Michael Grabner

[Jimmypop316]

Seriously Russian, how does comparing Grabner to a player who put up 78 points when he was 17, and did it all season long, not for 23 games make me lose credibility. Cause u have never seen Dubinsky? Also, Dubinsky lacks the wheels of Grabner, but Grabner has a very long way to go in both the dangle ability and playmaking ability to match that of Dubinsky. So i dont think Im off base by liking one player better than another when that player is Dubinsky vs Grabner. I never said Grabner wasnt a decent prospect I just see him in the same group as i see Dubinsky, as probable to make in the NHL but could very well be fringe players. Dont get your jock in a tangle cause I dont share your love for Grabner.

I don't see the Grabner/Dubinsky comparison working here.

They are totally different style players. Grabner is a speedy winger who is a pure goal scorer. Dubinsky is a playmaking center without the speed and more of a playmaking ability.

They are both exceptional players but they have totally different weapons at their disposal. And the reason someone said you threw away your credibility was because you are from Portland and was homering it up.

Dubinsky is a totally different style player from Grabner so it is a ridiculus comparison. They both have talent but in different areas.

 

[Form and Substance]

My scouting report: He's somewhat smallish and a bit frail though he has a very quick stride and plays with a lot of spark most of the time. He's got excellent puckhandling skills, especially when he takes off at full flight, and has the ability to pounce on loose pucks, which allows him to convert a lot of chances coming from scrambles. Although not particularly physical, he does play with a lot of courage and does often take the hit to make a play (he gets creamed quite often though). His positional play in the defensive zone is also quite remarkable, I haven't really seen him sacrifice the body for a shot, but he closes the passing lanes very well and has the patience and anticipation to intercept errant passes. He also has a tendency to disappear and then score a big goal to tie a game. This kind of innate ability cannot be taught, it's something Michael Ryder knows well. He's always in the right place at the right time. He likes to shoot but doesn't dish out the puck too much to his teammates, he doesn't distribute it well enough. Overall, I think his goal scoring instincts are top-notch, worthy of a first round prospect.

 

[Tripwyre]

Had Tlusty slipped past Toronto, does Vancouver take Tlusty or stay with Grabner?

Reading the Draft blog at Canucks.com, you get the feeling they were set on Grabner days before the draft.

 

[nuck]

He looked like a toothpick at the draft. I doubt he weights 170lbs. If he makes the NHL, and how well he does, will depend on how much meat he packs on without loosing his fluidity. A guy who is strong and wiry can play in traffic at 180-185lbs so it isn't like it is impossible to see him as an effective first line player.
But he is an 87 birth date so he is nearly a year older than a lot of the other first rounders. That might concern some people as much as the frail physique since an older player should be a bit closer to the finished product. He was only 2 picks later than Little but is 20lbs lighter and scored half as many points and Little is by no means a sure thing.

My guess, never having seen him up close, is that he is not fine boned so the Canucks expect him to fill out reasonably well. If they can get him to a lean 180lbs and he has that dash and the shot he has the makings of an NHLer down the road.

Does anyone know if he was raised in Austria and played his hockey there? If the guy played up to Midget age in Austria then he would seem to be progressing very well given the much higher level of competition that he stepped up to.

 

[Fan.At]

Does anyone know if he was raised in Austria and played his hockey there? If the guy played up to Midget age in Austria then he would seem to be progressing very well given the much higher level of competition that he stepped up to.

Grabner played in Austria till the 03/04 season in the system of VSV. He even played 18 games in the top austrian league at the age of 16.

http://www.eurohockey.net/players/show_player.cgi?serial=53803

 

[therobman27]

I wasnt comparing the two as players, just saying Dubinsky for a second round pick showed a lot more than Grabner did to be a first round pick. Read my posts and u would see that JimmyPop.