Did Mac Hollowell's progress make Durzi expendable

[qqaz]

Jake Muzzin made Durzi expendable.

I liked Durzi and was very curious to see what he may become. More so because he was a complete unknown but by definition the guy we are looking for. Right shot puck moving dman. However thats 2005-2015 leaf fan mentality. Currently the Leafs are making the moves they need to in order to potentially reach the summit.

Like in the Phil Kessel trade. Pengiuins get their cups and leafs turn the assets into Anderson and Kapanen. Im sure in hindsight the pens would love to have their assets back for Kessel, however they got what they wanted out of the deal and that is the Stanley cup(s).

I read through the thread to see if anyone said this. Muzzin mad Durzi expendable.

The opportunity to upgrade the team now was way too good to pass up. There's no way a player like Durzi should be a deal breaker in a trade for a guy who can play on the top D pairing. Especially so when that's the most glaring need for the team.

 

[Duffman955]

Not once did I think that was a good pick. This was further proven when he couldn't crack the Marlies as an overager

 

[BrainyBomber]

You don't make another prospect expendable by having too many of a good thing.

Same reason it was a huge mistake to trade Tuuka Rask because we had Justin Pogge

We don't have infinite prospects it makes sense to trade from a glut though to maintain balance.

We drafted mostly Dmen last year I'm fine with trading at best the third rated one at this point.

 

[Guy Boucher]

I'm fine with losing Durzi, irrelevant of Hollowell. I would have preferred making the trade without losing either the 1st or Grunstrom, but losing Durzi was ok. I know he puts up numbers but his size and skating aren't great. I just can't see him translating into the NHL.

 

[Guy Boucher]

Durzi is probably a better than Matt Finn, but he reminds me a lot of Matt Finn. Smart players, but not enough physical tools to make it translate.

 

[Mess]

Oveagers like Mac Hollowell that end up back in junior should be viewed almost as students missing a grade in school and having to be held back, not good enough to advance to the next level.

The CHL even put limits on this to allow only 3 max overagers on a CHL team as the league is designed for younger development players mainly 17-19 year olds with more promising future potential NHLers.

Most OA CHL players are generally previously undrafted ones or late round 5-7 NHL picks and longshots, having been passed through 2 drafts already and with no place yet to move forward, stay on as vets as this might be the furthest they go in hockey.

But since they're undrafted they're seen as the bottom end of 20 year olds talent wise as the good ones move on from junior to turn pro. So despite the age and experience advantage over younger kids the talent level is not as large to hinder the development of the younger more promising ones.

If you look at the OHL scoring by Dmen, you will find Mac Hollowell leading the pack with 58 points on a strong Soo team. #2 Ryan Merkley (age 18 & SJ (2018) Round: 1 (#21)) with 55 points and #3 Bode Wilde (turned 19 last week& NYI (2018) Round: 2 (#41) with 51 points.. Now if the Leafs had Merkley or Wilde those would be considered developing prospects to be more excited about.

Heck 5th in OHL dmen scoring is Nicolas Mattinen (age 20) drafted TOR (2016) Round: 6 (#179), a player the Leafs let walk unsigned, he went through the 2018 draft undrafted and now a UFA and has 16 goals and 48 points. Like Mattinen, Hollowell should have been drafted in 2016 when first eligible but likely considered too small 5-9 back then and in 2017 entry drafts until Leafs took a chance and that only likely happened because of how close Dubas is to his former CHL team the Soo. If Dubas didn't take him he might have gone through his 3rd NHL draft and now be a UFA. IMO

Lets put this in perspective .. 5-10/170 lbs Dmen are not in high demand in the NHL no matter how many CHL points they put up as 20 year olds. Certainly not a Babcock type player based on his preferences s past history will tell us.

 

[deletethis]

How about Ian White without the serious off-ice personal issues? That would be a big win. It's often forgotten that the 5'9" White was a legit effective NHL defenseman who simply wore out his welcome in multiple cities.

 

[613Leafer]

For some reason I thought Durzi was 19, not 20. Didn't realize he was same age as Hollowell.

I'd say Hollowell's the better player, but there's also the size difference. Not that Durzi is big, Hollowell's just a size that makes it difficult (but not impossible) to become an NHL defenceman.

 

[Myopic]

Does Hollowell have any chance of being converted to forward in the future?

Wendel converted from D. I'm just brainstorming here. How is his skating and speed? His wrist shot looks pretty good.