RW John McFarland (2010, 33rd overall, Florida)

[Ward Cornell]

"Touch me and I go home and you can explain to coach why his 1st rounder is at home"

I like his style. I haven't been a part of sports teams, and I understand the comradery that goes into team building, but really. If bleaching your hair or shaving your head (or hazing in general) is what it takes to be considered a good teammate, I call ********.

I concur with you and quarterchicken.

If anyone think shaving a head is leadership or comradeship then that person thinking that is in very serious need for help and maturity.

Geesch....lets label a 15 or 16 year-old kid all kinds of stuff
because he refused to shave his head.

 

[Juice*]

I concur with you and quarterchicken.

If anyone think shaving a head is leadership or comradeship then that person thinking that is in very serious need for help and maturity.

Geesch....lets label a 15 or 16 year-old kid all kinds of stuff
because he refused to shave his head.

thats a single example, his teammates labelled him that. the other example was from an agent and hall of famer...

 

[ugotmybeef*]

I don't mind dying my hair but shaving your head is crazy.

 

[Canad93]

Even friends of mine, when they were called up to play a tournament for a year older AAA team they had their heads shaved into Chuck Lidell style mohawks.
That's at age 15. Some people love that kind of thing, and they're usually the ones who get everyone to go along with it. Everyone else just accepts it as common, and they enjoy watching the rookies be treated like that.
I can understand not wanting to do it, but the rest of the team have likely done it themselves, and they see it as a sacrifice for the team. It's an initiation ritual that you can't understand unless you've played for a competitive team.

 

[Ward Cornell]

It's an initiation ritual that you can't understand unless you've played for a competitive team.

Ummmmm...excuse me, I've played competetive sports for over 40 years! So perhaps you should only speak for yourself!

There are many reasons why a person may not want to participate in shaving or dyeing of their hair.
ie: family function with a portrait will be taken soon.
He could be in a wedding party in a cpl. weeks
Fill in the blank for numorous logical reasons.

Not being a good teammate probably isn't really a facor

 

[Green Snow Storm]

I really like McFarland. I think he'll develop into a more complete player this season and mature more. I really don't see his attitude as a big issue and will likely be a non-factor as he matures. I'll be surprised if he doesn't go top 5 next year.

 

[Eb0la11]

Care to Ellaborate on the Negative personality that he brings to the lockerroom?

And what does Bobby Orr know? Is he his agent?

Ive heard the same thing that he believes he has some kind of entitlement, or so it appears by the way he carries himself. This is from a scout's lips that I talked to at the Canada u18 camp only a couple of weeks ago and Ive seen it in other reports as well.

 

[NeverGoingToWin]

He may be cocky and a bad teammate but refusing these stupid hazing rituals should not be a factor in judging his character. I would do the same thing and hopefully they get rid of that garbage eventually.

 

[JrHockey89]

Too bad he didn't come back down to earth a little the other year when Hockey Canada refused him exceptional player status to enter the OHL draft a year early.

It also shows that he and the people around him put him on par with John Tavares at the same age. (A tad optimistic if you ask me... and 99.9% of other people.)

 

[Juice*]

You should have seen him in Minor Midget.....absolutely dominant.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

FYI, Connolly's first name is Brett -- not Brendan .

Oh, good grief.

Good catch. Thanks for pointing that out.

Fixed.

 

[Default101]

Hall and Kabanov seem to have 1 and 2 locked down, and i see someone wanting a defenceman in the top 3, which would likely seen Cam Fowler being the top defenceman drafted. I see McFarland going anywhere from 3-15 but to predict i'd say 6th overall. I may be alittle biased because i saw him the first half of the season, but didn't really stand out on a Sudbury team that didn't have that many standout kinda players. ALthough he still sounds like an excellent talent and i'm sure he's improved, i wouldn't p ut him in the same group as Hall, Kabanov and Fowler just yet.

 

[whatsupcomrade*]

leave john mcfarland alone! (cries in front of webcam)

I am surprised to hear all of the negative carping in this thread about John Mcfarland's alleged "attitude." C'mon: the arguable number one player on the planet often conducts himself like a complete a-hole on the ice (I don;t know much about Ovechkin off of it) and everyone loves his "colour;" US NTDP players are notoriously arrogant and aloof and everyone seems to think that is fine (for the most part). Mcfarland is no worse than most other elite level players - and probably a damn sight more grown up than most of his russian contemporaries (including the hallowed, much-celebrated kabanov).

By the way, I was surprised to hear that bobby orr wanted nothing to do with the kid. I consider Orr to be the greatest player of all-time (I have plenty of company there) but that does seem to be a little self-righteous when you consider that whatever 'tude Orr saw in McFarland is quite likely little more than the usual growing pains all kids go through (we all have to go through a maturational process, don't we?).

 

[speedway]

Its seen as a bonding thing. I think its quite stupid too. I guess it shows how much McFarland values the respect of his teammates.

His teamates should respect him more for having the balls to not allow himself to be bullied. I would hope that a son of mine would respond in the same fashion. People can dress it up anyway they like, but forcing someone to do something against their will is plain old hazing : in the same family as forcing someone to drink until they need to be hospitalized or other such offences against human dignity.

 

[JrHockey89]

Head shaving and hazing aside.

The kid's attitude needs changing. On the ice he would consistently bring up the fact that he was the #1 overall pick, when challenged physically or verbally by the other team... not sure why this would be his comeback to confrontation.

I've also heard reports of in school behaviour where a teacher would question him for some reason and he would respond with a "do you know who I am?" This comes from a couple different people and apparently it wasn't a one time thing.

As an OHL fan, I truly hope that this sort of behaviour changes with his maturation process because his skill set is exceptional and he has a real chance to be a very special player for a long time.

 

[Kessel>Seguin +]

Hes not the next big thing or anything, Was not even noticable except for a few shifts in Sudbury's first round playoff lose to Belleville

 

[It Kills Me]

I heard this kid built not one but TWO schools in Africa.

Jokes aside, from all accounts his "cockiness" translates very well on ice and he's a pretty mean SOB. I hope the Leafs have an opportunity to draft him.

 

[DJB]

McFarland needs to steup uo his game this year if he wants to be a top 10 pick. He

 

[FlamesWillRiseAgain]

I can't believe there are people who don't think he'll go top ten. There's no way on God's green Earth that he falls out of the top ten. I think he goes 3-6, and even at that I'd be surprised if he falls out of the top five.

 

[yotesnleafs]

orr probably didn't leave because of mcfarland. diarrhea is my bet.

 

[DJB]

I can't believe there are people who don't think he'll go top ten. There's no way on God's green Earth that he falls out of the top ten. I think he goes 3-6, and even at that I'd be surprised if he falls out of the top five.

So just like some people thought that Panik wouldn't fall but did?

Every year there are players that are expected to go high, fall for whatever reason.

In this case an apparent attitude problem could potentailly drop McFarland...

 

[eric71*]

I wonder if NHL scouts read these boards for information on NHL prospects

 

[SeLaine]

I'm sure if the kids attitude is that bad he probably wouldn't have been named Captain of our country's Under 18 team.

 

[QuarterChicken]

I'm sure if the kids attitude is that bad he probably wouldn't have been named Captain of our country's Under 18 team.

Exactly, and that team's coach, who is also the latest Memorial Cup winning coach, had nothing but great things to say about him and his leadership. Check out the interview from the Fan 590 from last night.

 

[sabresEH]

My feeling is that coach Boogie man favored the OHL guys heavily. That could be because he is familier with them and knows what they can do in certain situations. Guys like Connolly, Howden, Weal will all be top scorers in the WHL this season but were placed on the 3rd and 4th lines in the tourny. Oh well, we'll see how they do in their respective leagues. Should be fun.

OHL guys are always heavily favored. When Beach was with the U-18 team he showed up to the last game wearing a team Ontario shirt hoping to get more ice time lol.