Andrew Ladd: Potential

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Vagrant

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Andrew Ladd has been hyped by some as a power forward prospect, while hyped by others as a pure goal scorer type player with immense upside. I've read quite a bit about him and i'm curious as to those who have seen him play if he falls better into one category than the other. How does his game project to the NHL level? Will he play on an NHL team next year, or does he have to spend another year in junior before he's ready to play with Carolina?


I'm also curious how he is at playmaking and at playing the body. Carolina needs a player like Ladd to develop. Is he more of a Jeff O'Neill or an Erik Cole? Thanks!
 

Potted Plant

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One of the most respected and knowledgeable posters on the Rangers' board was high on Ladd in the months leading up to the draft. He thought he had Ryan Smythe type potential. Edge thought Ladd could be good in all phases of the game and be a cornerstone "role" type player in that he may develop into a guy who can play any role for a team. Need an opposing offensive forward to be shut down? Let Ladd do it. Need someone to fill out an offensive line? Let Ladd do it. Need a forechecker? Let Ladd do it.

Edge didn't think Ladd had top line "Leclair"-like ability, and probably wouldn't develop into a team's go-to guy like Iginla, but could come up just short of that.
 

PhoPhan

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I personally don't think Ladd has tremendous upside, but he could one day be on the top line of a team fitting a role. More realistically, I see him as a 2nd line power forward. His assets are his strength and his vision. His bruising style could get him 35 goals in a very good season, and his solid vision could get him another 40 assists.
 

Roughneck

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I'd see him as a 2nd line guy. 20 goal, 50 point range I'd say. But he'd work his ass off while doing it and punish a few guys in the process. I don't think his potential is as high as people say though. He's a safer pick because I think he will with no doubt at least be a very solid 3rd liner, but I can't see him being a true 1st liner either. But I do think that he would complement a guy like Staal extremely well so who knows.

I'd say Ryan Smyth would be an excellent comparison.
 

X-SHARKIE

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I see Ladd as a top line guy.

In fact I hold the 5th overall pick in a upcoming draft...and he's the guy I want.

Ladd is big, he's one of the smartest players in his age group, he's a tough guy, very very mature game, Does all the little things that it takes to suceed in the NHL, His skating isn't elite but he has excelent closing speed and great range, Underated hands, very good shot with great finishing skills, underated playmaker, very good vision, great read of the game.

I don't buy that only good with Getzlaf crap.

I think the Hurricanes have a great player in Ladd. I see him as a future 1st line winger with Staal.

I might get ripped for this post and little in return ( is there any Hurricanes fans on the boards?)

but I think Ladd is the real deal.
 

Vagrant

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So here is the general consensus of the HFboards posters as of right now.

He's a huge bust.
He's a great intangibles player, but not really a great scorer. Primeau-type maybe.
Role Player with second line upside.
Second line player with 50 point ability, physical.
First line player great in all aspects.


Hmm...


Can anybody else elaborate! It seems we're a little unsure as to what Ladd is going to eventually end up being able to do. Anybody else with more insight would be great, i'm getting a clearer picture.
 

db23

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Ladd is a 1985 born prospect, so he is older than most. A year ago he was playing Tier II junior and not that spectacularly. Vancouver Giants practically gave away his rights to the Hitmen. So I would be very suspicious of him. He played on a good team on the top line with an excellant centre. He had everything going right for him in his draft year.
 

Aaron Vickers

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db23 said:
Ladd is a 1985 born prospect, so he is older than most. A year ago he was playing Tier II junior and not that spectacularly. Vancouver Giants practically gave away his rights to the Hitmen. So I would be very suspicious of him. He played on a good team on the top line with an excellant centre. He had everything going right for him in his draft year.

Given everything I've seen from both Ladd and Getzlaf, I'd take Getzlaf only 6 times out of 10. Ladd has intangibles that Getzlaf doesn't. For the most part, from memory, it was Ladd setting up Getzlaf more then the other way around. Certainly Getzlaf will create space for Ladd, but Ladd, given an inch, will take a foot.

I'm not overly concerned about his 'one season'. He had a strong season the year before in Coquitlam.

The Giants gave away Ladd back in December of 2002. To me, that seems like quite a long time ago, a lot of time, anyway, in terms of player development for a youngster.

There is no way an NHL hockey club would use its fourth overall selection on a player if they didn't think he had big-time, top line potential, and at least scouts from two different teams I've talked to told me before the draft, that Ladd was a top five selection. They were right.
 

Vagrant

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Interesting, interesting.


How does Ladd compare to a player like Eric Nystrom? There are a lot of people here that describe him in almost the same light as Nystrom. I'm sure that Ladd is a bit more offensive, but is the comparison a decent one?
 

db23

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Caniacforever said:
Interesting, interesting.


How does Ladd compare to a player like Eric Nystrom? There are a lot of people here that describe him in almost the same light as Nystrom. I'm sure that Ladd is a bit more offensive, but is the comparison a decent one?

I don't think it is that far off. Ladd probably has better hands, but both players were taken far higher than they should have been in their respective drafts.
 

Flames Draft Watcher

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db23 is notorious for judging based off stats. I'd be highly suspicious of anything he says.

I've seen Ladd once or twice and he impressed me quite a bit. Definitely has 1st/2nd line upside. I'm a big fan of Ladd and Getzlaf, both are high quality prospects. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see him on the top line of Carolina a few years down the line.
 

db23

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Flames Draft Watcher said:
db23 is notorious for judging based off stats. I'd be highly suspicious of anything he says.

I've seen Ladd once or twice and he impressed me quite a bit. Definitely has 1st/2nd line upside. I'm a big fan of Ladd and Getzlaf, both are high quality prospects. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see him on the top line of Carolina a few years down the line.

O.K. If Ladd had been born a couple months earlier, he would have been eligible for last years's draft. He is a few months younger than Eric Fehr, who popped 50 goals in the Dub last season. A year ago Ladd was a point a game guy in TierII, he wouldn't have gone in the first 5 rounds.
 
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db23

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Don't get me wrong, I think he is a solid player, but he hasn't shown the talent or toughness that Scott Hartnell did in his draft year. Hartnell went 5th overall in 2000 and is still a third or fourth line player. I think Hartnell was better in every department at the same age. He has yet to score 20 goals in the NHL or more than 40 points in a season.
 

HuskyFlames

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db23 said:
He has yet to score 20 goals in the NHL or more than 40 points in a season.

Give the guy some credit. Hartnell would have broken 20 goals last year if he played more than 59 games. 18 goals in 59 games is better than a third liner in the NHL.
 

Qubax

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Russian_fanatic said:
will be a COMPLETE player , and get around 35-40 goals regulary ...

You know how many players had 35 goals last year?

1 ILYA KOVALCHUK 41
2 JAROME IGINLA 41
3 RICK NASH CLB 41
4 MARTIN ST. LOUIS 38
5 PATRIK ELIAS NJD 38
6 MARIAN HOSSA OTT 36
7 MARKUS NASLUND VAN 35
8 MILAN HEJDUK COL 35

You really think Andrew Ladd is going to become a scorer in this type of elit company? Your insane....

Jarome Iginla had 41 goals this last year...you think Ladd is flirting with Iginla in the goal scorers department? Give me a break

Ladd is not a bad player at all....but man oh man...many guys are pretty good and score even 20 to 30 goals and are top line players.....don't expect much more out of Ladd though
 

db23

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Patrick - Flames Fan said:
Give the guy some credit. Hartnell would have broken 20 goals last year if he played more than 59 games. 18 goals in 59 games is better than a third liner in the NHL.

No problem. I think that Hartnell is a valuable player. All I'm saying is that at this point in his career, Ladd is well behind where Hartnell was, so in projecting Ladd's future you can take it from there.
 

Puckhead

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db23 said:
Ladd is a 1985 born prospect, so he is older than most. A year ago he was playing Tier II junior and not that spectacularly. Vancouver Giants practically gave away his rights to the Hitmen. So I would be very suspicious of him. He played on a good team on the top line with an excellant centre. He had everything going right for him in his draft year.

I could not agree with you more! The draft year for a prospect in any year has a lot to do with timing. This year, when the draft is so lacking in true talent, it becomes all about timing. He was a nobody a year ago, and what?, he just woke up one morning and became this incredible player? I don't want to take away what he was able to do in Calgary for the Hitmen, but this is clearly a situation where he benefited from the situation and his linemates. It still takes a good player to make use of his linemates the way he did, and I think he will be a decent NHLer with 20-25 goal potential, but that won't happen for a while if it all. The way the draft was viewed going in was that after the first three guys were selected it was a complete crapshoot. So Carolina decided to go with Central scouting's evaluation and they made their choice. I think Tukonen, and Picard would have been just as good, and maybe better choices for Carolina. But the beauty is, we will have to wait a few years to accurately critique this draft.
 

Behn Wilson

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From what Ive read Ladd's style seems pretty similar to Mark Bells with a little bit more offensive talent. Bell looks like he will be a 25-30 goal scorer so that may be a fair comparison.
 

Puckhead

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Qubax said:
You know how many players had 35 goals last year?

1 ILYA KOVALCHUK 41
2 JAROME IGINLA 41
3 RICK NASH CLB 41
4 MARTIN ST. LOUIS 38
5 PATRIK ELIAS NJD 38
6 MARIAN HOSSA OTT 36
7 MARKUS NASLUND VAN 35
8 MILAN HEJDUK COL 35

You really think Andrew Ladd is going to become a scorer in this type of elit company? Your insane....

Jarome Iginla had 41 goals this last year...you think Ladd is flirting with Iginla in the goal scorers department? Give me a break

Ladd is not a bad player at all....but man oh man...many guys are pretty good and score even 20 to 30 goals and are top line players.....don't expect much more out of Ladd though


This is a very accurate depiction of where the league is now. The draft is all hyped up as to who the next big scorer will be, but everyone fails to realize that the NHL is incredibly watered down in the talent and skill departments. If the clutching and grabbing would stop, or the ice surface would become bigger then we could see just what these kids can do. When an Iginla, and Sakic, Thornton, Forsberg, Federov, and other can only muster 41 goals max, then to project a kid just breaking into the league as being in the same company is insane!
 

Vipers

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markov` said:
My bold prediction in the 2004 draft is that Andrew Ladd will be a bust. The reason of that, he only had one good year. He has a good upside though...but I think he'll bust :)


Bergeron of Boston had only one season of junior hockey, has not the physical game of Ladd and he's not really a bust after only one NHL season.
 

Vagrant

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I've never seen a 4th overall selection so underhyped! He's going to fit right in here in Carolina. :D

Anyways, I was wondering if anybody could give me a more in depth talent analysis or a link to more talent analysis other than HF's, which i've already read in depth. I've seen Ladd a few times, but i'd like the knowledge of those who have seen him more. So if you have any related info you'd like to share, i'd be glad to read it!
 
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