How've Ryan and Smid looked thus far?

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Ducks fan here, haven't been able to see much of either, so for those watching, how have these two Ducks prospects looked thus far?

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[El_Scoobo]

Ducks fan here, haven't been able to see much of either, so for those watching, how have these two Ducks prospects looked thus far?

Good day. Ryan is certainly a Brian Burke type player---after seeing him play I'm not surprised Burke drafted him. He's an agitator---very physical, always involved in play. Good hitter and seems to create offense. He's looked really good to me. He seems to annoy the other team, which means he is doing his job.

I'd see he has a good future in front of him. His style will work very well in the NHL. The Ducks should be very happy to have him, he's going to be a strong player. I'd have him on my team for sure.

 

[Randall Graves*]

the opinions on Ryan have varied so far it seems, the problem with team USA is they have no chemistry, as well as in house animosity from some players.

 

[hockeyfan125]

Ryan sucked today, and easily, EASILY got outmuscled by smaller players such as Letang and Russell. Bourdon was also roughing him up.

 

[ish]

Haven't seen Smid but I've been very disappointed thus far. I've seen the Norway game, the Canada game and some of the Finland game and he has looked SO slow. He seems to have very soft hands but he is so slow to make a play. He is a beast but it seems to me he is barely using his size to his advantage. He needs to work on his quickness and get a little stronger on his skates, I would say.

 

[FearTheFlyers]

There's no chemistry on the U.S.A team. bobby Ryan could stand wide open at the side on the net on a 5 on 3 for 6 years and Kessel woulnd't give him the puck.

The glaring weakness he has, which I think is why he didn't get a lot of ice time vrs Norway or Finland is his conditioning, he definitely labours more towards the end of a game, or the end of a season.

I don't think you could say he sucked yesterday, he was one of the only U.S forwards playing physical and one of the only U.S forwards to look dangerous offensively.

 

[Sammy*]

.

I don't think you could say he sucked yesterday, he was one of the only U.S forwards playing physical and one of the only U.S forwards to look dangerous offensively.

I totally disagree with this. I thought he was quite bad. He appears to have little quickness, appears to be not a very good skater, & for as mammoth as he is, plays like a fairy.
Just my opinion of course.

 

[HabLover]

Ducks fan here, haven't been able to see much of either, so for those watching, how have these two Ducks prospects looked thus far?

Bobby Ryan looked slow yesterday and wasn't much of a threat at all. He did look like he was pretty good with the puck when no one was around though. He's only 18 and could really have a good tourney next year.

 

[Sammy*]

Bobby Ryan looked slow yesterday and wasn't much of a threat at all. He did look like he was pretty good with the puck when no one was around though. He's only 18 and could really have a good tourney next year.

Agreed on that.

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Bobby Ryan was getting Bourdowned out there. He kept getting pushed around by Bourdon, and the defense put on a nice show against him.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Ryan has been pretty useless in this tournament, I can't believe he's one of the leading scorers in the OHL. I sure am glad Brian Burke isn't GM of the Canucks anymore, his drafting has been brutal.

 

[McDonald19]

Ryan has been pretty useless in this tournament, I can't believe he's one of the leading scorers in the OHL. I sure am glad Brian Burke isn't GM of the Canucks anymore, his drafting has been brutal.

actually the Ducks scouts picked Ryan. Burke had just been hired and he went with the guy they wanted.

 

[HabLover]

actually the Ducks scouts picked Ryan. Burke had just been hired and he went with the guy they wanted.

Yeah, but Burke interviewed Ryan and apparently that was the deciding factor!

 

[Roughneck]

Haven't seen Smid, but Ryan has been grossly unimpressive for a 2nd Overall Pick. I can understand why he was the 13th forward for their first game.

I know he's supposed to be a powerforward and they take longer to devellop, but with the way he's dominating junior, this tournament shouldn't be this overwhelming. Maybe I'm being a littel harsh, but Ryan was one of the last players I was afraid of when the U.S. played Canada.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Wow, people willing to write off a player after about half a tourney..... Typical of the crowd around here. Anyway, Ryan has been underwhelming, especially given his draft position. He's had moments where he's shown his ability, but not much. I think he's a player that's going to have to continue to work on his skating, balance, and conditioning to be a star at the next level. I'm not sure if he's getting used properly, although sometimes if you get in a coach's doghouse early (like Ryan and Latendresse) you don't always get a chance to prove yourself.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Yeah, but Burke interviewed Ryan and apparently that was the deciding factor!

And Burke ended up drafting one of the top players in the CHL. Yeah, he's had a bad WJC, but that really means very little, especially when you consider how bad of chemistry there is on the US team.

After reading this thread, man, do people put way too much into the WJCs. Bobby Ryan is having a very good season in the OHL, he's one of the top players in the CHL, and based upon that alone, it looks like Burke made a very good pick, but since the consensus seems to be that he is playing very badly at the WJCs, the only chance most get to see him, some claim Burke made a terrible pick. Look at Joffrey Lupul in 2002. I recall he had a terrible WJC, and now in his sophomore NHL season, he's on pace for 30 goals. Fleury wasn't great in 2003 either, and he's doing pretty well in front of a terrible Penguins defense.

 

[Transported Upstater]

Bobby Ryan was getting Bourdowned out there. He kept getting pushed around by Bourdon, and the defense put on a nice show against him.

I love the phrase "BourdOWNED."

That's like the "Double Dion."




Now all we need is for Toronto to trade Wade Belak and Alexander Khavanov for Dion Phaneuf and Luc Bourdon, and lo and behold, we have blueline depth in place! At least Belak isn't seeing much ice time at D any more...

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Ryan looked like a slug again tonight VS the Czech's.

 

[Dr Quincy]

the opinions on Ryan have varied so far it seems, the problem with team USA is they have no chemistry, as well as in house animosity from some players.

Ryan was invisible against the Czechs and he got a decent amount of ice time. Putting him on a line with Wheeler and Paukovich was a bad idea IMO. I think he needs to be with a a good skating playmaker. Let Ryan camp himself in front of the net and let the playmaker handle the puck and get it to him. The "Big Line" didn't work. I like Oshie with Kessel and Bourque, so maybe put Ryan with Shremp and Fritsche.

 

[FearTheFlyers]

Ryan looked like a slug again tonight VS the Czech's.

In his 4 shifts? One of which was a goal for the U.S and a primary assist for Ryan.

Please tell us what you saw to come to this conclusion, in the 2 minutes of ice time he received.

 

[Souffle]

Smid was very good against the US. It's the only game of his that I've seen, but he was impressive. He just made a lot of good plays in all kinds of situations. He has a game-controlling kind of presence on the back-end. It's only one game, but he looked real solid.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Ryan was invisible against the Czechs and he got a decent amount of ice time. Putting him on a line with Wheeler and Paukovich was a bad idea IMO. I think he needs to be with a a good skating playmaker. Let Ryan camp himself in front of the net and let the playmaker handle the puck and get it to him. The "Big Line" didn't work. I like Oshie with Kessel and Bourque, so maybe put Ryan with Shremp and Fritsche.

While Ryan hasn't looked great, I can't say that Walt Kyle has maximized his talents either. IMO, the U.S. advanced despite not having great chemistry. It's not an issue of getting along, but working well with other players on the ice. That type of chemistry seems to be lacking by and large.

 

[espo*]

I have'nt been impressed(Ryan)though i see flashes of what can make him a good nhl player,the play seems to fast for him but i suspect he has'nt been able to get in a groove with what he can do yet.Schremp either IMO.........the speed of the games against the good teams seems too fast for him also.

 

[Dr Quincy]

While Ryan hasn't looked great, I can't say that Walt Kyle has maximized his talents either. IMO, the U.S. advanced despite not having great chemistry. It's not an issue of getting along, but working well with other players on the ice. That type of chemistry seems to be lacking by and large.

The knock on Kessel that he doesn't use his teammates is true, but has anyone else noticed that the same is true for just about every player on the US team? The Czechs had a bunch of really nice passes where they threw it to an area and knew a teammate would be there whereas every single US player tries to carry it himself alone, through 2 defenders. I haven't seen good US passing since the 1st game.

 

[Randall Graves*]

While Ryan hasn't looked great, I can't say that Walt Kyle has maximized his talents either. IMO, the U.S. advanced despite not having great chemistry. It's not an issue of getting along, but working well with other players on the ice. That type of chemistry seems to be lacking by and large.

How is he supposed to show anything if he barely plays? How many skill players make big impacts with limited ice time? He probably has more points per minute than any player in the tournament!