sluggo*
09-20-2003, 09:14 AM
I know its really early to talk about, but who cares. I was looking through the top 30 prospects (according to McKeens) and one kid seemed to me to be a good have a good chance of being picked by the Leafs (assuming they don't trade down). I'm basing this off these facts/assumptions - the leafs WILL be looking for more fowards in this draft and they should be drafting in the high teen/low 20 area (if they don't trade up).
Joe Barnes is ranked 24th, which means theres at least a decent chance (probably a good one) that he'll be aviable when its the Leafs turn. Heres the McKeens scouting report on him - A confident power forward, not only does Joe Barnes have terrific balance and strength on his skates, but he also has the acceleration and overall speed to be able to beat the defender to the holes. He has a heavy shot and a deft scoring touch. A very smart with his shot selection and shows signs of becoming a future sniper. Very creative with the puck, Barnes is a very slick stickhandler and has the moves to protect the puck in traffic as if it was on a string. A good passer, he is able to find an open man if he has no shot. Although not overly physical, he still is intimidating due to his size and the willingness to throw a few hits or work along the boards or go in to the corners. Barnes drives to the net hard and uses his size to gain possession of the puck. Still needs to work on his defensive play, especially making sure he makes a bigger commitment to come back in to his own zone.
He would definatly fill a need that the Leafs have, it projected to be a second line scorer at the NHL level, and is ranked low enough that theres a chance he'll still be around when the Leafs get to pick (of course I'd rather they pick Ovechkin, Malkin or McGrath but they won't be around past the 5th or 8th pick). I know its way to early to really project the 2004 draft, but what the hell, the whole point of looking at prospects is to look ahead and guess.
Joe Barnes is ranked 24th, which means theres at least a decent chance (probably a good one) that he'll be aviable when its the Leafs turn. Heres the McKeens scouting report on him - A confident power forward, not only does Joe Barnes have terrific balance and strength on his skates, but he also has the acceleration and overall speed to be able to beat the defender to the holes. He has a heavy shot and a deft scoring touch. A very smart with his shot selection and shows signs of becoming a future sniper. Very creative with the puck, Barnes is a very slick stickhandler and has the moves to protect the puck in traffic as if it was on a string. A good passer, he is able to find an open man if he has no shot. Although not overly physical, he still is intimidating due to his size and the willingness to throw a few hits or work along the boards or go in to the corners. Barnes drives to the net hard and uses his size to gain possession of the puck. Still needs to work on his defensive play, especially making sure he makes a bigger commitment to come back in to his own zone.
He would definatly fill a need that the Leafs have, it projected to be a second line scorer at the NHL level, and is ranked low enough that theres a chance he'll still be around when the Leafs get to pick (of course I'd rather they pick Ovechkin, Malkin or McGrath but they won't be around past the 5th or 8th pick). I know its way to early to really project the 2004 draft, but what the hell, the whole point of looking at prospects is to look ahead and guess.