Chris Higgins or Kyle Wellwood or Spezza - How is a prospect judged ??

[Charge_Seven]

I agree about the martyr complex. I'm not going to sit here and stereotype all Leafs fans, but some of the comparisons being drawn and rationale being used when many if not most Leafs prospects are brought up is ridiculous. Witness twenty page threads featuring Steen and Wellwood as the main evidence.

I don't even know if I'm going to disagree with that too much either. I'll admit that I get overly heated about any Leafs issue, be it a blown call in a game, or a prospect being unfairly spoken of, or anything to do with my favourite team in the world. Luckily I'll always have the 1993 highstick by Gretzky to Gilmour to fall back on as my reasoning. Since nobody else is going to look out for the Leafs (refs include ), us Leafs fans gotta do it

Twenty page threads on Steen or any other Leafs prospect actually don't tend to stay on topic, if you look in most you'll find quite a few people stray away, and discuss their avators, or what have you.

 

[Charge_Seven]

Hockey is and always will be a speed game. You ask the difference between the two. You got it and It's HUGE!

Higgins is faster and thougher.

I can beleive you ask it and the thread is 12 pages long and you still dont understand. Hey beside a distinct advantage in speed whats the difference ? No but really, what is the difference between the two ? Huh huh? I don't understand.

Speed & skating is everything in hockey.

Speed and skating is everything in hockey. Are you one of the GMs that told Andreychuck that? You're probably right, Andreychuck will never make it eh?

(I'm well aware that Wellwood is NOT Andreychuck, however I'm just trying to show that speed and skating is NOT everything)

 

[AH]

Speed and skating is everything in hockey. Are you one of the GMs that told Andreychuck that? You're probably right, Andreychuck will never make it eh?

(I'm well aware that Wellwood is NOT Andreychuck, however I'm just trying to show that speed and skating is NOT everything)

Andreychuk is 6-4, 240 pounds.

 

[Leaf Army]

Link please, cause frankly, I am not all that surprised that a relativly small, weak skating, very crafty playmaker can score well in the AHL.

:lol

A link? This whole thread you've made all kinds of statements without backing them up with anything. Meanwhile you ignore any other kind of evidence provided. And now you're asking me for a link.

I don't have time to find a link so if you don't want to believe me fine. I don't care. Pretend I never said that.

But if you're trying to say that Wellwood's draft position wouldn't be higher if the 2001 one draft was redone today you're only fooling yourself.

In fact I'm not even sure what your argument is. If you're trying to argue that most NHLers are bigger than Wellwood- well that's obvious.

All I'm saying is that writing off a player, or saying they probably won't succeed, just because of their size is stupid- plain and simple.

 

[Leaf Army]

Speed & skating is everything in hockey.

Right. A player's success is directly proportional to their speed.

Do you actually believe this or are you just trying to be argumentative?

 

[sunb]

Chris Higgins is the better hockey player imo and he'll likely have a NHL impact like that of Kris Draper's. AHL standouts like Pavel Rose et al don't always make the big show. This is even harder to argue when Wellwood is not that much superior than Higgins in terms of offensive abilities while Higgins is clearly more adept defensively, plays physical and exhibits leadership capacities in various leagues.

Defense and tenacity can be taught but I don't think Wellwood's offensive game would still have the same traction in the AHL if he devoted as much time as Higgins to various other aspects of hockey. I also don't think he'll ever be as good as a player as Higgins defensively or physically, when taken into account his combination of speed and size.

Speed is a determining factor and I don't think Wellwood has enough hockey sense to offset his lack of speed. I'm sure Wellwood can accelerate with ease and has deceptive top-end speed but Higgins is continuously moving and continuously fast. Personally, I don't think a slow and soft player can make the NHL's top two lines unless he has displayed extraordinary feats of offensive abilities, which Wellwood has not.

You also simply cannot dismiss the fact that Higgins has been highly regarded by GMs and scounts for years while Wellwood has never won any serious acclaim until this year.

For Wellwood the question is a string of "what if's," "can he's," "will he's," etc...
For Higgins the question is "when" or "where."
There is no question for me on this topic of the better player.

 

[Morbo]

2) Is it just me, or does a major part of this issue revolve around the martyr complex that many Leafs posters have?

Hilarious.

With all the overrating and ridiculous future-telling that goes on around here by fans of EVERY team, somehow it's the Leaf fans who have a "complex" for defending their players. What a surprise.

All "Leaf prospect vs. X threads" should be banned. There truly is literally NO point in starting them.

 

[sunb]

All I'm saying is that writing off a player, or saying they probably won't succeed, just because of their size is stupid- plain and simple.

It is stupid but it is also realistic.

We can't let a Rafalski out there fool us into ignoring an obvious and evident trend: small and soft players usually don't make the NHL. Its like saying kids from poor socioeconomical backgrounds can succeed among kids of wealthy backgrounds just because one woman stands up on the Oprah Winfrey show and gives us her husband as an example (the actual likelihood of a poor kid even graduating from college is about 1/10).

For every St. Louis out there, there's also about a couple of dozen other small skilled NHL players that don't make it.

Also, Wellwood is a lot different from St. Louis, Kariya, Fleury, Drury....
St. Louis and Fleury are extraordinarily fast and feisty while Kariya and Drury are also speedy players with excellent skating.

 

[Leaf Army]

We can't let a Rafalski out there fool us into ignoring an obvious and evident trend: small and soft players usually don't make the NHL.

But I've already shown that the proportion of small players in the NHL is roughly the same to the proportion of small players in the AHL.

For every St. Louis out there, there's also about a couple of dozen other small skilled NHL players that don't make it.

Correction:

For every PROSPECT that makes it, there are about a couple dozen PROSPECTS who don't make it.

Also, Wellwood is a lot different from St. Louis, Kariya, Fleury, Drury....
St. Louis and Fleury are extraordinarily fast and feisty while Kariya and Drury are also speedy players with excellent skating.

Once again. I'm not really talking about Wellwood anymore.

All I'm saying is that it's stupid to write off a player simply because of their size.

 

[All-Star]

Right. A player's success is directly proportional to their speed.

He simply tried to make a dramatic statement to close off his post. Although not totally accurate, it does make the point that good skating is a huge part of what makes a good hockey player.

There are always exceptions to every rule, so don't bother listing them...

are you just trying to be argumentative?

Are You? His point was pretty obvious...

 

[Mess]

What has changed since his draft?

He lead the AHL in rookie scoring and is top 10 so far this year.

He already had to put up with all that crap about how his skills supposedly wouldn't translate to the AHL.

That is precisely the point and not the points or stats directly but the success he is having at the closest level to the NHL ..

When he was drafted it was lower because many many scouts and doubters did not think that he could succeed, but I am claiming he has now .. So that has changed as Sammy asked ..

..but the reason I am asking this question is that the player I compared him to was a high draft pick and was expected to produce at the AHL and then NHL level ..and he has done very well ... but the player that was not expected to has done statistically better and is more of a force offensively than the higher pick ..

Under this whole thread the only real difference that people have be able to point out that separates the two players other than that draft position is ..one is a faster skater (which I accept), but that quality alone does not guarantee success as many speedsters have proved historically. The other facet is his defensive awareness and position play ... and even that I would grant the posters .. but I also feel that is a quality that can be learned by playing in a coaches systems and if one wants to be more defensive conscience they can be ... it not a god given talent but rather a learned skilled, much like a student that goes to University to learn to become a Doctor or Lawyer .. They did not know it beforehand but learned it, and continue to improve it ON THE JOB..

lets change the names for a second and instead of making it Wellwood lets make it Tomas Plekanec 5-10" 190 lbs. to eliminate any possibility of bias .. Higgins own team-mate ... Well if you refer to the HF Habs home page, which has the Habs prospect system #5 TEAM ranked has Higgins as #3 and Plekanec and #4 right behind ....

Now Plekanec was not a high draft pick Mid 3rd rounder 71st overall.. he is a year older than the 2 players I compared.. but if you look at the 2 Hab players statistically .. Plekanec comes out ahead .. This season he is leading a struggling Hamilton team in scoring while Higgins the much higher respected prospect is tied for 6th in team scoring .. and last year his 66 points compared to Higgins 48 ... In fact he also produced more points that other highly respected prospects ...Jozef Balej (traded -3rd ranked NYR prospect) and Alexander Perezhogin (2nd ranked prospect) last season .. which I might add Wellwood stats also compare to favourably while playing on a bad AHL team.

But Plekanec is considered a good prospect .. not drafted high either but been able to prove at the AHL level that he can be successful ..

While again I agree that direct Stats do not matter , but they do show a level of success at a high level of Hockey .. Which all these players are showing including Wellwood .. If he WAS NOT producing it would confirm that he has reached his highest level of play, and wouldn't even be discussed but he is proving that his draft position may have been wrong, and I am asking , while others quote Size Matters (which actual NHL stats show is not correct) but ...is this one of those exceptions to the rule if you like ..rather than having to wait and prove it at the NHL LEVEL ..is he developing into an exception before our eyes.. and is he becoming a good prospect . ?? Which is the whole point of prospect POTENTIAL ..projecting him at higher levels of success ..

 

[BuppY]

Chris Higgins is the better hockey player imo and he'll likely have a NHL impact like that of Kris Draper's. AHL standouts like Pavel Rose et al don't always make the big show. This is even harder to argue when Wellwood is not that much superior than Higgins in terms of offensive abilities while Higgins is clearly more adept defensively, plays physical and exhibits leadership capacities in various leagues.

Defense and tenacity can be taught but I don't think Wellwood's offensive game would still have the same traction in the AHL if he devoted as much time as Higgins to various other aspects of hockey. I also don't think he'll ever be as good as a player as Higgins defensively or physically, when taken into account his combination of speed and size.

Speed is a determining factor and I don't think Wellwood has enough hockey sense to offset his lack of speed. I'm sure Wellwood can accelerate with ease and has deceptive top-end speed but Higgins is continuously moving and continuously fast. Personally, I don't think a slow and soft player can make the NHL's top two lines unless he has displayed extraordinary feats of offensive abilities, which Wellwood has not.

You also simply cannot dismiss the fact that Higgins has been highly regarded by GMs and scounts for years while Wellwood has never won any serious acclaim until this year.

For Wellwood the question is a string of "what if's," "can he's," "will he's," etc...
For Higgins the question is "when" or "where."
There is no question for me on this topic of the better player.

Have you seen Wellwood play?

 

[AH]

Again, much like Higgins, Plekanec has qualities that Wellwood just does not possess. Speed, physicality, defensive awareness, etc .. Plekanec is also 20 pounds heavier than Wellwodd (despite similar height), and he tends to use his weight to make for a wrecking-ball effect when going into corners.

For the umpteenth time, numbers don't tell the whole story on prospects.

 

[Mess]

:
But if you're trying to say that Wellwood's draft position wouldn't be higher if the 2001 one draft was redone today you're only fooling yourself.

I think that is an excellent and interesting point ... and would love to know that answer because it would go a long way to proving what we are attempting to in this thread ..

If scouts could look at Wellwood today and his success and accomplishments (as hindsight rather than potential projection ) I guarantee he would not be the 134th player taken ..

Look at the success of players drafted in the first round that year .. Manly becasue of those same sterotypes Size or Skating or some other factor that made them 1st round pick .. Bias aside I would certainly take Wellwood in a redo 2001 draft over some of these 1st rounders who are struggling..

11 Phoenix Fredrik Sjostrom : (unranked - Not top 20 - Pho)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00056822

18 Los Angeles Jens Karlsson : (11th on LA)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00056792

21 Pittsburgh Colby Armstrong : (6th on PIT)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00046427

22 Buffalo Jiri Novotny : (unranked - NOT top 20 -BUF)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00059881

28 New Jersey Adrian Foster : (6th on NJ)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00050638

30 Los Angeles Dave Steckel : ((unranked - NOT top 20 - LA)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00054471

Now those are only a few and Only the forwards for direct comparison and ONLY 1st rounders .. ignoring goalies and defensman ... their team prospect rank from team pages after their name in ( ) ... surprizingly 3 years after their draft year look how many are unranked and lost already as prospects...

Are people here willing to say if the draft was held today for the 2001 eligible players that if given the choice of taking a chance on Wellwood or picking any or all these players drafted ahead of him using hindsight now rather than projections then.. ??

134 Toronto Kyle Wellwood : (5th on TOR)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00050104

So is Wellwood better than any or all of these players today ?? Is Wellwood worthy of subplanting any of these players ??

 

[CoupeStanley]

Right. A player's success is directly proportional to their speed.

Do you actually believe this or are you just trying to be argumentative?

Yes. I beleive it. There's one way to beat the defensive system that prone the NHL this day and you know what it is ? Speed. If you have a speedy team with hearth you can beat anyone.

There's exception. Sure. Big player. Smarter player.

What I am saying is that this thread is 13 pages long. The thread is about what makes Higgins a better prospect than Wellwood.

If you cant acknoledge in 3 seconds that speed is the factor. It's probably because you've seen old, slow, player for much too long.

 

[Leaf Army]

Yes. I beleive it. There's one way to beat the defensive system that prone the NHL this day and you know what it is ? Speed. If you have a speedy team with hearth you can beat anyone.

There's exception. Sure. Big player. Smarter player.

What I am saying is that this thread is 13 pages long. The thread is about what makes Higgins a better prospect than Wellwood.

If you cant acknoledge in 3 seconds that speed is the factor. It's probably because you've seen old, slow, player for much too long.

Now you're saying speed is a factor. That I can agree with.

But that's much different than when you said speed is everything.

 

[Sammy*]

I think that is an excellent and interesting point ... and would love to know that answer because it would go a long way to proving what we are attempting to in this thread ..

If scouts could look at Wellwood today and his success and accomplishments (as hindsight rather than potential projection ) I guarantee he would not be the 134th player taken ..

Look at the success of players drafted in the first round that year .. Manly becasue of those same sterotypes Size or Skating or some other factor that made them 1st round pick .. Bias aside I would certainly take Wellwood in a redo 2001 draft over some of these 1st rounders who are struggling..

11 Phoenix Fredrik Sjostrom : (unranked - Not top 20 - Pho)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00056822

18 Los Angeles Jens Karlsson : (11th on LA)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00056792

21 Pittsburgh Colby Armstrong : (6th on PIT)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00046427

22 Buffalo Jiri Novotny : (unranked - NOT top 20 -BUF)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00059881

28 New Jersey Adrian Foster : (6th on NJ)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00050638

30 Los Angeles Dave Steckel : ((unranked - NOT top 20 - LA)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00054471

Now those are only a few and Only the forwards for direct comparison and ONLY 1st rounders .. ignoring goalies and defensman ... their team prospect rank from team pages after their name in ( ) ... surprizingly 3 years after their draft year look how many are unranked and lost already as prospects...

Are people here willing to say if the draft was held today for the 2001 eligible players that if given the choice of taking a chance on Wellwood or picking any or all these players drafted ahead of him using hindsight now rather than projections then.. ??

134 Toronto Kyle Wellwood : (5th on TOR)

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00050104

So is Wellwood better than any or all of these players today ?? Is Wellwood worthy of subplanting any of these players ??

Maybe with some of those guys, maybe not. But dont you also believe that some guys picked ahead of Wellwood would also leapfrog those guys & some guys picked behind Wellwod would leapfrog him?

 

[Mess]

Again, much like Higgins, Plekanec has qualities that Wellwood just does not possess. Speed, physicality, defensive awareness, etc .. Plekanec is also 20 pounds heavier than Wellwodd (despite similar height), and he tends to use his weight to make for a wrecking-ball effect when going into corners.

For the umpteenth time, numbers don't tell the whole story on prospects.

While I agree to a point ... "numbers don't tell the whole story"

For a prospect that has an opportunity to make the NHL as an offensive player ...

Solid offensive numbers do not guarantee success .... Agreed

while

Poor offensive numbers probably guarantee failure ....

So

Positive results means a prospect is progressing and Negative results mean he is declining or reached his plateau ..

and

Wellwood's progress direction is steeply UPWARDS .... and isn't that a big part of the word POTENTIAL when speaking of prospects .. ??

So how do you measure that performance before he has reached the NHL ??? ..and offensive statistics must be a part ....

Any Fool can say yes he made it once he is there, must be an exception again..

but what happens between the Day he is Drafted and the Day he arrives in the NHL .. I say that time is defined best as **POTENTIAL **

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Hilarious.

With all the overrating and ridiculous future-telling that goes on around here by fans of EVERY team, somehow it's the Leaf fans who have a "complex" for defending their players. What a surprise.

All "Leaf prospect vs. X threads" should be banned. There truly is literally NO point in starting them.

I'm not saying that all Leaf's fans are like that, but you have to admit when there is a 500 post thread based on why Kesler would incorrectly be in the top 25 and Steen wasn't that something is wrong.

It seems like a big part of the arguement typically is that "Leafs prospects don't get any respect". It might be that there are a ton of Leaf's posters, so it's just a matter of odds that some will be ignorant. I just don't see a lot of other teams posters complaining about there prospects not getting the credit they deserve.

 

[Mess]

Maybe with some of those guys, maybe not. But dont you also believe that some guys picked ahead of Wellwood would also leapfrog those guys & some guys picked behind Wellwod would leapfrog him?

If I can remind you DRAFT position was your argument not mine to diminish Wellwood's success to date .. You were the one throwing the word Donkey around to prove YOUR point NO??

and sure that is possible exactly the reason I am not putting much weight on it .. on draft day sure that is the way the players projected ... but now surprisingly just 3 years later a lot as changed as can be proved using hindsight ...

unless some of those prospects particularly the unranked ones are late bloomers their NHL dream is already gone .. but not Wellwood's IMO .. his dream is still alive based on his performance and that is the point in the first place ..

His lack of preferred NHL size or his lack of preferred NHL speed .. still have not stopped him yet ... while other **BIGGER ** and ** FASTER** PROTOTYPICAL ** HIGHER DRAFTED ** prospects can call it a day IMO ..

 

[Sammy*]

Poor offensive numbers probably guarantee failure ....

So

Positive results means a prospect is progressing and Negative results mean he is declining or reached his plateau ..

and

Wellwood's progress direction is steeply UPWARDS .... and isn't that a big part of the word POTENTIAL when speaking of prospects .. ??

[/B]

Well, this is the whole the issue. You seem to be of the belief that Wellwoods numbers somehow prove that he is progressing as a better (much better?) prospect than how he was at the time he was drafted. I dont neccesarily agree.I dare say that there are a bunch of scouts/GM's that passed him over a bunch of times, that are not at all surprised by his production in the AHL.

 

[Mess]

Well, this is the whole the issue. You seem to be of the belief that Wellwoods numbers somehow prove that he is progressing as a better (much better?) prospect than how he was at the time he was drafted. I dont neccesarily agree.I dare say that there are a bunch of scouts/GM's that passed him over a bunch of times, that are not at all surprised by his production in the AHL.

So what are you saying by that ... that some professional NHL scouts & NHL GM's given hindsight of today .. would still take some of those examples I gave as potenial or even likely BUSTS ..over Wellwood given a redo today ?? I clearly understand why they took them THEN ...but certainly not NOW ..

and vice versa .. like a lot of us posters and fans .. I bet a bunch of scouts/GM's are very surprised at his AHL success ... proving the EXCEPTION rule again..

keeping in mind that the players that Wellwood is having this success in the AHL against (being one of the top Scorers) is the Kari Lehtonen's & MA Fleury's & Maxime Ouellet & Jay Boumeester's, and Jeff Wowitka's & Jason Speeza & including also the HF's TOP 50 prospects Thomas Vanek's & Chris Higgins & Andrei Kostitsyn & Dustin Brown's etc. etc etc) which are the NHL players of tomorrow ...

so why are their accomplishments regarded any different then his??? .. because they skate a little faster or are a little taller etc ...

How can people so easily dismiss the fact that He can score against the Lehonton's in the AHL and not in the NHL ... same players only thing that changes is the league and the opportunity to prove it at the next level

 

[montreal25m]

Lets make this simple

What does Higgins have that Wellwood doesn't. Well for one thing speed, which is a huge asset. Another, higgins is much more gritier. Didn't wellwood win the "lady Byn" award of the CHL last year..or didn't get one penalty minute. He plays a "outside" game. Lastly..one major factor is Character. Higgins is a leader on and off the ice.

Don't get me wrong, I like wellwood, loved him on the the Canadian Junior Team. I just think he is way to soft of a player to be an effective top 6 forward. If he isn't on your top six, he is pretty much useless. Higgins on the other hand, if he doesnt' develope his offensive skills as predicted, he will be an excellent third line center for years to come.

 

[mooseOAK*]

What does Higgins have that Wellwood doesn't. Well for one thing speed, which is a huge asset. Another, higgins is much more gritier. Didn't wellwood win the "lady Byn" award of the CHL last year..or didn't get one penalty minute. He plays a "outside" game. Lastly..one major factor is Character. Higgins is a leader on and off the ice.

Don't get me wrong, I like wellwood, loved him on the the Canadian Junior Team. I just think he is way to soft of a player to be an effective top 6 forward. If he isn't on your top six, he is pretty much useless. Higgins on the other hand, if he doesnt' develope his offensive skills as predicted, he will be an excellent third line center for years to come.

A team needs gritty players but they also need guys who can provide offensive skills. Sure, Wellwood is an outside player but that is where his strength lies and as such doesn't need to be the biggest and meanest. The defencemen need to respect the fact that if they try to run him he will dish the puck off to someone else.

And Wellwood isn't soft, he has had at least a few goals this season while fighting off checks and has improved defensively.

 

[MS]

So what are you saying by that ... that some professional NHL scouts & NHL GM's given hindsight of today .. would still take some of those examples I gave as potenial or even likely BUSTS ..over Wellwood given a redo today ?? I clearly understand why they took them THEN ...but certainly not NOW ..

and vice versa .. like a lot of us posters and fans .. I bet a bunch of scouts/GM's are very surprised at his AHL success ... proving the EXCEPTION rule again..

Yes, he's ahead of a few first-rounders who've flopped. Yes, he would go higher. But there are also 12-15 guys taken after him who would now be rated higher, and probably 50-60 of the guys taken in front of him. So yeah, he's improved his stock somewhat IMO, but that still doesn't mean he'll make it. Just means he's cleared the first (and easiest) of several hurdles.

Lots of smallish high-scoring junior guys clear this hurdle. Eric Himelfarb is scoring in the AHL. Corey Locke is scoring in the AHL. Brandon Reid scored in the AHL. So is he an exception? ... not really. Not yet at least.

keeping in mind that the players that Wellwood is having this success in the AHL against (being one of the top Scorers) is the Kari Lehtonen's & MA Fleury's & Maxime Ouellet & Jay Boumeester's, and Jeff Wowitka's & Jason Speeza & including also the HF's TOP 50 prospects Thomas Vanek's & Chris Higgins & Andrei Kostitsyn & Dustin Brown's etc. etc etc) which are the NHL players of tomorrow ...

You can use your arguments for every high-scoring AHLer in recent memory. Simon Gamache, Lonny Bohonos, Pavel Rosa, Hnat Domenichelli, Glen Metropolit. The list goes on and on. All of those guys outscored many future quality NHLers while in the AHL. But there's a reason guys like this don't usually make it.

so why are their accomplishments regarded any different then his??? .. because they skate a little faster or are a little taller etc ...

How can people so easily dismiss the fact that He can score against the Lehonton's in the AHL and not in the NHL ... same players only thing that changes is the league and the opportunity to prove it at the next level

Sorry, but they're not the same players. About 5% of the AHL would be in the NHL as low-end guys if there wasn't a lockout. 95% of that league is not good enough to play in the NHL. The defense in front of Lehtonen in Chicago is just a little bit different that what he'd face on a regular basis in the NHL.

People can dismiss it because of past history. There have been many guys like this come along over the years, and a very low percentage actually manage to stick. You trivialize shortcomings in size and skating, but they mean a lot.

I'm not trying to bash Wellwood as a prospect - I like him and would not be surprised at all to see him score in the NHL eventually. But there are obvious weaknesses there, and at this point he does not deserve to be rated alongside guys who do not have those shortcomings and are much surer bets to make the next step.