What are some of the once plausible, now laughible prospect analysis's you have seen?

[NyQuil]

There were pages and pages and pages of debate as to whether Dion Phaneuf or Joni Pitkanen would accumulate more Norris trophies on this very site.

 

[NyQuil]

Sens-ible pick? Zultek

By CHRIS STEVENSON -- Ottawa Sun

Marian Hossa.
Never met the guy; never seen him play.
He was the Senators' first pick, 12th overall in the NHL draft yesterday. Nothing against Mr. Hossa, but hearing his name when it came the Senators' turn to pick was a big disappointment.
To put it bluntly, the Senators blew it yesterday.

And another glowing review of Ottawa's draft day by the Ottawa Sun:

Karlsson's 'a garbage pick,'

by DON BRENNAN -- Ottawa Sun

As far as making a splash, Bryan Murray tossed a pebble into the lake that was Round 1 of the NHL draft last night.

Not to be outdone by his wheeling-and-dealing counterparts, the Senators GM traded up three steps so he could take ... Erik Karlsson?

"Nice way to show your thanks to the fans for their support," said Brian Samuel, a regular ticket-buying customer at Scotiabank Place who was sitting in Level 2 wearing a Senators jersey and surrounded by his buddies in Leafs and Blackhawks colours.

"That's a garbage pick. They could have had him in the second round."

Thing is, we really don't know how good Karlsson can and will be. The 43rd player ever drafted into the NHL from the Frolunda hockey team in Sweden, he is advertised as a great skating defenceman with a big shot.

But he's also tiny, listed at 5-foot-10 and 157 lbs.

"I like big strong guys," said Murray, noting Karlsson has some work to do in the gym. "But I also like high-end skilled people."

Karlsson won't play in the NHL for a year or two or three, if he ever does. Real tough to get excited about him now.

http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Columnists/Brennan/2008/06/21/5947311-sun.html

 

[VanIslander]

I recall so many "will be great" predictions that turned out duds. I'll stick here to the most glaring examples I can recall at the moment of the contrary: Knocks on players who turned out quite great at what they were criticized for.

• Wayne Gretzky has a weak shot (he himself spoke about this and he worked incessantly on it), so he won't be much of a goal scorer in the NHL. (1018 NHL goals later,... even his own analysis is absurd. Note: I include his 122 NHL playoff goals because when talking about career goals it makes sense to, unless one os comparing soemone to a nonplayoff careerist.)
• Mark Messier having below average hockey sense (He probably did, but he certainly developed that aspect of his game!).
• Mike Bossy as soft defensively and lacking competitiveness. (He was so upset by these scouting reports, according to coach Al Arbour, that he made it a point to prove them wrong.)
• Dominik Hasek is too unconventional, his style too risky for him to be able to handle a starter's job, and so he'll be a backup at the NHL level. (This was said during a TV broadcast about the Chicago Blackhawks, contrasting Ed Belfour with him.)
• Daniel Alfredsson competes hard BUT lacks the skill level to be an offensive star and is at best a bottom-6 role player (retired 51st in NHL all-time career points).
• Brian Rafalski may have been the star of the league in Finland but he's too small and nonphysical for the rigors of the NHL. (He averaged 25 minutes a game in Stanley Cup championship postseasons in 2003 and 2008 for two different NHL franchises. No sheltered minutes there.)

 

[Hobnobs]

Whem Lou Lamouriello picked from the unknown team Detroit VIKINGS there were sayings that while a tremendous talent Petr Sykora wouldnt make it because he was too small and fragile.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

Zero luck in finding anything else Gary Hull related. I found a few tidbits along my fruitless venture.......

Pretty cool dudes in the day; giddyup! Hull-Mikita-Esposito-Maki.
View attachment 80123

Bobby Hull's Mother with his baby pic; he was muscular even as a baby!
View attachment 80125

Chicago Cougars, Ralph Backstrom, Dave Dryden, and Pat Stapleton.
View attachment 80127

Former Ottawa National Mike Amodeo. These Nats must have been some pretty groovy cats.....
View attachment 80131

Stan Mikita really could pass for a roughed-up-by-the-mob Frank Sinatra.

 

[Hobnobs]

Also from the 93 draft: Chris Gratton is the new Kirk Muller and Viktor Kozlov was compared to Mario.

 

[mrhockey193195]

The number of times I heard "Steve Yzerman" in the same sentence as "Jamie Lundmark" is truly funny, in hindsight.

 

[BobbyAwe]

Spooner

 

[BlueBull]

I'll be surprised if you don't laugh.

 

[FerrisRox]

Daigle being the next Lemieux comes to mind as th emost obvious.

You are misunderstanding what was said. People said he would be the next Jocelyn Lemieux, and to be fair, I think he was even better than Jocelyn.

 

[Hobnobs]

You are misunderstanding what was said. People said he would be the next Jocelyn Lemieux, and to be fair, I think he was even better than Jocelyn.

Are you sure? Jocelyn was actually a pretty important cog on a stanley cup finalist.

 

[cupcrazyman]

Dick Irvin: Richard, people are saying you're a waste of money. A WASTE OF MONEY... you're playing tonight

 

[Sprague Cleghorn]

There was once a poll on HF asking which of these three G prospects would be the best: Tuukka Rask, Hannu Toivonen and I forgot the 3rd (Price?).

Guess who won in a landslide...

 

[Howie Hodge]

With the 17'th pick in the 1981 NHL Draft, The Buffalo Sabres select right winger Jiri Dudacek from HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga.

-Well done Scotty Bowman. Scotty thought he could get Jiri over to North America through legal channels. Would maybe have been a decent pick, based on the players available had he played here.

 

[Thenameless]

From The Hockey News 2000 Draft Preview. [Spoiler: he put on thirty pounds and learned to hit.]

47. Niklas Kronvall
At 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, there are fears that Niklas Kronvall's lack of size and strength will prevent him from playing in the pros.
It may not be comforting to the Swedish defenseman to know that at least one scout isn't convinced Kronvall is that big.
"Maybe he's 5-foot-11 in skates," the scout said. "He looks like he's 13 years old. This is not a big kid."
But he is a bright one, a smart, swift-skating puckhandler who, in spite of his physical immaturity, played well enough for Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League.
"As you might expect, he's not at all physical," said another scout. "But he has great anticipation, skates and passes well. If (an underdeveloped defenseman) can make it, this could be the one."
If he doesn't go in the second round, he becomes a highly attractive third-rounder.
Upside A No. 4 or 5 mobile defenseman.​

Wow. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[The Panther]

I would love to see Edmonton's prospect analyses for their infamous 1990 draft. Perhaps like this?:

Scott Allison -- "future Mark Messier!"
Alexandre Legault -- "future Bobby Orr!"
Joe Crowley -- "future Jari Kurri!"
Joel Blain -- "future Luc Robitaille!"
Etc....

Grand total of NHL games played by the 11 players they drafted in 1990 = zero

 

[Hobnobs]

I would love to see Edmonton's prospect analyses for their infamous 1990 draft. Perhaps like this?:

Scott Allison -- "future Mark Messier!"
Alexandre Legault -- "future Bobby Orr!"
Joe Crowley -- "future Jari Kurri!"
Joel Blain -- "future Luc Robitaille!"
Etc....

Grand total of NHL games played by the 11 players they drafted in 1990 = zero

Doubt it. Im pretty sure Scott Allison was seen more as a 3rd liner with a bit of upside.

Edit: Sorry saw now that you wanted to see edmontons prospect analysis.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Jason bonsignore was funny

 

[The Panther]

Jason bonsignore was funny

I thought we'd agreed... we will never remember this.

 

[decma]

I would love to see Edmonton's prospect analyses for their infamous 1990 draft. Perhaps like this?:

Scott Allison -- "future Mark Messier!"
Alexandre Legault -- "future Bobby Orr!"
Joe Crowley -- "future Jari Kurri!"
Joel Blain -- "future Luc Robitaille!"
Etc....

Grand total of NHL games played by the 11 players they drafted in 1990 = zero

Seems Allison was pegged to be a checker rather than an offensive talent. From Edmonton Journal articles before the draft:

Prince Albert's Scott Allison comes highly rated too, but the 6-foot-4 kid is more a checker. He did a fine job on Saskatoon's Scott Scissons, who'll go in the top seven.
"He could get 20 in the NHL but you'd be crazy to think he'd get more," said one scout. "Still, he's such a big centre who can handle almost any defensive assignment and he's excellent on faceoffs."

Allison, who played for ex-New York Islander coach Terry Simpson at Prince Albert, doesn't have great offensive ability but "he's a big, tall (6-foot-4) guy. His speed will be better when he fills out", according to Fraser who feels he'll get better with the puck.


And after the draft:

Well, the Oilers' catch of the day Saturday was Scott Allison, a 6-foot-4 centre who scored 38 points in 66 games with the Prince Albert Raiders last season.
No one says he's lazy. No one says he'll never make it. But when you read 38 points in junior hockey and a quote from Oiler chief scout Barry Fraser saying "his speed will be better when he fills out," it's only natural you should cringe.

 

[The Panther]

The thing is, the Oilers were the Stanley Cup team in 1990. They should have had expert, well-paid, up-to-date personnel making draft choices. Barry Fraser either was a genius or got lucky in the 1979, 1980, and 1981 drafts (Messier, Coffey, Anderson, Kurri, Fuhr) but then was a basically a bust from 1982 to 1993.

I mean, they could have literally sent a gerbil to pick their players in 1990 and they would have done way better than the team's "experts" did at the draft table...

 

[cupcrazyman]

Dick Irvin: Richard, people are saying you're a waste of money. A WASTE OF MONEY... you're playing tonight

Not sure if Dick Irvin said this too.

He skates with his head down,he's going to get killed out there.

 

[Ivo]

oh man marian, undercut, fat tie, short sleeved dress shirt

If you've seen what people used to wear in Slovakia in the 90s, you would've complimented him for being a good dresser.

 

[Moose Head]

Whem Lou Lamouriello picked from the unknown team Detroit VIKINGS there were sayings that while a tremendous talent Petr Sykora wouldnt make it because he was too small and fragile.

I thought he dropped in his draft year because of an injury. He was thought to be a top5 talent.

 

[Habsfan18]

In his draft year, Stephen Weiss drew comparisons to Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman.

Juuuuust a tad bit off.