On Rielly, Drouin and others at WJC

[indigobuffalo]

How does he remind you of Crosby? I find he's the opposite

What is the opposite of Crosby? Excellent two-way franchise centreman that has super-elite touch and hockey IQ. Almost unstoppable along the boards and one of the fastest stopped acceleration in the league.

I would speculate that the opposite might be Stamkos? But that's not really the opposite, just an inferior version of...

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Does Drouin remind anyone else of Claude Giroux? Great hands. Any other comparisons ?

I find him to be like Pavel Datsyuk with his hands and great moves.
His in junior play with the mooseheads he's been absolutely lethal at stripping the puck and then scoring. He's so dangerous off the turnover.
After watching tons of mooseheads hockey I would pick MacKinnon over Drouin. MacKinnon scored at the same pace when Drouin was out for a bunch of games this season. He's sort of deferred the playmaking to Drouin this year and it's limited his potential a bit I think.

 

[LeafsMonster]

I find him to be like Pavel Datsyuk with his hands and great moves.
His in junior play with the mooseheads he's been absolutely lethal at stripping the puck and then scoring. He's so dangerous off the turnover.
After watching tons of mooseheads hockey I would pick MacKinnon over Drouin. MacKinnon scored at the same pace when Drouin was out for a bunch of games this season. He's sort of deferred the playmaking to Drouin this year and it's limited his potential a bit I think.

Comparing drouin to datsyuk isn't realistic. He's not at that dominant level of stick handling as datsyuk is. He's definitely more patrick kane.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Comparing drouin to datsyuk isn't realistic. He's not at that dominant level of stick handling as datsyuk is. He's definitely more patrick kane.

I can't tell if you are being serious or not...
Patrick Kane is one of the best stick handlers in the nhl and the posts before me were comparing Drouin to Crosby.
I'll stick by the Datsyuk comparison but they aren't the same level (yet) obviously.

 

[Stats01]

If somehow we could land Drouin in the draft I'll do back flips. Obviously MacKinnon is the top prize but the player who has really impressed me has been Drouin. Has the skill, the hands and potential to be a star. Glad to hear Burke is so high on him, if we get a top 3 pick Burke is going to do everything he can to get him.

 

[LeafsMonster]

I can't tell if you are being serious or not...
Patrick Kane is one of the best stick handlers in the nhl and the posts before me were comparing Drouin to Crosby.
I'll stick by the Datsyuk comparison but they aren't the same level (yet) obviously.

I think drouin will project into more of a stick handling, skilled goal scorer like kane. I don't think stick handling will be his best aspect like it is for datsyuk, but it will be a big part of his game.

I don't see him as a good comparison for crosby at all.

 

[leugangen]

I think drouin will project into more of a stick handling, skilled goal scorer like kane. I don't think stick handling will be his best aspect like it is for datsyuk, but it will be a big part of his game.

I don't see him as a good comparison for crosby at all.

Drouin strikes me as way more of a playmaker than goal scorer.

 

[Fogelhund]

Drouin is a heck of a player, and has looked good at the WJC with 4 points in 4 games.

Meanwhile, Jones has 7 points in 5 games as a defender, and Barkov has 5 points in 5 games on a Finnish team that hasn't played very well.

MacKinnon hasn't had as much of a chance to show his stuff, given the number of C's for Canada at the WJC.

It is very difficult to separate these four guys, as they all appear to be elite in their positions. Having said that, if you have for elite potential players, how do you pick? Sure, BPA, but if they are near even, Drouin's position is our lesser need.

 

[Bedards Dad]

It appears he really likes Drouin and so do I but we probably won't be picking, where he will be in the draft order, maybe at 3rd over all, or higher.

Rielly is a really good prospect but we have quite a number of good young defencemen, ready to step up to the NHL and I think he will likely be with the Marlies for a while, before making the jump to the Leafs.

Rielly will never be a Marlie. Moose Jaw or Leafs, those are the only options.

 

[Johny Drama]

Rielly will never be a Marlie. Moose Jaw or Leafs, those are the only options.

There has been a lot of talk of Reilly making jump to the NHL if the lockout ends, which seems very unrealistic to me. He has a lot of natural talent but needs to get stronger in his own end. Would not be upset to see him back in the WHL next year, even, where he would be one of the main players on next year's WJ Squad.

 

[Bomber0104]

To be honest, Drouin looks smaller than the 5'11 he is listed at.
MacKinnon is approx 6 feet, so there shouldnt really be a signifcant difference when you look at both of them, considering its only one inch. When I see them on the ice. MacKinnon comes across as being bigger. Who know's maybe NM has actually grown.

Agreed. I think the only thing that holds Drouin back is his body size.

 

[The Blue Devil]

I can't tell if you are being serious or not...
Patrick Kane is one of the best stick handlers in the nhl and the posts before me were comparing Drouin to Crosby. I'll stick by the Datsyuk comparison but they aren't the same level (yet) obviously.

They were talking about Mackinnon.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

They were talking about Mackinnon.

****

Oh well, claude giroux is a pretty heavy comparison as well.

nevertheless, both drouin and mackinnon will have big time nhl careers barring injury. Drouin is such a smart player that he is going to produce alot pts at the pro level, you can bank on it. Mackinnon is amazing as well and it's kind of drag that he's not getting alot of playing time right now, but Canada's been winning so far so can't complain.

 

[The Blue Devil]

****

Oh well, claude giroux is a pretty heavy comparison as well.

nevertheless, both drouin and mackinnon will have big time nhl careers barring injury. Drouin is such a smart player that he is going to produce alot pts at the pro level, you can bank on it. Mackinnon is amazing as well and it's kind of drag that he's not getting alot of playing time right now, but Canada's been winning so far so can't complain.

I agree.

I agree with Ponders assesment about him, a Kane type of player.

 

[12345*]

hopefully drouin's game translates. He does a lot of dangling and cuts through the slot a lot. NHL players won't allow that.

 

[ULF_55]

Drouin is a heck of a player, and has looked good at the WJC with 4 points in 4 games.

Meanwhile, Jones has 7 points in 5 games as a defender, and Barkov has 5 points in 5 games on a Finnish team that hasn't played very well.

MacKinnon hasn't had as much of a chance to show his stuff, given the number of C's for Canada at the WJC.

It is very difficult to separate these four guys, as they all appear to be elite in their positions. Having said that, if you have for elite potential players, how do you pick? Sure, BPA, but if they are near even, Drouin's position is our lesser need.

I'd like to see more rushing and crushing from Nichushkin.

 

[Johny Drama]

I don't really understand why Burke was questioned on Drouin only, as if he is some God among the rest of his draft class and nobody else is an option. It's also as if the Leafs already have a draft pick within his draft range.

I would have loved to hear his thoughts on at least one of Mackinnon, Jones, Barkov, etc, or how strong he thinks the draft is, or maybe what weaknesses the Leafs could look to fix through this draft. But too bad. At least it's nice knowing how much Burke thinks of an opponent's draft pick, something very likely considering the odds of drafting Drouin.

Agreed. Let's face it though, journalists ask a lot of daft questions.

 

[Stats01]

There has been a lot of talk of Reilly making jump to the NHL if the lockout ends, which seems very unrealistic to me. He has a lot of natural talent but needs to get stronger in his own end. Would not be upset to see him back in the WHL next year, even, where he would be one of the main players on next year's WJ Squad.

He's just not ready IMO. I get that he's dominating junior but he's only 18, there are only a very select few that are able to translate their game as a teenager into the best hockey league in the world against men who are a lot more physical and intimidating then they are. I know there are some on here who want to see these prospects as soon as possible but more times than not it shrinks their development. Reilly should go back to junior next year and just keep dominating and developing his game. He'll be ready when he's ready. You can't force things.

I truly believe that was Schenn's downfall, he got hyped a ton, he looked good and the team wanted to show the fan base our prize prospect, he makes the team has a good first year and then his development gets lost with all the pressure that comes with going into your second and third years. He starts feeling it, gets put on his opposite side on D and **** hits the fan..I hope something like this doesn't happen with Reilly.

 

[ULF_55]

He's just not ready IMO. I get that he's dominating junior but he's only 18, there are only a very select few that are able to translate their game as a teenager into the best hockey league in the world against men who are a lot more physical and intimidating then they are. I know there are some on here who want to see these prospects as soon as possible but more times than not it shrinks their development. Reilly should go back to junior next year and just keep dominating and developing his game. He'll be ready when he's ready. You can't force things.

Rielly's play, to me, indicates he belongs in junior.

 

[Johny Drama]

He's just not ready IMO. I get that he's dominating junior but he's only 18, there are only a very select few that are able to translate their game as a teenager into the best hockey league in the world against men who are a lot more physical and intimidating then they are. I know there are some on here who want to see these prospects as soon as possible but more times than not it shrinks their development. Reilly should go back to junior next year and just keep dominating and developing his game. He'll be ready when he's ready. You can't force things.

I truly believe that was Schenn's downfall, he got hyped a ton, he looked good and the team wanted to show the fan base our prize prospect, he makes the team has a good first year and then his development gets lost with all the pressure that comes with going into your second and third years. He starts feeling it, gets put on his opposite side on D and **** hits the fan..I hope something like this doesn't happen with Reilly.

Agreed. I actually think it's easier for the young players to look good at their first camp and then carry that form into the season. Nothing really expected of them and they just go out and play. Its year 2, 3 and 4 that often becomes the issue when there are higher expectations and they need to learn to be consistent. Schenn maybe a perfect example of this.

 

[Rare Jewel]

Rielly's play, to me, indicates he belongs in junior.

Funny, To me Rielly's play in junior(Moose Jaw) indicates he should be in the NHL.


We'll have to see.

 

[Woodman19]

Not to be captain obvious but you can't judge players on 1 tournament. Some bad players have had good tournaments and some good players had bad ones. Don't get to high or low on players based on the WJC.

 

[Captain Clutch 13]

I dont think Rielly is ready for the NHL but even if he is I don't why Burke would let Carlyle keep him. That would burn a year off his ELC on a 48 game season where Rielly in all likelihood wont tear it up and wont be a huge difference maker. Maybe Burke knows very well he wont keep Rielly but just wants to keep that a secret for whatever reason.

 

[samwitch]

Mackinnon reminds me a lot of seguin

 

[LeafsNation75]

Not to be captain obvious but you can't judge players on 1 tournament. Some bad players have had good tournaments and some good players had bad ones. Don't get to high or low on players based on the WJC.

Best example is Justin Pogge. He had an amazing World Juniors with Canada, however we all know how his career with the Maple Leafs and the NHL turned out.