RobertKron
Registered User
- Sep 1, 2007
- 15,413
- 8,500
Yeah I was thinking there was something there in the first couple of games but the skating really is a huge issue and the rest of his game would have to be huge to overcome it. I’m still hoping he can improve that aspect so he can have a shot at a regular role. Big off-season for him.Lind had a decent first game but since has been about what I expected and totally not ready.
Last 5 games - 0 points, 1 SOG, -5.
Just too slow and weak for this level, at both ends of the rink.
Wondering why a 33rd pick was used on Lind. I wanted Hague with that pick.
It's too bad no one listened to HFboards that day. We could've had Gabe Vilardi and Hague.Wondering why a 33rd pick was used on Lind. I wanted Hague with that pick.
It's too bad no one listened to HFboards that day. We could've had Gabe Vilardi and Hague.
It's a silly post if you assume I mainly intended to call out HFBoards for being poor at evaluating prospects, which I'm pretty sure you realize isn't what I was doing. My point is that it's dumb to criticize teams for missing particular prospects outside the top of the first round that every other team also missed when a) they weren't considered to have reached on the player the did draft and b) have measurably average or better drafting success in general.What a silly post.
1) People who liked Vilardi obviously couldn't predict that his development would be completely derailed by missing most of the next 3 years after the draft with a major back problem. He was the best player in the CHL in the season after the draft and has been very solid breaking into the NHL this year despite all his issues, and there's nothing to indicate the positive takes on him were incorrect. Unfortunately, you can't replace the lost time and he'll probably never be quite what he could have been.
2) People following the draft have limited resources. I can't speak for everyone, but I *repeatedly* said before and after the draft that Pettersson looked good on paper but that I had never really seen him play (one game at the WJCs where I honestly couldn't remember him) so I couldn't have a strong opinion on him positive or negative. This was not 'rating Vilardi ahead of Pettersson' but rather just not really ranking Pettersson at all because he was an unknown quantity. And a lot of us still follow the draft and will be comparing/contrasting the players we did see regularly. This isn't unfair and doesn't mean that fans are 'wrong' if a player they didn't have the resources to follow ends up succeeding.
3) The player that Vilardi was most often compared to in discussions was Cody Glass, and Vilardi is unequivocally a better player/selection than Glass, even despite all the injuries. So we were 100% correct in this discussion.
4) Benning rated Glass over Vilardi, so the fans were more correct on this than Benning.
Yeah I was thinking there was something there in the first couple of games but the skating really is a huge issue and the rest of his game would have to be huge to overcome it. I’m still hoping he can improve that aspect so he can have a shot at a regular role. Big off-season for him.
It's a silly post if you assume I mainly intended to call out HFBoards for being poor at evaluating prospects, which I'm pretty sure you realize isn't what I was doing. My point is that it's dumb to criticize teams for missing particular prospects outside the top of the first round that every other team also missed when a) they weren't considered to have reached on the player the did draft and b) have measurably average or better drafting success in general.
-3 came in one game against the oilers where horvat and Pearson was also -3. Some extra time in the a is needed but he’s close.
Lind's skating reminds me of the Sedins when they debuted for the Canucks. It looks like he's skating in quicksand when he tries to accelerate. The feet are moving but he's just not going. He'll have a long off-season to work on it assuming the Canucks qualify him.
It's very hard to do anything in the NHL nowadays when you are top 6 or bust and have below average skating. He certainly has the skill to make plays happen in the AHL but looks completely sunk in the NHL game. Players like Shinkaruk and Gaudette are examples of players with top tier offensive talent being held back by their skating.
You can see Kole Lind has decent offensive vision but acceleration is a major issue.
Lind’s skating technique seems fine but his stride needs to be generate more power. This off-season is big for Lind and Gadjovich, they got to contact Horvat for some skating advice. I think their skating is better than Gaudettes, but Lind’s speed reminds me of Shinkaruk.It's very hard to do anything in the NHL nowadays when you are top 6 or bust and have below average skating. He certainly has the skill to make plays happen in the AHL but looks completely sunk in the NHL game. Players like Shinkaruk and Gaudette are examples of players with top tier offensive talent being held back by their skating.
You can see Kole Lind has decent offensive vision but acceleration is a major issue.
Wondering why a 33rd pick was used on Lind. I wanted Hague with that pick.
Yeah, there's zero leg drive there. And also very weak on his feet.
The problem is that this isn't some new thing that we're just realizing - it's been an obvious major issue since he hit Utica in 1998 and presumably he's been working hard to improve the entire time since. And it has got better, but not nearly better enough.
A few posters -- literally maybe 2 or 3 -- think of Benning as a super scout. Many more posters who bring up Benning's solid draft record, myself included, only do so in response to other posters going shopping for increasingly nonsensical ways to undermine it because they can't accept him having even isolated, minor or largely collaborative success of any kind.1) There have been countless uninformed posts from the usual suspects over the past 4 years to the effect of 'LOL, HFBoards wanted Vilardi!' and there was no reason to think yours was anything different.
2) Generally speaking, I agree with your 2nd sentence. However, when this terrible GM is being propped up as a Super Scout by his supporters (to the extent that all his other failings don't matter), then pointing out situations where he was clearly not a Super Scout and this board knew better is totally valid.
3) I'd also add that Mike Gillis was skewered for missing on picks in the late 20s of the draft, so I'd think it's fair game to call out Jim Benning for missing badly on a pick in basically the same range.