i have about 5 guys that i am not high on or think are slightly overrated in our pool. First is Frost and I think many here are giving him the benefit of the doubt because hextall made a move to grab him. i think he is looked upon fondly mostly because of our scouts track record of late first rounders which is fair, but he needs to show me something this year for me to believe in him becoming a solid nhl player. next, I don't see nak ever making it to the big team at least in our organization. part of it is coaches fault on his usage. I don't see him being able to show his offensive skill in the ahl and there is so much bottom 6 competition without factoring in additions in FA or trade that I just don't see him making it. I've been down on vecchione since signing him and still believe he won't be anything more than a fringe nhl player that is called up and down when injuries hit. he just seems like a guy that racked up points playing against guys most 3 or 4 years younger than him. need to see him be effective against men to be sold on him. I'm not feeling good about Laberge either. yes he suffered a major injury last year but even in the games leading up to that as well as after his return he was plagued by what made him drop out of the 1st round in the first place.. consistency. its evident how talented he is when you watch him but too many games he is invisible or just doesn't come to play. he may make it one day but I don't see him being a top 6 forward at this time. this is a huge year for him. last for me is Friedman. he just doesn't have great size, is not an elite skater, and just doesnt have any one skill that pops out at you but on that same token he doesn't seem.deficient in any one area either. just is the definition of average to me. he is pretty clearly a tier behind provorov, ghost, morin, sanheim, hagg, and Myers. then with hogberg and bernhardt coming up behind him in his same tier and the team likely keeping gudas long term while ignoring the high probability of acquiring a d in the next couple years that we don't anticipate, I just don't see him having a shot here and overall don't think he'll be more than a bottom pair defenseman anywhere else. if we can get a solid piece for him in a trade then that would be great. even though I am not high on these guys, it wouldn't surprise me if any of them become nhl regulars in some shape or form. I would only really be shocked if any of them became top 6 forwards or top pairing other than Laberge.
I'm glad someone could read that.
It wasn't easy!
Paragraphs next time Umphreys!
At 6'7 230lb and still being 21 years old last month, it's understandable or moreso expected for him, imo, to need at least another year growing into his body to gain strength and coordination.
psh paragraphs don't exist when youre on mobile.
This is the last year i give Scott Laughton. Stolarz has been fine in his NHL appearences. I'd like to see NAK and Labarge improve
I think people are giving up too soon on Morin. Guys his size take time. Look no further than Zdeno Chara and how long it took for him to really get his foot hold on the game. Do I think Morin will have the same offensive game as Chara? Not at all. However, Morin skates better than Chara and is going to be focused on being a mean/physical/shut down defender. His presence alone is going to open things up for guys. No worries about him at all.
The other guy I really like is Connor Bunnaman. I see more than just a bottom six player with him. Good wheels, good hands, good all around awareness. He's going to be one of those guys that just goes out, gets the job done quietly with very little fan fare.
In terms of guys I'm not high on, I'm sure this is going to come under fire, but Carter Hart is the first guy I think of. There's lots to like in terms of his physical game and I like the fact that he sees a sports therapist to keep him focused, but I think he's benefitted from the system that's run in Everett and when he's on a team where the defense isn't as tight, he panics. Look at the game against the Russians at the WJC and he gave up numerous bad goals that he should have had. Even this past summer at the WJC camp, he gave up numerous bad goas in various exhibition games. What's going to happen when he plays on a team that's looser defensively than the Silvertips? The upside is there, but there's just something about him that scares me.
The other one I'm not sold on is Cole Badreau. He's a dime a dozen bottom six player with no real offensive upside. My question is why is he even in the organization?
Oh, my mistake. In that case he must be elite and not garbage at all.He was one of the main components of the Phantoms 5th ranked PK, but you would know that since you watched all those AHL games last season where he was playing "stupid".
He sounds like a good D for 90s. Maybe he can use that superior intellect of his to invent a time machine.I think people are giving up too soon on Morin. Guys his size take time. Look no further than Zdeno Chara and how long it took for him to really get his foot hold on the game. Do I think Morin will have the same offensive game as Chara? Not at all. However, Morin skates better than Chara and is going to be focused on being a mean/physical/shut down defender. His presence alone is going to open things up for guys. No worries about him at all.
Scott Laughton--- to me is a bust. He could be a serviceable 4th line with the upside of a checking forward putting up 30 points on the 3rd line. I just don't see it in him. Translating his game to be more successful at the professional level seemed to hurt him and he hasn't bounced back.
Maxim Shusko--- early on wasn't he considered to be a first rd talent... like a year before the draft? His stock plummeted. Could be a decent bottom 6 guy, but I don't really know anything about him and hvent seen any video of his play. I guess it's shortsighted to say I think he won't pan out, but the decrease in his draft stock was influenced.