The Lightning's org seems to do a really impressive job at developing underated+undersized but speedy prospects.
Hopefully ABB follows the footsteps of fellows Johnson, Point and Gourde.
I must say I am a little jealous of Tampa's mix of superstar/depth/playstyle
ABB is looking like a steal of a 7th round entry draft pick for my fantasy dynasty league. Stat sheet wise, he looks really impressive right now.
I'd like to see him start in the AHL next year and serve as a call up for 2 reasons:
A) Seattle expansion draft exemption if he doesn't appear in over 9 NHL games this season.
B) At 5'9, 168 lbs, I'd like to give him a bit more time to add more muscle to be better able to handle the NHL. Johnson is 5'8 and 183 lbs for comparison. Another 5-10 lbs on ABB will make a difference, in terms of ability to win board battles and not get pushed around.
I'll add that I'm just pulling for an undrafted smaller guy to succeed, after putting in years of effort chasing his dreams, despite not being drafted in any of his eligible years.
How about the cup final this year? My prediction before the season was a Blues - Lightning final.I'm just happy that Tampa is in a different conference than my Blues, I'd love to meet up in the playoffs against you guys!
How about the cup final this year? My prediction before the season was a Blues - Lightning final.
If that happens, Binnington should win the Vezina and Hart for willing the Blues out of the bottom 5, then carrying them to the playoffs
Knock knock.. who is there ? St. Louis ring a bell.The Lightning's org seems to do a really impressive job at developing underated+undersized but speedy prospects.
Hopefully ABB follows the footsteps of fellows Johnson, Point and Gourde.
I must say I am a little jealous of Tampa's mix of superstar/depth/playstyle
ABB's 25th goal of the season.
26
Do you mean will he make the NHL this season? Probably not. He was 6th in AHL scoring his rookie year and 5th in scoring last year. Offensively, you really can't ask for more. He is the best player on the Crunch. But on a defending Stanley Cup Champion team with a set top 9, it just makes it really hard for him, or anybody, to find a lineup spot. What's available is on the 4th line, and I just don't think he can fit there. Unless someone gets hurt, imo his best bet is next season when his ELC is finished and there's more room on the roster.Will this be his breakout season?
Do you mean will he make the NHL this season? Probably not. He was 6th in AHL scoring his rookie year and 5th in scoring last year. Offensively, you really can't ask for more. He is the best player on the Crunch. But on a defending Stanley Cup Champion team with a set top 9, it just makes it really hard for him, or anybody, to find a lineup spot. What's available is on the 4th line, and I just don't think he can fit there. Unless someone gets hurt, imo his best bet is next season when his ELC is finished and there's more room on the roster.
Will this be his breakout season?
He will be 24 this year he was slow to develop two full years in the AHL so it is now or never. One of two things is going to happen he will light it up and stick or struggle and be traded. He will not see extended time in the top 6 here even with Kuch out and when Kuch is healthy where does he slot? If he was 21 or 22 then it would be different who knows how it will work out but we are going to see maybe in 9 days.
And you still believe in the tooth fairy too. For every 1 player that breaks into the league after age 25 there are hundreds who fail. You can cherry pick individual cases all you wish that does not change facts. A forward needs to break into the league by 23 and a defenseman by 24. Forward production peaks at 27 and then starts to regress defensemen peak at 29 and then tail off. The numbers we taken from a study done by Hockey News about 5 years ago it used player stats from 1910 to the current year. The average forward retired at 30.5 years of age and the average defenseman retired at 31.How is it now or never when we have a 5m forward on our team who broke into the league at 26 and spent 5 years in the AHL. Plenty of time left to make it
And you still believe in the tooth fairy too. For every 1 player that breaks into the league after age 25 there are hundreds who fail. You can cherry pick individual cases all you wish that does not change facts. A forward needs to break into the league by 23 and a defenseman by 24. Forward production peaks at 27 and then starts to regress defensemen peak at 29 and then tail off. The numbers we taken from a study done by Hockey News about 5 years ago it used player stats from 1910 to the current year. The average forward retired at 30.5 years of age and the average defenseman retired at 31.
More food for thought only 2 in 10 players that are drafted will play 200 games in the league.
Odds not great for NHL draft picks – Guelph Storm
This is another good article that points out the fallacy of the opinion on draft picks and young players. Now are there gems out there that make it or go undrafted there sure are but this all falls on scouting. If one looks at Gourde and Johnson you have to think that our scouts have done a pretty good job or got extremely lucky. Again this is the exception rather than the rule. Every year the league is littered with marginal players most of which are now called role players. From a talent standpoint the league is already too large yet there is an expansion next year.
The Bolts roster right now is loaded with as much talent as any team I can remember in the last 40 years including the Gretzky years in Edmonton. But we are in a position right now in two years many of these guys in the pipeline are going to be on this roster due to CAP alone. Heck right now we have two on the roster that are not NHL guys Volkov is really a career AHL guy and Joseph had one year with 53 points in Syracuse and is not going to magically be a 40 point guy in the NHL. But we are going to add to them on the roster more young unproven players as the cup window goes down.