MS
1%er
A little off-topic, but do you have any sense for why Bellerive went undrafted last year? His draft-year numbers seemed not bad and Central Scouting had him pegged 82nd among NA skaters, so it’s not like he was totally off the radar. And obviously he’s blown up this year.
These things happen, obviously, but it’s still going to be a little bit irksome if the Penguins ended up signing a Vancouver kid who turns into something.
It was surprising. Seemed like a guy who should have been a 3rd-4th rounder. I don't know any reason more than his height for why he fell.
Went to Pittsburgh's camp in September and shredded it and got a contract and is now a top-end prospect. If his birthday was Oct 1/99 instead of May 1/99 he'd be the top WHL forward for this draft and a projected first-round pick. Pro skater, pro shot, and plays with edge.
I googled NHL.com, HockeyDB and EilteProspects and the 3 sizes I saw were
6’-1” 185 lbs
6’-1” 181 lbs
6’-1” 178 lbs
IDK? Is that small for an 18 year old for today’s NHL? I have also read on many fronts that he is a good skater
You don’t see any possible improvements in size and skating from this 18 year old who is known to be competitive and firey?
Nylander gained over 20 lbs from the day he was drafted to where he is now. This is nothing new seeing teenagers put on men meat when the mature into men.
He's 19 and turns 20 in a few months.
He's not going to be 'on paper' small but he's just not strong on the puck and I don't know how much that's going to change. Like, Sam Gagner and Linden Vey are both listed at 200 lbs. but really both are small/weak players with no physical skills that really 'pop'.
Like I said, he's a good prospect and I'm far from writing him off or anything like that. His IQ and ability to make quick creative passes in the offensive zone to create quality shooting situations is a very nice skill and yeah maybe he does fill out or find an extra gear in his skating. But right now he hasn't and the notion that this guy is a 'steal' or a 'huge riser' is bunk.