Prospect Info: Jeremy Bracco - RW - Kitchener Rangers

[ErnieLeafs]

Him and Logan Brown are basically on the two different sides of this coin.

Logan Brown has a far better NHL game than Bracco. It's not even close.

 

[Kelly]

 

[Menzinger]

he will never be driving scoring though, Matthews, Nylander and Marner are far far better defenisvely but also all 3 are better offensively. Bracco is a near elite forward unfortunately for him we have at least 3 already, so we wont need 2 way players to protect him because we are desperate for his offense, we wont be.

We really dont need him at all unless his dplay gets better thats the great thing about having such a strong propsect pool we wont have to play him and defend his deficiencies (ala Kessel), i bet all my Vcash he will be traded at some point in the next 2-3 years

I suppose I'd disagree on the issue of "not needing him".

If he turns into a guy of putting up say 45+ points I'd rather have him out there than say a guy like Sosh.

We'll just have to see how things unfold. He may very well be a trade chip

 

[Damisoph]

Logan Brown has a far better NHL game than Bracco. It's not even close.

Did you look into your crystal ball for that?

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Did you look into your crystal ball for that?

Agree with the crystal ball. Both have the potential to be very good or busts.
Bracco is small, physically non combative, but is an offensive whiz.
Brown. Big, will be strong and talented enough. Will his lack of speed and mobility derail his road to the NHL.
Guess we'll known in a few years.

 

[keon]

People should be more concerned with the opinions of our front office vs the opinions of other fans.

Half this fan base would have cut Hyman.

The other half tends to see his value.

But neither side is completely right or wrong.

Waiting out the extreme opinions on this board is probably the best lesson in patience that one can learn online.

There's not always an upward trajectory when it comes to developing hockey players. Some go up and down like a yo-yo. Some level out before hitting another gear. There's just no perfect method.

But it's the overall plan and never simply 1 person or 1 player that's the important thing here.

Nice post QFT.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

That particular source has particularly low credibility...even for junior hockey standards. Just an fyi.

 

[93LEAFS]

Agree with the crystal ball. Both have the potential to be very good or busts.
Bracco is small, physically non combative, but is an offensive whiz.
Brown. Big, will be strong and talented enough. Will his lack of speed and mobility derail his road to the NHL.
Guess we'll known in a few years.

Logan Brown's compete is pretty erratic. He didn't show up for half of last year.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

Did you look into your crystal ball for that?

No, I've watched both extensively, and Logan Brown is a more complete player, all around.

 

[Bullseye]

By becoming a pro and being willing to become the player that beats out the others.

Kapanen is night and day different from when he started with the Marlies and is a good comparison for how 2 solid years down there with the right attitude can help any player gain the skills he's missing to get a shot under Babcock.

See, that's a part of the great thing that's going on here. If you're not willing to put that work in then we're so deep that you don't even get a shot without putting that time in. We've been missing that level of accountability as we've never been this deep in prospects but going forward players like Bracco will need to prove more then simply having great CHL scoring totals to really get a long look from Babcock.

It's an amazing time to be a Leafs fan.

People should be more concerned with the opinions of our front office vs the opinions of other fans.

Half this fan base would have cut Hyman.

The other half tends to see his value.

But neither side is completely right or wrong.

Waiting out the extreme opinions on this board is probably the best lesson in patience that one can learn online.

There's not always an upward trajectory when it comes to developing hockey players. Some go up and down like a yo-yo. Some level out before hitting another gear. There's just no perfect method.

But it's the overall plan and never simply 1 person or 1 player that's the important thing here.

So good to read a sensible couple posts. You have the mature view that so many hyper bipolar fans on here need to figure out and relax.

The defensive play right now is getting me excited about the future. The Leafs haven't even started to get the defence sorted yet. I'm exited to think about when our defence talent matches our offensive talent with depth in the minors. The Zaitsev signing shows they exactly know what type of player to sign and what type to draft. The AHL slow cooker does the rest.

 

[Morgs]

I still think that trade was bad for the Leafs. Maybe if they picked Carlo or Aho I would say otherwise, but Konecny looks like a future 60 point winger. He could have been put in a package for a good dman or made Nylander expendable for a really good defensemen.

Carlo is poop, don't let the hype fool you. Aho was a reach at his spot, and made giant steps in his draft +1. Konecny is good, but I think at 24 the leafs had their eyes on Jacob Larsson anyway.

I'd make the deal 10/10 times. Worth the risk imo

 

[ErnieLeafs]

So good to read a sensible couple posts. You have the mature view that so many hyper bipolar fans on here need to figure out and relax.

The defensive play right now is getting me excited about the future. The Leafs haven't even started to get the defence sorted yet. I'm exited to think about when our defence talent matches our offensive talent with depth in the minors. The Zaitsev signing shows they exactly know what type of player to sign and what type to draft. The AHL slow cooker does the rest.

I really don't think anyone's hyper bi-polar at all. I don't think not being impressed by a prospect for reasonable reasons is off-base.

The endless blind homerism/optimism is far more concerning. It's what leads people to belittle others when they don't see a future in Stuart Percy. It's what starts arguments about how Tyler Biggs is destined for the league.

There are damn good reasons NOT to like Bracco's game, and people aren't mentally ill for not agreeing with you.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I really don't think anyone's hyper bi-polar at all. I don't think not being impressed by a prospect for reasonable reasons is off-base.

The endless blind homerism/optimism is far more concerning. It's what leads people to belittle others when they don't see a future in Stuart Percy. It's what starts arguments about how Tyler Biggs is destined for the league.

There are damn good reasons NOT to like Bracco's game, and people aren't mentally ill for not agreeing with you.

Doubt people have an issue with you not liking Bracco's defense. Nobody likes Bracco's defense. But it's not "blind homerism/optimism" to give a 19-year old more time to work on his deficiencies, whereas you already called him out for refusing to work on it, or whatever it was you said. That's just very, very harsh. Most prospects don't fix their issues in one years time, and portraying that as a failure is just flat out premature.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

He hasn't played anything resembling the defensive responsibilities of a winger since he joined the NTDP. This isn't one year, it's a 3-4 year sample.

 

[Nithoniniel]

He hasn't played anything resembling the defensive responsibilities of a winger since he joined the NTDP. This isn't one year, it's a 3-4 year sample.

Yup. Just like every issue with every 19-year old. It's not like guys that can't shoot at 19 has only had that issue the last year.

 

[Jack Bauer]

He hasn't played anything resembling the defensive responsibilities of a winger since he joined the NTDP. This isn't one year, it's a 3-4 year sample.

Serious question:

Did you learn more about life and the habits you should carry in life from the ages of 15-19 or from 20-25? For myself and most I think 20-25 is the time where we really start to find our way.

History tells me that any developing teenage hockey player with elite talent whether it be skating, scoring, defensive play or whatever needs some time in a pro environment before being labeled as not working on his game.

In the OHL he's being asked to fill the net. Not necessarily play a grinding 2 way style.

It's in the AHL where he will be asked to do that and how he respond to it will ultimately determine his future in hockey.

All of these factors are why there's a growing movement to draft kids after they're 18/19 vs now where we draft them at 17/18. There's so much development going on as a person and as a player at those ages that the longer you wait to choose someone the more info and better decision you can make on them.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

Yup. Just like every issue with every 19-year old. It's not like guys that can't shoot at 19 has only had that issue the last year.

One of those things is not like the other. One is a physical issue, usually boiling down to strength, dexterity, balance, etc., and the other is a matter of "want to".

 

[Cor]

God.... I will be at every game if Jeremy Bracco gets traded to London.

Future NHL potential aside, he's a super fun player to watch in Junior.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Doubt people have an issue with you not liking Bracco's defense. Nobody likes Bracco's defense. But it's not "blind homerism/optimism" to give a 19-year old more time to work on his deficiencies, whereas you already called him out for refusing to work on it, or whatever it was you said. That's just very, very harsh. Most prospects don't fix their issues in one years time, and portraying that as a failure is just flat out premature.

As someone who's seen most of his games as a Kitchener Ranger, he hasn't worked on his defense from last season to this season. Their's also a difference between being poor defensively and showing not effort or interest defensively, he falls into the latter at the moment (which can be harder to fix; harder to motivate a player to do something they don't, than to teach a player to be better at something they are motivated to do but currently poor at). Most of the people rejecting the criticisms of his game don't seem to have seen him outside of highlights in junior and are creating their opinions out of sheer fan optimism and hope more than anything from what I've seen (not just regarding Bracco). Great offensive talent and has some unique skating abilities, but the rest of his game has a LONG way to go if he wants to be an NHL caliber player. Could he get there,to be sure, but shooting down anyone who is concerned he won't is just being a homer every bit (perhaps more so) as the person criticizing Bracco is a "hater".

 

[Nithoniniel]

One of those things is not like the other. One is a physical issue, usually boiling down to strength, dexterity, balance, etc., and the other is a matter of "want to".

Sure. Core of the matter is still that most prospects have long-term issues in their games that don't get fixed when they're 19. Max Domi for one had the exact same issue.

As someone who's seen most of his games as a Kitchener Ranger, he hasn't worked on his defense from last season to this season. Their's also a difference between being poor defensively and showing not effort or interest defensively, he falls into the latter at the moment (which can be harder to fix; harder to motivate a player to do something they don't, than to teach a player to be better at something they are motivated to do but currently poor at). Most of the people rejecting the criticisms of his game don't seem to have seen him outside of highlights in junior and are creating their opinions out of sheer fan optimism and hope more than anything from what I've seen (not just regarding Bracco). Great offensive talent and has some unique skating abilities, but the rest of his game has a LONG way to go if he wants to be an NHL caliber player. Could he get there,to be sure, but shooting down anyone who is concerned he won't is just being a homer every bit (perhaps more so) as the person criticizing Bracco is a "hater".

Regarding the bolded. I don't think I've seen anyone reject the criticism, people are rejecting the conclusions drawn from what everyone seem to agree is fair criticism. They don't have a problem with people pointing out that he's got this issue, they have a problem with saying that as a 19-year old, we should consider this a closed subject.

The people that are just concerned are not getting argued against.

Edit: Just like to point out that I agree with what you are saying otherwise, and this is a legitimate issue that Bracco needs to deal with for him to become an NHL player. I'm going to wait until I see how he translates to pro, and how he develops there before I venture close to saying that he won't change though.

 

[Menzinger]

I really don't think anyone's hyper bi-polar at all. I don't think not being impressed by a prospect for reasonable reasons is off-base.

The endless blind homerism/optimism is far more concerning. It's what leads people to belittle others when they don't see a future in Stuart Percy. It's what starts arguments about how Tyler Biggs is destined for the league.

There are damn good reasons NOT to like Bracco's game, and people aren't mentally ill for not agreeing with you.

It's Definitely fine not liking Bracco but it's not blind homerism that causes people to like Bracco either.

He clearly is a very slilled player and has some very nice stats behind him. There are tangible things that place him a tier above a guy like Biggs who was a mediocre player even at the time of his draft selection.

It's also perfectly rational to assume a young prospect still has time to round out holes in his game.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

Sure. Core of the matter is still that most prospects have long-term issues in their games that don't get fixed when they're 19. Max Domi for one had the exact same issue.



Regarding the bolded. I don't think I've seen anyone reject the criticism, people are rejecting the conclusions drawn from what everyone seem to agree is fair criticism. They don't have a problem with people pointing out that he's got this issue, they have a problem with saying that as a 19-year old, we should consider this a closed subject.

The people that are just concerned are not getting argued against.

Nobody is closing any doors. It's just something that he's shown no interest in working on in the past, and given that believing his coaches haven't attempted to help him play a more complete, pro game is absurd, it's fair to say that there's a better than good chance he'll be what he's always been.

 

[Leafs87]

This kid will really surprise a lot of people. Reminds me so much of Skinner

 

[Stephen]

I'm not particularly high on Jeremy Bracco specifically transitioning to the NHL as an integral member of the Leafs, but I am very happy with what he represents: a big cadre of young talent that gives the organization a ton of options.

When you have a pool of Kapanen, Grundstrom, Johnson, Leipsic, Lindberg, Bracco, Dzierkals, Korshkov, Timashov, Brooks, Korostelev, plus incoming picks it just gives you flexibility to build the program that you want with redundancy to make moves and fill other needs.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Sure. Core of the matter is still that most prospects have long-term issues in their games that don't get fixed when they're 19. Max Domi for one had the exact same issue.



Regarding the bolded. I don't think I've seen anyone reject the criticism, people are rejecting the conclusions drawn from what everyone seem to agree is fair criticism. They don't have a problem with people pointing out that he's got this issue, they have a problem with saying that as a 19-year old, we should consider this a closed subject.

The people that are just concerned are not getting argued against.

Edit: Just like to point out that I agree with what you are saying otherwise, and this is a legitimate issue that Bracco needs to deal with for him to become an NHL player. I'm going to wait until I see how he translates to pro, and how he develops there before I venture close to saying that he won't change though.

Oh ok, that's fair. May be missing context of what that poster's said in the past. Looks like we're on the same page.

This kid will really surprise a lot of people. Reminds me so much of Skinner

Skinner is another Ranger I saw a lot of in his time here, besides having a kind of unique skating ability (although both skate differently) and being excellent offensively they play a very different game. Skinner a scorer who could carry the puck but was great at finding dead spots and being in perfect position to get a quick shot off. Bracco is primarily a playmaker and has a good shot but not as good as Skinner's; Skinner used his edgework more in tighter space, whereas Bracco's is used mainly while he's in stride giving him excellent turning ability at full speed. In his 4th season of OHL eligibility he's having a similar impact as Skinner did in his 2nd. Skinner had a very good motor that was constant, wasn't afraid of contact and while he was no stalwart defensively, the effort level was there. Just my opinion on that particular comparison, none of this is a knock against Bracco.