Prospect Info: 2014-15 General Prospect Discussion Thread

[GinoLucia2217]

I think so. Minnesota does well scouting defensemen and I wouldn't be surprised if both Labbe and Bel become something.

There was an article I saw that showed since October 14th, Minnesota was 26th in the league for (below the 2nd round) late round draft picks from 2005-2014. This has changed and I got to go through their data to see what has changed BUT Minnesota has gotten better with Haula and Kumper developing (went from 4-9% roughly but then again other teams may have jumped as well).

Could the Wild be the next Detroit Red Wings of late round picks!

 

[Avder]

Could the Wild be the next Detroit Red Wings of late round picks!

I just want to become the next Detroit Red Wings of consecutive playoff appearances.

Becoming a late round pick savant would be awesome tho.

 

[denominator]

The Hitmen season wrapped up yesterday, so here's a post-season summary on Chase Lang:

He finished the season with 56 points (25G, 31A) in 63 games played. On top of that, he finished +16 and added 61 PIMS (2 fights, 1 crosschecking major, the rest minors). He missed a few games at the end of the season with an injury, but should be in for the playoffs.

Lang started the season strong, going 1.0+ PPG for the first half of the season, but fell off as the season went along. He struggled to find linemates and was shuffled up and down the depth chart, but was still one of the best penalty killers on the team.

I'll drop back in here with playoff updates, as necessary.

 

[TZM]

Much thanks, denominator!

 

[tomgilbertfan]

 

[Granlund 64]

Yikes, Pavel was a -36 this season. More of an indictment on the team hopefully.

Not good for our future #1 center

 

[Nharris31]

Yikes, Pavel was a -36 this season. More of an indictment on the team hopefully.

Not good for our future #1 center

https://mobile.twitter.com/dlukenelson/status/580140949256298496

 

[tomgilbertfan]

https://mobile.twitter.com/dlukenelson/status/580140949256298496

The linked tweet:

 

[Streetcandy]

Yikes, Pavel was a -36 this season. More of an indictment on the team hopefully.

Not good for our future #1 center

Yeah those team stats are disgusting. They ended the season with 26 pts, the next worst team had 52, so double them. They also got outscored 149 to 323 for a nice goal differential of -174. On the plus side for us Pavel's 45 pts means that he was part of roughly a third of all their goals...

 

[MuckOG]

Mario Lucia is considering signing this summer:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/297326691.html

TORONTO – Now that Notre Dame’s season is over, Wild prospect Mario Lucia will return home to Wayzata during the Easter holiday for a family discussion regarding his future.

The Wild is willing to sign the 2011 second-round draft pick to an entry-level contract, but Lucia first has to decide if he wants to return to school for his senior season.

He will meet soon with Notre Dame’s coaches, then return home to chat with his parents. Don Lucia, who coaches the Gophers, plans to give his son the pros and cons of leaving. Lucia said the decision will be up to Mario, who is well on his way to graduating with a degree in marketing.

There is no rush for Lucia to make a decision. He plans to finish the semester at Notre Dame, meaning he won’t sign an amateur tryout to play the rest of the reason in Iowa of the AHL. And he has no intent to try to pursue free agency.

If Lucia turns pro, it would be to sign with the Wild only and start in the fall. If Lucia returns for his senior season, the Wild maintains his rights.

Lucia, 21, has an NHL-caliber shot and size (6-3, 200 pounds). He tied for 13th in the nation with a team-high 21 goals his junior season and had a .210 shooting percentage. Irish leading scorer Vince Hinostroza, Lucia’s linemate, signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

 

[Engebretson]

Good to see some news on Lucia. I guess whatever he decides, I'd be fine with the decision. Also interesting that his linemate is turning pro too. Maybe more incentive for him to forego his senior year, but I guess it might depend too on how close he is to finishing school. Hasn't he been taking summer classes since he started at Notre Dame in order to finish his degree early?

 

[Minnewildsota]

Did the Wild host a prospects game this last year? I don't recall there being one.

If not, I hope they do one this year even though a good portion of our prospects are collegiate players and most likely wouldn't make the trip.

 

[MuckOG]

Does anyone know anything about Grayson Downing? According to Chad Graff, it appears the former UNH Wildcat will be signing with the Wild tomorrow (assumed to be playing in Iowa the rest of the season)

 

[thestonedkoala]

Could the Wild be the next Detroit Red Wings of late round picks!

Actually they are terrible with late round picks but somehow wind up picking one or two guys that absolutely dominate. It's really feast or famine with them.

 

[MuckOG]

Actually they are terrible with late round picks but somehow wind up picking one or two guys that absolutely dominate. It's really feast or famine with them.

It's feast or mostly famine for every team considering the number of 7th round picks that actually play in the NHL.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Looking ahead to this weekend NCAA tourney and Wild prospects (times=central):

March 27 (Friday)
Soucy plays at 4:30 on ESPN U


March 28 (Saturday)
Tuch and Gilmour play at 2 pm on ESPN 2
Michalek plays against Peterson at 6:30 on ESPN 3
Belpedio plays at 5:30 on ESPN U

If you have the Watch ESPN App it's really easy to find the game you want.

 

[thestonedkoala]

It's feast or mostly famine for every team considering the number of 7th round picks that actually play in the NHL.

We're talking picks after the 3rd round. Minnesota was actually 25th of 30 teams (they have since moved up a little bit..maybe?). Let me see if I can find that record:

http://www.defendingbigd.com/2014/1...ton-oilers-columbus-blue-jackets-dallas-stars

This was at the beginning of the season, so Haula and Kuemper didn't count at that time.

So far, it looks like this;

Dallas Stars 47 9 19.15%
Ottawa Senators 52 9 17.31%
Columbus Blue Jackets 53 9 16.98%
Nashville Predators 57 9 15.79%
Pittsburgh Penguins 46 7 15.22%
San Jose Sharks 52 7 13.46%
Toronto Maple Leafs 52 7 13.46%
Tampa Bay Lightning 53 7 13.21%
Colorado Avalanche 47 6 12.77%
Buffalo Sabres 55 7 12.72%
New Jersey Devils 49 6 12.24%
LA*Kings 58 7 12.07%
New York Islanders 59 7 11.86%
Anaheim Ducks 43 5 11.63%
Edmonton Oilers 53 6 11.32%
New York Rangers 47 5 10.64%
Montreal Canadiens 48 5 10.42%
Calgary Flames 49 5 10.20%
Carolina Hurricanes 47 4 8.51%
Washington Capitals 49 4 8.16%
Philadelphia Flyers 50 4 8.00%
Chicago Blackhawks 63 5 7.94%
St Louis*Blues 51 4 7.84%
Arizona Coyotes 43 3 6.98%
Minnesota Wild 46 3 6.52%
Detroit Red Wings 52 3 5.77%
Florida Panthers 53 3 5.67%
Winnipeg Jets 56 3 5.36%
Boston Bruins 43 2 4.65%
Vancouver Canucks 44 1 2.27%

Kind of a dirty mockup. I don't know why they have their cut off at 50, they count everyone they drafted (including players that didn't sign OR were traded) But as it stands, Minnesota only moved up one to 24th/30th for picks making and playing in the NHL more than 50 games between 2005-2014.

 

[Spurgeon]

Did the Wild host a prospects game this last year? I don't recall there being one.

If not, I hope they do one this year even though a good portion of our prospects are collegiate players and most likely wouldn't make the trip.

They did, can't remember exactly when, but I was there.

 

[BagHead]

Wow, according to those stats TSK found, we're already the Detroit Red Wings of late round picks! Alright!
Up next, the Arizona Coyotes of late round picks.

More seriously, I do wonder what having Haula and Kuemper does to that number. It looks like he's looking at the last 10 drafts. I have to imagine, then, that the 2005 draft would drop out, and the 2015 draft would get added into the next tally. That means we'd be dropping 5 guys who didn't make it in that 2005 draft out of the counting, and be adding in whatever we do this year. Anyone know how many picks we have this year in the 3rd round and later?

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

Graovac will be added too I'm pretty sure eventually.

 

[MuckOG]

We're talking picks after the 3rd round. Minnesota was actually 25th of 30 teams (they have since moved up a little bit..maybe?). Let me see if I can find that record:



Kind of a dirty mockup. I don't know why they have their cut off at 50, they count everyone they drafted (including players that didn't sign OR were traded) But as it stands, Minnesota only moved up one to 24th/30th for picks making and playing in the NHL more than 50 games between 2005-2014.

The problem with these numbers is that Fletcher didn't come on board until the 2009 draft. You can't hold him responsible for drafts between 2005-2008.

If you look at the picks between the 3rd and 7th round under GMCF, the percentages may look a little different.

2009
Hackett - Traded for Pominville
Foucault - Out of system
Fallstrom - Out of system
Kuemper - NHL
Sallinen - Out of system
Haula - NHL
Hamburg - Out of system

2010
Gustaffson - AHL
McKinlay - Out of system

2011
Seeler - NCAA
Michalek - NCAA
Graovac - AHL

2012
Draeger - NCAA
Gilmour - NCAA
Gunnarsson - SEL
Bertschy - Swiss - A
Nanne - NCAA

2013
Labbe - CHL
Soucy - NCAA
Peterson - NCAA
DeJong - NCAA
Belanger - CHL

2014
Belpedio - NCAA
Kahkonen - FEL
Faith - CHL
Sjalin - Sweden
Lang - CHL
Duke - CHL
Jenys - AHL

Under Fletcher's watch, the Wild have drafted 29 players between the 3rd and 7th round. 3 of them (Hackett, Haula, and Kuemper) either have (or definitely will) reach that 50 game mark soon and/or been used as an asset to bring in a better player (Hackett). That is a 10.3% success rate. If Graovac hits the 50 game mark, and barring injury he should, that raises the success rate to 13.8%. The average success rate in the list you linked was 8.47%.

Since 2011, the Wild's drafts have been NCAA heavy with 8 players still developing there.

 

[MuckOG]

I realize it's a little soon to be looking towards next season, but is it pretty much a given that Graovac will see considerable time with the NHL club next year? Probably replacing Brodziak as 4th line center to start the season? Anyone know how good he is on the face off dot?

 

[TaLoN]

I realize it's a little soon to be looking towards next season, but is it pretty much a given that Graovac will see considerable time with the NHL club next year? Probably replacing Brodziak as 4th line center to start the season? Anyone know how good he is on the face off dot?

Brodziak hasn't played center since sometime in Feb. Not saying Graovac won't play center... but it's not a given since Haula has re-taken his spot there and has played well.

 

[MuckOG]

Brodziak hasn't played center since sometime in Feb. Not saying Graovac won't play center... but it's not a given since Haula has re-taken his spot there and has played well.

My point still stands. Whether or not he's been playing center lately, I'm just wondering if it's HIS roster spot that Fletcher/Yeo will have Graovac fill next season: part time center/4th line/PK guy.

Graovac has spent the better part of two seasons in Iowa now. His numbers look decent for playing on a bad team. It'll probably time to see if he's ready to graduate to the NHL.

 

[tyratoku]

I realize it's a little soon to be looking towards next season, but is it pretty much a given that Graovac will see considerable time with the NHL club next year? Probably replacing Brodziak as 4th line center to start the season? Anyone know how good he is on the face off dot?

Nah. I bet he'll be like Zucker last year. Going back and forth quite a bit.

We have Granlund/Koivu/Coyle/Haula as our centers, not including a guy like Carter who might play down the middle if brought back.

Plus, it would be nice to have Graovac have another year with some of the talent that is being brought in. Downing/Lucia(?) should definitely provide boosts. Not to mention an improved (hopefully) blueline with Labbe and Olofsson and possibly some other guys.

EDIT: Further, he is possibly going to be a middle-six center that is good in both ends. There is no downside, IMO, to him playing another full year down there developing. Hopefully with an improved squad from top to bottom.