Any update on Brayden Coburn?

[looooob]

I think he was referring to Marc... not Eric.

thanks...makes sense

 

[FlyersFan10*]

I think what most people are forgetting is that a lot of young defensemen take time to develop. Don't rush Coburn, let him play. When he gets to Atlanta, you can bet that Hartley will have a program in place on what they expect from Coburn. Some players develp differently than others, so while Phaneuf and Suter may have opened the gap, it could be a different scenario in five years. Who knows, maybe Suter and Phaneuf have hit their peak and they might start on the decline from here. Nobody knows and that's the reality of it.

 

[Kaiped Krusader]

I haven't seen Coburn or Canada play in this tournament so I can't comment specifically but I do know he plays a pretty low-key style so if he's not standing out that might not necessarily be a bad thing. He's not the kind of guy that makes the highlight reel plays like huge hits or slapshots-for-goals that grab one's attention.

 

[bruins4777*]

Wow, calling a guy a bust when he has yet to even turn pro.....incredible. I can see you calling a guy of coburn's age a bust if he's a forward, but dmen ALWAYS take a while to develop. I'm sure everybody called pronger a bust before pronger met keenan, but look at pronger now. Once coburn starts to meet up with hartley, i'm sure a change will be seen.

 

[Evman*]

My question is

Has Shea Weber closed the gap on Coburn and Barker?

I think he has definitely closed the gap on both. Coburn has been very disappointing in the WJC. He's big...and not much else. He has no real skills that stand out to me. He's not nearly physical enough for a guy his size. He's a solid dman, but to be drafted before Phaneuf? Just terrible. He is not even close to Phaneuf and Suter.

Shea Weber has played pretty well IMO. I think he is rapidly approaching Coburn, maybe even passing him. Barker's a year younger, so it's harder to judge him.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I think what most people are forgetting is that a lot of young defensemen take time to develop. Don't rush Coburn, let him play. When he gets to Atlanta, you can bet that Hartley will have a program in place on what they expect from Coburn. Some players develp differently than others, so while Phaneuf and Suter may have opened the gap, it could be a different scenario in five years. Who knows, maybe Suter and Phaneuf have hit their peak and they might start on the decline from here. Nobody knows and that's the reality of it.

Nope. Haven't forgotten this at all. Coburn has been a regarded as an elite prospect well, well before his draft year. However he has not continued to develop to these very early projections and has since been passed by Phaneuf and Suter. It is not uncommon for a very young phenom. to lose ground in later years as other catch up in size, strength, and skill.

Can Coburn still emerge as an elite blueliner? Possibly. But it is also possible the kid developed younger and has less ceiling for growth in his game. I'm hopeful Coburn will emerge but my observations lead me to believe he will be a solid pro ... just not the uber franchise player many predicted when seeing him at 15 and 16.

 

[Kaiped Krusader]

Even by his draft year, he was no longer projected to be a franchise defenseman - just a stable #2 guy ala Mike Rathje that was solid defensively and could chip in 25 points or so a season. He was the "safe" pick of the three big d-men that year. Ironically, he's the one lagging behind the other two.

But as others pointed out, d-men almost always take a long time to really develop. It's way too early to be judging even forwards from that draft. Not saying we can't discuss them of course - that's what the board is for - but to say any 2003 picks are going to be studs or busts is premature.

 

[Go Flames Go*]

Making the age higher would be a great idea but it wont work. The NFL has rosters of 55 players so signing ready to go rookies who are developed at the age of 20-24 is easy and to insert them into the roster because they have matured and are mostly ready to contribute at the big level. The NHL has a 23 man roster and then the farm team which already have players, so drafting 9 or 10 players then giving them pro contracts because they are not eligible to go back to juniour or college you have to keep cutting players from your farm team to make room for the new guys which will make it even harder to develop later round players. PLus the NFL has a practice squad so there is tons of room on NFL rosters. It would be great to be able to draft a player in the 1st round who is 20, 21 developed and ready to turn pro right away, but it wont work.

 

[dunwoody_joe]

I see DW's decision on draft day 2003 to be reduced to this simple choice:

Coburn as the lower risk/lower return guy vs. Phaneuf as the higher risk/ higher return guy.

At that time, and to some degree now as well, Coburn was seen as a can't miss defensive-minded, not flashy, "will probably be strong defenseman for the next 15 years", guy. Not flash, no big hits just a defensively responsible rock that can be counted on night in and out for 20 minutes/game. Taking a turn on the penalty kill and covering for a more offensive-minded partner. The Thrashers could do a lot worse than 3 or 4 guys like that!

Phaneuf, on the other hand was the higher risk, flashy hits, a little wild and dangerous guy looking to knock out an opponent but occasionally being caught out of position, guy. Some worry (DW) about his defensive positioning. If he develops as scouts expected then he is an annual Norris candidate. But there was the risk that he wouldn't.

One year later, it seems that Phaneuf has developed exactly as the Flames expected and Coburn more slowly than DW expected.

I wanted Phaneuf then and I want him more now because guys with his skill set are very, very rare. I'll take Coburn over the others (then and now) because while seemingly slower developing, will still be a #1 pairing guy for a long time.

DW might have chosen the apparently safer play and missed, but he will still turn out just fine with Coburn.

Now the Valabik story is quite a bit more complicated!

 

[Blane Youngblood]

Based on what I've seen I think Coburn will have a career similar to Cory Cross (which IMO is excellent) while Phaneuf is probably more similar to Gary Suter (which is probably better). Of course Coburn could turn out to be similar to Pronger and Phaneuf could top out at a Scott Stevens, it all depends on development.

 

[xander]

bust

I think it's time we started a campaign to get this added to the word filter. If posters couldn't use this word I think it might dramatically raise the level of conversation.

 

[JohnnyRyall]

I've heard a handful of talk from the "what have you done for me lately" crowd about Coburn -- and granted, I kinda thought that way myself ... But if I'm reading this right, he's got 24 P (6-18) and 82 PIM in 35 GP this season -- also granted: I haven't seen any games, so maybe these are all sloppy points and bad penalties ... But it looks like he's on pace to set some career highs ...