Prospect Info: Sharks Prospect Info/Discussion Thread XV

[Lebanezer]

I feel like every time a hyped prospect flames out, there is widespread retrodiction about how that hype was a mirage, and how the currently hot prospect is actually a great one.

On another note, it is interesting looking at DW's comments post-Goodrow trade. He feels that Goodrow can be replaced internally. Isn't that the same bet he made last year? Depth NHLers don't grow on trees.

Not what I’m saying at all. Just saying that I wouldn’t compare Gambrell and Leonard.

Gambrell played on entirely different lines as Borgstrom and Terry so not sure that your comment there is overly accurate.

The lines were constantly changing, he did play with both of them at times. He also played with them on the power play. Regardless of that, he does not drive possession and has not at any level.

 

[hohosaregood]

The only people that have been hyping Leonard up at all over the last two years were me and @Sharksrule04. Gambrell at the very least had draft position hype

 

[Pistol Pete]

I don’t follow the NCAA, who is Leonard’s main competition for the Hobey Baker? Does he have a real shot (pun intended) at winning?

 

[Sharksrule04]

The only people that have been hyping Leonard up at all over the last two years were me and @Sharksrule04. Gambrell at the very least had draft position hype

I've been watching Hockey East/NCAA and UMass closely for 18 years and he's one of the most dominant forwards I've ever seen there. Makar is the most dominant player in UMass history, Leonard is probably the most dominant forward. I understand he's 21 years old and a junior and doesn't have the high round pedigree, but I'm seeing him do things against top ranked teams that I simply have not seen from other forwards. Examples of other Sharks forwards/prospects I've watched in college (which have made the NHL) are Matt Nieto, Charlie Coyle, Josh Norris, Dylan Gambrell, Letunov, Nick Bonino. Most of them were very good if not great players in college but none of them in my viewings impacted their teams quite the way Leonard currently does.

Everyone adapts differently, to the various levels of play and who knows maybe Leonard is at his peak right now, but he has 30 goal scorer tools. Hands, shot and speed are all top notch. Could he fail to even be an NHLer, sure. He has the skills though that you can't teach and everything I've seen and read from the staff indicate he has a great work ethic on top of those skills.

People saying he has no chance of being _____, simply must not have watched him play and/or they are basing their comments on stat converters. If I was using the old hockey's future rating scale, I'd give him a 8C. ceiling of a good 2nd liner with the ability to drop down to high end 4th liner.

 

[Sharksrule04]

I don’t follow the NCAA, who is Leonard’s main competition for the Hobey Baker? Does he have a real shot (pun intended) at winning?

I don't think he'll win. UMass still is a booming program but doesn't get quite the attention that the big programs do. It takes a world class player like Makar to really get noticed at UMass. Leonard is getting attention because of his highlight goals and Bucci is a big fan of his, but his lack of assists in my mind will keep him away from being a finalist. However if he keeps putting up hat-tricks, who knows.


There was just a good article that covered this topic with a mention of Leonard and how good he's been.
https://www.uscho.com/2020/02/25/tm...nder-consideration-for-the-hobey-baker-award/

 

[Pistol Pete]

I've been watching Hockey East/NCAA and UMass closely for 18 years and he's one of the most dominant forwards I've ever seen there. Makar is the most dominant player in UMass history, Leonard is probably the most dominant forward. I understand he's 21 years old and a junior and doesn't have the high round pedigree, but I'm seeing him do things against top ranked teams that I simply have not seen from other forwards. Examples of other Sharks forwards/prospects I've watched in college (which have made the NHL) are Matt Nieto, Charlie Coyle, Josh Norris, Dylan Gambrell, Letunov, Nick Bonino. Most of them were very good if not great players in college but none of them in my viewings impacted their teams quite the way Leonard currently does.

Everyone adapts differently, to the various levels of play and who knows maybe Leonard is at his peak right now, but he has 30 goal scorer tools. Hands, shot and speed are all top notch. Could he fail to even be an NHLer, sure. He has the skills though that you can't teach and everything I've seen and read from the staff indicate he has a great work ethic on top of those skills.

People saying he has no chance of being _____, simply must not have watched him play and/or they are basing their comments on stat converters. If I was using the old hockey's future rating scale, I'd give him a 8C. ceiling of a good 2nd liner with the ability to drop down to high end 4th liner.

This is very exciting! Great write up!

 

[themelkman]

The only people that have been hyping Leonard up at all over the last two years were me and @Sharksrule04. Gambrell at the very least had draft position hype

Hey hey hey Ive been up on Leonard too, but I cant really watch him play often or anything.

 

[Pistol Pete]

I don't think he'll win. UMass still is a booming program but doesn't get quite the attention that the big programs do. It takes a world class player like Makar to really get noticed at UMass. Leonard is getting attention because of his highlight goals and Bucci is a big fan of his, but his lack of assists in my mind will keep him away from being a finalist. However if he keeps putting up hat-tricks, who knows.


There was just a good article that covered this topic with a mention of Leonard and how good he's been.
https://www.uscho.com/2020/02/25/tm...nder-consideration-for-the-hobey-baker-award/

Awesome! Thanks for the insight and response. Leonard is a bright spot right now. Excited to see what he can do in the future!

 

[Eklund72]

I've been watching Hockey East/NCAA and UMass closely for 18 years and he's one of the most dominant forwards I've ever seen there. Makar is the most dominant player in UMass history, Leonard is probably the most dominant forward. I understand he's 21 years old and a junior and doesn't have the high round pedigree, but I'm seeing him do things against top ranked teams that I simply have not seen from other forwards. Examples of other Sharks forwards/prospects I've watched in college (which have made the NHL) are Matt Nieto, Charlie Coyle, Josh Norris, Dylan Gambrell, Letunov, Nick Bonino. Most of them were very good if not great players in college but none of them in my viewings impacted their teams quite the way Leonard currently does.

Everyone adapts differently, to the various levels of play and who knows maybe Leonard is at his peak right now, but he has 30 goal scorer tools. Hands, shot and speed are all top notch. Could he fail to even be an NHLer, sure. He has the skills though that you can't teach and everything I've seen and read from the staff indicate he has a great work ethic on top of those skills.

People saying he has no chance of being _____, simply must not have watched him play and/or they are basing their comments on stat converters. If I was using the old hockey's future rating scale, I'd give him a 8C. ceiling of a good 2nd liner with the ability to drop down to high end 4th liner.

Thank you for the write up! Nice to here from someone who follows every game.

 

[Patty Ice]

Gambrell played on entirely different lines as Borgstrom and Terry so not sure that your comment there is overly accurate.

Thank you for saving me the trouble although he did play with Terry as his winger. The point remains the same, Gambrell was hardly a passenger. Nothing irritates me more than rewriting history to jock a prospect at another players expense.

 

[Lebanezer]

Thank you for saving me the trouble although he did play with Terry as his winger. The point remains the same, Gambrell was hardly a passenger. Nothing irritates me more than rewriting history to jock a prospect at another players expense.

I'm not rewriting history. My opinion of Gambrell was the same when I watched him play in college as it is now.

 

[Hula17]

Dahlen just became the first Sweden to score 4 goals in a period

 

[Hula17]

Sharksrule04, thx for the in depth details about Leonard, the coach of umass has been saying Leonard is a legit prospect since his freshman yr. Time will tell but I believe he has upside as a legit top 6. It's kind of funny not many sharks fan are aware of Leonard.

 

[hohosaregood]

Dahlen just became the first Sweden to score 4 goals in a period

It's a little hard to get excited for what Dahlen is doing just because he's playing Allsvenkan. I understand why he went back to Times but it'd be easier to be hopeful if he was producing in the SHL or AHL

 

[one2gamble]

It's a little hard to get excited for what Dahlen is doing just because he's playing Allsvenkan. I understand why he went back to Times but it'd be easier to be hopeful if he was producing in the SHL or AHL

its super annoying and probably detrimental to his overall game

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

its super annoying and probably detrimental to his overall game

It will do nothing to develop his actual skillset. The only thing it is good for is getting his confidence back. If he refuses to come back to NA this year or imposes conditions on only NHL games, etc. I think he is done with us.

 

[Hula17]

Dahlen is a kid who needed his confidence back. I don't know if going to give north America another shot. His size and lacks of foot speed is a huge obstacles why he hasn't make his marks in the nhl. Uber talented, nevertheless. Barclay goodrow, Ryan carpenter all has lacks of foot speed. Sharks has help them. I hope sharks can fix dahlen foot speed. But I think the sharks won't offer him a contract.

 

[Hula17]

Scott Reedy is another prospect that has improve tremendous as a junior. One to keep an eye on...

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Dahlen is a kid who needed his confidence back. I don't know if going to give north America another shot. His size and lacks of foot speed is a huge obstacles why he hasn't make his marks in the nhl. Uber talented, nevertheless. Barclay goodrow, Ryan carpenter all has lacks of foot speed. Sharks has help them. I hope sharks can fix dahlen foot speed. But I think the sharks won't offer him a contract.

I actually think the Sharks will offer him a 2-way contract. As long as Dahlen has no qualms about playing on the AHL this year to prove his worth, he has a legitimate shot to be called up by the big club given our need for talented forwards.

But if he refuses to play in the AHL, he is not getting a contract.

 

[themelkman]

Dahlen is a kid who needed his confidence back. I don't know if going to give north America another shot. His size and lacks of foot speed is a huge obstacles why he hasn't make his marks in the nhl. Uber talented, nevertheless. Barclay goodrow, Ryan carpenter all has lacks of foot speed. Sharks has help them. I hope sharks can fix dahlen foot speed. But I think the sharks won't offer him a contract.

I doubt the sharks dont qualify him. I hope they dont let him go for free. But yes hes going to have to be prepared to play in the AHL, if he cant do that hes not making the NHL

 

[STL Shark]

I doubt the sharks dont qualify him. I hope they dont let him go for free. But yes hes going to have to be prepared to play in the AHL, if he cant do that hes not making the NHL

Especially in an offseason where we expect to see DW wheeling and dealing. Even if he has no intentions of signing him to play here, he would be an idiot to let him go for free when he could be added as a deal sweetener somewhere in our search for NHL forwards. Not saying he alone is a top tier prospect for a top 9 forward, but he could be an add with a 2nd or 3rd round pick for varying levels of forwards this offseason.

 

[wishman]

Two more goals for Leonard tonight!

 

[Hula17]

Two more goals for Leonard tonight!

lead the ncaa with 26 goals, as well, not too shabby for a 6th round pick

 

[Hula17]

MITCHELL CHAFFEE a teammates of Leonard from umass is a college free agent, some one I hope the sharks sign. We done well with umass players.

 

[themelkman]

MITCHELL CHAFFEE a teammates of Leonard from umass is a college free agent, some one I hope the sharks sign. We done well with umass players.

Hes got good numbers and is the captain