Most Improved Players of 2014/2015

[Brock]

Always fun to look at the players who've improved the most from season A to season B. The beauty of junior hockey is that players can take such drastic turns for the better in a little amount of time.

Here's my list of the league's most improved this year.
http://ohlprospects.blogspot.ca/2015/02/sunday-top-10-most-improved-players-of.html

It's obviously fairly subjective, but I think it can generate a fair amount of discussion. Who do you think are the league's most improved this year?

Click to read more...

 

[hockeylegend11]

Tough to argue with that list, or the honorable mentions, I would put Spits Trevor Murphy on that list, coming off a broken leg, and while points are not everything, has nearly doubled last years in less games, more importantly decent plus numbers on a high minus team with 4 rookie dmen.
Also one of the leading scorers from the d, and while his defensive work needs to better, he has improved in that area as well

 

[sirius67fan]

I would add Jacob Middleton, not flashy but has improved by leaps and bounds under Jeff Brown. Has become a good shutdown D even though will not become the offensive D we were hoping for when we got him.

 

[SeniorJuniorFan]

Great list and analysis, Brock. I propose North Bay O/A D-man Brenden Miller for Honourable Mention. Bit of a risk taker, but has the speed to recover. 15 + 29 = 44, +14.

 

[djscooter]

Excellent list overall Brock. Though I do disagree with a lot of your assessment on Schmalz for the wolves. I'd have Capobianco ahead of him on the wolves in terms of improvement. Schmalz is still an extremely frustrating player to watch and he does not impose himself at all given his size, he also lacks any real playmaking ability which leads to him holding on to the puck way too long at times.

 

[Brock]

Great list and analysis, Brock. I propose North Bay O/A D-man Brenden Miller for Honourable Mention. Bit of a risk taker, but has the speed to recover. 15 + 29 = 44, +14.

Big fan of Miller, but for me he did most of his growth last year.

 

[Brock]

Excellent list overall Brock. Though I do disagree with a lot of your assessment on Schmalz for the wolves. I'd have Capobianco ahead of him on the wolves in terms of improvement. Schmalz is still an extremely frustrating player to watch and he does not impose himself at all given his size, he also lacks any real playmaking ability which leads to him holding on to the puck way too long at times.

I do agree that Capobianco has also taken great steps forward this year.

But every time I've seen the Wolves play, Schmalz has been your best forward this year. You're correct in that he's currently a one dimensional offensive player who looks to take the puck wide and bully his way to the net. BUT, patience is the key word. As he continues to gain confidence, the playmaking part of his game should develop. I disagree about the size thing too. I've seen him make several terrific plays in the neutral zone and around the blueline, where he's used his frame to pin, trap and separate attackers from the puck. I've also seen him play aggressively on the forecheck and near the crease. Is he a guy going out there and hammering bodies? No. But there is more than one way to use size effectively.

You have to put it in this context. Last year, Schmalz was a guy who barely played because when he did, he wasn't the least bit noticeable. He was just there. He's gone from that to your club's leading scorer. I think that's pretty exceptional growth...even if he still has more improvements to make.

 

[djscooter]

I do agree that Capobianco has also taken great steps forward this year.

But every time I've seen the Wolves play, Schmalz has been your best forward this year. You're correct in that he's currently a one dimensional offensive player who looks to take the puck wide and bully his way to the net. BUT, patience is the key word. As he continues to gain confidence, the playmaking part of his game should develop. I disagree about the size thing too. I've seen him make several terrific plays in the neutral zone and around the blueline, where he's used his frame to pin, trap and separate attackers from the puck. I've also seen him play aggressively on the forecheck and near the crease. Is he a guy going out there and hammering bodies? No. But there is more than one way to use size effectively.

You have to put it in this context. Last year, Schmalz was a guy who barely played because when he did, he wasn't the least bit noticeable. He was just there. He's gone from that to your club's leading scorer. I think that's pretty exceptional growth...even if he still has more improvements to make.

You do definitely make some great points. He showed a bit of a spark last year when placed on a line with Kubalik and Kahun if I recall correctly. I guess I more chalk up his improvement to not being saddled on the fourth line with Connor Burgess anymore.

 

[goodtimes]

I always get a bit of a chuckle out of the response these lists.

Its always 'my team's player should be on your list', I rarely see a fan of one team suggest that someone of another team should be mentioned, just odd

 

[Whalers Fan]

When reading the headline to the thread, the first players I thought of were Tyler Bertuzzi and Mike McCarron. It was nice to see those names when I opened the article.

 

[ottawah]

I'd throw Justin Bailey in as a HM, he's been much better this year, finally has the consistancy together.

 

[Ringing Iron]

It's not an easy list to construct.

Players improve for a number of reasons. Some of these players had the same level of skill last season but weren't presented with the ideal opportunities (as a result of playing time and/or injury) to showcase them. Then there are some of the list that actually showed improvements and developed from last year.

It's tough to balance opportunity vs. improved skills and most of the time it's some combination of the two. I think Brock did a good job here. As he stated, it's a very subjected list and probably the most subjective list that he puts out all year.