Prospect Info: 5th Overall Pick, Alex Turcotte, C, USNTDP UPDATED: Signs 3 Year ELC 3/11/20

Peter James Bond II

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If Drew Doughty hasn't figured out that trying to blast people's shinguards off isn't effective in the last 11 years, I'm not sure there's anyone that'll get him to change his mind at this point.

LOL!! I had a very arduous 4 minutes, coming up with players at the points...thought I would get laughed off for Moverare....not Doughty. Made me laugh. Clague is not looking like an answer. Bjornfot holds promise, but may not be a big point producer...some hope Durzi can emerge as a right point PP guy. There's players like Nousiainen and Spence in the system. Don't really see Mikey Anderson as a PP guy. A forward or 2 will have to emerge as a point player.
 

kings11

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Anyone know if Wisconsin doesn't make the Tourney and if we were to sign Turcotte and let him team up with Vilardi and Co... would his contract start right way? or would it slide?
 

Herby

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Anyone know if Wisconsin doesn't make the Tourney and if we were to sign Turcotte and let him team up with Vilardi and Co... would his contract start right way? or would it slide?

It starts right away, unless the Kings were to sign him to a tryout offer, which isn't happening with a 1st round pick.

Another reason it would be a huge mistake to sign Turcotte (the biggest being he won't be NHL ready until after next season).

Please Please Please take the Makar/Hughes path and not the Casey Middlestadt one with Turcotte.
 

kings11

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It starts right away, unless the Kings were to sign him to a tryout offer, which isn't happening with a 1st round pick.

Another reason it would be a huge mistake to sign Turcotte (the biggest being he won't be NHL ready until after next season).

Please Please Please take the Makar/Hughes path and not the Casey Middlestadt one with Turcotte.
Oh i dont want him in the NHL, but IMHO he'd be better off playing under a better coach in Mike Stothers and he'd be working out and training with Pros in El Segundo..
 

Raccoon Jesus

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Oh i dont want him in the NHL, but IMHO he'd be better off playing under a better coach in Mike Stothers and he'd be working out and training with Pros in El Segundo..

This one's tougher cause i can see it either way, but I lean toward's Herby's view here, simply because of the Wisconsin program. He's under people we can trust there.
 

Fishhead

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Vilardi next year, Turcotte the year after along with maybe Kaliyev if he keeps it up. No need to rush any of them. Giving Gabe a game or two at the end of the year is fine.

There's certainly no rush, I'm guessing Bjornfot is up for sure and one more young D will get a serious look. Hopefully some 2nd tier guys like Durzi/Thomas/etc. pan out and we'll be in business, with cap space to bring in the necessary pieces.
 

redcard

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It starts right away, unless the Kings were to sign him to a tryout offer, which isn't happening with a 1st round pick.

Another reason it would be a huge mistake to sign Turcotte (the biggest being he won't be NHL ready until after next season).

Please Please Please take the Makar/Hughes path and not the Casey Middlestadt one with Turcotte.

I believe it would slide because Turcotte turns 19 in 2020. Mittlestadt's contract did not slide because he turned 20 the year he signed it.
 

regulate

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If this is true, he better be on that Ontario roster once their season ends
Based upon what the Kings typically do with kids, if Turcotte leaves school he'll join the Reign to get some pro games under his belt. When he signs a deal, it's the same as everyone else when they are 18 or 19, the contract slides unless they play more than 9 NHL games in the that season. If he doesn't make the Kings out of camp next year when he is 19 (hard to say what the roster is going to look like), then obviously it slides until his 20 year old season in 21-22 season where it will be year one of the 3 year ELC.
 

kings11

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Based upon what the Kings typically do with kids, if Turcotte leaves school he'll join the Reign to get some pro games under his belt. When he signs a deal, it's the same as everyone else when they are 18 or 19, the contract slides unless they play more than 9 NHL games in the that season. If he doesn't make the Kings out of camp next year when he is 19 (hard to say what the roster is going to look like), then obviously it slides until his 20 year old season in 21-22 season where it will be year one of the 3 year ELC.
I’m not against College but I just think Turcotte playing in Ontario against men would better prepare him for the NHL... as would his access to the Kings facility, staff and players in El Segundo
 

King'sPawn

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I’m not against College but I just think Turcotte playing in Ontario against men would better prepare him for the NHL... as would his access to the Kings facility, staff and players in El Segundo

It's understandable but debateable. A bonus to staying in college is the emphasis on working on his physique. It certainly helped Makar.

It's an interesting discussion.
 

kings11

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It's understandable but debateable. A bonus to staying in college is the emphasis on working on his physique. It certainly helped Makar.

It's an interesting discussion.
That’s the thing.. having him in Ontario means he’d be working out at El Segundo with the Kings trainers ala Kaliyev ... He’s fully healed now so he can put in the work this offseason
 

AlphaBravo

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I would rather have him on Ontario. I want the young players to play together in the AHL and develop chemistry together. It would be nice to have a big wave of players come up together in 21-22 season.
 
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King'sPawn

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A bonus to staying in college is getting an education, ostensibly the purpose of going to college in the first place.

Well, sure. But the discussion was specific to preparing for professional hockey, and developing physically.

I could list many reasons why staying in college is a good thing, but aspiring professional hockey players would focus on specific benefits to reaching their goals.
 
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lumbergh

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Well, sure. But the discussion was specific to preparing for professional hockey, and developing physically.

I could list many reasons why staying in college is a good thing, but aspiring professional hockey players would focus on specific benefits to reaching their goals.
He does state in the Mayor interview you posted in another thread that his goal is to "to play in the NHL as soon as possible", which I had not seen before. Suggests that his stay in Wisconsin is going to be short.

WJC 2020: Checking in With Alex Turcotte at USA Hockey Camp
 

King'sPawn

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He does state in the Mayor interview you posted in another thread that his goal is to "to play in the NHL as soon as possible", which I had not seen before. Suggests that his stay in Wisconsin is going to be short.

WJC 2020: Checking in With Alex Turcotte at USA Hockey Camp

Yeah. There are different philosophies as to how to reach that goal. Is it:
- Play in the AHL, get in the system ASAP, develop skills, focus less on winning a championship
- Stay in college, focus on building strength (as the schedule is lighter), and focus on trying to lead a team to a championship

There are merits to both.

I definitely WANT to see him in the Kings system ASAP, but with his skills, would the AHL benefit him more than getting physically stronger?

I don't have the answer. I'm trying to look at it objectively, and I'm trying not to have my selfish hope of seeing him in the Kings system sooner sway my judgment.
 
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lumbergh

It was an idea. I didn't say it was a good idea.
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Yeah. There are different philosophies as to how to reach that goal. Is it:
- Play in the AHL, get in the system ASAP, develop skills, focus less on winning a championship
- Stay in college, focus on building strength (as the schedule is lighter), and focus on trying to lead a team to a championship

There are merits to both.

I definitely WANT to see him in the Kings system ASAP, but with his skills, would the AHL benefit him more than getting physically stronger?

I don't have the answer. I'm trying to look at it objectively, and I'm trying not to have my selfish hope of seeing him in the Kings system sooner sway my judgment.
I see Turcotte as a Toews/Richards type, and would love to see him lead a team to the top of the hill. If he can do that as a freshman at Wisconsin, that would be awesome, but at 7-10-1, that seems unlikely. I don't know if the Wisconsin college hockey program will help him get that much stronger. Going to the AHL will let him focus on hockey full time and get him on the Kings strength and conditioning program full time. I think that's the better way to go if he's one-and-done. Just my opinion.
 
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Raccoon Jesus

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Glad I'm not the one that has to make that decision, haha. Though I suppose ultimately it's Turcotte's.
 

ru4reals

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I see Turcotte as a Toews/Richards type, and would love to see him lead a team to the top of the hill. If he can do that as a freshman at Wisconsin, that would be awesome, but at 7-10-1, that seems unlikely. I don't know if the Wisconsin college hockey program will help him get that much stronger. Going to the AHL will let him focus on hockey full time and get him on the Kings strength and conditioning program full time. I think that's the better way to go if he's one-and-done. Just my opinion.

Agree am I the only one who thinks Granato is a terrible coach. Wisconsin should be better but then again their Goalie's are brutal so Maybe not all his fault. Just 80%. :sarcasm:
 

Herby

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Yeah. There are different philosophies as to how to reach that goal. Is it:
- Play in the AHL, get in the system ASAP, develop skills, focus less on winning a championship
- Stay in college, focus on building strength (as the schedule is lighter), and focus on trying to lead a team to a championship

There are merits to both.

I definitely WANT to see him in the Kings system ASAP, but with his skills, would the AHL benefit him more than getting physically stronger?

I don't have the answer. I'm trying to look at it objectively, and I'm trying not to have my selfish hope of seeing him in the Kings system sooner sway my judgment.

I think being a dominant player at a level goes a long way to helping one transition easier to pro hockey. Alex Turcotte has had a nice offensive season at WI, but so has much of the team, but I don't think he has been dominant, neither have Caufield or Miller, doesn't mean any of them aren't very good or even elite prospects but I'd just like to see domination of that level rather than an insane rush to get a teenager to ride busses to Bakersfield or Stockton with guys who are probably anywhere from two to fifteen years older than him. People use the Toews and Richards comparisons, Richards played two more years of junior after being drafted (granted there was a lockout) but was able to get a dominating season as a 19 year old in and transition well into the NHL and was a star by 22. Toews has said before that his decision to return to North Dakota for a sophomore season was one of the better decisions he made as he was able to be a dominant player at that level, win a WJC, play in the Frozen Four and then seamlessly transition into being a star player the following year. I know people are anxious to see prospects in the system and the player seems closer when they are in the AHL, but let's examine historical data and the bigger picture here.
 

Statto

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I think being a dominant player at a level goes a long way to helping one transition easier to pro hockey. Alex Turcotte has had a nice offensive season at WI, but so has much of the team, but I don't think he has been dominant, neither have Caufield or Miller, doesn't mean any of them aren't very good or even elite prospects but I'd just like to see domination of that level rather than an insane rush to get a teenager to ride busses to Bakersfield or Stockton with guys who are probably anywhere from two to fifteen years older than him. People use the Toews and Richards comparisons, Richards played two more years of junior after being drafted (granted there was a lockout) but was able to get a dominating season as a 19 year old in and transition well into the NHL and was a star by 22. Toews has said before that his decision to return to North Dakota for a sophomore season was one of the better decisions he made as he was able to be a dominant player at that level, win a WJC, play in the Frozen Four and then seamlessly transition into being a star player the following year. I know people are anxious to see prospects in the system and the player seems closer when they are in the AHL, but let's examine historical data and the bigger picture here.
I think all options should be on the table. As has rightly been said he has time in college to work on his strength and that is only a good thing. So, given he will have do just that by the time the season ends he will be much stronger than he is today. I’m sure that come the end of the season there will be some discussion around where he is at and what will be best for his development.

Lots of things could change, Granato might get an NHL job... maybe not, but regardless there will be a much different picture. The Kings roster will look different and in part it may be influenced by the players that come in/out of the lineup. If it looks like a number of the kids will play in 20/21 you’d probably want Turcotte there, so they develop together. If we continue to have a bunch of deadwood and the kids mostly stay in the AHL then maybe he stays in college.

It’s a complicated nuanced debate and it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
 
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