Final CSS rankings, who will be top of the NA list?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Guig

Registered User
Jun 17, 2003
1,448
11
Qc
Greg said:
CSS Term top 5 were: 1) Chipchura 2) Ladd 3) Wolski 4) Picard 5) Barker

Do you predict any changes for the final rankings?


I think it will be:

-Barker
-Wolski
-Schremp
-Ladd
-Chipchura
 

db23

Guest
A.J. Thelen of MSU will certainly be in the top 5, if not #1 overall. He is bigger and better than Cam Barker.
 

db23

Guest
Vincent_TheGreat said:
Bigger is not better, Barker is a better overall player, hence ranked higher.

Well, it is always difficult to compare players in two different leagues. Both are the same age, Thelen is a tad bigger according to the listings, and both have great offensive numbers. Thelen was selected to the All CCHA team (top votegetter among defencemen), and was also one of the top scoring NCAA blueliners overall. He will probably make first team All American, and he is still just 17 years old. About the only way to compare scoring in the CCHA vs. scoring in the WHL, would be to look at guys who jumped from one league to the other mid season. Duncan Keith went from averaging about .6 PPG in the CCHA to averaging 1.25 in the WHL, a year ago. Mike Comrie went from 1.4 PPG to about 2.4 in the WHL a few years back.

WHL points figure to be worth about half what the CCHA points are. At that rate, Thelen would be averaging 1.6 PPG in the WHL as a 17 year old. If he played the full 72 games, that works out to 116 points from a 6-3, 220 pound 17 year old defenceman. He would be in the race for the scoring title and he is a solid defender to boot. Barker is impressive, but he hasn't been that good in the WHL this season.
 

VOB

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
1,692
0
Michigan
Visit site
db23 said:
Well, it is always difficult to compare players in two different leagues. Both are the same age, Thelen is a tad bigger according to the listings, and both have great offensive numbers. Thelen was selected to the All CCHA team (top votegetter among defencemen), and was also one of the top scoring NCAA blueliners overall. He will probably make first team All American, and he is still just 17 years old. About the only way to compare scoring in the CCHA vs. scoring in the WHL, would be to look at guys who jumped from one league to the other mid season. Duncan Keith went from averaging about .6 PPG in the CCHA to averaging 1.25 in the WHL, a year ago. Mike Comrie went from 1.4 PPG to about 2.4 in the WHL a few years back.

WHL points figure to be worth about half what the CCHA points are. At that rate, Thelen would be averaging 1.6 PPG in the WHL as a 17 year old. If he played the full 72 games, that works out to 116 points from a 6-3, 220 pound 17 year old defenceman. He would be in the race for the scoring title and he is a solid defender to boot. Barker is impressive, but he hasn't been that good in the WHL this season.


Barker is ahead of Thelen, and will remain so not so much because of offensive ability but because of skating and phyiscal play. Barker is a better skater and plays a more physical style.

NCAA points do not equal twice the points in the WHL either. It all depends on the player and the role he finds himself with the team. Duncan Keith did average almost 1.25 pts per game when he defected to the dub but he was also given much more time on the power play. In the post season, however, 14pts in 19 games. Those numbers are very similiar to the ones he put up playing for MSU.

Comrie if you remember was one of the leading scores in the NCAA as a sophmore, and there is every reason to believe that he would have ripped the NCAA up as Junior, much the same way he tore up the WHL.

Another player you can look at is Alex Leavitt, who in his freshman season with Wisconsin (won't use his sophmore stats for obvious reasons) averaged .61 pts per game. In the WHL this year he averaged .95 pts per game but as an overager. How would he have fared with Wisconsin had he not fallen out with Mike Eaves? It would be safe to assume that he would have been close to a point a game player as a Junior in the NCAA as well but again the role the player has with his respective team does make a difference.
 

West

Registered User
Mar 7, 2002
753
0
Toronto
Visit site
db23 said:
A.J. Thelen of MSU will certainly be in the top 5, if not #1 overall. He is bigger and better than Cam Barker.

I agree. He and Andrew Ladd I'd put 1, 2 in the draft for NA. I'd be shocked if they both aren't in the top 5.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->