Prospect Info: Who is Canucks #17 prospect?

[Derp Kassian]

I would take McNally over all of these guys. Except maybe Forsling.

I'm not even sure McNally even wants to play hockey

 

[jigsaw99]

Alexandre Grenier just because of the season he had in Ultica

 

[Tobi Wan Kenobi]

Forsling

 

[Madness71]

Vote Kenins

 

[WetcoastOrca]

I voted Kenins but on reflection I probably should have voted Archibald. At this point a lot of these guys left are facing long odds of playing in the NHL. Archibald already has 16 NHL games. That's probably better than most of these will do, based on past prospect pools.

 

[Canadian Canuck]

Voted Archinald. Then Grenier and Kenins

 

[PhilMick]

I voted Kenins but on reflection I probably should have voted Archibald. At this point a lot of these guys left are facing long odds of playing in the NHL. Archibald already has 16 NHL games. That's probably better than most of these will do, based on past prospect pools.

I gave Kenins extra points for having played in the Olympics and doing well there.

 

[Proto]

Grenier for me. Had a nice step up last year in the AHL. At his age, if he's a legit prospect to ever be a 2nd/3rd line tweener, I'd expect him to be up around at least .8/.9 PPG this year in the AHL. That's feasible with the players that will be there.

Forsling is next for me after that. Guys that top out as potential 4th liners don't really get much consideration in my "prospect" list though, so I understand why people might go in a different direction.

 

[MS]

Voted Zalewski again.

The ratings for both Kenins and Zalewski are, I suspect, going to look ridiculously low in very short order.

Grenier, despite his decent numbers last season, is still trash to me and highly likely to be squeezed out of important minutes in the AHL this year.

 

[Nucker101]

Forsling and Grneier toss-up for me. Grenier producing in the AHL, even as a one-dimensional player is at least encouraging. I think Forsling is being underrated due to lack of familiarity, especially when a guy like McNeny is getting some love.

 

[PhilMick]

Next year we should have at least 3 different series of prospect polls so everyone's happy. Rank 1-20 of: Most Pro Ready, Highest Ceiling...Fattest?

 

[Jimson Hogarth*]

McNally who?

 

[Proto]

Voted Zalewski again.

The ratings for both Kenins and Zalewski are, I suspect, going to look ridiculously low in very short order.

Grenier, despite his decent numbers last season, is still trash to me and highly likely to be squeezed out of important minutes in the AHL this year.

Maybe. But guys that top out as 4th liners in the NHL don't hold much appeal to me -- they're basically free to acquire in free agency or on the waiver wire, so I put a bit more emphasis on guys with longshots of being players further up a line-up.

I don't disagree about Grenier, but he had some nice stretches last year that at least give me some optimism about him possibly carving out a career. That said, it's worth mentioning that my "optimism" on a player like him is probably me thinking there's a 10-15% chance of that happening...

 

[MS]

Maybe. But guys that top out as 4th liners in the NHL don't hold much appeal to me -- they're basically free to acquire in free agency or on the waiver wire, so I put a bit more emphasis on guys with longshots of being players further up a line-up.

I don't disagree about Grenier, but he had some nice stretches last year that at least give me some optimism about him possibly carving out a career. That said, it's worth mentioning that my "optimism" on a player like him is probably me thinking there's a 10-15% chance of that happening...

In the case of Zalewski, the guy played 3rd line minutes for a couple games last season fresh out of college with zero pro experience ... and looked really good. So saying he has '4th line upside' seems totally incorrect. Same for Kenins who is a prototype speedy defensive 3rd liner if he reaches his potential. Both guys are potentially very useful top-9 assets who have already looked good against excellent levels of competition and could step in very soon.

I'd have Grenier being an NHL regular at <5%. He's already 23, is still only a 40-point AHL player, and is basically a top-6/bust guy because he doesn't keep his feet moving and plays a 1-zone game.

 

[The Iron Goalie]

In the case of Zalewski, the guy played 3rd line minutes for a couple games last season fresh out of college with zero pro experience ... and looked really good. So saying he has '4th line upside' seems totally incorrect. Same for Kenins who is a prototype speedy defensive 3rd liner if he reaches his potential. Both guys are potentially very useful top-9 assets who have already looked good against excellent levels of competition and could step in very soon.

I'd have Grenier being an NHL regular at <5%. He's already 23, is still only a 40-point AHL player, and is basically a top-6/bust guy because he doesn't keep his feet moving and plays a 1-zone game.

Agreed. But I think Kenins has a higher upsaide then just a 3rdliner. There's underrated skill there.

 

[Proto]

In the case of Zalewski, the guy played 3rd line minutes for a couple games last season fresh out of college with zero pro experience ... and looked really good. So saying he has '4th line upside' seems totally incorrect. Same for Kenins who is a prototype speedy defensive 3rd liner if he reaches his potential. Both guys are potentially very useful top-9 assets who have already looked good against excellent levels of competition and could step in very soon.

Fair enough, but Zalewski played two games when he was well rested and his adrenaline was probably through the roof. I'd have to see a guy like that play way, way more before I'd be comfortable even speculating that. Zalewski was essentially tied for the 3rd-5th best scoring on R.P.I as a 21-year-old.

Similarly, Kenins was the 7th best scorer on a Swiss team. He might end up as a decent 4th liner, but I don't know how anyone can comfortably project either of these guys as being more than 4th liners at best. It would be a real homerun for either to become a third liner, in my opinion.

I'd have Grenier being an NHL regular at <5%. He's already 23, is still only a 40-point AHL player, and is basically a top-6/bust guy because he doesn't keep his feet moving and plays a 1-zone game.

To clarify, I meant I'm putting his odds of becoming a .8-.9PPG player in the AHL this year at +/-15%. 5-10% ish to do that and then become an NHLer isn't unfair. But, as I said, 4th line types are always available (the Zac Dalpes of the world), so I'd rank a guy with a small chance of being more than that a bit higher.

I hope you guys are right about Kenins/Zalewski.

 

[Zarpan]

I like Kenins here. His AHL PPG equivalent is about the same as Grenier and he doesn't need to put up tons of points to become a useful NHL player.

Zalewski's pretty close for the same reasons (similar PPG after conversion), can be successful without putting up top 6 numbers.

 

[StrictlyCommercial]

I don't think anyone left has Top 4 or Top 6 upside, so it gets a bit more challenging to pick out the best prospect here.

Kenins, Zalewski and Labate probably have the highest upside (maybe Forsling as well, but I've only seen him play in that one scrimmage...) while Archibald and Lain are probably the closest to the NHL, as seen by playing in the NHL.

I'll say:
Kenins (Olympic hype)
Archibald (4th line career in progress)
Zalewski (2 games does not an NHL career make, but it's a start)
Lain (Big, fast, fights, could be our 4th line centre one day)
Labate (Needs a close to PPG season this year to show that he's worth signing)
Forsling (clearly skilled, but who knows)

 

[deckercky]

If Grenier doesn't have top 6 upside, then he's not worth voting for, since IMO he's a top 6 or bust player. I just don't see him having the consistent work ethic to crack an NHL roster in a bottom 6 role, but if he can put up points, he could find a role in the top 6.

McNally, on the slight chance he gets his career back on track, has top 4 upside.

Forsling has top 4 upside too.

Kenins and Zalewski both have solid 3rd line upside, and look like they could be at that level sooner rather than later. Lain is in a similar position as a 4th line center. I think there's a very good chance two of these three are on the roster for the 2015-16 season (lots of UFAs that year).

To me, the next prospects, in whatever order, are Kenins, Zalewski, Lain, Archibald and Forsling.

 

[biturbo19]

In the case of Zalewski, the guy played 3rd line minutes for a couple games last season fresh out of college with zero pro experience ... and looked really good. So saying he has '4th line upside' seems totally incorrect. Same for Kenins who is a prototype speedy defensive 3rd liner if he reaches his potential. Both guys are potentially very useful top-9 assets who have already looked good against excellent levels of competition and could step in very soon.

I'd have Grenier being an NHL regular at <5%. He's already 23, is still only a 40-point AHL player, and is basically a top-6/bust guy because he doesn't keep his feet moving and plays a 1-zone game.

Yeah. That's where i'm at on Grenier.

He put up some points in the AHL last year, but not exactly enough to overlook the fact that he's already older and despite his size, i don't see him being a particularly useful fit as a regular bottom-6er. Of course, maybe he does "reinvent" his game as a more conscientious defensive player and more of a physical presence...but i'd say that's as much of a longshot as Grenier becoming a bonafide top-6 scorer at the NHL level. Both scenarios have extremely low odds as i'd calculate it.

 

[PhilMick]

Honestly the only person I have lower than Grenier on this list is Mallett. Just not a fan.

 

[Aqualung]

Of the players remaining, the following I believe won't ever reach the NHL full time:

Alexandre Mallet (great tools, questionable toolbox and major consistency issues)
Alexandre Grenier (great tools, good offensive IQ, major consistency issues, defensive issues, physicality issues)
Ludwig Blomstrand (good tools, questionable IQ, major consistency issues)
Anton Cederholm (good defensive IQ and physicality, questionable puck skills and mobility)
Peter Andersson (Pretty pedestrian at the AHL level)
Henrik Tommernes (Pretty pedestrian at the AHL level)
Patrick McNally (elite offensive talent and mobility, questions everywhere else, who knows if he ever gets it together)

The following I believe have a chance to at least be depth call-ups or even full-time NHL players:

Ronalds Kenins (great season after signing with the Canucks, both in the Swiss league and internationally)
Michael Zalewski (not much to go on except a couple NHL games, but pretty good start)
Darren Archibald (already has a few games in his belt at the NHL level, could be a solid physical 4th line player that can be the enforcer and take a regular shift and contribute)
Kellan Lain (big center that needs to find consistency, but has a lot of good things going for him as a possible physical 4th line center, has a few NHL games under his belt)
Gustav Forsling (showed promise at U18, very young, hard to rule out just yet)
Joseph Labate (I've heard mostly pedestrian things about him, but he may end up being a good bottom 6 player)

I'd probably rank the remaining prospects in the following manner:

Kenins
Zalewski
Forsling
Archibald

Lain and Labate just missing the cut, and I kind have both of them as a tweeners between never making it to the NHL and as depth/role players anyways.

 

[PM]

I thought Lain actually looked half decent in his short stint in the NHL and he was a pretty solid player for Utica too. If he continues to develop I could see him being that perfect 4th line centre that can play 10 minutes per game while giving you 10 goals, 10 assists and 10 fights per year. He's also huge and decent at face-offs. He gets my vote.

 

[Serac]

Personally I think it's stupid to shove guys like Forsling and Cederholm under the rug (who are 18 and 19 respectively)
They still have a Ton of time to improve their game compared to the others on this list who are up to 4 years older than them, with nearly the same skill level
I think they'll be better than a lot of people say they are

 

[pahlsson]

Honestly the only person I have lower than Grenier on this list is Mallett. Just not a fan.

dat q scouting