Hockey's Future Fall 2004 Org Rankings 11-20

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Mizral

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Sep 20, 2002
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X-SHARKIE said:
I continue to look at Minnesota and I just can't justify their top 10 ranking.

I looked at Minnesota long and hard in the process, and I made a post how they really aren't far off most of the other no-brainer top 10 teams.

They have top end talent in O'Sullivan (potential 1st line forward), Mikko Koivu (potential 1st line centreman, or 2nd if you don't like him as much as others might), Josh Harding (potential #1 goaltender) and A.J. Thelen (potential 1st pairing defenseman and power play quarterback). Those four players are hard to match for most teams.

They also have a terrific amount of potential depth players beyond that. On defense, Brent Burns, despite what some people think, did not fall off the face of the planet. He actually was pretty good I thought, thought didn't get great numbers. He's back to defense now, and I think there's no reason to say he can't be a 2nd pairing defenseman. Zybnek Michalek played 22 games last year for the Wild and while not playing great, didn't embarass himself too much either. Chris Heid has potential to be a competant bottom-pairing man.

At forward, Adam Couchraine remains one of the best WHL scorers in the league. Led the Giants in scoring last year, and probobly will this year too. Rickard Wallin put up 5 goals and 9 points in 15 games or so for the Wild last year, and had 35 points in around 50 AHL games. There is definate NHL potential here as a 2nd or 3rd line player.

Beyond that it gets like any other team, decent depth prospects. However, few teams have not only the top end talent of the Wild, but no sign of weakness' and impressive depth. I think they deserve to be in the top 10, absolutely. And obviously I wasn't the only one ;)
 

thestonedkoala

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You forgot Bolduc and Misharin along with Irmen, Voloshenko and maybe Sprunger...

Minnesota has some good top-end talent, solid middle talent and some surprises...
 

Moskau

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Jun 30, 2004
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Jay Thompson said:
I looked at Minnesota long and hard in the process, and I made a post how they really aren't far off most of the other no-brainer top 10 teams.

Ok, let me describe the Buffalo prospects as I see them. I'm not comparing them to Minn. directly, just wondering how you or other writers view them.

1. Vanek-1st Line Winger/Potential Top 10 Goalscorer

2. Miller-#1 Goalie/Potential Top 5 Goalie

3. Roy-#2 Center/Potential Top 20 Assists

4. Pominville-2nd Line Winger/Potential Top 30 Goalscorer

5. Stafford-2nd Line Winger/Potential Selke Candidate :dunno:

6. Paille-3rd Line Winger/Potential Selke Candidate

7. MacArthur-2nd Line Winger/Could Be Top 50 Prospect Soon

8. Bartovic-3rd Line Winger/Skilled Pest

9. Gaustad-3rd Line Center/6' 5" Character Guy with skill

10. Thorburn-3rd Line Center/Could be as good as Paille IMO

11. Sekera-Top 4 Dman/Powerplay Quarterback with grit

...

16. Ezhov-Shutdown Dman/Nothing Spectacular Offensively, but wont make many mistakes Defensively.

17. Kriukov-Top 6 Winger/Could be #1 Center, Top 6 foward, or Tim Horton's Janitor of the Month. Huge potential, huge kid, huge chance of not panning out. If there was a crystal ball, and it told us that Artem would pan out, he would be top 10 on the top 50 list.


I can see how we fell. Just wondering if some prospects are getting their due (Pominville, MacArthur, Thorburn)
 
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Chaos

And the winner is...
Sep 2, 2003
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Jay Thompson said:
Mikko Koivu (potential 1st line centreman, or 2nd if you don't like him as much as others might)

Really? Seems like he hasnt done a whole lot to justify that since being drafted other than having the last name Koivu :dunno:
 

Vlad The Impaler

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Feb 27, 2002
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Chaos said:
Really? Seems like he hasnt done a whole lot to justify that since being drafted other than having the last name Koivu :dunno:

Well, you'll notice you only put part of his sentence in bold ;)

I tend to agree with Jay. In fact, I may like him more than he does. He has really impressed me ever since before the draft each occasion I have had of seeing him. Which is obviously not that much since I don't follow the SM-liiga.

But as far as international competition, he was better than the overhyped Svitov, better than Ruutu, better than most others in his draft year.

Is he a sure fire first liner? No, just like Jay mentioned. Do I think he can be a really versatile, gritty and skilled pivot in the NHL? Absolutely. He doesn't back down from anything, has very good hockey sense and work ethic. He was pretty tough along the boards, makes good plays too. He did have a couple of issues, mainly a so-so shot and weak skating. The skating seems to be improving but could prevent him fromm being a top flight center.

However, he's going to add size and skill to Minnesota and seems like the kind of guy who will thrive under a disciplined system like Lemaire's.

But all this comes with the disclaimer that I have been probably the biggest Mikko supporter on HF for a long time. So take all this with a grain of salt if you prefer. I think he has a lot of untapped potential.
 

King'sPawn

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Jul 1, 2003
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I'm happy with where the Kings are ranked. I could argue they could go a couple spots higher, but arguments could be made that they should go lower. I think it was Vlad who stated it succinctly; it's telling what a deep pool of prospects the league has when you can make good arguments for many of the teams.

Kings are really weak between the pipes and in the center, so in a way I'm surprised they aren't ranked lower... but I guess they have enough depth on the wings and defense to make up for it.
 

The Fuhr*

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Moskau said:
There's probably a reason why Smid and Thelen went where they were projected and Meszaros fell 13 or so spots...

Yes there is teams just dropped the ball. Remember when Havlat fell to 26th in his draft year. Stuff like that happens
 

thestonedkoala

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*sighs*

No we didn't drop the ball when we decided to pick Thelen instead of Meszaros.

Thelen is going to be a damn fine defenseman for the Wild, he'll be much needed to our system.

He is also a huge PR (public relations) case for the Wild, since he grew up in Minnesota and is playing in our backyard in Michigan.

I like Meszaros but I like Thelen a hellovalot more.
 
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