Ruggeri vs. Picard

[Al Alven]

Has anyone out there had a good chance to see Flyers' defensive prospects Rosario Ruggeri (Chicoutimi) and/or Alexandre Picard (Cape Breton) play this season in the QMJHL?

If so, how would you compare the two at this point?

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[RyanM]

Both are great players but i'd give Ruggeri an edge right now. Both players seem similar(good with the puck, log a lot of minutes, run a pp, very good in own end) and have all the tools you look for in a defenceman. I get to watch Picard a lot more since he plays for Cape Breton and I feel he's inconsistant at times and that keeps him from being a top blueliners in this league. It's especially noticeable when a guy like Tim Ramholt is out there and is flawless. But Picard is still only in his 18yo season so he has another full year on Ruggeri.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

What he said.

Also i feel Picard is smarter with the puck but Ruggeri plays more physical.

 

[plaugher]

That's the thing with Picard... he's played amongst stellar defenses in all three of his years, which seem to make his "few" mistakes stand out more than they would on, say, this year's Mooseheads team or last year's Eagles team.

One of my big sticking points on him is his relative unwillingness to use his size. He's got plenty of size on him, but just doesn't use it. Things may have changed this year (as I've only seen the Eagles once), but I saw him throw more hits in his first five games of his 16-year-old season than in the rest of his stint in Halifax.

One of the better ones in the last several years that I've seen in keeping the puck in the offensive zone, though...