Brian Little

[thrashers=cup05]

Can anyone tell me anything about him.

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[Amadeus]

underrated skater.

 

[Rather Gingerly 1*]

Didn't he have concussion problems?

 

[badrobot101]

Small, good hands, good skater, goes to the net well.

 

[superjonathan]

Didn't he have concussion problems?

if by concussion problems you mean a concussion last year in the playoffs then yes.

 

[Rather Gingerly 1*]

Small, good hands, good skater, goes to the net well.

He's not really that small...he's almost 195 lbs as an 18 year old

 

[Sebastien Centomo]

He's not really that small...he's almost 195 lbs as an 18 year old

Apparently his size doesn't matter anyhow. In THN's Future Watch a scout said something along the lines of 'he's built like a fire hydrant, his size is not an issue.'

 

[Beesfan]

He's not really that small...he's almost 195 lbs as an 18 year old

Also, if he really is 5'11 as listed, then he's really not that short. One could create a VERY long list of great NHL forwards this height or shorter.

 

[TylerT]

I was also wondering if his stats were bloated at all this year, as he out scored J. Staal by a considerable margin this year in the ohl, however Staal is a consensus top 5 pick, and little may slip to the 10-15 range. Any ideas why??

 

[Sebastien Centomo]

I was also wondering if his stats were bloated at all this year, as he out scored J. Staal by a considerable margin this year in the ohl, however Staal is a consensus top 5 pick, and little may slip to the 10-15 range. Any ideas why??

Remember that Little is almost a full year older than Staal. In Little's second OHL season he scored 68 points in 62 games. Staal had 68 in 68 this year, his second in the OHL.

Also the differance between 6'3, 200 lbs and 5'10/11, 190 lbs. Plus being a Staal helps.

 

[badrobot101]

Also, if he really is 5'11 as listed, then he's really not that short. One could create a VERY long list of great NHL forwards this height or shorter.

He's not that tall. And I don't believe he's 195 either. Don't forget that many of these personal attributes are "padded" i.e. outright lies.

For example, when Mike Komisarek was drafted, he was listed as approx. 6'3". My cousin met him on draft day and says that he was 6'0", or 6'1" at most.

Bryan Little looks very small to me.

 

[MentalPowerHouse]

If he is 5'10 or 5'11 he is decent enough height that I wouldn't worry about it, if he is smaller then yeah its still an issue but not so much anymore especially if he can skate and if he is built as they say.

The difference in draft rank between him and Stall is that when everyone thinks of franchise centers they think Eric Staal, Vinny, Thornton, Sundin, Modano etc. as in Big tall guys. The reality is the best franchise centers in the last 20 years have been Gretzky, Yzerman, Sakic, Mario, and even now Brad Richards is up there (conn smyth), and non of those guys are big other than Mario and he wasn't physical either.

 

[Seph]

If he is 5'10 or 5'11 he is decent enough height that I wouldn't worry about it, if he is smaller then yeah its still an issue but not so much anymore especially if he can skate and if he is built as they say.

That's the other side to it, he's not an elite skater either. He's not a bad skater, but he's not the kind of guy whose skating you notice as really standing out. Generally top 10 guys are guys who have at least two of great skating, great size or great skills. Things like grit and character also come into play, but historically seem to be secondary to the aforementioned qualities. Little only has one of those traits, and that will likely affect his position on draft day.

 

[Blind Gardien]

I was also wondering if his stats were bloated at all this year, as he out scored J. Staal by a considerable margin this year in the ohl, however Staal is a consensus top 5 pick, and little may slip to the 10-15 range. Any ideas why??

According to the CSB rankings, they measured him themselves and list him at 5-10/190.

I've seen Barrie around 20 times now this year. That size looks ok. I'm a bit surprised by the 190... while it's true that Little does seem to carry a bit of stocky strength, it's somewhat rare that it manifests itself in much extra mass at 18. It probably bodes well for his ability to play at 200+ as a pro.

But all the same, that 5-10 is always a worry for NHL scouts it seems. For a smaller guy, they'd like to see it offset by blazing speed and quickness to compensate. And Little doesn't seem to have that quickness. Which is the largest reason IMO why he gets underrated and has a chance to drop in the rankings, perhaps even below the 10-15 range.

I don't think it's a very valid reason, mind you. Little is by no means slow or a poor skater. He's actually quite decent. But he doesn't play a shifty game, and he rarely blows by anybody or appears to be outskating anybody. I'm not sure that it's impossible for him to do so, though. Guys like Kyle Wellwood, Corey Locke, Yanic Perrault were slow out of junior. Much slower than Little. But they've all picked up their speed and shiftiness as pros. Part of it comes down to the fact that they just process the game at a much higher speed then the rest of the OHL competition, and so they never really develop a need for speed at that level. I think Little falls into that category. He has time to make his plays and see what he wants to do, and he makes full use of that time delay that he gets with his extra hockey sense. But I'd be willing to bet that once he steps up to higher competition, he'll find more need to develop and utilize his footspeed too, and he'll start to look much quicker down the road.

$.02, FWIW.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

I was also wondering if his stats were bloated at all this year, as he out scored J. Staal by a considerable margin this year in the ohl, however Staal is a consensus top 5 pick, and little may slip to the 10-15 range. Any ideas why??

First of all, Little is a year older than Staal. Actually, he's 10 months older, but his late birthday means he will have played three seasons in the OHL before becoming draft eligible.

If you want to compare numbers, compare Little's numbers last year to Staal's this year.

Little as a 17-year-old scored 36 goals and 32 assists for 68 points in 62 games. This year Staal had 28 goals and 40 assists in 68 games. Little has the edge, but what gets scouts excited is the potential. Jordan Staal has a great skating stride that will enable him to become a much better player when he gets stronger and grows into his body. Little will also improve, but the feeling among scouts is probably that Staal has a higher ceiling, hence the higher ranking. Lots of people knocking Staal say he could be the next Chris Gratton. Well, Bryan Little could be the next Sheldon Keefe, too. Scouting is not an exact science and a lot of things are out of a team's control once they draft a kid.

With regard to development, it has a much to do with the attitude and character of the kid as it does with talent. Attitude and character are very difficult to measure. If Staal has plus attitude and plus character (which I think he does), watch out.

 

[Lucifer_Devils]

Taking the agression side away, would you say he's somewhere between Alex Bourret and Gilbert Brule on the skill chart form a short guy if you look at recent draft ?

 

[Blind Gardien]

Taking the agression side away, would you say he's somewhere between Alex Bourret and Gilbert Brule on the skill chart form a short guy if you look at recent draft ?

I guess I don't see those guys often enough to be sure, but I'd suggest he's essentially equal to Brule on the skill chart. Less dynamic, more visionary, but essentially equal. The only thing that would put him below would be the lack of aggression. Except maybe it's actually an advantage to be less aggressive at their size? And Little seems to be pretty robust too. It might add up to actually making him more useful than Brule ultimately to a team.

 

[badrobot101]

1 goal, 3 assists tonight in a losing cause. Size or not, he's a hell of a talented player.

 

[Nielson81]

Hey Guys

If you check out our HF Podcast today, Brian Little and Jordan Staal are the topics of discussion with OHL Consultant Aaron Bell.

www.hockeysfutureradio.com

Dustin
HF Radio

 

[Jovofan]

Bryan Little is a player who intrigues me a lot as well. The only downside is that being on the west coast we never get to see him play, this thread has been a great read and I appreciate everybody's insight. How do you think he'll project in the NHL? Would he develop into a first line player or is 2nd line a best case scenario for him?

 

[Form and Substance]

He's not that tall. And I don't believe he's 195 either. Don't forget that many of these personal attributes are "padded" i.e. outright lies.

For example, when Mike Komisarek was drafted, he was listed as approx. 6'3". My cousin met him on draft day and says that he was 6'0", or 6'1" at most.

Bryan Little looks very small to me.

I dunno about you but Komisarek towered over Savard at draft table, and Savard is 5'11-6'0. He looked a good 4-5 inches taller so 6'4 seems about right.

As for Bryan Little, agreed, he doesn't look much more than 5'10 and the same goes to Crosby.

 

[Cush]

Hey Guys

If you check out our HF Podcast today, Brian Little and Jordan Staal are the topics of discussion with OHL Consultant Aaron Bell.

www.hockeysfutureradio.com

Dustin
HF Radio

I'm getting the Toews interview

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

I dunno about you but Komisarek towered over Savard at draft table, and Savard is 5'11-6'0. He looked a good 4-5 inches taller so 6'4 seems about right.

As for Bryan Little, agreed, he doesn't look much more than 5'10 and the same goes to Crosby.

Savard is like 5'9''.

 

[Amadeus]

Bryan Little is a player who intrigues me a lot as well. The only downside is that being on the west coast we never get to see him play, this thread has been a great read and I appreciate everybody's insight. How do you think he'll project in the NHL? Would he develop into a first line player or is 2nd line a best case scenario for him?

IMO he has the potential to become a first line player. He can really score in bunches, and is pretty physical. I really like him too. His leadership is also an asset.

 

[Blind Gardien]

Bryan Little is a player who intrigues me a lot as well. The only downside is that being on the west coast we never get to see him play, this thread has been a great read and I appreciate everybody's insight. How do you think he'll project in the NHL? Would he develop into a first line player or is 2nd line a best case scenario for him?

I don't think you could say 2nd line is "best case" for him. Clearly he could be a 1st liner. But because it comes with conditions (can he pick up his speed? will he continue to overcome the size disadvantage?) not many are going to come right out and predict it. Certainly there have been guys who have done just as much and looked just as good in the OHL who never even made it to the NHL. There is still a development curve to climb. I'm in the camp that believes Little will always find a way to keep climbing on that curve.

But he's also a strong character player and determined guy, so there's always a possibility that at some point he'll find a coach or a situation where he gets called on to really bend his game in a different direction, and if he does, he could end up being a smart and capable two-way type player too, a Peca or Drury type. I wouldn't say that's likely. But at least he has that potential versatility somewhere in the spectrum of his potential, along with the possibility that he becomes a 1st or 2nd line offensive type.