Rank these 4 "B" Level Prospects

Qubax

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Oct 25, 2002
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in NHL Offensive Upside, and likelyhood of busting:

Jared Knight
Jordan Caron
Emerson Etem
Christian Thomas

I'll say:

1. Thomas 35-30-65 (Skinner-lite)
2. Knight 20-35-55 (Kesler/Richards-lite)
3. Etem 25-25-50 (Evander Kane mixed with Rico Fata)
4. Caron 25-25-50 ( Steve Bernier? )
 

Dave Karp

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Jul 11, 2007
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I'd rank offensive upside and chances of busting:

1. Etem

2. Knight
3. Caron
4. Thomas

Etem has the most upside but the most chance of busting, IMO. I think Caron, Thomas, Knight will all carve out careers on the bottom 6 with Thomas/Caron being pretty safe bet(s).
 

bzer

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Jan 31, 2009
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Thomas's size and scoring abilities makes me think he either makes a potent top 6 threat or won't make the NHL at all. His size will prevent him from playing in the bottom 6.
 

ColonialsHockey10

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Jul 22, 2007
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in NHL Offensive Upside, and likelyhood of busting:

Jared Knight
Jordan Caron
Emerson Etem
Christian Thomas

I'll say:

1. Thomas 35-30-65 (Skinner-lite)
2. Knight 20-35-55 (Kesler/Richards-lite)
3. Etem 25-25-50 (Evander Kane mixed with Rico Fata)
4. Caron 25-25-50 ( Steve Bernier? )

Lol at Etem's comparison, come on dude.

Yeah, I think I'll rank the guy leading the CHL in goals number 1......
 

Dave Karp

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Thomas's size and scoring abilities makes me think he either makes a potent top 6 threat or won't make the NHL at all. His size will prevent him from playing in the bottom 6.

Possibly. I see him as more of a spark-plug player at the next level with OK offensive ability. I see him fitting perfectly on the 3rd line, maybe a tweener of a 2nd/3rd line.
 

Qubax

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Clever way of saying Black Rico Fata.

I disagree....that's not what I was trying to say....

The fact is Rico Fata was a speedy winger with very little offensive upside....I was going to say Todd Marchant, but I think Marchant was better defensively then Etem will end up.

Evander Kane is also speedy and a good young power forward with big upside...I don't see nearily as much pro-level offensive upside in Etem as compared to Kane...so I mix Kane with Fata....and you get a fast, somewhat offensive pro winger....

better NHLer then Fata, worse then Kane, mixed skill set of the two...
 

Brandinho

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Aug 28, 2005
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I disagree....that's not what I was trying to say....

The fact is Rico Fata was a speedy winger with very little offensive upside....I was going to say Todd Marchant, but I think Marchant was better defensively then Etem will end up.

Evander Kane is also speedy and a good young power forward with big upside...I don't see nearily as much pro-level offensive upside in Etem as compared to Kane...so I mix Kane with Fata....and you get a fast, somewhat offensive pro winger....

better NHLer then Fata, worse then Kane, mixed skill set of the two...

Have you ever seen any of these players play?

Etem doesn't have an ounce of power forward in him. He's nothing like Kane. Mixed skill set my ass.

And Fata had a ton of offensive upside, his hands just never caught up with his feet.
 

Dave Karp

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Have you ever seen any of these players play?

Etem doesn't have an ounce of power forward in him. He's nothing like Kane. Mixed skill set my ass.

And Fata had a ton of offensive upside, his hands just never caught up with his feet.

I agree with both points. I don't see Etem at all as a PWF and wouldn't say Kane is a great comparison but not totally off.

And Fata was an offensive dynamo in the OHL, he just couldn't put it all together.
 

R S

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Sep 18, 2006
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Well considering Caron has already been in the NHL, and had some decent success....
 

Qubax

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I disagree that Fata was an "offensive dynamo." I would say that Etem has been a better junior then Fata was.(Fata had a couple of nice AHL seasons though and we can't judge Etem on that yet)

Fata was a 6th overall pick in 98, but I remember when they drafted him we Flames fans were so dissapointed that the Flames didn't grab someone more skilled...

Mind you the 98 draft wasn't exactly the greatest and the Flames were never great at drafting...

Anyway, back to the original topic....

I would say that Caron and Knight have the most pro-like translatable qualities. Just unsure about the upside of these two...

Thomas has a big league shot, and he's a good skater, but he's going to need to get bigger/stronger and prove that he can bring his electric junior game to the NHL.

Etem is the player I am least familar with, especially regarding his ability to become a solid pro. So whose a fair comparison for Etem if Kane is totally off...? Mason Raymond?
 

Z-Diddy

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I'd rank offensive upside and chances of busting:

1. Etem

2. Knight
3. Caron
4. Thomas

Etem has the most upside but the most chance of busting, IMO. I think Caron, Thomas, Knight will all carve out careers on the bottom 6 with Thomas/Caron being pretty safe bet(s).

I guess that all depends on your definition of “bustingâ€

Etem is already a 6'1" 200lb physical beast, only expect more as he goes from tweener to man, IMO he may not break through a 20 goal season but a full time NHLer for say a decade is hardly a bust
 

Duke749

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Apr 6, 2010
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I disagree....that's not what I was trying to say....

The fact is Rico Fata was a speedy winger with very little offensive upside....I was going to say Todd Marchant, but I think Marchant was better defensively then Etem will end up.

Evander Kane is also speedy and a good young power forward with big upside...I don't see nearily as much pro-level offensive upside in Etem as compared to Kane...so I mix Kane with Fata....and you get a fast, somewhat offensive pro winger....

better NHLer then Fata, worse then Kane, mixed skill set of the two...

I thought Etem was more a speedy winger with some goal scoring upside. Not a speedy, physical beast with no weak point in his game, and tremendous upside. :huh:
 

LuckyLuke87

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May 11, 2010
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1a. Knight - fantastic determination, any player below isn't even close. His abilities are criminally underrated right now, because he's almost on his own in London with close to zero supporting cast and isn't racking up tons of points. Born difference maker.
1b. Etem - definitely biggest offensive potential, promising future with Anaheim.
2. Caron - will be solid, but nothing to be crazy about.
3. Thomas - fantastic right now, but simply too small/light to be impact NHLer. He'll make TOP6 or nothing.
 

snarktacular

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Aug 2, 2005
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Unless Etem smartens up and improves his playmaking a lot, he probably won't be getting nearly as many assists as goals. If you think he'll get 25 goals, there will probably be like 20 assists to go with it.

25-25-50 just doesn't seem like the kind of point spread he'd put up.
 

wolfgaze

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3. Thomas - fantastic right now, but simply too small/light to be impact NHLer. He'll make TOP6 or nothing.

Says who? Claude Giroux is listed at 5'11 - 172 lbs... Briere is 5'10 - 181 lbs...... Thomas, right now, is listed at 5'9 - 165 lbs lbs. and hasn't even turned 19 yet.... He'll add another 15-20 pounds to his frame before he's done growing and filling out from working hard in the gym... If there was ever an environment in the NHL where smaller players can succeed, it's right now, with the post-lockout rules in play.... Often times with smaller players it's not so much their size that's the issue, it's how they play the game... Plenty of examples of smaller players in the league who play much bigger than they really are....
 

mm11

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Says who? Claude Giroux is listed at 5'11 - 172 lbs... Briere is 5'10 - 181 lbs...... Thomas, right now, is listed at 5'9 - 165 lbs lbs. and hasn't even turned 19 yet.... He'll add another 15-20 pounds to his frame before he's done growing and filling out from working hard in the gym... If there was ever an environment in the NHL where smaller players can succeed, it's right now, with the post-lockout rules in play.... Often times with smaller players it's not so much their size that's the issue, it's how they play the game... Plenty of examples of smaller players in the league who play much bigger than they really are....

I hate to be a wet blanket for you but there is a much longer list of tiny dominating junior players that could not cut it at the NHL level. I could blow through the vaunted ranger prospects with some serious credentials the last 10 years that were tiny that looked like sure bets but never made it if you would like, but I am sure you know them


granted this is Stumpy's kid so he has the DNA

personally, I played college puck D 3 level and I was a piping hot 5'7 150 lbs so I am pulling for Thomas , dont get me wrong, but the odds are stacked against him even thouhh he plain and simply dominated the OHL this year
 

Dave Karp

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I guess that all depends on your definition of “bustingâ€

Etem is already a 6'1" 200lb physical beast, only expect more as he goes from tweener to man, IMO he may not break through a 20 goal season but a full time NHLer for say a decade is hardly a bust

I wouldn't call that a bust either. I feel that if he doesn't become a top-6 guy that he may not be a NHLer. I'm not saying he won't be a top-6 guy or even a bottom-6 player, I just feel he has the highest possibility of "busting".
 

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