Kasperi Kapanen - Where does he rank?

[Asuna]

Not sure if there's a certain thread for this - move if need be

Where would Kapanen rank among the Penguins prospects in the past 15 years?

Malkin/Crosby don't count.

He's gotta be pretty high up there, no?

Click to read more...

 

[penguins2946*]

Prospects I'd rank above him:

Pouliot
Staal
Fleury
Whitney
Esposito (he may have busted hard, but he was a highly ranked prospect that everyone thought fell to us)
Malkin
Crosby
Letang (a year or 2 after he was drafted)

I don't consider Maatta to have been a better prospect than him, Maatta exploded at the NHL level and not at juniors. By the time he was considered a legit prospect, he was already a top-4 D.

 

[Uemoda]

Prospects I'd rank above him:

Pouliot
Staal
Fleury
Whitney
Esposito (he may have busted hard, but he was a highly ranked prospect that everyone thought fell to us)
Malkin
Crosby
Letang (a year or 2 after he was drafted)

I don't consider Maatta to have been a better prospect than him, Maatta exploded at the NHL level and not at juniors. By the time he was considered a legit prospect, he was already a top-4 D.

I'd take out those two.

At the time of drafting, the only consensus "better" picks, were Staal, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, and (maybe) Whitney.

Wasn't Kasperi was a top-3 European player in the draft? No one doubted his skill was superb.


I'd put him at #5.

 

[penguins2946*]

I'd take out those two.

At the time of drafting, the only consensus "better" picks, were Staal, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, and (maybe) Whitney.

Wasn't Kasperi was a top-3 European player in the draft? No one doubted his skill was superb.


I'd put him at #5.

I think Pouliot was a reach at the draft somewhat (he was supposed to go mid 1st round according to most mock drafts), but if not right when drafted, he definitely had a higher peak as a prospect after winning CHL D of the year last year. Whitney was also definitely a better prospect, he was a consensus top-10 pick and was one of the highest ranked NA skaters (he was 3rd IIRC).

Esposito was a weird one. He was a top-5 pick to some scouts and a late 1st rounder to others. He finished as the #8 ranked NA skater, but he was ranked #1 before the 2007 season IIRC (he put up 98 points as a 16 year old rookie, probably because he played with Radulov and his 152 points). If we were talking purely about peak ratings as a prospect, Esposito would win. Esposito also fell off the map faster than any other prospect though.

This is a weird question in the OP though. It's really hard to compare prospects from different times. Esposito, while a good prospect, didn't amount to **** in the NHL. Does knowing he didn't accomplish anything affect his rating as a prospect? Same thing with Letang, does him turning into one of the top-10 D in the NHL affect his prospect status? He was highly regarded after his Q career was over (he had an insane playoff run in 2007), but how highly regarded of a prospect was he? It's really hard to look at stuff like this in no hindsight.

 

[The Greatest 101]

Kap definitely was more hyped than Pouliot in their respective draft years.And Maatta was way more hyped than Pouliot as well.(I remember Olli was considered as a top ten pick.).

 

[Darth Vitale]

Depends on what you mean by "rank". Do you mean who had the highest perceived upside at the time he was drafted, irrespective of what they ended up doing in the NHL? More than that, not sure I understand the point of the thread. To make ourselves feel better that we have at least one really solid prospect in the pool?

Am I gonna be happy to say we got one prospect....? I not gonna be happy to say we have one prospect. What those scouts will say if i take 4/5 of their salary cuz dey only do der job 20% of the time? (Sorry -- couldn't be helped. Mandatory I do one MT impression a year at least.)

 

[penguins2946*]

Kap definitely was more hyped than Pouliot in their respective draft years.And Maatta was way more hyped than Pouliot as well.(I remember Olli was considered as a top ten pick.).

That's entirely false on Maatta. Both Maatta and Pouliot were considered mid 1st rounders (looking at mock drafts right now, almost every one has Maatta 10-12 and Pouliot 13-16), and Maatta never had a season like Pouliot had when he won CHL D of the year. Comparing Pouliot after last year or Pouliot in WBS at the start of this year and Maatta anytime before he went to the NHL is an easy win for Pouliot. Kapanen would also fall short of Pouliot there IMO. I think all of Maatta, Kapanen and Pouliot were similarly regarded on draft day, Pouliot staying in juniors longer and having a fantastic 13-14 season makes me give him the award for highest peak up to this point.

 

[Wolf Without a Howl]

I'd take out those two.

At the time of drafting, the only consensus "better" picks, were Staal, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, and (maybe) Whitney.

Wasn't Kasperi was a top-3 European player in the draft? No one doubted his skill was superb.


I'd put him at #5.

As a matter of fact, he was ranked as THE top Euro prospect last year.

In hindsight it's pretty crazy he didn't go until 22.

But considering he was the top euro prospect from his draft year, that should by default put him ahead of almost all of their draft picks from the last decade sans-Sid/Geno and maybe Staal.

 

[Dangles78]

Excluding Sid and Geno...and assuming Kappy is just the new exciting toy...

1. Fleury
2. Staal
3. Whitney
4. Welch
5. Veilleux

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Despres is up there. He was a consensus top-10 pick in his draft year, and I was super excited when he dropped to us.

 

[#66]

Good god that 2009 draft could have fixed so many thing and the Pens just blew it.

Kaps OK but I think he gets a little over rated. Great shot and a slippery skater but he is uber soft and knows it.

I didnt like his compete level at the WJC but need to watch him more before saying its a problem.