Prospect Info: Tyler Bertuzzi

[SportsballChic]

Talking to a friend who played against Bertuzzi in minor Midget. He said Bertuzzi was a highly skilled player & a leading scorer on his team, Bertuzzi had 54 points in 26 games. So Bertuzzi has been a scorer before so hopefully he can continue to increase his scoring.

He also had a noted growth spurt; someone was saying he entered the OHL at 5'8". I mean, not holding my breath but just maybe it goes something like:

"Talented kid, was too small to be on the radar going into junior but had all the skills. Growth spurt makes him awkward in Jr, which drives down his numbers but is better for his overall talent. Hard work/time allow him to get used to his new frame and he goes back to being the scoring machine he was as a child".

Not theoretically impossible; apparently Calvin Johnson was uncoordinated as hell his first year of HS football because of the same thing; we all know how that worked out eventually.

Maybe we can talk him into wearing 22 or something; so we can call him TB2. See? I'm trying. LGRW

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

You're right in that he's grown 4 inches in the last year. He might not be done, either. At 6'0, he's still the shortest male of the Bertuzzi clan.

He also battled injuries this season. I read somewhere that he had a pretty solid point streak going near the end of the season. It's possible that the Wings really like his play when he's healthy and project him to be a pretty decent-sized kid.

edit: In fact, McDonell says as much:

He had some injuries sort of early and midseason, and I think that a lot of teams, I don't know if they really paid any attention to him later. He really took off near the end of the year.

 

[DatsyukToZetterberg]

You're right in that he's grown 4 inches in the last year. He might not be done, either. At 6'0, he's still the shortest male of the Bertuzzi clan.

He also battled injuries this season. I read somewhere that he had a pretty solid point streak going near the end of the season. It's possible that the Wings really like his play when he's healthy and project him to be a pretty decent-sized kid.

Yep. I'm much more optimistic about this pick now then I was yesterday. I guess this is how LA fans felt when they drafted Simmonds or when we took Kronwall back in 01.

I think that there is some hidden upside in this pick. If they felt he was only going to be a Shaw they'd have taken another Callahan.

 

[opivy]

I don't think you should draft "the most talented" player on the board at all times. You draft the best player to fit your plan.

We have plenty of slick talented players but the past two cups have been won by teams with a small core of high level talent and a large crop of players who work their tails off. Gone are the days of 3 lines of high end skill, at least gone are the days that a team like that can last more than a season.

Youtube can provide all the highlights you want but the proof comes out in games, none of which most of us have seen of any of these kids so the pontification and lamenstration about decisions that people have spent millions on is just silly.

Every player "projects" to be a 3rd line left winger with a spark and an eye for the tiger hole. It's all conjecture and if we didn't draft some long term projects we'd just have an even larger log jam and gang of people mad that prospect X isn't getting his time in the show.

Oh well, this is why we come here but it's strange to see the knee jerk reactions yearly.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I don't think you should draft "the most talented" player on the board at all times. You draft the best player to fit your plan.

We have plenty of slick talented players but the past two cups have been won by teams with a small core of high level talent and a large crop of players who work their tails off. Gone are the days of 3 lines of high end skill, at least gone are the days that a team like that can last more than a season.

Youtube can provide all the highlights you want but the proof comes out in games, none of which most of us have seen of any of these kids so the pontification and lamenstration about decisions that people have spent millions on is just silly.

Every player "projects" to be a 3rd line left winger with a spark and an eye for the tiger hole. It's all conjecture and if we didn't draft some long term projects we'd just have an even larger log jam and gang of people mad that prospect X isn't getting his time in the show.

Oh well, this is why we come here but it's strange to see the knee jerk reactions yearly.

I think this draft is in the style of "what do you get the team that has everything?" (in terms of prospects). A lot of these picks aren't the normal "well, he could be a 2nd/3rd liner" type, but rather "he'll get it and be fantastic or he'll flame out and you'll never see him again."

Mantha: if he can't score goals at the NHL level, not sure he's going to stick. He'll probably either score lots of goals or very few.

Nastasiuk: He gets a pass. He isn't a boom/bust pick. (I describe this one as: what do you get the team whose Danny Cleary is broken down and near retirement? A NEW CLEARY!)

Bertuzzi: He'll either be a pest (which would be very valuable to the Wings) or he won't be an NHLer.

Janmark: Gets a pass as a typical Hakan pick.

Pope: He could be a goalscorer with size. He could easily be nobody.

Wheatus: not really boom or bust. Kind of a questionable pick, IMO.

Detective McNulty: Huge boom or bust pick. He could be a really interesting player, but he could just as easily be a beanpole who does nothing.

Hamper Melon: He could be a skilled winger, could be... a guy named Melon.


My point is, there's very little safety in this draft, and all those boom/bust guys have interesting elements that the Wings lack as a team and as a prospect pool. The top line pure sniper. The superpest*. The St. Louis/LA/Boston type north/south goalscoring winger. The giraffelike kid who can somehow skate AND play with the puck. The... um. The melon.

*I don't really consider Callahan a pest anymore. He's become more of an energy forward who fights sometimes. I just don't see him driving other teams crazy the way a good pest should. (I also don't think he'll be an NHL player.)

 

[bababooeyII]

Funny, I felt the same way yesterday when people expected me to seriously respond to Andrew Shaw comparisons on a prospect who's never produced like Shaw at any level.
Then I came to my senses and realized it's the internet.

Pass me a jersey, the kid's drafted what the ***** can anyone do about it now? He's a Wing, he's got my support. Plus side, NY will probably ruin the Russian midget so I won't have to care about this in 5 years.

Go Tyler; welcome to the Wings.

who expected you to respond? You had a conniption when the Wings didn't draft the player you wanted. You don't agree with the pick, we get it. But the reasons he was drafted were because this team needed an Andrew Shaw type of player. I wish the Red Wings had your hindsight vision on a player who has yet to even play.

 

[DatsyukToZetterberg]

Funny, I felt the same way yesterday when people expected me to seriously respond to Andrew Shaw comparisons on a prospect who's never produced like Shaw at any level.

Well actually up until this point Tyler has been the better offence producer. In Shaw's draft year he had 17 points in 58 games, the next year he had 36 in 68 & in his final OHL year he had 54 points in 66 games. Bertuzzi had 22 points in 43 games, if he played the same amount of games as Shaw he would have been on pace for 30 points, so he beat Shaw quite easily in their draft years. As long as he continues to grow offensively he could follow a path similar to Shaw.

I can't remember where I read it or even saw it but I think Bertuzzi has a very strong 2nd half of the year.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

It's not like he is Zetterberg or Datsyuk and playing thousands of miles away and no one else saw him.

He's playing in Canada and everyone else knew he sucks which is why he was ranked #207 among NA skaters. Such a bad pick. Hard for me to believe that actually happened, as a matter or fact.

They did it too early. But keep in mind this team knows him probably better than anybody else. They have likely had him around in person and have a very good gauge on him, still wish they had pulled the trigger later.

 

[TheNextDaigle]

They did it too early. But keep in mind this team knows him probably better than anybody else. They have likely had him around in person and have a very good gauge on him, still wish they had pulled the trigger later.

Factor in all the injuries, and his late/delayed points production, he has definitely flown under the radar. Coupled with his growth physically this year, he sounds like a potentially intriguing pick. Detroit were probably one of the few teams to really "know"/value him because of the aforementioned reasons, but they obviously feared some other team(s) also did, hence the very high draft position.

 

[SportsballChic]

Factor in all the injuries, and his late/delayed points production, he has definitely flown under the radar. Coupled with his growth physically this year, he sounds like a potentially intriguing pick. Detroit were probably one of the few teams to really "know"/value him because of the aforementioned reasons, but they obviously feared some other team(s) also did, hence the very high draft position.

Would be pretty amusing if 10 years from now when T-Bert2 is a 4 time All Star, Cup champion and Holland is retired to hear the story:

"So we knew that Jim Nill had him as a 4th round talent because that's where we had him. Mike really wanted to be sure we got him so we spent the SJ pick on him to make sure. Of course Nill then took a Swedish defensemen we really liked but in the end I think it worked out fine. Can you believe some morons wanted us to take Pavel Buchnevich with that pick? What a sad story that would have been"


Also, unicorns. #BackOnside

 

[MBauer]

Can't believe they passed up Hayden on Buchnevich for a 6th-7th round guy.

 

[TheNextDaigle]

Would be pretty amusing if 10 years from now when T-Bert2 is a 4 time All Star, Cup champion and Holland is retired to hear the story:

"So we knew that Jim Nill had him as a 4th round talent because that's where we had him. Mike really wanted to be sure we got him so we spent the SJ pick on him to make sure. Of course Nill then took a Swedish defensemen we really liked but in the end I think it worked out fine. Can you believe some morons wanted us to take Pavel Buchnevich with that pick? What a sad story that would have been"


Also, unicorns. #BackOnside

Was I being too optimistic again?

 

[SportsballChic]

Was I being too optimistic again?

What's done is done; now that we've drafted him I don't care if it takes 3 wishes, magic pixie dust and a fairy godmother - I want him to be the guy management thinks he is.

Also, hat tip to Injured Chocker (his links own, I may never visit Malik's blog again. Too slow) but *this* is pretty interesting:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130701/SPORTS05/307010094/1053/sports05?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Check out what the first guy had to say about Bertuzzi (just outside the top 50? Sweet!)

 

[MBauer]

Can't believe they passed up Hayden or Buchnevich for a 6th-7th round guy.

 

[TheNextDaigle]

What's done is done; now that we've drafted him I don't care if it takes 3 wishes, magic pixie dust and a fairy godmother - I want him to be the guy management thinks he is.

Also, hat tip to Injured Chocker (his links own, I may never visit Malik's blog again. Too slow) but *this* is pretty interesting:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130701/SPORTS05/307010094/1053/sports05?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Check out what the first guy had to say about Bertuzzi (just outside the top 50? Sweet!)

And just outside DRWs top 50 obviously. There are very good reasons why some people work as scouts, while others merely comment on youtube-videoes on an internet forum, you know

 

[SportsballChic]

And just outside DRWs top 50 obviously. There are very good reasons why some people work as scouts, while others merely comment on youtube-videoes on an internet forum, you know

You're pushing it. Can't we have nice things for once? I'm going to ignore that last part now and reiterate:

Once they're on my team; I'm all in.

"Welcome Tyler; may you infuriate many an opponent into a rage of stupidity. Also, try not to do anything stupid; they'll be watching you because of your last name. "

 

[Ennui]

I've warmed a lot on all of the players that the Wings took in this draft, and I have every confidence in them, especially in Mantha -- but Tyler Bertuzzi should prove to be a very important cog in the big red machine if he pans out.

Now, I DO take some serious umbrage with whosoever in the Wings organization thought that it would be prudent to sit on their hands and wait for the player that they dearly wanted in the first round, who they considered to be the best Russian forward to be drafted since Ovechkin, and not be more proactive in trying to secure him for this organization. Nichushkin slipped from the top 5, and given what the Red Wings scouts felt about him, it was naive to think that he would slip to pick 18, if not downright stupid.

I am also very disappointed that the person in charge of fielding offers and attempting to move the current glut of middling talent on the team apparently sat on their hands for the entirety of the draft, where we might have been able to secure something at the least in return for the rights to our departing free agents and spare parts.

Not going to harp on that at great length here; suffice it to say that the picks need time and at least have the physical properties necessary for the modern league.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

This comment is still sticking with me.

“He makes Andrew Shaw look like a Lady Byng winner,†said TSN analyst Bob McKenzie. “He’s a really aggravating guy to play against and has a really good feel for the game.â€

 

[TheNextDaigle]

You're pushing it. Can't we have nice things for once? I'm going to ignore that last part now and reiterate:

Once they're on my team; I'm all in.

"Welcome Tyler; may you infuriate many an opponent into a rage of stupidity. Also, try not to do anything stupid; they'll be watching you because of your last name. "

It is good to hear you are coming around.

And yet again I want to stress that most people here have close to zero knowledge of our prospects on draft day if they haven´t watched hours after hours of game tape. When these sofa scouts (generous term) then come out of the woodworks and claim to know a pick "sucks" the boards are suddenly reduced to a collection of extremely worthless comments...

 

[barnztormre]

Interesting pick for sure. Seems like he dealt with injuries this year.

Are the wings following the Stl/LA draft tendancies or what? You get harder to play against, dont spend as much based on production.

They must really dig him though, which is kind of exciting.

HOLY CRAP DJANGO REINHARDT! Most underrated guitarist ever. Brilliant avatar!

 

[Eastopia]

I've never seen the kid play myself, but I have too much faith in the Red Wings scouting team to think that Tyler wasn't a reasonable pick at that point. Is it possible that we could've had him later? Maybe. Maybe not. We'll never know, but obviously they at least thought that it wasn't worth the risk.

One thing's for certain, though: with all the controversy around this pick there's no one in this draft that I want to see succeed as much as him. Well, perhaps Melén for the Håkan-supplied lol-factor, but other than that...

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

From this article: http://www.redwingscentral.com/2013/07/01/4073/bertuzzis-fearless-approach-a-bonus/

Martin said Bertuzzi has grown an inch and a half recently and believes he’ll give Guelph even more of an energy boost as he gets stronger develops his skill-set.

I wonder if this means 6'1.5 or just that he was 5'10.5 not long ago. The former would be amazing.

Also:

Bertuzzi, who will spend two more seasons in the OHL, is also similar to Red Wings 2009 sixth-rounder Mitchell Callahan, although Finley said Bertuzzi has an edge at the same age because he’s bigger and a better skater.

For the record, Callahan IS 6'0. Hmm.

 

[Frk It]

"Our 2nd round pick is very similar to a guy we drafted in the 6th round four years ago".

Thanks for reaffirming me this was a good pick Red Wings.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Talking to a friend who played against Bertuzzi in minor Midget. He said Bertuzzi was a highly skilled player & a leading scorer on his team, Bertuzzi had 54 points in 26 games. So Bertuzzi has been a scorer before so hopefully he can continue to increase his scoring.

Pretty much every forward who plays OHL was a scorer before then, just like pretty much every forward in the NHL was a scorer in junior. It's simple logic..when you are better than everyone else around you you'll score a lot and you'll be a scorer until you get to a level where you aren't better than the rest anymore and that's when you gotta look at finding a role that allows you to stick with it even though other kids have better hands, can skate better etc.

It is rare for a kid who doesn't put up decent scoring numbers in his second year of junior to be a NHL player even rarer for such a kid to be any more than a marginal 4th liner in the NHL.

 

[Henkka]

Thanks for reaffirming me this was a good pick Red Wings.

This was their plan:

“He brings that element, and we felt like we wanted to add a player like that into our mix of prospects,” said Red Wings scout Jeff Finley. “A lot of times what happens is you like those guys, but they go a lot earlier than you were planning to take them. We just thought, instead of taking a chance that he’s not there in the third round, we had an extra pick in the second, and we didn’t mind him there where we took him.”

Who was the better pick than Bertuzzi? Give me some names in here. Then after few years, we'll check how great players each of them became.

It's not the end of the world if this pick will or won't pan out.