Best rookie surprises/disappointments at training camp & preseason??

Fire Sweeney

Registered User
Jun 16, 2009
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Bergen
Boston

Positives:
Ryan Spooner - Always makes something happen
Lane Macdermid - Not much skill but a hard worker who will one day play on a 4th line in the NHL.
Dougie Hamilton - Good skating, passing, and shot, nice vision. An all-around defenseman who will be a star in the NHL.

Negatives
Jordan Caron - Not physical, not good offensively, no effort. Officially a 1st round bust.
Max Sauve - Looked awfully slow last night and lacked effort.
Cohen, Warsofsky - no chance at ever getting a shot in the NHL
 

NYR Viper

Registered User
Sep 9, 2007
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Jacksonville, FL
Rangers:

Shane McColgan - small and feisty with quite a bit of skill. I see Brad Marchand

JT Miller - Kid is a bull already at 18. Good playmaking ability and fits in with NHLers.

Dylan McIlrath - For all of the negative press this kid has gotten on these forums, he was the Rangers best defenseman last night against the Devils laying 2-3 big hits and clearing out the crease while blocking shots.
 

GM17*

Guest
Rangers:

Shane McColgan - small and feisty with quite a bit of skill. I see Brad Marchand

JT Miller - Kid is a bull already at 18. Good playmaking ability and fits in with NHLers.

Dylan McIlrath - For all of the negative press this kid has gotten on these forums, he was the Rangers best defenseman last night against the Devils laying 2-3 big hits and clearing out the crease while blocking shots.

He got flak not because he wasn't good. He got it because of who he was drafted over (namely Fowler) and at the time NYR seemed to be more in need of a player like Fowler.
 

Levitate

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Jul 29, 2004
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He got flak not because he wasn't good. He got it because of who he was drafted over (namely Fowler) and at the time NYR seemed to be more in need of a player like Fowler.

Nah, plenty of people thought or still think that he's not very good, and that it was a gigantic reach for the Rangers to draft him where they did. Turns out other teams wanted him in that range too

The Rangers also had Del Zotto coming off of an impressive rookie season that year and Fowler looked to be a similar, albeit much less physical version of Del Zotto

Still not a fan of the pick (would have taken Tarasenko) but I dunno...you can see the potential in him that intrigued the Rangers and other teams. Real big guy who hasn't grown into his body yet, has a mean streak, but is also a good skater for his size and age and handles the puck well. But he still has a long ways to go...needs to get better at skating, mainly his pivoting and general mobility, and needs to go from thinking the game to instinctively playing the game.

But you can see the potential for a top 4 defenseman who is mean, throws big hits, beats down anyone who goes after him for those hits, and can move the puck effectively enough to be an asset in that area (unlike most big physical defensemen who end up being third pairing guys because their puck skills are poor).

Needs to get better at defense though too...sounds like he had a better preseason game than he had prospects tournament, but he's gotta get better at gaps and positioning in the defensive zone, especially on the rush. A lot of that just takes lots of practice though, and he's a smart guy
 

HuGo Sham

MR. CLEAN-up ©Runner77
Apr 7, 2010
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Montreal
The kid wasn't getting his just due in the draft IMO. I had him in the top 10, kid has all kinds of skill as well as size and sandpaper.

I'm not the type to spew hyperbole about prospects simply because they play for my favorite team ,but Beaulieu if he stays healthy, is going to be a special player. All kinds of skill. Him and Subban might make a scary duo in a couple of years.

and brendan Galagher, all 5'8 of him is going to be a very good NHLer too. 40+ goal scorer in the W is nothing to laugh at.
While many hab fans don't always agree with the organizational philosophy to always, always draft skill over everything else, they do tend to hit a few home runs outside the 1st round because of this - and Gallagher is no exception to this rule
 

eXile59

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Jan 2, 2009
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Joe Morrow-looked amazing for the Pens last night. His skating, size, shot, and first pass all looked pro level. A lot of Pens fans were upset with this pick because "Wezz wantzzz Winerzzz for Sidzzz" but this guy was a steal and not that far off from playing in the NHL even on a deep team like the Pens.
 

MarkovtoSubban

Registered User
Mar 11, 2009
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Toronto
Watched BUF-MTL last night, Beaulieu has a WOW factor!:amazed::amazed:

Gallagher and Avtsin also showed some high end skill.

Sabres Gragnani played very well, and Adam and Foligno look ready to step up to ride with Ennis and Gerbe. Nice little core group there.

Kassian is a slug though. So slow and so predictable.
 

HanSolo

DJ Crazy Times
Apr 7, 2008
97,125
31,684
Las Vegas
For the Ducks vs Sharks:
Andrew Gordon continues to impress. He was one of the best forwards on the ice, and had the Ducks' only goal.

That is all.

Deschamps, Schofield, Clark and Bonino were the other rookies to play but they didn't look too special in any kind of way.

Clark at least showed that he still has NHL potential.
 

Saugus

Ecrasez l'infame!
Jun 17, 2009
105,031
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Connecticut
It's no surprise at all, but Larsson is impressing at Devils camp.

Keith Kinkaid played half the game in net last night, and he was very good. First time I'd seen him in professional action, and I came away impressed.
 

bishop12

Ovyously
Dec 1, 2006
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Gustav Nyquist

“What I saw in the rookie camp is Nyquist is going to be an NHL player for sure,'' Babcock said Tuesday. “When is he going to be that?''

“He's like Pav (Datsyuk) in that he skates faster with the puck than he does without it, creates space every time he's on the ice,'' Babcock said. “He's professional with and without the puck. Looks like a hockey player. He's an NHL player.''

“I think (Gustav) Nyquist is very impressive."

"Nyquist is a real good hockey player."

~Mike Babcock

“He put a good move on me I wasn't expecting,'' Stuart said. "He looks like a solid player, pretty skilled. Seems to be pretty smart. He's impressive.''

~ Brad Stuart

“I haven't seen him play before, heard good things about him,'' Detroit's Niklas Kronwall said. "It's fun to see a guy like that come in and do so well at his age. He's a pretty mature guy off the ice. Pretty impressed with him.''

~Nicklas Kronwall

Can't wait to see him play....in 13-14.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
Tagging on to the Wild, while the prospects aren't terribly exciting, Phillips will debut tonight and has looked great. If the team hadn't made moves for Heatley and Seto, he might have a shot to make the team.

Hackett has also looked fantastic in net and should be our future starter if he keeps it up.

Also, another positive would be the fact that most of our best prospects aren't even here...Granlund, Brodin, and Larsson are all overseas and Zucker, Coyle, and Lucia aren't at camp because of NCAA rules.

Disappointments would be injuries and illness from Cuma, Almond, and Wellman. Also, Falk and Prosser didn't look so good in the preseason game and they're supposed to be challenging for NHL spots.
 

Manny*

Guest
I liked Beaulieu for the Habs. He had a really strong game.

Cowen continues to impress for the Sens. Him and Gonchar formed our best defensive pairing last night against Boston. Prince looked much better than I expected. Rundblad had another rough game. Looks like AHL for him.

Zibanejad doesn't look comfortable out there. He tries to do too much with the puck, likely to impress the coaching staff, but it hasn't worked out for him thus far. He hasn't shown his great passing ability at all, either. He was credited with the most scoring chances for the Sens against the Bruins, though, and scored a beauty to win it in overtime. He'll get better.
 

palffytofrovlov

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Apr 4, 2003
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Los Angeles
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Kings vs Phoenix in Phoenix- Toffoli had a goal and assist, and didn't look out of place.

In Los Angeles, Voynov had a goal, Hickey also had won but was waived off on a phantom goaltender interference call on Clifford...
 

eXile59

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Jan 2, 2009
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I may not be impartial being from around Pittsburgh but Saad looked pretty good for the Hawks tonight. I can't believe he fell so far because he has all the skills you look for in a NHL player.
 
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Jason MacIsaac

Registered User
Jan 13, 2004
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Halifax, NS
But you can see the potential for a top 4 defenseman who is mean, throws big hits, beats down anyone who goes after him for those hits, and can move the puck effectively enough to be an asset in that area (unlike most big physical defensemen who end up being third pairing guys because their puck skills are poor).
Personally I seen nothing more then Mark Stuart type of defensmen....maybe I'm wrong though. Being a really poor skater will hurt his chances at being a top shutdown defensmen.
 

Intangir

Registered User
Aug 14, 2008
1,696
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Montreal, QC
For Montreal prospects as I see it:


Had very good performances

Beaulieu (good play in all zones, could increase strength, some errors in coverage, pinches quite a bit with decent results and timing, made some great plays out there and looks quite 'Subban-lite')
Gallagher (hustle, dangles, good speed, good shot and hockey sense, high energy, willingness to go in traffic despite small stature... I like)
Yemelin (passes well, checks hard, good hockey sense, has a decent shot, good speed, not too many positionning errors, solid defensive coverage aside from a few bad plays early in the first game)


Have shown flashes, but...

Avtsin (great speed for his size, good dangles and shot, makes good passes, doesn't position himself too well, defensive liability, does not make good use of his teammates, lack of energy on the backcheck, tries to dangle a bit too much, needs to get stronger)
Diaz (played quite good, didn't make too many mistakes, but he wasn't particularly dominant either, has a good shot and can man a PP, defensive acumen is probably a bit sup-par, a bit below-average as far as physicality and strength)
Weber (played a bit better than Diaz, but had the same flaws in his game so far as I see it)
Dumont (energetic, willing to put his body at risk, a bit above-average speed, seems to have problems reading plays, too many useless shots, falls a bit too much, unspectacular offense, good forecheck, great energy guy)


Were average

DeSimone (was good on the forecheck, seemed to be able to put pressure on the puck carrier, otherwise un-noticeable)
Engqvist (solid defensively but unspectacular, pretty poor offensively, made few mistakes, was okay on faceoffs even though he lost his fair share)
Tinordi (thought about putting him one tier below but some of his plays on the defensive end persuaded me to do otherwise)
Schultz (not much to talk about aside from his fight)
Trotter (made good plays, but hangs on to the puck too long, way too fancy at times, some turnovers)
Henry (played as the veteran AHLer he is out there, played decent but wasn't too noticeable both positively and negatively, was quite slow, had trouble passing the puck when under pressure, miscommunication with his defensive partner happened a few times)
Mayer (made some good saves out there but wasn't really that threatened by Buffalo players aside from a few occasions, seemed to lose the puck a few times behind his net and on PKs, decent lateral agility, moves too much in his crease, didn't allow too many juicy rebounds)


Poor or slightly poor showing

Palushaj (was really trying out there but failed to make any big plays, pretty fast, has a good shot, doesn't really contribute thaht much defensively, was decent on the forecheck)
St. Denis (same as Henry, but a bit worse IMO)
Berger (didn't show much at all)


Downright horrendous

Bishop (...)
 
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