I live in Saskatoon and probably went to see 5 or 6 Blades games last year to see Dietz. Each time I would come away impressed with Thrower and quite honestly at the start of the year Thrower was on the top pairing and Dietz on the 2nd pairing and likely in at least 1/2 those games Thrower played better than Dietz (I was there the game Dietz scored 4 goals and just missed a 5th).
Thrower isn't tall at just 6', but he moves well, is a good passer and has a rocket of a shot. Hi weaknesses are his defensive game, but I don't think that is abnormal for an 18 year old. My opinion is that if he was 6'2 he would have been a top 15 pick this year. His offensive game really exploded around December/January and was putting up huge numbers for quite a while.
A note about his defense...near the end of the season the Blades defense was decimated with injuries, and for quite a while they had 3 or 4 regular defensemen playing, with 1 forward playing D and one 15 year old call up. Both Dietz and Thrower were playing 30mins a night for probably around an 8 game stretch. The one game I saw, the Blades we killing a penalty in a tight game with about 10 mins left in the 3rd. Dietz and Thrower played the entire 2 mins of the penalty kill. So while people may bring up concerns about his defensive game, understand that he was still relied on heavily by the Blades this last year.
Great pick in my opinion, I wanted him at 33, I'm estatic that we got him at 51!
Interesting info, sometimes we forget how misleading stats are, and the situations these kids are put into.
It's interesting, it says that Dalton and his family went through a lot, they survived a car accident and both his parents had cancer. Scouts are saying he is mature beyond his age. Futur captain?
Yeah I read that his parents had cancer, and his Dad suffered it with it while he was away playing hockey. I can't even imagine going through that type of ****... horrible stuff. In saying that tho, I would imagine you would have to be mentally tough to get through everything, so I doubt the pressures of MTL will get to him. This draft on paper is something incredible... one of the greatest days of being a fan so far.... Gally, Collberg, THROWER, Bozon.. are you kidding me. I never wanna go through a season like this again, but **** maybe we needed to.
Im curious why he didnt received an invitation for the WJC summer camp? And no, I dont think that Throuwer could be compared to anyone it the system. We dont a dman with a similar style. Its a rare style so good to finally pick one without spending a pick to move up in the draft
He kind of reminds me of Wisniewski after watching some of these videos. I love this pick, still lots of time to improve his defensive side of the game.
He kind of reminds me of Wisniewski after watching some of these videos. I love this pick, still lots of time to improve his defensive side of the game.
The comparison makes a lot of sense. Rugged but not huge. Willing to drop the mitts. Big slapper.
I went through his fight card on hockeyfights. With the exception of the fight vs. Kramer, he did pretty good. He will need to learn to pick his spots better. If he's going to go after the heavyweights, he better learn to not get punched.
No it is not... Thrower is much tougher, more aggressive, and more likely to fight. Robidas only had about 5 fighting majors in four years of Juniors. Thrower has had 25 or so the last three years.
Honestly to address toughness he was our perfect pick especially at 51, was sure he'd be gone in the late first.
If he reaches that he and has upside offense he sounds a little like Tim Gleason if he gets better defensively. This pick reminds me a little of PK Subban. He also had a defensive weakness but was flat out crazy on offense. Watching some of those YT videos Thrower seems to jump into the rush a lot. This could turn into another steal PK style.
If he reaches that he and has upside offense he sounds a little like Tim Gleason if he gets better defensively. This pick reminds me a little of PK Subban. He also had a defensive weakness but was flat out crazy on offense. Watching some of those YT videos Thrower seems to jump into the rush a lot. This could turn into another steal PK style.
I think the Tim Gleason comparison is closest so far.
Dalton is Kevin Bieksa 2.0. He was relied upon to provide scoring from the backend and to replace Stefan Elliott (2011 WHL d-man of the year with 31 goals and 81 points in 10/11) on the 1st pairing alongside Duncan Siemens.
I see you have 3 of our prospects in the top 20, and one just outside.
"Thrower is not the biggest blueliner that will be selected in June, but he still plays a very effective physical game. Naysayers have focused on his size, citing NHL Central Scouting’s underestimated listed dimensions of 5’11” and 179 lbs. Dalton is actually 6’0” 190-195 lbs and is as hard as nails. This was evident on the big stage of the CHL Top Prospects game:
“Thrower came to the aid of his best friend following a tremendous hit that sent Sutter head over skates in his own zone. Plymouth Whalers forward Thomas Wilson was the one to raise the ire of Thrower, who wasted little time when given a brief window of opportunity to set the record straight despite being four inches shorter and 18 pounds lighter than the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Wilson. Wilson appeared to get the upper hand initially, but Thrower, who partners with Colorado Avalanche prospect Duncan Siemens in Saskatoon, had a good finish.” (Mike Morreale – NHL.com)"
So he is bigger than most knew. One of the articles said he can also play left or right point so versatility as well. I am really liking the Habs first three picks. I think they are all NHL caliber. The other ones if they reach their ceiling have a shot as well. What i do like is both Gally and Thrower seem to have tons of tenacity to improve and become the best they can. The others I don't know as much but having prospects that work hard to get to their dreams is better than floaters to rely on just their talent to move forward.
Basically, the big question with Thrower seems to be if he can translate his in your face gritty play to the NHL with his size. (told to me by a scout)
Comparisons (didn't read every page here but here are a few comparisons I found here):
Wiz (I like this comparison). Bieksa (someone wrote this...but Bieksa is way bigger/taller, but other than that I like the comparison).
Any other dmen that Thrower is compared to? (he might end up 6'0 or 6'1, no? right now he's 5'11 and approx 185-190lbs, but there's still time to grow...and what's really important is the size of his heart).
Comparisons (didn't read every page here but here are a few comparisons I found here):
Wiz (I like this comparison). Bieksa (someone wrote this...but Bieksa is way bigger/taller, but other than that I like the comparison).
Any other dmen that Thrower is compared to? (he might end up 6'0 or 6'1, no? right now he's 5'11 and approx 185-190lbs, but there's still time to grow...and what's really important is the size of his heart).
Very very happy with this pick
Dalton is as the same height (6'0'') as Bieksa and he's 10-15 pounds lighter, by the time he gets to the NHL he'll be around 205lbs just as Bieksa. And I really don't get the comparision with Wiz, Wiz is pretty shaky in his own zone, Thrower isn't a gem defensively, but he also isn't a liability like Wiz is at times.
Dalton is as the same height (6'0'') as Bieksa and he's 10-15 pounds lighter, by the time he gets to the NHL he'll be around 205lbs just as Bieksa. And I really don't get the comparision with Wiz, Wiz is pretty shaky in his own zone, Thrower isn't a gem defensively, but he also isn't a liability like Wiz is at times.
Thanks for info. I always make that mistake with Bieksa...thinking he's 6'3!!
And it's comforting to know from you that Dalton is not a (sometimes) liability on D like Wiz (sometimes only, not always...always for example would be Weber!).
If Thrower ends up anything close to a Bieksa (nasty reliable dman...at times inconsistent but has shown he can be solid in playoffs)...I'm one happy Hab fan.
Great time to be a Hab fan (Galchenyuk, Tinordi, Beaulieu, Gallagher, Ellis, Collberg, Thrower, Bennett...and more!!).
Cant believe we got thrower too, ..i heard it on the radio this morning, i was stunned (drunk) to hear we got thrower at 33.... turns out COLLBERG went 33 miraculously and we get thrower with the SECOND 2nd round pick
unreal draft...i really dont know what to say
you go in this thing, knowing a bunch of names, hoping for a couple guys, ...but never do you think youd really END up with guys like collberg and thrower, its just an absolute bonus having taken galchenyuk to boot
i love all of you! LOL
I think you encapsulated my exact mood with this post.
Just got home... first chance to catch rounds 2+. Like the pick. Can't believe Frk almost dropped this far, though. Also can't believe that it was Detroit that picked him up.
Really ? This doesn't surprise me a bit. They always manage to nab the talented euros falling in the draft. Always.
This was the guy I was hoping the Habs we're going to target with the first 2nd round selection, of course never even thinking that Collberg could even fall that far. I was ecstatic that we landed him, but was also disappointed with the idea that we would likely miss out on Thrower. Then I found out we still got him with the second 2nd. WOW.
This has been great draft for us. I truly believe Thrower has the potential to turn out the best out of all our current prospects at Defense.
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