So with Valenti playing in Vancouver this year, does anyone know if its just for a year? I see on Elite prospects that he's on a loan to the Giants.
Valenti signed a pro deal in Mannheim before this season. This has a number of advantages for everyone involved:
- Mannheim gets security in case he comes back, knowing he'll return to them
- Valenti gets security knowing he has a pro deal in place in case it doesn't work out in North America
- Giants, Mannheim, and Valenti can evaluate how the season went and what's best for his development after the year
He'll get every chance to succeed in Vancouver, and if he does, I could see him staying in North America for good. Given how difficult it is for prospects to break into DEL lineups, especially in Mannheim, I could definitely see Valenti picking Vancouver over Mannheim for another season or more – if the Giants want to keep him.
Think he'll be better than Bokk?
Difficult to say, but I'm leaning towards no. Valenti's development curve was a little unusual. He was incredible at 14 and 15, then stagnated a bit. He still got better, but not nearly as much as I would've liked to see. Bokk was the exact opposite – I never thought he could be a first-round NHL pick, then he just exploded in his draft year.
Valenti is getting a great chance to prove he's got NHL talent in Vancouver and I hope he takes it and runs with it. He was fantastic in the final stretch of the 2017-18 season, and if he continues to play the way he did there – both in Mannheim and with Team Germany – I'm very optimistic for him. But to reach Bokk-level, he'll have to explode at least as much as Bokk did last season.
