bruins4777*
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Ah i see, i wasn't aware he ment people in the draft year....CoupeStanley said:Lehtonen wasnt drafted that year.
Ah i see, i wasn't aware he ment people in the draft year....CoupeStanley said:Lehtonen wasnt drafted that year.
orcatown said:Agree with West - he was drafted way too high. Like many Russian, or near Russian players, comes with baggage. I don't know why Montreal took a flyer on this guy when there were so many solid picks avialable. There is no way he is comparable right now to picks like Parise, Fehr, Kesler or Bergeron. Time will tell but right now he looks iffy as a top end prospect.
ciggyboy said:IMO he is easily top 10 material & pure skill wise top 3. Putting parise, Fehr & Kesler
ahead of him is joke IMO.
417 TO MTL said:When you say, he needs to have a better understanding of what goes on, on the ice, wouldn't you say that would come with time,
417 TO MTL said:I won't get into all the adjustements he's had to make since he's arrived in NA, but don't you think you, and alot of posters, are a bit too hard on him?
Vlad The Impaler said:Certainly! It could come with time. Most prospects need to work out kinks. Many certainly improve different areas. Others don't.
That depends what you think is too hard. If you think mentioning a fault is too hard, maybe. All a prospect is is a young player which you try to assess as a future NHLer. I'm just trying to be realistic in what I see in his potential and abilities as of now.
I'm sure the Habs see some faults in him and they make him work hard. He's very talented and if he does work and improve, he'll be a great player. I don't think it's unfair to list faults anymore than listing qualities.
If he didn't have the faults he has, he would be a lot higher than some players I put above him. And if the players below him didn't have any faults, maybe they would be higher than him
It's really no big deal, IMO.
417 TO MTL said:I swear if Kostitsyn wasn't a Habs pick, he'd be alot more hyped up around here, there's no doubt about that
Til the End of Time said:Do you ever stop whining about people hating the Habs? Seriously, it seems like every thread I read that in any way pertains to Montreal also has your complaining that everyone has a bias against them.
It's getting old.
417 TO MTL said:I see what you mean, it's just that I find some quotes from certain posters here (not you necessarily) funny, people say he was a reach, well just about every expert thought he along with Zherdev were the best pure talents in the draft, how is that reaching from the Habs point of view? Does that mean Zherdev was a reach? sure Zherdev has proven his worth at the NHL level, but he's also had the opportunity to prove himself since he was in the RSL, this is Kostitsyn 1st real chance to play big minutes on a competitive team, and he's shown flashes of brilliance and has done nothing to show that he didin't warrant the 10th overall pick, he's shown that he's among the best from the players in his age bracket with his performance at the WJHC's, his 5th appearance BTW, and now in the AHL he's putting up decent #'s for a 19yr old rookie who dosen't understand a word of english, I think people are way to quick to write him off when he's done nothing to warrant such classification...I swear if Kostitsyn wasn't a Habs pick, he'd be alot more hyped up around here, there's no doubt about that
Vlad The Impaler said:It's way too soon to write him off, I agree.
I don't think the problem is really that Kost hasn't shown talent to warrant a top 10 selection. I think it's just the fact this is one of the best-looking draft of our time. You overestimate the hatred toward the Habs on this board, IMO.
Lots of non-Habs fan were expecting Komisarek to turn into the next Scott Stevens. Many were rating him as the best defenseman prospect for years.
I think Kostitsyn is a nice prospect but I can't rank him really high in what I think is a fantastic draft. It's just my opinion, though. I think there are a couple of players who have truly separated themselves in the 2003 draft at this point. I dunno, maybe 6-7 guys. Then you have a good bunch of prospects of which AK-47 is part of. Some are going to rate him top 10, some are going to rate him much lower.
I value greatly what Zach Parise can bring to a game. I strongly disagree with the person who says it's a "joke" to rate Parise above Andrei. It may prove to be a mistake but it certainly isn't a joke.
Kost has a lot of potential but so do other players. For instance Steve Bernier has just as much upside, IMO. The tools are a little different but the potential impact is the same. A dominating offensive forward IF all goes well and development is good. IMO, you can make an argument this guy is fairly similar to Kost is value. Do we put him in the top 10?
Then there's the people you are sold on, with intangibles. Like Mike Richards. I am extremely high on this guy. Mark Stuart as well. They aren't flashy players but they look safe to me, they look like players who could come up big in big games and will be achievers in the NHL. That is my feeling. I don't think Mike Richards has the same upside as Kost. In fact, his upside is lower than many forwards in 2003 but he gets the job done so often and consistently that I put him higher than a couple of guys with great upside.
I don't think it's crazy to put Kost 10th overall, but I definitly don't think it's crazy to put him outside the top 20. It doesn't matter anyway. The rankings will continue to change as these guys progress and what matters is what they do in the NHL. Personally, I think the 20th best player in 2003 is likely going to be better than the 10th best player in 2004. Very strong draft year. Good thing for hockey fans
Vlad The Impaler said:It's way too soon to write him off, I agree.
I don't think the problem is really that Kost hasn't shown talent to warrant a top 10 selection. I think it's just the fact this is one of the best-looking draft of our time. You overestimate the hatred toward the Habs on this board, IMO.
Lots of non-Habs fan were expecting Komisarek to turn into the next Scott Stevens. Many were rating him as the best defenseman prospect for years.
I think Kostitsyn is a nice prospect but I can't rank him really high in what I think is a fantastic draft. It's just my opinion, though. I think there are a couple of players who have truly separated themselves in the 2003 draft at this point. I dunno, maybe 6-7 guys. Then you have a good bunch of prospects of which AK-47 is part of. Some are going to rate him top 10, some are going to rate him much lower.
I value greatly what Zach Parise can bring to a game. I strongly disagree with the person who says it's a "joke" to rate Parise above Andrei. It may prove to be a mistake but it certainly isn't a joke.
Kost has a lot of potential but so do other players. For instance Steve Bernier has just as much upside, IMO. The tools are a little different but the potential impact is the same. A dominating offensive forward IF all goes well and development is good. IMO, you can make an argument this guy is fairly similar to Kost is value. Do we put him in the top 10?
Then there's the people you are sold on, with intangibles. Like Mike Richards. I am extremely high on this guy. Mark Stuart as well. They aren't flashy players but they look safe to me, they look like players who could come up big in big games and will be achievers in the NHL. That is my feeling. I don't think Mike Richards has the same upside as Kost. In fact, his upside is lower than many forwards in 2003 but he gets the job done so often and consistently that I put him higher than a couple of guys with great upside.
I don't think it's crazy to put Kost 10th overall, but I definitly don't think it's crazy to put him outside the top 20. It doesn't matter anyway. The rankings will continue to change as these guys progress and what matters is what they do in the NHL. Personally, I think the 20th best player in 2003 is likely going to be better than the 10th best player in 2004. Very strong draft year. Good thing for hockey fans
West said:He's played OK for a rookie. His defense hasn't been pretty good which is a big improvement over how most people would describe it a year ago. I've seen him play a few times for the Bulldog's and after watching the games I did was surprised to learn he had 9 pts in 30 gms which is ok for a rookie. Also I'll grant the fact that many players are forced to learn the defensive side of the game before they get the oppurtunity to take chances offensively (which is usually a good thing) so he could quite possibly have a break out second year or even second half.
I'll still stand by the not in my top 20 at this point.
Top Ten in no particular order....
Marc-Andre Fleury
Eric Staal
Nathan Horton
Nikolai Zherdev
Thomas Vanek
Ryan Suter
Dion Phaneuf
Zach Parise
Ryan Kesler
Patrice Bergeron
Definitely before Kostitsyn but not top ten in no particular order...
Brent Burns
Jeff Carter
Dustin Brown
Eric Fehr
Ryan Getzlaf
Igor Mirnov
Shea Weber
Corey Perry
About same level as Kostitsyn in no particular order...
Milan Michalek
Steve Bernier
Corey Locke
Mike Richards
Patrick Eaves
Andrei Kostitsyn
Ryan Stone
Braydon Coburn
Loui Eriksson
Kevin Klein
He could possibly slip into the 19 or 20 if I was to order this but right now probably not.
habs_24x said:Man, has anyone ever seen a great draft year like this!!! its unreal the talent that came out of this draft. look at these names, i dont see any busts in there. (i know some will not make it tho)
Your going to hear these names resonnate in the arenas for many many years to come.
West said:He's played OK for a rookie. His defense hasn't been pretty good which is a big improvement over how most people would describe it a year ago. I've seen him play a few times for the Bulldog's and after watching the games I did was surprised to learn he had 9 pts in 30 gms which is ok for a rookie. Also I'll grant the fact that many players are forced to learn the defensive side of the game before they get the oppurtunity to take chances offensively (which is usually a good thing) so he could quite possibly have a break out second year or even second half.
I'll still stand by the not in my top 20 at this point.
Top Ten in no particular order....
Marc-Andre Fleury
Eric Staal
Nathan Horton
Nikolai Zherdev
Thomas Vanek
Ryan Suter
Dion Phaneuf
Zach Parise
Ryan Kesler
Patrice Bergeron
Definitely before Kostitsyn but not top ten in no particular order...
Brent Burns
Jeff Carter
Dustin Brown
Eric Fehr
Ryan Getzlaf
Igor Mirnov
Shea Weber
Corey Perry
About same level as Kostitsyn in no particular order...
Milan Michalek
Steve Bernier
Corey Locke
Mike Richards
Patrick Eaves
Andrei Kostitsyn
Ryan Stone
Braydon Coburn
Loui Eriksson
Kevin Klein
He could possibly slip into the 19 or 20 if I was to order this but right now probably not.
Philip J. Fry said:I'm tired that the habs draft europeans players with every other first round pick they have.
paul99 said:For more info on Kostitsyn, see this published yesterday on HF pages.
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=7491
417 TO MTL said:I'm surprised non-Kostitsyn fans haven't gone nutso over this article, pretty bold statements there from the Belarus coach
Chipchura said:I think that's because most of them know that we must take coach Zakharov's comments with a grain of salt, after the comments he made on his son during the WJHC.
Chipchura said:I think that's because most of them know that we must take coach Zakharov's comments with a grain of salt, after the comments he made on his son during the WJHC.
Freaky Habs Fan said:O.K... . Since 2000, the habs had 7 first round pick. They draft 4 N.A player and 3 Euro player so I can't see your point with your comment...
And who would you have draft instead of Perexhogin...a N.A player? C'mon dude, they take their BPA of their list...