Jordan Staal

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Hudsey

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Mar 14, 2006
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Hey guys

I was wondering what everybody really thinks of Jordan Staal? I saw him practice a couple times and play a few games, but I hardly noticed he was on the ice.
I've read he is supposed to be like a powerforward, but will he get many points in the NHL?

I also play in a Fantasy league and will have 3rd or 4th draft pick of only players drafted this year so I wanted to know who to draft for that.
 

Draft Guru

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Feb 27, 2002
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I saw him tonight in Peterborough's 3-2 double OT win over Ottawa in game 1, and I thought he played a strong game. This was the fifth time I've seen him this season, and he has yet to disappoint. He's big, skates well, handles the puck well, has a good shot, threw his body around and is solid defensively. He created a couple of scoring chances for himself, including a few shorthanded. I don't see him stepping right into the NHL like his brother did, though. He probably needs at least 1 more year in Peterborough, maybe even two. He still has room for improvement but he has the potential to be first-line center some day. I have him behind Erik Johnson and Phil Kessel for this draft, but ahead of Jonathan Toews.
 

hawksfan50

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Feb 27, 2002
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I saw the game last night too vs. the 67's,and I've seen him now 7or 8 times this season--yes his late birthday means he's only 17--the baby of this draft in fact--and we also know it takes BIG power forwards longer to develop as they need time to co-ordinate better with their size...so what you see now MAY BE only a glimpse of how he really will come into his own next season AND the year after in the OHL--I do not agree he will be ready for the NHL after just one more season--he'll need at least two more as his offensive game is still very raw....he hasn't figured out the anticipation /offensive positioning part out yet--and though he passes well -he isn't really "creative" enough --yet...He needs a lot of work on faceoffs-he is horrible at it now...his skating is good,effort is good,his forechecking is good because he is so strong he can strip a lot of pucks off opponents--thast is why the Petes use him on the PK ---he already is defensively good in both forecheck and back-check--he's physical and can hit,and he's ALREADY very good coming out of the corners and off the backboards with the puck -he'll be a load for the D-men to handle --HOWEVER:

The biggest concern I have is: WILL HE BE A GOOD FINISHER? He's not thsat good at it now--I dispute that he has a good shot-I have neither seen the "quick release"
nor deadly effictive wristshot that his brother Eric had as a prospect and now uses as an NHL superstar---Jordan's shot may be hard,but he's got to get away more of them during a game,got to release much quicker,and he's got to bury the opportunity more often when he does get a shot away--UNLESS he can become a better finisher like Eric,despite the rest of his game,he'll never make it to top line centre in the NHL...

So we'll have to see if he can improve his shooting chances and bury them more often over the next 2 years in the OHL...unfortunately a team will need to make its decision on him this draft--so its a bit of a projected gamble that he will eventually become a better scoring star...he'll be given credit for those Staal genes--but still,its a crap-shhot especially with a 17 year old and you just do not know for certain if the missing parts of his game will come around..
 

Misos Milakos*

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Faster version of Joe Thornton is the 1st overall pick hands down as far as I'm concerned. Good he may be, but not that good.
 

Vikke

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Misos Milakos said:
Faster version of Joe Thornton is the 1st overall pick hands down as far as I'm concerned. Good he may be, but not that good.

He's got the potential to become as good as Joe, IMO. Or a little worse, but that's not bad at all.
 

Misos Milakos*

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Vikke said:
He's got the potential to become as good as Joe, IMO. Or a little worse, but that's not bad at all.

Thats somre pretty huge potential. Perhaps people forget, but before the Crosby's and Ovechkins entered the league, Joe was pretty much the ideal version, the benchmark of a franchise forward. Anyone with that kind of potential should be going 1st, or at the very least neck and neck for the spot.
 

tony2532

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clay said:
The best comparison I have heard so far is that he is a fsater version of Joe Thornton.

I'm sorry, but Staal is nowhere near as good as Thornton was at the same age. In his draft year, Thornton was a big point producer averaging about 2 points a game.

Staal averaged 1 point a game this year. I think Staal will be a good player, but not in Thornton's class at this stage.
 

DaveyCrockett

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The Joe Thornton comparison is a bit of stretch, seeing as Joe was an awesome prospect and is battling Jagr for the league scoring lead. Its a stretch to say that anyone in this draft is capable of being as good as Thornton.
 

Rabid Ranger

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clay said:
The best comparison I have heard so far is that he is a fsater version of Joe Thornton.


That's about the worst comparison I've heard. How about a faster Chad Kilger? :sarcasm:
 

timlap

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Jun 19, 2002
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Rabid Ranger said:
That's about the worst comparison I've heard. How about a faster Chad Kilger? :sarcasm:
I realise this is far from being the point your making, but Kilger is actually quite fast. I only say this because I have been suprised by it.

Perhaps Staal is a faster less-talented version of Joe? ;)
 

Rabid Ranger

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timlap said:
I realise this is far from being the point your making, but Kilger is actually quite fast. I only say this because I have been suprised by it.

Perhaps Staal is a faster less-talented version of Joe? ;)


Kilger's actually a pretty decent player. He's never lived up to his promise (what was he drafted 4th overall?) but he's certainly useful on any NHL team. As for Staal, he's a very good prospect with a lot of potential, but to call him a "faster Joe Thornton" is a bit much. For one, he doesn't have near the playmaking ability of Thornton, who is one of the top five playmakers in the league.
 

Blind Gardien

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So far, I'd go with the Kilger comparison before the Thornton one.

But really, the whole key I still see with Staal is the "untapped potential". The physical package is so good, you sort of expect everything else to emerge. Well, okay, that's basically what didn't happen with Kilger. But I would dare to predict it will happen more completely with Staal.

What I see from him now is still basically an inability to really impose himself on games. He doesn't seem to have either the passing "vision" that a Thornton would have, or really much knack for scoring off the rush or using his shot. Emphasis on "SEEM". Largely, I think there are great reasons why that would be the case on the Petes. They have a number of older guys who can be relied on for essentially equivalent offense (Ryder, Reddox, Tardif, Morrison) and of those guys mentioned, there isn't really a lot of size there. Kaleta, Stewart, Downie, and Staal are expected to dig and go to the net. Ryder, Reddox, and Morrison do more on the outside (Tardif does both IMHO). And the "veteran confidence" of all those other players maybe gives them more of a green light to shoot, whereas sometimes Staal defers.

So while I have often watched the Petes this year and found Staal's contribution or presence to be sort of ho-hum, I can also appreciate his physical tools, and I also get the hunch that once some of the veteran depth around him disperses after this year, he'll have a great opportunity to come back next year with a ton of confidence (top-5 NHL pick) and more pressure from the coaching staff to impose himself, as he'll become more of a go-to guy. (Although still maybe not THE guy if Ryder and Downie are back also).

So I suspect all this to be the case, and would at least have him as a candidate for the top-10. Now maybe if the kid had a later birthdate and his name was "Jones" instead of "Staal", I'd leave it at that, because the uncertainty factor of maybe having another Kilger-like player would be there. But given the extra bit of youth, and yes, given the bloodlines and how Marc in particular jumped forward from his draft year, I might afford Jordan Staal an extra bit of leeway in terms of what I suspect he'll do, that I wouldn't necessarily do for "Jones".

And then at the end of the day, I wouldn't expect to see a Thornton or a Kilger, but perhaps hopefully a Jason Arnott.
:dunno:
 

timlap

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Jun 19, 2002
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Blind Gardien said:
So far, I'd go with the Kilger comparison before the Thornton one.

But really, the whole key I still see with Staal is the "untapped potential". The physical package is so good, you sort of expect everything else to emerge. Well, okay, that's basically what didn't happen with Kilger. But I would dare to predict it will happen more completely with Staal.

What I see from him now is still basically an inability to really impose himself on games. He doesn't seem to have either the passing "vision" that a Thornton would have, or really much knack for scoring off the rush or using his shot. Emphasis on "SEEM". Largely, I think there are great reasons why that would be the case on the Petes. They have a number of older guys who can be relied on for essentially equivalent offense (Ryder, Reddox, Tardif, Morrison) and of those guys mentioned, there isn't really a lot of size there. Kaleta, Stewart, Downie, and Staal are expected to dig and go to the net. Ryder, Reddox, and Morrison do more on the outside (Tardif does both IMHO). And the "veteran confidence" of all those other players maybe gives them more of a green light to shoot, whereas sometimes Staal defers.

So while I have often watched the Petes this year and found Staal's contribution or presence to be sort of ho-hum, I can also appreciate his physical tools, and I also get the hunch that once some of the veteran depth around him disperses after this year, he'll have a great opportunity to come back next year with a ton of confidence (top-5 NHL pick) and more pressure from the coaching staff to impose himself, as he'll become more of a go-to guy. (Although still maybe not THE guy if Ryder and Downie are back also).

So I suspect all this to be the case, and would at least have him as a candidate for the top-10. Now maybe if the kid had a later birthdate and his name was "Jones" instead of "Staal", I'd leave it at that, because the uncertainty factor of maybe having another Kilger-like player would be there. But given the extra bit of youth, and yes, given the bloodlines and how Marc in particular jumped forward from his draft year, I might afford Jordan Staal an extra bit of leeway in terms of what I suspect he'll do, that I wouldn't necessarily do for "Jones".

And then at the end of the day, I wouldn't expect to see a Thornton or a Kilger, but perhaps hopefully a Jason Arnott.
:dunno:
Good post. A balanced view of Staal that give his bloodlines just the right amount of consideration.
 

Hudsey

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Mar 14, 2006
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Thanks for the good info guys.

I saw the game against Oshawa on the 8th and had to look for Staal on the ice. That's why I asked for info on him. I also saw a game on TV a while back and he played great and was noticeable. He had a few breakaways that game but didn't score. Since then I noticed he seems to play on the second line and PK so I didn't know if his playmaking had gone down.

During the Oshawa game Tavares was great. That kid can make plays and is big for 15.
 

Transported Upstater

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The Great One said:
The leafs won't have to trade up to get him. :D :biglaugh:


He'll go top 5, which we most likely will not be at the end of the season. But I expect us around #9. Just crappy enough to depress all the "playoff-or-bust" people, and just good enough to avoid the BIG-TIME prospects in this years draft.

Freaking Leafs. They screw you no matter which way you look at it... :cry:
 

Ryan Van Horne

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Dec 1, 2005
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What do you mean?

clay said:
The best comparison I have heard so far is that he is a fsater version of Joe Thornton.


Do you mean he has the same style as Joe Thornton or that he is as talented as Thornton? I can see the comparisons in style, as Thornton has developed into a big playmaking centre who can carry the puck and dominates below the circles. Thornton has a great shot, but doesn't use it enough. I hope you're right because I have Jordan Staal in my keeper pool, but the numbers suggest that Staal is way behind Thornton's development at this stage. Thornton even scored more points as a 16-year-old (76 points in 66 games) than Staal did this year as a 17-year-old (68 points in 68 games).

There are other factors at play besides straight numbers (ice time, power-play time and linemates) but I think that disparity in production during their draft years is too big to attribute to any of those factors.
 

Rather Gingerly 1*

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tony2532 said:
I'm sorry, but Staal is nowhere near as good as Thornton was at the same age. In his draft year, Thornton was a big point producer averaging about 2 points a game.

Staal averaged 1 point a game this year. I think Staal will be a good player, but not in Thornton's class at this stage.

He is almost a full year younger than Thornton in his draft year though
 

Rather Gingerly 1*

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Scotianhab said:
He'd sure look good on the Habs team in a couple years, too bad we don't have a shot at drafting him.

Don't count us out too quick....it is about time the Habs traded up to draft a future star. Since we have depth but no stars in our system...we also are in need for a #1 center.

I would dangle Zednik, Riberio and Danis to move up to #3 or #4
 

Alter Haudegen

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Dec 7, 2004
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Rather Gingerly 1 said:
He is almost a full year younger than Thornton in his draft year though

He is only two month younger than Thornton in his draft year (Thornton is born in July).
 
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