Prospect Info: David Savard

[Vagrant]

I have been reading these boards a bit because I have been following several CBJ prospects (JAM, Savard, Chaput, etc.) and noticed that the opinion of the staff regarding Savard's ultimate upside and the posters opinion of him vary greatly. For a player that has done nothing but score at every level he has played, including the NHL level in a brief stint, it seems odd that the fans aren't incredibly excited about his upside as compared to say Tim Erixon, who isn't scoring at the same pace that Savard has in the A.

What about Savard's game has soured the Columbus fanbase about his future, some even having him out of their personal top 7-10 prospects for the Jackets?

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[CBJWerenski8]

I have been reading these boards a bit because I have been following several CBJ prospects (JAM, Savard, Chaput, etc.) and noticed that the opinion of the staff regarding Savard's ultimate upside and the posters opinion of him vary greatly. For a player that has done nothing but score at every level he has played, including the NHL level in a brief stint, it seems odd that the fans aren't incredibly excited about his upside as compared to say Tim Erixon, who isn't scoring at the same pace that Savard has in the A.

What about Savard's game has soured the Columbus fanbase about his future, some even having him out of their personal top 7-10 prospects for the Jackets?

First, I don't think anyone has him out of the top 5. He's still pretty highly regarded, but his skating is what brings him down. He also didn''t play the best in his own zone during his stint in Columbus. Not bad, but not what he should be at. I think the general feeling with Savard is he has 2nd pairing potential, top PP potential. Thanks for stopping by

 

[Sore Loser]

I don't think there's as much wrong with his skating as people knock him for. He gets where he needs to be, most of the time. I think the main issue is that he's just a young defenseman, and tends to get lost in the fold from time to time with John Moore, Tim Erixon, and Ryan Murray all slotting ahead of him on the potential depth chart. There's a very good chance that Savard winds up better than any or all of those guys, but time will tell.

I think he does have the potential to be a very good defenseman in the NHL; a powerplay quarterback that can maybe play on the second pair. The upside is there, but we need to temper our expectations. He won't be the next Kris Letang, so I think we'd be selling him up the river if we talked about him in that context.

 

[Timeless Winter]

Savard is a bad skater.

 

[Crede777]

He was down to start the season in the AHL while guys like Erixon flourished. Just because he isn't in our top-5 isn't necessarily a bad thing. We just have guys like Murray, Atkinson, Erixon, Jenner, and maybe Dansk ahead of him (although I'd put him at #5).

I still think he'll be a quality NHL defenseman in the future.

 

[Sore Loser]

Savard is a bad skater.

 

[Nordique]

He is undervalued imo, which really speaks to the depth and youth this team has accumulated on the blue line. One or two posters proclaim him a bad skater and that becomes his default label. He is not a "bad" skater imo, though he can and will likely improve in that area, and he was better in his own end than most would believe.

He led all CBJ defenseman in +/-, (20+ games), at +0 in 31 games played, along with 2G, 8A. Not bad for a rookie blueliner.

 

[FlaggerX]

He is undervalued imo, which really speaks to the depth and youth this team has accumulated on the blue line. One or two posters proclaim him a bad skater and that becomes his default label. He is not a "bad" skater imo, though he can and will likely improve in that area, and he was better in his own end than most would believe.

He led all CBJ defenseman in +/-, (20+ games), at +0 in 31 games played, along with 2G, 8A. Not bad for a rookie blueliner.

Savard's skating has improved though he'll never equal John Moore or Erixon on his best day. He's a talented offensive defenseman with some challenges in his own end, and apparently didn't show up in the best of shape this year. But he's a big reason the Jackets are loaded at the blue line. Right now I don't worry so much about defensive injuries because we have real talent to plug the holes, assuming there are games to play.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

wrong thread

 

[db2011]

I have been reading these boards a bit because I have been following several CBJ prospects (JAM, Savard, Chaput, etc.) and noticed that the opinion of the staff regarding Savard's ultimate upside and the posters opinion of him vary greatly. For a player that has done nothing but score at every level he has played, including the NHL level in a brief stint, it seems odd that the fans aren't incredibly excited about his upside as compared to say Tim Erixon, who isn't scoring at the same pace that Savard has in the A.

What about Savard's game has soured the Columbus fanbase about his future, some even having him out of their personal top 7-10 prospects for the Jackets?

There may be some investment in "winning" the trade with the NYR that brought Erixon here (esp. in relation to the other trade with the NYR, that sent John Moore there). A significant piece in a blockbuster trade has more, how you say?, cachet, than a homegrown guy?

 

[SuperGenius]

I imagine it has something to do with the fact that he was pretty bad last year and Erixon was pretty good. Going into this season, it seemed pretty reasonable to rank him below Erixon and others.

This season he's really improved, although he's indecisive offensively, I'm sure that will come with time. I'm not his biggest fan, but I cannot deny how well his first half play has been.

 

[blahblah]

Accidental bump eh? Savard still does nothing for me; but he's serviceable I guess. In some games that pairing, with Nikitin, is just awful.

I don't understand Richards obsession with him; hopefully the return of Prout gets him back in that 7th dman position where he belongs.

I'm sure he'll improve. He should have a NHL career, even if it's a journeyman. After all guys like Clitsome found a home.

 

[bizzz*]

Accidental bump eh? Savard still does nothing for me; but he's serviceable I guess. In some games that pairing, with Nikitin, is just awful.

This pair is +7 over the last 5 games. I know your impression is more important than the real stats and I feel sorry that these guys do nothing for you. I wish the Murray-Wiz pair was doing as little as them recently.