I really like the Avs going forward. That scouting staff deserves some credit for sure.
Yeah, I love Pracey. He may hate drafting outside of the CHL, and have an inexplicable boner for hard working, 5'10" centers, but he's been phenomenal for this team.
The Pens' D could be plain nasty if the prospects continue to develop. In particular:
-Derrick Pouliot
-Joe Morrow
-Simon Despres
-Olli Maatta
-Scott Harrington
-Brian Dumoulin
Buuuuuttt at the same time, as long as Crosby, Malkin, and Sutter are still here, center will be our greatest strength.
Came here to post exactly this. If we re-sign Malkin, and I think we will, center will remain our greatest strenght. Defense COULD BE a real force if we keep Letang and if most of our prospects develop.
1) Star-level offensive talent
=Hall, RNH, Eberle, Yakupov, Hemsky (hopefully still around)
2) Top-4 defensemen under 30
=Smid, Petry, Klefbom, Schultz, maybe Marincin (hopefully Whitney's still around)
That's about it...Oilers really need to shore up the following:
1) Center depth (after RNH it looks iffy)
2) Proven starting goaltender (Dubnyk is still up in the air)
3) Depth defensemen (can't have Sutton on your bottom pairing if you're going to compete)
Centers
Galchenyuk - line 1
Desharnais - line 1/2
Eller - line 2/3
Bournival - line 2/3
Pribyl - line 2/3
Vail - line 3/4
Dumont - line 4
Wingers
Paciorretty - line 1
Collberg - line 1
Leblanc - line 2/3
Kristo - line 2/3
Gallagher - line 2/3
Holland - line 2/3
Quailer - line 2/3
Hudon - line 2/3
Bozon - line 2/3
MacMillan - line 3
Nystrom - line 3
Schultz - line 4
It seams Montreal will have all positions covered. With depth at all positions except in goal. Backups and 4th liners are easily gotten. Whether all those guys ever reach their potential is another discussion for another thread. But to me the guys who could go on to the NHL and fulfill their potential are all listed. Others not listed seem destined (in my eyes anyways) to become career AHLers or bound for Europe.
The real depth, is the amount of players who can play the 2nd/3rd line roles and 2nd pairings D.
Centers
Galchenyuk - line 1
Desharnais - line 1/2
Eller - line 2/3
Bournival - line 2/3
Pribyl - line 2/3
Vail - line 3/4
Dumont - line 4
Wingers
Paciorretty - line 1
Collberg - line 1
Leblanc - line 2/3
Kristo - line 2/3
Gallagher - line 2/3
Holland - line 2/3
Quailer - line 2/3
Hudon - line 2/3
Bozon - line 2/3
MacMillan - line 3
Nystrom - line 3
Schultz - line 4
It seams Montreal will have all positions covered. With depth at all positions except in goal. Backups and 4th liners are easily gotten. Whether all those guys ever reach their potential is another discussion for another thread. But to me the guys who could go on to the NHL and fulfill their potential are all listed. Others not listed seem destined (in my eyes anyways) to become career AHLers or bound for Europe.
The real depth, is the amount of players who can play the 2nd/3rd line roles and 2nd pairings D.
Why not just have two teams....sheeesh LOL
I like Montreal's prospects but this is ridiculous.
I like Montreal's prospects but this is ridiculous.
The last line I wrote was "The real depth, is the amount of players who can play the 2nd/3rd line roles and 2nd pairings D."
That's what my list illustrated. Should I cut it in half to show the depth. The chances of all those guys reaching their potential is nil. There isn't enough room for all of them to play, so they won't all succeed. Prospects consistently perform below expections. For every team.
So I don't see what is so ridiculous. I've listed every player at the level they projected to peak at if they reach that peak.
For the Sabres its defense, no question. Myers and Sekera hitting their prime, Ehrhoff around for the long haul, kids like Pysyk and McNabb in the system. A little weak past that (off the top of my head)... But its still better than the other positions.
