Confirmed with Link: Sharks sign Vincent Praplan to ELC

[Gene Parmesan]

Rookie camp is like slow motion compared to NLA. To even claim a thing like that is ridiculous. Of course there are always a few other matured standouts but overall the level isn't really high. Lots of random kids around a player like Praplan can handle with ease.

He was older so I would hope he wouldn't struggle.

 

[Hinterland]

He was older so I would hope he wouldn't struggle.

Right..and of course he didn't. That's why it's ridiculous to claim the opposite

 

[LadyStanley]

Cap Friendly has him on a one year deal for next season.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Right..and of course he didn't. That's why it's ridiculous to claim the opposite

It's not when first hand observers said he did struggle with the lack of space.

 

[Hinterland]

It's not when first hand observers said he did struggle with the lack of space.

I watched all of the rookie camp and Praplan was dominating. Not quite like Balcers but close. Impossible not to see it. Also, like it's been said before, Praplan played a full OHL season. It would have been worrying had he struggled against kids and I don't think the Sharks would have invited him to the NHL camp let alone offered him a contract.
This is nonsense, sorry.

 

[OrrNumber4]

He's a pretty decent NLA scorer, but IMO he is the type of player with good skills without NHL-level size and smarts.

 

[Hinterland]

He's a pretty decent NLA scorer, but IMO he is the type of player with good skills without NHL-level size and smarts.

He has all the tools...it's just a question of how badly he wants it...

 

[doug88]

He has all the tools...it's just a question of how badly he wants it...

Ya I think you're right. And that's the problem with Swiss players, the league over here offers them so many things, making it really difficult for them to leave the country. For instance, Rod just signed a huge contract with a Swiss watch company yesterday and he's gonna make a lot of money off of it. The kid is becoming really popular with everything going his way, so I don't see why he would leave Switzerland and risk it all.

Anyway I think that Praplan can really succeed in the NHL, he's had a great year in Kloten on a team that struggled a lot during the season. They were so bad that now they have to fight to stay in Switzerland's top league. On the other hand, Praplan was awful at the Olympics, I don't know what happened but he was just not playing his best hockey. Now I just hope he'll do anything to achieve his goal and make the Sharks roster next year.

 

[Lebanezer]

Ya I think you're right. And that's the problem with Swiss players, the league over here offers them so many things, making it really difficult for them to leave the country. For instance, Rod just signed a huge contract with a Swiss watch company yesterday and he's gonna make a lot of money off of it. The kid is becoming really popular with everything going his way, so I don't see why he would leave Switzerland and risk it all.

Anyway I think that Praplan can really succeed in the NHL, he's had a great year in Kloten on a team that struggled a lot during the season. They were so bad that now they have to fight to stay in Switzerland's top league. On the other hand, Praplan was awful at the Olympics, I don't know what happened but he was just not playing his best hockey. Now I just hope he'll do anything to achieve his goal and make the Sharks roster next year.

I'm curious, why is Rod becoming so popular? Is it his play on the ice? Stuff he does off the ice?

 

[LeeIFBB]

Could be one watch company for every NLA player in Switzerland.

 

[doug88]

I'm curious, why is Rod becoming so popular? Is it his play on the ice? Stuff he does off the ice?

A little of both I guess. Even though he isn't having a terrific season, he still managed to make the NT for the Spengler Cup and he's actually becoming popular in the French part of Switzerland for that specific reason.

Could be one watch company for every NLA player in Switzerland.

No it's just a watch company that has its HQ in Geneva and also happens to be one of the new owner of the team here in Geneva.

 

[Hinterland]

Ya I think you're right. And that's the problem with Swiss players, the league over here offers them so many things, making it really difficult for them to leave the country. For instance, Rod just signed a huge contract with a Swiss watch company yesterday and he's gonna make a lot of money off of it. The kid is becoming really popular with everything going his way, so I don't see why he would leave Switzerland and risk it all...

Exactly what I tried to explain earlier. Swiss NLA is Europes top league in terms of spectators and the nr.2 behind the KHL in terms of money involved and level of play. Yet still until only just recently there were essentially no Swiss players in the NHL. Hadn't it been for Mark Streit, I really don't think Meier, Josi, Fiala, Hischier etc. would be NHL regulars now. It took somebody to risk it all. Streit went over to NA and earned his NHL spot the hard way. Was he the most gifted Swiss player? Absolutely not. He had average hands and was undersized. But he was the one who wanted it the most. Nobody else was prepared to do it. Now everybody knows that it's possible to become a great player and make lots of money in the NHL yet still only few have the will and determination of a Meier or Fiala. The best example is the (in my view) most gifted active Swiss player, Damien Brunner. Went over to NA, scored at a decent rate especially in key situations but just wasn't prepared to put much needed work in, to add muscles and improve his play against the puck. He had the ideal Coach in Babcock who gave him every opportunity and was determined to make him a better player. Despite a good offer from Detroit, Brunner left to get away from a very demanding Babcock and before he knew it, he was, after a stint with NJ, back in Switzerland. It's a pitty.

There's a lot of talk amongst fans and journalists about how much of a risk it is to draft/sign players out of Russia. In my view, teams feel no different about Switzerland. Swiss players, even the most gifted ones, get drafted very late if at all, Denis Malgin only being the latest example. I still can't believe he fell all the way to the 7th round. Crazy steal for Florida but definitely a result of the NHL clubs not trusting Swiss players. Still very few of them willing to work their way up in an NHL system through juniors or minors. Much easier to stay in Switzerland and play in a very competitive league for more money and without endless bus rides or having to stay in middle class hotels.

Other European skaters (not including KHL) don't have that kind of an opportunity at home and that's why they tend to try harder and have more success in the NHL.

I hope Praplan isn't your typical Swiss hockey player but I'm not convinced until I see it. The fact that he rejected the Sharks invitation for this seasons NHL-camp has me worried. Clearly not a good sign.

 

[Barrie22]

Exactly what I tried to explain earlier. Swiss NLA is Europes top league in terms of spectators and the nr.2 behind the KHL in terms of money involved and level of play. Yet still until only just recently there were essentially no Swiss players in the NHL. Hadn't it been for Mark Streit, I really don't think Meier, Josi, Fiala, Hischier etc. would be NHL regulars now. It took somebody to risk it all. Streit went over to NA and earned his NHL spot the hard way. Was he the most gifted Swiss player? Absolutely not. He had average hands and was undersized. But he was the one who wanted it the most. Nobody else was prepared to do it. Now everybody knows that it's possible to become a great player and make lots of money in the NHL yet still only few have the will and determination of a Meier or Fiala. The best example is the (in my view) most gifted active Swiss player, Damien Brunner. Went over to NA, scored at a decent rate especially in key situations but just wasn't prepared to put much needed work in, to add muscles and improve his play against the puck. He had the ideal Coach in Babcock who gave him every opportunity and was determined to make him a better player. Despite a good offer from Detroit, Brunner left to get away from a very demanding Babcock and before he knew it, he was, after a stint with NJ, back in Switzerland. It's a pitty.

There's a lot of talk amongst fans and journalists about how much of a risk it is to draft/sign players out of Russia. In my view, teams feel no different about Switzerland. Swiss players, even the most gifted ones, get drafted very late if at all, Denis Malgin only being the latest example. I still can't believe he fell all the way to the 7th round. Crazy steal for Florida but definitely a result of the NHL clubs not trusting Swiss players. Still very few of them willing to work their way up in an NHL system through juniors or minors. Much easier to stay in Switzerland and play in a very competitive league for more money and without endless bus rides or having to stay in middle class hotels.

Other European skaters (not including KHL) don't have that kind of an opportunity at home and that's why they tend to try harder and have more success in the NHL.

I hope Praplan isn't your typical Swiss hockey player but I'm not convinced until I see it. The fact that he rejected the Sharks invitation for this seasons NHL-camp has me worried. Clearly not a good sign.

Well if the actual reason was the olympics then i can understand it. For some players/people olympics are huge especially lower level players. He may never get that shot again.

 

[Hinterland]

Well if the actual reason was the olympics then i can understand it. For some players/people olympics are huge especially lower level players. He may never get that shot again.

The guy is 23 and one of Switzerland's best forwards. As an established NHLer you're basically a lock in the Swiss national squad. He'll have lots of chances if he stays healthy...even with the unclear situation with NHL/IOC.

But it's not my point anyway. If they wanna take a look at somebody, teams also invite players to their NHL camp knowing that they're not gonna be on the roster. It's also a chance for the player a to get a feeling of what it's like to play in the NHL and what the organization, staff, team mates are all about. So Praplan should have attended the camp no matter what. He'd have missed a few more regular season games in the NLA of course but they don't matter much anyway. Kloten doesn't have any money...they never had a chance to make the playoffs.

Praplan has what he wanted now...however, to reject the invitation to join the NHL camp... to go to NA just to play a few games against some mostly random kids was still a weird thing to do.

 

[StanleyCup2035]

Exactly what I tried to explain earlier. Swiss NLA is Europes top league in terms of spectators and the nr.2 behind the KHL in terms of money involved and level of play. Yet still until only just recently there were essentially no Swiss players in the NHL. Hadn't it been for Mark Streit, I really don't think Meier, Josi, Fiala, Hischier etc. would be NHL regulars now. It took somebody to risk it all. Streit went over to NA and earned his NHL spot the hard way. Was he the most gifted Swiss player? Absolutely not. He had average hands and was undersized. But he was the one who wanted it the most. Nobody else was prepared to do it. Now everybody knows that it's possible to become a great player and make lots of money in the NHL yet still only few have the will and determination of a Meier or Fiala. The best example is the (in my view) most gifted active Swiss player, Damien Brunner. Went over to NA, scored at a decent rate especially in key situations but just wasn't prepared to put much needed work in, to add muscles and improve his play against the puck. He had the ideal Coach in Babcock who gave him every opportunity and was determined to make him a better player. Despite a good offer from Detroit, Brunner left to get away from a very demanding Babcock and before he knew it, he was, after a stint with NJ, back in Switzerland. It's a pitty.

There's a lot of talk amongst fans and journalists about how much of a risk it is to draft/sign players out of Russia. In my view, teams feel no different about Switzerland. Swiss players, even the most gifted ones, get drafted very late if at all, Denis Malgin only being the latest example. I still can't believe he fell all the way to the 7th round. Crazy steal for Florida but definitely a result of the NHL clubs not trusting Swiss players. Still very few of them willing to work their way up in an NHL system through juniors or minors. Much easier to stay in Switzerland and play in a very competitive league for more money and without endless bus rides or having to stay in middle class hotels.

Other European skaters (not including KHL) don't have that kind of an opportunity at home and that's why they tend to try harder and have more success in the NHL.

I hope Praplan isn't your typical Swiss hockey player but I'm not convinced until I see it. The fact that he rejected the Sharks invitation for this seasons NHL-camp has me worried. Clearly not a good sign.

You shouldn’t believe he fell to the 7th round. He was drafted in the 4th

 

[Hinterland]

You shouldn’t believe he fell to the 7th round. He was drafted in the 4th

Of course, thanks. My bad. No idea why I wrote 7th. Doesn't change anything though.

 

[T0uGh C0oki3]

Swiss Donskoi ?

 

[StanleyCup2035]

Of course, thanks. My bad. No idea why I wrote 7th. Doesn't change anything though.

Absolutely. In fact, in proves that DW strategy of drafting safe in early rounds is incorrect. They can always pick up future bottom 6/middle line tweeners from Europe. Donskoi is a middle line player, Karlson, Sorensen and perhaps Vincent Praplan can slot in the bottom 6. Go boom/bust in rounds 1-3!

 

[Hinterland]

Absolutely. In fact, in proves that DW strategy of drafting safe in early rounds is incorrect. They can always pick up future bottom 6/middle line tweeners from Europe. Donskoi is a middle line player, Karlson, Sorensen and perhaps Vincent Praplan can slot in the bottom 6. Go boom/bust in rounds 1-3!

You mean Melker Karlsson? He's rubbish...at least if you ask him to play more than 7,8mins on the 4th line/PK.
Once in a while you can land a steal in the later rounds but taking too many risks is not necessarily smart. The most important thing is to draft with a strategy anyway. You can draft all skill you want, it won't help if it doesn't fit (eg Edmonton). I don't think Wilson and co. are necessarily looking for the safest pick. What I see is that they really like versatile power forwards who are strong on the puck. They drafted three such, very similar players (Coyle, Hertl, Meier) which to me clearly isn't a coincidence. They're the type of players the team needs in order to play their heavy possession hockey. They had to trade Coyle in order to get Burns but he'd also be a good fit for the Sharks.