Notable Prospects not in HF's top 50

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Jacob

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Feb 27, 2002
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It appears like a homer pick, but I think it's just because I'm familiar with the kid; Noah Welch is, IMO, a top 50 prospect.

Some people within the Penguins organization, namely Eddie Johnston, are even higher on Welch than they are on Whitney.
 

montreal

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Koltsov said:
Seems like a lot of Russian players got snubbed (Babchuk, Koltsov, Suglobov, Shishkanov, etc) :mad:



I agree. Shishkanov and Koltsov for sure! But to be fair, it's impossible to do a top 50 list without missing players, leaving others off that some think should be there, and to get a really good list just isn't easy.

I don't know who worked on the list, but I knew no matter what list they came out with it would be slamed hard, so I was in no hurry to help out. I have seen most of the prospects at one point or another, but if they aren't Hab prospects, I just watch as a fan of hockey. But when it's Hab prospects I'm all business. ;)
 

montreal

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Jacobv2 said:
It appears like a homer pick, but I think it's just because I'm familiar with the kid; Noah Welch is, IMO, a top 50 prospect.

Some people within the Penguins organization, namely Eddie Johnston, are even higher on Welch than they are on Whitney.



I would be too. I like Welch a lot, cause he seems to play a solid all round game and he seems to be a smart player as well. Whitney on the other hand has a lot of the flaws of fellow NCAAer Ron Hainsey. Both have some good offensive abilities but their physical game, and defensive game need work.
 

sensfan18

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Charlie_Girl49 said:
If Corey Perry plays more than a single game in the NHL, I will be the most amazed human on the planet. He's going to have his hands full trying to keep up in the AHL.

I've seen him play often and I would have to agree with you on that. He will be a career AHLer or maybe a Daniel Cleary, IMO. Maybe if he hits the weight room hard he will make me eat some crow. Another big problem with his game is his tendancy for stupid plays. For example, his stupid penalty in game #7 vs. Guelph (hit from behind on Klein) which resulted in Guelph scoring the winning goal. In that very same game when they were down by 1, they had a chance at an odd man rush and he flipped it over the glass. Now I don't mean he just missed the glass, the puck was sent into about the 20th row. Another part of his game that most likely will keep him from everyday NHL play is the fact that he always seems to make 1 too many moves. Now I hope I'm wrong and he can turn it around, but right now I don't see him as a real prospect with any hype.
 

pittengineer

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Another Russian who could have made the end of the list is Anshakov. It really seems like the Russians did get screwed, but it is hard to argue with some of the names. I would like to see a top 100.
 

Mister Hockey

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Jacobv2 said:
It appears like a homer pick, but I think it's just because I'm familiar with the kid; Noah Welch is, IMO, a top 50 prospect.

Some people within the Penguins organization, namely Eddie Johnston, are even higher on Welch than they are on Whitney.

I like Welch a lot, and he probably should have made the top 50. I don't know about E. J. He once said Ian Moran reminded him of Bobby Orr.
 

Alex Kovalev

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sensfan18 said:
I've seen him play often and I would have to agree with you on that. He will be a career AHLer or maybe a Daniel Cleary, IMO. Maybe if he hits the weight room hard he will make me eat some crow. Another big problem with his game is his tendancy for stupid plays. For example, his stupid penalty in game #7 vs. Guelph (hit from behind on Klein) which resulted in Guelph scoring the winning goal. In that very same game when they were down by 1, they had a chance at an odd man rush and he flipped it over the glass. Now I don't mean he just missed the glass, the puck was sent into about the 20th row. Another part of his game that most likely will keep him from everyday NHL play is the fact that he always seems to make 1 too many moves. Now I hope I'm wrong and he can turn it around, but right now I don't see him as a real prospect with any hype.


i think its a little early to be writing the guy off. Sure he may be a little rough around the edges but the skill level is definitely there.
 

David A. Rainer

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I was one of the ten who worked on the list and I can tell you who the last couple to just miss the list were:

Hugh Jessiman
Jesse Niinimaki
Igor Knyazev
Anton Babchuk (he was not forgotten)
Jim Slater
Mikael Yakubov
Jeff Taffe
Ari Ahonen
Jani Rita
Trevor Daley

There were a bunch of others receiving votes, but this is a list of those on the bubble.
 
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Sammy*

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ducksflytogether said:
:joker: I think he just/is well on his way to proving you wrong.
I think one goal is a little far from being "well on his way ". :joker: :joker:
 

Bad News Benning

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JasonMacIsaac said:
Because Defensmen are suppost to play defense and hit.
I guess you've never watched him before? cause he can lay out some beauty hits. His defense is coming along, and I think he can be average defensively in the NHL. His Offense and puck skills are already there, just has to improve his play away from the puck a little bit, like most young defenseman.
 

Jason MacIsaac

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He is horrible defensively. I seen him 3 or 4 times this year and he was horrible in every game defensivly. He wasn't physical either. The NHL is even another step up.
 

Bad News Benning

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JasonMacIsaac said:
He is horrible defensively. I seen him 3 or 4 times this year and he was horrible in every game defensivly. He wasn't physical either. The NHL is even another step up.

It's not easy for a rookie defenseman in the AHL, who doesn't have a regular defense partner, and is played spariingly by a horrible coach. It doesn't help that his English isn't very good at all, so communicating with his defensive partner on coverage and stuff was probably pretty difficult. You can't teach the offensive skills he possesses, meanwhile he will learn and adjust defensively once he gets more comfortable.
 

Vagrant

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DeathFromAbove said:
Hugh Jessimen
Igor Knyazev
Jeff Taffe

These three give me the most trouble. Igor Knyazev has done nothing at all to even merit making a top 100 prospect list besides be taken in the first round of a draft a few years ago. His development has hit a brick wall and he hasn't progressed in his play one bit since coming over to the AHL two seasons ago.


2002-03 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 68 2 5 7 68 -- -- -- -- --
2003-04 Springfield Falcons AHL 72 1 6 7 61


For those claiming he is a defensive defenseman, he's a -33 in his two years in the AHL so far. His play has just been horrible for his entire career in North America and it would have been a shame had he made the Top 50 list. For all those wondering, I was this hard on him even while he was a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. It's just that he has shown no signs of development, and i've heard people say his play actually regressed this season instead of improved.


Jeff Taffe is 23 years of age as well, and has shown no significant increase in his production in order to grant him a slot on the Top 50 prospects list or even for consideration. He has played 79 NHL games as well, which is about the same or more than Eric Staal, Patrice Bergeron, and Nathan Horton. Is there something i'm missing about Taffe that would merit his name mentioned in such high regard? I've heard Coyotes fans this season say that Taffe hasn't progressed as fast as they expected and are not expecting him to be a major impact player anymore. He hasn't even done much in order to be considered a top prospect since he left Minnsota besides put up a season of just below a point per game at the AHL level. Heck, Mike Zigomanis did that this year and was named the MVP of the AHL all-star game. I'd think him more deserving than Taffe, who has consistantly failed to solidify a spot on the Coyotes for the past three seasons. Not saying Zigomanis deserved to be on the list, but if one could argue for Taffe, one could argue that point as well.


Now, Hugh Jessimen. While I understand why he could have slid onto this list, he's not nearly a top 50 prospect in my estimation. He has shown no signs of significant growth this year at Dartmouth, as he was expected to be even more dominant with a year of physical and mental progression behind him. He managed to put up numbers that weren't quite as good as they were a year ago. While he does have the size and potential, Jessimen was a pick based simply upon the principal of maximizing his potential in order to be a dominant player. Had he shown major steps forward this year, it would have been perfectly acceptable for him to garner such praise. However, I don't think he made enough forward progress to be considered above some of the people who were on the short "bubble list", if you will.
 

McDonald19

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Charlie_Girl49 said:
If Corey Perry plays more than a single game in the NHL, I will be the most amazed human on the planet. He's going to have his hands full trying to keep up in the AHL.

Well he is off to a good start in the AHL.
1 game 1 goal.
 

Jacob

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Wow!! Over an 80 game schedule, that prorates out to an 80 goal season!

But 0 assists. :blush: Must not be much of a playmaker.
 

Divine Wind

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Charlie_Girl49 said:
If Corey Perry plays more than a single game in the NHL, I will be the most amazed human on the planet. He's going to have his hands full trying to keep up in the AHL.

Exactly, think Peter Sarno. :joker: Scoring in Juniors does not automatically transfer over to the NHL.
 

Ola

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He hasn´t been heard of much but its still a mystery that Prucha has been left of the list. MVP in two out of four international tournaments, made the Chechz team for the WC over players like Vasicek and Hemsky. Plays on the Chechz PP unit with Jagr and Co.(not bad for a 21 y/o) Would take him over Grigerenko any day...
 

Big McLargehuge

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May 9, 2002
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Charlie_Girl49 said:
If Corey Perry plays more than a single game in the NHL, I will be the most amazed human on the planet. He's going to have his hands full trying to keep up in the AHL.

Here, here.

Perry is a great juniors player. Nothing more, nothing less.

Noah Welch could most definitely make a case for being in the Top 50.
 

TK79

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Here's some Finns who deserve consideration:

1. Sean Bergenheim 40-50: Probably would have made the list if he had been sent to Bridgeport instead of Jokerit last autumn. Great speed and offensive instincts, not much of a sniper though..

2. Jesse Niinimäki 40-50: Also might have made the list if he hadn't been injured for almost the entire season. Looked really good in the 10 sm-liiga games he played, has great vision and playmaking skills.

3. Valtteri Filppula 40-50: Highly skilled centre was named to the All-Star team at the WJC's and was arguably the best forward in the tournament with Zack Parise. Probably needs a second strong season to be considered a top 50-guy.

4. Ari Ahonen 40-50: Is stuck on a bad AHL, probably wont get a chance in NJ with Brodeur there. A lot of people think he is NHL-ready, could be traded this summer.

5. Jani Rita: Just kidding.. Was a shue-in for this list a year ago, but another average year in the AHL has dropped his stock considerably.
 
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