Toggle sidebar

Canucks select C Alex Friesen - 6th Round, 172nd Overall

Mr. Canucklehead

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
41,021
33,508
Kitimat, BC
Discuss.

Statistics:
2007/2008 - NIAGRA ICE DOGS - OHL - 46GP - 5G - 9A - 14PTS
2008/2009 - NIAGRA ICE DOGS - OHL - 64GP - 11G - 22A - 33PTS - PLAYOFFS - 12GP - 3G - 7A- 10PTS
2009/2010 - NIAGRA ICE DOGS - OHL - 60GP - 23G - 37A - 60PTS - PLAYOFFS - 5GP - 1G - 6A - 7PTS
Click to expand...

- Was the 07/08 OHL Top Academic Player of the Year.
- Voted Hardest Working Player in 09/10 in an OHL Coaches Poll.
Click to read more...
 
Last edited:
thefeebster

thefeebster

Registered User
Mar 13, 2009
7,200
1,706
Vancouver
Can't say i've researched this guy.

The most clutch goal scorer in the entire OHL is Alex Friesen of the Niagara IceDogs. The 19-year-old center is in his third season with the IceDogs and currently sits 58th among OHL points leaders with 16 goals and 43 points. The 5’10†189lbs, native of Niagara-on-the-Lake went undrafted in his first year of NHL availability. Teams may have to consider a late round flyer on this kid when they see a full 25 percent of Friesen’s goals are considered clutch.
Click to expand...

http://www.openicehockey.com/index.php/archives/2415
 
thefeebster

thefeebster

Registered User
Mar 13, 2009
7,200
1,706
Vancouver
3. Alex Friesen - Niagara IceDogs
Friesen had an excellent year for the Dogs after a disappointing second season in the league last year. He doesn't have a ton of size (5'10), but he makes up for that by being one of the most tenacious forecheckers and workers in the league. He was recognized as so in the coaches poll where he was named the hardest worker in the East. He's an elite skater, an improving defensive player, and showed an improved ability to produce offensively this season, averaging a point per game. He's also tremendous on the face off circle, where again he received the top nomination in the coaches poll. That type of progression from one year to the next shows dedication to improvement and really impresses NHL scouts.
Click to expand...

8. Alex Friesen - Niagara IceDogs
Even though he's gone kind of cold recently, Friesen has still been outstanding for the Dogs this season. Perhaps his coming out party was last season's playoffs when Friesen was one of Niagara's best players, and coming into this season there were some expectations that he could raise his game. But for a player who scored 11 goals last year, and who showed a lot of offensive frustration, I don't think the expectations were THAT high. Friesen was at one point in the top 10 of OHL scoring and has already surpassed his goal totals of last year. His speed and energy make him a very valuable offensive player in this league and as a 1991 born player, this could only be the tip of the iceberg.
Click to expand...

Alex Friesen (2010, but 1991 born)
After his recent accolade as the hardest working player in the Eastern Conference (as voted by OHL coaches), Friesen continued his much improved third season into the OHL playoffs. He was definitely one of Niagara's stand out players and ended up leading the team in playoff scoring with 7 points. It'll be interesting to see if he generates any interest from NHL clubs this June. He's definitely undersized, but he has a lot of redeeming qualities that NHL teams like in their bottom line players. He's quick, he's intelligent, he's solid on the forecheck and along the boards, he's good at creating chances for his linemates, and he's a quality penalty killer/defensive forward. All that and he's shown incredible improvement in his offensive game, which suggests there could be even more room for improvement. I think he's definitely got a chance.
Click to expand...

Alex Friesen (2010, but 1991 born)
After getting past over last year, Friesen has become a much better player this season. He's still a speedy energy forward, but he's much more adept at handling the puck and as a result he's seen his offensive performance greatly increase. Friesen has become a very capable two way forward who uses his speed to forecheck hard and to generally get under the skin of the opposition. He's even added a physical element to his game this year which shows NHL scouts that this part of his game could develop more if need be. He absolutely laid out Taylor Hall on Saturday on the penalty kill. Hall came flying around the net with the puck and Friesen met him just as he passed it off. Hall sat out a few shifts and was visibly shaken up. Offensively, he had a mediocre weekend, with only an assist on the first Niagara goal on Saturday, but he brings much more to the ice than that. I think he's got a serious chance of being drafted this year in the later rounds. His progression this year bodes well for the type of offensive leaps forward we could see next year and he looks to be developing into a quality NHL checking line prospect.
Click to expand...

All from the OHL blog by Brock.
 
Red

Red

Registered User
Dec 14, 2002
14,036
4,787
VanCity
Visit site
C Alex Friesen

Canucks 3rd pick: No. 172 overall, Niagara IceDogs of the OHL in 2009-10.


Vancouver scouts project him to be a tough, third-line centre down the road in the NHL.
He was was given the “Heart of the Team” award last season.
"He's a very hard-nosed player, really good on faceoffs," Gillis said. "He scored in the top-three in our psychological and intelligence testing.
"He's not a big guy, at 5-foot-10, but he's a very, very competitive player. Hard nosed, good skills, cans score goals."
Click to expand...

http://communities.canada.com/thepr...get-to-know-the-canucks-five-draft-picks.aspx
 
GCM

GCM

Stork
Jun 22, 2010
3,042
0
smart and voted to be hardest working?

hard work > talent 7 times out of 10.


Great pick.
 

Meganuck*

Guest
Could be an interesting player. Smart and works hard. Solid PKer, third liner in the making?
 
alternate

alternate

Win the week!
Jun 9, 2006
8,340
3,432
victoria
GCM said:
smart and voted to be hardest working?

hard work > talent 7 times out of 10.


Great pick.
Click to expand...

and even if he never makes the bigs, guys like that are great to have in the organization playing/practising with the rest of your prospects.
 
Quakmybush

Quakmybush

Registered User
Mar 12, 2009
2,504
0
Niagara Falls
Hey, watched this kid play a bunch.

PRetty much could turn into Matt Cooke, very hard working, never takes a shift off, could very easily become a very good shutdown center that suckers people into penatlies.
 

Snoil11

Registered User
Aug 30, 2006
3,336
0
Germany
Flames fan coming in peace who wants to congratulate for this pick. Got the chance to watch him in the 2008/09 and was really impressed by him and kinda surprised that nobody took a chance at him in last year's draft. Hoped the Flames would take him.

He is a solid two-way player, who is defensively responsible and can score. The Rypien comparison, however, is a bit off. While he does not mind to fight, he will not turn into a middleweight who can hold his ground against the heavyweights and he is not a really mean player which kinda invalidates the Cooke-comparison.

But as I said: great pick, I am jealous.
 
LaVal

LaVal

Registered User
Dec 13, 2002
6,729
2,381
Kelowna
For once, Vancouver actually has a lot of skill prospects and are short on character prospects. A good pick that addresses a need.
 
The Big Foot

The Big Foot

Registered User
Oct 12, 2008
2,598
0
synobyte said:
seems like hes the type to be a fan favorite, i like our late picks this year.
Click to expand...

seconded. it's gotta be the height, why he didn't get drafted last year. seems to have a lot of heart, i like this pick a lot (wanted Gallagher in the later rounds but this is good too)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Ad

Latest posts

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom