I am not sold on Coyle.
In the NCAA he scored goals in 18% of games played. Nelson and Bjugstad scored in over 60%. BU had a solid puck mover in Clen.. and a solid top line. Now Coyle goes to the Q, the highest scoring junior league. He scores goals at a clip of 1.66 per game in the play offs and 65% in the regular season. Stats never work out but if you did Nelson's scoring in the Q play offs based off of Coyle averages. Nelson would be averaging 4.6 goals per game in the Q play offs.
I really think his value is at its highest right now. If we were to trade Coyle i am fine with that. If he stays i think he will be a solid 2nd line guy.
Coyle's game is coveted in the Q, because it's mostly finesse fowards, snipers and playmakers along two way guys and grinders.
There arent many guys who physically dominate the Q, and actually someone posted statistics, and I think the Q was 3rd in average goals per game....
Next year you'll see guys like Anthony Duclair and Adam Erne rip the Q to shreds because they're both powerfowards. I think Brandon Shea was also seen as one but I may be wrong.
Few teams have guys tough enough to stop him, the Q is the most finesse of the junior leagues, ideally he would of went to the Dub, where the physicality is much better. But Saint John are just amazing.
Also remeber he's 19, and playing on a veteran team who's core has played together for 3 or even 4 years which is alot in junior hockey, and he's on a power house. The Seadogs are old by junior standards. Id be worried if he wasn't dominating.
Skill wise he's in a better league, physically, meh there's only 5 or 6 teams that have the conditioning level to shutdown Coyle.
And one of them is out....
The Sea Dogs dominate on pure skill..... Coyles doing it with both skill and his body... You don't see that much in Quebec. You'd have to watch it to understand.
Quebec hockey is more like Russian hockey, except we're better.... (biased) but we think score and not nail...
He may need time in Houson to adjust to the pro game, and to the fact that he's not gunna be able to dominate pros like he did the Q.