Hey Rabbit, what did you think of Dvorak and Karlsson?
I think both looked excellent. Dvorak was intriguing. I can't tell if he has awesome chemistry with Domi from London, or if he really was worth the pick where we got him. He's got good speed, awesome passer, and good finisher. All around hard working player. Too early to tell for me though, really hard player to read. I'll have to keep a close eye on him.
Karlsson....Karlsson is just a ****ing steal. It's hard to find an NHL comparison for me because of his unique playing style, he's got Datsyuk style forechecking and backchecking. He is an absolute battler along the boards and can strip the puck like nobodies business. If I had a gun to my head, I'd say he's a RICH man's Peverley. He's going to be really annoying to play against, and i love that. I'd venture to say that apart from Domi and Gormley, Karlsson is the next most NHL ready. Even over Gaudet, who also looked tenacious as hell.
I think in 2016, our 3rd/4th line(s) are going to look awesome.
Bottom six:
Dauphin - Samuelsson - Karlsson
Gaudet - Vitale - LaPlante/Kulda.
All starting out on the lower lines early in their careers, all with the potential to be legit 2nd line players for years to come, maybe even 1st. I've never been so sure of/so excited about our group of prospects. Maloney and staff
KILLED IT with these last 2 drafts.
Laurent Dauphin- I think Dauphin has the potential to be a future 30 goal scorer. He may be small now, but his offensive potential is really there. He and Domi will look really good together on the powerplay unit in the future, if both pan out as we all hope....which I don't think is far fetched.
My NHL comparison: Corey Perry
Henrik Samuelsson- I think Samuelsson has the potential to be a slightly lesser version of Lucic. Lesser version, though who will still be good for 20 goals and 30 assists a season, and a nasty mean streak. This is a player who could honestly make Hanzal expendable in the future, but why do that when you an have them both? Especially if you an move Henrik to the wing, you create a lot of flexibility by doing so.
My NHL comparison: Milan Lucic
Max Domi- What else can you say about Domi? This dude has the potential to be he most electrifying player the Coyotes have had in
years. His speed is unreal, his passing and playmaking is top notch, and was even voted 2nd best to Connor freaking McDavid, who is said to be the NHL's next big star. I can't believe he fell to 12th last year, honestly I think he could've been considered a top 5 pick in this year's draft. I think his maturity will definitely improve once he cracks the big lineup. I mean...look, his dad was a notorious badass in the league with tremendous popularity, he has amazing talent with the puck, he's a superstar with his London Knights squad, he's playing along side one of his best friends in Horvat, he's a young kid who has the ladies drooling over him, and he's about to be a millionaire in a couple of years. He's going to have an ego, and I'm more than okay with that. He's still young, we were all like that. We were all testosterone driven at 16, 17, 18 and did some things we're not exactly proud of, but we all grew out of it. Max is well liked among his teammates, and most importantly, out of EVERY team in the NHL, he
wanted to be with the Coyotes. I'll never forget those behind the scenes draft videos of Max's parents sitting with him in the stands saying "Phoenix is up, that's the team he wanted, they're going to pick him" and once we did, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face, going up to everyone and saying "Phoenix eh? Sick huh?!" You never saw that with Turris, Wheeler, or Mueller. Domi and his family couldn't have been happier to end up with the Coyotes. That's awesome. I love this prospect. His size shouldn't be doubted, as he's built like a brick ****house. I think he will be a "poor" mans Patrick Kane (for lack of a better term, nothing really seems poor about him.) Out of all of our current prospects, I think Max has the most potential to be a first line player for years to come.
My NHL comparison: Patrick Kane
Brendan Perlini- I think I've already said my piece on him.
Simply put, i think this guy is going to be a star. I was worried about the pick at first, as he was a reallly late riser, but given the circumstances (and the fact that OEL was a really late riser in his draft class) I'm thrilled with the pick now. He didn't have a chance to shine and show what he could do until he was traded to a team where he could get the minutes to
actually show what he could do. I can't really think of ANY player of his size in the NHL right now that can skate as fast and as beautifully as he can. Some people look down on him because he doesn't seem to dangle through players like Ho Sang or Bennett, but he makes up for all of that with his shooting ability. Think Marian Gaborik, do you see Marian dangling and deking through his opponents? Hardly ever. He just ****ing skates and shoots. That's awesome. Another thing I LOVE, he plants his ass RIGHT in front of the goalie. Very, very excited for Perlini. My NHL comparisons for him may look unrealistic, and I'm not saying he will turn out to be as good or better than the players that i mention, I just see a little bit of each of these players in Perlini. He's got Malkin's size, shot, and hockey IQ. Marian Gaboriks speed and skating ability, and Hossa's no ********, shoot first ask questions later mentality.
My NHL comparison(s): Evgeni Malkin, Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa
Brandon Gormley- Perfectly executed development by our staff. Hats off, seriously. No use really getting into what he offers, because we've all seen it for the last 4 years. This dude is ready, and will be a top 4 (maybe top 2) defenseman for us in the future. His offensive numbers won't blow us away, but this dude will be one of the hardest players to skate the puck past, and he will beat you up with his brain. He's going to be an amazing shutdown guy/penalty killer, and a possible offensive surprise.
My NHL comparison(s): Niklas Hjalmarsson, Niklas Kronwall, Kimmo Timonen, Dan Girardi, Zbynek Michalek, Ryan Suter
Anton Karlsson- See above.
My NHL comparison(s): Rich Peverley, Wayne Simmonds
Yan Pavel LaPlante- This dude is going to be hell to play against. I can't wait to see how Y.P. and Karlsson (if both pan out) annoy the living **** out the competition. He and Karlsson are neck and neck when It comes to best forechecker in the organization. A possible future Karlsson - Gaudet- LaPlante line would be a seemingly impossible energy line to play against.
My NHL comparison(s): Lee Stempniak, Rich Peverley, Mike Ricci, Joe Vitale, Daniel Winnik
Tyler Gaudet- I've probably said enough about him in my descriptions of both Karlsson and LaPlante, these guys are just so damn hard working. 100% effort all the time, and they're going to be a nightmare to play against. My NHL comparisons may be low scoring guys, but don't let that fool you, I think all 3 have the potential to be top PK players in the bottom 6, completely capable of 15 goal, 35-40 point seasons. Gaudet is a Tippett type player. Responsible, hard working, smart, and tenacious.
My NHL comparison(s): Boyd Gordon, Vernon Fiddler, Daniel Winnik, Joe Vitale, Fredrick Sjostrom (prime years)
That's all my poor hands can type right now, and who knows if any of you will read this
but we should consider ourselves lucky. We have arguably the best group of prospects right now than we have ever had as an organization. Now, we need to focus on our goaltending. Maybe in 2016/2017, we can start looking for stronger goalie prospects than Visentin. Don't ask me why, I'm just not 100% sold on him yet. Hope he proves me wrong, but that's a whole other topic of conversation. Great to be talking hockey again boys!