Kevin Forbes
Registered User
Using your categories, I would say Corey Perry was a #2 (just for reference).
But I disagree with some of what you've said about Bobby Ryan.
Since my opinion hasn't changed, here's what I posted on the Ducks board back in mid-September when we had our own discussion about Ryan:
I don't know how many people were impressed with his conditioning at draft time. It was noted that he was a big kid and maybe had some unneeded mass on him. I think even the term 'baby fat' was bandied about. I do know that Ryan is aware of these issues and is working hard on them.
But I disagree with some of what you've said about Bobby Ryan.
Since my opinion hasn't changed, here's what I posted on the Ducks board back in mid-September when we had our own discussion about Ryan:
There are really two concerns with Ryan and they each go hand in hand. Yes, his skating isn't the greatest, but I believe a lot of that can be addressed by improving his general conditioning. He's gotten in trouble before for not being in the best shape (leading to nagging long-term injuries, like his leg problem last season).
I've heard a lot from a number of sources about how Ryan was working hard to be in the best shape of his life for this camp, but apparently the results aren't there. I'm not intimately familiar with his training program, nor do I know how hands-on the Ducks are with what his fitness and nutrition. But I think that could be a huge factor in the problem. Maybe he is fit and he's just not training properly? Bigger isn't always better...
Obviously, the bigger you are, the more hockey player you have to lug up and down the ice. Ryan was a pretty big boy when he was drafted and he's probably put on five pounds since then. I'm not sure if it's all muscle or not, but simply being that bulky must make it difficult to try to train the legs to be explosive and help improve his skating.
I don't know how many people were impressed with his conditioning at draft time. It was noted that he was a big kid and maybe had some unneeded mass on him. I think even the term 'baby fat' was bandied about. I do know that Ryan is aware of these issues and is working hard on them.