Pulkkinen's NHL stint was a bit sobering - similar to Mantha's AHL production. Surely the long injury was very detrimental to Mantha, so I understand why many give him the benefit of a doubt. Frankly, I do not remember if I voted for him as #1 prospect.
The top 10 seem very plausible to me (Marchenko might have been a bit higher if his NHL stint had begun earlier) - and it is similar to HF's ranking, by the way. However, I think equally or even more impressive would be the list of prospects ranked #11 - #20, since it shows the huge depth in Detroit's pool with Bäckman, Holmström and Janmark all having good SHL seasons, remarkable junior players Nastasiuk, Turgeon, Hicketts and Paterson, KHL regular Kadeykin and some more. Therefore I am a bit disappointed that voting stops here...
Gruß,
BSHH
Outside of generational talents, and #1 draft picks (not picked by Edmonton) who actually gives a big enough flash of players they are to show the whole picture in there first 20-30 games? No one does. You might get a glimmer of X on a case by case basis but you do not see where and how they will grow as players.
But that also is not 100% foolproof either. Look at Mackinnon this year now that there is tape on him. Nowhere near as effective as he was last year. Ekblad has done really well this year but at the same time the book isn't out on him yet. There could be enough to draw some conclusions to how he plays and how to attack him but coaches don't have enough to implement systems/strategies specifically designed to exploit him either. Next year is when his challenge will come because there will be enough data to make a plan against him.
A player solidified in the AHL still has to weather a storm of a jump in talent at the next level. So there is a learning process. The wings way also waits more often than not for a level of physical maturity as well (most often 22-23 is when prospects our given chances). Most prospects to get at least a bare minimum of a handle on the league need around 50 games to adjust accordingly.
So giving Mantha a free pass when he hasn't even gotten the adjustment period of the hardest league in the world is ********. He has just made 1 talent jump and still has the most important to go through. And he hasn't even proven (you know what the Red Wings demand of each kid to dominate there roles before they are moved up) to be a consistent top 6 contributer in the AHL setting.
Meanwhile Pulu has kicked the AHL's ass. He is a constant producer of offense. He has worked significantly on his 2 way game. And he is in the top echelon of the entirety of Ahl. He has proven everything that has been expected of him by the organization barring one thing (being the guy in the playoffs but that hasn't happened yet due to the season isn't at its climax yet).
And please understand Pulu isn't my #1 either. However he has proven more than Mantha. And he should be in my opinion given the nod over a kid that hasn't done much. Pulu is in my personal rankings #3. He is behind Petr, and Xavier in that order. Marchenko is at 4 and Larkin is at 5.
By that logic, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Tatar, Nyquist, Howard and Kronwall are by a wide margin the best prospects we have. They are all playing a lot better than any of the guys we have been voting for.
To evaluate the quality of a prospect you have to consider what they can become, not what they are. What a player can become is mostly extrapolated from how the player compares to players of the same age in the same situation. Pulkinen and Mantha can no more be compared for what they do right now than they could 2 years ago when Mantha scored more goals than Pulkinen had points.
What kind of nonsense is this Datsyuk, Z, Howard, and Kronwall are proven veteran Nhl players. Tatar and Nyquist are much younger but are producing at .70--.75 ppg rates which by purely production would mean they are both first line forwards.
In your second paragraph thanks you just proved that you have the bias that most have on this forum but aren't willing to admit. At the same age Pulu was in a mens league against competition and did so at a rate that he probably unfairly drew comparisons to Selanne. However Mantha was in a kid league dwarfing over his competition by natural genetics.
. While I admit he has had a rough start given the leg and all he still hasn't produced to a degree that his "ceiling" would require (.65 ppg given his situation). Just typical ******** cause he has "size''. 
