Wojtek Wolski very underrated by THN

[Kipper933]

Thats false.

Look back on Victoriaville when they had Mallette, MA Thinel, Seb Thinel, Lombardi and Vermette.

2 of the 5 are regular NHLers. (Lombardi and Vermette). Yet they were always 4th and 5th in scoring among those 5 forwards.

Problem is Both Thinels didnt know where there own zone was and Mallette for some reason didnt pan out.

Mallette did have a good rookie year in the ECHL though, so there still might be some hope.

 

[db23]

But, the only 'stats' that truly matter are those that they post in the pro leagues. Which makes everything before that point irrelevant.

So Sidney Crosby's 135 points in the CHL as a 16 year old mean nothing? No point in following him, he isn't that big, all he does is put up flashy numbers.

 

[Sammy*]

So Sidney Crosby's 135 points in the CHL as a 16 year old mean nothing? No point in following him, he isn't that big, all he does is put up flashy numbers.

You must have been a huge Peter Sarno fan. You must really like Wellwood too eh? How bout Ian White? Think he's the next Coffey?

 

[db23]

You must have been a huge Peter Sarno fan. You must really like Wellwood too eh? How bout Ian White? Think he's the next Coffey?

Wellwood led all AHL rookies in scoring as a 20 year old. He sure was a hell of a lot better than #9 overall pick Petr Taticek, and will have a much better pro career than #10 overall pick Eric Nystrom. Ian White was a late round pick who will be as good a pro as Colaiacovo or Harrison.

 

[Epsilon]

Wellwood led all AHL rookies in scoring as a 20 year old. He sure was a hell of a lot better than #9 overall pick Petr Taticek, and will have a much better pro career than #10 overall pick Eric Nystrom. Ian White was a late round pick who will be as good a pro as Colaiacovo or Harrison.

:lol

I guess it's only a matter of time until Sergei Varlamov and Simon Gamache break out as well then?

Sammy's point, which you should take to heart and consider seriously, is that not all junior age scorers are created equally. That's why NHL teams have these people called scouts, who evaluate how well players will adapt to the stronger, faster pro game. A lot of guys can pile up points in the CHL, not all of them have what it takes, be it size, speed, hockey sense (and most importantly several of these sorts of characteristics) to play in the NHL. That's why a guy like Perre-Marc Bouchard goes in the top 10 of his draft, while Simon Gamache ends up being a 9th round pick.

 

[Prucha73]

You must have been a huge Peter Sarno fan. You must really like Wellwood too eh? How bout Ian White? Think he's the next Coffey?

Did they have the size and skating ability like Wolski's? If Wolski gets a coach that can motivate him, he could be a very good NHL player.

 

[dunwoody_joe]

I think the general point is that the preceived risk/return equation with Wolski is very high.

He needs more intensity and desire--on the other hand he's big and skilled. Is he worth the gamble? Sure, but who will take that gamble and where in the draft should he go.

It depends on your individual assessment of the risk and reward and a team's time horizon. Wolski will drop some, I am confident--for all the reasons described. However, if he pans out as potentially possible, he'll be a great pick in the 12-15 range. If he doesn't develop...well, it was a crappy pick there.

Are ya feeling luck? Well, are ya?

 

[rikker]

Stats do mean something. You can't pretend they don't. They don't tell the whole story, thus the need for scouts to investigate the intangibles in prospects.

 

[db23]

Stats do mean something. You can't pretend they don't. They don't tell the whole story, thus the need for scouts to investigate the intangibles in prospects.

Certainly, stats mean everything.

If a player scores 50 goals, no one cares if they are 50 Dino Ciccarrelli style "garbage" goals, or 50 Pavel Bure, end to end highlight reel goals. It's still 50 goals. The player who is 6-6, 250 pounds and scores 50 is going to earn the same as the player who is 5-6, 150 pounds. If he scores 50 skating around like Michelle Kwan, or scores 50 playing in street shoes it is all the same.

 

[montreal]

They never put up their numbers though:

99/00

MA Thinel - 132 pts
Mallette - 125 pts
S. Thinel - 95 pts
Vermette - 71 pts
Lombardi - 44 pts

00/01

MA Thinel - 150 pts
Vermette - 119 pts
S. Thinel - 118 pts
Malette - 83 pts
Lombardi - 67 pts

Vermette and Lombardi are 82 born, other 3 are 81

Pts and NHL carrers have no corellation.

It was fun to watch them at the memorial cup run, I was hoping the Habs could pan off M-A Thinel to the Sens to get him with Vermette, but then Thinel stunk in the AHL and Vermette's speed got him a shot in the NHL. I will say that Marc Andre had his best pro season in the ECHL this year and even played well in Hamilton at the end of the season. Don't know if Gainey will resigned him though. I remember the younger Thinel being at camp, but not showing much promise. What ever happened to him?

 

[J F M]

I guess that by using db23's "Stats Are The ONLY Thing" system, Crosby's going to have a better NHL career than Super Mario since he scored more as 16 y/olds. Might as well write it in stone.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

According to your logic, Kyle Wellwood should have gone #1 in his year. Point totals in junior aren't indicitave of an ability to score in the pros.

Yeah, and according to that logic, Marc Savard should have been a 1st round pick, instead of a 4th fourth rounder.

Hmm, wait a second...

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

I remember the younger Thinel being at camp, but not showing much promise. What ever happened to him?

Younger? I thought they were twins but may be mistaken.

I remember reading a good article about him and he was never really interested in a hockey career, it seems. He was already very concerned about his future after hockey. I don't know if he still plays.

 

[db23]

In the THN writeup, the things they said about Wolski were how good he was along the boards and in front of the net. The other thing mntioned was that he "had his head screwed on right". These were quotes from an NHL G.M. and a head scout. I'm not sure where you guys are coming up with this "soft, inconsistent, not physical enough" stuff.

To me, Wolski's 70 points in Brampton were the most impressive scoring stats of all draft eligible prospects in the CHL. With the possible exception of Cam Barker's near point a game pace as a defenceman. Wolski was easily the top scorer on his team which included highly rated older forwards Adam Henrich and Kamil Kreps.

The fact that he was selected to the OHL First All Star team and was team MVP at the Prospects Match is further proof that he can rise to the challenge. I hope he does drop into the mid teens so the Habs have a shot at him, but he will be a huge steal anywhere out of the top 10.