Most "Off-The-Mark" Scouting Report

[Ziggy Stardust]

I was doing a bit of reading on McKeen's Hockey on some random prospects when I came upon this scouting projection on former Colorado Avalance prospect (curently in the Capitals pipeline), Jonas Johansson:

Projection: It is not so much a matter of if Johansson will become a star, but a matter of when. On some organizations he would likely be in the NHL aleady, but the Avalanche have the depth to let him become a little more accustomed to the North American lifestyle while playing in the WHL. He could challenge for a spot as early as next season. He projects as an elite NHL star.

I figure that a prospect better be damn amazing and dominant at his level to be projected to be an "elite NHL star." Especially if they say it is a matter of "when, not if" he will become a star.

Anyone else have any similar gems like this they can share? One of my favorites was the Jason Bonsignore-Mario Lemieux comparison.

Click to read more...

 

[Buffalo87]

I was doing a bit of reading on McKeen's Hockey on some random prospects when I came upon this scouting projection on former Colorado Avalance prospect (curently in the Capitals pipeline), Jonas Johansson:



I figure that a prospect better be damn amazing and dominant at his level to be projected to be an "elite NHL star." Especially if they say it is a matter of "when, not if" he will become a star.

Anyone else have any similar gems like this they can share? One of my favorites was the Jason Bonsignore-Mario Lemieux comparison.

Ugh, Jason Bonsignore...hometown boy..oh well atleast we did something right with Brian Gionta

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I found this gem. Prospect profiles from the 1997 draft,
http://www.lcshockey.com/extra/1997/draft/profiles.asp

With the top four of that draft class have developed to become the players they were touted to be, it is interesting to look back on reports on the likes of Daniel Tkaczuk, Brad Ference, Michael Riesen, Matt Zultek, Ty Jones, Robert Dome, Mike Brown, Nikos Tselios, Kevin Grimes...

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I was looking back through old CS final rankings lists and noticed some guy by the name of Gionta ranked at 163 back in 1998.

I wonder how he ever turned out ...

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I was looking back through old CS final rankings lists and noticed some guy by the name of Gionta ranked at 163 back in 1998.

I wonder how he ever turned out ...

"Big good, small bad."

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I also found this brief summary of the 1995 draft from http://www.lcshockey.com/issues/LCS27.txt,

1. Ottawa Senators - Bryan Berard (defenseman, 6' 1",
190 lbs.) - Skilled defenseman who loves to control the
power play.

2. New York Islanders - Wade Redden (defenseman, 6' 1
1/2", 193 lbs.) - Steady defenseman who seems mature
beyond his age.

3. Los Angeles Kings - Aki-Petteri Berg (defenseman,
6' 3", 196 lbs.) - Gets to play with fellow Finn Jari
Kurri. Who wouldn't like that?

4. Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Chad Kilger (center, 6' 3",
204 lbs.) - Big scoring forward that the Ducks
desperately need.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning - Daymond Langkow (center, 5'
11", 175 lbs.) - Fiesty little man with scoring ability.

6. Edmonton Oilers - Steve Kelly (center, 6'1 1/2",
188 lbs.) - Fastest kid in the draft, got some boos from
the Oiler fans in the crowd.

7. Winnipeg Jets - Shane Doan (right wing, 6' 1", 215
lbs.) - Strong forward who seemed to only get better as
the year went on.

8. Montreal Canadiens - Terry Ryan (left wing, 6' 1",
207 lbs.) - High scoring forward, but with a name like
Terry Ryan, will he stay in Montreal for long?

9. Boston Bruins - Kyle McLaren (defenseman, 6' 4",
210 lbs.) - Will try to bring back the big and bad image
to the Bruins.

10. Florida Panthers - Radek Dvorak (center, 6' 0", 175
lbs.) - Skilled power forward.

11. Dallas Stars - Jerome Iginla (right wing, 6' 1",
193 lbs.) - Solid in both ends of the ice, not flashy by
any means.

12. San Jose Sharks - Teemu Riihijarvi (defenseman, 6'
6", 191 lbs.) - The Sharks like 'em huge, and you can't
get much bigger than Teemu.

13. Hartford Whalers - Jean-Sebastian Giguere
(goaltender, 5' 11 1/2", 178 lbs.) - Butterfly goalie
who patterns himself after Patrick Roy.

14. Buffalo Sabres (from Vancouver) - Jay McKee
(defenseman, 6' 2", 175 lbs.) - Wants to be an offensive
defenseman, but needs time to develop.

15. Toronto Maple Leafs - Jeff Ware (defenseman, 6' 4",
214 lbs.) - Considered a project, brother is already in
Leafs system.

16. Buffalo Sabres - Martin Biron (goaltender, 6' 2",
154 lbs.) - Rated as top goalie before draft, possible
successor to Dominik Hasek?

17. Washington Capitals - Brad Church (left wing, 6'
1", 210 lbs.) - Strong winger once compared to Keith
Tkachuk.

18. New Jersey Devils - Petr Sykora (center, 5' 11",
167 lbs.) - No one expected him to go this low, could be
a steal for the Devils.

19. Chicago Blackhawks - Dimitri Nabokov (center, 6'
2", 187 lbs.) - Doesn't have offensive flair, but works
hard down low and along the boards.

20. Calgary Flames - Denis Gauthier (defenseman, 6' 1",
195 lbs.) - A real pain in the butt for opposition,
great open ice hitter.

21. Boston Bruins - Sean Brown (defenseman, 6' 2", 196
lbs.) - Stay-at-home defenseman that needs work on
mobility.

22. Philadelphia Flyers - Brian Boucher (goaltender, 6'
2", 190 lbs.) - Stand-up goaltender from US.

23. Washington Capitals - Miikka Elomo (left wing, 6'
0", 180 lbs.) - Steady, all-around player and hard
worker.

24. Pittsburgh Penguins - Alexei Morozov (right wing,
6' 1", 178 lbs.) - Inconsistent, but has the tools to be
a good player.

25. Colorado - Marc Denis (goaltender, 6' 0", 188 lbs.)
- Rated fourth overall among North American goaltenders,
played on same team as Eric Fichaud.

26. Detroit Red Wings - Maxim Kuznetsov (defenseman, 6'
5", 200 lbs.) - The guy would beat up his mom if she
were on the ice, certainly a project.

 

[Alberta Yote]

Where would I find a report on Ladislav Nagy that would show why he went 7/177 in 1997?

 

[DaveyCrockett]

I found this gem. Prospect profiles from the 1997 draft,
http://www.lcshockey.com/extra/1997/draft/profiles.asp

With the top four of that draft class have developed to become the players they were touted to be, it is interesting to look back on reports on the likes of Daniel Tkaczuk, Brad Ference, Michael Riesen, Matt Zultek, Ty Jones, Robert Dome, Mike Brown, Nikos Tselios, Kevin Grimes...

This scouting report is pretty crummy. It makes nearly every single player sound like an all-star in waiting. I know most reports are very positive, but they hardly listed any negatives for the players.

 

[Beesfan]

I found this gem. Prospect profiles from the 1997 draft,
http://www.lcshockey.com/extra/1997/draft/profiles.asp

With the top four of that draft class have developed to become the players they were touted to be, it is interesting to look back on reports on the likes of Daniel Tkaczuk, Brad Ference, Michael Riesen, Matt Zultek, Ty Jones, Robert Dome, Mike Brown, Nikos Tselios, Kevin Grimes...

I've noticed this phenomenon in a number of drafts. It seems positions 5-30 are all about equally likely to bust or make it big, but that the first 3-5 picks have "special" value. They may not turn out to be the best players of the draft, but they are almost invariably good NHL players.

I think Daniel Tkaczuk represents the all-time losing philosophy of drafting in high positions, which is taking character guys in the top 10. Great skill players become character guys in the NHL (Yzerman, Messier, Sakic), but guys who play "character" roles on their junior team hardly ever turn out to be elite NHL stars. Manny Malholtra is a great example of this, and I believe Andrew Ladd may suffer the same fate

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

This scouting report is pretty crummy. It makes nearly every single player sound like an all-star in waiting. I know most reports are very positive, but they hardly listed any negatives for the players.

I wonder if we can dig deep into the HockeysFuture archives to find some of that info, heh.

Oh and here is a the Central Scouting rankings for the 1995 Draft:

North Americans

Rank Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birth Team

1. Bryan Berard D 6-1 190 3/5/77 Detroit
2. Wade Redden D 6-2 193 6/12/77 Brandon
3. Chad Kilger C 6-3 204 11/27/76 Kingston
4. Daymond Langkow C 5-10 170 9/27/76 Tri-City
5. Steve Kelly C 6-2 188 10/26/76 Prince Albert
6. Kyle McLaren D 6-4 210 6/18/77 Tacoma
7. Shane Doan RW 6-1 215 10/10/76 Kamloops
8. Terry Ryan LW 6-1 207 1/14/77 Tri-City
9. Jay McKee D 6-3 175 9/8/77 Niagara Falls
10. Petr Syorka C 5-11 167 11/19/76 Detroit (IHL)
11. Brad Church LW 6-1 210 11/14/76 Prince Albert
12. Marc Chouinard C 6-5 187 5/6/77 Beauport
13. Sean Brown D 6-3 196 11/5/76 Belleville
14. Denis Gauthier Jr. D 6-2 195 10/1/76 Drummondville
15. Christian Laflamme D 6-1 195 11/24/76 Beauport
16. Jason Doig D 6-3 216 1/29/77 Laval
17. Brian Wesenberg RW 6-3 173 5/9/77 Guelph
18. Darryl Laplante C 6-1 185 3/28/77 Moose Jaw
19. Jeff Ware D 6-4 214 5/19/77 Oshawa
20. Donald MacLean C 6-2 174 1/14/77 Beauport
21. Christian Dube C 5-11 170 4/25/77 Sherbrooke
22. Mike McBain D 6-1 191 1/12/77 Red Deer
23. Dwayne Hay LW 6-0 180 2/11/77 Guelph
24. Jarome Iginla C 6-1 193 7/1/77 Kamloops
25. Hugh Hamilton D 6-1 175 2/11/77 Spokane
26. Ryan Pepperall RW 6-1 175 1/26/77 Kitchener
27. Marc Moro D 6-1 209 7/17/77 Kingston
28. Joel Theriault D 6-3 201 10/30/76 Beauport
29. Mike Leclerc LW 6-1 205 11/10/76 Prince George
30. Brad Larsen LW 5-11 198 6/28/77 Swift Current
31. Chris Van Dyk D 6-2 185 2/18/77 Windsor
32. Nic Beaudoin LW 6-3 192 12/25/76 Detroit
33. Jan Hrdina RW 5-11 180 2/5/76 Seattle
34. Shane Willis RW 6-0 170 6/13/77 Prince Albert
35. D.J. Smith D 6-1 210 5/13/77 Windsor
36. Nathan Perott RW 6-0 213 12/8/76 Oshawa
37. Dave Duerden LW 6-2 182 4/11/77 Peterborough
38. Mike Martin D 6-2 204 10/27/76 Windsor
39. Philippe Audet LW 6-2 175 6/4/77 Granby

40. Brad Isbister RW 6-2 198 5/7/77 Portland
41. Georges Laraque RW 6-3 225 12/7/76 St. Jean
42. Shane Kenny D 6-2 242 3/1/77 Owen Sound
43. Mathieu Sunderland RW 6-4 192 11/30/76 Drummondville
44. Pavel Kriz D 6-1 205 1/2/77 Tri-City
45. Todd Norman LW 5-11 186 1/29/77 Guelph
46. Erent Sopel D 6-1 185 1/7/77 Swift Current
47. Cameron Mann RW 5-11 185 4/20/77 Peterborough
48. Lloyd Shaw D 6-3 215 9/26/76 Seattle
49. Eric Houde C 5-11 186 12/19/76 Halifax
50. Matt Davidson RW 6-2 190 8/9/77 Portland
51. Ryan Gillis D 6-1 195 12/31/76 North Bay
52. Mark Dutiaume LW 6-1 200 1/31/77 Brandon

Goaltenders

Rank Name Ht. Wt. Birth Team

1. Martin Biron 6-2 154 8/15/77 Beauport
2. Jean-Sebastien Giguere 6-0 178 5/16/77 St. Jean
3. Brian Boucher 6-1 180 1/2/77 Tri-City
4. Marc Denis 6-0 188 8/1/77 Chicoutimi
5. Aaron MacDonald 6-1 186 8/29/77 Swift Current
6. Paxton Schafer 5-9 152 2/26/76 Medicine Hat
7. Jean-Sebastien Aubin 5-11 179 7/19/77 Sherbrooke
8. Sebastien Charpentier 5-9 161 4/18/77 Laval
9. Doug Bonner 5-10 170 10/15/76 Seattle
10. Sylvain Daigle 5-8 182 10/20/76 Shawnigan

Europeans

Rank Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birth Team

1. Aki-Petteri Berg D 6-3 200 7/28/77 TPS Jr., Fin.
2. Radek Dvorak W 6-2 185 3/9/77 Budejovice, Czech Rep.
3. Miroslav Guren D 6-2 205 9/24/76 Zlin, Czech Rep.
4. Miika Elomo W 6-0 183 4/21/77 Kiekko-67, Fin.
5. Petr Buzek D 6-0 183 4/26/77 Jihlava, Czech Rep.
6. Alexei Morozov W 6-1 178 2/16/77 Krylja Sovetov, Rus.
7. Dimitri Nabokov C 6-2 209 1/4/77 Krylja Sovetov, Rus.
8. Jochen Hecht F 6-1 180 8/21/77 Krylja Sovetov, Rus.
9. Teemu Riihijarvi W 6-6 202 3/1/77 Espoo Jr., Fin.
10. Jan Hlavac W 6-0 183 9/20/76 Sparta, Czech Rep.
11. Henrik Rehnberg D 6-2 194 4/20/77 Farjestad Jr., Swe
12. Michal Handzus F 6-3 191 3/11/77 Banska Bystrica, Czech Rep.
13. Sergei Vyshedkevich D 6-0 176 1/3/75 Dynamo, Rus.
14. Igor Melyakov W 5-11 176 12/23/76 Yaroslavl, Rus.
15. Lukas Zib D 6-1 198 2/24/77 Budejovice, Czech Rep.
16. Tomi Kallio W 5-11 156 1/27/77 Kiekko-67, Fin.
17. Pavel Smirnov F 6-3 191 5/12/77 Molot Perm, Rus
18. Jan Labraaten W 6-2 194 2/17/77 Farjestad Jr., Swe.
19. Niklas Anger W 6-2 183 7/17/77 Djurgarder Jr., Swe.
20. Vladimir Orsagh W 5-10 161 5/24/77 Baska Bystrika, Slov.
21. Maxim Kuznetsov D 6-5 198 3/24/77 Dynamo Moscow, Rus.
22. Radovan Somik W 6-2 194 5/7/77 Martin, Slov.
23. Sergei Fedotov D 6-1 185 1/24/77 Dynamo Moscow, Rus.
24. Peter Nylander W 5-11 174 1/20/76 Huddinge, Swe.
25. Alexei Vasiljev D 6-1 189 9/1/77 Yaroslavl, Rus.
26. David Hruska W 6-0 189 1/8/77 Sokolov, Czech Rep.

European Goaltenders

Rank Name Ht. Wt. Birth Team

1. Vesa Toskala 5-9 172 5/20/77 Ilves Jr., Finland
2. Yevgeny Tarasov 6-3 167 11/2/75 Yaroslavl, Russia
3. Igor Karpenko 5-8 158 7/23/76 Kiev, Ukraine
4. Mikka Kiprusoff 6-0 176 10/26/76 TPS Jr., Finland
5. Denis Kuzmenko 5-11 180 1/1/75 Elektrostal, Russia

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

One more to add, from 1994,
http://www.lcshockey.com/issues/LCS02.txt

1 - Florida Panthers - Ed Jovanovski (defenseman, 6' 2", 205 lbs.) - Big,
tough defensemen who loves to hit, but has offensive skills.

2 - Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Oleg Tverdovsky (defensemen, 6' 0", 183 lbs.) -
Extremely skilled offensive defenseman, has drawn comparisons to Bobby Orr
and Paul Coffey.

3 - Ottawa Senators - Radek Bonk (center, 6' 3", 215 lbs.) - Great size and
exceptional scoring touch for a big man.

4 - Edmonton Oilers - Jason Bonsignore (center, 6' 4", 208 lbs.) -
Tremendous size and skill, patterns play after Mario Lemieux.

5 - Hartford Whalers - Jeff O'Neill (center, 6' 0", 176 lbs.) - Excellent
skater with scoring touch, but has problems with consistency.

6 - Edmonton Oilers - Ryan Smyth (left wing, 6' 1", 183 lbs.) - Complete
player, has great character and work ethic.

7 - Los Angeles Kings - Jamie Storr (goalie, 6' 1", 192 lbs.) - Excellent
stand-up style goalie, plays angels well, and as been compared to Kirk
Mclean.

8 - Tampa Bay Lightning - Jason Wiemer ( left wing, 6' 1", 215 lbs.) -
Tough, power forward with good scoring touch.

9 - New York Islanders - Brett Lindros (right wing, 6' 4", 215 lbs.) - Big,
strong forward who loves to hit and has a mean streak.

10 - Washington Capitals - Nolan Baumgartner (defensemen, 6' 1", 187 lbs.) -
Offensive defenseman who moves the puck well.

11 - San Jose Sharks - Jeff Friesen (left wing, 6' 0", 183 lbs.) - Great
scorer, but has big problem with consistency.

12 - Quebec Nordiques - Wade Belak (defenseman, 6' 5", 213 lbs.) - Big,
strong, tough, and a great fighter.

13 - Vancouver Canucks - Mattias Ohlund (defenseman, 6' 3", 209 lbs.) - Big,
stay-at-home defenseman who can play physical.

14 - Chicago Blackhawks - Ethan Moreau (left wing, 6' 2", 205 lbs.) - Has
good size, can score and be a grinder.

15 - Washington Capitals - Alexander Kharlamov (left wing, 5' 11", 183 lbs.)
- Hard working skilled player. Son of one of the all time greats, Valery
Kharlamov.

16 - Toronto Maple Leafs - Eric Fichaud (goalie, 5' 11", 160 lbs.) -
Butterfly style goalie, as been said to be a mirror image of Felix Potvin.

17 - Buffalo Sabres - Wayne Primeau (left wing, 6' 3", 193 lbs.) - Big
winger who plays a strong physical game.

18 - Montreal Canadiens - Brad Brown (defenseman, 6' 3", 218 lbs.) - Strong
defender who enjoys playing a tough, physical game.

19 - Calgary Flames - Chris Dingman (left wing, 6' 3", 231 lbs.) - Huge
winger who loves to hit, plays hard every shift.

20 - Dallas Stars - Jason Botterill (left wing, 6' 3", 205 lbs.) - Power
forward with good character.

21 - Boston Bruins - Evgeni Riabchikov (goalie, 5' 11", 167 lbs.) - He's
Russian, so he's got to be pretty cool.

22 - Quebec Nordiques - Jeff Kealty (defenseman, 6' 5", 175 lbs.) - Tall,
rangy, mobile defender.

23 - Detroit Red Wings - Jan Golubovsky (defenseman, 6' 3", 183 lbs.) - Good
all around defender with offensive skills.

24 - Pittsburgh Penguins - Chris Wells (center, 6' 6", 215 lbs.) -
Tremendous size and work ethic, continues to improve.

25 - New Jersey Devils - Vadim Sharifjanov (right wing, 5' 11", 180 lbs.) -
Has skill and works well away from the puck.

26 - New York Rangers - Dan Cloutier (goalie, 6' 1", 185 lbs.) -
Competitive, fiesty goalie.

 

[Kirk- NEHJ]

I found this gem. Prospect profiles from the 1997 draft,
http://www.lcshockey.com/extra/1997/draft/profiles.asp

With the top four of that draft class have developed to become the players they were touted to be, it is interesting to look back on reports on the likes of Daniel Tkaczuk, Brad Ference, Michael Riesen, Matt Zultek, Ty Jones, Robert Dome, Mike Brown, Nikos Tselios, Kevin Grimes...

Those look suspiciously like lifted Central Scouting reports with some attempted wit, but not much else.

 

[ILuvLA]

I was looking back through old CS final rankings lists and noticed some guy by the name of Gionta ranked at 163 back in 1998.

I wonder how he ever turned out ...

Just goes to show, the rankings are, at best, a crap shoot. Luc Robitaiile's a prime example.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

This scouting report on Morozov is bang on: "Inconsistent, but has the tools to be a good player."

 

[PecaFan]

Can I get a translation?

"10. Brad Ference, d, Spokane (WHL)
Drafted by Vancouver Canucks

Scouting Report
very good lateral movements and a said bade wands skater"

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

I got to thinking about this one last night while I was watching the Montreal-Carolina game. I can't link to it, because USA Today doesn't have them on their website any more, but I remember during Cam Ward's draft year how Red Line was crapping all over Ward. In the end, Carolina took him 25th overall in 2002 and I'm sure they're happy with the pick today. Also, leading up to the 2003 draft, Red Line was dumping on Jeff Carter. Philadelphia ignored the advice and took him 12th overall. I'm sure they're happy with the pick.

I'm not trying to dump on Red Line by saying this, because I enjoy reading Woodlief's column. He's not afraid to give his opinion. Sometimes, though, I think he overstates his opinion to make his column interesting. At 17, no person is finished developing or beyond learning -- personally or hockey-wise.

 

[Grizz MacArthur]

In the 2000 hockey news draft review, it said that Anton Volchenkov needed to work on the physical side of the game. Oops.

 

[firstroundbust]

lol @ that kuznetsov scouting report


"would hit his mother if she was on the ice.." LOL

 

[Doomsday Device]

I think Daniel Tkaczuk represents the all-time losing philosophy of drafting in high positions, which is taking character guys in the top 10. Great skill players become character guys in the NHL (Yzerman, Messier, Sakic), but guys who play "character" roles on their junior team hardly ever turn out to be elite NHL stars. Manny Malholtra is a great example of this, and I believe Andrew Ladd may suffer the same fate

I disagree about Tkaczuk. He was a scorer in junior who projected as a good character guy. Scott Hartnell is another example of a player similar to Tkaczuk. Ladd and Malhotra weren't nearly as good offensively as either of these players.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

In the 2000 hockey news draft review, it said that Anton Volchenkov needed to work on the physical side of the game. Oops.

lol that's a good one

 

[DaveyCrockett]

12 - Quebec Nordiques - Wade Belak (defenseman, 6' 5", 213 lbs.) - Big, strong, tough, and a great fighter.

Ironically the scouting report was right. How they thought a big, tough fighter could develop into someone worthy of a 12th overall pick is beyond me. That would be like taking Peckham in the top-20 this draft.

 

[Tadite]

By and large those projects turned out to be right.

Taking into account that half of the 1st round only gets a cup of coffee in the NHL..

 

[John Flyers Fan]

1992 - 7th overall - Ryan Sittler ... "the safest player in the draft ... surefire NHLer"

Managed just 7 goals at the AHL level and never sniffed even a game in the NHL.

 

[boredmale]

6. Edmonton Oilers - Steve Kelly (center, 6'1 1/2",
188 lbs.) - Fastest kid in the draft, got some boos from
the Oiler fans in the crowd.

i had a good laugh at this one, seems the fans had a better clue then the Oilers