I just hope he's not as soft as Kozlov was. The guy had such a tantalizing combination of size and skill, but he played like he was 5'9" instead of 6'5".
Prospect Info: #98 Nikita Popugaev (RW)
- Thread starter LastWordArmy
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He seemed to produce more with non-New Jersey teams than he did with us. He scored 50+ points with the Islanders the next year, after only scoring 29 points in 65 or 67 games with us in 05-06.
Devilswede
Registered User
- Dec 10, 2006
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But did he really fall? I mean sure he's talented, but many 4th round picks are.
A lot of people always overrate drafts and icks and say the standard things like "steal" and diamonds etc etc. But no one knows until at least 3-4 years down the road.
Historically we have also overrated guys while they were draft picks and they ended up being nobodies for us,. Let's wait and see first.
VoidCreature
Before you see the light, you must die.
Oh he fell. He was a 1.2 ppg player through 40 games prior to the trade. He's 6'6" 220 lbs. What other 4th rounder has a resume anything like that? I don't know how he wasn't way higher on the draft radar prior to his demanding the trade.
But the demanding of the trade and then his meh #'s afterward certainly dropped him in a big way.
Plus the whole russian thing. I'd have to go through other teams list of draftees, but Shero looks to be more then willing to take a chance on a Russian in the mid to late rounds.
Popugaev definitely 'fell' from his mid-season rank where he was anticipated to go in the late 1st round. And yes, the odds are that Popugaev will turn out to not be an NHL player, but he's got more of a shot at being a 'top 6 forward' than most of what the Devils have typically drafted in the 4th round.
The time to judge a pick isn't 3 or 4 years down the road, it's right now. And right now Popugaev looks like a pretty good pick.
I had intended to make a point about junior scorers in the 4th round, but weirdly the 3 junior forwards taken between him and Walsh have at least comparable numbers and some have better.
Devils Dominion
Now we Plummet
Jason MacIsaac
Registered User
Those YT videos, the thing that stands out the most to me is how much body control he has for such a big frame. He reminds me of Kovalchuk that way, he doesn't have Kovy's explosiveness and he doesn't have as much skill, but he looks like a large version of the smaller skill players in how smoothly he skates and stick handles. I like that you brought up Nik Antropov. If he could become that kind of player that would be amazing. I think a Victor Kozlov type career would still be excellent considering he draft position. Kozlov was an above average 2nd liner and a 1st liner in a pinch. That would be superb for a 4th rounder.
We also have a lot of small speedy skill players up front now, so a bigger frame that can control the puck down low would really compliment that well.
The Boucher hype train didn't get going until his +2 year.
Granted he was a very young draftee while Pop's is pretty old draftee. But on the other hand Pop is 6'6", while bouch is 5'10".
Billdo
Registered User
Not necessarily the same as nobody really gave a crap about him until his +2 year where he scored 60+ or whatever it was. Alas I miss Boucher lol. I have these weird attachments to players who show glimpses and then flame out. Boucher, Tedenby, Bergfors, etc.
AfroThunder396
[citation needed]
Those shootout goals pretty much singlehandedly won us the division though.
Patty's Herculean return would have been for nothing if we lost those shootout he worked so hard to bring us to.
BenedictGomez
Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
Since we're bumping draft pick threads.......
this is the non-Nico pick I'm most excited about.
this is the non-Nico pick I'm most excited about.
BenedictGomez
Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
As for the "falling" bit, yes, when you drop roughly 60 or so spots in the span of a few months, I think that's more like a Hindenburg disaster than "falling" a touch. Someone just needs to tame the "lazy Russian" out of him and make him skate 4 hours per day. Fingers crossed here.
Billdo
Registered User
I like the Walsh pick but this one is definitely one to keep an eye on as well.
VoidCreature
Before you see the light, you must die.
Jason MacIsaac
Registered User
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/sports/popugaev-key-in-cougars-preseason-win-1.22369477
"Big Poppy was flying, that's the best I've seen him skate,"
Was he injured late last year or did he put work into his skating? That usually isn't a quote you hear a few days into training camo.
Cheddabombs
Status Quo
- Mar 13, 2012
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Zippy316
aka Zippo
Highlight of that thread for me was the fact that the Edmonton Oil Kings captain' name is Connor McDonald.
It's almost as if they did that as a practical joke.
Highlight of that thread for me was the fact that the Edmonton Oil Kings captain' name is Connor McDonald.
It's almost as if they did that as a practical joke.
This totally sounds like something a marketing department would come up with. 'Hey guys, this Connor McDavid guy is really popular in town right now. Any suggestions on how can we jump on that hype train?'
The Wumpus
bottomless pit supervisor
Some unfortunate kid in Alberta is going to get a Conner McDonald jersey for Christmas from his well-meaning aunt or grandpa.
Damn, that "probability of playing 200 NHL games" is such a sobering stat. NP has an excellent score and it's still only at 30%.
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
it just goes to show how many good CHL players DON'T make the NHL. 200 games is a good metric to use IMO. if you can make that, you've got yourself an NHL career, even if it's just barely. ~2.5 years in the league is respectable from an objective standpoint
