Prospect Info: 2014 Traverse City Tournament

[nyr2k2]

Dallas Valentine... The name is too country-western for me. I'll pass, LOL.

 

[Beacon]

Dallas Valentine... The name is too country-western for me. I'll pass, LOL.

He loved his cow and it died, and then his wife left him.

 

[Ian]

Of course I'd like to see more out of Tambellini at this point as well, but it's important to remember he was viewed as needing the four years of college at a minimum before they'd really know what they had.

I'm not holding my breath on him becoming a big time player, but I'm not shocked to hear that he looked out of place a bit in the tourney.

 

[NorthlandPro]

I am posting my thoughts on the Rangers prospects in the tournament in two posts. This first one is general and the next is about individuals.


First of all, if you can get to this tournament in the future, you should really think about it. It is gorgeous in the Traverse City area and you will never get this close to top prospects of so many teams. You can watch the action sitting about 50 feet from the ice and see everything. plus you often can get autographs and meet the team brass. They are at work and you don't want to interfere, but the access is amazing.

As for the cost, to fly from NY is under $400. A car is about $200. And the hotel is about $800 (which can be shared). If you drive, the cost is less. I would advise any Ranger fan to consider it. The tournament is great and the landscape is amazing.

Now on to the hockey. The play got better as the tournament went along, for obvious reasons. Certain kids really began to gel together, which was fun to see.

Frankly, the baby Rangers looked alot like the NHL Rangers in that there was not as much offense as would have been hoped for and games more often than not ended with a tie. And it was the goalies who really kept the team in the game during the first three contests.

There were only a few of the organization's top prospects in the TC tournament this season (many of the prospects that did not attend are experienced pros). The other thing is that, if I were ranking the prospects today, there would be two changes. One, Petr Zamorsky would be included toward the bottom of the top 20. Also after his performance in TC, I would include Sam Noreau in the top 20. Left off would be Tambellini and Fogarty.

Individual performance evaluations will be up in the morning.

Leslie, I agree 100% with your observations as they matched much of what I said. Noreau's skating has improved dramatically from when he was first drafted. He's also learn his positional play so as to avoid getting beat by speedier players.

I thought Bodie played well. Size and strength are going to be an issue with him. Talent and skill set will not. He can play the game and has I think a good read for the game.

You are spot on, after Hayes, Haggerty & Duclair the baby rangers had no offense.

It was nice meeting you.

 

[Beacon]

Leslie, I agree 100% with your observations as they matched much of what I said. Noreau's skating has improved dramatically from when he was first drafted. He's also learn his positional play so as to avoid getting beat by speedier players.

The ECHL is not a bad route for a big defenseman. Even McIlrath seemed overwhelmed at first in the AHL. He caught up after several games, but needed glove treatment his first year. A slower defenseman would be better off in the ECHL to learn without getting overwhelmed totally. It is a better place for learning for many big blue liners.

Also, in the 90s, we had two offensive dynamo prospects: Christian Dube and Marc Savard. Dube was almost a blue chipper, the star of our farm. Savard was an afterthought, "oh yeah, we have another kid who can score in juniors."

Dube failed in the NHL and went to Switzerland (he was raised in a boarding school there). Savard became a star NHLer. I am not saying the same happens with our big defensemen, but we shouldn't ignore second tier prospects. I distinctly remember Holmqvist and Asplund being regarded as superior prospects to Lundqvist circa 2001 or 2002.

 

[Beacon]

Of course I'd like to see more out of Tambellini at this point as well, but it's important to remember he was viewed as needing the four years of college at a minimum before they'd really know what they had.

I'm not holding my breath on him becoming a big time player, but I'm not shocked to hear that he looked out of place a bit in the tourney.

I can't agree.

He was supposed to take 4 years to see if he's ready for the NHL, not for Traverse. The TC tournament is filled with junior players and college freshmen. It is superior to the juniors in the absence of kids who have no chance at a pro career, even at the minor league level, but it is nowhere near the NHL. He needs to be able to keep up with kids his age, most of whom will never play in the NHL. I am not even asking that he dominates a roster made up mostly of *future* minor leaguers who are his age, but I would like him to look decent.

 

[nyr2k2]

At age 19, Tambellini struggled as an NCAA freshman, quit the team, then looked (to me) like a PP specialist in the making while in the WHL. I think last year was objectively disappointing for him as a prospect. It would take a lot for him to impress me this season in the WHL--he has the skills to dominate the younger kids, so I'm expecting him to post gaudy point totals. He better work on his all-around game or else he's really going to have a hard time adjusting to the professional game next year.

 

[Dan Hickling]

thank you kindly ... !