leafaholix*
Guest
Just for fun, make a list of your top 50 prospects.
I took a few things into consideration for my list, including:
- Potential
- The chances of the player reaching that potential
- What if they don't reach that potential? This is why "hit or miss" prospects fell down the list
01. Alexander Ovechkin - Washington
02. Kari Lehtonen - Atlanta
03. Evgeny Malkin - Pittsburgh
04. Nikolai Zherdev - Columbus
05. Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh
06. Dion Phaneuf - Calgary
07. Nathan Horton - Florida
08. Ryan Suter - Nashville
09. Milan Michalek - San Jose
10. Jeff Carter - Philadelphia
11. Alexander Semin - Washington
12. Cam Barker - Chicago
13. Dustin Brown - Los Angeles
14. Zach Parise - New Jersey
15. Hannu Toivonen - Boston
16. Maxime Ouellet - Washington
17. Fedor Tjutin - NY Rangers
18. Ray Emery - Ottawa
19. Niklas Kronwall - Detroit
20. Denis Grebeshkov - Los Angeles
21. Ryan Miller - Buffalo
22. Lauri Tukonen - Los Angeles
23. Marek Schwarz - St. Louis
24. Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim
25. Alexander Steen - Toronto
26. Steve Eminger - Washington
27. Carlo Colaiacovo - Toronto
28. Patrick O'Sullivan - Minnesota
29. Robbie Schremp - Edmonton
30. Ilja Bryzgalov - Anaheim
31. Thomas Vanek - Buffalo
32. Andrei Kostitsyn - Montreal
33. Henrik Lundqvist - NY Rangers
34. Alvaro Montoya - NY Rangers
35. Rostislav Olesz - Florida
36. Mike Richards - Philadelphia
37. Loui Eriksson - Dallas
38. Anton Babchuk - Chicago
39. Anthony Stewart - Florida
40. Igor Grigorenko - Detroit
41. Antero Niittymaki - Philadelphia
42. Christopher Higgins - Montreal
43. Jozef Balej - NY Rangers
44. Jeff Tambellini - Los Angeles
45. Braydon Coburn - Atlanta
46. Ryan Whitney - Pittsburgh
47. Lukas Krajicek - Florida
48. Ladislav Smid - Anaheim
49. Eric Fehr - Washington
50. David LeNeveu - Phoenix
Notes:
Thomas Vanek (#31) & Andrei Kostitsyn (#32) - Both have insane amounts of talent, but we've seen that in the past with high European draft picks. Neither seem to be adjusting to the AHL and they both are basically hit or miss. Defensively they're both mediocre at best, this was a huge factor in them falling.
Niklas Kronwall (#19) - I can't see why he was left off HF.com's list. After years of greatness in Sweden, he moves to North America and is one of the best new defensemen in the league. He then plays in Detroit where from everything I've heard, he was rock-solid.
Henrik Lundqvist (#33) & Alvaro Montoya (#34) - While Montoya may have high potential because of his age, Lundqvist is dominating a man's league. He's still young and if he adjusts to the North American game can be a star in the NHL.
Anton Babchuk (#38) & Braydon Coburn (#45) - Since it's my list, they fall way down the list, especially Coburn. I'm not very high on either, especially Coburn. Comparisons between him and bigger (in size) defensemen in the NHL seem far-fetched... that's in regards to some people comparing him to Chris Pronger. Though he's still a good prospect, I can't and won't buy into the hype. Every time I've seen him play he's never dominated any game and I think his size is extremely overrated, you don't have to be 6'6" to be a great prospect, though it can hurt you.
Left off:
Andrew Ladd - He had a great rookie season in the WHL as an 18 year old. But I don't see tremendous upside in him, though he's a certainly safe bet to play in the NHL. Going 4th overall in the draft was a huge surprise considering he has a slightly above average ceiling and many forwards that followed in the '04 draft had much higher upside offensively.
Antoine Vermette - I've seen a lot of Ottawa games and he's one of the best skaters in the league. It may have been the role he was assigned, but I barely remember him controlling the puck or using his speed as an advantage with the puck, stickhandling and making the offensive plays he's probably capable of. Worst case scenario would probably be a 3rd line centre because of his speed and forechecking abilities as well as the offensive skills that can get you atleast 30+ points a season, but I don't see the upside some people do. I like him a lot after watching him play a bunch last season, he'd probably fall just shy of 50, possibly into the 60's because of his age compared to some of the other prospects, he's 22 years old.
Corey Perry - I don't see it. He's got the height and apparently gained some weight, but his skating is still pretty average at best. He still looks lanky and weak on the puck when he's not making the dazzling moves. I've said it in the past, he looks like a one-zone forward, not a great neutral zone or defensive forward... but he'll blow your mind with the puck in the offensive end, especially on the PP.
AJ Thelen - He's a good prospect, but I can't see him as a top 10 prospect on the blueline. His scouting reports read like Paul Mara's though, which is promising.
I took a few things into consideration for my list, including:
- Potential
- The chances of the player reaching that potential
- What if they don't reach that potential? This is why "hit or miss" prospects fell down the list
01. Alexander Ovechkin - Washington
02. Kari Lehtonen - Atlanta
03. Evgeny Malkin - Pittsburgh
04. Nikolai Zherdev - Columbus
05. Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh
06. Dion Phaneuf - Calgary
07. Nathan Horton - Florida
08. Ryan Suter - Nashville
09. Milan Michalek - San Jose
10. Jeff Carter - Philadelphia
11. Alexander Semin - Washington
12. Cam Barker - Chicago
13. Dustin Brown - Los Angeles
14. Zach Parise - New Jersey
15. Hannu Toivonen - Boston
16. Maxime Ouellet - Washington
17. Fedor Tjutin - NY Rangers
18. Ray Emery - Ottawa
19. Niklas Kronwall - Detroit
20. Denis Grebeshkov - Los Angeles
21. Ryan Miller - Buffalo
22. Lauri Tukonen - Los Angeles
23. Marek Schwarz - St. Louis
24. Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim
25. Alexander Steen - Toronto
26. Steve Eminger - Washington
27. Carlo Colaiacovo - Toronto
28. Patrick O'Sullivan - Minnesota
29. Robbie Schremp - Edmonton
30. Ilja Bryzgalov - Anaheim
31. Thomas Vanek - Buffalo
32. Andrei Kostitsyn - Montreal
33. Henrik Lundqvist - NY Rangers
34. Alvaro Montoya - NY Rangers
35. Rostislav Olesz - Florida
36. Mike Richards - Philadelphia
37. Loui Eriksson - Dallas
38. Anton Babchuk - Chicago
39. Anthony Stewart - Florida
40. Igor Grigorenko - Detroit
41. Antero Niittymaki - Philadelphia
42. Christopher Higgins - Montreal
43. Jozef Balej - NY Rangers
44. Jeff Tambellini - Los Angeles
45. Braydon Coburn - Atlanta
46. Ryan Whitney - Pittsburgh
47. Lukas Krajicek - Florida
48. Ladislav Smid - Anaheim
49. Eric Fehr - Washington
50. David LeNeveu - Phoenix
Notes:
Thomas Vanek (#31) & Andrei Kostitsyn (#32) - Both have insane amounts of talent, but we've seen that in the past with high European draft picks. Neither seem to be adjusting to the AHL and they both are basically hit or miss. Defensively they're both mediocre at best, this was a huge factor in them falling.
Niklas Kronwall (#19) - I can't see why he was left off HF.com's list. After years of greatness in Sweden, he moves to North America and is one of the best new defensemen in the league. He then plays in Detroit where from everything I've heard, he was rock-solid.
Henrik Lundqvist (#33) & Alvaro Montoya (#34) - While Montoya may have high potential because of his age, Lundqvist is dominating a man's league. He's still young and if he adjusts to the North American game can be a star in the NHL.
Anton Babchuk (#38) & Braydon Coburn (#45) - Since it's my list, they fall way down the list, especially Coburn. I'm not very high on either, especially Coburn. Comparisons between him and bigger (in size) defensemen in the NHL seem far-fetched... that's in regards to some people comparing him to Chris Pronger. Though he's still a good prospect, I can't and won't buy into the hype. Every time I've seen him play he's never dominated any game and I think his size is extremely overrated, you don't have to be 6'6" to be a great prospect, though it can hurt you.
Left off:
Andrew Ladd - He had a great rookie season in the WHL as an 18 year old. But I don't see tremendous upside in him, though he's a certainly safe bet to play in the NHL. Going 4th overall in the draft was a huge surprise considering he has a slightly above average ceiling and many forwards that followed in the '04 draft had much higher upside offensively.
Antoine Vermette - I've seen a lot of Ottawa games and he's one of the best skaters in the league. It may have been the role he was assigned, but I barely remember him controlling the puck or using his speed as an advantage with the puck, stickhandling and making the offensive plays he's probably capable of. Worst case scenario would probably be a 3rd line centre because of his speed and forechecking abilities as well as the offensive skills that can get you atleast 30+ points a season, but I don't see the upside some people do. I like him a lot after watching him play a bunch last season, he'd probably fall just shy of 50, possibly into the 60's because of his age compared to some of the other prospects, he's 22 years old.
Corey Perry - I don't see it. He's got the height and apparently gained some weight, but his skating is still pretty average at best. He still looks lanky and weak on the puck when he's not making the dazzling moves. I've said it in the past, he looks like a one-zone forward, not a great neutral zone or defensive forward... but he'll blow your mind with the puck in the offensive end, especially on the PP.
AJ Thelen - He's a good prospect, but I can't see him as a top 10 prospect on the blueline. His scouting reports read like Paul Mara's though, which is promising.
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