RD Nick Ebert - Windsor Spitfires, OHL (2012, 211th overall, Los Angeles)

[Bjorn Le]

Can't see it happening at all. You compared him to Erik Johnson, how's that turned out? Hes not bad but hes certainly not the franchise defensemen everyone expected him to be. If theres a forward and a defensemen a team will always take the forward and IMO Ebert isn't close enough to Yakupov, Grigerenko, ect to warrant even the risk.

 

[Cooperman]

I dont think they are being overlooked at all. I only named one defender (Ebert) and a few OHL forwards.

As it stands Ebert is better then Murray and Reinhart, that could obviously change, but I am talking about going #1 overall, and Murray is a bit to small to do that. I doubt Murray goes as high as he is rated, but his skill set is lights out. He is very entertaining to watch and I hope he continues to grow some by his draft. Though his numbers are down this year.

It is going to be an amazing year for dmen as kids like Jacob Trouba and Max Iafrate could be making tons of noise as well come draft time. Ebert is the all around version of Cam Fowler, whatever reasons led to Fowlers drop, Ebert does not have.

EDIT: Last I saw Murray he looked pretty small, but I guess he isnt as small as he looks....just went by visual with Murray and not what he is listed at...if that is believable??

Guys, i'm throwing in another d-man name who will be a first round pick in 2012, Michael Matheson from Montréal.

He is now playing with the Lac St-Louis Lions in Midget AAA as a 16 years old. Does not want to play in the Q for now and maybe forever (his rights are owned by the Shawinigan Cataractes).

He is the best skating d-man i've seen, in terms of gliding, since Paul Coffey.

He has a pro wrist shot, precise, with great velocity, great release, he hides that wrist shot so well, has a very good slap shot.

Can be physical if he has to, blocks shots, takes control of the game in his zone, and in all three zones, for that matter, because he is such a great puck rusher.

He does it all.

That 2012 draft will be indeed something pretty special in terms of d-men. Can't wait !

 

[scoutman1]

Guys, i'm throwing in another d-man name who will be a first round pick in 2012, Michael Matheson from Montréal.

He is now playing with the Lac St-Louis Lions in Midget AAA as a 16 years old. Does not want to play in the Q for now and maybe forever (his rights are owned by the Shawinigan Cataractes).

He is the best skating d-man i've seen, in terms of gliding, since Paul Coffey.

He has a pro wrist shot, precise, with great velocity, great release, he hides that wrist shot so well, has a very good slap shot.

Can be physical if he has to, blocks shots, takes control of the game in his zone, and in all three zones, for that matter, because he is such a great puck rusher.

He does it all.

That 2012 draft will be indeed something pretty special in terms of d-men. Can't wait !

I agree Matheson I have not seen a dman skate like that ever it is just amazing to watch, I think he will be a top 10 pick for sure in 2012, could even make a push for top 5 I think he is that good myself.

 

[Daneurism]

Yeah it seems like an over reaction to say that the high end Canadian talent isn't there. Pouliot, Murray, Reinhart, Marcantuoni, and Reilly have all been bandied about as top 10 picks.

 

[BobbyRyan9]

Guys, i'm throwing in another d-man name who will be a first round pick in 2012, Michael Matheson from Montréal.

He is now playing with the Lac St-Louis Lions in Midget AAA as a 16 years old. Does not want to play in the Q for now and maybe forever (his rights are owned by the Shawinigan Cataractes).

He is the best skating d-man i've seen, in terms of gliding, since Paul Coffey.

He has a pro wrist shot, precise, with great velocity, great release, he hides that wrist shot so well, has a very good slap shot.

Can be physical if he has to, blocks shots, takes control of the game in his zone, and in all three zones, for that matter, because he is such a great puck rusher.

He does it all.

That 2012 draft will be indeed something pretty special in terms of d-men. Can't wait !

While not quite at the caliber of some of the defensemen mentioned in this thread, I think Dillon Fournier will be a high end defensemen for next year's draft. I would think he's good enough for a first round pick, but knowing how deep the draft is next year, he could end up being a second round pick. Very good skater who has shown some signs of offense by jumping up into the play. In my opinion, Fournier and Matheson were the two best defensemen for Team Quebec today at the U17 tournament.

 

[Cooperman]

While not quite at the caliber of some of the defensemen mentioned in this thread, I think Dillon Fournier will be a high end defensemen for next year's draft. I would think he's good enough for a first round pick, but knowing how deep the draft is next year, he could end up being a second round pick. Very good skater who has shown some signs of offense by jumping up into the play. In my opinion, Fournier and Matheson were the two best defensemen for Team Quebec today at the U17 tournament.

I think you're absolutely right. Fournier is primarily a shut down d-man but he has some offensive potential. He was one of my favourite player last year in midget AAA.

Maybe he could become a lesser version of Marc Staal which would mean a pretty good d-man still.

 

[PGCougarsDynasty]

Though there exists a lot of european talent that could go in the top 10 I have this odd hunch that a north american will be picked first overall.

 

[Torts]

1. Ryan Murray D
2. Martin Frk RW
3. Nail Yakupov RW
4. Nick Ebert D
5. Alex Galchenyuk C
6. Luca Ciampini LW
7. Gianluca Curcuruto D
8. Griffon Reinhart D
9. Cody Ceci D
10. Brandon Francisco LW

a very early top 10
lots of d tho

 

[Brandinho]

1. Ryan Murray D
2. Martin Frk RW
3. Nail Yakupov RW
4. Nick Ebert D
5. Alex Galchenyuk C
6. Luca Ciampini LW
7. Gianluca Curcuruto D
8. Griffon Reinhart D
9. Cody Ceci D
10. Brandon Francisco LW

a very early top 10
lots of d tho

No.

Francisco is 2011 eligible.

 

[AmericanDream]

Can't see it happening at all. You compared him to Erik Johnson, how's that turned out? Hes not bad but hes certainly not the franchise defensemen everyone expected him to be. If theres a forward and a defensemen a team will always take the forward and IMO Ebert isn't close enough to Yakupov, Grigerenko, ect to warrant even the risk.

compared Ebert to EJ in draft position only; as could Nick Ebert be the next Erik Johnson (#1 overall pick dman). didnt think it I had to state otherwise as the two play different types of games and are nothing like each other build wise as well.

didnt think Ebert was a risk, but if you think a Russian forward is less of a risk then Nick Ebert, well ummm...okay

 

[DJB]

Dissapointing that the 2012 draft is so D heavy since my Sens will likely stink next year as well garnering a top pick.

We really need some forwards with skill and jam.

Frk is probably one of the better forwards the Sens would consider. If Murray is GM, you can count out the two top Russians...

 

[JEI]

Ebert had the same type of 'wow' factor for me as Fowler did last year. Difference being age, which makes him even more impressive.

He's going to be a great one.

 

[Bjorn Le]

compared Ebert to EJ in draft position only; as could Nick Ebert be the next Erik Johnson (#1 overall pick dman). didnt think it I had to state otherwise as the two play different types of games and are nothing like each other build wise as well.

didnt think Ebert was a risk, but if you think a Russian forward is less of a risk then Nick Ebert, well ummm...okay

I knew you weren't comparing them as players. Me saying Forwards are safer picks than defensemen kind of showed that.

And the Russian factor affects kids who aren't neccesairly the top pick. And as Burmistrov has shown last draft, and Namestinikov and Khokhachev will show in 2011, playiing in North America as a Russian definitely helps, as those two would not have had any chance as a first round draft pick if they stayed in Russia. Yakupov is a top talent, top 3 for sure right now, and he'l have at least 2 years in Canada. I easily see teams taking him over Ebert.

Like I said in my last post, if two players are similar in ranking, but ones a defensemen, teams will take the forward for BPA. I'm sure St Louis would have loved to had a Backstrom or Toews now, as EJ never turned into that franchise defensemen yet, as most expected him to.

 

[Brandinho]

Yakupov is basically what would have happened if Ilya Kovalchuk had come over to the CHL to play. Barring something crazy, no chance he doesn't go #1.

 

[Ward Cornell]

I knew you weren't comparing them as players. Me saying Forwards are safer picks than defensemen kind of showed that.

And the Russian factor affects kids who aren't neccesairly the top pick. And as Burmistrov has shown last draft, and Namestinikov and Khokhachev will show in 2011, playiing in North America as a Russian definitely helps, as those two would not have had any chance as a first round draft pick if they stayed in Russia. Yakupov is a top talent, top 3 for sure right now, and he'l have at least 2 years in Canada. I easily see teams taking him over Ebert.

Like I said in my last post, if two players are similar in ranking, but ones a defensemen, teams will take the forward for BPA. I'm sure St Louis would have loved to had a Backstrom or Toews now, as EJ never turned into that franchise defensemen yet, as most expected him to.

If a NHL had the player depth(f and d) and patience to draft a d-man then could very well go for Ebert.
Of course for a team to have that depth and a high pick they would be a team that made a trade with Burkie.

The other factor in drafting a forward of a D is that most GM's of low placed teams are on a short leash and forwards makes more of an immediate impact and could save the GM's job for a year or two.

Of course a lot can change in 1 1/2 seasons and I wouldn't be surprised if the present top 15 list that 7 or 8 new players could be in it.

 

[S E P H]

1. Ryan Murray D
2. Martin Frk RW
3. Nail Yakupov RW
4. Nick Ebert D
5. Alex Galchenyuk C
6. Luca Ciampini LW
7. Gianluca Curcuruto D
8. Griffon Reinhart D
9. Cody Ceci D
10. Brandon Francisco LW

a very early top 10
lots of d tho

No offense, but that's a terrible list.

 

[Kevin Malone]

Can't see it happening at all. You compared him to Erik Johnson, how's that turned out? Hes not bad but hes certainly not the franchise defensemen everyone expected him to be. If theres a forward and a defensemen a team will always take the forward and IMO Ebert isn't close enough to Yakupov, Grigerenko, ect to warrant even the risk.

Why would you compare Ebert to Johnson.

Ebert is a better defenseman than Johnson was at his age IMO. Ebert is also playing in the OHL at 16 in one of the top CHL organizations in the country. The CHL is the best developmental path for defensman by far.

Ebert is a stud and will be a franchise defenseman. He's only 16 years old and is 6'1", 185lbs and looks like he's been in the league 3-4 years.

Ebert is well ahead of Doughty in his development so far. IMO he is the #1 for 2012 at this point. He has been every bit as advertised plus more.

 

[Shoots and Ladders]

Ebert also played in USHL last year as a 15 year old and didt look out of place. He the real deal

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I am not downing Murray at all. He is an offensive defensemen that simply hasnt had the numbers that one would expect this season. Now numbers arent the end all, and I usually argue that, but in the WHL it seems dmen score in bunches and he hasnt.

Are you sure you're talking about Ryan Murray? He's all around d-man, similar maybe to a guy like Alzner, to describe him as an "offensive defenceman" doesn't ring true. Personally I like his defensive game better than his offensive skills.

Almost no 17 year old defenceman ever score in bunches in the WHL, in fact I wouldn't describe ANY d-man in the entire league as scoring in bunches this year. The top guys are barely over 1 PPG, the top draft eligible Bell has 24 pts in 36 games. No offence intended but to even use that statement while hyping a player from the OHL (a much higher scoring league) is almost laughable.

None of this post is intended as a dig at Ebert, as I've never even seen him play and you're not the only one hyping him.

 

[jablueblue]

Like I said, it's a small sample size and I could be wrong as I don't live anywhere close to a QMJHL city. It's not about his results here but his obvious flaws that I can't imagine look any better in the Q. His skating is bad in every facet from what I've seen. I just can't see him going Top 5 with that big of a flaw and I've noticed I'm not the only one (QMJHL followers as well) to have this opinion. 1st round? Sure. Granted, he still has time to improve the skating and continue to get better overall so he could get there in time but I don't see it with early projections. Wouldn't be the first time I'm wrong though.

I have been impressed with his work along the boards, nut shot aside.

I live in Halifax so I was able to see him and I agree with this completely. His skating hurts to watch, he's sluggish and slow. Once he gets the puck with space, he can make people look bad or unleash that leathal shot of his, but he has no separation speed or edge work what so ever.

 

[Brandinho]

I am not downing Murray at all. He is an offensive defensemen that simply hasnt had the numbers that one would expect this season. Now numbers arent the end all, and I usually argue that, but in the WHL it seems dmen score in bunches and he hasnt.

You might not be "downing" him but you are proving that you don't know what you're talking about. Ryan Murray an offensive defenseman? Now I've heard it all.

 

[Bjorn Le]

Why would you compare Ebert to Johnson.

Ebert is a better defenseman than Johnson was at his age IMO. Ebert is also playing in the OHL at 16 in one of the top CHL organizations in the country. The CHL is the best developmental path for defensman by far.

Ebert is a stud and will be a franchise defenseman. He's only 16 years old and is 6'1", 185lbs and looks like he's been in the league 3-4 years.

Ebert is well ahead of Doughty in his development so far. IMO he is the #1 for 2012 at this point. He has been every bit as advertised plus more.

And again, I'm not comparing him to EJ, hes not comparing him to EJ. I'm comparing draft situation.

And IMO Ebert isn't even the best 2012 Elligible defensemen in the CHL. Its Murray or Reinhart, who don't have one of the best defensemen in the CHL on their defensive pair. We'l see how he does next year without Ellis.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Keep a look out for Scott Laughton.
He will likely have a break out year. slow start , playing minimal minutes in Oshawa; I can see him getting more a shot next year.

 

[dougiebrown]

I wish Ebert was draft eligible this season, for I'd love to see him stay home and play for his favorite NHL team, the Devils(I'm still a little bitter that they didn't take Carlson when they had the chance). Maybe they can tank next season too!

 

[Dallasman]

Ebert will be the real deal. His hockey skill and his hockey IQ are out of this world for a 16 year old.