Rielly going ahead of Yakupov... the media says something stupid to get more viewers and all the leafs fans with their blue and white goggles on take it to heart. Kid's going to be a stud, but Yakupov is top flight talent. What Burke did was simple, draft the best player available at the time.
The point of this thread was how top scouts think the injury hurt his chances if going higher in the draft. This isn't about expectations of Leaf. Fans.
I dont think so. If the Leafs had the first overall, they probably wouldve went with Yakupov, and if they had the second overall, they would probably go for Galchenyuk. He probably wouldve gone third if the Leafs had it.
There's absolutely no way he'll be given "a few years" to develop. This kid is a physical phenom whom already has elite NHL level skills in pretty much everything except Defensively (which is teachable and easy to shelter).
I will not be surprised at all if he makes the NHL as an 18 year old, he's that good. I personally won't object to him spending the rest of the year in Junior and being able to go to the World Juniors, but he'll be in the NHL very soon I promise you that.
There is no doubting Rielly's offensive abilities. He can single-handedly control the game from the back end, but his defensive game needs a little work before he's a regular with the big club. This is why playing with the Marlies would benefit. But what do I know, if the decision is made for Rielly to join the Leafs from the Warriors I would support it as he's is physically and mental mature enough to play at a high level
We'll never know if Rielly could have beaten Yakupov for the #1 spot if Rielly was healthy the entire year. If he was healthy I think he could have fought for the #2 spot with Murray, which is why I'm kind of happy he was injured and possibly overlooked.
We'll see in a couple of years just how he develops, so far he's looking fantastic and trust in the scouts choice.
There is no doubting Rielly's offensive abilities. He can single-handedly control the game from the back end, but his defensive game needs a little work before he's a regular with the big club. This is why playing with the Marlies would benefit. But what do I know, if the decision is made for Rielly to join the Leafs from the Warriors I would support it as he's is physically and mental mature enough to play at a high level
He's actually not that bad defensively either. He's merely average, which he more than makes up for with speed. Average defenders as fast as him can cover up a lot of their mistakes ala Gardiner.
Rielly is just ahead of everyone else. We've drafted high skill guys before (Kadri) or physically ready players (Biggs) but it's rare to get an athlete at 18 years old whom also possesses elite levels of skill, especially at #5. That injury really helped us.
I've made this point before when people are worried that we're going to rush Rielly. He's not going to be rushed, he just might be ready already.
We'll never know if Rielly could have beaten Yakupov for the #1 spot if Rielly was healthy the entire year. If he was healthy I think he could have fought for the #2 spot with Murray, which is why I'm kind of happy he was injured and possibly overlooked.
We'll see in a couple of years just how he develops, so far he's looking fantastic and trust in the scouts choice.
I don't think Rielly was overlooked as much as he had a level of risk associated with him due to the injury. Teams like Columbus and the Islanders are more risk adverse so I can see why they both took a flyer on him and went for more sure thing picks. I doubt very much either team wants to draft a lemon given their relative situations.
He's actually not that bad defensively either. He's merely average, which he more than makes up for with speed. Average defenders as fast as him can cover up a lot of their mistakes ala Gardiner.
Rielly is just ahead of everyone else. We've drafted high skill guys before (Kadri) or physically ready players (Biggs) but it's rare to get an athlete at 18 years old whom also possesses elite levels of skill, especially at #5. That injury really helped us.
I've made this point before when people are worried that we're going to rush Rielly. He's not going to be rushed, he just might be ready already.
I might be overly-conservative with the development of Rielly because prospects with high value like Schenn and Kadri (still early) haven`t worked out as initially planned. I might be little worried the same thing happens to Rielly
Last edited by IBeLEAFInRielly: 10-23-2012 at 04:50 PM.
There is no doubting Rielly's offensive abilities. He can single-handedly control the game from the back end, but his defensive game needs a little work before he's a regular with the big club. This is why playing with the Marlies would benefit. But what do I know, if the decision is made for Rielly to join the Leafs from the Warriors I would support it as he's is physically and mental mature enough to play at a high level
Here is the thing with Rielly, the way his season is going...next year he'll prolly be too good for jr but sending him to the Marlies is not an option. If he continues to play well and stay healthy I'm betting on him making the Leafs next season (assuming there is a 2012/13 season).
Time will tell..He's had a great start to the season, and I am hoping he keeps it up. He's got the offence down, needs to work on his positioning a bit in the defensive end. Really excited to see how he does in the WJCs
Rielly going ahead of Yakupov... the media says something stupid to get more viewers and all the leafs fans with their blue and white goggles on take it to heart. Kid's going to be a stud, but Yakupov is top flight talent. What Burke did was simple, draft the best player available at the time.
I thought the same thing about Burke blowing smoke again. But I realized that alot of WHL scouts not related to Leafs organization have admitted Reilly would have pushed for #1 spot with Yakupov. This is not just one WHL scout. IT was several. People are very high on this player.
I thought the same thing about Burke blowing smoke again. But I realized that alot of WHL scouts not related to Leafs organization have admitted Reilly would have pushed for #1 spot with Yakupov. This is not just one WHL scout. IT was several. People are very high on this player.
Its more rare to get a D with the skillset of Rielly than a forward like Yak. To me they are 1 and 2 based on need only, not talent and ability.
I might be overly-conservative with the development of Rielly because prospects with high value like Schenn and Kadri (still early) haven`t worked out as initially planned. I might be little worried the same thing happens to Rielly
the difference between Rielly and those two is that while both of them have question marks on their skating, Rielly has none.
Burke said going into the draft that there may be a possibility the team drafts need over BPA. He also said that it wasnt a guarantee and that they had to discuss it as an organization. When Galchenyuk was picked, that doubt was out the window and Burke got to take BPA.
Interestingly enough Rielly has as many points as Galchenyuk... and a better plus minus...
