Prospect Info: Giorgio Estephan (2015, 152nd) – '16-17: Lethbridge #9 (WHL)

[Woodhouse]

Click to read more...

 

[Woodhouse]

 

[Mit Yarrum]

Great name.

 

[Paxon]

Rob Ray, 2020: "Georgie Esteban"

 

[couture23]

Amazing name.

 

[Ralonzo]

Rob Ray, 2020: "Georgie Esteban"

Next shift, "Gloria Estefan"

 

[cybresabre]

Rob Ray, 2020: "Georgie Esteban"

O-ey-o-ey!



(take that Montreal)


Of course, GE's a hit machine, and her best is Dr. Beat, but it's too early to YT link to that kind of crazy.

 

[Wisent42]

Next shift, "Gloria Estefan"

Son of Patty Stefan, right?

 

[NotABadPeriod]

So, other than the name, do we know anything about this guy?

 

[dire wolf]

So, other than the name, do we know anything about this guy?

what more do you need to know?

 

[R S]

My thoughts:

http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html

#28 Giorgio Estephan

Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes
Position: C
Shoots: R
Height: 6’0
Weight: 188
GP: 64
Goals: 23
Assists: 28
Points: 51
Pts/Gm: 0.79
PIM: 18

Player Analysis: Giorgio Estephan is an extremely skilled offensive pivot for the Lethbridge Hurricanes…skating stride is quite wide, which seems to give him good balance…top speed is good but not great for a player of his size and skillset…while the wide stance to his stride gives him good balance, it seems to hurt his acceleration which is also only good but definitely not great…overall skating and mobility will need to be taken up a notch or two to make a successful jump to the next level…possesses extremely soft hands with the ability to corral very tough passes on a regular basis…is a very good stickhandler with a large bag of tricks at his disposal to beat players on 1-on-1 plays both in the neutral zone and off the cycle…also has an extremely good shot…has a very quick release…

knows how to find soft spots offensively and how to get into proper shooting position quickly for bang-bang chances, making him even more dangerous off the cycle…one-timer is a major threat on the PP while also being dangerous if he can find open space in the offensive zone at even strength…I did question his vision at times during my viewings of him…seemed to have some tunnel vision from time to time, failing to notice players who were wide open in scoring areas…also tended to try and be a bit too fancy at times when trying to make plays…could stand to be a bit more north-south at times and go to the net with a bit more regularity…away from the puck he’s smart positionally on the forecheck…also showed some good hustle with regularity on the backcheck…has some good footwork defensively and does a pretty good job interrupting passing and shooting lanes with his stick, making up for his slight lack of speed and mobility…has a decent level of physicality and compete on the defensive side of the puck, even though he projects far more as an offensive player going forward…has a bit of chippiness to his game but I wouldn’t call him a mean or overly aggressive player…he spent the last part of the year in the middle of Brayden Burke and Tyler Wong and their line was one of the hottest in the WHL due to their fantastic chemistry with each other…along with spending the majority of the year as their #1 centre Estephan was also their main powerplay threat and also saw time as a penalty killer…the coaching change partway through the year seemed to lift major weight off his shoulders as my viewings of him in the second half were night and day compared to the first half…

this year he more than doubled his point totals from 2013-14 where he put up 24 points in 64 games as a rookie on a very bad Hurricanes club…his offensive progression this year regarding actual production was staggering as the year wore on…he put up only 0.47 points-per-game in the first half of the year, more than doubling that to 1.09 from January 1st through the end of the year…that was an increase of over 130%, one of the highest such marks of any draft-eligible WHL skater…his 23 goals during the regular season was good T-5th best among first-year draft-eligible WHL forwards while he finished 9th in points and PPG among that group…scored 12.57% of all Hurricanes goals this season, the 4th highest such mark of any first-year draft-eligible WHL forward…either scored or assisted on 27.32% of all Lethbridge goals this year, good for 7th best among all first-year draft-eligible WHL forwards…was recognized by the Hurricanes this season for his perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship…he was picked 4th overall by the Hurricanes in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft…overall I see Estephan as a talented kid who is trending in the right direction…despite having some concerns with his skating and pure hockey sense, there is no doubt that he has the skill to project as a top 9 forward at the NHL level if his development goes well…for me, his somewhat bizarre choices with the puck at times and skating issues (albeit fixable) hold me back from ranking him much higher than a 5th rounder…ultimately I expect we’ll see him come off the board in or around the 6th round of the 2015 NHL Draft…

 

[Woodhouse]

Edmonton-area prospects to watch in the 2015 NHL draft:

“Once (Lethbridge) made the coaching change and brought in Peter, Estephan’s game took off,” said TSN’s scouting guru Craig Button, who has the Vimy Ridge Hockey Academy graduate rated 100th on his pre-draft list.

“Giorgio was back on his heels until then, playing not to make a mistake. On a team that was abysmal, he somehow finished minus 1 at the end of the season and he had 51 points (64 games). His game was in the shadows.”

But Button says there is a lot to like about Estephan. “He’s a smart, heady centreman,” he said. “He knows where to be on the ice and while he has to improve his quickness, he can make a play. He has some thickness to him and doesn’t get pushed off the puck.”

The 18-year-old Estephan could be like Tampa Bay Lightning centre Cedric Paquette, drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL draft, Button said.

“Paquette was competitive and smart in junior and had to improve in some areas and now you watch him (playoffs) and those types of qualities are coveted.”

Also, Estephan's Prospects thread is HERE.

 

[Woodhouse]

Royce: “He’s a guy our Western League scout knows very well. He had a broken ankle or foot early in the year, didn’t train in the summer. The knock against him is he has to work on his skating but he knows how to score goals, competes hard. Kevin Prendergast knew him. He was very passionate about it.”

 

[Woodhouse]

 

[Woodhouse]

NHL draft tracker: Giorgio Estephan, Lethbridge Hurricanes:

Early on in the season, it didn’t’ seem Giorgio Estephan would hear his name called at the 2015 NHL entry draft. He only managed to muster one goal and four points throughout 21 games in the first two months of the year. But in the second half of the season, the Lethbridge Hurricanes centre hit his offensive stride, averaging 1.09 points per game with 19 goals and 37 points in 34 contests.

“In the second half I wanted to come back and make a statement,” says Estephan, who finished the year with 23 goals and 51 points in 64 matches. “I also had more confidence going into the second half and felt more comfortable out there.”

Further, Estephan was -15 and had 1+5 in 24 GP pre-Anholt. After the coaching change, he was +14 and had 22+23 in 40 GP (1.125 P/GP prorates to 81 points over 72 GP) under Anholt. It's also noteworthy how crappy Lethbridge has been and that he drew the tougher assignments from opponents:

“When you’re playing against the top guys in the WHL, you have to learn to play against players with a lot of firepower,” says Estephan. “I’ve learned the best way to get offensive chances is to learn how to play in your own zone and play well defensively. I’ve worked on improving that part of my game and I think it shows up in my numbers because I’m going against other team’s top lines for offensive chances.”

Lastly, below is a clip from Lethbridge vs Kelowna during his hot streak in January .. first he forces Morrissey into a turnover and finishes him, next finds himself some space, and then snipes it:

 

[JThorne]

Only on the condition that you must call me Esteban.

 

[Woodhouse]

Estephan and Lethbridge have also opened camp. Here's their schedule.

 

[Woodhouse]

This is from the draft, but it wasn't shared, so here's that interview as well:

 

[Woodhouse]

 

[kenfury]

Woodhouse, with your 5 or so posts you are doing the lords work. Just wanted to say thank you.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Woodhouse, with your 5 or so posts you are doing the lords work. Just wanted to say thank you.

Just trying to boost his post count, obviously.

 

[Woodhouse]

Estephan was in on the first three goals of that particular training camp scrimmage:

 

[Woodhouse]

Lethbridge lost their preseason opener vs Medicine Hat on Friday, 3-2. Estephan (White #9 "A") was on the ice for both Lethbridge GF and was credited with one assist, but if you seek to the 1:00 mark below, you'll see both goals were softies.

 

[LaxSabre]

‏@SabresProspects -

Giorgio Estephan has 1G+1A as Lethbridge leads Kootenay 2-0 - End 1st.

Giorgio Estephan finishes with a career-high four points (1G+3A) to earn the game's #1 star as Lethbridge wins 5-1 at Kootney.

 

[LaxSabre]

‏@SabresProspects - Giorgio Estephan has 1G+1A as Lethbridge leads Kootenay 2-0 - End 1st.
Giorgio Estephan finishes with a career-high four points (1G+3A) to earn the game's #1 star as Lethbridge wins 5-1 at Kootney.

‏@SabresProspects - Wednesday, October 7.

One of Estephan's four points was taken away from his Saturday effort, so he went out and grabbed two more helpers last night in a LET win.