C Michael Rasmussen - Tri-City Americans, WHL (2017, 9th, DET)

[Go Wings]

He was in the discussion with Rasmussen when it came time to pick but lower on their board. The same tier of player though if you will.

Okay cool thanks.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I mean I am tired of the Vilardi talk as a Wings fan. I wish him luck with the Kings, they are an organization that has developed heavier guys some not with the greatest feet before. I think it was an ideal landing spot for him to at least try being a center at the NHL with cover from two vets in Carter and Kopitar. But he wasn't even in the conversation when the Wings walked to the podium last year. I know that from people I trust around the team, they graded him out as a winger only not believing he could play center at the NHL level and he wasn't in the tier of players they were discussing with the pick in terms of his board placement on their 2017 board. Call them out for that sure, but it is fascinating that so many are focused on a player that had utterly no chance of being a Red Wings player unless he fell to the second round... Time will tell but they had him down their board like several other teams, they just weren't very high on him. Necas is a different story.

Tell that to your own fans, they constantly come up with Vilardi.

Besides, just that they (Detroit) werent high on him, doesnt mean they cant be wrong and people cant talk about it because you are tired of it. Not saying they are wrong because right now they are just two prospects who havent done anything at NHL level but just saying.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Yeah exactly. Size and good skating are 2 of the aspects that get guys drafted highly and become productive in the NHL. Vilardi is considered big at 6'3 but the difference from him and your average 6 foot player is the same as the difference from Rasmussen and Vilardi.

Vilardi is a big player, Rasmussen could end up one of, if not the biggest players in the entire league once Chara and Myers are gone. Certainly a good chance of being the biggest forward in the entire league

it looks like you missed the point entirely.

Size is getting less important but surely is nice to have. Yet kinda odd to come up with size compared to a player who is big as well.

Skating is very important but Rasmussen is no speedster either.

Point is there are a truckload of other aspects that could make a player great.

 

[Bevans]

it looks like you missed the point entirely.

Size is getting less important but surely is nice to have. Yet kinda odd to come up with size compared to a player who is big as well.

Skating is very important but Rasmussen is no speedster either.

Point is there are a truckload of other aspects that could make a player great.

You're just jealous of Rasmussen because you're only Frolov 6'3.

 

[newfy]

it looks like you missed the point entirely.

Size is getting less important but surely is nice to have. Yet kinda odd to come up with size compared to a player who is big as well.

Skating is very important but Rasmussen is no speedster either.

Point is there are a truckload of other aspects that could make a player great.

No I get the point, you dont think its important anymore. I do. My point is that Vilardi isnt big when compared to Rasmussen. Vilardi is considered big, Rasmussen is considered possibly the biggest forward in the NHL. You can think size isnt important anymore but it is. Size without skating is considered useless now because guys cant hook and hold to make up for it. Guys like Rasmussen who are enormous and can actually skate are at an even bigger premium in todays NHL because theres no more Derian Hatchers to move him from the front of the net.

Rasmussen finished 5th in the skating drills at the combine in his draft year which combines speed and agility testing, not sure that your assessment of his skating is correct either. His skating is miles ahead of Vilardi with 3 inches of size as well

 

[Frolov 6'3]

No I get the point, you dont think its important anymore. I do. My point is that Vilardi isnt big when compared to Rasmussen. Vilardi is considered big, Rasmussen is considered possibly the biggest forward in the NHL. You can think size isnt important anymore but it is. Size without skating is considered useless now because guys cant hook and hold to make up for it. Guys like Rasmussen who are enormous and can actually skate are at an even bigger premium in todays NHL because theres no more Derian Hatchers to move him from the front of the net.

Rasmussen finished 5th in the skating drills at the combine in his draft year which combines speed and agility testing, not sure that your assessment of his skating is correct either. His skating is miles ahead of Vilardi with 3 inches of size as well

Dude again, almost the whole draft class of 2017 is smaller than Rasmussen and a better skater than Vilardi.

Still Vilardi was good enough to get picked 11th overall.
Could it be that he is 6’3” himself and that he’s very good in so many other things, despite of his skating issues ?

If you use size against him, than according to you Ras is the next best thing because everyone is smaller than him.

 

[newfy]

Dude again, almost the whole draft class of 2017 is smaller than Rasmussen and a better skater than Vilardi.

Still Vilardi was good enough to get picked 11th overall.
Could it be that he is 6’3” himself and that he’s very good in so many other things, despite of his skating issues ?

If you use size against him, than according to you Ras is the next best thing because everyone is smaller than him.

I think youre missing the point. I dont think Vilardi is bad at all, he might end up better than Rasmussen. I'm just saying theres reasons why Rasmussen was drafted that high, ahead of Vilardi. Theyre not on some different tier of prospects from one another like some would let on. Vilardi is one of a couple guys that is always brought up when people say Rasmussen went way higher than he should've. People want to use Vilardi as an example of a better prospect, but Rasmussen produces at the same rate as him post surgery, while being bigger, a better skater and better defensively. Rasmussen is performing to his draft spot right now is all I'm saying

Part of the reason that Rasmussen went higher than 99% of the players drafted in the 2017 draft is that he is that big. Thats definitely part of the package thats enticing. Chara wouldnt be Chara if he wasnt 6'9.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I think youre missing the point. I dont think Vilardi is bad at all, he might end up better than Rasmussen. I'm just saying theres reasons why Rasmussen was drafted that high, ahead of Vilardi. Theyre not on some different tier of prospects from one another like some would let on. Vilardi is one of a couple guys that is always brought up when people say Rasmussen went way higher than he should've. People want to use Vilardi as an example of a better prospect, but Rasmussen produces at the same rate as him post surgery, while being bigger, a better skater and better defensively. Rasmussen is performing to his draft spot right now is all I'm saying

Part of the reason that Rasmussen went higher than 99% of the players drafted in the 2017 draft is that he is that big. Thats definitely part of the package thats enticing. Chara wouldnt be Chara if he wasnt 6'9.

I think you are missing the point. I dont think Rasmussen is bad at all, he might end up being better than anyone else. I'm just saying theres a reason why Rasmussen was drafted that high, ahead of others and that is size.

So using size as argument is kinda a moot point when others have size too but most importantly might have much better vision, stickhandling, agility, shooting and passing skills.

So to come back to your original post. You said you didnt understand why people think he was drafted too high, because he was bigger and a better skater...nice and well....
but apparantely people think those other available draftees were much better at everything else.

 

[newfy]

I think you are missing the point. I dont think Rasmussen is bad at all, he might end up being better than anyone else. I'm just saying theres a reason why Rasmussen was drafted that high, ahead of others and that is size.

So using size as argument is kinda a moot point when others have size too but most importantly might have much better vision, stickhandling, agility, shooting and passing skills.

So to come back to your original post. You said you didnt understand why people think he was drafted too high, because he was bigger and a better skater...nice and well....
but apparantely people think those other available draftees were much better at everything else.

I guess you have a point, but I'm also saying that based on how he played this year... hes shown he has solid vision and the ability to score at the level of a 9th overall pick. Thats what started all of this conversation. At the time of the draft people thought he was picked too high because of just size but its time people change their narrative a bit after the year he just had. Any time a big guy gets picked early people think its because he was big, Rasmussen is getting the short end of that stick a bit. You also keep saying others have size, but a 6'3 guy is significantly smaller than him. No forwards have that kind of size, some are big but he is big to the point that a 6'3 player is going to struggle to handle him

If he didnt have ability outside of his size he wouldnt have been picked that high or played that well last season. And he definitely wouldnt be making Detroit as a 19 year old which seems incredibly likely next season.

 

[lilidk]

A lot of talked about his size but what is it his strength and weaknesses?

 

[LarKing]

Strengths: Size, skating, shot, net-front presence

Weaknesses: He’s not Vilardi

 

[Dominance]

Strengths: Size, skating, shot, net-front presence

Weaknesses: He’s not Vilardi

I’d add defensive responsibility and offensive IQ as other highly noteable strengths.

 

[TheMule93]

Too many red wing fans with massive inferiority complexes here in regards to vilardi

 

[LarKing]

Too many red wing fans with massive inferiority complexes here in regards to vilardi

Lol it was moreso a joke at this point. But yeah let’s generalize.

 

[Claypool]

A lot of talked about his size but what is it his strength and weaknesses?

Strengths:

Weaknesses: Drafted before Vilardi

 

[newfy]

A lot of talked about his size but what is it his strength and weaknesses?

Strengths would be size, skating, hockey IQ, puck protection work ethic/leadership and his biggest strength is goal scoring touch around the net.

Weaknesses would be his agility because hes so big and his shot from outside is nothing special.

Hes more one of those really well rounded prospects where his weaknesses arent all that bad but outside of his goal scoring ability around the net none are absolutely elite either I wouldnt say. Size isnt a skill but he would be 99th percentile for size, and his skating for that size I would consider pretty elite but hes not a Larkin or McDavid either

 

[93LEAFS]

Strengths would be size, skating, hockey IQ, puck protection work ethic/leadership and his biggest strength is goal scoring touch around the net.

Weaknesses would be his agility because hes so big and his shot from outside is nothing special.

Hes more one of those really well rounded prospects where his weaknesses arent all that bad but outside of his goal scoring ability around the net none are absolutely elite either I wouldnt say. Size isnt a skill but he would be 99th percentile for size, and his skating for that size I would consider pretty elite but hes not a Larkin or McDavid either

His skating isn't elite for his size. Big guys like Bouwmeester, Hedman, and Wheeler blow him out of the water. It's good for his size and at best above-average compared to most NHLers.

 

[newfy]

His skating isn't elite for his size. Big guys like Bouwmeester, Hedman, and Wheeler blow him out of the water. It's good for his size and at best above-average compared to most NHLers.

Wheeler I'll wait and see. Hes a great/elite skater but was 185 lbs when drafted, and likely plays around 215. Hes a hard guy to gauge in a conversation like this. I dont know that Rasmusesn will be a better skater (I doubt it) but I think he can maybe be somewhat close eventually. Wheeler was a late bloomer/somewhat weird pick that put it together a long time after his draft. He was an absolute bean pole but now that hes a decade into his NHL career hes similar size to Rasmussen while being a better skater. 10 years from now I could see Rasmussen either a) improving his skating closer to Wheeler or b) becoming much heavier than Wheeler where the size comparison doesnt hold water. Theyre different body types.

Forwards in the NHL who are around the size of Rasmussen now include guys like Brian Boyle, Hanzal, McCarron, the Hayes brothers, Ross Johnston, Mantha and Freddy Gauthier. I think Rasmussen is a better skater than all except Wheeler and is pretty even with Mantha (who as a wings fan I also consider borderline elite for his skating at that sizw)

Maybe elite wasnt the right word, but hes very very good. Its hard to even find forwards his size to compare to though, and its probably mostly semantics as well. I dont think youre wrong comparing a guy like Bouwmeester necessarily because theyre both considered big players once you hit around 6'3 or 6'4. But its the same as calling a 5'10, 180lb player the same size as a 6' 200lb player the same size which would never happen either.

 

[TwoPiece]

Hey guys. I know this isn't the place for intros, but I just wanted to mention that I've been a lurker for many years, following Red Wing prospects for 10+ years and most prospects pre-selection since before the 2015 Entry Draft.

In my amateur opinion, if the 2017 Entry Draft was re-selected today, I would be happy if Detroit drafted Rasmussen as high as 5th overall. I was very unhappy with the selection at the time, but after everything I've seen of him and most other players taken last summer, I personally rate him as the 5th best player of that draft as of right now.

 

[Tryamkin]

Hey guys. I know this isn't the place for intros, but I just wanted to mention that I've been a lurker for many years, following Red Wing prospects for 10+ years and most prospects pre-selection since before the 2015 Entry Draft.

In my amateur opinion, if the 2017 Entry Draft was re-selected today, I would be happy if Detroit drafted Rasmussen as high as 5th overall. I was very unhappy with the selection at the time, but after everything I've seen of him and most other players taken last summer, I personally rate him as the 5th best player of that draft as of right now.

Good post, I full agree, Rasmussen isn’t the sleight, speedy stickhandler that is tantalizing to the masses, but he’s got what it takes.

 

[PKWeber]

I have a feeling he will end up being another Logan Brown. Definitely doesn’t go top 10 in a re-draft.

 

[Christien]

I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people next season and have a good year.

 

[Mrb1p]

I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people next season and have a good year.

He had a pretty good year already.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I have a feeling he will end up being another Logan Brown. Definitely doesn’t go top 10 in a re-draft.

Brown in his D+1 put up 14 goals and 30 assists in 42 games, regular season and playoffs in the OHL.
Rasmussen in his D+1 put up 47 goals and 45 assists in 61 games, regular season and playoffs in the WHL. That's 48 more points in 19 more games just comparing D+1 years. Rasmussen went from a point per game rate of 1.10 to 1.51 from D to D+1 while Brown went from a point per game rate of 1.25 to 1.05 from D to D+1.

You're comparing someone who had a career year in his draft year and immediately regressed substantially the next year to someone who showed a big step forward the year following his draft. You picked a big bodied center that showed regression to diminish Rasmussen's re-draft value, which means nothing to begin with, despite nothing indicating that he is going to have the same struggles.

 

[Claypool]

I have a feeling he will end up being another Logan Brown. Definitely doesn’t go top 10 in a re-draft.

So far, everything points to him being an impact player at the NHL level. Good try, though.