Prospect Info: 2015-16 Top 20 Flyers Prospects, #1

[Chicken Chaser]

I like Sanheim's offensive punch, but if we're excited about an extra player joining a rush or crashing the opposing team's net, then we should also be ready for a good chunk of pucks to end up in our net as a result of that.

The Mike Green's, Subban's, Letang's of the world while exciting to watch for fans who like to see offensive numbers, are prone to lapse's in their own end or get caught deep.

Give me some pillars on the back end who make the subtle plays with their sticks and body positioning to quickly get pucks out of the zone, and don't allow teams to set up shop on offense. That in itself will lead to better offensive team numbers.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

I like Sanheim's offensive punch, but if we're excited about an extra player joining a rush or crashing the opposing team's net, then we should also be ready for a good chunk of pucks to end up in our net as a result of that.

The Mike Green's, Subban's, Letang's of the world while exciting to watch for fans who like to see offensive numbers, are prone to lapse's in their own end or get caught deep.

Give me some pillars on the back end who make the subtle plays with their sticks and body positioning to quickly get pucks out of the zone, and don't allow teams to set up shop on offense. That in itself will lead to better offensive team numbers.

I'm not sure why so many people seem to think Sanheim's ability to join the rush is mutually exclusive with him playing good defense.

He is an extremely smart player -- he's not some reckless rover of a 4th forward.

In fact, in his first season in the WHL, he played a much more conservative, defense-first game, especially in the first half. He can play that game if needed, especially with his exceptional skating and extremely long reach. His second season, he was just far too good not to unleash and give full freedom to jump in the play.

 

[Funf]

I'm not sure why so many people seem to think Sanheim's ability to join the rush is mutually exclusive with him playing good defense.

He is an extremely smart player -- he's not some reckless rover of a 4th forward.

In fact, in his first season in the WHL, he played a much more conservative, defense-first game, especially in the first half. He can play that game if needed, especially with his exceptional skating and extremely long reach. His second season, he was just far too good not to unleash and give full freedom to jump in the play.

This is what impresses me most about Sanheim. For as much as he joins the rush, he's rarely out of position defensively. I think it speaks volumes about his hockey IQ.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I like Sanheim's offensive punch, but if we're excited about an extra player joining a rush or crashing the opposing team's net, then we should also be ready for a good chunk of pucks to end up in our net as a result of that.

The Mike Green's, Subban's, Letang's of the world while exciting to watch for fans who like to see offensive numbers, are prone to lapse's in their own end or get caught deep.

Give me some pillars on the back end who make the subtle plays with their sticks and body positioning to quickly get pucks out of the zone, and don't allow teams to set up shop on offense. That in itself will lead to better offensive team numbers.

This is what people have to say to convince themselves Sanheim isn't as good. Sanheim was the last guy back defending a 2 on 1 more times than he was caught up the ice joining a rush. And let's not pretend Provorov never joins a rush. He does. Calgary relies on Sanheim to produce offense. They weren't as deep as Brandon was. I don't know why this is seen as a negative anyway. They both know how to pick their spots and more good than bad generally comes with it.

 

[Cootsfanclub]

This is what impresses me most about Sanheim. For as much as he joins the rush, he's rarely out of position defensively. I think it speaks volumes about his hockey IQ.

There is a huge difference in speed from juniors to the NHL, I don't think he'd be able to be able to join rushes nearly as effectively right off the bat even with his IQ. It took Letang 6 full seasons before he could do it effectively. Seth Jones was was about elite as it comes in that regard in juniors and hasn't had a good eye for it in the NHL level.

 

[Random Forest]

This is what people have to say to convince themselves Sanheim isn't as good. Sanheim was the last guy back defending a 2 on 1 more times than he was caught up the ice joining a rush. And let's not pretend Provorov never joins a rush. He does. Calgary relies on Sanheim to produce offense. They weren't as deep as Brandon was. I don't know why this is seen as a negative anyway. They both know how to pick their spots and more good than bad generally comes with it.

I disagree with the way he characterized it (Sanheim is nothing like Letang, Subban, or Green), but in my opinion, it's not so much a criticism of Sanheim as it is a variable that we don't have any basis for projecting at the NHL level. There's a difference between "joining the rush" and what Sanheim tends to do. Sanheim tends to take off full bore as the guy going to the net on an odd man attack which is quite unusual for a defender. Most offensive defenders simply join the attack as the late guy or as a support outlet.

It's not a bad quality nor does it necessarily indicate a weakness of Sanheim's. But it is reasonable to question how effective that particular instinct will be at a level where opposing teams are able to defend a rush and instantly launch a counter attack the other way. Again, it's not inherently a negative quality-- rather, it's just a variable that could be a positive X-factor or a quality that is mitigated at the NHL level.

 

[FLYguy3911]

He doesn't do it enough for me to worry about it. He can get points in a variety of ways. The last thing I'm worried about is his offense translating to the next level.

 

[Chicken Chaser]

Yeah, I'll admit i've not seen enough of him to criticize him in that regard. All I was getting at is freelancing at the other end of the ice as a D man typically ends poorly at the NHL level. Him doing it against 16-18 yr olds is one thing, and it helps add to his resume no doubt. Not saying that's his game, but I think we'd all be in agreement if we could just find some defenders who can make good outlet passes in stride to skating wingers/centers and provide solid work in their own zone, this team would be a lot better. And by the looks of it the Flyers have positioned themselves for at least that in the next 3-5 years.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Yeah, I'll admit i've not seen enough of him to criticize him in that regard. All I was getting at is freelancing at the other end of the ice as a D man typically ends poorly at the NHL level. Him doing it against 16-18 yr olds is one thing, and it helps add to his resume no doubt. Not saying that's his game, but I think we'd all be in agreement if we could just find some defenders who can make good outlet passes in stride to skating wingers/centers and provide solid work in their own zone, this team would be a lot better. And by the looks of it the Flyers have positioned themselves for at least that in the next 3-5 years.

They can do it now if they let their top kids play instead of stiffs like MacDonald, Schenn, and Schultz.

Sure there will be growing pains. But I always laugh at how young players are labeled as making "rookie mistakes" when vets do the same things.

 

[chupanibre]

My head says Sanheim, but my heart says Parks...