- Jun 13, 2010
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I honestly think we have a great chance in signing Butcher. His agent specifically mentioned that he wants to choose a team that'll develop him properly so he can flourish to play in the NHL rather than be relied on to play regularly from the get-go. If you read Mackey's article, there are lots of quotes from his agent that lead you to believe that the Pens are a serious contender to sign the kid. We have nothing to lose especially given our lackluster prospect depth on the blueline.
The quote from Butcher's agent regarding Pittsburgh is basically the same quote he gave when talking about Vancouver. I wouldn't put any weight on it.
There are teams that can offer him more than we can at this point. Top 4 is set, then you have Cole, Hunwick, Rudewedel, and Pouliot. Unless he's comfortable sitting in WBS and waiting for his time, I doubt he seriously considers us. Would it be nice to get an extra defensive asset, absolutely. I'm just not getting my hopes up with this one.
Before the 2015-16 Season, I didn't predict the ascension of
- Matt Murray to an elite goalie
- Conor Sheary to a scoring forward
- Bryan Rust to a clutch goal scorer
- Tom Kuhnhackl to a solid NHLer
Before the 2016-17 Season, I didn't predict the ascension of
- Jake Guentzel to an elite goal scorer
- Justin Schultz to Letang's playoff replacement
- Scott Wilson to... Well, I actually expected more
- Carter Rowney to be a solid NHLer
- Josh Archibald to look like the 2nd coming of Darren Helm
- Chad Ruhwedel to look like a legit NHL player
Now those realizations come to various degrees but certainly, I'm pretty hopeful about Sprong, Aston-Reese, Johnson, Blueger, Simon, Bengtsson, Prow and Tiffels. But who knows, maybe Jarred Tinordi is our #6 D-Man in April. Maybe Greg McKegg is our #4 Centre.
Must have been all those years of Gibbons, Ebbetts, and Megnas that skewed my perception of what we really had in WBS. At this point, given how awesome of them have done I'm kinda like "Hmmmm...who else do we have down there?". It's fun.
Even if we get Butcher I wouldn't expect much from him. His skating and defense are legitimate concerns in the pro game and it's not like the Hobey Baker winner list is filled with guys with exemplary NHL careers. Regardless of the fact he didn't win it, ZAR is multiple tiers ahead of Butcher as a prospect IMO.
He'd still be a nice free prospect that I wouldn't complain about one bit, mind you.
Agreed 100%. Couple articles I read awhile ago when he got the HB had people saying it could have easily gone to several others before him. It was a performance based award for the year he had not how he rates as a prospect. That was a nice take away from whichever article that was because I started wondering if we had gone after the wrong prospect.
Fact is, that award doesn't predict NHL success. The last three winners are good though: Vesey, Eichel, and Gaudreau. After that...there's a major gap in NHL success until you get to Ryan Miller in 2001. For perspective sake, Kevin Porter won it in 2008.
The HB is sorta like being drafted in the 1st round. It gives you a pedigree whether it reflects your actual abilities or not. Would anyone give Pouliot a second look if he wasn't drafted 8OV? If he was a 4th round pick he'd be in Europe or the AHL permanently by now. But...he's gets the benefit of 8OV. Think about this...the Avs, who are desperate on defense, told him they wouldn't be putting him in their future plans. That's pretty bad. That cancels out the HB hype in my book. Maybe he's more, who knows. If he wants to come here, great, I'll take him and support him. But in who way shape or form do I think he's some top rated prospect. Think Mike Reilly, not Justin Schultz.
Personally I don't want Cullen even playing 82 games. Something around 60 would be better to peak during the playoffs.
He's been a pro hockey player for 20 years. I think he can handle himself just fine. People call for this all the time but forget one thing...it literally never happens.