Defense Prospects

I've heard a lot about the following prospects on D... who do you gurus think will turn out to be the best guy all round? What about from a purely offensive standpoint? Any future Norris contenders?

Phaneuf
Coburn
Woywitka
Koltsov
Colaicovo
Komisarek
Babchuk
Daley

Thanks!

 

All around: Dion Phaneuf
Offensive: Carlo Colaiacovo

 

phaneuf has a big shot.. thats about it for offense.. dont know about norris but i think he is the best one of that group and i would say koltsov has the best offensive potential

 

Dave Babych & Harold Snepts are good.

 

In the quest to inflate your post count, at least spell "Snepsts" correctly.

 

Tell me when you have 100 posts to your credit, then we'll talk.

How's the fantasy team going?

 

Uhh, I couldn't care less about post count. That's you, remember?

As for "fantasy", I hate to break it to you, but guys like Phaneuf and Coburn would never be on my team. And neither would Tjutin.

Stick to the subject. Since you don't seem to have anything to offer here, move along.

 

Move along eh?

Good luck with that fantasy team stud

 

Is your list exclusive? If not, IMO Steve Eminger and Shaone Morrisonn deserve a little street cred.

Coliaicovo may have the most offensive potential.

 

All Around: Phaneuf/Komisarek
Offensive: Colaicovo/Kolstov

Many player who should be good on the defensive zone can also rack-up many point. For exemple, Komisarek have a pretty good pass and shot and with all the offensive talent coming in Montreal, he should be able to produce on the offensive side...most likely with the assists...

 

wow Babchuk is so under-rated its not funny. He is probably better than almost everyone on that list, other than Phaenuf and Coburn

 

Komisarek is at the top of the list on both counts in my estimation. It is just that he is so big and got such a late start in the game, it is going to take him an extra couple of years to pass all of the others. You could include any of the top young defenceman around in that list, including Bouwmeester, Pitkanen, Hamhuis, Jackman, etc., and Komo will still end up being the best of the bunch within a couple of seasons. He is 240 pounds and started playing hockey about 6 years later than the other guys. Mike is Zdeno Chara with much better offensive instincts. Five years ago no one would have dreamed that Chara would be a Norris candidate and one of the top scoring defenseman in the game.

 

I think that Babchuk will be the second best on the list to Komisarek. But a year ago in the AHL, as a rookie, Mike had more points in less games than any of these guys playing their first AHL season. What is more, he was leading the league in +- when he was called up to Montreal, and he was selected as a starter in the AHL All Star game. None of these players has come close to that performance in the AHL, and none of them is close to the size of Komisarek.

Even without the numbers, Komisarek wins the overall category in a walk by virtue of his character, intelligence and durability. He played over 100 pro games last season, fresh out of college, and never missed a minute due to injury. He is already the second most popular Canadien in Montreal to Jose Theodore even though he isn't a hometown boy and is stuck with 10 minutes of playing time per game.

 

Not exhaustive at all... these are just the guys I'm most interested in, but I'm basically looking at the next generation of impact defensemen. I've got a good handle on the future up front and in net, but I'm just looking for greater knowledge and insight in this area.

 

Phaneuf is a horse. Bonecrushing body checker. Will be an impact player for sure. Never seen Sutter this happy.

 

I wondered what happened to Babchuck's press, is he that talented, or is he overachieving in the system?

 

Babchuk is back in the AHL, where he has something like 16 points in 60 odd games. Not really that exceptional. There are a dozen rookie D men in the AHL that have better numbers. He is very young, and very big whick work in his favor. Actually the top scoring young defenceman in the AHL is Doug Lynch. No one mentions him. He will be as good or better than a lot of players on the list.

 

I was clinging to the small hope that someone would mention Lynch. I'm really excited about him. At least one of him and Woywitka should make the team next year. I can't wait.

 

Wow you post a lot at a messageboard so you think you have more knowledge about hockey than people who haven't made as many posts. Am I one of the only people who laugh at the idea?

 

The reason I thnk Babchuk is good, is because he is very sound positionally and has an offensive ability. He can score 25pts in the NHL (which is solid) and be a 25min guy at the same time. I think Phaneuf and Coburn are exactly that as well. Doug Lynch doesnt get a lot of press either but I certainly agree that he is going to be a steal for EDM.

Another defenseman thats not going to be expectional but darn solid is Jan Platil in Ottawa. I am enamored to see what he can deliver in 2 years.

 

I think Doug Lynch is one of the most underrated prospects in North America.

 

No love for Denis Grebeshkov. I guess that's understandable because he is neither the top offensive prospect or defensive prospect , but He could be in the top 5 for both catagories so here's his love for all around d-man .

 

People really underrate Komisarek's offensive ability, which is understandable considering his reputation as a big bruiser and the fact that he has just 5 points in his first 60 NHL games. But he will be as much an offensive force as a defensive force in the not too distant future. To get an idea of how he compares to the CHL products in terms of offensive potential, take a look at Duncan Keith who was a slick smooth skating offensive reargaurd who played in the CCHA then went to the WHL part way through his sophomore season. Keith had 14 points in 41 games as a CCHA freshman at MSU. Komisarek had 16 points in 41 games as a freshman. Komo averaged .75 PPG as a soph while winning the Best Defensive Defenceman award at the same time. Keith averaged .6 PPG in his partial soph season, then went to the WHL and had 47 points in 37 games. Since Komisarek was more productive than Keith in the CCHA at the same age, there is no reason to think that he would not have been at least as productive in the CHL.

By those standards, you would have expected Komo to score around 100 points in a full CHL season as a 19 year old. None of the other guys mentioned here who played in Canada, Colaiacovo, Woywitka, Daley, have come close to that. It is doubtful that Phaneuf or Coburn will either. If that is not enough, check Komisarek's scoring rate in the AHL as a first year pro against "offensive whizzes" like Dan Hamhuis or Lukas Krajicek. He averaged over .5 points per game as a rookie in the AHL. The only rookie D man who matched that a year ago was Jim Fahey, who was 3 years older than Komisarek. The only one matching that this year is Garrett Stafford who is also a couple of years older than Mike.

 

Out of curiosity...how does Fedor Tyutin rate against these guys?

 

I think that Babchuk and Tyutin are just behind Komisarek in potential. Both of those guys are big, strong, and have great shots. Tyutin seems to be playing a regular shift in N.Y. now, and Babchuk will likely be doing the same in Chicago a year from now. I think that their size will make them more successful NHL players than Koltsov or Grebeshkov.