Hockey's Future Detroit Red Wing Board Summer 2010 Post Draft top 20
1. Tomas Tatar - Left Wing - 55.32%
2. Brendan Smith - Defense - 47.62%
3. Jakub Kindl - Defense - 63.33%
4. Gustav Nyquist - Left Wing - 44.00%
5. Jan Mursak - Right Wing - 36.84%
6. Thomas McCollum Goaltender - 23.91%
7. Riley Sheahan - Center - 40.00%
8. Landon Ferraro - Center - 47.62%
9. Calle Jarnkrok - Center - 42.86%
10. Teemu Pulkkinen - Right Wing - 47.37%
Wow my thoughts and the majority vote don't seem to be on the same page at all. I guess things change when you leave Kindl and Ritola out as they are out of options.
It seems this years draft class gets the vote over players who are older and have been in the system longer.
1. Tomas Tatar - I think he will end up being a great second line player
2. Brendan Smith - Top 4 D-man
3. Jan Mursak - Had a good year I would expect next year to be even better.
4. Gustav Nyquist - Tore up the NCAA. His Hobey Baker run moves him up for me.
5. Thomas McCollum - Not a great year but still has starter potential.
6. Adam Almqvist - Could be a little high this early but I just like him.
7. Landon Ferraro - Not the strongest year but will bounce back a prove why he was the Wings first pick.
8. Joakim Andersson - Has size and is playing in the SEL. I hope he can get more playing time.
9. Brian Lashoff - Has good size and the fact that he had 5 points in 6 games a couple years ago.
10. Cory Emmerton - I hope this being his contract year he will make them have no choice but to sign him.
11. Logan Pyett - Will have a bigger roles in Grand Rapids with Kindl moving on.
12. Riley Sheahan - Only reason he is this high is due to his size and draft position.
13. Andrej Nestrasil - Started last year off great and then slowed down. Hopefully can regain it with new scenery.
14. Calle Jarnkrok - Anybody the scouts call a little Zetterberg you have to like.
15. Teemu Pulkkinen - Could be hit or miss. The hype has him this high already.
16. Brent Raedeke - Could end up being a 4th liner.
17. Max Nicastro - I think he will start moving up quick after making all rookie team.
18. Sergei Kolosov - Could someday become a 6th d-man if only he would find a mean streak.
19. Willie Coetzee - Had a very strong year with 81 points in 72 games. If he could become better defensively he could be a good top 6 player.
20. Mitchell Callahan - Any body who gets 19 fighting majors and still scores 20 goals has to be in my top 20. I hope he gets bigger and works on his skating.
Edit: I forgot Larsson. I would put him at # 14 and move everybody down but that would take out Callahan and I don't want to do that. I like the little scrapper.
i think the wings have a lot of interesting maybes, but not really any locks to make it.
a lot of potential 2nd-3rd liners who are not apart from each other. that's why so many lists would be a lot different. it's about preferences and dislikes.
Interesting that Ritola isn't getting much love and he's supposed to be getting an NHL roster spot. I think he'll shoot up the ranks if he does well this season.
It was between Nestrasil and Lashoff for me. Went with Nestrasil. If he gets half a step quicker he could be a scoring power forward, which is something that the Wings (and every other team) need desperately.
Almqvist is a 6th defenseman and PP dynamo if he reaches his ceiling. Lashoff is a steady but unspectacular 4th defenseman if he reaches his. Nestrasil's upside is higher and he's at least as likely to reach it as any of these other guys.
I'm not thrilled with any of the choices from here on out, really. Lots of hail-marys and "we'll see how he is in 7 years" kinds of players.
Almqvist is a 6th defenseman and PP dynamo if he reaches his ceiling.
he's a #1 if he reaches his ceiling. his hockey sense is superior to maybe any (!) other swedish D prospect. don't underestimate him. he's maybe not likely to ever reach it, but his ceiling is sky high. and with sky high i mean sky high, not the usual "we pimp every prospect because he's drafted by our team".
If it makes you feel better, Larsson isnt on RWC's top 20. I think.
they get boners for guys in GR. dropped him from 13 to NR because of a so-so year, and going overseas (compared to just a 2 slot drop for McCollum after a god-awful year.) Larsson's not any farther from the NHL, and he'll probably be Howie's backup in 11-12.
he's a #1 if he reaches his ceiling. his hockey sense is superior to maybe any (!) other swedish D prospect. don't underestimate him. he's maybe not likely to ever reach it, but his ceiling is sky high. and with sky high i mean sky high, not the usual "we pimp every prospect because he's drafted by our team".
With his size limitations, even if he puts on a lot of muscle and improves his skating, from the sound of things he is not #1 D material.
How many sub-5'10", sub-180lb #1 D are there in the NHL right now?
I think listing his upside as a bottom pair D man who plays more on the PP than at ES and scores around 30 points a year is a pretty reasonable assessment at this point. Saying he has Mike Green upside or Nick Lidstrom upside or Drew Doughty upside seems rather silly to me.
With his size limitations, even if he puts on a lot of muscle and improves his skating, from the sound of things he is not #1 D material.
How many sub-5'10", sub-180lb #1 D are there in the NHL right now?
I think listing his upside as a bottom pair D man who plays more on the PP than at ES and scores around 30 points a year is a pretty reasonable assessment at this point. Saying he has Mike Green upside or Nick Lidstrom upside or Drew Doughty upside seems rather silly to me.
I think we we can see a Tobias Enstrom (5'10 180) upside myself and 99% of Wings fans would be extremely happy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarcastro
I think listing his upside as a bottom pair D man who plays more on the PP than at ES and scores around 30 points a year is a pretty reasonable assessment at this point. Saying he has Mike Green upside or Nick Lidstrom upside or Drew Doughty upside seems rather silly to me.
I do agree it is very ealry to predict what we will have. I think the problem I had was when I heard 6th I immedietly thought of a Meech or Lebda type guy.
they get boners for guys in GR. dropped him from 13 to NR because of a so-so year, and going overseas (compared to just a 2 slot drop for McCollum after a god-awful year.) Larsson's not any farther from the NHL, and he'll probably be Howie's backup in 11-12.
let's just say i'm not taking RWC as gospel.
I do agree with them to a point though. How many prospects end up on the wings straight out of juniors or any other league without making a stop in GR. The way the Wings handle their prospects shows they deem GR as the proving ground. This is why I will rate a player higher if he is playing in GR over any other league.
Larsson is a little different in my mind as he was there for a year and the reasoning of him going back was to be the starter and wait out his options until the 2nd spot or top spot in GR would be his for sure. Nobody knows 100% if he will come back so I guess that's why he's dropped so far and fast.
I think we we can see a Tobias Enstrom (5'10 180) upside myself and 99% of Wings fans would be extremely happy.
I do agree it is very ealry to predict what we will have. I think the problem I had was when I heard 6th I immedietly thought of a Meech or Lebda type guy.
Enstrom has really good wheels though. From everything I've read about Almqvist, his wheels are currently below average and are unlikely to ever be better than middle of the road. Smurfensemen need to be able to skate really well to make it in the NHL. And most are built pretty solidly, at least pushing 190 lbs.
I don't think he profiles as a Meech/Lebda type of player. I'm thinking more like what Andy Delmore was for a few years when he was with Buffalo - a PP specialist who sneaks out for the occasional ES shift but who earns his keep on the PP.
Unless he grows 4 inches, puts on 40 pounds, or grows Catriona Lemay Doan thighs, I don't see him making the top 4. But I could be wrong. There's nothing wrong with being a 3rd pairing Dman who puts up 20-30 PP points a year.
How many sub-5'10", sub-180lb #1 D are there in the NHL right now?
many considered rafalski in his prime as #1. and he's smaller than almqvist.
and i really don't know why you are always calling him out as bad skater. what he is clearly lacking is leg muscles. that is what he has to work on.
but almqvist isn't the same guy the wings drafted anymore. he took a tremendous step forward.
i'm not saying he will be a #1, i wouldn't even say he'll be a top4 D nor than he will make the NHL, but the potential of AA is enormous.
if there'd be a potential ranking i'd put him #1, but since we should considere the likeliness to ever reach the potential i think he's perfectly fine at 10-12 at the moment.
many considered rafalski in his prime as #1. and he's smaller than almqvist.
and i really don't know why you are always calling him out as bad skater. what he is clearly lacking is leg muscles. that is what he has to work on.
but almqvist isn't the same guy the wings drafted anymore. he took a tremendous step forward.
i'm not saying he will be a #1, i wouldn't even say he'll be a top4 D nor than he will make the NHL, but the potential of AA is enormous.
if there'd be a potential ranking i'd put him #1, but since we should considere the likeliness to ever reach the potential i think he's perfectly fine at 10-12 at the moment.
For one thing, I don't think he is bigger than Rafalski.
For another thing, I don't think Rafalski was ever a legit #1. He isn't good enough defensively and needs a superior defender paired with him to hold up (and even then...).
For yet another thing, it is a good sign that he had a big year in the SEL but let's keep in mind that it's the SEL. Lots of small, weak, non-physical players have big years in the SEL and can't play a lick in the NHL. Or the AHL for that matter.
I don't have anything against the kid and I hope he makes it. I just think you're going overboard on him a little. He's 5 years of weight training away from the NHL, if he ever makes it.
Interesting that Ritola isn't getting much love and he's supposed to be getting an NHL roster spot. I think he'll shoot up the ranks if he does well this season.
i think the wings have a lot of interesting maybes, but not really any locks to make it.
a lot of potential 2nd-3rd liners who are not apart from each other. that's why so many lists would be a lot different. it's about preferences and dislikes.
Exactly. I think our prospect pool is very deep with as much as 15-16 players who has NHL potential, but we dont have many top end guys. Lots of players who are really close though, which is why everyone's lists are so different..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Filppula
Proof that these polls are ridiculous.
You keep saying that, but what makes your opinion so much better than everyone else's? If you dont mind me asking..
Went Dick Axelsson (I don't consider him wrote off yet as mentioned in the poll for number 10) though maybe i'm thinking i shoulda went Ritola. If Larsson was there I woulda went with him.
I wonder how much higher Sheahan would have went if he would have scored 7 goals last year?
That said, I look forward to a higher output this year. And Ferraro, he sucked. But he'll have a good year too.
I dont think you appriciate how good Almqvists stats from the SEL playoffs are. (1+10) 11 points in 16 games is probably the best any junior defenseman ever done in the league playoffs. His ceiling is truly skyhigh. He could turn out to be a absolutely amazing offensive dman. He is small but not tiny. If he grows 1 cm he will be listed as 6'0".
Unlike similar player Erik Karlsson his skating is not topnotch though so he still has a long way to go.
Last edited by cheerupmurray: 08-01-2010 at 04:08 AM.
For one thing, I don't think he is bigger than Rafalski.
For another thing, I don't think Rafalski was ever a legit #1. He isn't good enough defensively and needs a superior defender paired with him to hold up (and even then...).
For yet another thing, it is a good sign that he had a big year in the SEL but let's keep in mind that it's the SEL. Lots of small, weak, non-physical players have big years in the SEL and can't play a lick in the NHL. Or the AHL for that matter.
I don't have anything against the kid and I hope he makes it. I just think you're going overboard on him a little. He's 5 years of weight training away from the NHL, if he ever makes it.
His physical growth is actually looking pretty good. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere he's gained a few inches and double digit lbs since being drafted.
Gaining strength and size is all good but if you can't use that then it's no good. Take Ericsson for example, for a guy who has a frame like him he should be a checking psycho but the guy is a p***y. I guess it's also a mental thing. But if some of these prospects can already get the physical build down then the mental stuff can come later.
