S. Weiss, T. Pyatt, J. Aulin, B. Boyes, J. Woywitka

If anyone has a bit of hockey knowledge & would like to share there opinon on these players!

 

I think that Aulin will be an AHLer for life. At best he will be a depth player. He was a good prospect a few years ago but he has played poorly since then.

 

Getting injured does limit his progress.

But it is a little too soon to label him an AHL'er for life.

Especially if like you said "he was a good prospect".

I'm not saying he has immense upside, or that he'll make it. Just that he's not one you can write off yet.

 

A 21 year old, who was putting up a PPG in his first AHL season, is an AHL'er for life, okay I understand now.

 

Brad Boyes: Definitely NHL bound. Give it a year or two, should be on Boston's scoring lines. He's suddently a brawler too, finally showing some toughness, the one thing he's been lacking all season. Mostly playing centre here, he can win a draw and keep the puck moving. Come playoff time in Providence, he can be a valuable presence in the locker room and on the ice.

 

Woywitka will probably become a Jason Smith type defenseman. Big, very strong on his skates, can make the outlet pass, clear the crease, skate with the puck, and probably become good for 20-40 pts. He won't be an offensive monster, but will be a very good 2nd or 3rd dman.

Not a fantasy league big time pick, but in the real world every team wants a Woywitka

 

I disagree. I see him 100% as a second or first line NHLer. He played extremely well at the AHL level when I saw him on several occasions last season.

 

Thats great to know! I hope he makes the lineup along with Zinovjev next year.

 

First liner might be a stretch but Aulin should be a regular in Washington next season (if there is one).

 

For me Pyatt has been a disappointment. Big strong kid. No hands. Doesnt think fast enough. Its a long time between points. Boyes is a little slow for nhl but will still play. Weiss will turn into a pretty good center once he matures and has a great future. Woywitka will be a good d man but is a little over rated and will not be super star but a steady quality player. I like Jared Aulin although the jury is still out will all his injury problems. Be interesting to see how he comes back next season.

 

Weiss: A highly skilled, smallish pivot. Was compared favourably to Steve Yzerman at the draft for his top-notch passing/shooting/skating, as well as his leadership. Weiss lacks the size to really be in front of the net for any prolonged periods of time, so he swoops in like many other smallish players. An opportunist goal scorer with great hands, but meager defensive awareness, though that's slowly improving.

Career potential - 2nd line centre

Pyatt: A big left winger who is somewhat similar to Brad Isbister. Very streaky, but still very young and big men do take a bit longer than most. Still, Pyatt hasn't shown a whole lot for his age even. Questionable scoring ability, and could make better decisions with the puck.

Career potential - 2nd line left winger/3rd line left winger

Aulin: A very high scoring AHL player, but Aulin has tremendous issues once the game speeds up in the NHL level, and can't handle being played physically. Because of this, his NHL potential is limited. Doesn't have the smarts that Weiss has, but is still very skilled too.

Career potential - 3rd line scorer/perrenial AHL all-star

Boyes: Like Aulin and Weiss, very talented, but more suited to playing in traffic. Has the knock of being soft, but is improving there. Good goal scoring instincts, could be a great NHL'er if he had better speed.

Career potential - 2nd line centre/3rd line centre

Woywitka: Hard nosed smart defenseman who is really safe and calm with the puck. Can carry the puck out of the zone or make a sharp pass out of it. Isn't huge, but is stronger than he looks, and can handle big forwards (albiet putting him up against Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk, and Todd Bertuzzi could be too much for him). Not a lot of offensive potential, and his shot from the point leaves much to be desired. Can play in all situations, though you'd probobly rather have better puck movers on the power play. Still, he's not completely lost on the PP either.

Career potential - #3 defenseman/#4 defenseman

 

Just wondering how much have you seen Weiss this yr?? The 2 things you mentioned as sort of downsides to his game that this season are obviously better than you say. Most of his PP goals have come from him camping in front of the net this yr for prolonged periods of time. He's also led the team last yr in shots blocked by a forward and probably is on the same pace this yr. He plays almost 20 mins/game now because he's on both the powerplay and penalty kill (usually getting more penalty kill time). I kinda disagree with the career potential as its pretty evident in the last 2 games who he's going to be playing with in the future (Nedorost-Weiss-Horton will be a formitable line). Even right now, he's kinda like the 1b line center and Jokinen is the 1a line center. Most of us on the FL boards would probably compare him to a Brendan Morrison type and you can see what happens with the right linemates.

 

Hmmmm...kind've sounds like a certain player that was traded by dumba$$ Mike Milbury from the Islanders to the Canucks.

 

First liner as far as Washington's plans go. I would never pencil him in #1 with, say Philadelphia. But I think he'll develop nicely in D.C.

 

Weiss has even shown that he can bounce back from injury now. I say all his chips seem to be in place, this is an all-around player for years to come. By the time he turns 26 I bet he will be the cats captain. And now we can see a tandum between Weiss and Horton (Now that Nathan has made the better shift to wing).

When Pyatt first came out scouts couldnt believe his speed for his size, now most are hoping he doesnt turn into a similar fate of Gratton. Basically he just needs to be blessed with time, no one can produce at his age if hes not seeing serious mintues on the PP and L1.

Jared seems to have worse luck than a three handed monkey. Injury can definatly slow the progress of anyone, but the real tell tale sign that hes gonna be a player is how he bounces back, and he seems to be lighting up the A but what happens when he gets the call. He just needs a chance to prove himself in the show, but I bet the caps dont have a lot of patience.

Now Bradley seems to have gotten a great chance in bean town at deadline, but that was back in the days of the Bruins missing Bergeron and Samsonov, with the return of these stars Mr.Boyes shouldnt be sitting next to the phone until camp. It seems that it would be silly to mess with the potential lines that Boston will have once the injuries are over. So the bruins cup quest might delay Brad from seeing ice til next year.

Which finally bring us to Jeffrey. And which also makes us wonder how many minutes he might be seeing with that destroyed philly defense corps. Jeff might be a #3 or #4 defenseman with the might oil, but anywhere else in the league and he would be a safe bet for logging minutes as the #5 or #6 man. And I say this strictly based on his offensive potential.

 

Well, thats what everyone in Buffalo is hoping for. He is only 22, so everyone is hoping. He started out the year on an absolute tear, but has disappeared. Frankly, since that start, he will show up once every few weeks. He may trick you into thinking that he has broken his bad habits and is developing.

But Buffalo is doing the right thing. They are giving him many, many chances. Sometimes it hurts you, but you do have to try to develop him into a force. Until then, he is just a big streaky forward with oft questioned sense. He really does dissapear...he doesnt make any huge blunders that you swear at, nor does he make great offensive choices.

Ruff had put him repeatedly on the Roy-Afinogenov line to try to spark him, without any success. He almost drags those other two players down. Now Bartovic (another youngster) is back on that aforementioned line and is amazingly exciting, talented, and fast...

So anyways, I dont see Buffalo moving Pyatt anytime soon, but I think he will probably take another year to see if he can develop some consistency.

 

Woywitka won't be logging any time on the decimated Flyers blueline as he was traded to Edmionton a couple of months ago....

Meaning he will get monster ice time.

 

I was speaking metaphorically, as in what if Jeff didnt get traded for Comire

 

Barring a rash of injuries, the Bruins aren't interested in throwing Boyes into the mix in Boston yet.

He is expected to help the Providence Bruins get out of their own way in the offensive zone for now, may see a game or two call-up just for a look, and will likely spend the rest of the reg. season and playoffs on the farm.

With Thornton, Nylander, Rolston, Green and Donato all able to play the center position, there isn't any room for Boyes right now unless on the wing, but as you said- with Bergeron coming back soon, and Andy Hilbert playing pretty well, Boyes will likely stay in the AHL.

 

I think some of the Jared Aulin comments are a bit off. I've gone to all Kings prospect camps, and pre-season camps. He definitely shows signs of brilliance, he just needs to work on his consistency. He's a very slick two way player with great smarts on the ice, and will have no problem being an NHL'r for the rest of his career. As for his injury woes.........well he's been in LA the last two years! And we're ****ing cursed! He's now a Cap (only 21/22 yrs old), and most of us LA fans are pretty upset with that lame deal we pulled for Anson Carter. Caps fans will be very happy with this deal. Aulin could easily be a numer two center in the NHL.

 

i have to go with swinginutter, aulin impressed me during with his callup last year. however, the fact that he's had two serious injuries in the past two seasons, shoulder this year and i think a concussion last year, may have caused a blip on the injury-prone radar and made him expendible. i think washington fans will be happy with him, he's a good player, but he may have trouble consistantly playing 70 games a year.

 

I was very excited when the Panthers drafted Weiss. But I blame myself for losing faith in him during his rookie season. People compared him to Yzerman, but I was dissapointed at times with his play. But that was my fault for ignoring the fact that he was 19 and in his first NHL season. After his brief stint in the minors, Weiss came back this season and played amazing. I can see why people compare him to Yzerman. He has great offensive skills, and he can definately hold his own in the defensive zone. He is overpowered at times, but he will overcome that as his body matures and with his great hockey senses. IMO, he is our top line center of the future, and he will bump Olli to second line centerman.

 

Pyatt has all the tools to be a good hockey player, but seems to lack the hockey sense. I think what would benefit Pyatt the most is for Buffalo to bring in a veteran power foward (ala Scott Thornton) to teach him how to be a power foward in the NHL. However, with Paille almost a sure thing to make the sabres roster next year, I would say Pyatt could be moved for a good quality blueliner. I really don't think he has Bertuzzi-esque upside as some seem to think. I think he could be a good, sorta physical third line winger who can chip in 15-20 goals and park himself in front of the net on the PP. He is decent enough along to the boards, but only time will tell if this kid will ever become a 1st liner as many predicted.

 

Pyatt looked promising in his brief Islander stint. However, he's started to fade a bit. He reminds me of Bertuzzi though in the fact that if he develops right, he'll be a star. However, it remains to be seen if he will develop right.