How was Valabik at WJC?

[X-SHARKIE]

You say you've seen this guy play many times, have you ever seen him play against London? I've seen Perry dangle around him on numerous occasions. Did you see the move Perry put on him 2 minutes into the season during the first game. He made Valabik look like a little schoolgirl not knowing what the hell to do on defence.

Last year I saw the two teams play, and it was a close game 4-3 I believe.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

That Atlanta is a bad drafting team and how hip it is right nowto rag on Valabik? Lay it off, Don Waddell is actually one of the better drafting GMs

Wow. His job in Atlanta has been subpar so far.

Last draft year it was fun to label Horton as the likely bust,

There are no similarities between Horton and Valabik. None. WTF are you talking about? Horton is a forward. Horton was hailed as a surefire top 4 pick. In a much stronger draft. His upside is through the roof. And he was much closer to being NHL-ready.

Valabik is a long term project drafted almost solely on his height. He is raw, doesn't even dominate against his peers, has question marks the size of the grand canyon.

Horton didn't come close to generating as much controversy. Neither on the boards or in scouting services. Out of the top 4 I think Zherdev was generally seen as the "least safe". And nobody says it is "fun" to label Valabik as a player carrying some risk. Although I'm not sure many people consider him a bust yet. I certainly don't.

I wish I could say this is you at your worse but nothing can beat the day you suggested in all seriousness that the Olympic rink size was 100ft X 100ft. At least not yet.

 

[Rangerfan*]

Only two of the players you have cited have panned out very well as of now. All of them are very high selection. Valabik is the lowest 1st round selection in team history. If you care to take a look at the Thrashers selections in lower rounds, you'll see it's nothing extraordinary.

Even the Hurricanes, who are "kings of sucky drafting" won't **** up when they are in position to draft a Staal, Heatley or Kovalchuk.

They're a very young franchise so a little early to assess their drafting but so far I am not impressed at all. I much prefer the work of other expansion teams.

In this thread, you've successfully demonstrated that you aren't the brightest bulb around but not much else if you ask me.

talking about bright, Jim Slater taken 28th overall by Atlanta... 30 guys in first round...hmm, i am sorry but it still looks to me like Valabik was not the lowest taken guy in the 1st round in the team history.
maybe it`s just my math
anyway, i get to see this kid more than often and his upside is great. doesn`t matter to me what you guys (what have never seen him play or London fans what hate him cause he makes London players pay the price every time he is on the ice) think, i know, that he is gonna be a great defensive D in the NHL one day. Don`t forget..

 

[markov`]

Even the Hurricanes, who are "kings of sucky drafting" won't **** up when they are in position to draft a Staal, Heatley or Kovalchuk.

Andrew Ladd

 

[btn]

I guess looking back, maybe the best thing for Atlanta would be to stop trading their 2nd/3rd round picks and draft those kind of guys just later.

The Thrashers have picked up players like Shawn McEachern and Slava Kozlov for picks like that. I doubt the Thrashers would have been respectable the past couple of years without them.

I also don't get the DW bashing. Valabik a bad pick less than a year after the draft? Sorry folks but the kid is 19 and still growing into his frame. ALL big defenseman are awkward at that age. The Thrashers are only 5 years into their drafting. Already they have had a couple of late round gems: Darcy Hordichuk(a 6th round pick eventually sent to the Coyotes for two much higher taken prospects), Garnett Exelby, Pasi Nurminen. In addition they have a great crop of kids at the NCAA level like Jim Slater and Brett Sterling. It is rare to see someone under 21 in the NHL, so that means that over 50% of the Thrashers picks have yet to even mature to the point they could be called busts or disapointments.

Large defenseman do not grow on trees, and all NHL teams covet them. The Thrashers have had little size on their D since their inaugural year for one reason, few teams let their big D go.

The draft is really a crap shoot, but you get more ice time from a #1 or #2 defenseman than any other non-goalie player. If you are going to take a gamble, you could do worse than taking it on a big defenseman.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Andrew Ladd

This draft had three players separated from the pack, IMO. After that, Ladd was as good a selection as any.

There were no Staal, Heatley left to draft. No clear cut guys.

He was part of a pack of good players that were left and as far as I'm concerned, a good selection.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

The Thrashers have picked up players like Shawn McEachern and Slava Kozlov for picks like that. I doubt the Thrashers would have been respectable the past couple of years without them.

Indeed. Point well taken!

Large defenseman do not grow on trees, and all NHL teams covet them. The Thrashers have had little size on their D since their inaugural year for one reason, few teams let their big D go.

This is where we differ. Large defensemen are commonplace. You can get them in the 2nd round and all the way to the 9th. Large Ds with significant talent is where things get tricky.

My contention is that the Thrashers put too much weight on the extra 2 inches that separate Valabik from other mammoth. They somehow determined that this guy is worthy of 10th overall status and I think at 6 foot 4 or 6 foot 5 he'd be a 2nd rounder or at least a very low first rounder.

The draft is really a crap shoot, but you get more ice time from a #1 or #2 defenseman than any other non-goalie player. If you are going to take a gamble, you could do worse than taking it on a big defenseman.

Maybe the Thrashers will strike gold. Maybe this guy can turn into a #1 or #2 D but honestly, I can't even imagine that possibility. NHL teams are going to drool and wish they meet Atlanta in the playoffs if this guy ever gets big minutes. He will be quickly figured out, IMO.

He's probably a Hal Gill at best. Gill was an 8th rounder. You can get plenty of huge guys in a draft. My problem with him is that I see neither upside nor "safety". I see only standout height. I don't believe the 2 inches are significant enough. But to each his own.

 

[El_Loco_Avs]

OT question.

Did everyone really only notice Chara at Ottawa?

I seem to recall him playing at some international tournament (dunno when) and looking insane. Big huge guy on the international sized rink. Should spell disaster,
but he was quick and surprisingly agile.
I always remembered and liked him after that.

OT, i know, I just thought he had been held in higher regard, even in his days before Ottawa

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

OT question.

Did everyone really only notice Chara at Ottawa?

I seem to recall him playing at some international tournament (dunno when) and looking insane. Big huge guy on the international sized rink. Should spell disaster,
but he was quick and surprisingly agile.
I always remembered and liked him after that.

OT, i know, I just thought he had been held in higher regard, even in his days before Ottawa

You'll find quite a few Isles fans who will speak highly of him, IMO. People were thrilled at some of his rushes with the puck. Even if he was a low scoring D at the time. Personally, I saw flashes of brilliance. I was amazed at his skating for such a guy.

It was a time where we were still seeing lots of 6 foot 5 guys who were too awkard to control their skating (this has, IMO, gotten much better globally in hockey). And this guy at 6 foot 9 was very decent.

 

[El_Loco_Avs]

You'll find quite a few Isles fans who will speak highly of him, IMO. People were thrilled at some of his rushes with the puck. Even if he was a low scoring D at the time. Personally, I saw flashes of brilliance. I was amazed at his skating for such a guy.

It was a time where we were still seeing lots of 6 foot 5 guys who were too awkard to control their skating (this has, IMO, gotten much better globally in hockey). And this guy at 6 foot 9 was very decent.

I was surprised at the Yashin trade.. Chara straight up would've been almost fair to me. That's without considering Yashin's reputation