Prospect Info: 2019-20 Syracuse Crunch & Prospects Thread

[Caser]

Alexei Lipanov has been confirmed to play for Team Russia in the upcoming CAN/RUS Series.

 

[Stormbreaker]

Volkov with a pair of goals

 

[Lightning1995]

Hate to hear Syracuse struggling so much

 

[Crunchrulz]

Hate to hear Syracuse struggling so much

Injuries have just left the Crunch far behind the so called 8 ball to start this season. We will wait and see what kind of record the team has as they work their way through this most interesting 25th anniversary season of Crunch hockey.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Lightning1995]

Hope Cernak returns soon. Lightning need him to excel this year, he’s gotta be ready next year.

 

[Crunchrulz]

Not sure if the kids need to excel as much as they need to stay healthy, contribute smartly, and keep learning the system. Excel is something that will come as long as they do the other three.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Not sure if the kids need to excel as much as they need to stay healthy, contribute smartly, and keep learning the system. Excel is something that will come as long as they do the other three.

Exactly. We don't need anyone to be a ppg player down there. Just learn the pro game, the system and show improvement and you'll get your chance.

 

[Stormbreaker]

Cernak returns to action tonight.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[FinnLightning26]

There was a long article in a Finnish paper about Kari Kettunen, a Finnish scout for the Lightning. I translated it if anyone is interested in reading it as I found it pretty insightful

NHL clubs' scouts fly around Europe in business class, watch a game and then take a few drinks at their luxury hotel. Wrong.

Scout's job is not a lazy man's luxury job. If anyone, Kari Kettunen knows this. Kettunen started his 20th season as Tampa Bay Lightning's European scout.

- Just scheduling and traveling takes a lot of time. Observed players often do not play in big cities but in some small villages, so it can be a difficult traveling from the closest airport to where you want to go. I must look for all background information about the player, interviews his family and former and current coaches. The player must also be seen in practice. After the game I then write a report for my employer, Kettunen says.

NHL players earn millions. The scouts pay isn't a seven-digit sum, at least in euros.

- Salary is okay, but there is no pension. Pension payments must be handled by ourselves, says Kettunen.

Kekäläinen encouraged

Kettunen started as Lightning's scout in 1998. Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, had a strong influence at Kettunen's career choice.

- We've been friends with "Keklu" since the 1970's. I watched a lot of games for my own pleasure, and sometimes Keklu asked me to watch some players. At that time, Keklu was the GM of HIFK and worked as a scout for Ottawa Senators. He told me that Tampa was looking for a scout from Europe, and that's where it begun. I went to the Hotel Hesperia where two Tampa scouts interviewed me and a week later I signed a contract with Lightning. It was an honor to get the job, Kettunen says.

From today's Finnish crop of scouts, only Toronto Maple Leafs scout Ari Vuori has worked longer than Kettunen as a scout. Vuori started in Los Angeles Kings as a scout in 1996, joined Detroit Red Wings in 2007 and Maple Leafs as European Director of Scouting in the year 2015.

Kettunen has worked for Lightning under six different GMs. The first GM Phil Esposito had just changed to Jacques Demers when Kettunen started his job.

Lightning won the 2004 Stanley Cup, from which Kettunen has a championship ring.

Hard work morale

Almost all Finnish scouts have a player background. For many it's in NHL or SM-league. Kettunen did not play under bright lights.

- I went through the KalPa juniors and played in the lower leagues in the 1980s, and also in the German lower leagues, Kettunen says.

There's a lot more in scouts job than having been a good skater or a good shooter.

- You have to have an eye for the game, you have to understand the game and you have to like the game. Experience of course brings wisdom. You have to have the work ethic and there must be humble and diligent work there. The scout's work is hard because the competition is a lot tighter because of the NHL salary cap. As a result, the number of scouts has increased dramatically, Kettunen says.

Game after game

Before the Internet era, scout's work was more complex than it is now.

- European Scouting Service director Göran Stubb sent us paper versions of different league schedules, but there could be changes. You had to make a call to find out if a game is being played according to schedule or not and whether the player you're looking at is injured or in the lineup.

Kettunen watches about 300 hockey games every year.

- Over the past year, I watched 290 games, with a total of 627 in the previous two years.

Kettunen follows KHL, Swedish SHL, SM League, youth leagues and tournaments of all different national teams.

- There isn't time for everything, so I do not have time to follow players aged 15 to 16 years.

Foreign travel for Kettunen is mostly directed to Sweden or Russia.

- Sometimes I was in Russia for 60-70 days a year. Many players were drafted out of Russia before KHL was born, then there was a small drop, but now the number of players is rising again, Kettunen says.

In addition to Kettunen, Lightning has three other scouts in Europe, former Swedish NHL player Mikael Andersson, Czech Anton Routa and Russian Yuri Yanchenkov.

Only a few prospects from Finland

Lightning has not drafted many Finnish players over the years.

- That's what I wondered myself a little bit. I guess that's just how it is. We do not have a lot of Swedish draft picks either. Drafting has been focused on Russian players, Kettunen says.

Kettunen states that the nationality of the player does not matter in drafting.

- I always look for the best possible player. I put players on a list and the list changes during the year. The big picture, however, is that all scouts and clubs know the best players and the upcoming draft choices. Even though I personally like a player, some other club may take him before we can draft him, Kettunen says.

Diamonds in the rough

Last summer, Lightning had no first round picks. The first pick was at 59, at the end of the second round.

- You can find great player there still. For example, we drafted Nikita Kucherov in 2011 with the 58th overall pick. Ondrej Palat was drafted in the seventh round, Kettunen recalls.

Pekka Rinne of Nashville Predators, the best goalkeeper of the NHL last season, was drafted in the 8th round in 2004 with the number 258.

- Nobody really saw Rinne play because he played so little before being drafted. Those kinds of finds are decreasing all the time, says Kettunen.

Kettunen wanted Bäckström

Every scout hopes the club will have a player like Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine on their ranks. It's only possible by playing the previous season really badly and luck in the draft lottery where the first picks are awarded.

However, good players can be found in the pros where a player doesn't have to be drafted because of his age.

Kettunen is bummed that one player of this kind went by.

- Goalkeeper Niklas Bäckström was always on my list and I tried to get them to draft him even in the ninth round of 2002 when he played at AIK. They didn't and when Bäckström was free to sign with anyone, he went to Minnesota Wild, Kettunen remembers.

Bäckström played in the NHL for 10 seasons with 413 regular season games and 11 playoff games.

Source: https://www.iltalehti.fi/nhl/d81ad1df-3c2e-4a21-8ec7-c777d58d1b91_nh.shtml

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[ccman68]

Is Sosunov injured or are we just not playing him? At least send him to the Echl so he can get some playing time.

 

[Stormbreaker]

Is Sosunov injured or are we just not playing him? At least send him to the Echl so he can get some playing time.

Pretty sure he's injured

 

[HoseEmDown]

Ingram with a monster game last night in his first start as the #1 for awhile. They got a back to back tonight, not sure he's getting the start again but if he plays like he did last night the Crunch won't have any problems this year. Conacher will win another Les Cunningham if he stays down all year, he's just too good for the league and he's carrying the Crunch right now. Need a little more production from some other players as they're a bit top heavy right now. Raddysh has been a nice surprise but Yan and Katchouk are off to slower starts, Volkov has some goals but I know of at least 2 of them are empty netters. Bournival coming back should help a bit even though he's not the scorer he was a few years ago, they're playing some guys who would be best served in the ECHL right now.

 

[DFC]

It's crazy how Conacher can light up the AHL but has only rare glimpses of offense at the NHL level. I mean, there've always been guys like that, but it's odd.

 

[HoseEmDown]

It's crazy how Conacher can light up the AHL but has only rare glimpses of offense at the NHL level. I mean, there've always been guys like that, but it's odd.

To his defense he's been used mostly in a 3rd or 4th line role. If you threw him on Stamkos and Kucherov wing he'd produce a bit more, just not enough to warrant getting those kind of minutes regularly. He is an offensive guy and we use our bottom 6 more for physical play and tone setting with some offense, Conacher is not suited for that.

 

[Stormbreaker]

Taylor Raddysh has a 9 game point streak.

 

[Bandit Keith]

Nice to see the Power-play for the Crunch clicking finally. Leading the league in pp% although most teams have a game or two on the Crunch still. Also like that we have a en-goal specialist in the pipeline in Volkov when Callahan is gone .

 

[HoseEmDown]

Nice to see the Power-play for the Crunch clicking finally. Leading the league in pp% although most teams have a game or two on the Crunch still. Also like that we have a en-goal specialist in the pipeline in Volkov when Callahan is gone .

Didn't watch tonight, UCF game takes precedence, saw the box though. That's at least 3 I know of for Volkov. It's early but Gaunce looks like the best free agent signing the Crunch have made in some time. I know he has an NHL deal but he was signed for the Crunch and a guy like Conacher was signed for the lightning. Guance has been a rock back there and his offense is better than I thought. Making Masin look like an afterthought on the left.

 

[DFC]

So, just by following stats, this ABB kid is getting more and more interesting as a prospect. Those are some pretty solid numbers for a (very) undersized 21 year-old rookie pro.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Felonious Python]

Who's been watching Tammela lately? He looked really good in the preseason.