CrosbyMalkin
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- Aug 7, 2005
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Looks like prospect Drew O'Connor might make his debut, excited to see if he does.
Drew O’Connor Closing In On NHL Debut
Thanks for sharing!
Looks like prospect Drew O'Connor might make his debut, excited to see if he does.
Drew O’Connor Closing In On NHL Debut
Idk it sounds like O'Connor is actually what they thought ZAR was.
But they were also so off on ZAR that idk. I'm not going in with any expectations and we'll see how he does.
ZAR was in consideration for best defensive forward by some publications. Now we don't agree that is the case but his analytics are off the charts recently. ZAR doesn't look good doing it but I guess he does a decent job defensively. Bottom. Line ZAR was a free asset that helped form a great checking line that we used in all defensive situations against the other teams best forwards in our defensive zone. From what I read about ZAR most thought he would be a grinder type forward because he didn't have the skills to be a top 6 forward. ZAR's max potential was to be Hornqvist lite but Horny is a one of a kind, not fast, not skilled, but a ton of heart.
Hopefully O'Connor can be more of a point getter and become a decent middle six forward. I think that is his best case upside. I really hope to see him tonight. POJ got his shot and looks good and if O'Connor can do the same Pens are in good shape.
Is O’Connor a physical player at all?
ZAR was talked about as a Hornqvist style of net front presence with a good shot and good offensive instincts when he came out of college, with borderline top-6 upside in the eyes of some. Him turning into a 4th line pure defensive forward is proof that their initial opinion on him was wrong. My point wasn't to say "ZAR sucks", it's that he didn't even come remotely close to what he was advertised to be by the Penguins.
ZAR was talked about as a Hornqvist style of net front presence with a good shot and good offensive instincts when he came out of college, with borderline top-6 upside in the eyes of some. Him turning into a 4th line pure defensive forward is proof that their initial opinion on him was wrong. My point wasn't to say "ZAR sucks", it's that he didn't even come remotely close to what he was advertised to be by the Penguins.
It only took a few games for me to see how poor ZARs skating was, and that was at the AHL level.
It was the first thing I kept warning people about who had not seen him yet.
If DOC has similar issues, I’m honestly going to write him off quickly.
As I’ve said ad nauseam, I’ve learned the hard way that poor skating is an issue prospects rarely over come these days.
If he can skate well, then I’ll have a more positive outlook, but we shall see.
The thing about DOC is every characteristic sounds good but not definitely NHL level.
Skating - good at NCAA level, didn't stand out either way at practice, so what does that mean at full competitive NHL level?
Shot - Good at NCAA level, saw a couple of nice ones at practice, again, what does that mean...
Size - Big boy, is he going to use it?
Smarts - Who knows?
Etc.etc.
You guess okay bottom sixer. You think if everything goes right, he'll be a good third liner, maybe even a step above. If none of it works out, 4A guy. See how it goes I guess.
OC showed me nothing, but nothing bad either. Looked on the bigger side and is a plus skater.
PP was at its most dangerous when he was at the net although it didn’t really have much to do with him.
Need more games to really get a read on him and what he does well or how he plays though.
OC showed me nothing, but nothing bad either. Looked on the bigger side and is a plus skater.
PP was at its most dangerous when he was at the net although it didn’t really have much to do with him.
Need more games to really get a read on him and what he does well or how he plays though.
Anyone have the link to this year's final top 20?
No, not really. But here you go: Prospect Info: - Prospect Rating #17
Thanks, couldn't find anything after that unless we just stopped