Prospect Info: Defense prospects Ranked(hockeywriters)

[Drew311]

1) Dermott
2) Nielsen
3) Valiev
4) Greenway
5) Loov
6) Lindgren
7) Desrocher
8) Middleton
9) Mattinen

After 3 - 4 it's a pretty weak pool. Leafs definitely need to address this position at the next draft. No more wasted picks on big stay-at-home defensemen who can't skate.

 

[ACC1224]

I think its pretty awesome that a 155 pick is coming on like this. Hunter see's things others don't it seems. So young and so much development opportunity time available to him. This guy won't be rushed and it seems to be working for him and us. He has the second most shots in the league for defensemen.

Wouldn't be surprised at all if Desrocher was more a Lindsay Hofford pick than a Hunter pick.

 

[diceman934]

Desrocher is not a prospect. These guys don't know what they're talking about.

We have 3 actual defense prospects, the rest are all longshots at best.

Greenway is a legit prospect....he has a high ceiling and very physical as well. Hope he reaches his ceiling as we would have a gem. He should make the US WJC team next year, if he does that will be a strong indication of him hitting his development trajectory.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Greenway is a legit prospect....he has a high ceiling and very physical as well. Hope he reaches his ceiling as we would have a gem. He should make the US WJC team next year, if he does that will be a strong indication of him hitting his development trajectory.

I love the tools that Greenway has - size, mobile, physical, and offensive ability. I really hope he can put it together because if he can, he'll be a gem for the Leafs.

Babs would love him.

I see what his brother did for the US junior team this year and hope that he can follow that path except on the blue line.

 

[diceman934]

I love the tools that Greenway has - size, mobile, physical, and offensive ability. I really hope he can put it together because if he can, he'll be a gem for the Leafs.

Babs would love him.

I see what his brother did for the US junior team this year and hope that he can follow that path except on the blue line.

I say he is more physical then his brother and that is saying something. He is playing for very good coaches and that can only help....looking forward to see just how he progresses in the next year and a half.

To add Babs watched him play more then a few times and does like him.

 

[Walshy7]

1) Dermott
2) Nielsen
3) Valiev
4) Greenway
5) Loov
6) Lindgren
7) Desrocher
8) Middleton
9) Mattinen

After 3 - 4 it's a pretty weak pool. Leafs definitely need to address this position at the next draft. No more wasted picks on big stay-at-home defensemen who can't skate.

can you show me a visbly stronger pool of 9 dmen for another team? while they may have 5 no team has 9 strong d prospects, off the top of my head philly has the strongest and they have 4 legit d prospects and after is the same as ours long shots

edite: while other teams top 4 d prospects are stronger for sure not many have more than that. We should target some D but our top 3 or 4 aren't horrible

 

[Mess]

can you show me a visbly stronger pool of 9 dmen for another team? while they may have 5 no team has 9 strong d prospects, off the top of my head philly has the strongest and they have 4 legit d prospects and after is the same as ours long shots

That is a fairly average group of Dman prospects. IMO

Other teams are not scrambling to acquire many at that level as they have them of their own in the system.

Frankie Corrado who can't get a chance to play is a better NHL prospect than many on this list.

 

[TheProspector]

Dermott's season in the AHL, if he can maintain it for the balance, is on par with Voynov, Hamonic, John Moore, Sheldon Souray, Cory Sarich, Anton Babchuk, Shaone Morrisonn, Connor Carrick, Hamhuis, Brent Burns, Kurtis Foster, Trevor Daley, Smid, Ellerby, and Braydon Coburn. Not bad.

 

[TheProspector]

That is a fairly average group of Dman prospects. IMO

Other teams are not scrambling to acquire many at that level as they have them of their own in the system.

Frankie Corrado who can't get a chance to play is a better NHL prospect than many on this list.

It's a pretty deep list, but bereft of higher end talent.

 

[Mess]

It's a pretty deep list, but bereft of higher end talent.

Its highend talent that impacts and NHL fortunes as depth is fine but a dime a dozen really.

Corrado or Marinchin types are ahead of much of this list and still spare parts in the big picture.

 

[zeke]

Greenway is a legit prospect....he has a high ceiling and very physical as well. Hope he reaches his ceiling as we would have a gem. He should make the US WJC team next year, if he does that will be a strong indication of him hitting his development trajectory.

agree that outside of the top 3, greenway and lindgren have some promise. But I won't call them legit prospects yet.

 

[Walshy7]

Why is desrocher not a prospect?

 

[Joey Hoser]

agree that outside of the top 3, greenway and lindgren have some promise. But I won't call them legit prospects yet.

Care to define "legit prospect"? Yours is clearly a lot more strict than mine.

 

[saltming]

I say he is more physical then his brother and that is saying something. He is playing for very good coaches and that can only help....looking forward to see just how he progresses in the next year and a half.

To add Babs watched him play more then a few times and does like him.

His coaches project him to be pro ready before his NCAA term finishes. He is very underrated imo

 

[Walshy7]

His coaches project him to be pro ready before his NCAA term finishes. He is very underrated imo

you think the leafs try and get him to the AHL after this season? or 1 more NCAA?

 

[saltming]

you think the leafs try and get him to the AHL after this season? or 1 more NCAA?

He still needs at least 1 more season. His tools are there it's his toolbox that needs arranging.
His biggest weakness, from what ive read, is when to make the big hit. He tends to put himself out of position to get them.

 

[Walshy7]

He still needs at least 1 more season. His tools are there it's his toolbox that needs arranging.
His biggest weakness, from what ive read, is when to make the big hit. He tends to put himself out of position to get them.

well a lot of players still have that problem after all there junior developing; Nurse, Trouba, Dumba and Ristolainen (I think not sure on him).

 

[saltming]

well a lot of players still have that problem after all there junior developing; Nurse, Trouba, Dumba and Ristolainen (I think not sure on him).

Here is some stuff on his coach and good words about him.

Osiecki has an extraordinary track record for not only identifying blue line talent, but developing it. While serving as recruiting coordinator for former UW coach Mike Eaves from 2004 to '10, Osiecki landed and cultivated 10 prospects into NHL defensemen.

Osiecki said it's hard to find a true comparison for Greenway among those projects, but Osiecki kept coming back to Ryan McDonagh, a 2014 U.S. Olympian and NHL standout who serves as captain for the New York Rangers.

Osiecki said Greenway has the same high-grade hockey IQ as McDonagh and the potential to be a two-way defender in the NHL.

"No one had his size," Osiecki said of Greenway and his UW predecessors. "He's a hybrid of some of those guys."

Smart kid too. Understanding how to develop himself as a player

Greenway had his eye on going the Major Junior route, but signed with Wisconsin in the spring after the school made a coaching change. Former NHL player and coach Tony Granato brought in Osiecki and Don Granato, an associate head coach by way of the NTDP, who helped mold Greenway's older brother and current Boston University winger, Jordan, into a second-round NHL draft pick of Minnesota in 2015.

 

[saltming]

Some negative critique on Greenway

Asked earlier this week about Greenway's progress, Tony Granato noted that his attention to detail fades in and out.

"He gets some of it, and some of it he gets back on his heels and puts himself in a position that we're not looking to have him in," Granato said.

It's a matter of Greenway's mental presence being equal to his physical presence on each shift.

"A higher level of assertiveness," Osiecki said. "We'd like to see a little more urgency in his overall game.

"His hockey IQ is so high he knows what he wants to do at all times in every situation. Now it's just a matter of maybe doing it in a timely manner where he pushes himself. He sees it, but just make that play happen faster rather than wait for it."

In many respects, Greenway is like many 18-year-olds on campus in that he's figuring things on his own for the first time.

I've seen him play twice and his skating is amazing and when you know he's 200+lbs! Mind blown.

He skates better than his brother imo and uses his size better or more aggressively than his brother!!!

 

[Walshy7]

Here is some stuff on his coach and good words about him.


Smart kid too. Understanding how to develop himself as a player

really liking what im hearing about him, do you watch his games much? is he top pairing there? Even if we got a bottom pair LHD out of him that is a fantastic piece in any d core but the fact he has an actual ceiling much higher than that oh boy, I hope he becomes our diamond in the rough dman like so many other teams seem to just find

 

[saltming]

really liking what im hearing about him, do you watch his games much? is he top pairing there? Even if we got a bottom pair LHD out of him that is a fantastic piece in any d core but the fact he has an actual ceiling much higher than that oh boy, I hope he becomes our diamond in the rough dman like so many other teams seem to just find

He's a freshman so he's not their top pairing. I think NCAA is pretty much seniority driven. But I know the coaches give him more minutes than typical freshmen.

I've only seen him play twice on TV but I've followed him as much as I could since we drafted him.

 

[zeke]

Care to define "legit prospect"? Yours is clearly a lot more strict than mine.

Yeah I'm pretty strict. Mostly because even the best prospects fail a lot.

For me, "legit prospect" is someone I think has more than just a chance of being an NHLer in a best case scenario....for me it's someone who I think his average outcome (50th percentile projection) has him as an NHLer. Not near a lock to be an NHLer, but someone with a solid likely chance.

And yeah, that is pretty strict, because most prospects are longshots.

 

[Matthews34]

That is a fairly average group of Dman prospects. IMO

Other teams are not scrambling to acquire many at that level as they have them of their own in the system.

Frankie Corrado who can't get a chance to play is a better NHL prospect than many on this list.

Corrado is a better prospect???? He's a 23 year old waiver pick up. If that's true then Hunter should be fired.

 

[Mess]

Care to define "legit prospect"? Yours is clearly a lot more strict than mine.

Playing +100 meaningful NHL games and making an impact beyond a depth interchangeable part.

That is a measure that likely the majority of Leafs current prospect D pool is not likely to achieve, and that is true for many teams not just Leaf based in belief.

 

[Mess]

Corrado is a better prospect???? He's a 23 year old waiver pick up. If that's true then Hunter should be fired.

How does this current prospect pool D compare to say Stuart Percy (former 1st rounder), Matt Finn & Jesse Blacker (former 2nd rounders) that the fan base once believed had bright futures based on CHL stats in the prospect pool.

In reality the success rate outside of top end prospects is very hit and mostly miss where a Frankie Corrado level of achievement will already be viewed as a success story.