Laughton remains top prospect in Philadelphia Flyers' 2014 Fall Top 20

[HF Article]

Photo: Scott Laughton is one of several strong two-way forwards in the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect pool. Laughton was picked 20th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)


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*The Philadelphia Flyers have gone to lengths the past few seasons to address their defensive depth and now have five very solid blueliners among their top 10 prospects.



The 2014 Fall Top 20 features an influx of recently-drafted talent, as all of Philadelphia’s 2014 NHL Draft picks made the list. Three of those picks, Travis Sanheim, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Mark Friedman, made the top 10. Certain players, including*Michael Parks and Jason Akeson, have been moved out of the top 10.… read more

The post Laughton remains top prospect in Philadelphia Flyers’ 2014 Fall Top 20 appeared first on Hockey's Future.



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[Jray42]

Laughton ahead of Morin??? Laughable.

 

[Jack de la Hoya]

Laughton ahead of Morin??? Laughable.

To be fair, they are both 7.5B, which basically means they are tied. Since Laughton is clearly closer to NHL-ready, I think ranking him as 1A is reasonable.

That said, I don't get the ranking. I think Morin should have the higher number with a lower letter. He has a higher ceiling and a lower floor than Laughton. The identical grade is odd.

 

[FlyTimmo]

Laughton ahead of Morin??? Laughable.

It isn't that laughable.

 

[Jray42]

It isn't that laughable.

Laughton won't ever be more than a middle 6 center, he most likely will be a very good, two way 3rd line center. How that is considered a better prospect than Morin who has the potential to be a top pairing defenseman?

Laughton may be more of a sure thing, but that doesn't, or shouldn't make him the better prospect.

To be fair, they are both 7.5B, which basically means they are tied. Since Laughton is clearly closer to NHL-ready, I think ranking him as 1A is reasonable.

That said, I don't get the ranking. I think Morin should have the higher number with a lower letter. He has a higher ceiling and a lower floor than Laughton. The identical grade is odd.

Yeah, that would make sense.

 

[Jack de la Hoya]

Morin - 8.0C
Laughton - 7.5B

That's how I see it, ish.

 

[Random Forest]

Laughton won't ever be more than a middle 6 center, he most likely will be a very good, two way 3rd line center. How that is considered a better prospect than Morin who has the potential to be a top pairing defenseman?

Laughton may be more of a sure thing, but that doesn't, or shouldn't make him the better prospect.

Why not? Morin also has the potential to be nothing more than a big, bottom pair defender that likes to hit.

Laughton is a really safe bet to be a solid third line center. I'd have Morin ahead of Laughton, but it's not "laughable" to have it the other way around.

 

[ILoveStephanieBrown]

Nothing against Morin, but I don't think he ever becomes a top pairing guy. I just don't think he has the puck skills to be one. Top 4 would be my guess. A middle 6 center and a top 4 damn have about the same worth to a team and since Laughton is more proven, I have no problem with him being ahead of Morin.

 

[Tankadelphia]

Sanheim has potential to be elite.... Yet only 7.5. Hmmm... I wonder what's off here

 

[RJ8812*]

Sanheim has potential to be elite.... Yet only 7.5. Hmmm... I wonder what's off here

HF staff

 

[FLYguy3911]

A lot of head scratching comments. The top 10 isn't that bad though. I would have Laughton #4 on my personal list- behind the big 3 defensemen. Stolarz would be higher as well even though he's a goalie.

 

[chupanibre]

^Sweet mustache Laughton

I prefer the rankings that were done over here on hfboards.

 

[TheCLAM]

Sanheim has potential to be elite.... Yet only 7.5. Hmmm... I wonder what's off here

Mind explaining his potential to be elite? His numbers don't exactly show it..

 

[Random Forest]

Mind explaining his potential to be elite? His numbers don't exactly show it..

He was his team's third PP option. In comparison, Morin and Nikita Zadorov had very similar even strength production.

It's not a stretch to say Morin could have scored 40+ points with an increased PP role like Zadorov had.

The potential is certainly there with Morin. He moves the puck cleanly and effectively. He'll never be the kind of guy that will lead the rush or make skilled passes, but he makes smart and safe decisions with the puck that could allow him to put up respectable numbers. He also has a booming slapshot that could be a major weapon with that increased PP role.

 

[Striiker]

He was his team's third PP option. In comparison, Morin and Nikita Zadorov had very similar even strength production.

It's not a stretch to say Morin could have scored 40+ points with an increased PP role like Zadorov had.

The potential is certainly there with Morin. He moves the puck cleanly and effectively. He'll never be the kind of guy that will lead the rush or make skilled passes, but he makes smart and safe decisions with the puck that could allow him to put up respectable numbers. He also has a booming slapshot that could be a major weapon with that increased PP role.

Didn't he also score like 90% of his points in the last half of the season or something? He definitely played at another level towards the end of the year compared to the beginning.

 

[Tankadelphia]

Mind explaining his potential to be elite? His numbers don't exactly show it..

Read the first sentence of the explanation. That's what I was quoting

 

[Random Forest]

Didn't he also score like 90% of his points in the last half of the season or something? He definitely played at another level towards the end of the year compared to the beginning.

Crap. I was talking about Morin. Didn't realize he was talking about Sanheim. My bad.

But yeah, you're right about Sanheim.

 

[Striiker]

Crap. I was talking about Morin. My bad.

But yeah, you're right about Sanheim.

Ahh gotcha

 

[Dumpster Flyers]

By their criteria, they're projecting Laughton's ceiling at 1st/2nd line tweener, which is overly generous. "7.0B" would be more realistic.

 

[flyersfan018]

I think they're good rankings. I don't think it's crazy to have Laughton ahead of Morin. They're all wildcards at this point so if someone is a spot or two below/above where they "should" be, I'm not gonna get bent out of shape about it.

 

[Stizzle]

Mind explaining his potential to be elite? His numbers don't exactly show it..

He grew something like 9 inches over the last year. It was his first year in the WHL, most of the other top prospects were on there 2nd. He was on a really, really good team in Calgary. Most of the defensemen were 20/19 years old. Once he solidified his spot in the lineup Sanheim played on the 3rd pair with another 17 year old. As the season progressed that pair exploded. By the end of the playoffs they were using him versus Reinhart because the older defensemen couldn't handle him. He was the only one that did well vs Reinhart.

At the U-18 tournament it was the 1st time he was asked to play super heavy minutes. He played amazingly and was named one of the most outstanding players. This week during 2 games at the WJC summer series he looked very good also, playing amongst the best players in his age group and a year older.

He pocesses awesome physical tools and a great frame that aren't close to being the end product. Considering his relative lack of experience, his hockey IQ and vision are mind blowing. His upside and continuing upward trajectory can't be ignored. I said it in the prospects thread this week, but I'll repeat myself. He's the best prospect the Flyers have, and it might not be close.

 

[Striiker]

He grew something like 9 inches over the last year. It was his first year in the WHL, most of the other top prospects were on there 2nd. He was on a really, really good team in Calgary. Most of the defensemen were 20/19 years old. Once he solidified his spot in the lineup Sanheim played on the 3rd pair with another 17 year old. As the season progressed that pair exploded. By the end of the playoffs they were using him versus Reinhart because the older defensemen couldn't handle him. He was the only one that did well vs Reinhart.

At the U-18 tournament it was the 1st time he was asked to play super heavy minutes. He played amazingly and was named one of the most outstanding players. This week during 2 games at the WJC summer series he looked very good also, playing amongst the best players in his age group and a year older.

He pocesses awesome physical tools and a great frame that aren't close to being the end product. Considering his relative lack of experience, his hockey IQ and vision are mind blowing. His upside and continuing upward trajectory can't be ignored. I said it in the prospects thread this week, but I'll repeat myself. He's the best prospect the Flyers have, and it might not be close.

I really hope you're right.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

Cousins a strong two-way player? I'd say his play away from the puck is the weakest part of his game.

Stolarz's development hasn't gone as expected? He had the best save percentage in the OHL and the second best GAA. London was a strong team, but they were worse than they were the year before, and he was able to improve his save percentage. His GAA went up a little, but that was to be expected. I'm not sure what else you want from him.

 

[onlylordsvsmorebp]

He grew something like 9 inches over the last year. It was his first year in the WHL, most of the other top prospects were on there 2nd. He was on a really, really good team in Calgary. Most of the defensemen were 20/19 years old. Once he solidified his spot in the lineup Sanheim played on the 3rd pair with another 17 year old. As the season progressed that pair exploded. By the end of the playoffs they were using him versus Reinhart because the older defensemen couldn't handle him. He was the only one that did well vs Reinhart.

At the U-18 tournament it was the 1st time he was asked to play super heavy minutes. He played amazingly and was named one of the most outstanding players. This week during 2 games at the WJC summer series he looked very good also, playing amongst the best players in his age group and a year older.

He pocesses awesome physical tools and a great frame that aren't close to being the end product. Considering his relative lack of experience, his hockey IQ and vision are mind blowing. His upside and continuing upward trajectory can't be ignored. I said it in the prospects thread this week, but I'll repeat myself. He's the best prospect the Flyers have, and it might not be close.

i believe in sanheim too. great pick. gonna be a stud.

 

[Striiker]

Stolarz's development hasn't gone as expected? He had the best save percentage in the OHL and the second best GAA. London was a strong team, but they were worse than they were the year before, and he was able to improve his save percentage. His GAA went up a little, but that was to be expected. I'm not sure what else you want from him.

Maybe he expected Stolarz's development to go bad?