Did you guys watch him at Traverse City where he was playing against mainly Juniors Age players? That's how he looked in Juniors so the reports we got were correct. He is having a harder time adjusting to the AHL than many thought which is fair for a player of his stature and playing style.
Yeah, I'd have to agree.
I should have been more specific. Over the years I've seen "reports" on players, both good and bad, that were ultimately way off base. It always leaves me scratching my head.
It's just my guess, but MSC will be a good example of that.
Yeah, I mentioned before he looked really good. However his scouting reports talked about a pure offensive player with blazing speed. I expected from Bourque what we got out of Thomas in juniors. Instead he went on to post disappointing numbers in both the Q on an offensively talented team and in the WJC.
When he did play his best hockey at Traverse it was purely from effort, I didn't see much indicating a high level of skill unfortunately. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, it happens.
To play devils advocate, what was expected of Bourque for his first season in the AHL? He is undersized, needs to bulk up and not overly gifted offensively. If everything broke right for him the Rangers were hoping for another Ryan Callahan.
He has 12 points in 63 games this season. Not very good. But what if next season he comes in stronger and faster and puts up say 40 points in 70 games which isn't impossible. He would be moving in the right direction and with his speed, he could be a factor down the road.
I should have been more specific. Over the years I've seen "reports" on players, both good and bad, that were ultimately way off base. It always leaves me scratching my head.
It's just my guess, but MSC will be a good example of that.
Agreed. Sometimes it just difficult to project. Bourque had some injury concerns in Juniors. He NEEDS to bulk up while continuing to add to his speed. He has a chance to be a Darren Helm-like player but he needs to create more offense. He is just too small and weak for the pros and I think choosing the QMJHL was a TERRIBLE decision for him over NCAA
Doesn't look like it was mentioned but JT Miller and the Whalers move onto the next round of the OHL playoffs and he scored the deciding goal in OT. He had 7 points in the 6 game series against Guelph.
He reminds me of Nigel Dawes because any player that sucks reminds me of Nigel Dawes.
And Bourque is terribad. Granted, Dawes is a lot better than Bourque. And that is saying something.
I was reading that post I quoted from my phone, on the train, so I could not see that he had quoted the part about Bourque. Thought he was comparing St. Croix to Nigel Dawes, which didn't make any sense to me....
Doesn't look like it was mentioned but JT Miller and the Whalers move onto the next round of the OHL playoffs and he scored the deciding goal in OT. He had 7 points in the 6 game series against Guelph.
Shane McColgan is off to the Whale. I'm assuming he signed an ATO. McColgan's Kelowna Rockets were swept by the Portland Winterhawks in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
Shane McColgan is off to the Whale. I'm assuming he signed an ATO. McColgan's Kelowna Rockets were swept by the Portland Winterhawks in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
I think McColgan is one of the more underrated prospects the Rangers have. He is a little ball of energy on the ice. He reminds me of Brad Marchand.
There are definitely a lot of comparisons between McColgan and Marchand. I was a little disappointed that Shane didn't take his offensive game up another notch this year, but he's primarily a pass-first player, and the Rockets didn't have a whole lot of offensive punch up front this season. He has plenty of offensive ability. I'm not sure what has kept it dormant for so long. I thought that going into his draft year he was poised for a big offensive output, but it just never seemed to happen.
Regardless, if he can end up as a Marchand clone, that's a freaking monster of a selection in the 5th round. Should be a great addition to Hartford.
There are definitely a lot of comparisons between McColgan and Marchand. I was a little disappointed that Shane didn't take his offensive game up another notch this year, but he's primarily a pass-first player, and the Rockets didn't have a whole lot of offensive punch up front this season. He has plenty of offensive ability. I'm not sure what has kept it dormant for so long. I thought that going into his draft year he was poised for a big offensive output, but it just never seemed to happen.
Regardless, if he can end up as a Marchand clone, that's a freaking monster of a selection in the 5th round. Should be a great addition to Hartford.
The Rangers do have a recent history of pick well in the 4th and 5th rounds.
There are definitely a lot of comparisons between McColgan and Marchand. I was a little disappointed that Shane didn't take his offensive game up another notch this year, but he's primarily a pass-first player, and the Rockets didn't have a whole lot of offensive punch up front this season. He has plenty of offensive ability. I'm not sure what has kept it dormant for so long. I thought that going into his draft year he was poised for a big offensive output, but it just never seemed to happen.
Regardless, if he can end up as a Marchand clone, that's a freaking monster of a selection in the 5th round. Should be a great addition to Hartford.
Like you said, his team was VERY bad. He was the offensive leader on his team and at right around a ppg. He looked good in Main Camp as well. Low center of gravity, quick and smart with the puck.
McColgan was pegged to be a top-25 pick a few years ago. Scouts soured on him because of a decrease in production from 2010 to 2011. Even though McColgan admitted to focusing on his defensive play that season, I'm guessing scouts felt like he still should have produced more offense.
This season was just a mess. I think he played hurt. He's the kind of guy who you put on a skill line and he'll produce.
Not a bad gamble for a 5th round pick. He still adds depth to Hartford.
Was very high on McColgan and was very happy we got him. He fell cause he was sick for the first part of the season with Mono. He came back and was a p/g player for the season and was nearly a 2p/g player in the playoffs. If he becomes a Brad Marchand type player without the antics he has and bad judgement, I'd be ecstatic about it. Hope he gets some ice time in Hartford to show what he has to bring to the table.
It seems our draft last year has the potential to be a very strong one.
MSC, McColgan, Miller..all very good prospects.
Things always look best about a year after the draft, but we'll have to see how things go after another year or two.
I remember we all thought 2008 would be an unbelievable year. It was still very good since we got Stepan and Del Zotto out of it, but many also thought Kundratek would be a player, even a top-4 defenseman; many thought Dale Weise would be a third liner for us; Doyle and Gaulton were thought to have talent; and obviously Grachev was seen as a top prospect for us.
Two players turned out very nice, Grachev and Weise look like bordeline NHLer; Kundratek, Doyle and Gaulton are minor leaguers.
Same with the 2010 draft. Thomas, Yogan, Wilson, Fasth and McNasty, not to mention McIlrath, all looked to have potential NHL future a year ago.
- Then Wilson proved that he's barely able to play in the ECHL, and McNasty not even that well.
- Thomas had a disappointing preseason and first couple of months of the season.
- Fasth started hot, then went cold and finally got injured.
Let's see how the next year or two goes before we decide on the 2011 draft. It would be nice if we could get two good players out of that draft as we did in 2008.
That doesn't happen a lot. Prior to 2008, the last time we got two above average NHLers in a single draft was in 2004 (Callahan and Dubinsky).
We went 10 years from 1991 to 2000 without drafting two above average NHLers in a single draft.
I think that 2010 class can still turn out to a pretty damn good one but like you said, only time will tell. I only see Yogan, Fasth, McIlrath, and Thomas as real possibilities
I was just looking at the stats for all of our prospects on the Rangers' website and looking at the "Major Junior" section, I saw that a couple of them have put up a good amount of points this season. I was wondering if anyone had any idea if these players are projected to be decent NHL performers. They're all 18/19 years old.
My next question is... When do you guys think they'll be playing for the Rangers (if they ever do)? I know that often NHL teams will pull their young players up if they think they can compete at an NHL level, so what's the reason for us not using any of these guys? I'm assuming they're just not ready... But I would like to hear some opinions from people who probably know more about the topic than I do.
