blundluntman
Registered User
- Jul 30, 2016
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Rickard Wallin.
Played for the Leafs in 09/10. 60 games and 9 pts. He was a good player in Sweden but he didn't have the skating or athleticism to work out in the NHL, especially as he was having a bottom six role as he wasn't skilled enough for more than that. Those were dark days for the TML.
What was the deal with Jared Staal? Didn't Eric call him the most talented of the Staal brothers or something? Did he just feel sorry for the guy? Didn't he put up garbage stats in the OHL?
Boris Valabik
1st round pick, as it turned out mostly because of his size.
His being taken so high and given a run in the NHL is almost purely an exercise of "lets find the next Chara" (tall, strong, Slovakian defenseman)
his pre draft years werent exactly great either...14pts in 46 games in Slovak juniors, and 16pts in 68 games in the OHL
Justin Pogge? Super hyped up goalie prospect kept over Tuukka Rask was given the obligatory cup of coffee even though his development stalled and probably wasn't a viable goalie option.
In the past decade who are some examples of players who truly didnt earn the right to play a single NHL game.
These guys are professional athletes and worked their asses off to get into the best league in the world. Who are you, or anyone here, to say they "didn't earn the right" to play.
This thread is brutal.
Peter Worrell skill wise was about the worst I've seen. I mean he could barely skate
Boris Valabik
1st round pick, as it turned out mostly because of his size.
I mostly agree with you, though there are two distinct classes of answers in this thread. Wartime guys like Buzinski, or ECHL talents with family connections like Jared Staal, those guys didn't exactly work themselves up to become the best thousand or so athletes in their field at any point, though phrasing it in a moralistic way ("didn't deserve to...") is still unnecessarily disrespectful. So identifying guys like that is at least worth a thread if we're cool about it.These guys are professional athletes and worked their asses off to get into the best league in the world. Who are you, or anyone here, to say they "didn't earn the right" to play.
This thread is brutal.
A question on Fukufuji - my impression was that he was the Kings' 5th or 6th goalie, in a season where they were wracked with injuries and not even strong in the crease in the first place. Were there any extenuating circumstances leading to him even getting that far on LA's depth chart? Obviously his Japanese origin made a stir when he played an NHL game, but was there any reason he'd have been out of his depth even in the ECHL? Or were the Kings just in an ordinarily bad place with their goaltending pre-Quick?
A question on Fukufuji - my impression was that he was the Kings' 5th or 6th goalie, in a season where they were wracked with injuries and not even strong in the crease in the first place. Were there any extenuating circumstances leading to him even getting that far on LA's depth chart? Obviously his Japanese origin made a stir when he played an NHL game, but was there any reason he'd have been out of his depth even in the ECHL? Or were the Kings just in an ordinarily bad place with their goaltending pre-Quick
Fukufuji was a PR pick that stumbled into the show because of a bunch of injuries...just a mess of a goalie, he played like his equipment was too heavy for him, like when you put an 8 year old in net for the first time...fine for the Cheese Toast league I guess, but anything above that is well above his skill level.
If your top goalie coming into the year is Dan Cloutier, you know you have absolutely zippo going on in the crease...