GDT: Prospects Tournament Sept 16th - 19th

[ninetyeight]

I had no clue Vilen was such a good skater. Chico seems to love him.

Well StevenToddIves has been telling everyone here that he's a bad skater so no wonder everyone is surprised when they finally see him play..

 

[Better Call Sal]

f***ing Okhotiuk hahaha

 

[FinnishDevil]

Okhotiyuk is here to entertain.

 

[My3Sons]

Well StevenToddIves has been telling everyone here that he's a bad skater so no wonder everyone is surprised when they finally see him play..

I don’t recall him criticizing his skating? I recall him being somewhat critical that NJ drafted a left handed defender when they had a relatively large group of prospects at that position. Ethan Edwards suffered similar criticism. If you are going to go down that route it probably is proper etiquette to @StevenToddIves in case he checks this so he can respond if he chooses to.

 

[Devs3cups]

Okhotyuk is gonna become a fan favorite real quick.

 

[ninetyeight]

I don’t recall him criticizing his skating?

Topias Vilen is a strong defender who shoots left -- yes another LD -- and plays a simple, stay-at-home game. He has a very good shot, but his offensive upside is limited by his below average skating and heavy feet.

 

[MartyOwns]

i actually like walsh’s game

 

[FinnishDevil]

Well StevenToddIves has been telling everyone here that he's a bad skater so no wonder everyone is surprised when they finally see him play..

I dont recall this, but I've seen some of his Liiga games and his skating never seemed this good, more like average. Good summer?

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Woof

Missed the penmanship!

 

[ninetyeight]

For what it's worth I didn't think Vilen was this good of a skater either (maybe I was influenced by STI's comments) and top speed and acceleration is also incredibly important at NHL level, not just agility and smooth turns.

But this is a great reminder to wait till we get to see the prospects in US rink until we judge them just based on reports.

 

[GameSeven]

i actually like walsh’s game

He had a good drive and looked for the cross that almost connected. Worth mentioning amid some of the defensive shortcomings. I'd like to see a bit more consistency, but thought he deserved credit on a couple of sequences.

 

[My3Sons]

For what it's worth I didn't think Vilen was this good of a skater either (maybe I was influenced by STI's comments) and top speed and acceleration is also incredibly important at NHL level, not just agility and smooth turns.

But this is a great reminder to wait till we get to see the prospects in US rink until we judge them just based on reports.

I’d add that I’ve watched a decent number of Ethan Edwards at Michigan and he never struck me as having the skating he showed just a few weeks ago at the prospect development camp. Guys do improve and sometimes it is a surprise.

 

[ninetyeight]

Guys do improve and sometimes it is a surprise.

Yeh Holtz's skating has yeh certainly improved yeh

 

[Better Call Sal]

Walsh with another good play there, he's had a solid game.

 

[My3Sons]

Yeh Holtz's skating has yeh certainly improved yeh

Using an anecdote doesn’t make my statement wrong. Not everyone will improve but in my view Holtz is at least somewhat better than when I watched him last season. Just my opinion. You are of course entitled to see it differently.

 

[Nubmer6]

Walsh diving for a lot of pucks after getting beat

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Shouldn't Matt and Chico know that Vilen played for Finland at the World U18 tournament? In Texas.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

On the Boston side, i’ve been disappointed with Lysell, and i promise i was writing this post before that wacky stick handling that started the Devils rush.

He’s one of Boston’s best prospects, but he was outshined by Mercer last year and i think even Filmon has been more noticeable than him
this time around.

 

[MartyOwns]

chico’s leaving to catch a flight lmao. i’m dying

 

[Dialamo]

Thrilled to see some hockey today! Can't wait for the regular season to begin.

 

[Patrik26]

chico’s leaving to catch a flight lmao. i’m dying

His inner Phil Rizzuto.

 

[FinnishDevil]

Death, taxes and Devils losing in the shootout.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

This game was better than the last but Boston doesn't have a porspect group like Buffalo. Kind of disappointing tournament in the sense we went 1-1-0-1 but there was some positives. Especially Filmon. Foote , Stillmann and some others really needs to pick it up...

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

i don’t mean this to reflect on the quality of the players, but that was just an awful game to watch lol

 

[ninetyeight]

Using an anecdote doesn’t make my statement wrong. Not everyone will improve but in my view Holtz is at least somewhat better than when I watched him last season. Just my opinion. You are of course entitled to see it differently.

I think Holtz's skating is much improved, maybe my 'Holtz interview mode' made you read it as sarcasm, which it wasn't