Prospect Info: 2014 Flyers prospect ranking: #1

[Stizzle]

Is there one individual game where he was more noticeable than any other?

Like how every second during Ghost's national championship game I just had a massive grin from ear to ear. I would like to experience that feeling once more.

Ha, no he doesn't have a game even close to that. All 3 of the U-18 games I saw are very impressive, though. I thought he was the best player on the ice each game. He honestly plays almost every other shift and in all situations in that tournament. In the WHL playoff games they pretty much roll all 3 d-pairs, but he doesn't get any PK time and is on the 2nd PP unit. So far through my WHL viewings they have deferred more to the 20 and 19 year old defensemen in the crunch. But the older guys have done fairly awful and he has excelled in slightly easier minutes.

 

[Random Forest]

Is there one individual game where he was more noticeable than any other?

Like how every second during Ghost's national championship game I just had a massive grin from ear to ear. I would like to experience that feeling once more.

If you want to see his raw ability and potential, the Canada v. Czech Republic game at the u18s showed some incredible flashes from Sanheim.

If you have hockeystreams, I'd recommend watching what they have of that first period (only the last ~7 minutes). Some extremely exciting stuff. The rest of the tournament was also outstanding, but those couple shifts in particular were brilliant.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Wow. This is tough. As tough as I can remember. I could make a case for Morin, Gostisbehere, and Sanheim. I don't even consider Laughton as our #1 guy as strange as that may seem. Some may take that as a dis, but I rank guys according to how likely I would be to trade them. I just think the upside of all 3 defenseman outweigh what Laughton may be. Homerism aside, I think all 3 could be #1 defensemen. Not exactly a probability for any of them, but certainly a possibility. I think there is a very good chance we will finally get our number 1 guy among this crop. The hard part for me is deciding who has the best chance.

Morin- On pure ceiling, he is #1 no doubt. He checks just about every box. His pure gifts are some of the best in all of junior hockey. He has the potential to dominate in all 3 zones. Whether he becomes a #1 will depend on how much he produces offensively. I was pretty optimistic about his offensive game going back to before he was even selected and I'm still optimistic, but he has to keep progressing.

Gostisbehere- he will have to produce offensively at not just a good level, but at an elite level to be considered a #1. I don't think he will be a liability defensively because he's too good of a skater, but I don't think his size will ever allow him to dominate like Morin could. His intangibles are off the charts though and that moves him up a few notches in my book.

Sanheim- This kid is just scratching the surface of his potential. He's a happy medium between Morin and Gostisbehere. Big frame. Great skater. Really smart. Really good puck skills. As he fills out, he's going to be scary. The only thing left to see is how his play carries over this season. I expect big things from him this year, but development wise he's behind the other two for obvious reasons. While Morin has the highest upside, I think Sanheim has a better probability of reaching his. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he is #1 on this list come next season. Really excited about his future.

 

[blinds]

Wow. This is tough. As tough as I can remember. I could make a case for Morin, Gostisbehere, and Sanheim. I don't even consider Laughton as our #1 guy as strange as that may seem. Some may take that as a dis, but I rank guys according to how likely I would be to trade them. I just think the upside of all 3 defenseman outweigh what Laughton may be. Homerism aside, I think all 3 could be #1 defensemen. Not exactly a probability for any of them, but certainly a possibility. I think there is a very good chance we will finally get our number 1 guy among this crop. The hard part for me is deciding who has the best chance.

Morin- On pure ceiling, he is #1 no doubt. He checks just about every box. His pure gifts are some of the best in all of junior hockey. He has the potential to dominate in all 3 zones. Whether he becomes a #1 will depend on how much he produces offensively. I was pretty optimistic about his offensive game going back to before he was even selected and I'm still optimistic, but he has to keep progressing.

Gostisbehere- he will have to produce offensively at not just a good level, but at an elite level to be considered a #1. I don't think he will be a liability defensively because he's too good of a skater, but I don't think his size will ever allow him to dominate like Morin could. His intangibles are off the charts though and that moves him up a few notches in my book.

Sanheim- This kid is just scratching the surface of his potential. He's a happy medium between Morin and Gostisbehere. Big frame. Great skater. Really smart. Really good puck skills. As he fills out, he's going to be scary. The only thing left to see is how his play carries over this season. I expect big things from him this year, but development wise he's behind the other two for obvious reasons. While Morin has the highest upside, I think Sanheim has a better probability of reaching his. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he is #1 on this list come next season. Really excited about his future.

This is spot on. It'll be hard for Ghost to ever be a #1 just because of his size, but I could see him being an excellent compliment to a guy like Morin or Coburn on the top pairing. All 3 look like they could be top pairing guys, and I think it's safe to say they'll all be NHL players.

Morin always seemed like the riskiest, but that article that recently came out really changed my opinion. He's matured a lot, continues to work on his deficiencies, and has the perfect attitude. Guy has really impressed me with his development so far. I voted for him for that reason, and for his raw potential. He has the physical skill set to be one of the best in the NHL and now it seems like he has the drive to get there too.

Laughton just doesn't have the upside to rank above those 3. He's a great, safe pick but he will probably never be a top 6 guy, just a great bottom 6 one.

 

[Dumpster Flyers]

Scott Laughton will be an NHL regular, but I'm not super convinced of his offensive upside. Extra Skater (http://www.extraskater.com/ohl/players?sort=points_ev) show that majority of his production came from playing on a top PP unit, and his even strength production was mediocre despite getting a ton of ice time. I know he played against first lines, but you'd still expect a top prospect to dominate younger kids. Then again, I'm not sure that site is 100% accurate.

Ghost's achieved the most and I like his upside, so I'll vote for him (though he needs to put on weight and adjust to a safer pro game). Then Morin, then Laughton. I still like Scott's game and can easily see him becoming a reliable Bolland-type player.

 

[tuckrr]

Where's Stolarz? I think he may be our best prospect actually.

 

[shartnell]

I chose Morin as our best prospect based on potential, but Laughton and Sanheim are probably safer bets. I'd maybe put Gostisbehere on top but I'm biased against offensive defensemen, but otherwise I think he's the closest to his potential out of our prospects. I think your vote depends on your perspective on security versus potential. I think Laughton is underappreciated considering how dominant he's been since we drafted him, and if our team's problem was at center instead of D and the wings, I'd rate him as our number one prospect.

On a side note, I have this evil sinking feeling that we've got another Generation K on our hands with the defensemen. I don't have any rational basis for believing it, but there's this horrible voice in my head that just tells me to be a pessimist about good things.

 

[The Rage Kage]

I chose Morin as our best prospect based on potential, but Laughton and Sanheim are probably safer bets. I'd maybe put Gostisbehere on top but I'm biased against offensive defensemen, but otherwise I think he's the closest to his potential out of our prospects. I think your vote depends on your perspective on security versus potential. I think Laughton is underappreciated considering how dominant he's been since we drafted him, and if our team's problem was at center instead of D and the wings, I'd rate him as our number one prospect.

On a side note, I have this evil sinking feeling that we've got another Generation K on our hands with the defensemen. I don't have any rational basis for believing it, but there's this horrible voice in my head that just tells me to be a pessimist about good things.

Way to bring everything down

I agree though, I don't want to get my hopes up, but when have the flyers ever had three good d prospects to actually be excited about? It's tough.

 

[MadFerIt95*]

No Lauridsen?

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Scott Laughton will be an NHL regular, but I'm not super convinced of his offensive upside. Extra Skater (http://www.extraskater.com/ohl/players?sort=points_ev) show that majority of his production came from playing on a top PP unit, and his even strength production was mediocre despite getting a ton of ice time. I know he played against first lines, but you'd still expect a top prospect to dominate younger kids. Then again, I'm not sure that site is 100% accurate.

Oshawa wasn't really a deep team. Laughton faced a lot of the other teams top lines as you said & also didn't get to play with the other high end talent in Michael Dal Colle.

 

[Roo Mad Bro]

Laughton.

Safest prospect but still has top 6 potential.

 

[shartnell]

Way to bring everything down

I agree though, I don't want to get my hopes up, but when have the flyers ever had three good d prospects to actually be excited about? It's tough.

I mean, the rational way of looking at it is to say "well, they're not quite comparable, NHL draft picks have a much higher success rate compared to MLB draft picks", but who the **** wants to be rational when you can get a nice depression going?

 

[McNasty]

Went with Morin at 1. Laughton is safer but I think Morin's ceiling is quite a bit higher.

 

[Dumpster Flyers]

Oshawa wasn't really a deep team. Laughton faced a lot of the other teams top lines as you said & also didn't get to play with the other high end talent in Michael Dal Colle.

He occasionally played with Dal Colle, but still... it's not like he played with complete scrubs. I think his high point totals are a big contributing factor to all the accolades he's getting, but they need to be put into context. You'd expect him to outproduce a guy like Verhaeghe who had similar even strength numbers, quality of line mates and quality of competition, but is younger and not considered a top prospect. He has a great shot though, so maybe that's enough to carry him while he rounds out his game.

 

[CutOnDime97]

Laughton or Ghost

Also definitely add Stolarz.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Going to go with Morin. I like what Laughton can bring to the table but I am not sure Laughton has top line center upside. I think Morin has top pairing upside.
Laughton reaches the NHL first but Morin will have the bigger impact.
Of course I am a defense first minded person so I may have some bias. but the bias is warranted.

 

[Pantokrator]

I think Laughton has the greatest chance to be an NHL regular, so I went with him. I don't think he has the greatest upside, but he seems the safest to actually play.

 

[Random Forest]

He occasionally played with Dal Colle, but still... it's not like he played with complete scrubs. I think his high point totals are a big contributing factor to all the accolades he's getting, but they need to be put into context. You'd expect him to outproduce a guy like Verhaeghe who had similar even strength numbers, quality of line mates and quality of competition, but is younger and not considered a top prospect. He has a great shot though, so maybe that's enough to carry him while he rounds out his game.

While I agree to an extent, part of Laughton's potential is in projecting his skills to the next level. He's not an ultra talented kid, and some may consider that to be a knock, but he puts up points because he goes to areas on the ice where things happen not because of great vision, hands, etc. There were plenty of more prolific junior scorers than Ryan Callahan or Brandon Dubinsky, for example, but that's only because those guys had the skills to dominate junior players.

Laughton doesn't rely on those skills, and it may make him a less effective junior scorer, but in my opinion, it's the reason why his offensive production may translate better than some people are expecting.

 

[flyersfan018]

Morin's ceiling is way higher than anyone else on this list.

 

[Dumpster Flyers]

While I agree to an extent, part of Laughton's potential is in projecting his skills to the next level. He's not an ultra talented kid, and some may consider that to be a knock, but he puts up points because he goes to areas on the ice where things happen not because of great vision, hands, etc. There were plenty of more prolific junior scorers than Ryan Callahan or Brandon Dubinsky, for example, but that's only because those guys had the skills to dominate junior players.

Laughton doesn't rely on those skills, and it may make him a less effective junior scorer, but in my opinion, it's the reason why his offensive production may translate better than some people are expecting.

I hope so! Neither Callahan or Dubinsky were considered "top" prospects on the same level Laughton is, and only really got attention after turning pro. They got to where they by having a great work ethic moreso than high-end skill. I agree that Laughton seems to have the right attitude to follow in their footsteps.

Having said that, it's so hard to predict. Some would say that Dubinsky and Callahan are exceptions, not examples. Even most workhorse hockey players in that vein top out as bottom-6 role players. There are a lot of contributing factors and variables that determine how a player will improve over time, the most important of which is what's going on in their head (which will forever be a mystery). Just going on what I can know right now, Laughton's offensive ability isn't impressive enough for him to be our top prospect.

 

[dats81]

Sam Morin by a margin, Gostisbehere next closely followed by Sanheim who may make a big jump next season.

Laughton is a safe pick to have a long NHL career but he has strong competition at the center position for many years to come and he just doesn't seem to have the upside to be an impact player imho.

 

[chupanibre]

Went with Ghost, but it was a close call

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

At least Bourdon isn't on the list this year so DFF doesn't go nuts when nobody's voting for him.

Although Akeson is on there so we shall see.

Haha, how do you even remember that? If Akeson is on the list I wouldn't put him ahead of Laughton. Also I'm not as big on Akeson as I was on MAB (and I really wasn't even that big on MAB...I don't really remember what my MAB-related posts were about last season...likely something to do with the fact that if not for injuries he'd be an NHL regular probably?).

Gotta be Laughton for #1 though.

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I went with Scott Laughton, but I really had to think about it. For me, it was about who had the least amount of question marks in terms of who could potentially become a regular at the NHL level and who has the best chance of reaching their ceiling. To me, Laughton is the closest thing to being a sure bet and he's probably going to be a much more impactful player than what others think he might be.

 

[StoneHands]

I think right now I'll have to go with Laughton. I'm not even a huge fan of Laughton but I think his game combined with his compete level translates to the NHL level. I know his ceiling isn't nearly as high as the defenseman we have but I think he's all but a lock to be successful in the NHL as a 3rd line center, with 2nd line upside. While Morin has the potential to be a top pairing defender, hes just as likely end up a 3rd pairing guy that just never pans out. It's more likely that he turns into a mid pairing defenseman and to me, a defensively responsible 3rd line center with some scoring touch is more valuable than a 2nd pairing defenseman. We've seen how easy it is to land 2nd pairing defenseman since we have probably 5 on the team.

Laughton
Morin
Ghost
Sanheim
Hagg

This would be my top 5 in order.