Players who struggled early in their career, who you KNEW would get it right...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Haute Couture

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
2,023
0
Bay of Pigs
Visit site
Bad

Daniel Tkaczuk - I always had hopes for him. He had a decent stint with the Flames once. That's it. Period. Done. Over with. Plays in Italy now, or something. So much for 6th overall pick. He was a decent play-making center with great opening seasons in the AHL, but he never really developed for the big league. After being traded to St. Louis he regressed even further and disappeared.

Rico Fata - I loved his speed. What a line he would create with Tkaczuk, I thought.. Saw him lately, he ain't bad.. But, damn, the Flames made two flops in a row.

Oleg Saprykin - I still keep his name as my nickname. Saw him today vs. Sharks - he ain't bad. In fact, I can't really understand what's wrong with him. Just much too prone to injuries and ain't that strong. I expected a Forsberg out of him. I won't say anything else.

Denis Arkhipov - the guy had one good season and I imagined 80 points out of him once. He's barely scoring in the RSL now.

Andrei Zyuzin - 2nd overall pick in 1996. Showed great signs in his first season, very fluid stride, decent defensive coverage, good shot, great pass. Like Saprykin, yet to play a season with more than 70 games. And he's almost 28 now...

Nikita Alexeev - another Russian with a decent potential for TB. Never materialized.

Stan Chistov - he had superstar written all over him. I thought. Amazing play-offs.. Everything just fell apart after that. Still has a chance at a comeback, is doing well in Russia.

Alexander Svitov - I love his size and strength. Sadly, he just sucks.

Mike Komisarek
Fedor Fedorov
Marting Skoula
Tomas Kloucek (i.e. Kasparaitis Junior)


Good guesses:
Evgeni Nabokov - he never really struggled, but I always had a feeling 'bout him.
Ilya Bryzgalov - struggled in the AHL in the beginning, but I had my trust in him.
Ladislav Nagy - without even seeing him play I thought he was gonna become awesome. First few games for the Blues further reinforced it in me. Pho fans were going: "who???" when their GM dealt Tkachuk for Handzus and this guy...
Pavel Datsyuk - I knew some things many of you didn't.. Ha----ha!

Future
These guys can still turn things around..
Oleg Kvasha - I'm watching him lately play for Phoenix and he's decent.Scored a beauty vs. Nabokov today.
Oleg Saprykin - I still believe. Just needs an injury-prone year.
 

McDonald19

Registered User
Sep 9, 2003
22,957
3,824
California
Hedberg said:
Seriously:
Stanislav Chistov- I thought he would be a total star. I guess not.

He will get his chance next season. He has been good in Russia this year.

Keep in mind his style of hockey may translate well in the new NHL. Let's wait and see...
 

MarkusNaslund19

Registered User
Dec 28, 2005
5,412
7,640
Dimitri Chernykh - I also had a hunch that Dimitri Chernykh was going to be the Isles next big star. He could be dead for all I know; that's how little we hear about him now.[/QUOTE]
LOL!
I like it. These are good response, thanks guys :) .

With regards to the guy who said Jens karlsson, this is not an "I told u so" or anything stupid but...just based on his scouting report I had my doubts about him..."big and tough, and if he ever puts his hands/hockey sense together watch out"...those types of players never go anywhere...except to Pat Quinn's draft table (hello Shawn Antoski, Libor Polasek, Alek Stojanov, Chris Mccallister, etc, etc, etc)

Another guy I liked when he was struggling was Ray Whitney. Also Steve Sullivan, but everyone exccept for Quinn knew that ( I don't hate quinn or anything, I'm just mystified by his blindness towards skill when size is around)
 

ahmon

Registered User
Jun 25, 2002
10,308
1,841
Visit site
ice berg slim said:
Both Sedin brothers for me...after seeing them perform in the playoffs against the avs I knew they were gonna be great players.


that year with bertuzzi as rookies was a glimpse of what they can be.
22-33-44 =99
 

Canucksrock

Registered User
Feb 4, 2005
1,618
0
Caledon
The day Naslund was traded to the canucks i turned to my dad and said "hes gonna be a canuck captain one day" of course my dad was like yeah k your an idiot. But whose laughing now!
 

Hellström

Registered User
Sep 22, 2002
2,898
0
the good

Colby Armstrong - I´ve been rooting for Colby Armstrong for years and finally he gets the thing started.

Jarret Stoll - still remember the reports about his lack of speed and he´s looking like a 3rd shutdown center. He´s going to be a bit more than that.

the unknown - still rooting

Colin McDonald - imo he could end up being a hustling winger with a bit of a power forward touch, but his ceiling appears to be 2nd/3rd line.

the bad

Doug Lynch - it looks like i have to add Doug in here. Had a superb first pro season but then failed to prove his worth. Is down in the ECHL now.

Michael Henrich - really liked the selection and thought he´d make the NHL as a solid 2nd liner for sure, but then he battled mono and inconsistency and is now playing in Germany.

Jared Aulin - thought that he´s a solid 2nd center in the NHL, but the door is closing fast.

Justin Mapletoft - looked like a sure bet for me and is looking like a career player for european teams
 

CH Wizard

Guest
Vincent Lecavalier, I knew he had too much skills to not perform.
 

Rotang

Registered User
Sep 30, 2005
2,394
83
Dallas, TX
I have a lot of the same goods and bads as already mentioned, so I'll just go with my currents:

Mario Scalzo - first saw him during training camp last summer and was immediately impressed. Alot of critics like to knock his size, but his skating, shot and vision already appear to be NHL level and he has plenty of tools to bail himself out along the boards. I'd expect him to make the Stars lineup in ~2 years, despite the naysayers.

Jason Guerriero - it's still beyond me how this guy didn't get drafted. Wait, no it's not - he's "too small". He tore it up in Hockey East a couple years ago, and is currently having a great year over in Europe. I watched him in his early days playing for the Texas Tornado of the NAHL. If a team takes a chance on him I'd expect nothing but good things.

Antti Miettenen - He's starting to get his credit, but he is still underrated IMO - to me he's the best young Finn the Stars. The Lehtinen comparisons are very valid, except he hits everything that moves. He hasn't been able to put all the pieces together, but once he does I see him as a 25-30 goal scorer.
 

Vote for Rory

Registered User
Nov 13, 2004
1,119
50
good:
Sedins - like quite a few guys here, I never lost hope in them

bad:
Fedor Fedorov - boy was I pumped after watching this kid in the 02-03 (I think?) preseason, he looked like he was going to make the team and actually put up some great numbers... boy was I wrong.

Josh Holden - ... man, Josh... come on...
 

puttinonthefOIL

Registered User
Sep 5, 2005
95
0
Kelowna, BC
insider said:
Right: St Louis

my pick for the next St Louis: Simon Gamache

Ya, I used to see him play in the AHL for the SJ Flames, when he couldn't seem to crack the NHL. He had super-star talent there, I never bought the argument that he was too small. Alot of people were suprised with his MVP season, I wasn't. Of course he's struggled this season.
 

McDonald19

Registered User
Sep 9, 2003
22,957
3,824
California
good:

Andy McDonald: always felt that if he could get in the right situation he could become a premier playmaker, and we are seeing that now.

Chris Kunitz: He just plays with so much energy and character and there is enough skill there that I thought with the right opportunity he would become a good 2nd line/3rd line NHLer...and now he is on the Selanne/McDonald line.

Martin Gerber: He just looked like a really solid goalie the first time I saw him, and I'm glad he has the chance to be a number 1 goalie in Carolina.

bad:

Michael Holmqvist: After he was drafted I actually thought he would become a first line center someday. :shakehead

Mark Popovic: I thought he would at worst be a solid #3 d-man by now...maybe he still makes the Thrashers as a third pairing guy, but he could be a journeyman.

Alexei Smirnov: The powerforward the Ducks were always looking for...yeah he's a bust.
 

Fedz

Registered User
Sponsor
Jul 18, 2003
3,929
349
Behind the Bench
Right:

Alexandre Burrows! I remember going along with some Canuck fans, some of which post on these boards to the 2003 Prospect Camp in August, and I remember him along with Kinger and Bouck being the best players by a country mile. I watched him play at Queens Park in the intersquad game and he was by far the best player out there hustling, and managed to score something like five points along Tyler Bouck's side. I was shocked that the Canucks didn't sign him right away, but I always knew he'd work his way up.

Wrong:

Martin Grenier! I remember meeting him at the same camp, and thinking how animal like this guy was. I shook his hand and I thought my hand was gonna fall off after, he had absolutely amazingly large hands. I thought he'd become a good #4 physical defenseman. I was sure wrong.
 

hfboardsuser

Registered User
Nov 18, 2004
12,280
0
The Good

Jarret Stoll. I was sitting in the back of my mom's car reading the Edmonton Journal, and I came across the results of the draft. As I'd only started watching hockey that year, I was just vaguely familiar with some of the players. However, the Ice were my favorite junior team because hometown hero B.J. Boxma was doing really well there, so naturally I wanted the Oilers to draft as many of them as possible. I was absolutely pissed to see in the paper that the Flames had drafted him, and knew deep down in my gut that he was going to be a star, and we'd never, EVER, get him. Thankfully I was half-wrong. :)


Vernon Fiddler. Okay, not all that good, but he had that incredible run at the beginning of the year where he seemed to produce at will. I've always held on hoping he'd become a solid NHL player, and for a time, my hopes were realized.

Pascal Leclaire. Still a novice hockey fan back in 2001, and happened to switch the TV over to the Draft as the 8th pick rolled around. I've had an attachment to him ever since, and I always thought he'd be a good one.

As an aside, I really didn't like the Hemsky pick at the time, but it took a year and I was won over.

The Bad

Jared Aulin - thought that he´s a solid 2nd center in the NHL, but the door is closing fast.

Good one. I saw 25-45-70 out of him at one point, and now he'll be lucky to get in that many games at the NHL level.

Duncan Milroy: He's still young of course, but I thought at the time he'd be a star at the NHL level.
 

AlienWorkShop

No, Ben! No!
Oct 30, 2004
3,455
328
As mentioned before, I always had a feeling St.Louis was going to be a very good player. I was not surprised in the least when he flourished in Tampa. MVP, yeah that's a bit surprising, but I saw potential in him.

I can't really think of any other players I thought would do well and did, or didn't at this time...
 

Spitfire11

Registered User
Jan 17, 2003
5,048
242
Ontario
Datsyuk never 'struggled' in his career.

In terms of players who struggled early my record's pretty bad. I had a lot of favourites in that dreaded '99 draft.

Right:
Fischer
Aki :D

Wrong:
Tkaczuk
Stefan
Rita
Saprykin
Pyatt looking like he's gonna be here too
 

Hunter Gathers

The Crown
Feb 27, 2002
106,465
11,444
parts unknown
Blackjack said:
The first time I saw Mike Danton play in camp, I knew he would play for the Devils. His life took a tragic turn, but he was a pretty good hockey player. Not a lot of offense but tons of grit and heart, good speed, and a tremendous hitter.
.

Along with Marchment, he's one of the few players that I am GLAD is out of the NHL for good.

Cheap little **** ended Bure's career with a disgustingly cheap hit. :shakehead
 

Puckhead

Registered User
Jun 13, 2004
703
0
Behind you!!!
King Henry I said:
Keep in mind that until about 3 weeks ago he was playing behind what I would consider to be the worst defense in hockey. He's carried the Isles to keep them in contention until they finally got taken out by Montreal (in a game where any Habs fan will tell you that DiPietro was once again astounding.)

He's already led his team to the playoffs once and he performed very well there last season. I don't know how you can say that DiPietro isn't going to be a franchise goalie but somebody like Fleury, who's proven absolutely nothing, is going to be one.

I dont see how any defense could be considered worse than Pittsburgh
 

Habsaku

Registered User
Apr 28, 2003
5,554
0
Montreal
Visit site
I dont remember all of them, I'll just say two of the more recent, but basically, I knew it because I followed their careers before the NHL and didnt get caught up in pre or post hype:

Michael Ryder(although he isnt showing it this year) and Andrei Markov. I have high hopes for both. Chris Higgins wasnt tough to figure out and it seems people are now down on Perezhogin. Personally, I'll add that I really think Perezhogin is going to be a hell of a player.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->