Yosemite Sam
Registered User
Schwartz has just finished an outstanding freshman season at Colorado College (despite some time off because of injury) and seems to be considering the idea of going pro in the fall.
Whenever I read about Schwartz on these boards – the St. Louis board does a great job tracking his development – it seems the consensus is he's not physically ready for the pro game.
Before we get into that, let's look at how dominant he was this year. As I noted, he missed some time due to a broken ankle, I believe, so he finished up with 47 points in only 30 games. His PPG was third-best in the entire NCAA behind only Miele (NCAA top scorer) and Zanette, two guys who are turning 23 in a matter of a week or two. Pro-rated to a pretty standard 40-game college season, 18-year-old Schwartz would have had a 63-point season, which is elite in college hockey. Suffice it to say he was dominant.
Now, as I mentioned above, the knock on him around here is that he needs to get stronger before going pro. According to the Hockey Database, he's 5'10", 193lbs. While he's no Chara, in today's NHL, his stated size doesn't really raise any red flags.
While I'm not a fan of rushing kids into the NHL, I'm providing this info and asking these questions because he certainly seems to have the skill set to make it this fall. As a side note, since he's in college, he's not restricted from going to the AHL because of his age. This is an option for him.
So, all this to ask those in the know: What would hold him back? Is he smaller than stated on the Hockey Database? Does he "play small"? Is he slow for his size?
I really wanted to form an opinion myself during the World Juniors so I was pretty bummed when he went down. Now I have to rely on all you clowns.
Thanks.
EDIT: NCAA scoring
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/stats/overall.php
Like most any team, the biggest question marks for CC fans deal with who may leave for the pros over the summer. In the Tigers’ case, freshman leading scorer Jaden Schwartz (47 points, 30 assists) and junior defenseman Gabe Guentzel (28, 22 assists) are the most likely to leave early, Tigers coach Scott Owens has said.
“We just finished up the season so I haven’t had much time to think about it,” Schwartz said. “As of right now, I’m planning to be back. I’ve signed up for classes and been assigned a (dorm) room for this fall. I’ll think about it more, later.”
http://www.gazette.com/sports/-115518--.html
“We just finished up the season so I haven’t had much time to think about it,” Schwartz said. “As of right now, I’m planning to be back. I’ve signed up for classes and been assigned a (dorm) room for this fall. I’ll think about it more, later.”
http://www.gazette.com/sports/-115518--.html
Whenever I read about Schwartz on these boards – the St. Louis board does a great job tracking his development – it seems the consensus is he's not physically ready for the pro game.
Before we get into that, let's look at how dominant he was this year. As I noted, he missed some time due to a broken ankle, I believe, so he finished up with 47 points in only 30 games. His PPG was third-best in the entire NCAA behind only Miele (NCAA top scorer) and Zanette, two guys who are turning 23 in a matter of a week or two. Pro-rated to a pretty standard 40-game college season, 18-year-old Schwartz would have had a 63-point season, which is elite in college hockey. Suffice it to say he was dominant.
Now, as I mentioned above, the knock on him around here is that he needs to get stronger before going pro. According to the Hockey Database, he's 5'10", 193lbs. While he's no Chara, in today's NHL, his stated size doesn't really raise any red flags.
While I'm not a fan of rushing kids into the NHL, I'm providing this info and asking these questions because he certainly seems to have the skill set to make it this fall. As a side note, since he's in college, he's not restricted from going to the AHL because of his age. This is an option for him.
So, all this to ask those in the know: What would hold him back? Is he smaller than stated on the Hockey Database? Does he "play small"? Is he slow for his size?
I really wanted to form an opinion myself during the World Juniors so I was pretty bummed when he went down. Now I have to rely on all you clowns.
Thanks.
EDIT: NCAA scoring
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/stats/overall.php