Your Team's Prospects This Year - Good, Bad, & the Ugly

[andora]

stole this idea from the edmonton board.. think it would be interesting to get some leaguewide feedback...

Who are your nominees?

The good:
The bad:
The ugly:

Additional categories:
The surprising:
The mistreated:
The misunderstood:
The underwhelming:
The overdiscussed:

Click to read more...

 

[rnyquist]

Ny Rangers

The good: Henrik Lundqvist
The bad:Al Montoya
The ugly: Joseph Balej

Additional categories:
The surprising: Dom Moore
The mistreatedrucha
The misunderstood:Nigel Dawes
The underwhelming: Thomas Pock
The overdiscussed: Jaime Lundmark, although not a prospect by hf standards, he's by far the most talked about player on the rangers. Seemingly, everything is his fault

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

The Good : Travis Zajac, everyone knew he could light up the BCHL but wondered what sort of game he would bring to the University of North Dakota. His game was everything and then some. He was 3rd on the team in points as a frenshmen but his defensive play is what really impressed observers.

The Bad : Ari Ahonen, many thought he would finally gain some consistancy but he has been even more erretic. When on he is unbeatable but when he is off he isn't a good goaltender.

The Ugly : Tuomas Pihlman, he was suppost to be one of the two big time Power Forwards to come from Finland, the other Tuomu Ruutu. Pihlman has done nothing in the AHL since comming across. His scoring is all but gone.

Additional categories:

The surprising : Ahren Nittel, really showed what many OHL observers thought he had in him. He is lighting the lamp at a high pace this season for the lowly Albany River Rats. Still only 21 and also 6`3 225

The mistreated : Barry Tallackson, he has allways showed up in the playoffs and I feel his game is better suited for the pro game rather then college. Except a smooth transition much like Aaron Voros's year.

The misunderstood : Petr Vrana, nobody knows about him or cares about him, even after the WJC performence he placed forward. He is a big time player that can put up huge numbers with a talented winger. Very underated

The underwhelming : Aleksander Suglobov, he is bored with the AHL. It shows by his play. When he wants to play he goes out and dominates like many of the top stars. When he doesn't want to play he goes out and plays average. Suglobov will be a big time player when the NHL returns.

The overdiscussed : That would have to be Zach Parise, too many people have some sort of hatred for the guy. There is nothing to dislike about the kid. He is humble, hard working, and extremely talented. Who cares about his size, his goal totals or his +-. He will be NJ's #2 center when NHL resumes.

 

[fredez]

Who are your nominees?

The good: Alexander Perezhogin/Tomas Plekanec
The bad: Cory Urquhart
The ugly: Loic Lacasse

Additional categories:
The surprising: Mikhail Grabovski/Corey Locke/Mark Streit
The mistreated: Ron Hainsey
The misunderstood: Marcel Hossa
The underwhelming: J.T Wyman
The overdiscussed: Andrei Kostsitsyn

 

[Thirty One]

The Ugly : Tuomas Pihlman, he was suppost to be one of the two big time Power Forwards to come from Finland, the other Tuomu Ruutu. Pihlman has done nothing in the AHL since comming across. His scoring is all but gone.

blame jamie lundmark

 

[nomorekids]

The good: Alexander Radulov, Ryan Suter
no explanation needed here. Radulov had an outstanding rookie year in the Q, Suter exceeded expectations in the AHL in a defensive role.
The bad: Vaclav Meidl
Most thought last year was a fluke, and he'd rebound this year. Wrong. He's big..and that's about it. Waste of a high pick.
The ugly: Nick Fugere
why?

Additional categories:
The surprising: Mike Santorelli, Denis Kulyash
Santorelli has been raved about by everyone who has seen him, and had a terrific freshman campaign. Kulyash, an overage Russian, has come out of nowhere to be near the top in defensive points in the RSL.
The mistreated: Brandon Segal
fell out of favor in Milwaukee for some reason, and barring an injury to the Admirals, he'll spend the rest of the year with the Rockford IceHogs
The misunderstood: Kevin Klein, Brian Finley
Klein went from a well-respected, well-liked OHL prospect to a forgotten AHL prospect because of a rocky start. He's since straightened himself out and Milwaukee fans say he's by far the most improved Admiral from the start of the year. Finley was a highly touted guy, but has earned the Dangerfield mantle. No one seems to realize that he's near the top of the league in every category, despite this being his first year as the lone starter. Most feel he's been better than Flaherty ever was in Milwaukee.
The underwhelming: Timofei Shishkanov
Granted, he's had an OKAY year, but after a terrific rookie season, we expect more out of him. needs to shoot more.
The overdiscussed: Ryan Suter
simply in the "Suter\Phaneuf" chronicle sort of way.

 

[Chaos]

The Good: Shawn Belle. From all accounts, had a very solid WJC and might be overcoming some of the 'hockey sense' issues that he admittedly has. Increased his production in juniors to 45 points.

The Bad: Tobias Stephan. Doesnt look like he has completely recovered from his season ending injury sustained midway through last season. Under .500 record.

The Ugly: Dan Ellis. Struggled mightily at the start of the AHL season, and is only now starting to play better. However, with Hamilton in a playoff battle, and the way Yann Danis has played, he probably wont get many starts down the stretch(probably deservedly so too).

Additional categories:

The surprising: Nicklas Grossman. Many Stars fans were scratching their heads when he was picked 56th overall, but slowly but surely he has shown why. The best defenseman on a mediocre WJC team has played well in the SEL this year, drawing some comparisons to Mattias Norstrom.

The mistreated: Loui Eriksson. Got buried under the likes of Tomi Kallio, Daniel Alfreddson, and P.J. Axelsson in Frolunda, although he did manage to increase his production by 1 point.

The misunderstood: Jussi Jokinen, really stepped up his game this year, posting career highs in goals(23) and points(47) in the SM-Liiga, good for 6th best in the entire league, the youngest amongst the top 10(turns 22 April 1). Also lead team Finland in scoring in the 2 Euro Hockey Tour tournaments he played in(as one of the youngest players among the participating teams, and the youngest on his team). Also named to the all-star team at the European Champions Cup. Although my recent 'hyping' of him has probably helped.

The underhwelming: Trevor Daley. Doesnt seem all that interested in playing in the AHL, and has been said to have had serious defensive lapses, as well as uncharacteristic offensive ineffectiveness, neither of which he had issues with in the NHL. He'll be fine once the NHL starts back up.

 

[bleedgreen]

carolina
the good - cam ward. more than exceeded expectations so far
the bad - brad fast. was supposed to be in the nhl this season, currently in the echl.
the ugly - pavel brendl. kicked off how many euro teams? i still think he can play, but this offseason has been embarrassing. where is he now?

surprising - casey borer, brett carson, chad larose
mistreated - fast. should be given another chance - at the ahl level at least, he was captain at the start of this season.
misunderstood - ladd. not drafted to be a 50 goal scorer
underwhelming - bayda, fast. need to show more when given chances.
overdiscussed - ladd. im not adding to this.

 

[Onion Boy]

I'll try my shot at the Rangers as well:

The good: Henrik Lundqvist - Absolutely dominating the SEL (NHLers included).
The bad: Jamie Lundmark - Time's running out on this guy.
The ugly: Al Montoya - I still like Al, but he's had a poor showing this year.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Jarkko Immonen - Solid year for JYP.
The mistreated: Petr Prucha - Knocked down the depth chart by locked out NHLers.
The misunderstood: Jozef Balej - Tries hard, just not getting the bounces.
The underwhelming: Fedor Tyutin - So-so in Hartford till he bolted back to Russia.
The overdiscussed: Jamie Lundmark - Everybody's got an opinion.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Ottawa Senators

The Good: Alexie Kaygorodov - One of the top scorers in the RSL and could warrant himself a one-way contract if he decides to come over.

The Bad: Kiril Lyamin - Haven't heard anything and didn't make Russia's WJC team. Bad season.

The Ugly: Ray Emery - Completely inconsistent. Needs a huge playoff run.

The Surprising: Christoph Schubert - Having a much better year in Binghamton. If he becomes more consistent, might crack the NHL.

The mistreated: I don't really know. Maybe Igor Mirnov.

The Misunderstood: Roman Wick - Maybe better than a lot of people thought.

The underwhelming: Shawn Weller - Two goals in his first College game. None after that.

The overdiscussed: Andrej Meszaros - I'm very high on this guy, but he slowed down as the season progressed. Doesn't have #1 potential, IMO.

 

[Munchausen]

Habs:

The good: Higgins / Perezhogin / Plekanec / Danis, all had excellent seasons so far and more importantly, progressions, and all look like legit prospects that could have a successful NHL career at some point.

The bad: Hainsey / Ferland / Milroy / Lapierre, all those guys have performed under my expectations, which I don't think were unrealistic.

The ugly: Urquhart, although I'm not surprised, never liked that pick and never will. Unsurprisingly, he couldn't make the AHL team and is not doing that well in the the ECHL. It's a shame the Habs felt the need to grab him in the 2nd round.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Grabovsky / Locke, the former came out of nowhere to become a great contributor in the RSL, the latter has once more negated his size and speed issues to have a successful AHL rookie season. Honorable mention to Danis

The mistreated: Korneev, locked out NHLers playing in the RSL (AK Bars) have prevented him from getting due ice time.

The misunderstood: Plekanec, I feel there's not a whole lot outside of Habs fans that know about this guy yet he's the heart and soul of his team and is almost a lock to make the Habs next season. Contributes at every level in a game. Best all-round prospect after Higgins.

The underwhelming: Hainsey, biggest underacheiver on the team this year, has started to put it all together lately though, but his overall season can only be seen as yet an other big disapointment.

The overdiscussed: Kostitsyn, unbeleivable the number of love / hate threads that popped on that guy. He hasn't done anything to grant any love or hate (except for the ones with unrealistic expectations).

 

[Ismellofhockey]

The good: Patrick Eaves, Brandon Bochenski, Alexei Kaigorodov, Roman Wick... take your pick
The bad: Kirill Lyamin, had a tough time in international tournaments and getting a roster spot in the RSL.
the ugly: Mattias Karlsson, I think he's been relegated to a beer league in Sweden.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Christoph Schubert, slowly putting a decent season together
The mistreated: Ray Emery, expectations were blown too high, even I've given him too little credit.
The underwhelming: Neil Komadoski
The overdiscussed: Alexei Perezhogin :lol

It's just been a great year all-around for Sens prospects.

EDIT: looks like a fellow Sens fan managed to pick and type faster than me.

 

[Wally112pac]

The good: Brent Seabrook, improved his assists by 13. Dave Bolland 85 points as a 2nd liner on a high scoring team. Corey Crawford, top 2 goalie in the Q.
The bad: Adam Munro I'm not a Munro fan.
The ugly: Igor Radulov, Was supposed to be one of Norfolks offensive leaders. Didn't score in 16 games, was sent to the ECHL, failed to report, went home to Russia and scored 2 goals in 25 games.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Rene Bourque, has been Norfolks best player all year. Won the AHL hardest shot with none of his equipment. 28 goals in 66 games.
The mistreated: Cam Barker, seemed to slip after comin back from mono. Looks bored. Not his fault he's too good for junior with no where else to play.
The misunderstood: Marko Anttila. The guys 6"7, 200 pounds. Defines the word "project"
The underwhelming: Mikhail Yakubov and Pavel Vorobiev. Both are having decent seasons but 2nd line potential his a huge IF. Look more like 3rd liners if they make it.
The overdiscussed: ????????? No one talks about the Hawks on this board or anywhere else. Ok, fine. Dustin Byfuglien.

 

[McDonald19]

Anaheim

The Good: Corey Perry- 130 points in 60 OHL games. Led the league by a big margin. Played on top line for Canada at WJCS.

The Bad: Ilya Bryzgalov- Lost his job as Cincy's number 1 goalie to veteran Cassivi. Starting to play a little better lately.

The Ugly: Alexei Smirnov- I'm ready to label him a Bust. 12th overall pick with only 8 goals and 8 assists in 57 games this season for Cincy.

Additional Categories:

The Surprising: Zenon Konopka- He was brought him to be another checker for Cincy. Instead he is now the first line center on a line with young stars Lupul and Chistov. He has gone from an unknown to a player who could step in and play on Anaheim's third/fourth line next season.

The Mistreated: Pierre Parenteau- Should have been given more ice time in the first half of the season, instead limited ice time made a lot of people(including me) believe that he was having a sophomore slump. Given top 6 forward ice time and Powerplay time lately and he is now Cincy's fourth leading scorer ahead of Chistov.

The Misunderstood: Mark Popovic- People tend to look at his stats and think he has been a disapointment. The fact is he is Cincy's number 1 defensmen playing in all situations and leads the team with a +7.

Underwhelming: Curtis Glencross- Lit up the Pacific Division prospect tournament on line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, then injuries and an inability to adjust to the pro game have led to a disapointing season for the young forward. He has 5 points in 38 games.

The Overdiscussed: Ryan Getzlaf- Lots of talk about why he lost his Captaincy with his junior team for a while along with questions about his lack of production this year. Had a great WJC, clearly he is NHL ready.

 

[swflyers8*]

Philadelphia Flyers

The good: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Ryan Potulny, RJ Umberger,

The bad: Ben Eager -- started out good and then disappeared.

The Ugly: No one in particular, maybe the Phantoms who had a 17 game unbeaten streak in the beginning of the season and then suddenly couldn't win a game.

Surprising: Dov Grumet-Morris is the goalie for Harvard who is nominated for the Hobey Baker. Set records in 9 categories at Harvard. RJ Umberger would be the other choice. People thought he would just be another waste of money and is turning out to be a good young player that will fit right in with the Flyers whenever the NHL starts up again.

The mistreated: None

The misunderstood: Umberger I would say. Many people thought he was just another hot shot who wanted a lot of money and he is been just the opposite.

The Underwhelming: Ben Eager, started out good but let emotions get the better of him instead of playing a smart game.

No one is overdiscussed.

In all, the Flyers prospects read like a list of future All-Stars. I can't wait to see all of them in an orange and black uniform.

 

[MeatTornado]

Canucks:

The good: Kesler. Kesler has started to get more respect, and is starting to be looked at as more than just a talentless checker.

The bad: Brandon Reid. We need to trade this guy before he actually has no value at all or becomes a UFA (if he hasn't already). He wont go anywhere in Vancouver, he needs a shot cracking a weaker NHL lineup.

The ugly: Fedor Fedorov. He's big, and he's very talented, it makes me sick to think of how good he could be if he had enough desire to make an impact.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Julien Ellis-Plante, Kevin Bieksa.
The mistreated: Ilya Krikunov, Evgeny Gladskikh. Not so much mistreated, but I think they need to be brought to NA before they become complete busts.
The misunderstood: Tyler Bouck. This guy should have a spot on our roster over Jarkko Ruutu. He works hard, he can hit, fight, and even maybe score a few goals. to me, he looks a lot like Brad May out there (obviously, not quite as skilled, not quite as good of a fighter), but he's younger and cheaper.
The underwhelming: Again I come back to Fedorov. He's 6'3, can skate like the wind, and has excellent hands. I just wish his brother could smack some sense into him. I really think if he was given a legitimate chance in the NHL (not playing with our bottom 6 guys), say, playing on a line with the Sedins, or any combination in our top 6, i think he could do well.

The overdiscussed: Jason King. I think he's a pretty decent player, he's got a great shot, but as of right now I don't see him as nearly consistent enough to stick in the NHL as a scorer, and I don't see him having the speed, size, or defensive ability to justify having him on a checking line. I hope he can develope a bit more and either become a good two way player, or a good scorer. When I see people projecting our roster for the next season, I constantly see King being placed on as our 2nd line RW, something I don't think he can handle yet. It will be a repeat of last year, and we wont have Arvedson to step in and be effective, it will just become a hole in our lineup.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

My jab at the Penguins...

The good: Evgeni Malkin- Many scouts believed he has at least caught up to Ovechkin at this point of his career. Not bad considering he's almost a full year younger. 32 points was good for second on Metallurg and a 20 point increase from a year ago.
The bad: Andy Chiodo- Went from being a favorite in Pittsburgh and a hero in Wilkes-Barre to the ECHL this year. Not completely his fault, Dany Sabourin is just playing out of this world and the team is obviously going to be starting Fleury no matter what...but Chiodo has had a dissapointing season regardless.
The ugly: Dave Brown- He was supposed to be a big steal for the Penguins in the eight round...ended up being Notre Dame's back-up posting a 2-10-1 record with a 4.30 GAA and a .870 save percentage. Hideous.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Alex Goligoski - The guy went from a WHAT THE **** pick to a steal in a very short amount of time. Picked 61st overall despite being the 143rd ranked North American Skater. Faught his way onto Minnesota's depth chart and ended the season as arguably their best defenseman. He was considered a project player...no one expected him to do this good this fact.
The mistreated: Ben Eaves and Maxime Talbot - A tie for these two players who were highly touted last year and received minimal playing time this year. Partly to injuries, partly to depth. With the influx of players in Wilkes-Barre Eaves and Talbot have found themselves either on the fourth line or in the press box for the bulk of the season. A wasted year of development.
The misunderstood: Marc-Andre Fleury- He's had his bad games, but for the most part he's been spectacular for WBS yet non-Penguins fans are wanting to write him off because he isn't putting up Lehtonen-esque numbers.
The underwhelming: Andy Chiodo- Again, not completely his fault, but after his season last year it's been dissapointing.
The overdiscussed: Marc-Andre Fleury- In the Lehtonen/Fleury way at least.

 

[CharlieGirl]

Philadelphia Flyers
The Ugly: No one in particular, maybe the Phantoms who had a 17 game unbeaten streak in the beginning of the season and then suddenly couldn't win a game.

How about Gino Pisellini? (OHL) - 59 games, 10 points (and at least 3 came in the last week of the season). He was a 5th rounder, but wow, just wow.

I'd add Ruzicka to the "good" list as well

 

[Epsilon]

The ugly: Dave Brown- He was supposed to be a big steal for the Penguins in the eight round...ended up being Notre Dame's back-up posting a 2-10-1 record with a 4.30 GAA and a .870 save percentage. Hideous.

Wonder how Kyle Woodlief is taking that one. After all, Brown was supposed to be a 1st rounder wasn't he?

 

[King'sPawn]

Kings

The good: Mike Cammalleri, the second leading scorer of the AHL
The bad: Scott Barney... great prospect, but misses on another year of development due to injury
The ugly: Jens Karlsson... Come overseas! Honorable mention goes to Lehoux for getting injured during a breakout year.

Additional categories:
The surprising: Scott Parse; he's having a great sophomore season in the NCAA
The mistreated: Denis Grebeshkov; I've read he's made a lot of defensive gaffs... he isn't being "poorly" treated; he needs to be held more accountable.
The misunderstood: Noah Clarke; outside of King's fans, nobody knows how fast he is or how well he makes plays.
The underwhelming: Lauri Tukonen; he just didn't perform up to the hype
The overdiscussed: Brian Boyle; he's been great for a while, but now he's just been discussed in several threads. I'm guilty of this, too, of course.

I wanted to use each name only once; some arguments could certainly be made.

 

[FLYLine27*]

Ill do the Rangers as well:

Ny Rangers

The good: Henrik Lundqvist
The bad: Betts (too injury prone)
The ugly: Jamie Lundmark

Additional categories:
The surprising: Giroux
The mistreated:Montoya - a few bad games and everyone hates him.
The misunderstood:Balej - went from an offensive team to a extreme defensive team and everyone thinks he lost "it".
The underwhelming: Prucha
The overdiscussed: Lundmark

 

[borro]

stole this idea from the edmonton board.. think it would be interesting to get some leaguewide feedback...

The Washington Capitals

The good: Eric Fehr & Mike Green Two guys ahead of schedule
The bad: Brooks Laich How low (+-) can you go?
The ugly: Tim Army

Additional categories:
The surprising: Owen Fussey...Coming on strong this year.
The mistreated: Jakub Klepis...A much better player than people here at HF think.
The misunderstood: Jakub Cutta...Going to be a solid 3rd pairing guy at the NHL level
The underwhelming: Tomas Fleischmann...expected more scoring from him.
The overdiscussed: Alexander Ovechkin...Alot of people draw conclusions from national games that amount to "shows"

 

[BlueBleeder]

The good: Jay McClement. Starting to show a scoring touch along with his defensive skill.
The bad: Trevor Byrne. Disappointing season.
The ugly: Konstatin Barulin. Does he even exist?


The surprising: Denis Wideman. Nobody expected the offense from him this year.
The mistreated: Konstatin Zakharov. Shouldn't have been in the AHL, needed another a season in the Q.
The misunderstood: Peter Sejna.
The underwhelming: Carl Soderberg. Hoped for a little more scoring from him.
The overdiscussed: Marek Schwarz and his average season in WHL.

 

[Rowsdower]

A little similar to HBW's....

The good: Evgeni Malkin- Finished up the season with 32 points in a beefed up RSL. Helped Russia to a silver medal at the WJC's where he showed flashes of what he could become. He appears to be ready to come overseas.

Runner up: Ryan Stone - Just missed the cut for Team Canada at the WJC's, but had a breakout year in the WHL, with 99 points, good for 2nd in the league.

The bad: Andy Chiodo- Not faring very well this season. With Fleury as the obvious starter, Chiodo lost the backup job to Sabourin. Didn't do himself any favors with subpar play in the AHL. Now in the ECHL.

Runner up: David Brown - Another goaltender....horrible stats this season. I know he was considered a steal for the 8th round, but I never expected much from the get-go.

The ugly: Michal Sivek- Seems like only yesterday this guy was pulling solid shifts on NHL ice...he seems to continue to drift further and further away from a return. A mediocre year overseas and rumors he may never com back to North America may add up to a sad waste of potential. Has had many problems to compound this.

Runner up: Danny Carcillo - Projecting to be a pesky Tucker type player. While there's certainly nothing wrong with that, he's got to keep his temper in check. His production is solid, but he's had at least two suspensions that I recall this season (one I recall, was quite ugly.

The surprising: Alex Goligoski - Certainly was a bit disappointed with this pick on draft day, but this guy is really making a name for himself. Was picked much higher than he was projected, and people are starting to see Patrick's reasoning A valuable dman for Minny, he played for USA in the WJC and has been compared to Devs dman Paul Martin.

Runner up: Michel Ouellet - He's been a real funk as of late, but that withstanding he has been excellent this year, showing a nice scoring touch for the Baby Pens. Did not look out of place in the AHL all-star game. I know he scored 30 goals last season, but a lot of people were calling fluke.

The mistreated: Ben Eaves - Projected to be a scoring foward, he's been unable to get ample time on a deep Baby Pens squad. One of my favorite Pens prospects since his heroics in last year's Frozen Four, he's still got plenty of potential, and should get more ice time when the NHL starts up.

Runner up - Johannes Salmonsson - Had a terrific WJC, but doesn't seem like he's getting that much ice time over in Sweden.

The misunderstood: Marc-Andre Fleury- Gotta go with Maffy easily here due to the level of crap he takes on these boards....which strangely enough come mainly from people who have never seen him play. He could certainly be having a better season, but he has been solid and has unbelievable skills. You'd think he's blowing his NHL career at 20 yrs old listening to some people 'round here.

Runner up: Ryan Whitney - Another guy who harbors a lot of criticism at HF....turned around a horrid start to the season into a solid campaign. The "Poti bad" defense doesn't seem to ring true in the reports of those who've routinely watched him.

The overdiscussed: Marc-Andre Fleury- Again, Fleury easily. I think it should be outlawed to have Fleury vs Lethonen threads until at least a 1/4 into the next NHL season.

Runner up: No runner up here.

 

[mach 1]

How about Gino Pisellini? (OHL) - 59 games, 10 points (and at least 3 came in the last week of the season). He was a 5th rounder, but wow, just wow.

I'd add Ruzicka to the "good" list as well

i don't think gino was drafted to put up points i think it was more like PIMS