Wasn't one of his biggest knocks his skating as well? Ill have to admit i love the guy but his skating isn't that great. it looks kinda awkward but w/e so happy he fell to 8th.
To any and all members of the HFBoards community who, at one point or another during the summer, made mention that any or all of Huberdeau, Strome, Zibanejad, and Scheifele would certainly be better than Couturier at the NHL level later if not immediately because of his "poor skating," his "lack of offensive abilities," his "mediocre compete level," or, and most importantly, because "the NHL professionals are more qualified to make decisions" than I am, I ask that you proceed in the following manner:
Find your email inbox, and compose a new letter. In the subject line of that letter, please type "I'm sorry. I was wrong." Direct this email to ChrisShafer@ProScoutsKnowEverything.com.
That is all. Thank you.
Really? Where did all of those players play this year?
I'm very happy with how Couturier has played this year, but NONE OF THE GUYS YOU'RE COMPARING HIM TO PLAYED IN THE NHL THIS YEAR.
How in the hell can you think we're stupid enough to not understand that comparing players' NHL success requires all of them to BE in the NHL?
Couturier rocks and should have gone before 8th, but you chose a stupid way to try and convey that, which was made worse by a long winded paragraph of a sentence
Thank you Scott Howson. Thank you Islanders, Sens, and Jets. It's not too early to know. They all screwed up. It's obvious. If Strome, Zibenajad, and Scheiffle come close to Couts I'd be shocked.
Thank you Scott Howson. Thank you Islanders, Sens, and Jets. It's not too early to know. They all screwed up. It's obvious. If Strome, Zibenajad, and Scheiffle come close to Couts I'd be shocked.
I think the Jets made the biggest mistake. Zibenajad is already playing great against men in the SEL and fits in with Ottawa's Swedish core. Strome looks like a good player, but I never understood why Scheiffle went so high
No, I'm mocking the people who said he was going to be a mediocre prospect because the "NHL scouts knew what they were doing."
He went 8th, not 31st. You act like every team in the NHL ****ed up not picking him, when really it was at most 4 teams (FLA, NYI,OTT,WPG), and a few of them are probably still happy with their pick.
Thank you Scott Howson. Thank you Islanders, Sens, and Jets. It's not too early to know. They all screwed up. It's obvious. If Strome, Zibenajad, and Scheiffle come close to Couts I'd be shocked.
Zibs is going to be a great NHL player in that puck possession system. Not so much faith in scheifele and strome though
No, I'm mocking the people who said he was going to be a mediocre prospect because the "NHL scouts knew what they were doing."
I wager they knew what they were doing. As someone mentioned earlier, these guys are trained and know what they are looking for. They have seen more footage than you (and others), spoke with more coaches/players, spoke to the player, etc. Picking Schiefle over Cooter looks silly, yes, but you don't know what went in to that pick. Maybe they saw something that you didn't that if you saw at the time would have changed your mind at the draft. Maybe the skating was a really big factor for the Jets, Isles, and Sens. Maybe they were worried about his durability because of the Mono. It's more than just, they messed up and don't know what they are doing but you do because you called it or something like that. Was it a mistake? Sure looks like it. Was it because they didn't know what they were doing? Highly doubtful.
I wasn't psyched about the Couturier pick, but only because I wanted Dougie Hamilton. I didn't know too much about him but liked what I read, I just would have preferred Hamilton at the time. Couldn't be happier now though.
Zibs is going to be a great NHL player in that puck possession system. Not so much faith in scheifele and strome though
Thanks for proving my point even more by acknowledging Zibenajed. I think most people agree that WPG made a mistake, but it was the new Front Office's first draft.
I think Strome will be a good player too, especially if they convert him to wing and play him with JT, which I'm sure is their plan(Something they couldn't do if they had Couturier).
So please continue to toot your own skinflute because WPG made a draft mistake. We are all happy Couturier fell to us, but try to not act like we owned 29 other teams.
I'm not going to answer your question. It's kind of pointless to ask someone paid to watch and write about prospects whether or not they've seen a major prospect play. Instead, pose one of my own.
Did you think that Couturier was going to bust because:
1) poor skating
2) poor offense
3) poor compete level
4) because they told you to
Focus on the important subject matter, and you'll get this one right.
(Also, would it kill you to treat a joke like a joke.......though nothing I said was fabricated. People really were saying that Couturier should have fallen even more with the reasoning being "teams are passing on him so they must know something.")
You missed the point.
Again, you missed the point.
Wait, someone pays you to "watch" and "write" about prospects.
Guys, he's scored 27 points this year. Let's calm down a bit, eh? Remember, if he doesn't start scoring more than Jordan Staal, he's a bust.
Not to mention Rod Brind'Amour had nearly as many goals as Couturier has points, in his rookie season... Wasn't there someone around here that would be disappointed if Couturier didn't end up being better than him, or am I remembering this wrong?
Let's also not forget that Brind'Amour and Staal didn't play their first year exclusively on the fourth line and they had better linemates to work with (let's face it, Couturier had Rinaldo, Zolnierczyk, and Shelley as his linemates for most of the season).
I'm looking forward to when Couturier gets better linemates and he's allowed to do more than just check. The fact that he's so good defensively already is exciting. It's that untapped offensive game that I'll be looking forward to.
Someone posted the idea of Couturier being another Lindros when he adds weight, but Couturier isn't the physical player that Lindros was. I've always said that Couturier's game is very similar to Ron Francis and I'll stand by that. I don't know about anyone else, but I'll take a Ron Francis type player any day of the week.
Do you think Couturier's favorite player is still Malkin??
I'm pretty sure Malkin's favorite player isn't Couturier. If the Flyers manage to take out the Penguins in the first round, a big part of it will be because Couturier will have minimized Malkin's offense.
I hope that series happens, that will be some outstanding hockey.
To any and all members of the HFBoards community who, at one point or another during the summer, made mention that any or all of Huberdeau, Strome, Zibanejad, and Scheifele would certainly be better than Couturier at the NHL level later if not immediately because of his "poor skating," his "lack of offensive abilities," his "mediocre compete level," or, and most importantly, because "the NHL professionals are more qualified to make decisions" than I am, I ask that you proceed in the following manner:
Find your email inbox, and compose a new letter. In the subject line of that letter, please type "I'm sorry. I was wrong." Direct this email to ChrisShafer@ProScoutsKnowEverything.com.
That is all. Thank you.
For the record, I had Couturier being picked by the Oilers at #1 and being laughed out of the ballpark in doing so. So I'm happy to see he is having a solid rookie season with the Flyers. He's an impact player, just not in the conventional sense, at least not yet. He's a matchup buster, it will show a lot more in the playoffs.
Guys, he's scored 27 points this year. Let's calm down a bit, eh? Remember, if he doesn't start scoring more than Jordan Staal, he's a bust.
Well some people are getting a little carried away, but Couturier is quietly having an impressive season that doesn't necessarily show in his point totals.
I compared him to the other rookie forward in the top 10 in scoring.
Couturier is also the only one used in a primarily defensive role. Only Hagelin plays against tougher competition (barely). Couturier also receives the fewest offensive zone starts out of all the rookies in the top 10 in scoring. He leads all rookies in shorthanded ice time while receiving no time on the PP. Johnson is the only other rookie in the top 10 that receives no time on the PP, but he's 26 years old.
Couturier is 9th in scoring despite his defensive role. Even more impressive is that he is 4th in points per 60 minutes. Two of the players ahead of him have an advantage due to age (Read - 25, Hagelin 23). RNH is the other with a better points per 60 minutes if you're curious. If Couturier was used in an offensive role he probably would have been in the running for the Calder.
I think someone else has said it but as the videos show a couturier played with a ton of exuberance in the Q. He's been awesome this year playing not as flashy. Just wait til he gets comfortable. Absolute steal of a pick.
Well some people are getting a little carried away, but Couturier is quietly having an impressive season that doesn't necessarily show in his point totals.
I compared him to the other rookie forward in the top 10 in scoring.
Couturier is also the only one used in a primarily defensive role. Only Hagelin plays against tougher competition (barely). Couturier also receives the fewest offensive zone starts out of all the rookies in the top 10 in scoring. He leads all rookies in shorthanded ice time while receiving no time on the PP. Johnson is the only other rookie in the top 10 that receives no time on the PP, but he's 26 years old.
Couturier is 9th in scoring despite his defensive role. Even more impressive is that he is 4th in points per 60 minutes. Two of the players ahead of him have an advantage due to age (Read - 25, Hagelin 23). RNH is the other with a better points per 60 minutes if you're curious. If Couturier was used in an offensive role he probably would have been in the running for the Calder.
I don't think people understand just how good Couturier really is. Once he starts playing in an offensive role, he's going to be so difficult to play against. He's so good defensively that people just how excellent his offensive skills are. He's going to be scary good - so good that he might just end up getting Giroux moved back to the wing. That should speak in volumes about Couturier's upside. He needs to add a few more pounds, but damn, this guy is really, really, really good.
Let's also not forget that Brind'Amour and Staal didn't play their first year exclusively on the fourth line and they had better linemates to work with (let's face it, Couturier had Rinaldo, Zolnierczyk, and Shelley as his linemates for most of the season).
I'm looking forward to when Couturier gets better linemates and he's allowed to do more than just check. The fact that he's so good defensively already is exciting. It's that untapped offensive game that I'll be looking forward to.
Someone posted the idea of Couturier being another Lindros when he adds weight, but Couturier isn't the physical player that Lindros was. I've always said that Couturier's game is very similar to Ron Francis and I'll stand by that. I don't know about anyone else, but I'll take a Ron Francis type player any day of the week.
Just an FYI, Couturier's top linemates in order are Talbot, Rinaldo, and Read.
