Prospect Info: Canucks 2019 Prospect Rankings - #10

[Hoghandler]

He can’t skate, he’s weak on the puck, and he can’t score anything other than junior ‘hands’ goals.

A bit of playmaking ability (but nothing remotely top-end) and a knack for getting punched in the face in scrums don’t give you any upside to write home about.

Guys who make the NHL don’t suck balls in the AHL in their draft+2 as a late birthdate. It’s a lame excuse.

Only way he has any real upside is a miraculous turnaround in his skating and if a miracle means you still have upside then literally everyone has upside.

You're glossing over how fine the line is between success and failure. Lind's season could have looked completely different if he didn't get hurt 7 games into the season. I also wouldn't write him off as a guy that projects to be weak on the puck. Lind has a solid frame, he just hasn't filled out yet. He came into camp as an underdeveloped teenager, then had to deal with an injury. He was put on his back foot right from the get go and only really started to recover near the end of the season. Size and strength just is not a concern for me whatsoever. Time will fix that shortcoming.

Don't think a miraculous turnaround is what is needed at all. He just needs to return to health, keep getting bigger and most importantly, keep working on his skating. Skating is the only weakness in Lind's projection at this point. Definitely needs to pick up his first 3 steps, as well as improve his footwork. But by all accounts his work ethic is excellent. That will go a long way in determining where he goes from here.

I'm expecting a big step forward from Lind next season. Will subscribe to the Comets games once again and suffer through the endless slocum dickson adds.

 

[MS]

You're glossing over how fine the line is between success and failure. Lind's season could have looked completely different if he didn't get hurt 7 games into the season. I also wouldn't write him off as a guy that projects to be weak on the puck. Lind has a solid frame, he just hasn't filled out yet. He came into camp as an underdeveloped teenager, then had to deal with an injury. He was put on his back foot right from the get go and only really started to recover near the end of the season. Size and strength just is not a concern for me whatsoever. Time will fix that shortcoming.

Don't think a miraculous turnaround is what is needed at all. He just needs to return to health, keep getting bigger and most importantly, keep working on his skating. Skating is the only weakness in Lind's projection at this point. Definitely needs to pick up his first 3 steps, as well as improve his footwork. But by all accounts his work ethic is excellent. That will go a long way in determining where he goes from here.

I'm expecting a big step forward from Lind next season. Will subscribe to the Comets games once again and suffer through the endless slocum dickson adds.

The minor injury might have been an excuse for the first month or two, although it happened 3 weeks into the season when he was already looking awful. He was completely healthy in the 2nd half and upgraded himself to ... a kinda serviceable bottom-6 non-entity.

Absolutely nothing pops about his game and his skating is awful. Like, bad-for-the-AHL awful. And fixing that isn't just some easy thing or everyone would fix their skating. And it would be nearly impossible to be weaker on the puck than he is.

If he makes the NHL, it will be as a fungible bottom-6 grinder and he'll need to improve his skating massively for that to happen. And no, scoring 35 or 40 points in the AHL - which I wouldn't be surprised at all to see - doesn't change that.

 

[Hoghandler]

The minor injury might have been an excuse for the first month or two, although it happened 3 weeks into the season when he was already looking awful. He was completely healthy in the 2nd half and upgraded himself to ... a kinda serviceable bottom-6 non-entity.

If he makes the NHL, it will be as a fungible bottom-6 grinder and he'll need to improve his skating massively for that to happen.

Where we don't see eye to eye is with the impact injuries can have on a player. Injuries are not an 'excuse' for lessened performance, they are a reason. Never understood the whole 'excuse' argument when it comes to players and dealing with health problems. It's also easy to underestimate just how fine that line is from struggling to succeeding. Largely in part due to the confidence element, and how it can be affected when the body isn't up to the task.

If he makes the NHL, it could be as a Tanner Pearson type, 15 goal, 40 point player. Lind has the frame, offensive IQ, vision/passing ability, shot and willingness to play in the dirty areas. The skating isn't close to NHL ready and that will likely dictate what level he reaches. But let's not forget there are guys like Pearson that make it work with some pretty ugly skating. You need smarts to overcome it, and Lind is a smart player.

Had Lind been healthy all season maybe he would have been a serviceable AHL'er all season? There would be nothing wrong with that from a young AHL rookie. The environment in Utica also was not conducive to looking good. Especially after the Canucks and Comets roster were simultaneously being shredded with injuries, leaving them severely shorthanded.

Next season will give a much better idea where Lind stands.

 

[MS]

Where we don't see eye to eye is with the impact injuries can have on a player. Injuries are not an 'excuse' for lessened performance, they are a reason. Never understood the whole 'excuse' argument when it comes to players and dealing with health problems. It's also easy to underestimate just how fine that line is from struggling to succeeding. Largely in part due to the confidence element, and how it can be affected when the body isn't up to the task.

If he makes the NHL, it could be as a Tanner Pearson type, 15 goal, 40 point player. Lind has the frame, offensive IQ, vision/passing ability, shot and willingness to play in the dirty areas. The skating isn't close to NHL ready and that will likely dictate what level he reaches. But let's not forget there are guys like Pearson that make it work with some pretty ugly skating. You need smarts to overcome it, and Lind is a smart player.

Had Lind been healthy all season maybe he would have been a serviceable AHL'er all season? There would be nothing wrong with that from a young AHL rookie. The environment in Utica also was not conducive to looking good. Especially after the Canucks and Comets roster were simultaneously being shredded with injuries, leaving them severely shorthanded.

Next season will give a much better idea where Lind stands.

On the injury :

1) it happened 3 weeks into the season when he was already playing poorly after a poor training camp.

2) it was a minor injury for a couple weeks.

3) he had 5 months of being healthy after that.

4) it was obvious that the reason he disappointed was that his skating was horrific and he lacked the physical skills to compete at this level.

I’m fully aware that injuries affect players but you’re blowing the extent of this minor injury completely out of proportion.

And yes, if he had been a serviceable depth player all year that would have been bad for a #33 overall pick. The guys who make it separate themselves quickly like Hague and Comtois and blow through that league in a hurry. If you hit the 100-game mark in the AHL as a forward, your offs of sticking as a quality top-9 guy in the NHL are minuscule.

And again, you’re comically underrating both just how bad his skating is and how easy it will be to fix. And I’m not saying he won’t improve, I’m saying that even with a substantial improvement he still only projects as a depth player.

 

[Hoghandler]

1) it happened 3 weeks into the season when he was already playing poorly after a poor training camp.

And again, you’re comically underrating both just how bad his skating is and how easy it will be to fix. And I’m not saying he won’t improve, I’m saying that even with a substantial improvement he still only projects as a depth player.

I actually thought he had a couple decent games before getting hurt. Was starting to make some plays offensively before going down. Looked like a different player after returning, and not in a good way.

I have made nothing but negative remarks about his skating, said it's a big issue and that it isn't close to NHL ready. Made zero remarks about the skating being anything but a negative, nor anything about the likelihood of improving it. Not sure where you're getting the idea from that I have implied it's an easy fix or not a glaring weakness.

You've addressed the injury, but it's not just the injury that worked against Lind. It was also the fact he was very young and physically immature. He could have used another year in Junior. He also wasn't in a position to succeed, as the Comets were woefully undermanned for pretty much the entire season. Being an undersized agitator in a tough, physical league like the AHL is a tough transition.

You're also throwing not taking into account the larger body of work with assessing this player. We have 200 WHL games to draw from and in that league he showed terrific year over year improvement. Had a very strong draft +1 season. That absolutely cannot be overlooked when trying to forecast where he goes from here. Him coming to camp healthy and looking like a vastly improved prospect shouldn't be surprising at all. I'm expecting it.