Hockey's Future Top 50 Prospects Fall 2005: 1-10

[Bruinster*]

Please show me where anyone said Mike Richards is ahead of Patrice Bergeron? I'd really like to see it because I think you're referring to what I wrote on the B's board and I said nothing of the sort. You make Patrice Bergeron out to be this superstar. If you ask me, he's the overrated one in B's fans minds. Yea he had a very nice rookie season posting 39 points and showing some very solid intangibles. He had a decent season in the AHL posting 61 points in 66 games (I believe). None of those numbers are jaw dropping, but he projects to be a very solid top 6 player, maybe even a 1st line winger.

As for Carter, he has shined on the highest of stages. He's been a two time all WJC player (this is not a comparison to Bergeron, it is a response to the Carter doesn't put up great numbers thread). He's the leading goal scorer all time for Canada in WJC history. He dominated the AHL playoffs, scoring 23 points (including 12 goals ) in 21 games. He was on the first penalty killing unit for team Canada. He was #1 or #2 in faceoffs in the OHL (Richards being the other top guy). He's got NHL size, NHL speed, and an NHL arsenal of shots. The top 10 has two groupings. It has the superstar group, which is the top 6, imo (Malkin, Lehtonen, Crosby, Ovechkin, Zherdev, and to a bit of a lesser extent, imo, Phaneuf). Then it has the guys just outside that who I see as being star players, maybe sneaking in to that superstar zone (like Mats Sundin upside). That runs probably 7-20, with guys like Carter,Vanek, Suter, Parise, etc..

As for Richards, he might be the safest prospect in the entire NHL. He will have a job in the NHL no matter how he produces offensively. He's a stellar penalty killer, great faceoff man, and has a never say die attitude. There are a lot of people out there who really like Mike Richards, not just flyers fans.

You know what, i put in my post Carter and Richard because i was sure one of you (Philly fan) come here and prove my point. Every fan are high on their Prospect include Evilo. and for Me Richard prove nothing so far to be claim the "safest prospect in the entire NHL". If you can claim Richard is the safest prospect, Pens fan can claim Fleury at #7 is fair !

And don't get me wrong, No doubt Richard and Carter are great propects for Philly. But don't underestimated others team prospect eithers even more players who prove something at the real "highest of stages" ... the NHL !

 

[Gags1288]

You know what, i put in my post Carter and Richard because i was sure one of you (Philly fan) come here and prove my point. Every fan are high on their Prospect include Evilo. and for Me Richard prove nothing so far to be claim the "safest prospect in the entire NHL". If you can claim Richard is the safest prospect, Pens fan can claim Fleury at #7 is fair !

And don't get me wrong, No doubt Richard and Carter are great propects for Philly. But don't underestimated others team prospect eithers even more players who prove something at the real "highest of stages" ... the NHL !

Read the post and try to refute it. There are a lot of people out there who consider Richards extremely safe to play a role in the NHL. I didn't say he's safe to reach his full potential, but with the style he plays he will always have a spot in the NHL. There are no goalie prospects who are safe because the position by nature is never safe, no matter how much talent you have. Make a poll somewhere and ask if Richards is a "safe" prospect, you'll see overwhelming results. Another safe prospect out there is Ryan Kesler, he's going to play in the NHL. How good he's going to be is what is debateable.

 

[paxtang]

There's been a whole lot of talk about Fleury in this thread, and not a whole lot of talk about his actual play. I was incredibly underwhelmed watching him for most of the season, particuarly in the playoffs. Challenged at the wrong time, just made boneheaded plays. He's got obvious talent, but I wouldn't say it is to far out to think that he was overwhelmed in the AHL at points in the season and probably would hve been better off in juniors.

 

[Winston Wolf]

So you come up with name calling now?
OK, I'm done with this.

OWNED!!!

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Learn to read.

Take your own advice. You shouldn't be a moderator on this site at all as all you ever do is attack people and act like an *******. Whatever, man. Keep taking the ihternet as serious business and defend the negative opinions on Fleury with your life.

You're a class act all the way, buddy. Seriously.

 

[Mothra]

I have seen Sid play about 25 times, and i have seen Ovechkin play 10 or 12 times.
Thats not that detailed of an opinion, all i said was that Ovechkin is stronger and faster and that Crosby sees the ice better. I may live in NC now, but I go to alot of CHL games cause my dad is a huge fan. We can fly for free anywhere we want, so we'll take weekends. Its not an overseas deal, just in North America.

Why do you ask, do we have a difference of opinion?

No....I was just wondering how someone from North Carolina gets to see enough games throughout Canada and Russia to make such a detailed opinion.....

 

[ktownhockey]

In the rankings it says Crosby had 83 more points than Lemieux did in his first 2 years of Major Junior but Crosby really only had 23 more points... being nit-picky but it is the corner stone ranking just thought someone should change it:
after two junior seasons:
Crosby 303 PTS
Lemieux 280 PTS

 

[Old Hickory]

This is the only warning you guys will receive to talk about the Top 50 list and not each other.

Any furthur attacks on other posters will result in a thread closure and warnings

 

[Kardi]

flip ove with crosby and the list looks good

 

[FisticufsFred22]

flip ove with crosby and the list looks good

I agree completely, but then again im completely biased.

 

[Evilo]

His month in the NHL wasn't amazing. It was a mega up's and down's with the end result being poor until you go "yeah, but he's young".

Just crossed Fleury's stats for October 2003 in the NHL behind the league's worst defense facing plenty of shots every night :
6GP, 2-2-2, average of 35.16 shots per game, 1.96 GAA, .943 SV%, 1SO.
Nope, it definately wasn't amazing.

 

[Liquidrage*]

Just crossed Fleury's stats for October 2003 in the NHL behind the league's worst defense facing plenty of shots every night :
6GP, 2-2-2, average of 35.16 shots per game, 1.96 GAA, .943 SV%, 1SO.
Nope, it definately wasn't amazing.

And yet he still ended up with a save % of only .896 after 22 games, a GAA of 3.42

If you want to say his October was amazing, that's fair. Just come back and tell me his November, December and January sucked totally and was no better then what an adult womans league starting goalie who happens to be a male should be able to do.

To clear the confusion in case you really want to go there. I don't deny that he a great first few games. Just when you say he had an amazing month, clarify which one. Because I assumed you were talking about his entire stint the way you made your earlier point. Hence my view that it was up's and down's. I didn't realize you were try to cherry pick his first few games and brush aside the rest like they never happened.