News Article: Leafs prospects look grim

[Cor]

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

No he wasn't. WTF

 

[hotpaws]

No he wasn't. WTF

yes he was , that's why he was drafted so high

 

[Cor]

yes he was , that's why he was drafted so high

Steven Stamkos was ALWAYS known as the most skilled guy in the draft. Also, pretty apparent William Nylander isn't Nikita Filatov.

Nylander has the potential to be a game changing top line forward, possibly center.

If that's not a blue chip prospect, I don't know what is

 

[The Winter Soldier]

yes he was , that's why he was drafted so high

Fliatov had his admirers here too, he was the 2nd highest rated fwd in the 2008 draft. There is no doubt he was highly thought of. Skill is not a guarantee to success. Ironically We drafted a very skilled guy that should have gone in the 1st rd that year but dropped to the 4th rd. Mikhail Stefanovich.

 

[hotpaws]

Steven Stamkos was ALWAYS known as the most skilled guy in the draft. Also, pretty apparent William Nylander isn't Nikita Filatov.

Nylander has the potential to be a game changing top line forward, possibly center.

If that's not a blue chip prospect, I don't know what is

SS was rated num 1 and Filtov was a close 2nd among forwards in that draft class and i wasn't comparing Nylander to him so i have no idea why you brought him into the discussion ?

 

[HoweHullOrr]

That Hockey News ranking (above) was before this summer's draft. We ostensibly have Percy graduated (or nearly graduated) and he looks like a solid defender for us. And then we have Finn, along with a few other defenders in our system. I don't think the defense is in too bad of shape.

At forward, Nylander must be added to the list. Then we have Gauthier who is currently projected to be a 3rd liner. So, the problem with our forward prospects is that we don't have the high draft picks, highly touted and more obvious prospects in our system. There are obviously multiple forwards in our prospect pool (as well as any other NHL team), so we are going to need a few hidden gems to step up before our forward group could be considered good. Of course, we could still really benefit from a #1C stud prospect in our system, and this is our most obvious need.

IMHO, I conclude that this year's draft class is really critical for us. If we could somehow land a #1C, that would be huge for us. Also, if we were somehow able to manage a top five pick, and another 1st rounder, lets say in the 15 to 25th overall range, our prospect pool could take a giant leap forward with just this alone.

This list came out before the draft, that's why Nylander isn't on it. You're quoting stuff from 8-9 months ago.

And here's one of my quotes in the first page:

I still can't believe Percy was ranked 10th in that list. The guy has been great since we drafted him and has been great since he joined the Marlies. He's so much better then Biggs and MacWilliam. Brown and McKegg are solid but I still put Percy much before them.

THN can't be taken too seriously with these lists and having Percy behind Biggs and Leivo behind MacWilliam are just some of the reasons why.

I agree. I knew that when I made my post. Hence, this is why I said: That Hockey News ranking (above) was before this summer's draft".

Let's not get defensive when there is no reason to. I was agreeing with a lot of what you said.

Having Biggs higher than Percy (or even on the list) was also an obvious indication that something was off-kilter with the list.

That's why I offered the explanation that the criteria for the list was high draft (hence high profile) choices. I'm not saying that is correct, just an observation on what I think they were basing it on.

 

[91Kadri91*]

No he wasn't. WTF

Interatif is actually right in this case.

I know, I'm just as shocked as the rest of you.

 

[hotpaws]

Fliatov had his admirers here too, he was the 2nd highest rated fwd in the 2008 draft. There is no doubt he was highly thought of. Skill is not a guarantee to success. Ironically We drafted a very skilled guy that should have gone in the 1st rd that year but dropped to the 4th rd. Mikhail Stefanovich.

Going into that draft you had SS and then Doughty-Bogo-Petro as the consensus top picks and Filitov as the wild card . We were sitting with the 7th pick and i was hoping he'd drop to us and then was hoping we'd take him at 5 when we traded up .

I didn't mind taking Schenn but i would have rather gambled on a high end offensive talent that high up in the draft than take a stay at home D . Filitov busted but it wasn't for a lack of talent .

 

[Cor]

SS was rated num 1 and Filtov was a close 2nd among forwards in that draft class and i wasn't comparing Nylander to him so i have no idea why you brought him into the discussion ?

because saying Nylander isn't a blue chip prospect because of Filatov is asinine, which is Interactif, not you, is trying to use as reasoning.

 

[zeke]

Filatov was a blue chip prospect.

but even blue chip prospects can bust.

patrik stefan was a blue chip prospect. cam barker was a blue chip prospect. alexandre daigle was s blue chip prospect.

 

[silentbob37*]

Steven Stamkos was ALWAYS known as the most skilled guy in the draft. Also, pretty apparent William Nylander isn't Nikita Filatov.

Nylander has the potential to be a game changing top line forward, possibly center.

If that's not a blue chip prospect, I don't know what is

We dunno if Nylander will be a filatov or not yet. I think he has tremendous potential but I dunno if his peak is what should be realistically expected. Nylander and Rielly are very good prospects and they may be guys you can build a winner around, but let's not kid ourselves, they aren't Macakinnon and Jones.

Remember once upon a time Tlusty was a great offensive prospect for us.

No he wasn't. WTF

There was some talk in 2008 that he might be e most talented player, not the best (that was Stamkos) but most talented. Remember most talented doesn't = best or Nylander would have drafted earlier then 8.

 

[Cor]

We dunno if Nylander will be a filatov or not yet. I think he has tremendous potential but I dunno if his peak is what should be realistically expected. Nylander and Rielly are very good prospects and they may be guys you can build a winner around, but let's not kid ourselves, they aren't Macakinnon and Jones.

Remember once upon a time Tlusty was a great offensive prospect for us.



There was some talk in 2008 that he might be e most talented player, not the best (that was Stamkos) but most talented. Remember most talented doesn't = best or Nylander would have drafted earlier then 8.

Yeah, they are different. But Stamkos was always more talented than Filatov.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I spoke to my head scouting friend, and he told me many scouts that were high on Filatov are shocked that he never made it in the NHL.

Apparently He's a good character kid, loves his family, is maintenance free, with all the talent in the world. But for some reason just never fulfilled his potential. A real mystery.

 

[ULF_55]

Finn is injured.

*Sigh*

Is Finn the one related to Colaiacovo?

 

[highslot]

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

by that definition, i'd say rielly, nylander are blue chip players, and there's a strong argument for percy who's all around game and high iq made him a first round d prospect in his draft.

currently playing for leafs, i'd say gardiner, kadri and jvr are blue chippers as well.

so that's at least 4, which is pretty good.

for possible impact players, we have bibeau, johnson, brown, leivo and toninato, but because they weren't drafted high, i wouldn't count them as blue chippers.

wouldn't be surprised if bibeau's ceiling is higher than fucale, johnson makes second line, and toninato matches kadri, although the last is the least likely.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Percy has been a hell of a surprise . He's a step slow and his size and skill pkg is nothing special but the kid is extremly smart and has a great feel for the game . I didn't expect this but he's been a treat to watch so far.

Steve Spott gave him a good primer last season with the Marlies. He played in all the situations and got loads of ice time. They were getting him ready by the looks of it now.

 

[Guy Boucher]

Filatov was drafted in a year which was extremely weak for forwards.

When that happens (and especially for a European player) scouts have trouble bench-marking players.

Filatov was ridiculously overrated. He was never as good as people thought he was.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Simmons had to get a bite on the carcass before the draft. Nobody actually talks to that goofy looking guy either do they....

Carrick is among our best forward prospects. He should be playing for the leafs next season. The new guys that we don't have just seem to keep graduating to the big team somehow. Its terrible we've been tortured to tolerate a second class reporter for so long.

I wouldn't want that nerdy Simmons for a neighbor for sure. It wouldn't turn out good for me lol.

pow..

 

[TheCLAM]

Simmons had to get a bite on the carcass before the draft. Nobody actually talks to that goofy looking guy either do they....

Carrick is among our best forward prospects. He should be playing for the leafs next season. The new guys that we don't have just seem to keep graduating to the big team somehow. Its terrible we've been tortured to tolerate a second class reporter for so long.

I wouldn't want that nerdy Simmons for a neighbor for sure. It wouldn't turn out good for me lol.

pow..

I'd rather Carrick develop on the Marlies more. Playing 5-10 minutes doesn't really do anything for his development

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I'd rather Carrick develop on the Marlies more. Playing 5-10 minutes doesn't really do anything for his development

Booth will be getting his minutes when he is back. That's fine though because Booth could be the makings of the leafs icing 4 effective lines. Carrick is a prospect was the meaning. I would take him over Holland.

 

[hotpaws]

Filatov was drafted in a year which was extremely weak for forwards.

When that happens (and especially for a European player) scouts have trouble bench-marking players.

Filatov was ridiculously overrated. He was never as good as people thought he was.

do you just pull this crap out of your butt ?

It can be said in hindsight that Schenn was ridiculously over rated as well and that was in a draft with high end D prospects so why did they have such a hard time bench marking him ?

Drafting 18 year kids isn't an exact science and even high picks will bust from time to time but that doesn't mean they were all overrated or didn't possess high end skills at the time they were drafted .

 

[A1LeafNation]

Im probably in the minority but I love the Leafs prospects/picks/development these past few years. Its trading away so many picks that burns my ass.

Look at Boston's crop... slim pickings.

 

[Guy Boucher]

do you just pull this crap out of your butt ?

It can be said in hindsight that Schenn was ridiculously over rated as well and that was in a draft with high end D prospects so why did they have such a hard time bench marking him ?

Drafting 18 year kids isn't an exact science and even high picks will bust from time to time but that doesn't mean they were all overrated or didn't possess high end skills at the time they were drafted .

Schenn would have been a hall of fame defenseman...in 1990. His talents are not applicable to the way the NHL was (has) changing(ed). Unfortunately, not all scouts saw this.

There are people who knew that Schenn was not a prudent selection. When asked, Burke himself said he wouldn't have selected Schenn.

Anyways, bench-marking is a real thing. I don't know why it's mere mention is shocking you.

 

[leafs in five]

SS was rated num 1 and Filtov was a close 2nd among forwards in that draft class and i wasn't comparing Nylander to him so i have no idea why you brought him into the discussion ?

they're both dreamy

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Im probably in the minority but I love the Leafs prospects/picks/development these past few years. Its trading away so many picks that burns my ass.

The thing about the current Leaf crop - while it doesn't have much for bonafide stars on the surface - it has a lot of people who look like they will carve out NHL careers. There's always the debate in drafting around what "success" is. Obviously the more diamonds in the rough you find, the better but if you can fill out your 2-4 lines from within it buys you flexibility. Who wouldn't rather take the $10 M we are spending on our 3rd line and add it to our top line?