Confirmed with Link: Canes select D Haydn Fleury 7th overall

[FlyingSquirrels]

Let me first say that I respect everything that Dave says, and he/you are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to all things Canes Hockey.

My only opinion on this particular subject is that when picking 7th overall, you should be hoping for more than a 4-6 dman. that is not what i consider a difference maker on an NHL hockey team.

Top 6/4 means a top 6 F or a top 4 D. He means he will develop into a D-man that will settle into a role of a 1-4 D. We certainly hope a #1, but no one really knows at this point.

 

[bluedevil58*]

Let me first say that I respect everything that Dave says, and he/you are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to all things Canes Hockey.

My only opinion on this particular subject is that when picking 7th overall, you should be hoping for more than a 4-6 dman. that is not what i consider a difference maker on an NHL hockey team.

OK here we go. Let's talk. Ritchie, did he have the potential to make the team this year? He seemed to be what we needed. ...

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

OK here we go. Let's talk. Ritchie, did he have the potential to make the team this year? He seemed to be what we needed. ...

People, we are more than one 18 year old kid away from being decent this year. Why rush it?? We need about 5 years of solid scouting, drafting and developing before we will compete. I think Lindholm, Pesce and these kids from this draft are a nice start.

Let's face it, JR left this franchise in shambles.

 

[Novacane]

I'm calling it now. Some here will go crazy when Ritchie makes the Anaheim team while Fleury goes back to Red Deer. Lindholm/Nichushkin 2.0.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

OK here we go. Let's talk. Ritchie, did he have the potential to make the team this year? He seemed to be what we needed. ...

ritchie is 18

 

[TheOllieC]

Let me first say that I respect everything that Dave says, and he/you are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to all things Canes Hockey.

My only opinion on this particular subject is that when picking 7th overall, you should be hoping for more than a 4-6 dman. that is not what i consider a difference maker on an NHL hockey team.

In a way it's like the Ryan Murray pick, to a slighter degree. High floors, with potential to still reach a fairly high ceiling.

Fleury's floor is likely a mid/bottom pairing defenseman in the NHL. It's not a sexy pick and it's not gonna have immediate impact. He can still certainly become more than that and he has the skill to do so, but we need to see more of him and how he develops first. In a way it's a safe pick because he'll contribute one way or another, you just assume the risk of having him not reach that maximum ceiling. While other players like an Ehlers or Nylander have big offensive potential and tons of skill, but it's more unclear (in comparison to Fleury for example) if they will reach it and contribute at that high of a level in the NHL. So it's a gamble.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Right after the pick:

NO!!!!!!!

A day later:

I really like this pick now. We are building from the back end. Smart move.

2 days later:

OK here we go. Let's talk. Ritchie, did he have the potential to make the team this year? He seemed to be what we needed. ...

 

[bluedevil58*]

I was asking a question. Not criticizing the pick.

 

[spockBokk]

This isn't the NBA. Exepcting an 18yr old to make the team is ludicrous. Lindholm should have been sent back to Sweden last year. JR rushed the kid, as he did with many draft picks. The expectation should be that the absolute earliest Fleury plays for us is next year. Ideally, he's 2-3 yrs away, so he has ample time junior and the AHL to round out his game.

Ritchie's fat ass will probably be sent back to junior this year, but when he scores a goal in a meaningless preseason game, someone here will freak out and go off on how we made the biggest mistake ever by drafting Fleury over him.

 

[bluedevil58*]

That was the concerning thing about Ritchie. He looked fat.....

 

[What the Faulk]

Lindholm should have been in the AHL last year. Going back to Sweden would have done nothing for him. But after the WJC, he finally looked healthy and like an NHLer. If he's going to play in the Top 6 all year with a ton of PP time, I expect 20/20 out of him.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Lindholm should have been in the AHL last year. Going back to Sweden would have done nothing for him. But after the WJC, he finally looked healthy and like an NHLer. If he's going to play in the Top 6 all year with a ton of PP time, I expect 20/20 out of him.

Just curious as I don't know the leagues in Sweden that well, but why do you feel that (at his age) going back to play in Sweden would have done nothing for him? His previous season in the SHL he had 30 points in 48 games, so it wasn't like he was dominant over there.

I do agree it would have been nice to have him playing in the AHL for a year, just curious why you feel playing in Sweden wouldn't have been equally beneficial.

 

[Buenos Necas]

Ice size. Getting used to playing the game in NA.

 

[bluedevil58*]

Ice size. Getting used to playing the game in NA.

He got lit up quite a few times. It took him half a season to fully adjust. I saw him going to the locker room far less during the 2nd half of the season. At first, it seemed like every other game Lindholm was going to the locker room after a hit. I was really scared for the kid.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

today i learned that the elitserien is called the shl as of last year

 

[What the Faulk]

Ice size. Getting used to playing the game in NA.

Yeah, exactly. Plus, I think the AHL isn't too far of a step below some of the European leagues, if at all. So roughly the same competition level, but getting used to the North American style of play.

 

[Joe McGrath]

In an effort to get this thread back to Fleury, looks like as.Vagrant pointed out, he relies mostly on quick release wristlets from the point which is truly odd. Sure looks like he gets them through and on net though. His lateral movement is impressive for a guy his size from what I can tell. His rushes up the left side remind me of Brett Hedican but it probably only looks like that because the guys he's up against aren't strong skaters to begin with .

 

[the halleJOKEL]

i actually love this pick because i enjoy having defensemen that can actually skate at an NHL level, something of which we haven't had more than two per season since like 2007

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Ok, It makes sense that it might be more beneficial to be in the AHL due to NA game and rink size, but I find it hard to accept that he still didn't have significant growth and learning he could have done over in Sweden as well. Maybe I took the words too literally, but either would have been fine with me.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

In an effort to get this thread back to Fleury, looks like as.Vagrant pointed out, he relies mostly on quick release wristlets from the point which is truly odd. Sure looks like he gets them through and on net though. His lateral movement is impressive for a guy his size from what I can tell. His rushes up the left side remind me of Brett Hedican but it probably only looks like that because the guys he's up against aren't strong skaters to begin with .

Yeah, I noticed that in the clip as well. It was like 20 wrist shots and 1 or 2 slapshots. Unless a guy has a cannon though, slap shots take longer so can be blocked more easily and/or blocked by a goalie as he has more time.

For a guy his size, the skating, footwork and lateral movement sure looks good.

 

[bleedgreen]

I think he is smart enough to know he doesn't have time for the clapper, and because he has so much success with it he likely has no confidence doing anything else. It is a smart play.

We aren't drafting him for offense so I didn't worry when I saw that clip. Quick release wristers can be tough to handle through traffic.

 

[DaveG]

IMO a hard and accurate point wrister is a lot harder to defend anyway crazy as that sounds.

 

[Sundinisagod]

I thought all along that Fleury would be a great fit for you guys...he's gonna make a great partner for Murphy, definitely got under-rated on HF but every team is looking for a guy like this. Like the Marc Staal comparison, but personally think he'll provide more offense.

 

[Vagrant]

The weird thing about highlight packages is that they can make certain things look like they work more frequently than they do. I remember the year Anton bombed ....16 goals? Just an impossible amount of slapshots finding corners that were never going to be stopped. Shot above 10% if memory serves which is ridiculous for a defenseman. Watching all those back to back it was like... why does this guy not lead the league in PP goals every season? I mean, you get the point.

Fleury didn't have a lot of success in scoring goals at Junior last season and I think a big part of that was his inability to find the net with any regularity with his slap shot. From what I understand he shoots pretty hard, but the accuracy is a concern. That's going to need to be remedied if he comes up to play on the PP.

 

[nobuddy]

The reviews this kid is getting for his performance in Canada's WJC U20 camp friendly last night are astoundingly good.