I am a Big Skille fan...
He has three things that say he has the chance to be a very very good NHL player:
(1) He has explosive acceleration. I can't comment on his top speed thats pretty hard to compare, but he goes from flat footed to full speed in about 3 steps. Its really fun to watch.
(2) He has a heavy, extremely hard shot.
(3) He is willing to play gritty (and I assume drop the gloves although i haven't seen it)
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There is one big problem--- he hasn't shown the ability to finish consistently. In College, in pro camps, he does the same thing. Uses his speed to beat a Dman wide and then Rip a shot from a bad angle. Against prospects, against NCAA goalies-- that shot will sometimes flat out beat them.
I dont' see that happening often in the NHL.
Now when he feels that Dmen are overplaying that outside move, he buries his head and drives the net. He does that very very well-- but I haven't seen him finish very often.
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Everyone compares him to Billy Guerin... and while I see some things I think a more apt American player is Brian Rolston.
Skille has very much the same skill set (Explosive wheels, huge shot) and like Rolston it might take a while to develop a scoring touch in the NHL. Now, if he shifts his game to one that is more around the net... then I can see the Guerin thing.
Will be very interesting to see him in Pro camp (he was better last year in prospects camp, where IMO he outplayed Toews).
-fullmetalninja