WHL well represented at the top of HF's ranking of the Top 50 NHL prospects

Macch

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Mar 22, 2010
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Nino will be a better NHL player than ever player listed ahead of him except Johansen.
 

Macch

Registered User
Mar 22, 2010
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Cool story bro.

You think he should be higher?



Yeah my top five would be

Johansen
Nino
Schenn
Tarasenko
Larsson


Not that how HF ranks prospects has any effect on how they will actually turn out.

They do seem to really like Kings prospects though
 

danishh

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Dec 9, 2006
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i coulda swore i saw Jaden Schwartz listed earlier in the list..

he was, that entry was for tarasenko, not schwartz.

as for the russians, i still think, as you will note i did at this time last year, that kuznetsov is above tarasenko.
 

Avs_19

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Jun 28, 2007
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Nice to see the Avs future goalie at #3 on this list. :sarcasm:

No complaints about the top 10. Good list.
 

danishh

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Dec 9, 2006
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I disagree with bernier at #3. Not because i dont think he's the best goalie prospect (if he's not, he's certainly top 2 or 3), but because i'm hesitant to rank ANY goalie prospect this high. Goalie's are still goalies. The nature of the position dictates that they either become a bonafide #1, a career backup, or a bust. Placing bernier, or any top goalie, at #3 pretty much says that the rankers are guaranteeing that bernier will be a #1 NHL goalie, and i cant say that about any goalie prospect, however promising they may look early in their career.

If it were up to me, there would be no goalies in the top 10 any year.
 

Lord Helix

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Nov 12, 2010
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Bernier at 3 is ridiculous...Still not a #1, and he was drafted in 2006 right? And nothing against Schenn, but aren't people projecting him to be a really good #2 guy to Kopitar? I just think some of the other guys mentioned have the potential to be stars, namely Tarasenko, El Nino, and RJ. I have a strong feeling that in the next couple of years we'll be laughing at this list.
 

HighLifeMan

#SnowyStrong
Feb 26, 2009
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Runblad at 5 yet no mention of Erixon in the top 50?

Ok then....:laugh::laugh:
 
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danishh

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Dec 9, 2006
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@carvin: i agree on bernier, though not for the same reasons, and i stated my opinion above.

on schenn, the guy should be in the AHL right now. In all likelyhood, we would have seen an 80-100 pt season out of him and a clear rookie of the year win there. Schenn got screwed by the CHL/20yo rule. Not only does he have the potential to be a star, he is also a safe bet to be at least a #2 behind kopitar, which is something those high potential/high risk guys you mentioned cant say.

@highlifeman: i was surprised erixon didnt make the top 50. I was expecting to see him in the 10-20 range after reading the 20-30. That said, rundblad deserves his ranking.
 

Lord Helix

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Nov 12, 2010
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I dunno...RJ is going to have Rick frickin Nash on his wing, and he's looked really good at the world juniors. But it's all a crap shoot anyway. LOL
 

Hale The Villain

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Bernier at 3 is ridiculous...Still not a #1, and he was drafted in 2006 right? And nothing against Schenn, but aren't people projecting him to be a really good #2 guy to Kopitar? I just think some of the other guys mentioned have the potential to be stars, namely Tarasenko, El Nino, and RJ. I have a strong feeling that in the next couple of years we'll be laughing at this list.

He's not a #1 yet because he's fighting for starts with Jonathan Quick, one of the most underrated starters in the NHL.

Bernier has a 11-8-3 record with a 0.913SV% and a 2.48GAA is very solid for a rookie. He's 22 years old and still isn't a starter? Definition of bust
 

HighLifeMan

#SnowyStrong
Feb 26, 2009
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@carvin: i agree on bernier, though not for the same reasons, and i stated my opinion above.

on schenn, the guy should be in the AHL right now. In all likelyhood, we would have seen an 80-100 pt season out of him and a clear rookie of the year win there. Schenn got screwed by the CHL/20yo rule. Not only does he have the potential to be a star, he is also a safe bet to be at least a #2 behind kopitar, which is something those high potential/high risk guys you mentioned cant say.

@highlifeman: i was surprised erixon didnt make the top 50. I was expecting to see him in the 10-20 range after reading the 20-30. That said, rundblad deserves his ranking.

I was not questioning Runblad's ranking, I was questioning how Erixon does not land in the top 50 especially in relation to Runblad's ranking.

I also dont see how Brendan Smith, John Merill, Jonathan Blum or Nick Leddy are any better of a prospect than Erixon considering the progression he has shown since his draft year and playing in a professional league for three years now at the age of 19.
 
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Leafidelity

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Apr 6, 2008
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He's not a #1 yet because he's fighting for starts with Jonathan Quick, one of the most underrated starters in the NHL.

Bernier has a 11-8-3 record with a 0.913SV% and a 2.48GAA is very solid for a rookie. He's 22 years old and still isn't a starter? Definition of bust

He's the same age as Reimer with less impressive numbers. Obviously the HF writers dropped the ball on not adding Reimer earlier(and we heard the explanation), but even then I wouldn't expect him to be near #3.

Heck, they even mention Berniers NHL numbers and experience as the reason he went from 6 to 3.

Reimer - .922 // 36 games - 20-9-5 // 2.55 GAA
Bernier - .913 // 25 games - 11-8-3 // 2.48 GAA

I expect to see future allstars in the top 3.
 
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SympathyForTheDevils

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Feb 22, 2010
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I disagree with bernier at #3. Not because i dont think he's the best goalie prospect (if he's not, he's certainly top 2 or 3), but because i'm hesitant to rank ANY goalie prospect this high. Goalie's are still goalies. The nature of the position dictates that they either become a bonafide #1, a career backup, or a bust. Placing bernier, or any top goalie, at #3 pretty much says that the rankers are guaranteeing that bernier will be a #1 NHL goalie, and i cant say that about any goalie prospect, however promising they may look early in their career.

If it were up to me, there would be no goalies in the top 10 any year.

But what's nice about Bernier is that his career arc has been surprisingly constant. Showed a lot of potential, was drafted at 11th in 2006, then dragged Lewiston single-handedly in the Mem Cup (one of the best Q playoff performances of the last decade). Moved up to the AHL, struggled for a couple years, then dominated, dragging underdog Manchester into the AHL semi-finals. Moved up to the NHL as a backup, struggled in his first few starts, then found his groove in the last few months. It's an impressive resume that inspires confidence in his abilities and in his NHL future.
 

alcanalz

whys and wherefores
Nov 3, 2009
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I'm not a big Nino believer, thus I think he's too high.

Glad Connolly and Schwartz are so high, I like the kids.
 

Kekumba

Registered User
Jan 24, 2008
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Ottawa
I was not questioning Runblad's ranking, I was questioning how Erixon does not land in the top 50 especially in relation to Runblad's ranking.

Yep. If what the Swedes are saying on the Sens board is true (loved what they've told us about Rundblad, Erixon, and Larsson all season long), he definitely should be there somewhere.
 

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