Prospect Info: Tampa Bay Lightning prospect rankings 2017- #11

[FinnLightning26]

Went with Stephens again. Hajek for me next.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Saskatoon scored 40 more goals in the 15-16 season than the 16-17 season. If we put every single CHL team and measured in terms of Goals For ... out of the 60 CHL teams Saskatoon in the 16-17 season would have ranked: 55th. Doesn't matter that they played in the "high scoring" WHL ... they would have ranked in the 10th percentile in terms of Goal For in the entire CHL.

With regards to the WJC team ... I have no insight on why he was left off the team. This was surprising to everyone on the main board forums and the Czech team fans. If you look at the roster ... some undrafted kids even made it over him. Who really knows what happened ... I could not even speculate it was a weird and wrong decision. The only rated defenseman on that roster better than Hajek was Zboril. Vala undrafted and 0 points during tourney. Kvaniscka undrafted and 0 points during tourney. Krenzelock undrafted and 1 point during tourney. Kalina undrafted and 0 points during tourney. Hdrinka undrafted and 0 points during tourney. Budik drafted in 5th round by Sabres only played 2 games and 0 points during tourney. Its a joke that Hajek didn't make the team. The left side of that defense should have been Zboril, Hajek, and Hronek. So not making the Czech team is a weird thing but by no means does it reflect on his skill level at all.

Maybe their goals for was low because their best defenseman didn't bring anything offensively to help them?

Hajek was the 11th overall defenseman taken and 3rd from the WHL in the 2016 draft. You'd expect more from someone that highly regarded. He's got the skating, the vision, the passing just all the tools to be a great two way forward except offensive ability. He wouldn't be the first player who just can't put it together offensively which has help them back from being better than they should. He could become a Coburn who has 1 or 2 25+ point seasons but is a 20 point shutdown defender which isn't bad but I see more potential in some others right now.

 

[Rschmitz]

Maybe their goals for was low because their best defenseman didn't bring anything offensively to help them?

Hajek was the 11th overall defenseman taken and 3rd from the WHL in the 2016 draft. You'd expect more from someone that highly regarded. He's got the skating, the vision, the passing just all the tools to be a great two way forward except offensive ability. He wouldn't be the first player who just can't put it together offensively which has help them back from being better than they should. He could become a Coburn who has 1 or 2 25+ point seasons but is a 20 point shutdown defender which isn't bad but I see more potential in some others right now.

I definitely understand where you are coming from. In a draft+1 year there should be a lot more production. If he's under a .5 ppg this season I'm ranking him in the Matt Spencer category where he has good tools but lacks the toolbox. I might be way off because I'm not watching most of his games but that's the usual culprit.