 on 5. Hope they give him a shot to start the season with the Cats on the 4th line. I'm just not a fan of Howden. Like Booth, he was never the same after concussion issues. I understand the need for Rocco with the new 3 on 3, but I think he will continue to struggle 5 on 5.

 

[JP Mick]

I like what I saw of Brickley in the two tourney games so far, he and Matheson have been the standouts for me.

 

[Brokin]

I like what I saw of Brickley in the two tourney games so far, he and Matheson have been the standouts for me.

Missed both games but I know from watching Brickley he has a nose for the puck in front of the net and is a bull. Plus he has a great motor. They just need to give this guy a shot, and watch him climb the depth chart.

 

[ShootIt]

Yea, the Bjugstad omission is a big one.

Up until Pirri's goal rampage and Jagrs arrival, Bjugstad was our best offensive weapon for the past two years.

He is definitely part of the core. You can slot him either at 3 or 4 on the list.

Other than that the Brickley omission stands out as well.

Agree about the special teams part. It was bad on both fronts.

 

[Acadmus]

Yea, the Bjugstad omission is a big one.

Up until Pirri's goal rampage and Jagrs arrival, Bjugstad was our best offensive weapon for the past two years.

He is definitely part of the core. You can slot him either at 3 or 4 on the list.

Other than that the Brickley omission stands out as well.

Agree about the special teams part. It was bad on both fronts.

Bjugs and Brick are both American players...not sure that ANY of the others mentioned are. Wonder if that played a role in their omission?

 

[GrumpyKelly]

A has a solid chance to turn into a Justin Abdelkator type of player.

That would be a home run.

I remember last year some Rampage fan was pumping Brickley' s tires and saying he should be at least on par in rankings with the other young guys in SA. Would be sweet if he could into a to a top 6 guy.

 

[Brokin]

That would be a home run.

I remember last year some Rampage fan was pumping Brickley' s tires and saying he should be at least on par in rankings with the other young guys in SA. Would be sweet if he could into a to a top 6 guy.

If they give him a shot and he stays healthy, he will turn some heads. He's not flashy or a high skill guy, but what he does is gets into the scoring areas and his quickness and power take over. Nice article by Fialkov with comments from his coach last year, Tom Rowe and Tallon.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...ida-panthers-rookies-0915-20150914-story.html

 

[floridada]

I think Matheson should be considered our #1 prospect now.

 

[Aksu]

I think Matheson should be considered our #1 prospect now.

Agreed. I'm in love with the kid right now. Imagine a top 2 of Matheson - AE5

 

[RainingRats]

I think Matheson should be considered our #1 prospect now.

I think it's reasonable. Especially since we're developing him properly.

 

[Brokin]

I think Matheson should be considered our #1 prospect now.

Didn't watch any the tournament, but it sounds like Crouse is really going to have to step it up to keep from going back to juniors. From reading all the scouting reports, I thought his size and two way play would give him a boost. Obviously he needs a lot of work on the scoring end. It's too bad because he'd be going back to a crappy team. Let's hope that playing with veterans in the next few weeks can turn him around.

 

[I am not exposed]

Didn't watch any the tournament, but it sounds like Crouse is really going to have to step it up to keep from going back to juniors. From reading all the scouting reports, I thought his size and two way play would give him a boost. Obviously he needs a lot of work on the scoring end. It's too bad because he'd be going back to a crappy team. Let's hope that playing with veterans in the next few weeks can turn him around.

In all fairness Ekblad had a tournament last year and that didn't turn out too badly!

I believe Racine was the 'star' last year.

 

[Brokin]

In all fairness Ekblad had a tournament last year and that didn't turn out too badly!

I believe Racine was the 'star' last year.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Camp will give us a better indication of where he is at.

I am more interested in Brickley at this point. Just an eye opener performance in spite of the fact the Cats rookies are really not all that good from a team perspective. That was to be expected as most of the top tier draftees are not rookies anymore.

 

[UpsideHockey]

Didn't watch any the tournament, but it sounds like Crouse is really going to have to step it up to keep from going back to juniors. From reading all the scouting reports, I thought his size and two way play would give him a boost. Obviously he needs a lot of work on the scoring end. It's too bad because he'd be going back to a crappy team. Let's hope that playing with veterans in the next few weeks can turn him around.

That wouldn't be such a bad thing for his development (OHL) - if he does go back, wouldn't be a shocker to see him moved as well.

 

[Juggernaut27]

That wouldn't be such a bad thing for his development (OHL) - if he does go back, wouldn't be a shocker to see him moved as well.

Moved within the OHL? That would interesting.

Any teams likely candidates?

 

[Gentle Man]

Moved within the OHL? That would interesting.

Any teams likely candidates?

I think he means moved via trade.......which would be an extreme overreaction

 

[UpsideHockey]

I think he means moved via trade.......which would be an extreme overreaction

1.yes 2. why? (I'm not saying he would right away, but a candidate as trade deadline apporached

 

[Juggernaut27]

I think he means moved via trade.......which would be an extreme overreaction

Oh lord. No comment.

 

[Chino Oscar]

1.yes 2. why? (I'm not saying he would right away, but a candidate as trade deadline apporached

Why? Seriously? You trade your 1st round pick (11 OA) becuase he didn't make the team as an 18 year old? Come on now... You don't call that an overreaction?