Prospect Info: With the #106 pick, Minnesota selects Brandon Duhaime

[Teddy10Beers]

Gabriel had size, and was pretty much a face-puncher with very few other redeeming qualities.

Duhaime seems like more of a hybrid.

32 points in 39 games in the USHL hints at some type of offensive skill. 97 penalty minutes is a little high, but leads me to believe he's more of an agitator/pest.

Yeah, I don't get these comparisons to Gabriel. Duhaime seems like he might be comparable to a player like Antoine Roussel. A guy who can skate, has enough speed to be an effective forechecker and the grit to be pest. Gabriel is a mediocre face puncher and that's about it (he rarely has a decisive win in any of his fights). Gabriel lacks the speed to be an effective forechecker, has virtually zero offensive ability and is really just a big drink of water as far as I am concerned. I was neutral on Fletcher/Flahr until they took Gabriel in the 3rd round. And the fact that he got ice time last year was vindication on just how bad that pick was.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

An overager in his league with not a lot of points per penalty minutes. I don't think he's necessarily a "face puncher" considering he's going the college route, but his box score is all I can go off of, and I'm not impressed.

 

[Minnesota]

Wabit pointed out Duhaime has 12p (4/8) in 29 games at Providence so far in his rookie season.

Anyone watched him play? Looking back on earlier comments following his selection we seem pretty disappointed.

 

[Digitalbooya]

I'd expect the fans to have no clue when it comes to the draft. Scouts are paid to know who *should* break out.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

I'd expect the fans to have no clue when it comes to the draft. Scouts are paid to know who *should* break out.

Well true, but these scouts have picked guys like Phillips and Bussieres and Gunnarsson and Nanne, so we've earned the right to some skepticism.

Way too early on this kid but the scoring in junior is a bad sign for an impact pro, so already it's questionable as to why you'd spend a pick on him. But we heard good things about his character so that's something.

Now his point production in college is trending up, which you have to like but it's a good team in a weaker conference so take it with a grain of salt. And as a further point of comparison a younger player, Winnipeg's Erik Foley is outscoring him by more than double, and he's not really a player you hear about as a top prospect.

So there's good and bad, no point in cheering against a kid though.

 

[TaLoN]

Well true, but these scouts have picked guys like Phillips and Bussieres and Gunnarsson and Nanne, so we've earned the right to some skepticism.

Way too early on this kid but the scoring in junior is a bad sign for an impact pro, so already it's questionable as to why you'd spend a pick on him. But we heard good things about his character so that's something.

Now his point production in college is trending up, which you have to like but it's a good team in a weaker conference so take it with a grain of salt. And as a further point of comparison a younger player, Winnipeg's Erik Foley is outscoring him by more than double, and he's not really a player you hear about as a top prospect.

So there's good and bad, no point in cheering against a kid though.

No crew ever bats a thousand in any draft... ever. This is the most imperfect science you will ever find - projecting careers of 18yro kids.

You look at the best drafting team in the NHL and you will find a lot of misses there too.

I highly doubt the fans here would have a better record than the professionals.

What gives us the right to talk about it isn't their failures, it's the fact that it IS such an imperfect science in the first place! People see different things in different players at different times. That creates situations for great debate!

 

[Saga of the Elk]

No crew ever bats a thousand in any draft... ever. This is the most imperfect science you will ever find - projecting careers of 18yro kids.

You look at the best drafting team in the NHL and you will find a lot of misses there too.

I highly doubt the fans here would have a better record than the professionals.

What gives us the right to talk about it isn't their failures, it's the fact that it IS such an imperfect science in the first place! People see different things in different players at different times. That creates situations for great debate!

Of course. The skepticism in a player like this specifically comes from the Wild's scouting successes. Erik Haula was an extremely talented high school player at the nation's premier hockey training program. Still around in the 7th? take a chance = NHL player.

The first overall pick in the KHL amateur draft is still available in the fifth? You take a chance there every time.

A player with first round potential is around in the 7th? Go for it!

An overager with unimpressive USHL/OHL scoring stats is a weird pick no matter how you slice it, any round of the draft. Take another pick for comparison: Ryan Jones might be a perfect example. He put up very good numbers in junior though, before going to college. He had a decent NHL career, but I think when that's your best possible scenario I think you've made a pick that is subject to scrutiny.

 

[FrodoBeggins]

We threw the pick in the 4th round

 

[DANOZ28]

instead of picking duhaime with the 4th pick i thought our mo was to pick a goalie. its the gabriel 3rd rnd pick that boils my blood. he must have been a teachers pet pick by one of our scouts. im not to worried because we are running out of rosters spots which is a good thing!

 

[Wabit]

I don't know why people so bothered by Gabriel as a 3rd rounder. Maybe a 1/3 of 3rd rounders ever get more than a cup of coffee in the NHL. It's where you just hope to find a guy that can be a bottom-6 or bottom pair NHL player.

Take a chance on a boom or bust prospect, or pick a safer guy that fills the grinder/sandpaper role.

Going into the 2014 season Iowa was barren of players, an overager that would be on the team that year filled a more pressing need than an 18 yo that had 2 more years of Jrs before he saw any time. Andrighetto, another small player; and Slepyshev, a Russian would also have fit the bill, but neither were a slam-dunk.

 

[DANOZ28]

why would you waste a 3rd pick on a face puncher with no offensive upside when theres plenty of those guys available in the ahl? plus i believe gabriel went undrafted the prior year????? no excuse!

 

[Saga of the Elk]

why would you waste a 3rd pick on a face puncher with no offensive upside when theres plenty of those guys available in the ahl? plus i believe gabriel went undrafted the prior year????? no excuse!

Well this isn't the thread to complain about Gabriel. But there were a lot of people interested in him because teams saw a young man with extraordinary potential thanks to his work ethic and character. For a 3rd rounder to see any NHL time is beating the odds too, so it's hardly a waste from that perspective since he's done that.

Duhaime is a similar situation, a young guy with high character. He's at a good program so there's a chance that he develops a good range of skills and becomes a pro-ready prospect at the age of 23 who can step in and play a fourth-line role or even more. Will that make him worth a pick? Well, I think you'll see plenty of names around Gabriel and Duhaime who never get that cup of coffee.

Is a few NHL games a decent baseline for a non-first round pick, given the difficulty of drafting teens? As I've said, I think you should aspire to more and I would side with those who would like a bit more natural skill in the pool. I think the bigger error in 2016 was not adding a guy like Moverare who was a slider and fit more of a position of need. We shall see, but again I'm pulling for Duhaime to have a career.

 

[Wabit]

why would you waste a 3rd pick on a face puncher with no offensive upside when theres plenty of those guys available in the ahl? plus i believe gabriel went undrafted the prior year????? no excuse!

16 NHL games isn't much, but it's 5th for his draft year so far. Wild are and have been a soft team. A physical presence is still needed in hockey. If not face punching then someone that will put the other team through a wall with a check.

Call it an intangible, but players like Gabriel bring energy and some security, the team does play better around them. I don't want him as an everyday player, but the big, hard checking teams (Flames for example) I want him in the lineup.

If Stewie gets hurt Gabriel will be the callup before Tuch. Tuch is definitely more skilled, but he doesn't have the physical game.

But we're way off topic now. So back to Duhaime; whom nobody seems to have seen play this year. Guessing he won't be turning pro next year.

 

[Wabit]

Well he won the Most Improved award for this year's dev camp. I didn't watch any of the scrimmages, so I still haven't seen him play.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Well he won the Most Improved award for this year's dev camp. I didn't watch any of the scrimmages, so I still haven't seen him play.

I posted about it somewhere but I guess it wasn't this thread. Watched him a few times last season and definitely saw what scouts might have liked with this kid. Solid instincts, gets where he needs to be, plays a pro-style game. Should be interesting to see if he can put up a few more points for the Friars this season.

 

[TaLoN]

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Stats aren’t great but at least they went up every year.

 

[AKL]

Iowa gets deeper. Doubt he ever gets serious time in the NHL. 4th round pick though, so who cares if he doesn’t.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Iowa gets deeper. Doubt he ever gets serious time in the NHL. 4th round pick though, so who cares if he doesn’t.

Yeah, who cares if a draft pick ever works out? It's only SPORTS after all, amirite?

On the other hand, while the Wild basically punted that draft, the Islanders took Otto Koivula just after Duhaime. He had 46 points in 69 games for Bridgeport. It's how you build a strong franchise. Drafting, development.

I always said that you could see what they liked about Duhaime. But the upside is minimal. We'll see.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yeah, I can't believe that Koivula wasn't on our 4th round radar. Massive mistake.

 

[2Pair]

Yeah, I can't believe that Koivula wasn't on our 4th round radar. Massive mistake.

Or that the Wild aren't following the same path as the f***ing Islanders as it pertains to building through the draft.

 

[AKL]

Yeah, who cares if a draft pick ever works out? It's only SPORTS after all, amirite?

On the other hand, while the Wild basically punted that draft, the Islanders took Otto Koivula just after Duhaime. He had 46 points in 69 games for Bridgeport. It's how you build a strong franchise. Drafting, development.

I always said that you could see what they liked about Duhaime. But the upside is minimal. We'll see.

Ok

 

[thestonedkoala]

Or that the Wild aren't following the same path as the ****ing Islanders as it pertains to building through the draft.

Or that the Wild made it past the 1st round of the playoffs after losing their franchise player...oh wait...

 

[2Pair]

Or that the Wild made it past the 1st round of the playoffs after losing their franchise player...oh wait...

For their 2nd series win in the last 24 years.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

For their 2nd series win in the last 24 years.

And how many Cups since expansion? The Islanders have been like Italy under the Borgias, the Wild have been like Switzerland.

And if you guys don't think a guy scoring in the AHL three years post-draft is a better asset than a guy who was an overager in his draft season and a third liner in college, I don't know what else to say.

The point isn't that Duhaime was a terrible pick - he might well carve out a career. But the Wild were known for drafting grinders, low upside, character-driven more than skill-driven guys. And that's what they did here. Will Koivula blow him away? My gut says probably not, but guys like Gaudreau, Benn, and many others are PROOF that you can find stars late in the draft IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THEM.

I point this out and the response is to complain? This is a loser franchise until things change.