Matia Marcantuoni is one the top forward prospects available in the 2012 NHL Draft. His balance and power are major strengths of his game, and he uses them to go all out on every shift. Marcantuoni is viewed as a legitimate top ten pick, and it wouldn’t be outrageous to say that he could even be selected in the top five. When Matia was chosen by the Kitchener Rangers in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, the team was ecstatic to get him because they knew they would be getting a tremendous player.
Craig Button's writeup in TSN's June draft rankings:
Quote:
Matia had a start to his year that set him back and didn't allow him to adequately show what he's capable of. It began with a concussion and then a shoulder injury ended his season and he was never able to get his feet underneath him. He is an excellent skater with speed and quickness and he can close on the fore-check quickly or create open ice and separation for himself. He is a competitor and he gets involved physically and he engages fully in the competitive battles. With his skating he can make a big difference in the game and while he has utilized it mostly for offense to this point, it certainly can be a weapon to play defense and disrupt an opponent's offensive thrust. He has a good shot and he will follow it to the net and pay the price to score. He is more of a player who receives the puck than delivering it and with the right compliment of line mates, his skills could be maximized. He has a very good skill set and being able to stay healthy should help him realize his potential.
Just wanted to add that I saw him play live at the U-18 Gold medal game when he was with Team Ontario. The kid REALLY stood out and seemed to have a ton of high end skill. Didn't even realize he was eligible this year because I thought he was a sure fire first round pick. This has to be a steal.
This could be a steal. At the beginning of the season, he was being talked about as a 1st round pick. Injuries and struggling to find his groove because of those injuries knocked him down the rankings.
The speed of this kid just jumps off the screen when you watch the clips. Just insanely fast. Hope there's more to him though since players with only that attribute have long gotten exposed in the NHL.
Amazing to me he fell out of the 2nd AND 3rd round, given that the supposed experts are saying he'd have been a Top 15 type pick if he hadn't been hurt / missed some time. I could see falling out of the 1st because of injuries but there seems to be a lot to like about this kid. Also no character issues that people are talking about. Did he have more than 1 concussion maybe in the last couple years? I wonder if just the word concussion sends a bunch of teams in the other direction now / everyone is totally paranoid about it, when for many players it might be the only one they get over a long period of time.
Looks really similar to what Tyler Kennedy brings to this team (or prospect-wise, similar to Josh Archibald). That's a very good player for us and at that point in the draft.
I had Marcantuoni ranked 26th among OHL players for the draft. Here's what I wrote.
Ranking Marcantuoni was incredibly difficult for me. The injuries, combined with his disappointing play, gave me fits when trying to slot him into my top 50. It's essentially going strictly off potential. He has loads of skill. He's got great speed, a great shot and can drive to the net very effectively. When he's at his best, he's also aggressive physically and plays an in your face kind of style. But there are several things that scare the crap out of me about drafting him. The first is the injuries. A high ankle sprain cost him a significant chunk of time last year. This year it's been concussions and a wonky shoulder (that required season ending surgery). This leads me to "thing" number two. After being so injury prone, you have to wonder if he can sustain a physical playing style, which unfortunately for him, makes him most effective. When he came back from injury at one point this year, he looked really tentative out there and was forced to play a perimeter game. Lastly, as of right now his game seems to be built off being able to use his speed to make things happen. With so little development time this season, it was hard to see him progress in that area and I think that some of the hockey sense concerns people have brought up may be legitimate. So many question marks. So much potential. All it takes is one team to believe in what he brings to the table (which I guess was you guys).
Looks really similar to what Tyler Kennedy brings to this team (or prospect-wise, similar to Josh Archibald). That's a very good player for us and at that point in the draft.
Marcantuoni is a LOT more skilled, with more potential than TK ever had
No ****, right? That's at least two prospects I saw that had that problem. I think Maatta was the other one; they had video clips of it but he came back and played very strong.
Also I would like to point out if it hasn't been done already, this player's nickname is decided:
Macaroni AIAEC
(Just noticed Ron Burgundy's post and I think now I see what he did there.)
No ****, right? That's at least two prospects I saw that had that problem. I think Maatta was the other one; they had video clips of it but he came back and played very strong.
Also I would like to point out if it hasn't been done already, this player's nickname is decided:
Macaroni AIAEC
(Just noticed Ron Burgundy's post and I think now I see what he did there.)
I had Marcantuoni ranked 26th among OHL players for the draft. Here's what I wrote.
Ranking Marcantuoni was incredibly difficult for me. The injuries, combined with his disappointing play, gave me fits when trying to slot him into my top 50. It's essentially going strictly off potential. He has loads of skill. He's got great speed, a great shot and can drive to the net very effectively. When he's at his best, he's also aggressive physically and plays an in your face kind of style. But there are several things that scare the crap out of me about drafting him. The first is the injuries. A high ankle sprain cost him a significant chunk of time last year. This year it's been concussions and a wonky shoulder (that required season ending surgery). This leads me to "thing" number two. After being so injury prone, you have to wonder if he can sustain a physical playing style, which unfortunately for him, makes him most effective. When he came back from injury at one point this year, he looked really tentative out there and was forced to play a perimeter game. Lastly, as of right now his game seems to be built off being able to use his speed to make things happen. With so little development time this season, it was hard to see him progress in that area and I think that some of the hockey sense concerns people have brought up may be legitimate. So many question marks. So much potential. All it takes is one team to believe in what he brings to the table (which I guess was you guys).
Thanks Brock, he's had the same injuries as Crosby (Concussion, High Ankle Sprain) and Malkin (Shoulder problem) .
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