Rank Our Dmen From Rielly to Just Drafted (In Terms of Upside AND Readiness)

[schenneuf]

Rank Our Dmen From Rielly to Just Drafted (In Terms of Upside AND Readiness):

1. Rielly = Closest we have to a No. 1, but ideally more of a 2.
2. Gardiner = Good 3/4.
3. Zaitsev = Unknown? Projects as a middle-pair (hopefully).
4. Dermott = Should be a solid top 4.
5. Valiev = Gunnarsson-like. Should be a decent 4.
6. Marincin = I like him. Is a solid 5.
7. Carrick = Impressed me late in season. Looks like a solid 5/6 right now.
8. Nielsen = Unknown? Depends on adjustment. Should add sorely-needed size to bottom pairing, but could have top 4 upside. If his upside is Franson, that's a 5/6. Hopefully he's more.
9. Lindgren = Unknown? Long-term project. Has some tools. Let him marinade in Sweden.
10. Harrington = An average No. 6 D now?
11. Loov = Time is running out to prove he can handle bottom pairing minutes.
12. DesRocher = May be a bottom pairing one day, if he makes it.
13. Percy = Has good IQ, but not a fit here. Better make sure they give him another shot before cutting ties, or get an asset back for him at a minimum.
14. Corrado = Career minor leaguer.

Click to read more...

 

[zeke]

names in alphabetical order only

Bucket 1: Rielly
Bucket 2: Gardiner
Bucket 3: Carrick, Dermott, Marincin, Nielsen, Valiev, Zaitsev
Bucket 4: Corrado, Harrington, Percy, Loov
Bucket 5: Desrochers, Holl, Lindgren

And really, buckets 4 and 5 mean you're not really worth hoping on much other than maybe some serviceable bottom pair years.

 

[Nithoniniel]

names in alphabetical order only

Bucket 1: Rielly
Bucket 2: Gardiner
Bucket 3: Carrick, Dermott, Marincin, Nielsen, Valiev, Zaitsev
Bucket 4: Corrado, Harrington, Percy, Loov
Bucket 5: Desrochers, Holl, Lindgren

And really, buckets 4 and 5 mean you're not really worth hoping on much other than maybe some serviceable bottom pair years.

Seems about right. I wouldn't dismiss Lindgren yet though. Got a lot of qualities, but he's been stuck between a league he dominates and a team where he isn't getting minutes. Hard to get a read on him.

 

[SprDaVE]

names in alphabetical order only

Bucket 1: Rielly
Bucket 2: Gardiner
Bucket 3: Carrick, Dermott, Marincin, Nielsen, Valiev, Zaitsev
Bucket 4: Corrado, Harrington, Percy, Loov
Bucket 5: Desrochers, Holl, Lindgren

And really, buckets 4 and 5 mean you're not really worth hoping on much other than maybe some serviceable bottom pair years.

Sounds about right. Bucket 3 could move to Bucket 2 if they progress well enough, or they could also easily drop to the other 2 Buckets.

 

[Pyrophorus]

6 Players in bucket 2...

Valiev is the next highest after the FT NHLers
CCarrick and Marincin if they continue their play, can move to bucket 2
Surprised the all 4 players in bucket 4, have played in the NHL

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

names in alphabetical order only

Bucket 1: Rielly
Bucket 2: Gardiner
Bucket 3: Carrick, Dermott, Marincin, Nielsen, Valiev, Zaitsev
Bucket 4: Corrado, Harrington, Percy, Loov
Bucket 5: Desrochers, Holl, Lindgren

And really, buckets 4 and 5 mean you're not really worth hoping on much other than maybe some serviceable bottom pair years.

Spot on,

I can see the leafs drafting very heavily on defence in the upcoming draft.

 

[Morgs]

names in alphabetical order only

Bucket 1: Rielly
Bucket 2: Gardiner
Bucket 3: Carrick, Dermott, Marincin, Nielsen, Valiev, Zaitsev
Bucket 4: Corrado, Harrington, Percy, Loov
Bucket 5: Desrochers, Holl, Lindgren

And really, buckets 4 and 5 mean you're not really worth hoping on much other than maybe some serviceable bottom pair years.

Keep getting told not to sleep on Lindgren. Although he might be in that '5th bucket' now, I really wouldn't be shocked if he was in the 3rd by the end of next season.

 

[zeke]

Lindgren has upside for sure but could just as easily dissappear from sight soon.

 

[Morgs]

Lindgren has upside for sure but could just as easily dissappear from sight soon.

Very true, but I believe in Bergman. I'm really hoping Lindgren just gets actual minutes in the SHL next year.

 

[rdawg1234]

Rielly

Gardiner

Zaitsev(could go higher or lower, definitely has high top 4 potential)

Everyone else is a crapshoot.

I think our D-prospects are lacking, we have some decent potential, but still mostly long-shots and alot has to go right, no true blue-chipper in the system(although Zaitsev may surprise).

Anyone outside of those top 3 are replaceable, or even just Rielly and Gardiner if Zaitsev busts.

Definitely have a top pairing guy as a need.

 

[Advanced stats]

Upside(longterm):
Rielly
Gardiner
Zaitsev
Dermott
Nielsen
Carrick
Valiev
Maricien
Corrado
Everyone else.(bottom pairing at best.)

Readiness;
Gardiner
Rielly
Hunwick?
Marincen
Zaitsev
Carrick
Corrado
Harrington
Valiev
Percy
Loov

Everyone else(at least 2 years away)

Makes me think we need to draft or trade for a legit young top 3 defender.

 

[rdawg1234]

If we added a level of D-man like Trouba, Hamonic, Jones etc. this D-core would look amazing, alot of middle-bottom pairing talent, not enough minute-eating two-way d-men.

 

[highslot]

1. Rielly = our future number 1. right now not our best.
2. Gardiner = Good 3/4 but right now our best d. analytics bears it out.
3. Zaitsev = could be another finnish flop used to playing on large ice but d2 potential.
4. Dermott = Should be a solid top 4 could be anywhere from d2 to d6.
5. Lindgren = he's doing fine, but not marner-outstanding. his potential is to have the best offense of all the leaf prospects. he is a longshot though.
6. Valiev = anywhere from d4-d6 he does it all with some grit
7. Percy = i'm in the minority. i remember when he was up the first time and he was our best d i think for 2 games. i think he could have topped at 2d, but he's a head case now from being sent up and down so many times and injuries will stop him from reaching his potential. he's a smooth skater with fine top end speed and very good edge work; he doesn't have great acceleration but he's efficient (but not as fast) as a gardiner, so he doesn't have a fast choppy stride. i'm not sure why the rest of the leaf fan base pegged him as 'slow'. harrington is 'slow'. imo. he has pretty good vision, first pass and sees the game great. he has no outstanding offensive tools, but is smart.
8. Marincin = d4-6; i heard he played better but when i watched him at the beginning, he was awful. he was getting better and his size is useful
9. Nielsen = if he could get his skating up to par, then maybe a poor man's weber on second pairing. otherwise, a phaneuf/maccabe type role. if he isn't another finn, then he'd climb up above valiev.
10. Carrick = Looks like a solid 5/6 right now. he was fairly good with rookie mistakes, he's an nhler i think.
11. Loov = great bottom pairing. grit did great in the few games he was up and did everything asked at the lower level. a better skating gritter gunnar.
12. Harrington = An average No.
13. DesRocher = May be a bottom pairing one day, but a longshot
14. Corrado = i don't like him and i think he's our kostka
15. hunwick = if corrodo is our kostka, then hunwick might be our paul ranger.


if we looked like:

rielly-zaitsev
gardiner-dermott
marincin-loov/valiev/nielsen

i think that would be fine.

 

[Terrible GM]

names in alphabetical order only

Bucket 1: Rielly
Bucket 2: Gardiner
Bucket 3: Carrick, Dermott, Marincin, Nielsen, Valiev, Zaitsev
Bucket 4: Corrado, Harrington, Percy, Loov
Bucket 5: Desrochers, Holl, Lindgren

And really, buckets 4 and 5 mean you're not really worth hoping on much other than maybe some serviceable bottom pair years.

Agree. Also their is a Cards against Humanity joke in there to be made!

 

[RoadWarrior]

1. Rielly = our future number 1. right now not our best.
2. Gardiner = Good 3/4 but right now our best d. analytics bears it out.
3. Zaitsev = could be another finnish flop used to playing on large ice but d2 potential.
4. Dermott = Should be a solid top 4 could be anywhere from d2 to d6.
5. Lindgren = he's doing fine, but not marner-outstanding. his potential is to have the best offense of all the leaf prospects. he is a longshot though.
6. Valiev = anywhere from d4-d6 he does it all with some grit
7. Percy = i'm in the minority. i remember when he was up the first time and he was our best d i think for 2 games. i think he could have topped at 2d, but he's a head case now from being sent up and down so many times and injuries will stop him from reaching his potential. he's a smooth skater with fine top end speed and very good edge work; he doesn't have great acceleration but he's efficient (but not as fast) as a gardiner, so he doesn't have a fast choppy stride. i'm not sure why the rest of the leaf fan base pegged him as 'slow'. harrington is 'slow'. imo. he has pretty good vision, first pass and sees the game great. he has no outstanding offensive tools, but is smart.
8. Marincin = d4-6; i heard he played better but when i watched him at the beginning, he was awful. he was getting better and his size is useful
9. Nielsen = if he could get his skating up to par, then maybe a poor man's weber on second pairing. otherwise, a phaneuf/maccabe type role. if he isn't another finn, then he'd climb up above valiev.
10. Carrick = Looks like a solid 5/6 right now. he was fairly good with rookie mistakes, he's an nhler i think.
11. Loov = great bottom pairing. grit did great in the few games he was up and did everything asked at the lower level. a better skating gritter gunnar.
12. Harrington = An average No.
13. DesRocher = May be a bottom pairing one day, but a longshot
14. Corrado = i don't like him and i think he's our kostka
15. hunwick = if corrodo is our kostka, then hunwick might be our paul ranger.


if we looked like:

rielly-zaitsev
gardiner-dermott
marincin-loov/valiev/nielsen

i think that would be fine.

C. Carrick is miles ahead of Lindgren and Percy.

Right now Rielly, Gardiner, Zaitsev, Carrick, Dermott and Nielsen have top 4 upside. Not a horrible group but could be better. The chance of success is probably only 50% for Dermott and Nielsen assuming they can adjust to the pros.

There's plenty of guys to fill out the bottom pair like Marincin, Loov, Valiev, Corrado etc.

The leafs should definitely be targeting D with picks 2 to 6 in this draft.

 

[BreakingGood]

Gardiner is much better than Rielly. Clear number one. Elite possession numbers every year. Rielly is probably a number two, and unless he can work on stopping his man, he's probably there for good. Marincin you underrated, he's a legit very good defensive second pairing guy, and I have no idea why you think Corrado is a "career minor leaguer." He's a real strong puck mover who drives play. He's Ian White without the drinking problem. Valiev looks like an NHLer but Carrick looked more impressive to me this year, but they're a year apart so I won't jump down your throat here. As for Zaitsev, I think you have him ranked appropriately. KHL is the second best league in the world, and it's rpobably closer to the NHL than the Swedish league is to Russia, but it's still not the NHL, and it's still European hockey, so while I think the "unknown" talk gets a little underplayed, and if you watched his games he looked real good, there are always gonna be question marks, and I think he comes with an adjustment period to start the year.

 

[BreakingGood]

Upside(longterm):
Rielly
Gardiner
Zaitsev
Dermott
Nielsen
Carrick
Valiev
Maricien
Corrado
Everyone else.(bottom pairing at best.)

Readiness;
Gardiner
Rielly
Hunwick?
Marincen
Zaitsev
Carrick
Corrado
Harrington
Valiev
Percy
Loov

Everyone else(at least 2 years away)

Makes me think we need to draft or trade for a legit young top 3 defender.

I love Marincin. Don't know that he's more ready than Zaitsev. More certain, but Zaitsev is definitely physically and skill wise ready to be a good defenceman, it's just harder to judge how he translates to the NHL, whereas we know Marincin is pretty good.

 

[Advanced stats]

I love Marincin. Don't know that he's more ready than Zaitsev. More certain, but Zaitsev is definitely physically and skill wise ready to be a good defenceman, it's just harder to judge how he translates to the NHL, whereas we know Marincin is pretty good.

Agreed. I have complete faith in Zaitsev's game, it just might take him a bit to adapt to smaller ice...which is why I have Zaitsev as higher upside, but less ready than marincin.

 

[BreakingGood]

Agreed. I have complete faith in Zaitsev's game, it just might take him a bit to adapt to smaller ice...which is why I have Zaitsev as higher upside, but less ready than marincin.

Ya I guess I'm just quibbling over what exactly we mean by "ready" lol. I think there's a good chance he doesn't look great early, especially clearing or skating with the puck, and everyone *****es about him and he spends a couple months as Aki Berg or Alex Khavanov, and when he gets used to the space available he'll look a lot better. The skill is all there. More ready to play, definitely less ready for the NHL.

 

[Mugzy97]

Agree. Also their is a Cards against Humanity joke in there to be made!

I don't see it

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Seems about right. I wouldn't dismiss Lindgren yet though. Got a lot of qualities, but he's been stuck between a league he dominates and a team where he isn't getting minutes. Hard to get a read on him.

Agree with you on Lindgren. Let's be patient with him. As for Rielly and Gardiner, I think the buckets would be true in the short/long-term.

Gardiner, to me, is our best defenceman on the transition and in his ability to drive possession. He's a much better slot defender than Rielly, and has the ability to become our Hjalmarsson. This is why I'm a bit vary of adding new pieces onto the D core and instead make moves prior to next year's trade deadline.

 

[Super Mega]

Agree with you on Lindgren. Let's be patient with him. As for Rielly and Gardiner, I think the buckets would be true in the short/long-term.

Gardiner, to me, is our best defenceman on the transition and in his ability to drive possession. He's a much better slot defender than Rielly, and has the ability to become our Hjalmarsson. This is why I'm a bit vary of adding new pieces onto the D core and instead make moves prior to next year's trade deadline.

huh? Hjalmarsson is more physical, blocks shots and can take a hit. I like Gardiner, I like Hjalmarsson, not sure about the comparison

 

[RyanOhReally]

People are sleeping on Corrado

 

[The_Chosen_One]

huh? Hjalmarsson is more physical, blocks shots and can take a hit. I like Gardiner, I like Hjalmarsson, not sure about the comparison

It's true that Hjalmarsson can utilise his size, but that isn't really a core aspect of his game. Instead, he is a lot more like Gunnarsson in that he can move the puck well. He's not really consistent in terms of physicality. Interestingly, Gardiner really sits rather close to Hjalmarsson if we're looking at the stats in that they drive possession.

PS: Chicago's D core isn't really physical. It isn't a mean D core at so all so it does puzzle me why people assume that. If anything, we seem to have a hard-on for the Burke-era physical D core even though that attribute is a lot more important up-front.

 

[Josh92]

We have an over sized, deep forward prospect pool right now and we have a boatload of picks. Our D outside of Reilly Gardner and Zaitsev (hopefully) is weak. Lou swings a picks/prospects deal for a 22-25 year old top 4 at the draft/in the summer. It just makes to much sense. Trouba and Dumba come to mind but don't be surprised if it's for someone who hasn't even crossed our minds or been mentioned on this board.