Johnson #1 in next ISS Rating

[Jackets16]

I'd say the most damage done to the Jackets have been their injuries. Oh, and expecting them to be good in spite of this.

WRONG!!!!!!!! the problem is doug, and one of these days, fans like you will realise it. philly has a ton of injuries, not hurting them is it. doug cant draft and gets horrible guys through trade and fa. he got nash, that was great, but one player in 5 years and you guys still give him a pass for everything

 

[God Bless Canada]

Here come the flames! Not really, but a few things. First, Kessel has no shortage of minutes at MN. He plays a lot, often with Irmen, MN's best player, and gets plenty of PP time.

Second, some people (most of whom are Gopher-haters, so I'm inviting flames) wonder if Kessel might have been better served at another WCHA school like Wisconsin, learning from Eaves how to play a two-way, team-oriented game. No secret was made of the fact that MN's go-go offense on the big ice sheet appealed to Kessel. It might be more fun for Kessel, and he might win a national scoring title, but he also might not develop as fully at MN as at some of his other choices. Anyway, I don't blame Kessel for his choice, as it does sound more fun.

I can't think of a better NCAA hockey program than Minnesota. Kessel made the right choice. UND, Denver, Maine, Michigan and Massechussets are all great programs, but Minnesota is tops again. Not only have they won a couple national championships this decade, but Kessel gets a sampling of what he's going to face in the NHL, by facing the pressure of being a star in a hockey-mad area.

Anyone else think that the Wild, with their array of young talent (Harding, O'Sullivan, Pouliot, Burns, etc) might take a run at trading up for Kessel, who's the young, super skilled, mid-west American kid?

 

[God Bless Canada]

WRONG!!!!!!!! the problem is doug, and one of these days, fans like you will realise it. philly has a ton of injuries, not hurting them is it. doug cant draft and gets horrible guys through trade and fa. he got nash, that was great, but one player in 5 years and you guys still give him a pass for everything

Actually, the Jackets have done fairly well at the draft table. Trading up to get Nash was a shrewd move. Zheredev is suffering the sophomore jinx, but even when he struggles, you can see there is so much talent. Drafting Brule may have seemed like the common sense move, but he fell into Montreal's lap, and Montreal didn't capitalize. He's got all-star potential and could become the prototypical small forward in the NHL one day. I don't know if Picard will be anything better than a good second line forward, but at that point in 2004, there wasn't much out there besides second line forwards. (Nobody knew Meszaros would be this good this soon).

Columbus' problem is they have rushed those picks, especially Brule. He would have led the WJC in scoring (and possibly PIMs) this year, playing for his country in his backyard. Don't believe me? Watch his play in last year's CHL Top Prospects game, likely the best performance in the history of the Prospects Game. Instead, he has suffered two serious injuries, stagnating his development. MacLean has also had a revolving door at coach and a penchant for very bad free agent signings. Columbus will not be a competitive team until he is fired.

Klesla and LeClair have not played to potential. But in recent years, Columbus has added several key pieces to the puzzle.

If Columbus picks No. 1, they will pick Johnson, giving them the franchise defenceman they have coveted for so long.

 

[MU_Beerman]

This is why O hope the Blues aren't scared away and still draft him. Heck, they're at least a couple of years away from contending, so they could afford to let Kessel get some more seasoning. I don't think they expect Oshie to be ready for at least 3 more years, and he will be the guy who turns around this current joke of a franchise.

For those that want to flame me for bashing the Blues a little, I'm a season ticket holder, so fugetaboutiit.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

This is why O hope the Blues aren't scared away and still draft him. Heck, they're at least a couple of years away from contending, so they could afford to let Kessel get some more seasoning. I don't think they expect Oshie to be ready for at least 3 more years, and he will be the guy who turns around this current joke of a franchise.

For those that want to flame me for bashing the Blues a little, I'm a season ticket holder, so fugetaboutiit.

I can guarantee that if the Blues have a shot at Kessel, they will draft him.

 

[futurcorerock]

WRONG!!!!!!!! the problem is doug, and one of these days, fans like you will realise it. philly has a ton of injuries, not hurting them is it. doug cant draft and gets horrible guys through trade and fa. he got nash, that was great, but one player in 5 years and you guys still give him a pass for everything

Right.

Have you even watched a Blue Jackets game, RD?

 

[futurcorerock]

I can guarantee that if the Blues have a shot at Kessel, they will draft him.

just curious what your reasoning on this is? Is it based on StL's eventual need for a superstar?

 

[MN_Gopher]

With Kessel and the right program. People seem to forget that tDon Lucia was a steady eddy stand up d man. He understands how defence and defencemen work. So he expoits it and has a powerhouse offensive program. But D is what he knows.

 

[God Bless Canada]

No, it's St. Lou's need for some scoring. They have some very good young defencemen: Brewer, Jackman, Backman, maybe Woywitka and Lynch.

What they lack are talented forwards. They lack depth now, and it's not going to get much better once Weight and Tkachuk are gone. Oshie's the only one who strikes me as an impact player. Sejna's progressing at the pace of a career minor league scoring ace, and I have big doubts about Sodenberg's NHL potential. There isn't much to like in St. Louis' system up front. Good news is, there are several forwards in this year's draft with top line potential, even if they don't land Kessel.

 

[MN_Gopher]

But you've seen a lot more of him, in different contexts too. In your opinion, was he just trying too hard, or was the coaching lousy, or does he lack the hockey sense to be a top center and project better as an elite attack winger?

Kessel does try a little to hard i think. But what i think is the problem is that he is juts getting used to thinking on the fly. Sometimes at the U he goes 1:1 and sometimes he does not. But it seems like he chooses to do the wrong thing. I see most home games live and watch all televised games. I come away thinking on a lot of shifts. If Kessel just passed or if Kessel just took one more step. I think he is learning that and thats why you see the increase in assists of late. He could just blow by everyone up until this year. So he has to learn to keep your options open and not Try to pass or Try to score and just make the smart play. That is the single thing that seperates him from the great young players right now. The knowledge to know which play to make the skill is there no doubt. And he is making strides to that in the last few weeks od college.

In the NoDak series that last series he played. He was digging in the corners, pinned a guy or two on the boards and would dump and change to fresh guys out there. He did all those little things to win a huge raod series agaist a very tough opponent. He even stopped Stafford on a break away without taking a penality.

Now he did that in one seriers thus far. It was a big series and he played well. But he needs to have that drive in every game or he will pick up bad tendacies. Reminds me of the Yankees in innings 1-8. Oh well we can score 8 runs in the ninth and win. Lucia has called him out and persoanlly challenged him. TDon is not sitting there in the locker room going "Help me Phil Kessel you are my only hope." So he is getting the teaching.

From the Alberta and Fairbanks series to the NoDak series he looks like a different player. He gained a ton of knowledge in that time and is a more complete player. If he keeps it up, watch him in the frozen four and you will be amazed. He is making big strides.

Like everyone says. He needs one more year of college. To build strength and to see better competiona and to learn to make adjustments. Dont be to hasty to pass final judgment on Kessel until the season ends.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

just curious what your reasoning on this is? Is it based on StL's eventual need for a superstar?

It's based on St. Louis' need for a franchise forward, which we haven't had since Brett Hull. The fact that he's American, and from the midwest helps, as does the fact that the Blues have a strong record of drafting college players and Larry Pleau is the G.M.

 

[Bud]

I think Kessel may have benefitted from playing Major Junior hockey rather than NCAA hockey. Now, before I get flamed by NCAA fans, I'm not saying that NCAA is inferior hockey. I'm saying that with Major Junior hockey, Kessel would be playing more games and would have more of an opportunity to really elevate his game. It seems that with NCAA hockey, unless you're an exceptional freshman who is immediately the team's best player, you're stuck learning on the 3rd and 4th lines. You could pretty much bet that if Kessel were in one of the CHL leagues, he'd be a top line guy and get tons of ice time to really work on rounding out his game. Could you picture if a coach like Sutter were able to work with Kessel? I think the results would be phenomenal.

Part of the problem probably lies with the fact that everyone and his/her cousin has been telling Kessel that he was 'the man' since he was 14. And now he's got to follow in the footsteps of Crosby and Ovechkin.
Everyone needs to chill and realize he's 17 friggin' years old.
You guys are right. He needs another year (or two) at Minnesota, or maybe a year in the 'A'.

 

[Gopher_Nut]

Kessel does try a little to hard i think. But what i think is the problem is that he is juts getting used to thinking on the fly. Sometimes at the U he goes 1:1 and sometimes he does not. But it seems like he chooses to do the wrong thing. I see most home games live and watch all televised games. I come away thinking on a lot of shifts. If Kessel just passed or if Kessel just took one more step. I think he is learning that and thats why you see the increase in assists of late. He could just blow by everyone up until this year. So he has to learn to keep your options open and not Try to pass or Try to score and just make the smart play. That is the single thing that seperates him from the great young players right now. The knowledge to know which play to make the skill is there no doubt. And he is making strides to that in the last few weeks od college.

In the NoDak series that last series he played. He was digging in the corners, pinned a guy or two on the boards and would dump and change to fresh guys out there. He did all those little things to win a huge raod series agaist a very tough opponent. He even stopped Stafford on a break away without taking a penality.

Now he did that in one seriers thus far. It was a big series and he played well. But he needs to have that drive in every game or he will pick up bad tendacies. Reminds me of the Yankees in innings 1-8. Oh well we can score 8 runs in the ninth and win. Lucia has called him out and persoanlly challenged him. TDon is not sitting there in the locker room going "Help me Phil Kessel you are my only hope." So he is getting the teaching.

From the Alberta and Fairbanks series to the NoDak series he looks like a different player. He gained a ton of knowledge in that time and is a more complete player. If he keeps it up, watch him in the frozen four and you will be amazed. He is making big strides.

Like everyone says. He needs one more year of college. To build strength and to see better competiona and to learn to make adjustments. Dont be to hasty to pass final judgment on Kessel until the season ends.

I agree on all of this. The raw speed will not get him by at this level. His jump from the beginning of the yr to now is like night and day. Gophers have a great schedule with the best teams, starting next weekend. Should know alot more by mid Feb.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Part of the problem probably lies with the fact that everyone and his/her cousin has been telling Kessel that he was 'the man' since he was 14. And now he's got to follow in the footsteps of Crosby and Ovechkin.
Everyone needs to chill and realize he's 17 friggin' years old.
You guys are right. He needs another year (or two) at Minnesota, or maybe a year in the 'A'.

He's 19 in 9 months...

 

[MN_Gopher]

Kessels first shift tonight. He uses his speed to break through the forwards. Makes a move at the blue line. Dishes to Wheeler. Wheeler has the whole middle. Wrister by the goalie. Assist Kessel. Too bad these two did not play together.

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

I would like to see Pittsburgh draft Kessel.

Crosby, Malkin, Kessel....What a show that would be!

Crosby and Malkin feeding passes to Kessel on the PP would be a sight to behold.

 

[PuckFan01]

Kessel's choice of college was just fine. He'll learn as much where he is as he would anywhere else in NCAA hockey.

Any coach worth a dang is going to play Kessel to his strengths, polish up a few weaknesses and put him in a position to succeed. He'll get that from Don Lucia. Lucia will help his overall game without stifling the kid's offensive game.

A college coach would be a fool to try to make him into something that he isn't. That is like some idiot college football coach trying to make a less mobile drop back qurterback into an option quarterback.

 

[Misos Milakos*]

Well, I haven't seen enough of Johnson for my liking to feel confident to say one way or the other for sure or not. From what I did see, there was parts of his game I liked very much. If he really has the potential of a Pronger as many say around here , he should be the hands down #1 overall selection, as I would never consider taking Kessel over a guy with Pronger potential.

 

[Nash]

I agree that EJ should be the new #1. His stock raised immensely during the WJC. Size, skill, poise, skating, decision making and physical play were all top notch. However, lots can change by the end of the Under 18 Championship in April.

As for Kessel, there is no doubt that he has all the raw tools of a #1 pick. However, he reminds me of Shawn Belle where people said of him, "He has all the tools, but no toolbox." His hockey sense isn't anywhere as high as his skills. Before I get flamed about this opinion, all you have to do is look at how he reacts to being challenged. For the most part, he can find open lanes and use his speed to his advantage, but as he gets to higher leagues, that advantage isn't as prominent. His bag of tricks (inside-out drag is the only one I've seen) is not extensive and is predictable. After being stood up 3 or 4 times by Canada's defense while trying the same move, he did not adjust. Players with natural hockey sense would make an adjustment in that situation. I would have liked to see him fake his inside-out drag and just take the puck wide with his speed. The fact that he couldn't make a little adjust like that spoke volumes to me about how he perceives the game. A lot of people talk about Kessel's flaws and that he can fix them through coaching. Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but technique and systems can be taught, hockey sense cannot.

There have been plenty of players that dominated early based on size, speed and raw talent, but it doesn't always translate to the big leagues. Kessel could very well turn out to be a 40 goal scorer in the NHL, but thinking that he will turn into some kind of superstar seems somewhat far fetched to me.

In him, I see parallels to Daigle.

 

[Hockeycanada*]

After paying close attention to Kessel in the semi-final and bronze medal game, I was very underwhelmed with Kessel. He came off as a floater who had no defensive awareness, was on the ice for at least 2 Finnish goals, and his turnover directly caused a Finnish goal.

Another thing I noticed about Kessel, is once he gets in the offensive zone, he shoots the puck almost every time, even if he has a terrible angle and his teammates are open. It is as though he has his focus locked on shooting the puck and doesn't look for his teammates whatsoever.

As other posters mentioned, he also uses the same one on one move. Kessel had great games against weak oppoenents(Norway) but was almost invisible in the important games. He shys away from physical play and the corners.

If I had the number one pick, Johnson would be a no-brainer selection right now. Erik Johnson has been so impressive.

 

[Daily Special]

No, it will be Taves......he's got a GOLD medal and the other guys don't!!!!

Yeah cuz that'll make him go #1..

 

[Hockeycanada*]

Yeah cuz that'll make him go #1..

Toews did play very well in the gold medal game and other significant games. The same cannot be said for Kessel. However, I still think the order will be Johnson, Kessel, Toews, unless something drastically changes.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Toews did play very well in the gold medal game and other significant games. The same cannot be said for Kessel. However, I still think the order will be Johnson, Kessel, Toews, unless something drastically changes.

I think Mueller, Staal, and Frolik all have VERY good shots of being picked before Toews.

 

[KStewart113]

Hmmm, i really can't see Johnson getting ahead of Kessel...i'm thinking it'll go something like:

1) Kessel
2) Johnson
3) Toews
4) Staal
5) Mueller
6) Joensuu

 

[KStewart113]

Hmmm, i really can't see Johnson getting ahead of Kessel...i'm thinking it'll go something like:

1) Kessel
2) Johnson
3) Toews
4) Staal
5) Mueller
6) Joensuu

lol oops I forgot Frolik before Staal