Prospect Info: Nick Suzuki : The Nature of Things

[Adam Michaels]

I'm all for sending him back to Owen Sound. Patience is the key here. You can see he's got smarts and skill.

The fun part is that next year, Suzuki and Brook (and Teasdale) will make their way to the pros. So if not Montreal, then it's Laval. Add to that the possibility Poehling signs and leaves NCAA to come to Montreal/Laval.

Good times ahead.

 

[Agalloch]

Suzuki will benefit from another season in the OHL. He will be a good NHLer tho.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

He's got a pretty amazing release. Kid can fire it. I like his overall game. He should be a top 6 player in the NHL. If he's a 3rd line player with us then it'll mean we're stacked up front.

A good quality prospect.

 

[Chr1s97]

I think that Crosby would get to 70 points if he played for Montreal's current lineup .

On a line with drouin & gallagher he would've easily put 70

 

[Habs Halifax]

He's got a pretty amazing release. Kid can fire it. I like his overall game. He should be a top 6 player in the NHL. If he's a 3rd line player with us then it'll mean we're stacked up front.

A good quality prospect.

His shot is very good and he gets it off quick for sure. I like what I see in this kid. Just needs maturity and to add a bit of muscle. I would try my best to keep him off the team for 2 more years but I do think he will be NHL ready next year, like Kotkaniemi. I just rather insert them with a bit more patience

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I'm quite impressed with the maturity of his overall game. I've seen plenty of him in the OHL so I knew he had the skills but I didn't expect him to pick up on the more technical aspects so quick. His 2 way game in particular is already pretty much there, he can backcheck and read plays at the pro level.

 

[Le Tricolore]

Always liked this:

It just looks wrong to see Flair with the old WWF belt. The Big Gold looks so much better on him.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

It just looks wrong to see Flair with the old WWF belt. The Big Gold looks so much better on him.

Absolutely.

 

[Playmaker09]

His skating is clearly better than advertised.

He cleanly beat Ds wide multiple times yesterday on his forehand down the right wing. Which is a harder thing to do than on your off wing. So the concerns seem a little overblown.

Seems like every prospect that's not McDavid these days gets labeled as a weak skater and won't translate their game to the NHL.

Let other teams overpay/reach for speed while we keep picking up really good hockey players that slide or are undervalued as a result. First Kotkaniemi, now Suzuki.

It happens all the time, and in cycles. The entire NHL seemed to overvalue things like size or North Americans and really good smaller players or Europeans used to slip through the cracks. Now the pendulum has just started to swing in the other direction.

 

[76]

Really like what I saw from him. Amazing hockey sense and great tools to go with it. Suzuki will be a hell of a player for Habs for many years.

 

[Habs]

His skating is clearly better than advertised.

He cleanly beat Ds wide multiple times yesterday on his forehand down the right wing. Which is a harder thing to do than on your off wing. So the concerns seem a little overblown.

Seems like every prospect that's not McDavid these days gets labeled as a weak skater and won't translate their game to the NHL.

Let other teams overpay/reach for speed while we keep picking up really good hockey players that slide or are undervalued as a result. First Kotkaniemi, now Suzuki.

It happens all the time, and in cycles. The entire NHL seemed to overvalue things like size or North Americans and really good smaller players or Europeans used to slip through the cracks. Now the pendulum has just started to swing in the other direction.

Sorry, but small, fast prospects are a dime a dozen. Lots of guys light up the CHL and never amount to anything in their pro careers. Suzuki may have beaten a few AHL dmen, but he wouldn't be doing donuts around NHL blueliners not named Alzner. I don't think the formula ever changes for success in the NHL. You need size, with speed/skill, a real mix. This team has nothing but small players at the moment, Suzuki would get eaten alive right now. If he was on a team like Vegas, he could stick around, but not in Montreal where there is zero direction on the gameplan.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

I thought he looked much better yesterday than his first game. He wasnt playing as conservative

 

[Playmaker09]

Sorry, but small, fast prospects are a dime a dozen. Lots of guys light up the CHL and never amount to anything in their pro careers. Suzuki may have beaten a few AHL dmen, but he wouldn't be doing donuts around NHL blueliners not named Alzner. I don't think the formula ever changes for success in the NHL. You need size, with speed/skill, a real mix. This team has nothing but small players at the moment, Suzuki would get eaten alive right now. If he was on a team like Vegas, he could stick around, but not in Montreal where there is zero direction on the gameplan.

You're making so many poor assumptions it's not funny.

Not once did I say anything about Suzuki's NHL readiness. Saying he wouldn't skate circles around NHL Dmen isn't a knock given he's a 19 year old CHLer. In fact outperforming AHL Dmen is already playing above his typical level of competition and shouldnt be simply disregarded. The only point being made was that his percieved weakness, skating, is overblown.

Secondly, my entire post was that OTHER teams are overvaluing speed over other attributes, as seen by the drastic increase in sub 6 foot defensemen in the first round and sub 6 foot forwards in the top 10, and that we should go against the grain and keep picking guys like Kotkaniemi (a 6'2" C) who are being overlooked due to a perceived lack of dynamic skating ability. So I have no idea what your whole "Habs tooo smol" rant is even about.

 

[montreal]

His skating is clearly better than advertised.

Seems like every prospect that's not McDavid these days gets labeled as a weak skater and won't translate their game to the NHL.

I saw somewhere that Vegas fans were saying he worked hard this off-season to improve his skating and speed. I saw him at age 16 and 17 seasons, his skating needed some work but he had to get quicker and it looks like he's done that. Hopefully he continues getting quicker as he gets stronger.

 

[Goldenhands]

At 5"11, that kid definitely needs to get faster and stronger, I like his hockey sense and he has some nice skills but I would hardly qualify him as a A prospect right now, more like a B+ ala Poehling... Also, he played wing for the most part in junior and thats probably where he ends up, as a good second line winger...

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Yeah he definitely looked faster this game. Not worried about his skating but it would really help if he can still improve there. I would've liked to have seen a bit more but I'm still happy about what I saw from a junior aged prospect. Kid has a great shot. Smart. I think if Kotkaniemi wasn't playing like a potential elite #1C in the making, we'd be a bit more hyped on Suzuki. I think that's colouring a lot of our observations on him.

Would be great if he could develop as a C. I'm not 100% on that but I haven't seen anything that suggests that he couldn't be a C. Don't know if I seen much passing from him. What is his playmaking supposed to be like? That could be the one barrier but I couldn't say either way.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I saw somewhere that Vegas fans were saying he worked hard this off-season to improve his skating and speed. I saw him at age 16 and 17 seasons, his skating needed some work but he had to get quicker and it looks like he's done that. Hopefully he continues getting quicker as he gets stronger.

Yeah that's great to hear. It's scary if they can't improve it. It's weird, some reports say his skating was elite others said it was an issue. I wouldn't say it was elite but he looked 'fast'. A couple rushes were pretty impressive. If it can still get better than I think he's gonna be a real beaut.

 

[DangerDave]

Yeah that's great to hear. It's scary if they can't improve it. It's weird, some reports say his skating was elite others said it was an issue. I wouldn't say it was elite but he looked 'fast'. A couple rushes were pretty impressive. If it can still get better than I think he's gonna be a real beaut.

His skating is pretty strong. It just looks weird since he's a little lanky still. Like Kotka. Both players need about 15 pounds and they'll be NHL ready.

 

[japhi]

His skating looked fine to me, that TO team yesterday was an AHL team but they had some speed in the lineup and he did not loom out of place. His hockey sense is great, he seems to know where the puck is going to be which is something you can’t teach.

 

[Legend123]

I just wish he was a speedster.

 

[dinodebino]

His only challenge to me is for him to be aware at all times where he is on the ice. He got clocked a couple of times yesterday because of that. His ice awareness is a problem right now.

This is where Bobby Jr is better already.

 

[pepperMonkey]

What about this Suzuki Swift? The ultimate car in gran turismo. I'd rather a name based off the Samurai or Hayabusa though.

Nah, when most think of the Suzuki Swift they think of the no-frills no-nonsense tiny, rather gutless (yes there are other sporty/spiffy versions), auto-nothing, bottom of the barrel, cheap car that most people ignore unless they just don't have the $$$ to ignore.

Rare 'sportified' racing versions just aren't something most people think of when they hear Suzuki Swift. A Mitsubishi Evo on the other hand (or it's close rival the classic blue Impreza) has that historical pedigree and is quite well known for its rocket bunny/pocket monster perception. Must rather be named after them then a Suzuki Swift Although I know nothing about motorbikes, in general, as a Japanese person, rather tired of all and everything based off the Samurai. Hayabusa is very fine though