Prospect Info: Prospect Rating #10

[SEALBound]

I am ceiling over floor. I am just not convinced Poulin's is notably higher than POJ's, Zohorna's or one of the goalies popping off.

I would be stoked if Zohorna turned into Kuhnhackl for us.

 

[Gurglesons]

This is why I'm always in favor of "swinging for the fences" picks. Guys with star upside if they hit, even if the chances of them hitting are only 10%. I'm not really a fan of safe picks because even if they hit, you've got a Blueger or a Sundqvist (two recent 2nd round picks of ours). I'd rather swing for the fences and end up with Sprongs 90% of the time but Brayden Points that 10% they actually hit.

I mean, Brayden Point wasn’t a Sprong. People didn’t draft him because he was small. Dude tore it up.

I also feel like a ZAR that actually produces would be a huge asset for this team.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I mean, Brayden Point wasn’t a Sprong. People didn’t draft him because he was small. Dude tore it up.

I also feel like a ZAR that actually produces would be a huge asset for this team.

I didn't mean Point and Sprong were the exact same type of player and weren't drafted early for the exact same reasons. I meant both were "high reward" types who had glaring issues that made them also high risk players.

 

[Gurglesons]

I didn't mean Point and Sprong were the exact same type of player and weren't drafted early for the exact same reasons. I meant both were "high reward" types who had glaring issues that made them also high risk players.

I think Point is the wrong player to use there. There wasn’t much risk. Just NHL scouts being size queens. See Caulfield. Debrincat. Etc.

Honestly I think Hextall is very good at identifying the skills that you are hoping for.

 

[Peat]

I think Point is the wrong player to use there. There wasn’t much risk. Just NHL scouts being size queens. See Caulfield. Debrincat. Etc.

Honestly I think Hextall is very good at identifying the skills that you are hoping for.

But size is a perceived risk, no? They might be wrong, but that's how they're operating. Even now - small player, boom or bust, needs to be really fast to compensate, etc.etc. That's how a lot of people seem to be looking at it.

I think the org has been good at shooting for upside since 2018. Even the safer picks like Hallander or Poulin had considerable attacking upside on the day of their selection if it went well, and it deffo seems something that Hextall and the Pryors will lean into.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I think Point is the wrong player to use there. There wasn’t much risk. Just NHL scouts being size queens. See Caulfield. Debrincat. Etc.

Honestly I think Hextall is very good at identifying the skills that you are hoping for.

Point is very much the definition of "high risk, high reward" when he was drafted. You're using revisionist history to suggest otherwise.

It wasn't only his size, it was his skating. He was a highly skilled guy with both size AND skating question marks. Tampa took a chance on that high end skill and hoped he could get bigger and improve his skating. He didn't really get much bigger (heavier, not taller), but he improved his skating tremendously. They literally talked about how much Point improved his skating from the day he was drafted to today every single time he's mentioned on a broadcast.

 

[Gurglesons]

Point is very much the definition of "high risk, high reward" when he was drafted. You're using revisionist history to suggest otherwise.

It wasn't only his size, it was his skating. He was a highly skilled guy with both size AND skating question marks. Tampa took a chance on that high end skill and hoped he could get bigger and improve his skating. He didn't really get much bigger (heavier, not taller), but he improved his skating tremendously. They literally talked about how much Point improved his skating from the day he was drafted to today every single time he's mentioned on a broadcast.

In the THN Draft Preview that year, Point was ranked 42nd among all prospects and his NHL Projection tag-line read, “Dynamic point producer.” Not bad, eh? “He’s a small player with a big heart,” one scout said. “He plays bigger than his size and he fights through traffic. You just wish he were bigger.”

weird how skating is never an issue with big guys… *looks at Poulin.*

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

In the THN Draft Preview that year, Point was ranked 42nd among all prospects and his NHL Projection tag-line read, “Dynamic point producer.” Not bad, eh? “He’s a small player with a big heart,” one scout said. “He plays bigger than his size and he fights through traffic. You just wish he were bigger.”

weird how skating is never an issue with big guys… *looks at Poulin.*

Point overlooked component to Lightning playoff success

Enter Barb Underhill, the renowned power-skating coach.
"I don't think I'd be playing here if it wasn't for Barb," Point said.
Underhill worked with Point on footwork, ankle flexion, edge work and explosiveness.
"I don't have the prettiest stride, but I can get some speed and cut corners," Point said. "That gives me confidence that I can elude checks."

How the Lightning Got One of the Greatest Draft Steals of All-Time

Two years later, in Point’s draft year, he was putting up a 91-point season with the Warriors, but he was not without his detractors. Players of Point’s stature were beginning to be recognized as potential contributors at the NHL level, but there were serious concerns about Point’s skating and whether or not it would hold him back. In the THN Draft Preview that year, Point was ranked 42nd among all prospects and his NHL Projection tag-line read, “Dynamic point producer.” Not bad, eh? “He’s a small player with a big heart,” one scout said. “He plays bigger than his size and he fights through traffic. You just wish he were bigger.”

Is skating hockey's most fixable flaw? Flyers aim to find out

With a smaller 5-foot-10 stature, but tremendously skilled with a high hockey IQ, Tampa Bay's Brayden Point slipped to the late third round. His skating was the one area that needed major improvement. Point worked strenuously over the summer with former Canadian world champion figure skater Barb Underhill.

Now, the Lightning center is a 30-goal scorer, and perhaps most impressively, Point is lightning quick. He finished second to Oilers superstar Connor McDavid in the league’s fastest skater competition during All-Star weekend’s skills competition.

Dude, you're just flat out wrong that Point's skating wasn't also one of the reasons (aside from his size) that made him drop in the draft and made him a high risk, high reward type pick.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

And that's just the first three articles that come up when you type in "Brayden Point improvement in skating".

Digging your feet in to continue to argue that Point's skating wasn't also one of the big concerns about him is just stubbornness at this point.

 

[Peat]

I don't get why NHL orgs don't have specialist skating coaches tbh

 

[ChaosAgent]

I don't get why NHL orgs don't have specialist skating coaches tbh

Peat is Pixies' alt confirmed =)

Not the content of the post. Just the style.

 

[Gurglesons]

Point overlooked component to Lightning playoff success



How the Lightning Got One of the Greatest Draft Steals of All-Time



Is skating hockey's most fixable flaw? Flyers aim to find out



Dude, you're just flat out wrong that Point's skating wasn't also one of the reasons (aside from his size) that made him drop in the draft and made him a high risk, high reward type pick.

Did I do that? I’m just saying Point was overlooked predominately because of his size.

Anyways, if your criticism of our prospects is we haven’t focused on skill over skating risk you are flat out wrong. All of Legare, Hallander and Poulin probably locks to hit their potential as mid to top six guys if they are better skaters.

 

[Gurglesons]

But size is a perceived risk, no? They might be wrong, but that's how they're operating. Even now - small player, boom or bust, needs to be really fast to compensate, etc.etc. That's how a lot of people seem to be looking at it.

I think the org has been good at shooting for upside since 2018. Even the safer picks like Hallander or Poulin had considerable attacking upside on the day of their selection if it went well, and it deffo seems something that Hextall and the Pryors will lean into.

Maybe I’m too forward thinking or “never played the game”, but I look at Tampa and the narrative that size paved their way to the cup and look at the fact that three of four of the centers in the back to back were “undersized”. People act like their third line was some physical buzzsaw and it was, but that wasn’t because of their size. Gourde is smaller than Point.