Rated prospects, 7th tier: the 8B's

[JohnnyRyall]

With this group, the top 50 ought to be virtually complete ... 3 9A's, 2 9B's, 4 8.5A's, 7 8.5B's, 2 8.5C's, 4 8A's, and 27 8B's (13 F, 8 D, 6 G):

Wolski
Schremp
Koivu
O'Sullivan
Getzlaf
Brown
Vanek
Higgins
Vermette
Steen
Richards
Ladd
Polushin

Barker
Burns
Smid
Grebeshkov
Ehrhoff
Whitney
Coburn
Krajicek

Leclaire
Schwarz
Harding
Leneveu
Danis
Emery

So, what exactly does an "8B" mean? And do all of these prospects deserve a spot in the top 50?

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[Hockey-Freak]

Ehrhoff is extremly overrated! maybe a 7.0B or 7.0C would be more realistic.

Ladd should get a 7.0B or 7.5B because I don´t see him as a 1st-liner - he´s more of a strong 2nd liner or a great 3rd-liner.

Chris Higgins is also questionable in my mind. I definitely would rate him lower than Ladd and the most others on this 8.0B-list!

 

[Big Deaner]

People on these boards continue to vastly underrate Ryan Getzlaf and vastly overrate Andrew Ladd. Getzlaf has the skill and size to be a dominant first liner in the NHL, I would give him a ranking of 8B only because their are still some questions about his consistency and intensity on any given night.

On the other hand if Andrew Ladd reached his maximum potential he would top out as a second liner, he just doesn't have the skills to play on a first line in the NHL. Therefore Ladd, IMO, deserves a rating of 7C.

 

[DaveyCrockett]

Too high: Leclaire, Wolski (8C), Koivu (8C), Higgins, Steen (7.5B), Burns, Smid, Krajicek (8D or C), and every single goaltender on the list. I would put a lot of those goalies at 7B/7C or 8C/8D.

 

[McSorley 33]

Dustin Brown is a solid 8.0B and most everyone would agree. He is the real deal. Kings are happy to have him. Denis grebeshkov looks to be pretty uncertain.

 

[Zorin]

Ehrhoff is extremly overrated! maybe a 7.0B or 7.0C would be more realistic.

Don't see it that way! He had a poor world cup, granted, but the whole team did not play up to expectations. Ehrhoff has all the tools needed to become a great player and first and foremost he has not only talent but HEART! He is an extremingly willing kid who tries to listen to every word the coaches tell him. He was a very good player for german relations when he attended his first camp and after he came back one could see, that the coaches had told him a lot that he could change in his game. So he restructured his whole game, improved his positioning, changed his behaviours of shooting and passing and bulked up. The result was, that first two months he played horrible in comparison to where he was before. Fans were all over him and accused him of arrogance and so on. But he sticked to what he had been told and when he got compfortable with his new game he turned out to be twice the player he was before his camp. He had been a very good player and devolloped into nothing less but a DOMINANT player at DEL-Level. That is maybe the most important thing to do: listen to the coaches, being willing to question ones game and play with the HEAD first.
And how hard he works can be seen in his shot. He had a slapper that could be compared to a wrister of an average NHL-player in terms of how hard it was, when he turned pro. But after 2-3 yrs of work he has arguably the hardest shot of any current german player!

Ehrhoff to my mind is a blue chip prospect. I believe his rating is absolutely OK. Sure the lockout was a huge setback to his development. But I believe that for years to come the Sharks have gread core player on the D with Ehrhoff and Stuart!

Zorin

 

[thestonedkoala]

Koivu (8C),Burns (8D or C), and every single goaltender on the list.

Koivu I can agree about because he'll be utilized as a shut down center that can be put in crunch time.

Burns no. He still is rough but he was what? 19-20 this year in the AHL and playing a position he hasn't played in for what? 3-4 years and looked awesome out there.

8 means that he could be a top 2 defensemen but a B would mean that he should (which I believe Burns can, he plays physical enough and has a nasty shot) hit the point but could be dropped to a 7, which is a top 4 defensemen, which Burns should hit if anything. I've talked with Aero fans and seen some games but Burns points should be higher if we had a guy crashing the net.

As for the goaltenders? Harding was in the top 10 in SV% and top 5 for GAA. The kid did wonders for his team in Regina...The guy is awesome. Danis looked good this year and LeVeneau is underrated on this board. They deserve to have that 8B status...

 

[Askel]

i think Wojtek Wolski should be a 7C not an 8b maybe thats just me.