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2015 Draft - 3rd pick: Ethan Bear (2017: Named WHL D-Man of the Year)

Roof Daddy

Roof Daddy

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Apr 1, 2008
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McMozesmadness said:
Bear is not an excellent skater. Just pretty good.

He's looked really good tonight. Poise in the offensive zone is freakish for his age.

Desperately needs to get stronger. That's the case for most young players though so no need for concern.

For the record I still think Jones is the better more dynamic prospect.

Great to have some good looking pieces from late in the draft... :yo:
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Wasn't one of the knocks on him leading up to the draft his lack of conditioning? It's the most correctable issue I can think of, but it's also going to take him a few off-seasons to play catch up. If anything, it makes him a more promising prospect IMO. His talent already has him as a superb player among his peers, proper conditioning could take him to the next level.
 
McMozesmadness

McMozesmadness

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HeavyMcHitter97 said:
In no way is Jones a more dynamic prospect. This is coming from all the scouts I know as well as me. I've seen both live many many times and Bear can be flashy and an excellent pick handler who is deadly in the offensive zone whereas Jones plays a quiet, safe game mostly. He creates offense but does it in a very subtle way not dynamically. If you want to say Jones is better then go ahead it's your opinion but there isn't an argument to be made about who is more dynamic.
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I really do think Jones is more dynamic. The strides he's made in his development have been very impressive to me. His game, IMO, has more room for growth too, I think he has the higher potential. I think he's a better all around skater who's made larger strides in that area from last season.

When I see Jones I see the farthest thing from a quiet prospect. He has great compete and pushes the pace all game long. In the defensive zone he's aggressive and physical. His offence is a work in progress, but he has vision and a willingness to shoot the puck and like I said above really drive the play.

Furthermore Jones has a distinct advantage when it comes to size, both now, and in the future. Jones is taller and has a much bigger frame to support growth. Bear will get bigger and stronger too, but not at the rate of Caleb Jones. Jones is very stocky and looks like he'll project to be around 6'2 220, if I had to guess (not a doctor, not a scout just my own guess/opinion).

With that said I do really like Bear too. He is smarter, more cerebral. He is FAR more polished in the offensive zone, but I don't think his offence is flashy. He sees the ice so well, he uses his brain for offence more than his tools, which is the opposite of Jones IMO. That's a major advantage over Jones, but he lacks ideal size and strength and needs to improve his defensive decision making and skating. I like Bears game but not enough to make me think he's the better prospect.


Roof Daddy said:
Wasn't one of the knocks on him leading up to the draft his lack of conditioning? It's the most correctable issue I can think of, but it's also going to take him a few off-seasons to play catch up. If anything, it makes him a more promising prospect IMO. His talent already has him as a superb player among his peers, proper conditioning could take him to the next level.
Click to expand...

I agree. Bear has high potential. He has areas I think he needs to work on and they are addressable. I do have concerns over his size. He is under 6'0 and has a sleight frame. He will get by on his IQ.
 
ChaoticOrange

ChaoticOrange

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McMozesmadness said:
I really do think Jones is more dynamic. The strides he's made in his development have been very impressive to me. His game, IMO, has more room for growth too, I think he has the higher potential. I think he's a better all around skater who's made larger strides in that area from last season.

When I see Jones I see the farthest thing from a quiet prospect. He has great compete and pushes the pace all game long. In the defensive zone he's aggressive and physical. His offence is a work in progress, but he has vision and a willingness to shoot the puck and like I said above really drive the play.

Furthermore Jones has a distinct advantage when it comes to size, both now, and in the future. Jones is taller and has a much bigger frame to support growth. Bear will get bigger and stronger too, but not at the rate of Caleb Jones. Jones is very stocky and looks like he'll project to be around 6'2 220, if I had to guess (not a doctor, not a scout just my own guess/opinion).

With that said I do really like Bear too. He is smarter, more cerebral. He is FAR more polished in the offensive zone, but I don't think his offence is flashy. He sees the ice so well, he uses his brain for offence more than his tools, which is the opposite of Jones IMO. That's a major advantage over Jones, but he lacks ideal size and strength and needs to improve his defensive decision making and skating. I like Bears game but not enough to make me think he's the better prospect.




I agree. Bear has high potential. He has areas I think he needs to work on and they are addressable. I do have concerns over his size. He is under 6'0 and has a sleight frame. He will get by on his IQ.
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Slight frame? He's only 18 still and right around 200 pounds. That's pretty solid for a guy his height.
 

Gone

Fire KLowe
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I wonder what the chance is he makes it next year as a No. 6/7 option - PP specialist, say playing 30-40 games (like Drai 2 years ago).
 
Aceboogie

Aceboogie

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He plays a lot like an Andrew ference in terms of using his body. Both are smaller from height pov, but low centers of gravity and probably as effective physically as 6'2 guys
 
40oz

40oz

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McMozesmadness said:
I personally see no way he makes the team. Hell need at least one more year in the dub and two years in the Bake IMO.
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Agreed, he may be an offensive dynamo but he's a different player in his own end and has a long way to go to becoming an NHL defenseman. I don't think he has issues with hockey IQ or vision or anything like that, just needs to grow his defensive game and mature physically. And the only way to do that is through time and experience.
 
snipes

snipes

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Gone said:
I wonder what the chance is he makes it next year as a No. 6/7 option - PP specialist, say playing 30-40 games (like Drai 2 years ago).
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Nope. We need to develop him properly.

Send him back to the Dub for another year. He'll play a big role on Team Canada at the WJC. Then start him in Bakersfield for the 2017-18 season. Give him big minutes and first pairing PP time.
 
Aceboogie

Aceboogie

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I think in a best case situation hell take another WHL year and a half AHL season before getting some NHL games. Hell get the Martin Marincin treatment. Hes more polished defensively and probably equal or ahead offensively

His playoff numbers are jaw dropping though. Almost unseen before in terms of % of teams points

Paigin will be the one to suprise. I know hes in a KHL deal for another year and a 7th roudner so considered a long shot. But I could see 2 things happening this offseason. 1) Chiarelli gets him out of the KHL deal (they are far from iron clad contracts) and hell come to NA next year and make a push for the big club. Just a gut feeling tho
 
Bryanbryoil

Bryanbryoil

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4thlineforlife said:
He plays a lot like an Andrew ference in terms of using his body. Both are smaller from height pov, but low centers of gravity and probably as effective physically as 6'2 guys
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He looked pretty weak by my eye in the rookie tournament. If he works hard on his strength he should be able to overcome that.
 
40oz

40oz

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Bryanbryoil said:
He looked pretty weak by my eye in the rookie tournament. If he works hard on his strength he should be able to overcome that.
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People keep bringing this up and I just can't understand why people would any weight on his performance. He's 18 and at his first NHL camp, he's probably just trying not to screw anything up.
 
Aceboogie

Aceboogie

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I must say it's refreshing to discuss who's better (bear v jones) as opposed to who's not worse as we've done in the last
 
McMozesmadness

McMozesmadness

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Bryanbryoil said:
He looked pretty weak by my eye in the rookie tournament. If he works hard on his strength he should be able to overcome that.
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Agreed from what I've seen this year and especially vs Brandon, who is a beastly team so it was against the best, his strength stood out as his only major weakness.

If Bear works on his strength and skating he'll be fine. Which are both easily worked on. He has a good skating base but needs work to make it in the pro ranks.
 
McMozesmadness

McMozesmadness

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4thlineforlife said:
I must say it's refreshing to discuss who's better (bear v jones) as opposed to who's not worse as we've done in the last
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Hell yes.

Add in Paigin and Marino, who I also really like and we should be very happy with last years draft at this point.

Svoboda seems like the only miss, but goalies are voodoo...
 
ChaoticOrange

ChaoticOrange

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McMozesmadness said:
Hell yes.

Add in Paigin and Marino, who I also really like and we should be very happy with last years draft at this point.

Svoboda seems like the only miss, but goalies are voodoo...
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Svoboda had a pretty decent year, actually. I'd have him ahead of Bouchard and Nagelvoort at this point.
 
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