Prospect Info: Phantoms (AHL), Reading Royals (ECHL), NCAA, Jrs., Int'l, etc. (Mar.-Apr. edition)

[Danko]

He won't help the team being suspended for the playoffs. He has to pick his spots to fight With the ahl crack down when u hit 10 fights it's an automatic suspension and more games for fights over 10. they r trying cut the number of fights down in the league. I like a good scrap in a game and miss the days of the line brawls and goalies fighting at center ice as much as anyone

Wasn't aware of the 10 fight rule. Boo this rule.

 

[Flyerfan13]

Morin had no chance but to fight last night. The guy he hurt in Wilkes-Barre some six weeks ago (the hit Morin was suspended for) wanted revenge on the second shift of the game and dropped his gloves and starting throwing punches. About 10 seconds later when Morin realized the referees weren't breaking it up, he eventually dropped his gloves too.

Thanks Tony for the info did not see the game only the highlights and box score. Yeah u have to answer the bell in that situation.

 

[Magua]

I like that Lauzon v Myers thread where everyone is saying Lauzon.

I feel like we've shifted from "Myers is so underrated, look at his WJC, WOW!".......to the inevitable backlash from being talked about too much

 

[Tripod]

I like that Lauzon v Myers thread where everyone is saying Lauzon.

I feel like we've shifted from "Myers is so underrated, look at his WJC, WOW!".......to the inevitable backlash from being talked about too much

I think there is always that "he wasn't even drafted" thought in the back of people's minds. People keep expecting him slow down to what he "should" be. Instead, he seems to get better as the competition increases. Plus, his rise has been pretty crazy.

2015 July undrafted
2015 Sept signed by Philly
2016 April named QMJHL All Star team
2016 Flyers camp, looked like the best young Dman
2017 WJC Canada's 2nd best Dman before injury
2017 PPG in QMJHL

I don't fault people for doubting he can be as good as he has shown. But what it does show is that draft day is just 1 moment in time where not all players are "ready" on that date. Just like others who look great on that day, tail off.

We got lucky. We were due for some good luck.

 

[Magua]

I like Lauzon, I do. It's not like we haven't seen him as much as Myers playing on the same team. I think he can be a solid 2nd pair guy. At the WJC I was saying he needed to play more over Bean and some others. He's a quality prospect that most teams would like to have. But c'moooooon

The difference between their abilities and potential isn't that close. Lauzon isn't better at one single thing than Myers

 

[FLYguy3911]

Probably the same people that think Zboril will turn out to be better than Chabot.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I don't think Myers was the best defensemen in camp last year. I think even this fan base was still unfamiliar with him compared to the others & didn't know where to really place expectations for him. He didn't have the sky high expectations like Provorov or Sanheim entering camp so whether it was indirectly or not he was likely being judged on a lower scale than those two.

 

[Striiker]

If you're good offensively then you must be a liability defensively... or st least that's what many seem to believe.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I don't think Myers was the best defensemen in camp last year. I think even this fan base was still unfamiliar with him compared to the others & didn't know where to really place expectations for him. He didn't have the sky high expectations like Provorov or Sanheim entering camp so whether it was indirectly or not he was likely being judged on a lower scale than those two.

Statistically he was one of the worst defensemen in camp.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Count me among those who has no idea where the "Myers was the best in camp" sentiment" is based. LoD put it perfectly.

Probably the same people that think Zboril will turn out to be better than Chabot.

....do those people seriously still exist? Are we talking Bruins fans or those with more impartial interest?

 

[Magua]

Myers came in basically cold turkey to camp after his offseason surgery. I don't think he was that good either, but it wasn't a negative on him. I didn't expect it. Like the Flyers told him, it wasn't really an impression camp but more like actual training camp for him to get up to speed. But besides people seeing a 6'5" RHD who can skate -- and those tools are tantalizing in a small sample -- he was also really physical that training camp throwing hits, and I think that really endeared him to some lay fans who didn't have much exposure to him prior. In a small sample, subtle plays don't really play. 6'5" guy crushing people does!

I really hope he does get a fully healthy offseason to train and bulk up fwiw

 

[Tripod]

Lol...wrong thread.

 

[FLYguy3911]

....do those people seriously still exist? Are we talking Bruins fans or those with more impartial interest?

Somewhere on the prospect board. It may have been an undercover Bruins fan though.

I never got the Zboril>Chabot sentiment pre-draft and there is really no argument now.

 

[Curufinwe]

It's crazy that they reached on all three of those 2015 first rounders.

https://syndication.bleacherreport....port-cards-for-every-pick-in-round-1.amp.html

 

[deadhead]

Myers came in basically cold turkey to camp after his offseason surgery. I don't think he was that good either, but it wasn't a negative on him. I didn't expect it. Like the Flyers told him, it wasn't really an impression camp but more like actual training camp for him to get up to speed. But besides people seeing a 6'5" RHD who can skate -- and those tools are tantalizing in a small sample -- he was also really physical that training camp throwing hits, and I think that really endeared him to some lay fans who didn't have much exposure to him prior. In a small sample, subtle plays don't really play. 6'5" guy crushing people does!

Defensemen who have a great offensive skill set who are also huge and willing to use their size are rare as hen's teeth.
Sanheim has a similar package (a inch shorter and 10-15 lbs lighter) but is stylistically more like Ghost than Morin.

Playing physical is partially size and strength, but also a mentalite, some guys like contact and others tend to avoid it. Gudas is one extreme, MacDonald is more toward the other end of the spectrum. So watching Myers hit people is exciting, a 6'5 220 lb or so (when he fills out) D-man who can skate, pass, shot and hit can be special.

 

[Stizzle]

Count me among those who has no idea where the "Myers was the best in camp" sentiment" is based. LoD put it perfectly.

IIRC only one game he played in was televised. The other preseason games he played were away games that weren't televised or streamed anywhere. So when people talk out of there butt about Myers preseason I just roll my eyes.

I definitely think people were taken aback by what they did see. Even with people here banging pots and pans alerting everyone that Myers was the real deal, I don't think it set in until they saw it in that preseason game.

Then all of the sudden the masses were singing a different tune. It's the same people that were telling me a few months earlier that I was ranking him too high. And that Myers needed to have a repeat year before he moved up into our top grouping of prospects. Then boom, he shows up on there television for a game and now they are all in.

 

[Random Forest]

Even if Myers had been the best D at camp... so what? It's a small sample size against lineups that are at best ~70% composed of NHLers. Robert Hagg's debut against Carolina was probably a better game than he's had all season in the AHL, but that doesn't mean he is that player.

That's not to say Myers isn't a terrific prospect (he is), but I'm not going to infer too much from a solid camp. His entire body of work is what makes him impressive-- not a couple weeks where we only saw him play game action once or twice.

 

[Striiker]

​

Even if Myers had been the best D at camp... so what? It's a small sample size against lineups that are at best ~70% composed of NHLers. Robert Hagg's debut against Carolina was probably a better game than he's had all season in the AHL, but that doesn't mean he is that player.

That's not to say Myers isn't a terrific prospect (he is), but I'm not going to infer too much from a solid camp. His entire body of work is what makes him impressive-- not a couple weeks where we only saw him play game action once or twice.

Yeah, it almost seems like preseason is somewhere that players can lose a spot instead of win them.

It's too small of a sample size for someone to prove that they're good enough, especially when the teams aren't all NHL players like you said. But if you go into preseason and completely bomb... it's still a small sample size but looking really bad is probably more revealing than looking really good. By that I mean, it's easier to play at an unsustainably high level for a short time than it is to play at an unsustainably bad level. Usually if that's the case then they're just not ready.

 

[Rebels57]

I just saw that Danick Martel is 3rd in the AHL in Primary Points (goals + primary assists) Per 60 for players 22 and under. That really surprised me. Mostly everyone in the top 10 are highly regarded prospects.

1 Guentzel 3.19
2 Cehlarik 2.55
3 MARTEL 2.08
4 Shinkaruk 1.96
5 Barbashev 1.92
6 Puljujarvi 1.88
7 Bjorkstrand 1.83
8 Compher 1.83
9 Vrana 1.83
10 Wallmark 1.82

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Hopefully for Martel's sake Hakstol's gone by the time he's ready to potentially get a shot.

 

[Flyerfan13]

Iirc Martel had over a 100 pt season in his final Jr hockey season. I root for him he plays his heart out.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

This is why he doesn't fight

ouch. Hicketts got tagged.

 

[Curufinwe]

Hakstol and Hextall gave little Jordan Weal a shot in the top 9, so I don't see why they'd be opposed to doing the same thing for Martel when his waiver exemption is over or almost over. Provided he keeps producing well at the AHL level.

 

[Tripod]

Hakstol and Hextall gave little Jordan Weal a shot in the top 9, so I don't see why they'd be opposed to doing the same thing for Martel when his waiver exemption is over or almost over. Provided he keeps producing well at the AHL level.

With so many bodies, who gets bumped though?

We seem to have lots of guys who could be the #9 guy as options, would Martel be any different than what we already have? Honest question as I have only seen a few LV games this year.

We are getting to the point of Hextall needing to try and do a quantity for quality deal or trade off a few guys for more depth picks. Both are good though as it will help us now, or keep the depth fir future sustainability.

Do people think it will be Laughton vs Vech for the #4 C spot next year.....and if so, who wins out?

 

[Curufinwe]

There's a real logjam up front right now, but the ED and what contracts Hextall gives to Weal, Vecchione, Laughton, Cousins and Leier should make things somewhat clearer.

But they will have till October, 2018 till Martel has to go on waivers, so that's a long way off. Some forwards will fall by the wayside in 17-18.