After his first game hat trick, in which he scored the game winner, he followed it up with the GWG goal against UMASS scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win. Great start to the year.
His 2nd goal in the 6-0 win is a thing of absolute beauty. Completely faked out the penalty killer and roofed it. Both goals were actually right under the crossbar.
It really looks as though we scored a coupe in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft. Both Ruzicka and Potulny have scoring line potential. Don't forget, Potulny missed most of last season with a knee injury. This is basically still his rookie year if you take that into consideration. He is lighting it up. Yes it is NCAA, but it is a top tier program and there have been alot of good players over the years to come out of the college ranks. If Potulny were putting up these kinds of numbers as a junior or senior, i wouldn't be as impressed. But he's barely even a sophmore.
Potulny has sick moves and an even sicker shot. This kid is exciting.
There's the understatement of the year.
I've seen every Minnesota game thus far and Potulny has been unbelievable. Great patience with the puck and just has the sense about when and how to bury it. But you've also gotta give credit to some of his teammates (like Tyler Hirsch) that gets him the puck.
I'm gonna make a defense of Clarke here. He gets killed over and over for his personnel decisions, but he drafts pretty well. The Flyers are always near the bottom of the 1st rd when they have a 1st rounder, yet he has picked some good ones in recent years. The deal for Pitkanen was bold. He was killed for the Carter pick at the time, yet now that looks like a steal. Richards has looked like a steal. The picks of Rosy and Potulny now look like uncoered gems. Like Clarke or not, he drafts as well as any other team in the league.
I'm gonna make a defense of Clarke here. He gets killed over and over for his personnel decisions, but he drafts pretty well. The Flyers are always near the bottom of the 1st rd when they have a 1st rounder, yet he has picked some good ones in recent years. The deal for Pitkanen was bold. He was killed for the Carter pick at the time, yet now that looks like a steal. Richards has looked like a steal. The picks of Rosy and Potulny now look like uncoered gems. Like Clarke or not, he drafts as well as any other team in the league.
not bashing bobby, but please give some credit to the scouts as well. Flyers have one of the best scouting groups in the league. About Potulny, I love the kid too, but let's not lose our heads over him, NCAA is a long ways from the NHL.
It would have nice to see him play last year some really talented forwards. He was supposed to great in HS. Many people thought that the gophs recruited Grant Potulny so hard to get his lil bro. The one good thing for Ryan is he paired with Danny Irman. They played USHL together. So there is a built in chemistry there. But as far as it being only NCAA. If you look at nothing else but his shot placement, those go in, in any league.
not bashing bobby, but please give some credit to the scouts as well. Flyers have one of the best scouting groups in the league. About Potulny, I love the kid too, but let's not lose our heads over him, NCAA is a long ways from the NHL.
Absolutely, I give a lot of credit to the scouts. However he is getting feedback from about 6 scouts, who each like a couple different guys. A good GM has to dissemnate all of this information and then pick the guy he thinks has the brightet future/biggest upside. Our Russian scout may like a European, Inge may like someone else, and then the North American guys might prefer someone else. Clarke gets ripped for making the bad picks or bad trades, though that is based on feedback from his scouts, also. So I'm just giving him credit for going with guys who at the moment seem like the right picks.
There is no GM out there who never has screwed up. Clarke had a bad start but in the last 10 years his picks and trades have for the most part helped Philly. He is one of the best in the sport right now.
It would have nice to see him play last year some really talented forwards. He was supposed to great in HS. Many people thought that the gophs recruited Grant Potulny so hard to get his lil bro. The one good thing for Ryan is he paired with Danny Irman. They played USHL together. So there is a built in chemistry there. But as far as it being only NCAA. If you look at nothing else but his shot placement, those go in, in any league. Heatley averaged just under 1.5 points a game. Potulny is almost at 2 per. 9 points in 5 games. With two games against the #2 team at their house. But it is still early.
Sabres fan here so this is not a "homer" opinion of a Philly prospect. I have watched Potulny all season for Fantasy league purposes and have been impressed with everything that he does. Its not the fact that he is scoring at the college level but how he is doing it. You can't draft based on numbers, you have to actually watch the person play in order to see how good they really are and I truly feel that Ryan has a lot to offer and is a safe bet to make it in the NHL.
I love the review that MN_Gopher wrote, "If you look at nothing else but his shot placement, those go in, in any league". Potulny plays in all situations and has even a SH goal already in the season. His patience, shot power, shot accuracy, defensive play, stickhandling, etc.... are all superb. The only thing I think he needs to work on is his passing. Doesn't make a lot of open ice mistakes, but in the offensive zone he looks to shoot more often then he would look for an open teammate. That's not necessarily a bad thing with the way he can put the puck in the net, but it could be something that keeps him from being an "ultimate" contributor.
He is a prospect. However keep in mind the slow speed at which most of the college hockey is played. Several of his shots were when he had lots of time to tee up the puck. He'd never have that oppportunity in the NHL or Ahl for that matter. I'm not trying to down the guy but to compare him to Heatley is a bit of a push right now. He has potential; lets see how he developes and hope for the best.
He is a prospect. However keep in mind the slow speed at which most of the college hockey is played. Several of his shots were when he had lots of time to tee up the puck. He'd never have that oppportunity in the NHL or Ahl for that matter. I'm not trying to down the guy but to compare him to Heatley is a bit of a push right now. He has potential; lets see how he developes and hope for the best.
Not sure who compared him to Heatley because even though I really like the guy, I wouldn't go that far right now. Yes the players in the NHL are faster and probably won't give you as much reaction time, but it is better for someone who shows composure and makes the play, rather than rush it and miss an opportunity because they didn't see it through. None of his moves took a long time to make, he just made sure that he didn't, for example, shoot the puck right in the goalies mid-section on a rebound. He would wait for the goalie to go down and roof the sucker. That's the sign of a true goal scorer. Too many NHL players with out this kind of touch would panic and get it back on net as soon as possible just to get a shot on goal, rather than wait that extra half second or so for things to open up. Plenty of confidence, but it doesn't seem to have gotten to his head, at least not yet. Patience and slowness are two totally seperate things.
I don't think MN_Gopher was comparing Potulny to Heatley, just pointing out that Heatley scored around 1.5 points/game when he played in the NCAA. It's not as easy to score in the NCAA as it is in the various Canadian Juniors leagues.
When I head back for winter break, I'll get a chance to see him play on Fox SportsNet.
I don't think MN_Gopher was comparing Potulny to Heatley, just pointing out that Heatley scored around 1.5 points/game when he played in the NCAA. It's not as easy to score in the NCAA as it is in the various Canadian Juniors leagues.
When I head back for winter break, I'll get a chance to see him play on Fox SportsNet.
College hockey is faster than the NHL and AHL. Touch up off sides, no two line passes and lots of olympic sized rinks.
the players are nowhere near as fast, which is where the comment about the time he had to tee-up shots comes from. the game may move a bit quicker because of the rules, but as far as scoring chances, and the ability to make plays, he obviously has more time at that level than he will whenever he starts playing for cash.
