ISS Top 10 for April

[markov`]

I don't recall anyone saying that Ladd had a lot of upside, just that he was a relatively safe prospect with a very NHL translatable game. And Pouliot's offensive potential is why he's rated so high. I think you're really stretching with the Pouliot-Ladd comparison. They might have been in similar situations, but they don't seem like similar players.

They aren't similar player, I agree, but like you said their situations are very similar, and I think that, at the end of the day, the team that draft Pouliot in the top 5 will be knocking their head, just like with Ladd.

I love Pouliot too, I think he is a safe prospect but I don't see that Lecavalier type potential you're talking about. Maybe his style of play is similar but the talent level isn't comparable at all.

 

[Go_Krusty]

Freudian slip?!

 

[pei fan]

I thought Lattendresse would be in the top ten by now.Sidney at 180lbs

 

[Form and Substance]

Il Guillaume performs well at the U-18s, he'll bein the top 10 no doubt. I think he's way overdue.

 

[scoutman1]

I still think Michael Biega would go 2nd overall in the QMJHL draft if he did not go to Salisbury Prep

 

[markov`]

I still think Michael Biega would go 2nd overall in the QMJHL draft if he did not go to Salisbury Prep

Ok. But we're talking about the NHL draft in this topic.

 

[scoutman1]

Ok. But we're talking about the NHL draft in this topic.

it was part of the scouting so I am going to bring it up

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I still don't get it, Ryan has better numbers by far than Pouliot.

Yes, you don't get it. It's not all about numbers. It's not as easy as saying the prospect with the most points is the best prospect.

It's about who will be the best in 5-6 years. It's not about who is the best right now.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

They aren't similar player, I agree, but like you said their situations are very similar, and I think that, at the end of the day, the team that draft Pouliot in the top 5 will be knocking their head, just like with Ladd.

I love Pouliot too, I think he is a safe prospect but I don't see that Lecavalier type potential you're talking about. Maybe his style of play is similar but the talent level isn't comparable at all.

I don't think Carolina is "knocking their head" about Ladd. He looks like a great prospect to me. He's having a great playoff so far as well as the 6th leading scorer and has 7 goals in 7 games including a couple OT winners.

Maybe you should consider the possibility that you've massively underrated him and continue to do so.

 

[Hunter74]

I don't think Carolina is "knocking their head" about Ladd. He looks like a great prospect to me. He's having a great playoff so far as well as the 6th leading scorer and has 7 goals in 7 games including a couple OT winners.

Maybe you should consider the possibility that you've massively underrated him and continue to do so.

Alot of people on this board really have something against Ladd. Personally I think he's a good pick and will be a really good pro.

I was wondering who alot of you thought were the better Power Centers availble?? The Joe Thornton type guys.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

Alot of people on this board really have something against Ladd. Personally I think he's a good pick and will be a really good pro.

I was wondering who alot of you thought were the better Power Centers availble?? The Joe Thornton type guys.

My favorite is Ryan O'Marra. IMO He's the most NHL ready prospect in the CHL second to Crosby. Honestly. The kid is smart, big, is a very impressive skater and plays a pro style game and doesn't stop working, Captain material, plus he has some dangle and skill that he could develope has his career goes on.

I always had him high, he was one of my favs coming into this year, and although he didn't quite dominated as expected. He's still one heck of a prospect.

 

[Hunter74]

What do you think about Stoa and Bourret would you say that they woudl fall in this catagory?

Yeah I like O'Marra aswell but I doubt he will be available when the Flames draft turn comes up.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

What do you think about Stoa and Bourret would you say that they woudl fall in this catagory?

Yeah I like O'Marra aswell but I doubt he will be available when the Flames draft turn comes up.

Ahh, Kiss Bourret good buy, the kid is a train. I expect Florida and Keen to attack him with their pick, but if he fell into Sutters lap, I think Sutter would hug him much like he did with Phaneuf Bourret is a very talented kid, small in stature, but built like a tank, and hits with ones power.

Stoa isn't a powerfoward per say. He reminds me of Jeff Carter pre-draft. Some say he can only be a 2nd line center, and some say Poor mans Joe Thornton. Same with Stoa. He's tall, lanky, skilled, playmaker, great skater, inconsistant physically.

His upside is humungous though and I expect him to turn ...post draft year success.

Just my bold prediction...We'll see.

 

[markov`]

I don't think Carolina is "knocking their head" about Ladd. He looks like a great prospect to me. He's having a great playoff so far as well as the 6th leading scorer and has 7 goals in 7 games including a couple OT winners.

Maybe you should consider the possibility that you've massively underrated him and continue to do so.

Tell me if you'd take Ladd over any of these players, and why.

Olesz
Smid
Meszaros
Radulov
Tukonen
Stafford
Nokelainen
Schwarz
Chipchura


Those are all players that are drafted after Ladd, I would take before him. There are some others that are better right now, and have better potential but I wouldn't pick ahead of Ladd in a draft because they aren't as safe. So I just can't say that Ladd is a good pick in my books. I don't underate him, he's gonna be a nice checking liner in the NHL, and maybe it's his safe side that makes him a #4 overall prospect, but fact is, there are some much better prospects that the Canes could've drafted. You can't deny that IMO.

It's funny how a crappy season means absolutely nothing, but good playoffs tells the whole story.

 

[markov`]

It's about who will be the best in 5-6 years. It's not about who is the best right now.

But it's impossible to predict at what pace a man is going to develop. Ask the doctors, they can't say for sure how tall or how big you are gonna be in 5 years. Same thing with hockey.

 

[Hunter74]

Supposedly Ladd had a pretty serious shoulder injury in the pre season but he doesn't like to make excuses. Ladd isn't the only player on the Hitmen squad to make a drop in the stats department. His centerman also was in the tankers for the first quater of the season trying to get his head out of his ass but Kisio brought the kid back down to earth. I think Ladd played very very well in the WJC this past winter which when added to his playoff performance and overall game (stats arent everything) makes him a very attractive prospect imho.

 

[CH Wizard]

Guys , calm down. It's not the first time , I see you two not agree on something...

Well , Vlad , to be honest , if the draft would be redone tommorow.I'd draft guys like Tukonen , Zajac , Nokelainen......before him.Ladd had a tremendous rookie season so a lot of scouts jumped on his bandwagon.He was known to be a two way forward so that's even more helping these days.Ladd is a special player no doubt, the Calgary hitmens sucked big time this year.Even Getzlaf numbers dropped..

Ladd is already NHL ready and I've seen him play often , he's doing the litte things well..I think he'll become a fine second liner or a great third liner...nothing more.I expected more of him an I'm sure I'm not the only.I think Ladd was the best two way player avaible with Chip but still I'd have took him later ...in the 20-25 range.Well , Ladd was a safe pick , they maybe wanted to draft him to play with Staal as soon as possible.

 

[markov`]

Ladd is already NHL ready

No way in hell. Yes he does the little things well, but he's not NHL ready, that's for sure. Give me ten forwards who went from a 45 points season in the WHL, and next year straight to the NHL, goons aside. You will have a tough time. In my opinion, he will be a Jason Ward type pick. Only difference, Ladd is #4 overall, Ward is #11. I believe Ladd should've went around 11.

Yes the Calgary Hitmen are weak, but I mean come on. Konstantin Pushkarev outscored him, and 05 eligible DEFENSEMAN Dustin Kohn was just 2 points behind him. If we just look at stats, we could say that he shouldn't have been a first rounder. But obviously, that's not true, because like you said, good two way, physical players are hard to find.

But if the Canes were REALLY in need of some depth players, and couldn't take the risk of drafting a bust, well Ladd is their man... but in this category, there are some better guys in my opinion... like Drew Stafford and Kyle Chipchura, both are safe and have higher potential than Andrew Ladd.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

No way in hell. Yes he does the little things well, but he's not NHL ready, that's for sure.

Thank you for that opinion. I'll file it next to your "Ladd isn't good enough to make the WJC team" sayings.

 

[nomorekids]

Thank you for that opinion. I'll file it next to your "Ladd isn't good enough to make the WJC team" sayings.

pwn3d!

at any rate, I have to agree with Vlad here. Ladd gets WAY too much flak around here despite being a terrific prospect. He was easily one of the best forwards in the WJC's, and a less-than impressive point total shouldn't tell the whole tale on him. He'll be a great asset for the Canes.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Before we villify the Hurricanes for their selection of Ladd, let's see how the kid does with his actual Carolina teammates. I'm thinking if he's had success playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf (who's a very good prospect), then he'd be pretty good next to Eric Staal (who's a great prospect).

I don't see a problem with the Ladd selection, it's far too early to tell really.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Ladd is underrated by the stats watchers. Unless you've seen him play multiple times this season you shouldn't be speaking as if you're an authority on where he would go in the draft.

Not to mention Ladd's game is not just all about the stats. He's a prototypical powerforward. His game is about controlling the puck along the boards, cycling, using his body to shield the puck, etc. He's a big, strong kid. There's probably a lot of fans on this board who are biased towards the more purely skilled european types who rack up mroe points but don't contribute as much defensively and especially physically. So those fans wouldn't like a Ladd as much as a Radulov for example. But I'm a huge fan of powerforwards. I think they are often key in making room for the other two players on their line. And that doesn't always show up in the stat sheet.

It's kinda like how Simon is underrated by many on this forum. He has the skill to play the top two lines in Calgary and fulfills a very specific role that happens to be pretty rare in the NHL. But he's not the fanciest player, not the most purely skilled and won't rack up the most points on the team so posters will mock him and call him a 3rd or 4th line goon because they don't understand the contribution he makes to winning.

Ladd is a similar player to Simon, he's a similar player to Erik Cole. If you value that type of player, you'll like Ladd.

If you sit at home on your computer and just read stats all day and pretend that it is a valid way to evaluate prospects then you won't like Ladd.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

And we can add the fact that most very good-to-great power forwards took a lot longer to fulfill their offensive potential than more purely skilled players.

And it sure sounds like Ladd is a player that will fit right in with the Carolina style of play.

Again, let's wait a bit before drawing any conclusions on the 2004 draft.

 

[espo*]

The ever contentious Andrew Ladd issue here at HF boards.Always entertaining to read here for sure.

 

[markov`]

Thank you for that opinion. I'll file it next to your "Ladd isn't good enough to make the WJC team" sayings.

So you are always right, I assume?