Kyle Okposo

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Chrisd said:
I've heard this sanguinetti kid has no Defensive game whatsoever...I'm sure lemaire would puke.


His defensive deficiencies have been overstated. Playing under Lemaire could be the exact thing he needs.
 

Chrisd

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I'll still be furious if they take him over a brassard, mueller, okposo, tlusty, sheppard.

Wild aren't exactly the sabres on offense, even though they have some great offensive prospects coming up....they need more.

Wild have the lowest payroll in the NHL. Time to go buy some of those free agent D men....THERE ARE TONS OF THEM. Time for that front office to step up.
 

Legionnaire

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Chrisd said:
I'll still be furious if they take him over a brassard, mueller, okposo, tlusty, sheppard.

Wild aren't exactly the sabres on offense, even though they have some great offensive prospects coming up....they need more.

Wild have the lowest payroll in the NHL. Time to go buy some of those free agent D men....THERE ARE TONS OF THEM. Time for that front office to step up.

That's a good point. I was mainly thinking of the Wild's prospect pool and the fact that they kind of lack a stud "blue chipper" type of D-man. Hopefully Thelen will still pan out, and Stoner(too bad he's got a bad drug problem. j/k :snide: ) looked pretty good in the A this year, but I think Sanguinetti could be really good.
 

DaveyCrockett

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Legionnaire said:
That's a good point. I was mainly thinking of the Wild's prospect pool and the fact that they kind of lack a stud "blue chipper" type of D-man. Hopefully Thelen will still pan out, and Stoner(too bad he's got a bad drug problem. j/k :snide: ) looked pretty good in the A this year, but I think Sanguinetti could be really good.
Wow that was a bad joke. Well done.:clap:
 

Chrisd

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minny needs one and preferrably next year..... go spend some money cheap neagle ...plenty of guys will be out there.

Take the BPA in the draft regardless of position.
 

Kirk- NEHJ

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MN_Gopher said:
For the last two years Okposo has been described as a man playing with boys. Both in the USHL and at Shattucks. He has superior strength for his age. And is not affraid to go into a corner and pound a guy.

He is listed small for a power forward. But wasn't Deadmarsh listed at like 6 feet and 195 too? He did just fine. Picture that with more skill.

And I would add that Okposo is one of the more intelligent players in the draft.

He's got terrific hockey sense to go with his other gifts, and is why his stock is soaring like the North American gas prices.
 

Kevin Wey

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orangeandblack said:
even though lewis is a year older then most players in the draft, do you think he still has a legitimate shot at the first round? from what i hear about his skill level he sounds like a clearcut first, but hes older.

I would be surprised to see Trevor Lewis in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Trevor Lewis is fairly skilled, but he's not like Okposo. Okposo is unbelievable one-on-one, especially in the corners and along the boards. He can use his size, but more than anything, he uses intelligence. He uses his body and stickhandling to shield the puck extremely well. Thomas Vanek was always very good at shielding the puck. I consider Jaromir Jagr as one of the best at using his body to shield the puck.

Where Lewis is so good is that he is FAST. His top speed is really good, and his acceleration is pretty good too. Lewis is not as built as Okposo, but Lewis has a good build. I would say that Lewis is a bit more physical, but that's probably because he has two years of USHL experience. He played on the Bucs as a bit of a role player for part of his first year. Lewis is good at burning people wide. Lewis is a good playmaker too, but not elite. Lewis does not shy away from traffic, he has a pretty good shot...he's a pretty good all-around hockey player. That's maybe the major plus about Lewis, he doesn't have any major weaknesses. If he wants to play center, he'll need to get better at draws, but most everything he needs to hone is just through experience. The nice thing about Lewis is, I think he could play in most any role you gave him. Even if he doesn't become an offensive forward in say the AHL or the NHL, he has the tools, awareness, and willingness to be a puck pursuit forward at the higher levels. So, even if he doesn't become a second line NHL, he could certainly contribute as a third or fourth line player with his combination of speed, size, two-way awareness, and skill.

Has Okposo ever been a third and fourth liner? Lewis was even cut by the Roughriders, if I remember correctly, before going to Des Moines. He's had to fight hard, and fighting through the adversity to become the 2006 USHL Player of the Year and the Curt Hammer Award winner, that says a lot. Lewis was an assistant captain too, until John Vadnais went down. He's an '86, but if some NHL team wants an incredibly well-rounded defenseman, John Vadnais is your man. He is REALLY good, and he made noticeable strides in his time in the USHL. John Vadnais was the best defenseman in the USHL before he separated his shoulder. Nick Schaus was still worthy of the award though. Schaus has a lot of USHL experience and can play any way you want. Schaus is an '86 too, but he's a great two-way defenseman who can lay down a nice hipcheck (he flipped Okposo one game) and is in phenomenal physical condition. (Like, 3% body fat!) I hope NHL teams consider a few of the 86's from the USHL this year. Guys like Vadnais, Schaus, Phil Axtell, Jarod Palmer, Chase Ryan... Axtell is the fighter of the future. His skill level for a guy his size is better than guys like say, Zach Stortini. Jarod Palmer is a hockey player, in the classic sense. He can do everything. He can lay down some impressive offensive moves, he lays out hits, he can fight, he's responsible defensively, he's a leader. Miami-Ohio is picking up two great forwards in Jarod Palmer and Gary Steffes. Chase Ryan was one of the very best defensive defensemen in the USHL this year, but he has the offensive skills to contribute offensively. If he plays in the NHL, it'd be as a 5th or 6th defenseman, but he looked like an ECHL caliber defenseman a lot of the time. Ryan is no blue-chipper, but I'm really looking forward to following his career at UMD. Ryan really shined when given the opportunity.

Back to the original topic: In the end, I would expect Lewis to go in the second round. I'd be very surprised if he dropped any further than the early third round.
 

Rabid Ranger

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Alberta Yote said:
what does that have to do with this?


The idea that a player that by all accounts should go lower in the draft but is picked high by a team that has his eye on him. That happened with Wheeler and it could happen with Okposo, although IMO Okposo is much more of a sure thing than Wheeler.
 

neelynugs

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Feb 27, 2002
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jtuzzi said:
not a chance Okposo goes before Kessel, Staal, Toews, or Backstrom.

i think chances might be a little better than you may want to believe. consensus says no, but if okposo sneaks into the top 5, i wouldn't be so surprised.
 

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