He had a very North American type of play, often crashing the net and playing more physical than the other players. He also showed some leadership in him as he could stand up for teammates and often did the dirty work in the gritty areas, plus that he never showed any signs of a bad body language. Because of his perfection in this game, carrying his team at this young age and at this level, I would definitely say that Laine is a top 10 lock in the upcoming draft, with the potential of becoming a top-5 pick. His game is very adjusted for the North American type of hockey and he will become an excellent NHL player in the future.â€
Some Patrik Laine reports:
Full single-game report here: http://futureconsiderations.ca/from-the-notebook-october-2016/
I think by the end of the year. It will be a 3 horse race for 3rd overall between him, Tkachuk and Puljujarvi.
Have a feeling this WJHC will be a very good indicator to scouts/management as to who will go 3.
Consensus was Puljujarvi/Chychrun held down 2-3. But I think there will be atleast some competition for 3rd overall. (I think JC wont go later than 2)
I think by the end of the year. It will be a 3 horse race for 3rd overall between him, Tkachuk and Puljujarvi.
Have a feeling this WJHC will be a very good indicator to scouts/management as to who will go 3.
Consensus was Puljujarvi/Chychrun held down 2-3. But I think there will be atleast some competition for 3rd overall. (I think JC wont go later than 2)
And i would say, that only matthews secured no.1 place (Even that's not 100%) But who goes next, depends on the team drafting.
I cant wait for u-20-games, and to see these guys.. (Hopefully Matthews is playing by that time.)
Usually 1st overall pick, depends that what drafting team needs.
Of course, i could be wrong but l don't think so.
However Laine and Puljujärvi are both great prospects, and they'll go TOP4.
If Tkachuk wants, to go before Laine and Puljujärvi he must play really well in U20 WJC's and U18 WJC's.
There's not many NHL teams, which will pass Laine or Puljujärvi.
With 6" 3 -6" 4 and 210-230pound body you just have an advantage. Im looking at Jamie Benn and Blake Wheeler and thinking that maybe Pulju/Laine could be the same.
Once they fill their frame, it will be something pretty special.
Wrong. Completely the opposite actually.Usually 1st overall pick, depends that what drafting team needs.
Of course, i could be wrong but l don't think so.
Wrong. Completely the opposite actually.
The higher you are drafting the more you look at the best player available and pure skill. Later rounds you may look for your organizations depth at different positions and draft what you need.
The margin between a top 5 and a top 10 player can be huge compared to the margin between a 3rd rounder and a 6th rounder for example. It would be foolish to take the lesser player early just because he plays a certain position.
Q: My second question going into this draft year, is also regarding the evaluation of the players. Do you think that NHL teams value size as much as they used to (ie. Dylan Strome and Lawson Crouse) or are the trends beginning to change, and smaller, highly skilled players with high ceilings (ie. Mitch Marner or Mathew Barzal) may be higher drafted prospects? (If possible, a response more specific to the Toronto Maple Leafs.) Thank you for your time!
A: Size I think is still a factor but it seems as if there's more a trend now to draft more for position than 'best player available'. Just talked to Bob Murray on HC at Noon who essentially said as much.
Also playing for ZSC Lions helps cos the weaker teams are easier to score against in NLA than in Liiga, but shhhh dont say that out loud there are actually Matthews fans who claim Liiga is not as good/less competitive despite Champions Hockey League results.
At next summers, they'll need to be first at the gym, last at the gym. As long as they're still alive when the season starts. #FINHOCKEY looking like it could become overall better than it was at "peak". I'd say the "peak" so far was when Teemu, Koivu, Lehtinen were all at their best and backed up by prime Salo, Timonen, Numminen, with the great vets in Tikkanen, Kurri.
I honestly wonder what has happened with Finnish prospects.. We used to have these tiny Teräväinen's and Granlund's just some years ago who are very skilled and then all of a sudden we have Barkov, Rantanen, Puljujärvi, Laine (also Armia but he looks more and more like a bust) who are all 6'3-6'4 + skilled. Before them we had some big prospects like Lauri Tukonen and Jesse Niinimäki but neither of them are anywhere near the talent level of the previously mentioned players.
I honestly wonder what has happened with Finnish prospects.. We used to have these tiny Teräväinen's and Granlund's just some years ago who are very skilled and then all of a sudden we have Barkov, Rantanen, Puljujärvi, Laine (also Armia but he looks more and more like a bust) who are all 6'3-6'4 + skilled. Before them we had some big prospects like Lauri Tukonen and Jesse Niinimäki but neither of them are anywhere near the talent level of the previously mentioned players.
I honestly wonder what has happened with Finnish prospects.. We used to have these tiny Teräväinen's and Granlund's just some years ago who are very skilled and then all of a sudden we have Barkov, Rantanen, Puljujärvi, Laine (also Armia but he looks more and more like a bust) who are all 6'3-6'4 + skilled. Before them we had some big prospects like Lauri Tukonen and Jesse Niinimäki but neither of them are anywhere near the talent level of the previously mentioned players.
From what I read before it seems to be connected to priorities, amongst youngsters it was easier for smaller faster skaters to be prioritised over bigger and often clumsier ones
I wonder if a team can pull off what the canucks did with the sedins and draft both puljarvi and laine.
If the canucks keep falling and trade off hamhius, burrows, vrbata for picks. Land one with their draft spot and trade for the other.
Laine - Mccann - Puljarvi
I think that would be amazing.