biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 25,795
- 10,843
Well we know he's skilled, but was the skill accomplishing anything? I don't want to drag this conversation into the pre-draft convo's that took play in regards to these guys, but if you're not getting the puck on net, IMO you're not being effective.
There are plenty of supremely skilled hockey players who never make a meaningful NHL contribution.
This isn't to suggest Ehlers won't become a very good pro, but there are always going to be guys like this that flash skill, but when they can't withstand the physicality of the pro game they struggle to meet the expectations that their skill level would bestow on them.
^^^^
Canafan, yeah, ol' Keith Ballard was manhandling him pretty good there.
It's NHL preseason for a recent draftee, not the be all end all, but I don't see that type of physical dominance ever not happening to Ehlers, similar to Mason Raymond.
Agreed for the most part.
Watching him, especially in things like the the prospects tourny and preseason vs some stronger "Pro" players, i see a lot of Mason Raymond to his game. I think his realistic ceiling, to me at least...looks a lot like a "Rich Man's Raymond". Which isn't really an insult, a bit more skilled and more consistent Mason Raymond is a very good top-6 forward in the league. But there could be a lot of the same physical limitations that mitigate his effectiveness somewhat in the NHL. And when he does that perimeter lap of the offensive zone routine, it's pure MayRay. Everyone was so excited about how fast he was and how he was able to just control the puck and circle the zone seemingly at will when he first arrived as well.
Which is why i find it funny when people insinuate that we passed up all of this "upside" in taking Virtanen over Ehlers, Nylander. It's going to take a while to see how these guys pan out, and there are a lot of things that could happen between now and then. But right now, the size and physicality to go with the goal scoring skills of Virtanen are what make him a potential home run if he hits anything like his "ceiling". Potentially a real "cornerstone" piece for the franchise. I don't see it at all as taking the "safe pick" with "low upside". There's such a scarcity of big physical goal scorers in the league, everyone wants as many as they can get because there's a different level of effectiveness there...that's what makes for a really high "ceiling" for Virtanen imo.