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Confirmed with Link: Gabriel Vilardi signs 3-year ELC

redcard

redcard

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HeadInjury said:
Shouldn't we just be thrilled that he hasn't had any setbacks with his back?
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Sure, but giving him a couple games in the NHL this season allows him to experience the pace first hand and expose what he needs to work on. You can bet Clague went back to Ontario after his stint with a list of things to focus on when he's playing higher minutes and more special teams in the AHL. Same will happen with JAD, wouldn't hurt to give Vilardi a little perspective too.
 
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crassbonanza

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Herby said:
Thank You!

I feel like this board has done a 180 the last few years in regard to this, feel like 4-5 years ago when Forbort was in year 5 of the slowest top 15 development ever I was the one saying we need younger better guys to come up quicker as it's a younger league while others talked about patience. Now it seems that everyone wants these guys to get to the Kings or Reign as quick as possible, development be damned. People want a guy who has missed a ton of games the last few years to come up to a disaster situation with the Kings before he has really earned it, let the guy become a player at that level. Same thing with Turcotte, people want a kid who just graduated HS last year to be riding busses as a 19 year old kid in the minor leagues and trying to play his sandpaper style against bigger and seasoned pros when he is probably nowhere close to 200 pounds and hasn't dominated at his current level. Kaliyev too, great offensive player but he has some work to do playing a more complete game and getting ready for pros. Having him playing on a terrible Kings team next season is not going to do much for his growth and development as a player.

I understand the Kings have been a disaster for most of the last 5-6 years and we really haven't graduated many high end prospects and people want something to be excited about but lets have some patience.

Vilardi, JAD and Bjornfoot compete next season
Turcotte, Kaliyev,#1 pick this year (unless we win lottery), Fagemo, Kupari compete in camp in September 2021

Slow and steady guys, you are going to ruin these kids if you put them in situations they aren't ready for. Let them dominate at their current level.
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Among top 5 draft picks over the past decade only Strome, Reinhart, Dal Colle, Juolevi and Makar did not make the NHL by their draft+1 season. Makar is a defenseman, who typically take a bit longer and Strome has had a resurgence lately, but spent most of his career so far as a 20-30 point player. The rest are pretty close to being busts. It would be troublesome if Turcotte is only just competing for a roster spot in his draft +2 season.

Similar things could be said for Kupari/Fagemo/Kaliyev. If your high end offensive prospects aren't cracking the lineup until they are 21+ then they are not likely to become good top 6 forwards. The days of the Kenny Holland over-marinating of prospects are kind of long gone. Among the current top 50 scorers in the league, only 4 players weren't in the NHL by their age 20 season and there are none in the top 25.
 
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tomd

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redcard said:
Sure, but giving him a couple games in the NHL this season allows him to experience the pace first hand and expose what he needs to work on. You can bet Clague went back to Ontario after his stint with a list of things to focus on when he's playing higher minutes and more special teams in the AHL. Same will happen with JAD, wouldn't hurt to give Vilardi a little perspective too.
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Probably not a great example to use...Clague is pointless and a -11 (not a typo) in the three games he has played since being sent back to Ontario.
 
Raccoon Jesus

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crassbonanza said:
Among top 5 draft picks over the past decade only Strome, Reinhart, Dal Colle, Juolevi and Makar did not make the NHL by their draft+1 season. Makar is a defenseman, who typically take a bit longer and Strome has had a resurgence lately, but spent most of his career so far as a 20-30 point player. The rest are pretty close to being busts. It would be troublesome if Turcotte is only just competing for a roster spot in his draft +2 season.

Similar things could be said for Kupari/Fagemo/Kaliyev. If your high end offensive prospects aren't cracking the lineup until they are 21+ then they are not likely to become good top 6 forwards. The days of the Kenny Holland over-marinating of prospects are kind of long gone. Among the current top 50 scorers in the league, only 4 players weren't in the NHL by their age 20 season and there are none in the top 25.
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I dunno about that, he’s a little different in that he’s playing college. If he were in the OHL like most of the other guys (Makar kind of a weird path), he’d be here next year. I have no doubt he could hold a roster spot right now, we’re talking about what’s best for a guy who wants to play an aggressive game.

tomd said:
Probably not a great example to use...Clague is pointless and a -11 (not a typo) in the three games he has played since being sent back to Ontario.
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He’s talking about process, i.e. now that you’ve seen the NHL level, what do you need to focus on to prep for that?

But not at all to see you pop out of the weeds to trash a Kings prospect, how conveniently opportunistic for you.
 
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King'sPawn

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crassbonanza said:
Among top 5 draft picks over the past decade only Strome, Reinhart, Dal Colle, Juolevi and Makar did not make the NHL by their draft+1 season. Makar is a defenseman, who typically take a bit longer and Strome has had a resurgence lately, but spent most of his career so far as a 20-30 point player. The rest are pretty close to being busts. It would be troublesome if Turcotte is only just competing for a roster spot in his draft +2 season.

Similar things could be said for Kupari/Fagemo/Kaliyev. If your high end offensive prospects aren't cracking the lineup until they are 21+ then they are not likely to become good top 6 forwards. The days of the Kenny Holland over-marinating of prospects are kind of long gone. Among the current top 50 scorers in the league, only 4 players weren't in the NHL by their age 20 season and there are none in the top 25.
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The closest example where he's been compared to is Jonathan Toews. Toews, a 3rd overall, spent two years after being drafted in the NCAA. He also just had 2 assists in his D+1 WJC. Despite his scoring drought, he is very close to Toews' D+1 year in the NCAA.

Not saying he will be Toews, but looking back a decade is faulty if you omit a stylistic comparable.
 
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crassbonanza

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Raccoon Jesus said:
I dunno about that, he’s a little different in that he’s playing college. If he were in the OHL like most of the other guys (Makar kind of a weird path), he’d be here next year. I have no doubt he could hold a roster spot right now, we’re talking about what’s best for a guy who wants to play an aggressive game.
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I agree that he needs to be where he can develop best. I personally don't think going back to college is unquestionably the best place for development, I think the AHL offers some things that college doesn't. The ability to focus more on hockey development, adapt to a longer schedule, have more time with the Kings training staff, etc and ultimately Blake and him will decide what is best.

My point was that development has changed in the past 15 years, the idea of over marinating prospects being the best method doesn't really seem to be the case. If your top prospects aren't getting NHL experience by their age 20 season they aren't likely to develop into a high end offensive players.

Currently out of the top 50 scorers in the NHL only Wheeler, Kuznetsov, Guentzel and Rust weren't in the NHL during their age 20 season. Wheeler refused to sign with the Yotes and waited until he was a free agent and Kuznetsov was in the KHL at 17. That leaves Rust and Guentzel as the only guys in the top 50 who took longer to develop.
 

crassbonanza

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King'sPawn said:
The closest example where he's been compared to is Jonathan Toews. Toews, a 3rd overall, spent two years after being drafted in the NCAA. He also just had 2 assists in his D+1 WJC. Despite his scoring drought, he is very close to Toews' D+1 year in the NCAA.

Not saying he will be Toews, but looking back a decade is faulty if you omit a stylistic comparable.
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I really only went back a decade for convenience sake.

As for Toews, I believe Toews only went back to college for one year after being drafted. He was drafted out of North Dakota, went back to school for that season and made the Hawks in his D+1 season. He started his NHL career in his age 19 season.
 
EbonyRaptor

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crassbonanza said:
I really only went back a decade for convenience sake.

As for Toews, I believe Toews only went back to college for one year after being drafted. He was drafted out of North Dakota, went back to school for that season and made the Hawks in his D+1 season. He started his NHL career in his age 19 season.
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Correct. Toews was drafted in 2006, went back to North Dakota and then entered the NHL with Kane in 2007. Toews played 2 years at North Dakota but his freshman year was as a 17 year old before his draft year.
 
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King'sPawn

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crassbonanza said:
I agree that he needs to be where he can develop best. I personally don't think going back to college is unquestionably the best place for development, I think the AHL offers some things that college doesn't. The ability to focus more on hockey development, adapt to a longer schedule, have more time with the Kings training staff, etc and ultimately Blake and him will decide what is best.

My point was that development has changed in the past 15 years, the idea of over marinating prospects being the best method doesn't really seem to be the case. If your top prospects aren't getting NHL experience by their age 20 season they aren't likely to develop into a high end offensive players.

Currently out of the top 50 scorers in the NHL only Wheeler, Kuznetsov, Guentzel and Rust weren't in the NHL during their age 20 season. Wheeler refused to sign with the Yotes and waited until he was a free agent and Kuznetsov was in the KHL at 17. That leaves Rust and Guentzel as the only guys in the top 50 who took longer to develop.
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Ugh, long day. I knew better, too.
 
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King'sPawn

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crassbonanza said:
I really only went back a decade for convenience sake.

As for Toews, I believe Toews only went back to college for one year after being drafted. He was drafted out of North Dakota, went back to school for that season and made the Hawks in his D+1 season. He started his NHL career in his age 19 season.
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Lol and just to show what a long day it was, I quoted the wrong post about Toews being in the NCAA in his D+2 season.

Long story short, I don't think he has to go back to NCAA, but I don't think it's as alarming.
 
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Raccoon Jesus

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King'sPawn said:
Lol and just to show what a long day it was, I quoted the wrong post about Toews being in the NCAA in his D+2 season.

Long story short, I don't think he has to go back to NCAA, but I don't think it's as alarming.
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Right, "has to" vs. "be better if." Also keeping in mind a lot of those (maybe not a lot) top picks weren't only top talents that COULD play, they were rushed due to team situations as well.
 
FrozenRoyalty

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Funny that some of you just mentioned Vilardi...

After being sidelined for the vast majority of the last two seasons with a pretty serious back injury, Los Angeles Kings center prospect Gabe Vilardi returned to the ice back in November 2019 and we haven’t heard much since.

So how is he doing in his return to hockey? What lies ahead? What challenges lie ahead for him? Is there a projection for what he might become or when he might join the Kings?

Get all the answers here...
LA Kings: So What’s Up With That Vilardi Guy?
 
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Statto

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FrozenRoyalty said:
Funny that some of you just mentioned Vilardi...

After being sidelined for the vast majority of the last two seasons with a pretty serious back injury, Los Angeles Kings center prospect Gabe Vilardi returned to the ice back in November 2019 and we haven’t heard much since.

So how is he doing in his return to hockey? What lies ahead? What challenges lie ahead for him? Is there a projection for what he might become or when he might join the Kings?

Get all the answers here...
LA Kings: So What’s Up With That Vilardi Guy?
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Nice read, thanks Gann. I always enjoy reading what Vilardi thinks about his situation. He has a good honest outlook and a great attitude in general. He seems to be living in the moment and enjoying himself, which is what will get the best results.
 
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