Prospect Info: Hurricanes Prospect Info and Discussion - Part VII - Cliff Pu and other shit

[CandyCanes]

 

[emptyNedder]

Suddenly the Canes have decent goalies at every level of the organization (ok Mrazek and McBackup need to do it for the rest of the month to say Raleigh has "decent" goalies).

 

[emptyNedder]

Latest Mattheos update: scored two goals last night and has assist on only goal in first period tonight. Through 5 games he has 4 goals, 4 assists and is winning 61% of face-offs.

 

[DougieSmash]

Mattheos was underrated pick but wasn't he RW in the past?

 

[geehaad]

Suddenly the Canes have decent goalies at every level of the organization (ok Mrazek and McBackup need to do it for the rest of the month to say Raleigh has "decent" goalies).

It’s gonna take more than two games to get my hopes up over LaFontaine. Certainly it would be some crazy anomaly for his trajectory to turn on a dime as such.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

It’s gonna take more than two games to get my hopes up over LaFontaine. Certainly it would be some crazy anomaly for his trajectory to turn on a dime as such.

He’s playing in the bchl, a definite step down in competition. I wouldn’t read anything in to this.

 

[AltitudeSports]

Greetings all, hopefully this isn't in the wrong spot, utterly new here. Wanted to provide some first-hand notes from the Everblades Pre-Season games this week that I attended in Estero. What makes me qualified to have these opinions? Nothing, I'm a fan... but I might have a slightly different slant. I am a professional baseball scout, so I have some knowledge of evaluation. I've also spent time on the hockey side though never professionally, (goaltending/coaching) up through the ACHA level. I just wanted to get out of my box a little and try to provide a bit of a hands-on look.

Game Date: 10/6/18
Level: ECHL Pre-Season (Florida vs. Orlando)
Player Name: Jeremy Helvig
Position: Goaltender
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 205
Age: 5/25/1997 (21.5)

Current Role: Minor League Depth Goaltender
Future Role: Up/Down NHL Backup

Scouting Report:
The only real “NHL” prospect in this setting, Helvig is in his first professional season coming off an overage year with Kingston. He is a big goalie who uses his size as a strength, covering much of net with solid top-of-crease positioning and smothering pucks well. Strong positionally in the butterfly with a wide-flare butterfly that covers the entire lower-half well. Showed consistent side-to-side movements with fringe speed across the crease and controlled rebounds with abv avg frequency. Did struggle a bit with consistency in the positioning deep in the net losing his weakside into the net itself rather than staying tight on the line. For example, while hugging the strongside (right) post, he let the trail hip leak behind, leading him to be weak to the gloveside if opposition were to move puck into slot . The biggest weakness that was exploited is to the blocker side, where he appears vulnerable and struggles to react to pucks at/above waist level. Showed some feel for playing and controlling the puck behind the net. Didn't appear to be a game-changer, but skates well-enough to have some stability back there. Overall there are pieces here that show promise. Namely the rebound control and use of his size. The weaknesses on the block-side and deep in the net are correctable but will require constant work. Helvig shows upside to be a 1A/B type option though it likely falls more in the NHL Backup realm as he is not a game-changer. That said, should be able to address some of the issues and become an asset for the Hurricanes depth in the future. Feel he will benefit from 40-50 game look in Florida this season before pushing to challenge in Charlotte with Booth (whom Helvig is only 4 days younger than)/Nedeljkovic (who is hoping to build off a strong playoff/second-half of 2018).

Bigger Picture:
Goalies are hard to predict, I know first-hand! Size certainly is en vogue with goaltending right now, but I don't buy into the one-size fits all box. Helvig isn't a top-prospect, and didn't appear on many detailed prospect lists, but I also believe that goalies take time. Thankfully Canes fans, the Hurricanes have three prospect goalies on professional deals right now that fans can keep an eye on. Though, I will say all three appear to have ceilings as NHL backups if they attain that. Remember, there are only 62 NHL goalies at a given time!

The present professional depth is: Callum Booth (2015, 4th, 5/21/1997), Alex Nedeljkovic (2014, 2nd, 1/7/1996) and the aforementioned Jeremy Helvig (2016, 5th, 5/25/1997). Booth and Nedeljkovic will split the time in Charlotte (likely with Nedeljkovic getting 45 and Booth getting 27 starts), I also expect to see Nedeljkovic to get the first shot at an NHL opportunity that may arise after the first few months. Clearly the team claiming McElhinney is a temporary plug and I don't expect them to keep him once Darling is healthy, though if they do, expect to see Booth and Helvig in Florida or Booth take a loan elsewhere. The goaltending depth is solid but inexperienced and the fact that they weren't comfortable with Nedeljkovic as the backup to start the year says something to me. I did catch Booth in person for 30 minutes during the pre-season and he was fine but nothing spectacular in his opportunity against what was mostly an AHL-level team. I locked in more on Helvig than Booth (mind you NHL pre-season vs. ECHL pre-season is a dramatic difference) and I feel they are likely similar players. They will push each-other and be better for it.

Hope you enjoyed my take. Wanted to try out a hockey report, and see if the format made some sense. I'd love to get my hands on some actual reports to see more about the grades/skills scouts are locking in on.

 

[geehaad]

Good stuff. I have no idea whether you’ve done an outstanding job with this or not, but I enjoyed reading it.

Did struggle a bit with consistency in the positioning deep in the net losing his weakside into the net itself rather than staying tight on the line. For example, while hugging the strongside (right) post, he let the trail hip leak behind, leading him to be weak to the gloveside if opposition were to move puck into slot

This sounds like my complaint about Darling last year (have yet to see it this year), the difference being that Darling drifted too high and let his trailing hip come around on him. Besides not finding the weak side post and blowing past it, he let his body rotate too far so he was either no longer square to the shooter or had to swim on the ice to get his legs beneath him.

 

[emptyNedder]

Helvig had an excellent first regular season game. He made 34 of 35 saves. He is my personal favorite for making it in the NHL--probably in 2021-22.

It’s gonna take more than two games to get my hopes up over LaFontaine. Certainly it would be some crazy anomaly for his trajectory to turn on a dime as such.

He’s playing in the bchl, a definite step down in competition. I wouldn’t read anything in to this.

As far as LaFontaine, I didn't mean he was ever going to be even AHL caliber. Just that at his level, like Ned and Booth in the AHL and Helvig in the ECHL, he is solid. Having goalies at three different levels who are holding their own is something new for the organization. If Makiniemi starts playing way in Europe, that would be quite the spread of goalies.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Greetings all, hopefully this isn't in the wrong spot, utterly new here. Wanted to provide some first-hand notes from the Everblades Pre-Season games this week that I attended in Estero. What makes me qualified to have these opinions? Nothing, I'm a fan... but I might have a slightly different slant. I am a professional baseball scout, so I have some knowledge of evaluation. I've also spent time on the hockey side though never professionally, (goaltending/coaching) up through the ACHA level. I just wanted to get out of my box a little and try to provide a bit of a hands-on look.

Game Date: 10/6/18
Level: ECHL Pre-Season (Florida vs. Orlando)
Player Name: Jeremy Helvig
Position: Goaltender
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 205
Age: 5/25/1997 (21.5)

Current Role: Minor League Depth Goaltender
Future Role: Up/Down NHL Backup

Scouting Report:
The only real “NHL” prospect in this setting, Helvig is in his first professional season coming off an overage year with Kingston. He is a big goalie who uses his size as a strength, covering much of net with solid top-of-crease positioning and smothering pucks well. Strong positionally in the butterfly with a wide-flare butterfly that covers the entire lower-half well. Showed consistent side-to-side movements with fringe speed across the crease and controlled rebounds with abv avg frequency. Did struggle a bit with consistency in the positioning deep in the net losing his weakside into the net itself rather than staying tight on the line. For example, while hugging the strongside (right) post, he let the trail hip leak behind, leading him to be weak to the gloveside if opposition were to move puck into slot . The biggest weakness that was exploited is to the blocker side, where he appears vulnerable and struggles to react to pucks at/above waist level. Showed some feel for playing and controlling the puck behind the net. Didn't appear to be a game-changer, but skates well-enough to have some stability back there. Overall there are pieces here that show promise. Namely the rebound control and use of his size. The weaknesses on the block-side and deep in the net are correctable but will require constant work. Helvig shows upside to be a 1A/B type option though it likely falls more in the NHL Backup realm as he is not a game-changer. That said, should be able to address some of the issues and become an asset for the Hurricanes depth in the future. Feel he will benefit from 40-50 game look in Florida this season before pushing to challenge in Charlotte with Booth (whom Helvig is only 4 days younger than)/Nedeljkovic (who is hoping to build off a strong playoff/second-half of 2018).

Bigger Picture:
Goalies are hard to predict, I know first-hand! Size certainly is en vogue with goaltending right now, but I don't buy into the one-size fits all box. Helvig isn't a top-prospect, and didn't appear on many detailed prospect lists, but I also believe that goalies take time. Thankfully Canes fans, the Hurricanes have three prospect goalies on professional deals right now that fans can keep an eye on. Though, I will say all three appear to have ceilings as NHL backups if they attain that. Remember, there are only 62 NHL goalies at a given time!

The present professional depth is: Callum Booth (2015, 4th, 5/21/1997), Alex Nedeljkovic (2014, 2nd, 1/7/1996) and the aforementioned Jeremy Helvig (2016, 5th, 5/25/1997). Booth and Nedeljkovic will split the time in Charlotte (likely with Nedeljkovic getting 45 and Booth getting 27 starts), I also expect to see Nedeljkovic to get the first shot at an NHL opportunity that may arise after the first few months. Clearly the team claiming McElhinney is a temporary plug and I don't expect them to keep him once Darling is healthy, though if they do, expect to see Booth and Helvig in Florida or Booth take a loan elsewhere. The goaltending depth is solid but inexperienced and the fact that they weren't comfortable with Nedeljkovic as the backup to start the year says something to me. I did catch Booth in person for 30 minutes during the pre-season and he was fine but nothing spectacular in his opportunity against what was mostly an AHL-level team. I locked in more on Helvig than Booth (mind you NHL pre-season vs. ECHL pre-season is a dramatic difference) and I feel they are likely similar players. They will push each-other and be better for it.

Hope you enjoyed my take. Wanted to try out a hockey report, and see if the format made some sense. I'd love to get my hands on some actual reports to see more about the grades/skills scouts are locking in on.

Thanks for this, it’s nice to have the opinion not just of someone who knows scouting, but also has played and coached the position. The bit about him losing his weakside post and slipping into the net a little is the level of detail that a non-goalie wouldn’t typically notice.

 

[DaveG]

post reserved for prospect stats
Forwards:

Name	Team	Lg	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIMs	SH
Clark Bishop	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	0	0	ev	4	3
Patrick Brown	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	0	0	ev	0	3
David Cotton	Boston College Eagles	HE
Jack Drury	Harvard Crimson	ECAC
Matt Filipe	Northeastern Huskies	HE
Julien Gauthier	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	1	1	+1	0	5
Morgan Geekie	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	1	1	2	+1	2	4
Luke Henman	Blainville-Boisbriand	QMJHL	5	2	2	4	+4	0	4
Gregory Hofmann	HC Lugano	NLA	7	1	3	4	-2	6
Lenni Killinen	Assat	Liiga	6	1	0	1	ev	4
Janne Kuokkanen	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	2	2	4	+2	0	5
Steven Lorentz	Florida Everblades	ECHL
Eetu Luostarinen	KalPa	Liiga	10	4	2	6	+1	20
Saku Maenalanen	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	0	0	-2	0	0
Stelio Mattheos	Brandon Wheat Kings	WHL	5	5	4	9	+4	4	11
Greg McKegg	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	1	1	-1	0	3
Andrew Poturalski	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	2	3	5	ev	0	6
Cliff Pu	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	0	0	+1	0	1
Nicolas Roy	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	4	2	6	+3	0	14
Aleksi Saarela	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	1	1	ev	0	0
Spencer Smallman	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	2	2	+2	0	0
Luke Stevens	Yale Bulldogs	ECAC
Max Zimmer	Wisconsin Badgers	B1G

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Defensemen:

Name	Team	LG	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SH
Jake Bean	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	0	0	ev	2	4
Michal Cajkovsky	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	0	0	ev	4	2
Trevor Carrick	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	3	3	-1	4	4
Brendan De Jong	Portland Winterhawks	WHL	7	2	5	7	+3	10	14
Michael Fora	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	0
Adam Fox	Harvard Crimson	ECAC
Luke Martin	Michigan Wolverines	B1G
Roland McKeown	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	1	0	1	+2	2	7
Ville Rasanen	Lincoln Stars	USHL	4	0	0	0	ev	0	3
Dan Renouf	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	0	1	1	+1	2	1
Jesper Sellgren	Lulea HF	SEL	7	0	0	0	-2	2
Josh Wesley	Florida Everblades	ECHL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Goalies:

Name	Team	LG	GP	Record	GA	SV	GAA	SV%	SO
Callum Booth	Charlotte Checkers	AHL
Jeremy Helvig	Florida Everblades	ECHL
Jacob Kucharski	Des Moines Buccaneers	USHL	1	1-0-0	5	22	5.00	.815	0
	Omaha Lancers	USHL
Jack LaFontaine	Penticton Vees	BCHL	7	4-3-0	13	143	1.87	.917	2
Eetu Makiniemi	Keikko-Vantaa	Mestis
Alex Nedeljkovic	Charlotte Checkers	AHL	2	2-0-0	4	56	2.00	.933	0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

New Season, New Stats. Nic Roy named AHL player off the week for week 1.

Checkers rolling through the first 2 games like they're Robot Nixon

 

[GoldiFox]

A bit weird that the Canes has basically zero meaningful prospects in juniors outside of Mattheos in the CHL and Fox/Drury/Martin in the NCAA. Feels like the first time in a while the group is more Pro heavy.

 

[DaveG]

A bit weird that the Canes has basically zero meaningful prospects in juniors outside of Mattheos in the CHL and Fox/Drury/Martin in the NCAA. Feels like the first time in a while the group is more Pro heavy.

Combination of having a big group that was incoming the past 2-3 years and focusing on expanding our scouting network in Europe starting 2 seasons back, and only having a handful of picks this past year. But yeah, definitely feels weird going from a team that was primarily OHL and WHL with a handful of NCAA/USHL/QMJHL picks to the majority of our picks the past couple seasons being out of either the USHL, NCAA, or Europe.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Most meaningful prospects come from the 1st/2nd round with a few rare gems in the 3rd+. All of our 1st/2nd rounders in the past 5 drafts except for Drury, Martin and Luostarnin have already moved to the pro level. Some of it is some real high end guys (Necas, Svech, Hanifin, Aho) that didn't get/need much seasoning so were in the NHL in 1-2 seasons. The other is like Dave said, a lot of guys incoming the past couple of years. We've got a young team and some good depth at the AHL level so need the next couple of drafts to keep stocking the pipeline.

 

[bleedgreen]

It’s why if we trade Faulk the thought of it being for picks is becoming a little more tolerable. We also did get a bunch of picks for Skinner which is nice despite somehow one of three first rounders Buffalo has didn’t come back.

You need extra picks. Gotta throw a lot of darts.

 

[DaveG]

It’s why if we trade Faulk the thought of it being for picks is becoming a little more tolerable. We also did get a bunch of picks for Skinner which is nice despite somehow one of three first rounders Buffalo has didn’t come back.

You need extra picks. Gotta throw a lot of darts.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but aren't there conditions on the extra firsts that Buffalo has? Not necessarily that they might not end up being firsts but that they don't even know what year they will be for yet? I'm not sure if a conditional pick can be traded.

 

[VikingAv]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but aren't there conditions on the extra firsts that Buffalo has? Not necessarily that they might not end up being firsts but that they don't even know what year they will be for yet? I'm not sure if a conditional pick can be traded.

The Sharks 1st-rounder is definitely conditional, the Blues one I'm not sure. On Capfriendly it says it's Top 10-protected, but I don't see anything about that at NHL, TSN or Prosporttransactions.

I feel very certain conditional picks can be traded. Otherwise all these threads about Ottawa's 1st this year would be very unnecessary. Not that they aren't already The condition would just transfer to the next team. You could even make new conditions on the picks. In the Skinner-trade you could for example make a condition the Hurricanes acquire the latest of the 1sts.

I'll bet this has happened before with picks in the middle-lower rounds without us thinking about it, considering all the movement of picks. For instance, there was a 3rd-rounder that was traded 5 times in last years draft...

 

[VikingAv]

Edit: Crap.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Most meaningful prospects come from the 1st/2nd round with a few rare gems in the 3rd+. All of our 1st/2nd rounders in the past 5 drafts except for Drury, Martin and Luostarnin have already moved to the pro level. Some of it is some real high end guys (Necas, Svech, Hanifin, Aho) that didn't get/need much seasoning so were in the NHL in 1-2 seasons. The other is like Dave said, a lot of guys incoming the past couple of years. We've got a young team and some good depth at the AHL level so need the next couple of drafts to keep stocking the pipeline.

Luostarinen has been playing in the sm liiga since 2016-17.

 

[spockBokk]

FWIW, Pronman singles out Drury as a prospect to watch in an Athletic article today:

CAROLINA: Jack Drury, C, Harvard-ECAC
I haven’t watched Drury this season, given he hasn’t played since the summer U20 tournament, but I did chat recently with his junior coach from last season, P.K. O’Handley. O’Handley had the following to say about Carolina’s second-round pick in 2018: “He’s a coach’s dream. He’s a utility knife. He can provide offense, he defends well. He’s got that inherent ability to lead young men, and will lead men, too.”

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Luostarinen has been playing in the sm liiga since 2016-17.

I know, I was referring to Ahl/nhl.

 

[Lempo]

I know, I was referring to Ahl/nhl.

The boy's been hot lately playing center in men's league.

 

[DougieSmash]

Roy on a roll as Checkers get off to quick start | TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League

“I was very impressed with Nic,” said Checkers head coach Mike Vellucci after the weekend. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a five-on-three shorthanded goal. He was great in front of the net on the power play.”

That offensive outburst was more than enough to earn Roy the AHL’s Player of the Week award, an honor the young forward was quick to credit the strong play of those around him for, especially his linemates Janne Kuokkanen and Julien Gauthier.

“I know Nic is a scorer, I know he’s a playmaker,” said Vellucci.

“You want to do your best and make sure that you’re the name that gets called up when something happens in Carolina and they call me and want to know who’s playing the best,” said Vellucci.

#RoyIsNotABust

I guess we will see Kuokkanen and Roy in NHL soon.

 

[SlavinAway]

Roy for Necas flip incoming.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a five-on-three shorthanded goal.

know Nic is a scorer, I know he’s a playmaker,” said Vellucci.

Commodore scored one for us.