Cousin Eddie
You Serious Clark?
- Nov 3, 2006
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Bowers. I'm late to the party on these threads but I would have voted for him in the previous thread too. Perhaps even at #2.
I went with Meloche over Bowers for a couple reasons. Firstly I know Meloche a lot better as a prospect as we’ve had him longer and he has been making improvements every year. Second because he’s made the jump to pro and will likely be playing top pair minutes as a 21 year old in the AHL which leads me to believe barring a terrible camp/season he could be due for some NHL games. I personally believe he’s the closer prospect and think he has top pair potential while Bowers second line. The only argument I can understand why you’d put Bowers over Meloche is that he’s more likely to reach his top potential, but I would love to hear more on why most have Bowers higher?
I don't think Meloche ever had to pair potential even when drafted.
I’m positive there are several posters around here who would beg to differ
Yeah I'd fundamentally disagree. Meloche not only had top pairing potential, he still has it. The offense may never come around to the point where he can be a consistent offensive threat, but he shouldn't be a black hole either. That won't be his calling card though. How his shutdown ability translates will determine what pairing he ends up on. The potential is there for him to be a high-end shutdown guy with some offensive punch... I wouldn't be betting on it, but he could be a very good player if his development continues on the right path.
Meloche's skating needs a good chunk of work still, and the offensive reads are significantly behind. I think the skating will come around to a workable level, to me the question will it be good enough to be effective for 18 minutes or 22 minutes. That will pretty much determine where he plays. The skill for more effective offense are certainly there, but he can be passive with his reads at times... then turn around and be too aggressive. He doesn't seem to know how to apply his skill set there. It may or may not come around and will change how his offensive game develops. If Meloche busts, it will be because of his reads and not managing the risk in his game.
Thank you, I appreciate your insight. Based on what I’ve seen/read (which isn’t a ton) since we’ve drafted him, I’ve noticed improvements in all your listen weakness, but still a large room for improvement. I thought as this season went a long his ability to read plays improved and his over passive or over aggressive play started to balance a bit. That’s based on more what I’ve read and not my own eye test. In my opinion he’s essentially a poor skating EJ, that might have slightly better instincts, but not a sizable difference.
...personally, I think his defensive instincts are a lot better than EJs. Though Henchy's totally right that he still needs to continue working on that balance with when to pinch/jump up into the play offensive. French Nic's already really ****ing good at reading the play in his own zone to figure out when he should go out & break **** up, versus when he needs to hang back & continue waiting for the right moment to beat some dude down to end the cycle. He doesn't wander as much as EJ, or daydream as much in his own zone.
Plus EJ's speed is a big part of his game, so I don't really think comparing them makes much sense. If Meloche continues making the progress he has been with his skating & offensive reads to become a successful NHLer, it'll be more in the mold of Manson or Foote.