Prospect Info: Winnipeg Jets Prospects Thread 2018-19 - Part II

[Joe Hallenback]

How is his D zone play? Is he a 2 way player or is he all offense?

He was good in the D zone. Between his skating ability and skill he can move the puck out of his zone quite fast. He was quite physical as well. The idea of him playing with MacKinnon gives me shivers

 

[surixon]

What did you think of Makar?

I was also quite impressed with Makar. Good in his loan end and moves the puck at an elite level. One thing he is going to have to move away from is trying to go for the big open ice hits.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

He was good in the D zone. Between his skating ability and skill he can move the puck out of his zone quite fast. He was quite physical as well. The idea of him playing with MacKinnon gives me shivers

Wish he wasn't going to be in our Div but you can't have everything. Avs are going to be good.

 

[ps241]

What did you think of Makar?

Really f***ing good Mort.

Interesting that two of the three guys the announcers were gushing about as far as future NHL'ers both were drafted out of secondary leagues like the AJHL and the USHL.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Really ****ing good Mort.

Interesting that two of the three guys the announcers were gushing about as far as future NHL'ers both were drafted out of secondary leagues like the AJHL and the USHL.

I've learned to stop thinking of the USHL as a secondary league. Jr A leagues are also better than they were a few years ago. It seems that a lot of good young hockey players want to keep that NCAA option open.

 

[Mathil8]

I've learned to stop thinking of the USHL as a secondary league. Jr A leagues are also better than they were a few years ago. It seems that a lot of good young hockey players want to keep that NCAA option open.

I definitely don't think of the USHL as a secondary league. I don't want to speak for ps241, but he might have been more meaning to refer to AJHL for Makar and how Samberg was drafted pretty much out of high school (he only played 6 games +playoffs in the USHL in his draft year).

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I definitely don't think of the USHL as a secondary league. I don't want to speak for ps241, but he might have been more meaning to refer to AJHL for Makar and how Samberg was drafted pretty much out of high school (he only played 6 games +playoffs in the USHL in his draft year).

There has long been the occasional player taken out of US high school. Samberg does not constitute a pattern or a change in an existing pattern. Large numbers, and early picks coming out of the USHL is a relatively new thing. Like USHS, the odd player coming out of Jr A leagues, like BCHL & AJHL is not new but it seems to be happening quite a bit more often recently so, if that continues it is a change.

 

[Mathil8]

There has long been the occasional player taken out of US high school. Samberg does not constitute a pattern or a change in an existing pattern. Large numbers, and early picks coming out of the USHL is a relatively new thing. Like USHS, the odd player coming out of Jr A leagues, like BCHL & AJHL is not new but it seems to be happening quite a bit more often recently so, if that continues it is a change.

I think you're reading into my post a little too much. Merely mentioning that as ps241 alluded to, it is interesting that 2 of the 3 players the announcers were gushing about came from USHS/AJHL, and that I don't consider USHL to be a secondary league. Hard not to consider USHS/AJHL as secondary leagues...

I agree with much that you replied with though; USHL has grown a lot in recent years, and it will be interesting to see if more high profile players are drafted from the BCHL/AJHL (although it's probably just because we've seen this a few times in recent memory).

 

[ps241]

I've learned to stop thinking of the USHL as a secondary league. Jr A leagues are also better than they were a few years ago. It seems that a lot of good young hockey players want to keep that NCAA option open.

100% agree.

 

[Rheged]

 

[ps241]

What did you think of Makar?

Speak of the Devil Makar just got his first goal tonight vs the Flames.

 

[Atoyot]

Oshawa moving onto the next round. Good experience for Vallati.

 

[Guardian17]

I thought we could use a little good news today, the Jets ECHL affiliate was able to hold on to a 3rd period lead last night!

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I thought we could use a little good news today, the Jets ECHL affiliate was able to hold on to a 3rd period lead last night!

Nice to see Cederholm able to succeed at the ECHL level. Would be funny if he eventually worked his way up to the NHL. Funny because he is still such a loooong shot.

Berdin is getting quite a workload this year. 28 games with Jax, then 23 with the Moose and now back to Jax for the PO.

 

[Guardian17]

The Jets ECHL affiliate tied up their series 2-2 with another win!



Mikhail Berdin gloved the high shots.
He flicked out his stick for the pucks zipping past the crease. He used his pads. His stomach. His elbow.
Berdin did it his way, and Jacksonville Icemen head coach Jason Christie didn’t mind.
“It was one of those games where if we gave up a shot,” he said, “Birdie [Berdin] was there to stop them.”

Mikhail Berdin stars as Icemen top Everblades, knot series

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The Jets ECHL affiliate tied up their series 2-2 with another win!



Mikhail Berdin gloved the high shots.
He flicked out his stick for the pucks zipping past the crease. He used his pads. His stomach. His elbow.
Berdin did it his way, and Jacksonville Icemen head coach Jason Christie didn’t mind.
“It was one of those games where if we gave up a shot,” he said, “Birdie [Berdin] was there to stop them.”

Mikhail Berdin stars as Icemen top Everblades, knot series

2nd star yesterday, 1st star today.

 

[Atoyot]

2nd star yesterday, 1st star today.

Appleby in today. Strange they would go Berdin-Berdin-Appleby and not Berdin-Appleby-Berdin.

 

[wasup]

Was just reading along in the last few pages of this thread it's always interesting . IMO Makar is already one of the Avs better D man and looks un fricken real . I don't see people questioning the Avs move to bring him in now anymore .

 

[Daximus]

I've learned to stop thinking of the USHL as a secondary league. Jr A leagues are also better than they were a few years ago. It seems that a lot of good young hockey players want to keep that NCAA option open.

It's become a major issue in Western Canada. In Ontario you rarely see top players going NCAA, QMJHL has a few every now and then like Alex Newhook. But the BCHL and AJHL are much more prominent with high end prospects. So much so that even kids out east like Newhook choose to play there to go the NCAA route. I think a big part of it is the WHL has a lot of undesirable locations to play in. I've always said the league should drop by at least 2 to maybe 4 teams. Bring the overall product up and let some of the lesser kids populate the Junior A leagues.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

It's become a major issue in Western Canada. In Ontario you rarely see top players going NCAA, QMJHL has a few every now and then like Alex Newhook. But the BCHL and AJHL are much more prominent with high end prospects. So much so that even kids out east like Newhook choose to play there to go the NCAA route. I think a big part of it is the WHL has a lot of undesirable locations to play in. I've always said the league should drop by at least 2 to maybe 4 teams. Bring the overall product up and let some of the lesser kids populate the Junior A leagues.

I'm surprised to hear you say that the OHL and the Q don't share this problem. Not that I doubt it, I'm just a little surprised. Certainly, the Dub has several smaller cities with teams. I don't know if they are undesirable or not. They may struggle to compete financially which doesn't help. I think the players who graduate from those teams are usually pretty positive about their experience. But that still may not make some of them attractive to the players coming after. Travel is an issue also. Those are some long bus rides.

But my assumption was simply that the US scholarship route was increasingly attractive to young players. I can remember a time when few NHL'ers came out of the NCAA. Almost any Canadian kid who was even remotely good could get a scholarship if that is what he wanted. But times have changed. As the level of play improved in NCAA it became more attractive as a path to the NHL, leading to further improvement. Its a process.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

The OHL and QMJHL have that same problem. Especially with the US kids in their areas and they both lose a handful of top Canadian kids to college committments. But both leagues end up getting kids back anyways so it is really a moot point.

 

[Daximus]

I'm surprised to hear you say that the OHL and the Q don't share this problem. Not that I doubt it, I'm just a little surprised. Certainly, the Dub has several smaller cities with teams. I don't know if they are undesirable or not. They may struggle to compete financially which doesn't help. I think the players who graduate from those teams are usually pretty positive about their experience. But that still may not make some of them attractive to the players coming after. Travel is an issue also. Those are some long bus rides.

But my assumption was simply that the US scholarship route was increasingly attractive to young players. I can remember a time when few NHL'ers came out of the NCAA. Almost any Canadian kid who was even remotely good could get a scholarship if that is what he wanted. But times have changed. As the level of play improved in NCAA it became more attractive as a path to the NHL, leading to further improvement. Its a process.

I think a lot of it has to due with not only playing hockey but getting an education at the same time. Most kids put in two years. So now if things don't work out for you in the NHL you have already have something you can fall back on rather then having to go to school after your NHL dream falls apart.

 

[Daximus]

The OHL and QMJHL have that same problem. Especially with the US kids in their areas and they both lose a handful of top Canadian kids to college committments. But both leagues end up getting kids back anyways so it is really a moot point.

QMJHL loses a fair bit of kids but usually moreso from the Maritime provinces then Quebec itself. OHL has this issue but by far and away the top kids usually go OHL. They've never had a real high end kid leave for the NCAA. We might already have two out west with Savoie and Bedard. Toews as well.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I think a lot of it has to due with not only playing hockey but getting an education at the same time. Most kids put in two years. So now if things don't work out for you in the NHL you have already have something you can fall back on rather then having to go to school after your NHL dream falls apart.

I'm sure that plays a part. The CHL scholarship program is pretty good too, I believe - one big difference though, is that it kicks in after their Jr careers. At least I think that is how it works.

But 50 and more years ago, the players that had a good chance at making the NHL did not go the NCAA route because it usually wouldn't get them to the NHL. The level of competition wasn't high enough at that time. Of course there were a few exceptions. The CHL would get them there. The change was gradual. NCAA got better. I think that was largely due to the growth in the pool of quality American born players. Those players wanted 'the college experience', went NCAA and contributed to its improvement.

It is easy to look back and see it now. It was not so easy to predict years ago. So now Jr A leagues, that had really suffered from the creation of the higher level WHL are beginning to recover a bit.

 

[Daximus]

I'm sure that plays a part. The CHL scholarship program is pretty good too, I believe - one big difference though, is that it kicks in after their Jr careers. At least I think that is how it works.

But 50 and more years ago, the players that had a good chance at making the NHL did not go the NCAA route because it usually wouldn't get them to the NHL. The level of competition wasn't high enough at that time. Of course there were a few exceptions. The CHL would get them there. The change was gradual. NCAA got better. I think that was largely due to the growth in the pool of quality American born players. Those players wanted 'the college experience', went NCAA and contributed to its improvement.

It is easy to look back and see it now. It was not so easy to predict years ago. So now Jr A leagues, that had really suffered from the creation of the higher level WHL are beginning to recover a bit.

Yeah moreso AJHL and BCHL. SJHL and MJHL are good but they will never attract top talent. At least not right now.