Prospect Info: Daniel Sprong Progress

Shady Machine

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Aug 6, 2010
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The apple doesn't usually fall far from the tree, as the saying goes. His body language and play, to me, indicated more selfishness than most will care for, and I thought this even before hearing/reading about the draft stuff. I'd love it if he turned out to be a great leader and team player, but I'm weary.

Oh boy. Judging character off of body language on the ice is pretty ridiculous.
 

Shady Machine

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Ah so that's your problem.
 

Shady Machine

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I have even said this with Kessel - Phil is at his most dangerous when he comes down the left wing, and he does a real quick cut to the middle of the ice, and he skates to the slot and takes a shot. He'll do it once or twice a game. Granted, it'd probably lose its effectiveness if he were a LW'er trying to do it all the time.

Sprong has a Kessel look about him, for sure. The only problem with Sprong being a LW'er is it mitigates how well he can pass, and also puts him on his backhand if he's trying to turn the corner to the net.

Kessel is more dangerous on his strong side wing because he likes to shoot in stride. It's more deceptive if you are skating in on your forehard and fire the puck in stride. If you are a one timer guy, playing on your off wing makes sense but that's not Kessel. When he's flying down the right side, the goalie can't tell if he's shooting, passing, or carrying the puck.

I'd have to watch Sprong play more to see which side makes more sense for him.
 

JTG

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Sep 30, 2007
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Kessel is more dangerous on his strong side wing because he likes to shoot in stride. It's more deceptive if you are skating in on your forehard and fire the puck in stride. If you are a one timer guy, playing on your off wing makes sense but that's not Kessel. When he's flying down the right side, the goalie can't tell if he's shooting, passing, or carrying the puck.

I'd have to watch Sprong play more to see which side makes more sense for him.

Kessel isn't a shooter like Neal. If you tee it up for Neal, he'd bury it. Kessel scores off deception, so in saying that, you're right. It's sort of well known now that Kessel doesn't one time pucks.

I just love when he comes breaking down the left side though, and he sets the defenseman up, then he takes 2 or 3 quick steps and cuts it right to the slot.

I think he and Sprong on the same roster will be fun to watch. I see a ton of Kessel in Sprong.
 

Riptide

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If my GM passed on a future talent because of his father or maybe the kid seemed cocky...,,I would fire the GM, I would fire his friends, kick his dog, burn down his house!

Depends on how one viewed the talent. If there's someone they view equally as well, and they don't have those issues, then it makes it an easy choice. If the next best player is a tier below the "problem" kid, then depending on what the issues are, perhaps you take a chance. But I certainly wouldn't fire someone over passing on someone they questioned whether they'd fit in on the team.
 

JTG

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I almost exclusively prefer playing on my off wing, YMMV.

In my opinion, having your stick to the center of the ice was always easier for me, and opened me up to do more. I was always more of an east-west player, so being able to come into the zone and take the puck east-west, using my body to shield from the defenseman worked out for me.
 

Freeptop

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Gare Joyce, is that you?

http://ndgoon.blogspot.com/2006/07/espn-kessels-draft-combine-wasnt.html

100% garbage.

People need to understand that 18 year olds who have sacrificed the vast majority of their adolescence to chase a sporting dream are going to have their quirks. That doesn't automatically mean they have character issues or are poor teammates. Sometimes it does, but usually they just have a bit of growing up to do - like every other 18 year old on the planet. The only difference is that most 18 year olds aren't under the same microscope and a kid working at Subway isn't going to come under scrutiny in the form of anonymously sourced rumors or prats trying to push books.

I've read Gare Joyce's book, but I hadn't seen that blog post before. My favorite part of it:
Are we to believe also that Jack Johnson is an pompous, self serving ass, and just making stuff up about Kessel?

In retrospect, we now know that Jack Johnson is a pompous, self-serving ass, actually! :laugh:
 

JTG

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I've read Gare Joyce's book, but I hadn't seen that blog post before. My favorite part of it:


In retrospect, we now know that Jack Johnson is a pompous, self-serving ass, actually! :laugh:

I've always been a fan of Jack Johnson. I don't know why. I find him highly entertaining, but if he were on my team, I'd find him highly maddening.
 

Liquid Gel

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Oct 8, 2010
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I've read Gare Joyce's book, but I hadn't seen that blog post before. My favorite part of it:


In retrospect, we now know that Jack Johnson is a pompous, self-serving ass, actually! :laugh:

Too funny! How Ironic that this inside information comes from such a successful franchise.

the Blue Jackets front office and more specifically Doug MacLean passing judgment on Phil Kessel.

Add to the fact that Jack Johnson now plays on the Blue Jackets.

Not sure what great front office draft pick choices and/or decisions that were made that turned out positively for that franchise.

Zherdev, Filatov, Brule, Klesla...Johansen....waiting?
.....Picard, Brassard

Except for Nash any success was with other clubs. Kessel should be thankful they treated him so crappy
 

Brandinho

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Aug 28, 2005
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I've read Gare Joyce's book, but I hadn't seen that blog post before. My favorite part of it:


In retrospect, we now know that Jack Johnson is a pompous, self-serving ass, actually! :laugh:

I've heard good things about the book, but I always thought that the opinions of Kessel were unfounded and overly malicious. It's pretty clear that Kessel is just an awkward guy, even now at age 28. Makes me wonder if Joyce didn't have some sort of bone to pick with Kessel's father that he took out on Phil.

And yeah, the Jack Johnson part is hilarious. What an all around dumpster he turned out to be.
 
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Sjoelbak

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Oct 5, 2015
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Nope. Just the people obviously ignoring the writing on the wall.

I'm so curious as to what your connection to Sprong is. You must be really close!

I work with his junior coach from Amsterdam, where he played 4 years before moving to Canada. This coach is not just another dad, by the way, he is the most capped player for the Dutch national team with over 200 international games.

He told me that he had never seen such determination at that age from any player. Sure, his father was involved maybe too much, but at that age that makes sense. Sprong is not living with his parents anymore, and he's determined to make it. You may see it as arrogant, but let's put it on the Dutch character trait of high self esteem.
 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Sep 5, 2008
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I just hope he plays in the NHL next year. He had all the tools to stick with the big club this season, and should have. His skating is great, his shot is phenomenal, and his offensive instincts are there. Let the kid play. There will be growing pains as he develops at the NHL level and rounds out his game, but having him learning from guys like Sid, Geno, Kessel, etc. and training like an NHLer will help him infinitely more than simply tearing it up against kids in a league where a complete game and defensive ability is an afterthought.
 

#66

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I'm so curious as to what your connection to Sprong is. You must be really close!

I work with his junior coach from Amsterdam, where he played 4 years before moving to Canada. This coach is not just another dad, by the way, he is the most capped player for the Dutch national team with over 200 international games.

He told me that he had never seen such determination at that age from any player. Sure, his father was involved maybe too much, but at that age that makes sense. Sprong is not living with his parents anymore, and he's determined to make it. You may see it as arrogant, but let's put it on the Dutch character trait of high self esteem.
The chip on his shoulder is what I like most about him. Every stsr player need that. There are a lot of skilled player without it and they dont have that push when needed.

My only things about not wanting him with the Pens full time next year are... I thought he was weak on the puck or at least not NHL strong. The other is that I like to see prospects spiral up and dominate at each level. I think it sets a stsndard for them and if they make mistakes... Its not on the grand stage.

I have zero issues with Sprongs character. He seems like a great kid from all I can watch and see. Attitude is a good thing. No one wants a mush at game time.
 

Mr Jiggyfly

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Jan 29, 2004
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I read/heard that Sprong's teammates on the Pens were highly impressed with his work ethic and drive to be a pro. Apparently he spent a lot of time working on things after practice.

The most common thing that keeps coming up about him, is his determination is off the charts. That bodes well for his future IMHO.

As for his attitude problem some are referring to, people made **** up about Kessel being a cancer, how stupid do they look now?
 

Freeptop

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I've heard good things about the book, but I always thought that the opinions of Kessel were unfounded and overly malicious. It's pretty clear that Kessel is just an awkward guy, even now at age 28. Makes me wonder if Joyce didn't have some sort of bone to pick with Kessel's father that he took out on Phil.

And yeah, the Jack Johnson part is hilarious. What an all around dumpster he turned out to be.

To be clear, the line I quoted was from a blog writer commenting on Gare Joyce's work, not Gare Joyce himself. Mr. Joyce doesn't have a very high opinion of Kessel, but overall his book was excellent. For anyone curious about how scouting works, it's well worth a read.
 

SidDidNothingWrong

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Jan 2, 2014
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I'm so curious as to what your connection to Sprong is. You must be really close!

I work with his junior coach from Amsterdam, where he played 4 years before moving to Canada. This coach is not just another dad, by the way, he is the most capped player for the Dutch national team with over 200 international games.

He told me that he had never seen such determination at that age from any player. Sure, his father was involved maybe too much, but at that age that makes sense. Sprong is not living with his parents anymore, and he's determined to make it. You may see it as arrogant, but let's put it on the Dutch character trait of high self esteem.

Good post.
 

JTG

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Sep 30, 2007
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I read/heard that Sprong's teammates on the Pens were highly impressed with his work ethic and drive to be a pro. Apparently he spent a lot of time working on things after practice.

The most common thing that keeps coming up about him, is his determination is off the charts. That bodes well for his future IMHO.

As for his attitude problem some are referring to, people made **** up about Kessel being a cancer, how stupid do they look now?

Sprong is a hockey junkie. You want guys like him around because he pushes guys around him. A 19 year old with hunger like that - he's taking jobs, and other wingers should be scared.

I think you let him play next season. I think he fits the exact mold of a Sullivan player, and I think everything he needs to work on can be done at the NHL level.
 

JTG

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Sep 30, 2007
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You can most certainly judge the playing attitude of a player based on his body language on-ice. To say otherwise is completely moronic.

Yeah, no. Look at Kessel. He shows absolutely no intensity whatsoever, but you bet your ass when the games start to matter, the dude ramps his game up. His attitude and body language would portray a guy that doesn't give 2 *****. Sprong's body language to me screams intensity. He's wants to drive the puck down the throat of the defense every time he gets it. Absolutely nothing negative about his body language
 

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