News Article: Leafs prospects look grim

[Judas Tavares]

I don't mind our prospect pool/youth. Its not top notch but there are some good pieces. As a whole if you at the team 25 and under. JVR, Kadri, Rielly, Gardiner, Percy, Nylander, Gauthier, Leivo, Finn etc. Its a nice list. Ya could be better, but pieces are there.

 

[Leafsrock95]

What?

Nylander, Leivo, Johnson are all likely top 6 players. Carrick, Verhaeghe, Brown, Gauthier, McKegg all have shots at the top 6 too. Thats 8 forwards. I also like Dakota Joshua but people probably don't know who he is.

On defense we have Percy, Finn, Nilson, Loov, Granberg, MacWilliams and Valiev. They all have top 4 potential. MacWilliams is the worst of the group but he is still a 3rd pairing defender.

 

[Al14]

So, the Leafs prospects looks grim?

Well, sort of matches the Leafs starting lineup! No?

 

[Canada4Gold]

Prospects are suspects until proven otherwise.

The Hockey News future watch edition always comes out Feb-March as this ranking is prior to last years draft (notice no Nylander) and also the completion of last years season as well & playoffs.

Hard to imagine any scout or person able to predict Percy would be a regular on the Leafs and Jake Gardiner would be in the pressbox watching at his expense, particularly after signing his new deal.

A lot can change in the life of a prospect very quickly. Matt Finn believed to be among Leafs better prospects is not even dressing for Marlie games for example.

and Stamkos wasn't dressing for Lightning games for a while last year. Guess that means he sucks too.

Finn is hurt, and when you're not playing because you're hurt it's not because you suck, it's because you're hurt.

But yeah when that list came out many people said it was terrible. There's no way Percy should have been at 9. Macwilliam, McKegg, Biggs to name 3 shouldn't have been ahead of him at the time, and there are others. That's not hindsight, that's where they were at the time. I've had Finn and Percy roughly around the same for a while now, Percy has jumped him with the excellent start to the year but there's no way anyone puts Finn at 2 and Percy at 9 when that list was made. Leivo was also disgustingly low.

List probably should have been

1. Gauthier
2. Leivo
3. Finn
4. Percy
5. Johnson
6. Granberg
7. Brown
The rest.

 

[Drew75]

Looks like Percy and Finn have switched spots on that TSN ranking list.

Percy has been very good exceeding exceptions at this point and Finn who was considered better has struggled.

I don't thnk Percy is exceeding expectations, but rather developing sooner than expected.

This whole conversation is a catch 22. The Leafs have been called out for a below averge prospect pool because they change the culture years ago and took the longer development approach. It is only now that we will actually see the payoff of that choice, but then as these players graduate - they are no longer prospects and we're back to supposedly having a below average pool.

Soon, we will have more NHL ready defensemen than there are spots for - a GREAT problem to have ... and yet we will still have countless "we can't draft, our scouts suck" threads. Percy is coming along great, Finn could be there next year or the year after, Loov is looking like a beast, Nilsson opened a lot of eyes, and Granberg could be there next year as well. Throw in Reilly and Gardiner ... and wow - that's not bad for team with horrible prospects.

We should call he issue for what it is .... "The Leafs lack blue-chip, top end prospects not playing on the team currently". I mean, we really only have Nylander in that regard ... of course, if you wanted to throw in Reily, Gardiner, Kessel, JVR, Kadri, Bernier ... the big picture still isn't that bad!

 

[Ramboshaw]

I always got a kick out of this thread
Often said "you are your own worst critic" well that goes for hockey evaluations too. So much negativity shoved around these kids, like we are literally LOOKING for them to fail, when in fact a lot have been quite good. Notice I don't say "all" because like every team we will have prospects who don't live up. But is it grim? Not by any means.
If we get either one of Brown or Johnson, both boom/busy prospects, to breakout in the NHL that will be a significant boost to our team. It's only a matter of time now.

 

[zeke]

Its just so funny that the Leafs got ranked so low in a year where their AHL team went to the finals, and they had studly awesome performances from other prospects in other leagues - Johnson, Brown, Verhaghe, Finn, Bibeau in particular.

I mean how is that even possible that the Leafs' farm team could be elite, and they could have so many elite performances in other prospect leagues, and yet they get ranked 29th?

its just ridiculous.

 

[leafsfuture]

Its just so funny that the Leafs got ranked so low in a year where their AHL team went to the finals, and they had studly awesome performances from other prospects in other leagues - Johnson, Brown, Verhaghe, Finn, Bibeau in particular.

I mean how is that even possible that the Leafs' farm team could be elite, and they could have so many elite performances in other prospect leagues, and yet they get ranked 29th?

its just ridiculous.

Its all about the appeal of the names.

A guy like Johnson will never get any sort of appreciation UNTIL he comes to the NHL (thats not saying he will become a star, but I am speaking about similar players in the past)

Anyone with any sort of brain knows the Leafs defensive propsect pool has been building for a while. Really it goes back to 2010, form which date we drafted Granberg, Percy, Nilsson, Loov, Finn, Rielly, Valiev.

And the key here is that with all those picks (with the partial exception of Rielly) we were seen as reaching, drafting unheralded players. Now its paying off

 

[BlueBaron]

I agree the ranking seems a bit off and so many here will use it as proof that we are poorly managed. Really we just need another center prospect or two, a good goalie and to keep adding to our embarrassment of riches D prospects. Having Nylander in the bank is sweet.

 

[Johny Drama]

Some of these prospect rankings make for interesting discussions, but have to be careful not to put too much stock into them. Don't recall ever seeing Percy appear on a top 50 prospect list, and even though its early days, he has stepped into the Leafs blueline and made a very solid contribution. Meanwhile, some highly rated defencemen from his draft class (Oleskiak, Klefbom, Morrow, Seimens) haven't been able to establish themselves.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Its just so funny that the Leafs got ranked so low in a year where their AHL team went to the finals, and they had studly awesome performances from other prospects in other leagues - Johnson, Brown, Verhaghe, Finn, Bibeau in particular.

I mean how is that even possible that the Leafs' farm team could be elite, and they could have so many elite performances in other prospect leagues, and yet they get ranked 29th?

its just ridiculous.

There seems to be narrative that only comes into play when talking about the Leafs farm system, which is that all other teams have multiple future all-stars and first line players toiling in the minors for no good reason, while the Leafs "don't have any blue chippers except for their blue chippers" like Schenn, Kadri, Reilly, and now Nylander.

For example, Wennberg is considered quite the prospect, and even though Johnson is that same age and outperformed him on the same team, he barely gets a mention.

Its just the narrative. We could draft McDavid and reports will still say "outside of McDavid and Nylander, the cupboard is pretty bare".

 

[Gary Nylund]

Some of these prospect rankings make for interesting discussions, but have to be careful not to put too much stock into them. Don't recall ever seeing Percy appear on a top 50 prospect list, and even though its early days, he has stepped into the Leafs blueline and made a very solid contribution. Meanwhile, some highly rated defencemen from his draft class (Oleskiak, Klefbom, Morrow, Seimens) haven't been able to establish themselves.

Yeah this. All lists of any kind should be taken as mostly entertainment. I mean, we just had another list of top NHL players that had Kane at #10 and Kessel at #39 despite the fact that most people consider them to be very similar players and roughly equally valuable.

Somebody makes a list. Big deal.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I don't think the setiment of the OP is off, we do not have a bluechipper in the system. Nylander is probably going to be a nice #2 line player one day. But unlikely a franchise type of player.

 

[Guy Boucher]

I don't think the setiment of the OP is off, we do not have a bluechipper in the system. Nylander is probably going to be a nice #2 line player one day. But unlikely a franchise type of player.

There's only a couple of 'franchise' players in the league. That's not the definition of a bluechipper.

Nylander is absolutely a bluechipper and has a great chance to be a good first liner.

 

[Kubus]

I don't think we should place that much weight on rankings, or what a single scout thinks, good or bad.

Really we have drafted a few players with some potential, but lost of it will have to do with their development. Development is a big factor in how many of these guys will turn out. I'm sure Percy is a big surprise for most this year. He just developed faster than others, but lets not give up on guys that take longer.

 

[Gary Nylund]

There's only a couple of 'franchise' players in the league. That's not the definition of a bluechipper.

Nylander is absolutely a bluechipper and has a great chance to be a good first liner.

Yeah if Nylander isn't a bluechipper then I'm not sure we've ever had one.

 

[LeafsNation149]

Can't wait for Johnson to make his debut

 

[The Winter Soldier]

There's only a couple of 'franchise' players in the league. That's not the definition of a bluechipper.

Nylander is absolutely a bluechipper and has a great chance to be a good first liner.

I would rate Morgan Rielly as a bluechipper if we go by the true definition of what it means, best at their position, a can't miss" prospect.

I see Nylander more as a support player that will play behind JVR and Kessel his career. Nothing wrong with this, but he's not a franchise changer IMO.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I would rate Morgan Rielly as a bluechipper if we go by the true definition of what it means, best at their position, a can't miss" prospect.

I see Nylander more as a support player that will play behind JVR and Kessel his career. Nothing wrong with this, but he's not a franchise changer IMO.

What is your source for this "true definition"?

 

[The Winter Soldier]

What is your source for this "true definition"?

Blue chips are athletes, particularly high school players, targeted for drafting or signing by teams at the college level. Collegiate players being scouted by professional franchises may also be referred to as blue chips.

Blue chip players are those who have proven themselves to be among the best at their positions in their respective sports and are more sought after and wanted than other players.[1] They are typically perceived as "can't miss" prospects[2] who are desired by most organizations. Blue chip athletes are likely to have an immediate impact on teams that acquire them[2] and have proven skills rather than speculative or untapped potential.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_chip_(sports)

 

[Gary Nylund]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_chip_(sports)

LOL OK. There's a HUGE difference between what it says there and what you posted. Do you see it?

 

[Mitchy]

I don't think the setiment of the OP is off, we do not have a bluechipper in the system. Nylander is probably going to be a nice #2 line player one day. But unlikely a franchise type of player.

Question: Do you think Nick Ritchie is a "bluechipper"?

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Question: Do you think Nick Ritchie is a "bluechipper"?

Nope, I am not trying to be smart about this, but for me. A blue chipper and a good prospect has significant differences in value.

Mackinnon is a bluechipper, don't think anyone would disagree here. Nick Ritchie, support player. he or Nylander do not fit the criteria of what it means.

 

[Cor]

William Nylander is absolutly a blue chip prospect wtf

He's the most skilled guy that came out of that draft.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

William Nylander is absolutly a blue chip prospect wtf

He's the most skilled guy that came out of that draft.

Nikita Filatov was billed as the most skilled fwd to Steven Stamkos in the 2008 draft.