"I've seen Rielly do things on the ice that nobody else was doing," Central Scouting's B.J. MacDonald told NHL.com. "I saw him make those little passes to guys who weren't expecting the puck to get there. He's the type of player who can lead the rush and he'll be the first guy back. I think his creativity makes him one of the top players in the league.
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Rielly is the No. 2 defenseman on Central Scouting's final list, trailing only Everett Silvertips defenseman Ryan Murray.
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"Had he not been hurt, he probably would have challenged [Sarnia Sting right wing Nail Yakupov] for the No. 1 ranking," Central Scouting's Peter Sullivan said of Rielly.
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"He's got that [Bobby] Orr-ish quality about him. He can change the game in all areas of the ice, so I'm not surprised he stayed at No. 5 simply because of how good this kid is."
I replied to "Fearless Leaf"'s comment that "maybe 4 or 5 people from our board at the very most mentioned Rielly's name," which simply wasn't the case at all. I agree with you, the vast majority wanted a forward, and only a select few wanted Burke to draft Rielly (with Forsberg, Grigo, etc on the board).
Fair enough, we're on the same page then
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Originally Posted by Stephen
Wait one minute, why do we Leafs fans have to be on the defensive about being enthusiastic about having a great prospect like Morgan Rielly? Nevermind the draft, or the fact that we wanted a forward. Now we have Rielly and we can hope for great things from him.
Not sure why we're getting all these accusations that we somehow hyped him up from nothing when Bruins fans have already etched Dougie Hamilton's name on the Norris Trophy, Wings fans are patting themselves on the back for finding Zetterberg and Lidstrom replacements in Jarnkrok, Smith and Sproul and the Oilers have already signed their 2020s Dynasty core to retirement contracts.
Anyway, no one talks about hockey in Chicago anyway, so you should have an easy time ignoring all the annoying Leafs prospect talk.
I'm actually very enthusiastic about Rielly myself, I wasn't trying to put him down as a prospect at all. I was simply disagreeing with the idea that Leafs fans as a whole really wanted Rielly BEFORE the draft, because he really didn't get that much attention from us, myself included. Again, that doesn't mean much, who HF boards posters like pre-draft normally has very little to do with how prospects actually turn out. Since the draft I've obviously paid a lot more attention to Rielly, including watching him in the Canada-Russia Challenge, and like what I've seen and read.
Basically, I like Rielly quite a lot, I was just disagreeing with this statement:
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Originally Posted by Pi
Almost all of the Leaf fans wanted Galchenyuk IMO but we were pretty sure that the Habs would take him. If we took a defenseman, pretty much everyone wanted Rielly.
Crap Ceci can become a better player nobody knows..
Remember when the leafs selected Schenn 5th overall?
Who did the sens select 15th? thats right Karlsson..
5th Rielly
15th Ceci
I like the Ceci pick a lot, and think he will be a good player.
However, I really don't understand the significance of this post. No one was talking about his position in the draft being proof of his ability, or likelihood to succeed.
I really like Rielly, but comparing him to Bobby Orr is utterly ridiculous.
I didn't do it. I'm merely demonstrating that the hockey world loved him before he was Leaf property, lavishing ridiculous praise upon him before we got around to it.
I didn't do it. I'm merely demonstrating that the hockey world loved him before he was Leaf property, lavishing ridiculous praise upon him before we got around to it.
Well, since he was drafted its been taken to even more ridiculous levels.
But who cares?
What's wrong with that exactly?
Leaf fans have a great young prospect to be excited about. Good for them.
Arguably the best Leaf prospect since Wendle Clark.
Well it certainly doesnt help when your blow hard gm gets in front of a mic and tells everyone he is the best player in the draft.
I agree that it doesn't help...but neither is a having a thread in which non-leaf fans complain about said event. His comment is given far more attention than it deserves.
As a Sens fan I hate that the Leafs drafted Rielly. He's one of my favourite prospects. Kids gonna be special. Looking forward to the Rielly vs Karlsson matchups of the future. Should add some intensity.
Well, since he was drafted its been taken to even more ridiculous levels.
But who cares?
What's wrong with that exactly?
Leaf fans have a great young prospect to be excited about. Good for them.
Arguably the best Leaf prospect since Wendle Clark.
No one since has made any comparisons to Orr and Reilly. On any level, other then their number. But if you can find it, by all means bring it up so we can all have a laugh.
What I think your mistaken with is volume of hype, not what is actually said. People aren't touting him to be any more then what the scouts have said. Top pairing potential, if he can develop a smart shut down game or nasty side, maybe a #1D. Nothing ridiculous about it. He does have elite skating and puck moving skills and will quite likely put up solid numbers for a Dman in the NHL.
We as leaf fans are sorry that there is so many of us talking about one of the VERY few bright spots in our organization. Go and enjoy your playoffs, and stop concentrating on our prospect hype.
It really has nothing to do with when Hockeysfuture started to follow anyone. He wasn't really labled a "Generational talent" by anyone when he was 14, but it was pretty obvious to a lot of people, that he was going to be the next future hall of famer, by the way he played. Pretty much the next real great hockey player.
I can't really find the article, but I remember an old Nova Scotia newspaper article showing this 8-10ish year old boy, talking about how he was the next Gretzky. I remember thinking, "oh that's neat, he's from Nova Scotia". Didn't think too much of it until Crosby got a few years older and joined the QMJHL recalling the article. So it could have been Nova Scotia biased, but I can remember Crosby being talked about in Nova Scotia since the 90s. Just something I remember
I can't really find the article, but I remember an old Nova Scotia newspaper article showing this 8-10ish year old boy, talking about how he was the next Gretzky. I remember thinking, "oh that's neat, he's from Nova Scotia". Didn't think too much of it until Crosby got a few years older and joined the QMJHL recalling the article. So it could have been Nova Scotia biased, but I can remember Crosby being talked about in Nova Scotia since the 90s. Just something I remember
Living in NS, I can say this is 100 percent true. I'm only 3 months older than Sid so I remember growing up with this "the next Wayne Gretzky" concerning Sid. I remember it REALLY heating up when he was 12 or so. He was the next big superstar, everybody said. Well sure enough...
Hell, he did Tim Hortons commercials at a young age because of the hype.
As a Sens fan I hate that the Leafs drafted Rielly. He's one of my favourite prospects. Kids gonna be special. Looking forward to the Rielly vs Karlsson matchups of the future. Should add some intensity.
To be completely honest, I find Karlson might be a good comparison for him. Will he ever reach the level that Karlson has? Who knows. Nobody thought he would either, otherwise 14 teams wouldn't have passed on him. It's impossible to really know but just their games alone, he plays similar.
P.S. At the draft I wanted a forward (mainly Galchenyuk), but Rielly was an exception. (I can bring up proof so just believe me instead of wasting my time)
PROVE IT!
I never wanted a dman so I didn't really know much about them, I mainly concentrated on looking at forwards. I wanted Galchenyuk or Forsberg at 5 but hey, I'm not a scout and they felt he was definitely the BPA. I trust the scouts. I like the thoughts of our defence going forward and Forsberg dropping so far made me more comfortable.
This year I really want any of the Mooseheads Drouin, Mackinnon or Fucale
Such a shame that a thread like this has to turn into constant bickering between fanbases.
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Originally Posted by edruga
This happens in every Toronto related thread.
Pretty much, it's always a combination of too much pride (or ignorance) from certain leaf posters, and a lot of people who truly enjoy getting a negative reaction. Hopefully everyone can get back to giving analysis on Rielly, that's really all this thread needs.
Who was surprised by Rielly jumping in to help his teammate and then getting into a fight right after? Has he shown that sort of grit and character before?
What a game by Rielly! I heard Moose Jaw was supposed to be a weak team this year, but they've looked alright so far. Where are they expected to finish in the standings?
What a game by Rielly! I heard Moose Jaw was supposed to be a weak team this year, but they've looked alright so far. Where are they expected to finish in the standings?
I think most people had them pegged as a borderline playoff team, or even out of the playoffs. Pretty decent group of dmen (even with the loss of McIlrath), but their forwards are weak after losing guys like Howden, Beach, Braes and Henry. Fioretti really seems to be stepping up so far though! Surprised to see them destroy Prince Albert like that, the Raiders have been off to a hot start before tonight.
Wish I'd been able to tune into this game instead of watching the Gophers destroy MSU. Obviously this game was super 1-sided too, but at least I could have seen Rielly light it up
His comment is given far more attention than it deserves.
Drouin, Mackinnon or Fucale
Total dominance, he is also looked solid defensively as well. 
