RW Nicholas Baptiste - Erie Otters, OHL (2013, 69th overall, Buffalo)

[Chainshot]

So is this just a case of of him having great chemistry with his linemates or did something finally click for Nick? He was great this summer at Dev Camp and stood out in Traverse City as well. Any OHL regular watchers care to comment on what's going right for him so far this season?

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[djscooter]

So is this just a case of of him having great chemistry with his linemates or did something finally click for Nick? He was great this summer at Dev Camp and stood out in Traverse City as well. Any OHL regular watchers care to comment on what's going right for him so far this season?

A bit of both, he's been clicking well with Matthew Campagna and the third member of the line(Nathan Pancel at times, Connor Crisp other times). His effort and willingness to engage physically have become better which is probably the biggest change.

 

[McManked]

I've also noticed that he's been tougher along the boards. Previously I always found he was weak in the corners but he's improved tremendously.

 

[gallagt01]

Can this guy's impressive season and Subway Super Series earn him a look for the WJC squad?

 

[Anthony Mauro]

Nicholas Baptiste

Nicholas has been a versatile forward for the Wolves who can take important draws. He is a big presence on the ice, and even though he is not a physical guy, he uses his frame really well in flight with the puck to shield defenders and maintain possession. He is a north and south player with not much dangle, but loves to shoot and will do anything to get into position to rip it. His success is directly related to taking the next step the year post draft and is not living off of his skilled linemates.

www.draftbuzzhockey.com

 

[lifeisruff]

Is Alex Kilorn a good comparison for this guy, or am I getting too excited.

 

[stokes84]

Traded to Erie today. They are going to be tough to stop.

 

[ZeroPT*]

Good for him. The two should be so good together

 

[tsujimoto74]

Traded to Erie today. They are going to be tough to stop.

I've been wanting that to happen since Nick got healthy. With his speed and finishing ability, he should be able to put up a ton of goals next to McDavid (or Strome, if they go that route).

 

[EON]

I've been wanting that to happen since Nick got healthy. With his speed and finishing ability, he should be able to put up a ton of goals next to McDavid (or Strome, if they go that route).

Probably DeBrincat-Strome-Baptiste for now. We'll see how the lines shake out in January after the trade deadline and everyone is healthy/back from World Juniors.

 

[CaptPantalones]

Probably DeBrincat-Strome-Baptiste for now. We'll see how the lines shake out in January after the trade deadline and everyone is healthy/back from World Juniors.

The are many Sabres fans that are very excited about this move

 

[R S]

Should kill it in Erie. Maybe future Sabres linemates with McD too.

 

[SabreOil]

Good for him! Super excited to see what he can do with good line-mates!

 

[ZeroPT*]

Hopefully for him he gets more exposure now.

Such an underrated prospect.

 

[Halfy]

I called it! Wooooo!

 

[Mit Yarrum]

This guy gets no love. 4 goals last night.

He's going to be a player.

 

[Moskau]

This guy gets no love. 4 goals last night.

He's going to be a player.

Huge Baptiste fan but every team has a Baptiste type prospect that is underrated. His early injury didn't help and quite frankly he looked downright uninterested this season until a few months ago. Playing on Sudbury can do that to you though.

He's going to be an NHL regular and probably have a long career but it's hard to judge what type of player he's going to be. His shot has improved tremendously but I don't think his hands are soft enough to get the shot off in traffic in the NHL. Not having soft hands will also reduce how effective his speed is if he can't make passes in flight or convert on the many breakaways and 2 on 1s that he generates.

It's hard to say if he's going to be a Darren Helm type player or a player capable of putting up 20 goals a season.

 

[Moskau]

Was probably the 2nd or 3rd best player in the 2nd round depending on if you are a Darnell Nurse basher or not. McDavid was obviously the MVP but I felt like Baptiste was nearly as important to the team. Funny enough fellow Sabres prospect Bailey was the exact opposite and SSM could have really used his secondary scoring to beat Erie. Baptiste is a much more developed player however.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

I'd say Baptiste was tied for 3rd most important player in the series with Devin Williams. Give Baptiste any sort of room or time to get his shot off and he would score 9/10 times. Just an amazing shot that Halverson had no chance at stopping what so ever.

 

[1972]

He seems to be an amazing shooter, every time he gets a look it usually ends up in the back of the net. It was no different when he was with the Sabres in development camp of Traverse City.

Guys with his tenacity, size, skating and shooting ability tend to do well in the NHL.