I guess our scouting staff has a good eye. He was drafted with unimpressive 8 goals in the USHL and scored 30+ next year and is now doing well on the US team.
Awesome, can't wait to trade him at the deadline for a 3rd line plug.
NHLAdamK 10:05pm via Web #Sharks prospects lead Team USA at #njec. Sean Kuraly 4-2-6 in 3 games, Colin Blackwell 2-4-6 in 3 games. Both 2011 draft picks
Joakim Ryan was also invited (and since sent home). Blackwell and Ryan getting invites was a surprise but Blackwell's lone drawback is his size, his skating and puck sills are really impressive.
Ryan, according to most watching the camp, was also impressive(most didn't really know what to expect from him) - his biggest drawback is also his size. Here's what the fantastic Chris Peters had to say about him:
Quote:
The often smooth defenseman wasn’t much of a factor good or bad in the game against Sweden. I think he had a tough time adjusting to the pace, despite the fact that he was very familiar with Team Sweden as he spent time with that group last year. I think there’s some serious upside to Ryan, but there’s a long way to his ceiling. Unfortunately, the WJC isn’t about potential, it’s about what you can do right now.
Joakim Ryan was also invited (and since sent home). Blackwell and Ryan getting invites was a surprise but Blackwell's lone drawback is his size, his skating and puck sills are really impressive.
Ryan, according to most watching the camp, was also impressive(most didn't really know what to expect from him) - his biggest drawback is also his size. Here's what the fantastic Chris Peters had to say about him:
Blackwell spent some time on the top line with Gaudreau and Galchenyuk one of the games. He was pretty impressive, so I hear. Obviously Kuraly was dominant offensively. Ryan had a chance to be the #7, but the odds were stacked against him, so just the experience was good.
By going to another team in a DW classic prospect for 3rd liner trade!!!
Lets hope we keep him as we need prospects in the pipeline given the team re-tooling that will start in a season or two. Any guesses as to his ETA at the pro level?
I don't know anything about this kid but I definitely liked what I read about him in that article. We need a young, speedy, hard working forward and that's just what he sounds like to me. Any chance we could see this guy in a Sharks uniform (Worcester or even San Jose) in a few years? I know that all of you guys that post in this thread know more about our prospects than I do so I wanted to get everyone's input on this guy and his potential. I like his stats though:
Kuraly's scheduled to graduate college in 2016. So, it might be a few years (unless he feels he's ready to go pro).
Oh I see. Well, what do you think of him? What's your take on his style of play and his potential? Because like I said I've never heard of him and I'm glad I'm hearing about him now.
Oh I see. Well, what do you think of him? What's your take on his style of play and his potential? Because like I said I've never heard of him and I'm glad I'm hearing about him now.
What do I think of him? I only know what I've read. Never seen him play.
"He's always had that blinding speed," U.S. goalie Jon Gillies, a teammate the past two seasons with Indiana, told NHL.com. "He would have six or seven breakaways a game and he may have scored one of them his first year."
"He's always the hardest worker on the ice," Gillies said. "He's so fast that he's always behind the [defense], he always gets there. But he comes back, too, and that's the biggest asset of his game, his two-way game and how he plays defense. I loved having him on the ice for both years because he's so responsible defensively, and you can always count on him for that big goal, big play, whenever you need it."
Sounds like exactly the guy the Sharks need NOW, but I can wait a year or two
As far as players that stood out, Kuraly is just blowing it up. His development is actually the opposite of most in that he learned the defensive side of the game as a checking/shutdown centerman first and then figured out how to use that to his advantage and put some pucks in the net. So, as far as versatility goes, he's got it all and will be a huge asset to Team USA in Ufa.
Oh I see. Well, what do you think of him? What's your take on his style of play and his potential? Because like I said I've never heard of him and I'm glad I'm hearing about him now.
I thought Kuraly was a steal when the Sharks got him in the 5th round - he's a very typical Sharks player. Smart, good in all 3 zones, had some very small skating issues (he had a bit of an awkard stride even though it didn't effect his speed and he's since fixed), big, center.
They saw many of the same attributes in him that they saw/see in Pavelski (and Tierney, Hamilton, O'Regan, etc) and the main reason he wasn't taken where he was projected to go was because he was having a really hard time getting his offensive game going.
As the article from NHL.com said, he just finally put it all together this past season.
If he continues to develop as "planned" I'm guessing his upside is a 2nd line center. There's a pretty good chance he's going to spend a minimum of 2 years (I'd guess more likely 3 or 4 years) at Miami which will be very good for him. He still needs to add some weight / muscle to his frame and he'll need to learn to play against bigger, faster guys.
I've watched 3 of the US WJC Camp games, and though it is an admittedly small sample size I had to come rave to you guys about Kuraly.
If the jerseys didn't have nameplates I would have expected that he was drafted 3rd overall and Galchenyuk was the 5th rounder. Extremely intelligent, great skater (not sure why he would ever be described as having skating issues?), and has a lethal shot.
Great pick, easily has 2nd line center upside. I'm not saying he will be as good as Toews, but that is exactly who he stylistically reminds me of.
Just my 2 cents...
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Last edited by HatTrick Swayze: 08-09-2012 at 05:26 PM.
