Who of the 2005 draft class could make the jump to the NHL right away?

[Calgary_Moe]

I saw the lengthy list of the top 2005 prospects to be drafted next summer. It is a great list - thanks to the provider(s).

NOW, the big question is...

who will be capable of making an immediate jump to the NHL?

That being asked, who of this summer's - the 2004 class, will be ready?

Thanks for your insight.

Moe

Click to read more...

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Crosby for sure. Brule and Latendresse would have to get stronger when they're 18 to make the jump.

 

[Mr.Brownov*]

I think Crosby would have to learn the defensive game and fill out before making the jump

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

I think Crosby would have to learn the defensive game and fill out before making the jump

Why?

It's not like Kovalchuk ever learned the defensive game.

He could make the jump but he'd probably end up being one of thoseguys who was clueless in his own end.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

Crosby for sure. Brule and Latendresse would have to get stronger when they're 18 to make the jump.

Latendresse is strong enough.

At 16 hes tough. One can only project that by the time he is 18 he should be fine.

 

[Mr.Brownov*]

Why?

It's not like Kovalchuk ever learned the defensive game.

He could make the jump but he'd probably end up being one of thoseguys who was clueless in his own end.

I suppose you're right.And that's what is wrong with the game today;clueless players.As if we need to add more.And Ilya has the size.

 

[pittengineer]

I agree with Brownov. I think it may take some time for Crosby to adjust to the NHL game. Most likely though, a team will prob start him in the nhl and he'll go through period of struggling and the basic rookie adjustments. If it were me as GM, I would start him in the AHL, see how he does vs. that level of competition, and then go from there. Crosby is prob going to be a star, but I dont see him becoming that star in year 1.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

I agree with Brownov. I think it may take some time for Crosby to adjust to the NHL game. Most likely though, a team will prob start him in the nhl and he'll go through period of struggling and the basic rookie adjustments. If it were me as GM, I would start him in the AHL, see how he does vs. that level of competition, and then go from there. Crosby is prob going to be a star, but I dont see him becoming that star in year 1.

You cant play him in the AHL.

He will be drafted from the CHL, which means he cant play AHL until 20.

Hes killed everyone's expectations every year, so it wouldnt surprise me to see him get 70 pts as a rookie 18 year old.

 

[pittengineer]

You cant play him in the AHL.

He will be drafted from the CHL, which means he cant play AHL until 20.

Hes killed everyone's expectations every year, so it wouldnt surprise me to see him get 70 pts as a rookie 18 year old.

I completely forgot about that, and we(pens fans)just dealed with that this year w/ Fleury.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

I completely forgot about that, and we(pens fans)just dealed with that this year w/ Fleury.

LOL no problem. Its always the forgotten rule.

 

[X0ssbar]

Whoever is lucky enough to get Crosby will play him right away - if only because they will be one of the bottom five teams in the league and he will be the focus of that team's marketing strategy.

Crosby will = a 20-30% increase in season tix for the lotto winner regardless of defensive play

 

[Crosbyfan]

Hes killed everyone's expectations every year, so it wouldnt surprise me to see him get 70 pts as a rookie 18 year old.

I agree

He would be a "young" 18 like Bergeron this year. His development should show some signs of slowing down as he matures, but so far so good if I may throw in an understatement. Next year he may be above average size in the Q, which will be huge as he has always played against older and bigger players. He will probably enter the NHL close to average size as well, which will be somewhat different from all the other times he stepped up a league.

Defensively he will have no trouble adjusting to the NHL IMO.

 

[Til the End of Time]

Crosby would not increase season ticket sales by 20-30% unless Montreal or Toronto get him.

 

[X0ssbar]

I be interested to see what happened to Philly's season tix sales after they landed Lindros. Whatever increase they saw I would venture to say the same would happen for the highly touted "Next One".

If marketed correctly, he could do for the NHL what Adu has done for MLS this year. I'm pretty excited to see what kind of talent this kid really has. Of course we are talking about the NHL and marketing - two words that don't exactly work well together.

 

[Dextrous*]

k

Chicago really deserves him. Nash, Fleury, Ovechkin, Luongo on the other bottem dwellers spell bright futures. Ruutu is great but they are probably the weakest team at the bottem of the league. Either them or pitts

And toronto sells out every game anyways so i dont think crosby would really help them.

 

[leafaholix*]

Sidney Crosby.

 

[Epsilon]

1. Predicting this kind of thing right now is pointless because these guys have two years of development left, and if there is one thing you cannot predict, it's how a player will fill out as they go from 16 to 18. Joe Thornton is a great example of this.

2. Comparing Crosby to LeBron or Adu is ridiculous. First of all, he's not American. Second of all, he's not American. Third, hockey is not the sort of sport that will sell in the USA based on individual players. So the only franchise that would get any sort of non-trivial ticket boost is a Canadian one, and last I checked most of them are doing pretty well with regards to ticket sales as is.

3. Talking about defensive games and so on is also pointless unless a top team manages to acquire the pick somehow. Bottom feeders are not going to care if their young offensive stars suck defensively, they will get on the job training.

 

[Hiishawk]

How is it that Crosby is clueless in his own zone or poor defensively? When he has to play defensively he has shown me great energy and instincts. And the fact is when h's on the ice he has the puck a lot of the time so he doesn't have to play defensively that much. Moreover, the lad is a scorer!!! What's the point of him going back in the deep defensive corner to play a grinder's game??? Coaches tell highly skilled players like this NOT to muck in the deep corners because they need these players to skate with or move the puck out of the zone. Crosby does what he HAS TO DO, and what the coach WANTS HIM TO DO, defensively.

Note- everytime we see a player with offensive genius someone complains that he doesn't play a "complete game". I've seen too many gifted players feel they have to allow themselves to get rubbed out along the boards under the presumption that by doing this, and not using their prime skills, they are somehow being more of a "team guy". But that's like saying Khabibulin's wrist shot needs some work.

Remember, hockey is a team game. Not every player has to play like he is all hockey things to all hockey men. Hockey players and coaches should play/teach a style that maximizes each players' skills and strengths for the benefit of the team.

Re-inventing Crosby as a defensive stud would NOT be doing that.

Anyway, IMO, Crosby will be a top 10 NHL scorer at age 18. And I'm not yout typical prospect gusher.

 

[Epsilon]

Anyway, IMO, Crosby will be a top 10 NHL scorer at age 18. And I'm not yout typical prospect gusher.

Good lord. I wonder how long it is going to take until someone predicts Crosby will break Selanne's records at age 18...

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Anyway, IMO, Crosby will be a top 10 NHL scorer at age 18. And I'm not yout typical prospect gusher.

I will quote that for posterity and add that IMO, Crosby won't be a top 50 scorer in the NHL at 18

(And now someone will probably quote me for posterity as well, so I am ****ed too) :lol

I will also add that I will be much more able to make that call next year, a crucial one for Crosby. And so will you.

Early bloomers are just that, early bloomers. The guys that are money in this league are those who continue to improve.

 

[TK79]

Whoever is lucky enough to get Crosby will play him right away - if only because they will be one of the bottom five teams in the league and he will be the focus of that team's marketing strategy.

Crosby will = a 20-30% increase in season tix for the lotto winner regardless of defensive play

I don't know, putting that much pressure on an 18-year old. It would sound a lot like the Alex Daigle situation. Not comparing Daigle to Crosby as a player though.

 

[Hiishawk]

Good lord. I wonder how long it is going to take until someone predicts Crosby will break Selanne's records at age 18...

OK Epsilon and Vlad. But you should know that before this season started I predicted that Crosby would win the Q scoring title, be its MVP and make the Canada WJC team. And I got a lot of similar scoffs at that time.

Sidebar-
Actually, I think that hype is usually GOOD! Countries that do well at the Olympics etc. usually tell their top athletes "We expect you to win!". I think in hockey too often we say "Don't make him out to be the next Gretzky, let's let him be the first Joe Shmoe". Then Joe Shmoe is considered a top 15 pick for the draft and people say "I think his upside is third-liner with 40 points".

It's a recipe for mediocrity!! Young athletes SHOULD be thinking that they could become the next superstar. You can bet that Sid Crosby is! Imagine a kid at a good high-school getting 95% in academic courses and teachers telling him "Ah- it'll be fine if you just enter any 4 year university, get your degree, go out and work". Nah- you"re selling that kid short! He SHOULD be thinking PhD at Harvard...
Hype makes people work hard and dream big! Underhyping makes excuses for failure and mediocrity.

Of course there is a caveat for all this. Average athletes (or whatever) should not be hyped, and young kids should not be hyped. But for those who want to and have the natural skills to excel? Sure!

As for the inevitable Dan Cleary, Jason Bonsignore comparisons. The hype surrounding these players itself is hype. On these boards I see comments like "In Bonsignore's draft year everybody said he'd be the next Mario Lemieux". Well, I've been active in the draft scene for awhile and I can tell you people never said things like that. If you research it you'll find things said like "His style reminds of Mario Lemieux". Same with Cleary. No way was he expected to be a 1st overall- the closest quote I can remember was when he was a year before the draft and a scout in THN was quoted as saying "He looks like a solid top 10 pick at this point".

But suddenly in retrospect- and as a warning to all who (want to) predict greatness for Crosby- many people on this board decide that players like Bonsignore and Clearly were equally hyped. They weren't. Nor were they ever regarded as being as talented as Crosby.

 

[Mr.Brownov*]

Wow the kid won the Q scoring title! So he's NHL ready and will score 100 pts as a rookie.Give me a break!If the kid will be that great,why rush him and take a chance of ruining his development?

 

[Hiishawk]

Wow the kid won the Q scoring title! So he's NHL ready and will score 100 pts as a rookie.Give me a break!If the kid will be that great,why rush him and take a chance of ruining his development?

Yeah, he won the Q scoring title as a 16 yr old. That IS news! And people laughed when I, and a few others, predicted that. That's my point.

The second part of your post doesn't make sense. First, I didn't say he was NHL ready- although I think he is- I was referring to 2 years from now. And I didn't say he'd score 100 points- that would make him the Art Ross winner at age 17- so don't put words in my mouth.

Also, IF- and this was YOUR hypothetical- he will be great (as he projects to be) then he SHOULD be playing at the level which allows his skills to be challenged and develop best. It doesn't make sense to argue that "if he's going to be so great then we shouldn't rush him" because the logical answer to the question "Why rush him if he's going to be great?" is "Because he's going to be great!".
Logically, you wouldn't want to "rush" him ONLY if you believed that he may NOT in fact turn out to be so great. Of course the verdict on whether a player has been "rushed" or not is usually based on 20-20 hindsight.

By the way, I should add that one of my pet peeves on this board is posters who write things like "It is pointless to discuss how player X will turn out because we don't know yet". Why write something like that on a board for discussing prospects- especially prospects who have performed at measurable and meaningful levels??? Speculation and prediction are the main points of this board.

 

[Crosbyfan]

I will quote that for posterity and add that IMO, Crosby won't be a top 50 scorer in the NHL at 18

(And now someone will probably quote me for posterity as well, so I am ****ed too) :lol

I will also add that I will be much more able to make that call next year, a crucial one for Crosby. And so will you.

Early bloomers are just that, early bloomers. The guys that are money in this league are those who continue to improve.

I will say for posterity that Sid will be somewhere between 10th and 50th in scoring as an 18 year old! Partly because I believe it and also if I'm wrong I won't be as wrong as one of you guys!

I will say this, leading by one goal late in the third Sid will be on the ice, 18 or not (I won't say he'll be taking the faceoff). The defensive liability myth is a crock of dung.