Prospect Info: 2014 Prospect Ranking Poll #3

[Exit Dose]

You've seen more of him than I, but that definitely doesn't sound right. Rakell has a great hockey IQ, and a big part of his extended look last season(which is even more impressive due to the lockout) and his looks this season are due to his defensive abilities. Perhaps that's not a slight on Rakell, but rather a compliment to Karlsson, but I've never seen his defensive game praised to that extent, and never really saw it in limited viewings.

Rakell also has a definite size advantage, which can't be overlooked.

I didn't say that Rakell or Kerdiles were lacking in IQ. I said that Karlsson was better in those specific areas. He seemed to have a good second on either one when it came to reacting to offensive threats and broken plays.

Rakell and Kerdiles have a size advantage, but it's not like either player has shown any more of a physical game than Karlsson has, nor did they show more effectiveness at that level. Karlsson protects the puck better than Rakell does even with the size advantage. More importantly he didn't show any signs of being physically outmatched, even though all of us were watching for that.

Rakell hasn't had to compete with either of these players yet. The only prospects that he was competing with for that look were Holland and Wagner. He doesn't get the go ahead for beating them out yet. Those two weren't on the depth chart when that fight was happening.

 

[Gliff]

you can't be serious
yes lets just claim finnish bias because vatanen gets voted highly, not the fact he tied all our defensemen in goals despite only playing 48 games, or the team record being insanely good with him in the lineup.

i would not vote him 2, but to claim it's like some sort of atrocity is laughable, you can easily make a case for him above ALL the guys you named

I've said in this thread that the team played worlds better with vatanen in the lineup on the 3rd pairing. This isn't because he is some sort of amazing defensemen. It's because it gave up a PMD on all 3 pairings and really effected our transition game and scoring on the rush, which is a very large part of our offense.

Vatanen is what he is, an offensive 3rd pairing defensemen. He has shown a willingness to play physical, but that doesn't change that he is limited when it comes to his defensive upside due to his size. He will never be able to shutdown top line forwards, especially in the Pacific when top line forwards are 6'4 and 220 pounds.

My problem with vatanen will always be his defensive upside. I just don't see it. It's easy to say how good he was this year because he was a 3rd pairing defensemen that had close to zero defensive responsibilities.

He had the most offensive zone starts out of all our defensemen and he and Lovejoy were the only ones who finished in the defensive zone more. The difference between those 2? Lovejoy is against the top competition every single shift while Vatanen is against the worst. He averaged 10 seconds a game on the PK. When I watch him play I see a solid guy who is amazing at what he is good at, but lacks the physical tools to really have a legit 2-way game.

I'm not mad he got the vote or anything, but some of you guys need to hold off your expectations. I doubt Vatanen ever becomes anything more then he is right now. An offensive specialist who can't be counted on in the last 2 minutes of a game to lock down the game. Not because he isn't smart enough (Sbisa), but because some forwards will be able to have their way with him. And there is nothing wrong with that. He isn't a wet paper towel or anything. He is a perfect 3rd pairing defensemen that teams would kill to have.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I didn't say that Rakell or Kerdiles were lacking in IQ. I said that Karlsson was better in those specific areas. He seemed to have a good second on either one when it came to reacting to offensive threats and broken plays.

Rakell and Kerdiles have a size advantage, but it's not like either player has shown any more of a physical game than Karlsson has, nor did they show more effectiveness at that level. Karlsson protects the puck better than Rakell does even with the size advantage. More importantly he didn't show any signs of being physically outmatched, even though all of us were watching for that.

Rakell hasn't had to compete with either of these players yet. The only prospects that he was competing with for that look were Holland and Wagner. He doesn't get the go ahead for beating them out yet. Those two weren't on the depth chart when that fight was happening.

I haven't seen Karlsson nor Kerdiles play. Yet I do read a lot of reviews on them. I like the potential Karlsson has and the reason he got drafted later was due to his body structure (hint, hint Petersson, our 2nd round pick this year). Kerdiles has proved to be a much better asset as he's accomplished much in the two years of NCAA he was there and how pertinent he was to the Badgers' team. Recall, Kerdiles wasn't able to play for a number of games due to a weird NCAA suspension.

I could be wrong in the future, but Kerdiles not getting a lot of love for what he's accomplished in the NCAA seems a bit odd.

As for Rakell, I never thought Rakell to be this offensive machine and he was never posed to be one either. He's a two-way forward... that was his prognosis by THN in 2011. He actually fits what the Ducks would want in a three C. Physical and chip in offensively just like how the Swedes used him in the WJC's, except he plays center for us and RW for the Swedes. But a top 6 forward, it would be great to see him there, but I don't see Rakell there.

As a top 6 forward, I see both Karlsson and Kerdiles being there. Karlsson will be playing C and Kerdiles as a LW. I see this as a Getz-Perry debate. Again, i'm using just information used from both the SHL and NCAA. As for the Norfolk stuff, too small of a sample for me.

 

[Sojourn]

I haven't seen Karlsson nor Kerdiles play. Yet I do read a lot of reviews on them. I like the potential Karlsson has and the reason he got drafted later was due to his body structure (hint, hint Petersson, our 2nd round pick this year). Kerdiles has proved to be a much better asset as he's accomplished much in the two years of NCAA he was there and how pertinent he was to the Badgers' team. Recall, Kerdiles wasn't able to play for a number of games due to a weird NCAA suspension.

I could be wrong in the future, but Kerdiles not getting a lot of love for what he's accomplished in the NCAA seems a bit odd.

As for Rakell, I never thought Rakell to be this offensive machine and he was never posed to be one either. He's a two-way forward... that was his prognosis by THN in 2011. He actually fits what the Ducks would want in a three C. Physical and chip in offensively just like how the Swedes used him in the WJC's, except he plays center for us and RW for the Swedes. But a top 6 forward, it would be great to see him there, but I don't see Rakell there.

As a top 6 forward, I see both Karlsson and Kerdiles being there. Karlsson will be playing C and Kerdiles as a LW. I see this as a Getz-Perry debate. Again, i'm using just information used from both the SHL and NCAA. As for the Norfolk stuff, too small of a sample for me.

How has Kerdiles proven to be a much better asset than Karlsson?

I also don't really get how you can say Kerdiles isn't getting love. This poll was for our #3 prospect, in a prospect pool universally believed to be one of the very best in the league. Consider who took the top 2 spots... arguably the best goalie prospect in the world, and a 23 year old offensive defenseman who has already begun to prove himself in the NHL. No matter who goes next, or in the next couple of spots, there are going to be very deserving prospects who get bumped down as a result.

 

[Kalv]

I didn`t notice that Andersen is still up there. Would have voted for him instead of Theo, but it wouldn`t change anything anyway...