hawksfan50
Registered User
- Feb 27, 2002
- 14,093
- 1,980
Well if I was a scout:
Rising:
ERIK JOHNSON --should be a consensus #1 overall --Pierre McGuire says from what he's seen the kid is NHL ready for next season as an 18 year old!
NIKLAS BACKSTROM ---a month or two ago he was a 10-15 pick;now he looks like
even a top 5 candidate!
NIKOLAI KULEMIN---a Russkie winger who can skate score AND a very big mean/dirty streak--they bypased him in the last draft due to that tranfer agreement problem--some team will grab him now and hope the transfer issue gets settled --if there wasn't still a transfer problem he'd be top ten and even may have jumped to top 5 consideration after his terrific tournament...
SLIPPING:
KESSEL--world class skill but he does get handled by the better D-men and his defense and work ethic leave lots of doubts--that one play where he and Skille and
(I believe Porter) just staid back in the Russian zone and made ZERO effort to come back defensively on a Russian counter-attack raises the LAZY/LOSER/QUITTER doubts to new heights...scouts really noticed --it may serously hurt Kessel...he's no Crosby...
TOEWS--I think we all expected more offense from him--but granted he'sjust 17..
MUELLER--the same criticism as for TOEWS--but he's also just 17 ...
(So in these 2 cases the scouts will need to project the development of these two with a bit more care--would they be performing better as 18 year olds in comparison to the many 18 and 19 year olds in the tournament).
FROLIK: in a word disappointing!
Which leaves the door open for some guys like Backstrom and Kulemin to move up
OR for guys who are not here= DERICK BRASSARD and JORDAN STAAL to move up if they impress at the Top Prospects Game and through this spring...
Rising:
ERIK JOHNSON --should be a consensus #1 overall --Pierre McGuire says from what he's seen the kid is NHL ready for next season as an 18 year old!
NIKLAS BACKSTROM ---a month or two ago he was a 10-15 pick;now he looks like
even a top 5 candidate!
NIKOLAI KULEMIN---a Russkie winger who can skate score AND a very big mean/dirty streak--they bypased him in the last draft due to that tranfer agreement problem--some team will grab him now and hope the transfer issue gets settled --if there wasn't still a transfer problem he'd be top ten and even may have jumped to top 5 consideration after his terrific tournament...
SLIPPING:
KESSEL--world class skill but he does get handled by the better D-men and his defense and work ethic leave lots of doubts--that one play where he and Skille and
(I believe Porter) just staid back in the Russian zone and made ZERO effort to come back defensively on a Russian counter-attack raises the LAZY/LOSER/QUITTER doubts to new heights...scouts really noticed --it may serously hurt Kessel...he's no Crosby...
TOEWS--I think we all expected more offense from him--but granted he'sjust 17..
MUELLER--the same criticism as for TOEWS--but he's also just 17 ...
(So in these 2 cases the scouts will need to project the development of these two with a bit more care--would they be performing better as 18 year olds in comparison to the many 18 and 19 year olds in the tournament).
FROLIK: in a word disappointing!
Which leaves the door open for some guys like Backstrom and Kulemin to move up
OR for guys who are not here= DERICK BRASSARD and JORDAN STAAL to move up if they impress at the Top Prospects Game and through this spring...