Red Line Update: Weak draft for Europeans

[The Imp]

Go SLAVA!

I've taken in a few Rungsted games, over the years. He was great fun to watch. Now, to get the Oil to draft him...

 

[An Ape called Yoko]

Rask sounds like the next big thing out of Finland which is a hotbed for some of my favorite goalies, so I will definitley keep an eye on him at the WJC's.

I think Redline is exagerrating by saying he was easily the best player in the whole tournament. David Rautio was one goalie who was EASILY better than Rask this tournament. I find it hard to take redline seriously at all. But im not saying he is not the next big thing out of Finland. He might well be.

 

[Fedz]

My Top 10:
For what it's worth.

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Jack Johnson
3. Gilbert Brule
4. Benoit Pouliot
5. Dan Bertram
6. Alex Bourret
7. Chris Durand
8. Tukka Rask
9. Guillame Latendresse
10. Anze Kopitar

*Just a note, I can see Gilbert Brule falling even more, as this year he has been EXTREMELY dissapointing, and well frankly hasn't done anything that I expected him too!*

 

[Flonaldo]

I can't find any stats of Rask on the web, as well as no scouting reports. Do you have some links where I could find that ?

SM-liiga stats: 4 GP, 201 mins 45 sec., 4,46 GAA, SV% 87,5

Junior A stats: 10 GP, 599 mins 43 sec., 1,50 GAA, SV% 94,81

 

[NYR469]

Redline has me all confused and shaken up every time I read there rankings. I also don't like there paragraph long plugs of them selves saying this guy should be a 2nd round pick in 04 and the scouts didnt like them ect. but now he's doing good.
It's kind of anoying.

i agree, they have personal agendas and appear to be more concerned with being able to boost 'i'm smart then you are'...

and they do it every year, it would be one thing if there was 1 prospect that they really loved and said people overrate them, but every year they pick a guy who isn't even on the radar and build him up and then knock everyone for not taking the guy who no one else thought was that good...

2 years ago they raved about david brown (goalie for notre dame) and called him a 1st rounder and then he went undrafted, RLR then spent the whole year talking about how every team will be kicking themselves for passing on brown and how they are so much smarter then all the scouts, then the next year brown doesn't get picked until the 8th round and RRL says NOTHING...

imo it is simply that they pick out an off the radar guy and build him up, if that guy surprises and turns out better then expected RLR can then toot their own horn for 'seeing his potential' and if the guy doesn't do that then they can just brush the prediction to the side and hope no one remembers it

 

[Epsilon]

One thing I will say in Redline's favour: I remember last year immediately after the 2003 daft, they said that Ovechkin and Malkin were the clear top 2 selections for the 2004 draft when people on sites like this were still putting Malkin below guys like Schremp, Wolski, and McGrath in mock drafts.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

*Just a note, I can see Gilbert Brule falling even more, as this year he has been EXTREMELY dissapointing, and well frankly hasn't done anything that I expected him too!*

I hope for your sake that was sarcasim..

 

[NYR469]

One thing I will say in Redline's favour: I remember last year immediately after the 2003 daft, they said that Ovechkin and Malkin were the clear top 2 selections for the 2004 draft when people on sites like this were still putting Malkin below guys like Schremp, Wolski, and McGrath in mock drafts.

overall i like RLR and get their draft guide because they provide lots of good info, i just don't like when they seem to let personal agendas get in the way...that stuff takes away from otherwise great work

 

[HabLover]

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Jack Johnson ( out of preference that I would rather have a #1 stud defenseman then a top line forward in todays NHL)
3. Gilbert Brule
4. Bobby Ryan
5. Beniot Pouliot
6. Tuukka Rask
7. Jakub Kindl
8. Alex Bourret
9. Ryan O'Marra
10. J.P. Levasseuer

Redline has me all confused and shaken up every time I read there rankings. I also don't like there paragraph long plugs of them selves saying this guy should be a 2nd round pick in 04 and the scouts didnt like them ect. but now he's doing good.
It's kind of anoying. I dont know, ever since they played hate crimes with Robbie Schremp lol I have lost a little interest in them. I've actually been very impressed with ISS rankings this year so far, and McKeens rankings are very good. Redline likes to shake and stir things up every month, so I would expect a completely different top 10 when it's all said and done.

Chris Durand folks, 6'2 center out of Seattle in WHL. Started the year late because of an injury, but has easily averaged a point per game. Has played very well, if not better, head to head against Brule!

 

[Prucha73]

Chris Durand folks, 6'2 center out of Seattle in WHL. Started the year late because of an injury, but has easily averaged a point per game. Has played very well, if not better, head to head against Brule!

Doesn't mean he should be in the top 10.

 

[helicecopter]

I also don't like there paragraph long plugs of them selves saying this guy should be a 2nd round pick in 04 and the scouts didnt like them ect. but now he's doing good.
It's kind of anoying.

Like you never did the same in the past...
Personally, as for this LaVallee thing, i think 30 NHL teams look dumb much more than Redline annoying at the moment.
So i think it's right to see it written just like (no, even more considering that's an official publication that takes more risks taking unpopular positions) when you point out you were right about something.

 

[mole]

Yep, I remember mole telling us all about Truhno at least a couple years ago. Great call!

I'll toot my own horn a bit more and mention that it's in fact over 2 years since I e-mailed Russianprospects to see if they would add something on him.. but with Slava just being 15 at the time they thought it was a little premature
Then again, he hasn't played in Russia ever, so I guess it's understandable..

I'm disappointed that Slava won't/can't become a danish citizen, but at least I know he'll be the first Rungsted-trained player to be drafted, and could end up being the highest-ever taken danish-trained player - and I really, really hope to see him in the NHL some day. He has what it takes

 

[LaLaLaprise]

My top 10. But a warning...No one will agree with me LOL

1. Sid Crosby
2. Jack Johnson
3. Gilbert Brule
4. Alex Bourret
5. Jean-Phillipe Lavasseur
6. Bobby Ryan
7. Tukka Rask
8. Guillaume Latendresse
9. Luc Bourdon
10. Chris Durand

 

[HabLover]

I wouldn't know where to go for stats on him, but I do know he's playing in the SM-Liiga and he had a solid start there, but I haven't heard much on him since, except that he had a great Four Nations going by HF articles, and then Redline talks highly about him as well.

From Mckeens reports i've read he also has all the tools to become an elite goaltender.


"Exceptional reflexes; elite glove and is nimble blocker side .. moves around the crease without fear; cuts down the angles, not afraid of traffic .. rock-solid positionally and very poised for his age .. rebound control is a bit of a raw area, but second effort is strong .. plays square to the shooter and makes no false moves .. still skinny and lean .. skating and puckhandling outside of the crease could use further refining .. likely to backstop Finland in the two major WJC championships this season (U20 and U18). "

I think this report from McKeens says it all about how good this guy is and can be. I'm a goaltender my self and it sounds like Rask brings everything you look for in a goaltender.

Was this guy at the U18 World Junior Cup this past August for Finland?? I don't think they won a game at the tourney. If he's so good then they should have been able to do better, right? Carey Price was the top goalie there and ISS raved about his play, especially in the semi's!

 

[Rand]

I hope for your sake that was sarcasim..

I've been a bit disappointed with Brule also... though that's not necessarily saying much as I've been higher then most on Brule for awhile now, and my expectations coming into this season were perhaps unrealistic.
He's certainly not doing bad per-say, just not as well as I'd expected.

Still, even ignoring his statistics I don't feel his game has developed as much as one may have hoped since last season.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

I've been a bit disappointed with Brule also... though that's not necessarily saying much as I've been higher then most on Brule for awhile now, and my expectations coming into this season were perhaps unrealistic.
He's certainly not doing bad per-say, just not as well as I'd expected.

Still, even ignoring his statistics I don't feel his game has developed as much as one may have hoped since last season.

No one's considering who Brule is playing with. He's got 35 pts in 24 games pretty much all by himself...

 

[Ruckus007]

Like you never did the same in the past...
Personally, as for this LaVallee thing, i think 30 NHL teams look dumb much more than Redline annoying at the moment.
So i think it's right to see it written just like (no, even more considering that's an official publication that takes more risks taking unpopular positions) when you point out you were right about something.

LaVallee is the new Brown.


Woodlief is just talking about how much smarter he is than NHL GMs. Maybe LaVallee will be a player but ignore the bravado.

 

[CH Wizard]

That's my top 10:

1.Sidney Crosby
2.Gilbert Brule
3.Jack Johnson
4.Bobby Ryan
5.Alex Bourret
6.Daniel Bertram
7.Tuuka Rask
8.Ryan O'Marra
9.J-P Levasseur
10.Guillaume Latendresse

 

[Hiishawk]

I agree with Redline that it looks like a mediocre year for Russia and the Czechs this year. There are NO consensus 1st rounders from those countries (save Kindl in the OHL)- which is very unusual. Things could change of course though- I think someone will break out from the pack but....

Finland has a pretty good crop (although Lahti is overrated IMO). Lehtonen should be getting more attention as a top 15 possibility. Sweden looks pretty good- especially given the recent dearth of prospects from that country. Slovakia has a good crop, maybe their best ever (including Zagrapan and Smolenak in the CHL). Germany has its best ever crop but that is unlikely to make much of a dent in the top 50. Kopitar from Slovenia is, of course, a top 20 pick right now (although it'll be hard for N. Americans to see him in any tourneys).

 

[rbeeler]

Germany has its best ever crop but that is unlikely to make much of a dent in the top 50.

I thought Gawlik had the potential to be a first rounder?

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

Some thoughts on RedLine's observations:

No doubt about it, Skille and Johnson were dominant at the 4 Nations. Both looked like top prospects and both should go in the top 10.
Good to see Skille really getting some play.

However, RedLine couldn't be more wrong when they bash Fredrik Petterson, who was Sweden's best player at the tourney ... easily.
How they could say his stock is falling is beyond me.

He was never ranked high to begin with.

The kid is small at 5'9. But he's a great skater. He plays with heart and skill. He was constantly buzzing around the US net in the gold medal game, which the US won 1-0.
Everyone in the building tensed up when Petterson got the puck, because they saw how dangerous he was.
COnsidering the skill level on the US team, that has to bode well for Petterson.
Given his size, I wouldn't take him in the first round. Maybe not even the second.
But who ever drafts him is going to get an interesting prospect.

The Swede who did disappoint was Johan Dahlberg. Many are high on this kid because of his size. He's big and he will hit. And he's got the ability to score goals when he gets to the net. But he needs work on his skating. Lots of it.

But watch. Teams will draft Dahlberg before they draft Petterson. Why? 6'2 vs 5'9.

Anyway, RedLine blew it when they downgraded Petterson, who reminded me a little of Mats Naslund.

 

[pei fan]

Like you never did the same in the past...
Personally, as for this LaVallee thing, i think 30 NHL teams look dumb much more than Redline annoying at the moment.
So i think it's right to see it written just like (no, even more considering that's an official publication that takes more risks taking unpopular positions) when you point out you were right about something.

They look real dumb.Especially in the light that there were reports out that had
him ranked in the 2nd round.

As for this draft if some of the guys ranked in the top ten are really better than other guys I've seen like Zagrapan then this is going to be one heck of a draft.

 

[pei fan]

Doesn't mean he should be in the top 10.

Why?Can someone tell me about his game.His numbers indicate he should
be a very high pick.What gives ?He's not small.Is he a poor skater?Does he
play physical at all?

 

[pei fan]

Why?Can someone tell me about his game.His numbers indicate he should
be a very high pick.What gives ?He's not small.Is he a poor skater?Does he
play physical at all?

Forget that,i was thinking he was aD-man.

 

[Peter James Bond]

I can't find any stats of Rask on the web, as well as no scouting reports. Do you have some links where I could find that ?

Thanks for the info, btw.

A quip from the latest RLR: (if you missed it)

Tuukka Rask: Scary good — just scary good. Was easily the best player in the Under-20 tournament — at age 17!