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

[Curufinwe]

HockeyBuzz.com - Bill Meltzer - Quick Hits: Pyett, Hart and More

During the summer of 2015, the Phantoms signed defenseman Logan Pyett to an American Hockey League contract for the 2015-16 season. Unfortunately, during training camp, Pyett was diagnosed with a form of cancer (sarcoma in his left leg). He never ended up playing a game for the Phantoms but had the full support of both Lehigh Valley and the NHL parent Philadelphia Flyers both during and following his ordeal.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

I honestly think he has good acceleration too. I just feel he lacks agility.

This kid truly is Simmonds reincarnated.

 

[Rebels57]

He probably sees 50 times what we see honestly.

Seeing is half the battle. Understanding what you're seeing is much more important. I truly hope people stop taking Pronman seriously.

 

[IronMarshal]

Though I disagree the his valuation method, I appreciate the effort Pronman puts into his work. He thoroughly explains his ranking system (although some of his ratings seem to contradict it) and writes detailed (if flawed in our eyes) descriptions of all teams prospects and provides a detailed other point of view on draft prospects. I like and respect his work even though I disagree (sometimes greatly and loudly) with it.
Allison at 21 on the Flyers and Hart as a basic prospect are mind boggling.

 

[Rebels57]

Though I disagree the his valuation method, I appreciate the effort Pronman puts into his work. He thoroughly explains his ranking system (although some of his ratings seem to contradict it) and writes detailed (if flawed in our eyes) descriptions of all teams prospects and provides a detailed other point of view on draft prospects. I like and respect his work even though I disagree (sometimes greatly and loudly) with it.
Allison at 21 on the Flyers and Hart as a basic prospect are mind boggling.

Effort alone isn't enough to garner my respect. That's like saying you respect Andrew MacDonald as a player because he tries hard. If you suck at your job, I don't respect the job you're doing. It would be fine if he wasn't considered a trusted source for casuals; but he is.

 

[IronMarshal]

Effort alone isn't enough to garner my respect. That's like saying you respect Andrew MacDonald as a player because he tries hard. If you suck at your job, I don't respect the job you're doing. It would be fine if he wasn't considered a trusted source for casuals; but he is.

I guess I have mellowed over the years. All of these years teaching school and working with young people. Effort is important, so are results. As I have been saying on the main boards I enjoy his work, as I enjoy all of the others. There is entertainment value there. Last year I vehemently disagreed with Steve Kourmanous' valuation of the Flyers draft. I still applaud his efforts.
Different strokes for different folks.
In the end, the source I value most by far for prospects is the Flyers scouting staff. They have been truly outstanding these last 4 years.

 

[deadhead]

Yeah, I've reached the point where I trust the Flyer scouts over Magua, at the risk of getting tomahawked once again.

Twarnyski is a good example, not exactly a popular pick, then he puts up 45 goals and doesn't look out of place in the AHL in his P+2 season.
Now you can say he benefited from being older, and having teammates pick up up in juniors, but we're talking a late 3rd rd pick chosen primarily for his value as a bottom six forechecker, size/speed combo seemingly lacking offensive skills - so those 45 goals matter - not to project him in the top 6, but as a bottom 6 guy who can give you more than the typical 4th line winger if he has a scoring touch.

He typifies much of what they're looking for in the later rounds, high work ethic, intelligence and competitiveness combined with enough skill that he might potentially blossom with hard work. At worst he was going to be a physical player who could skate and was defensively responsible, but he's worked on his shooting and now potentially could be a Talbot type, who does the dirty work but also pumps in his share of goals.

Not all these picks are going to make it, but the misses have been so few so far (Tomek, Dove-McFalls, you can't "miss" after the 4th rd b/c the odds are so low of "hitting" on a prospect). To me, after the 2nd rd, any player who makes it to the AHL and is a replacement level NHL player (i.e. marginal bottom of the roster guy) is a success because at worst he's providing organizational depth. And so far, the vast majority are at least going to reach that level, including most of the later round picks.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

That's like saying you respect Andrew MacDonald as a player because he tries hard.

Well I do and I don't think it's nuts. It's not his fault Holmgren backed up the truck and it's not his fault the coach (over)uses him. He gets ripped in every media and public channel possible, booed at home games, doesn't complain, and is seemingly universally loved by his teammates. They even sent him down and he made the best of it from all accounts. Nothing but respect for him.

 

[Rebels57]

Well I do and I don't think it's nuts. It's not his fault Holmgren backed up the truck and it's not his fault the coach (over)uses him. He gets ripped in every media and public channel possible, booed at home games, doesn't complain, and is seemingly universally loved by his teammates. They even sent him down and he made the best of it from all accounts. Nothing but respect for him.

Might I remind you that he is close personal friends with Crosby.

 

[Striiker]

Well I do and I don't think it's nuts. It's not his fault Holmgren backed up the truck and it's not his fault the coach (over)uses him. He gets ripped in every media and public channel possible, booed at home games, doesn't complain, and is seemingly universally loved by his teammates. They even sent him down and he made the best of it from all accounts. Nothing but respect for him.

Yeah, I definitely agree with you here and even spent a bunch of time arguing on his behalf last October.

On ice, he’s terrible, but as a human being I have nothing negative at all to say about the guy.

Obviously a massive paycheck makes taking abuse easier, but like you said, he gets ripped by the fans constantly (mostly deserved), boo’ed when his name was announced (which I think was really stupid), and got sent to the AHL without a single negative peep.

You really can’t ask for better behavior and on top of that he’s apparently a great guy in the locker room.

That said, I’d trade him in a heartbeat and I wish I never had to see him in a Flyers jersey again, but it’s not hard to separate the on-ice hate from the off-ice respect.

 

[deadhead]

MacDonald isn't terrible, he's good at suppressing scoring, he actually had a solid season offensively last year (53rd in pp/60 of 162 D-men who had 800+ 5x5 minutes), his xGA on the PK was respectable. His advanced metrics aren't good, but part of that is he gets the toughest matchups and his style isn't conducive to piling up those metrics.

If he was a 3rd pair D-man being paid $2M a year, I think no one would be complaining.

 

[Tripod]

MacDonald isn't terrible, he's good at suppressing scoring, he actually had a solid season offensively last year (53rd in pp/60 of 162 D-men who had 800+ 5x5 minutes), his xGA on the PK was respectable. His advanced metrics aren't good, but part of that is he gets the toughest matchups and his style isn't conducive to piling up those metrics.

If he was a 3rd pair D-man being paid $2M a year, I think no one would be complaining.

People would still hate his shitty defense, laying on the ice for every 2-1, trying to play goalie instead of trying to stop the shot in the first place, etc...

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

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