the low down is he's not that great and boston only sent him here because they are better talent evaluators than we are
In all seriousness though, looking at Boston's list of prospects at the time, I don't think it's wrong to say that Colborne was the best of the bunch. At the very least, the most intriguing with the most potential. Who else would you have rather had Boston send over? Colborne, to me, represents exactly what we need if he manages to fill out and reach that potential: a #1 centre, big bodied and soft-handed. Not unlike a Joe Thornton.
I'm saying give the kids some patience. Not everyone is going to reach their potential by the time they're 21-22. A lot of NHLers don't manage to make the jump until their mid-twenties. How many times have we traded young guys only to wish we hadn't in the future?
Do I think we should wait for him until his 30s? No, but I'm certainly willing to give him more than a season and a bit in our system at the age of 22 before saying he'll never amount to more than a Dave Steckel.
you made a terrible comparison in your attempt to preach patience.
patience is not the answer to all disappointing prospects. can't we just admit we wanted to see much more from colborne this year?
lets just be honest and admit that a 22 year old centre who has 40 points in the ahl is not something to get terribly excited about. if he's going to be a leaf and have any kind of impact, he has to get a lot better very quickly.
can he do that? possibly. is there anything wrong with pointing out his disappointing season and saying he has to be much better? no, there isn't.
to suggest the leafs can and/or should be patient and wait until he's in his mid-20s before judging him is very naive.
I haven't seen nearly as much of the Marlies as I would have liked (5 games or so), but from what I saw Colbs didn't look bad. Great hands, great hockey sense, but was floating fairly obviously. He impressed me most once he got engaged down low cycling, did a great job controlling the puck and dictating play from back there. When I saw him his linemates were holding him back, they were having issues cycling and weren't doing much when Colbs got them the puck. But he impressed me in the limited sample size. I'm certainly not ready to give up on the kid or label him a disappointment.
there's that old routine again. when in doubt, blame the linemates.
He was for a while after we got him. I always thought Boston got rid of him because they felt he coulf never crack the top 6. Why else would they give that away for a rental like Kaberle....
In all seriousness though, looking at Boston's list of prospects at the time, I don't think it's wrong to say that Colborne was the best of the bunch. At the very least, the most intriguing with the most potential. Who else would you have rather had Boston send over? Colborne, to me, represents exactly what we need if he manages to fill out and reach that potential: a #1 centre, big bodied and soft-handed. Not unlike a Joe Thornton.
Only difference is Thorton had over 120 points in is last OHL season and he was younger than Colborne. Not sure it is a good comparison...yeah size perhaps but the points and ability just does not compare.
There is nothing wrong with any of his physical abilities. His skating is good enough, he's already strong enough and he has NHL level skills. So there has to be a reason why he's so underwhelming. It's that, apart from short spurts when he can be very impressive, he's usually too comfortable with staying away from the real action and dirty spots. He's that class of prospect that is most frustrating: what's holding him back isn't his abilities it's his head and/or desire.
There is nothing wrong with any of his physical abilities. His skating is good enough, he's already strong enough and he has NHL level skills. So there has to be a reason why he's so underwhelming. It's that, apart from short spurts when he can be very impressive, he's usually too comfortable with staying away from the real action and dirty spots. He's that class of prospect that is most frustrating: what's holding him back isn't his abilities it's his head and/or desire.
It's true. Worryingly, you never really hear of the sports cliche that "he came up lacking the desire to compete but eventually overcame that".
Hey pal, been browsing for a bit, come across some of your posts. Anyways, you've got some growing up to do. One day you'll realize how to unclench your butt cheeks and relax. You take things way, way...way, way, way too seriously.
P.S. Everyone can see through your weak attempts to use a wide vocabulary and special grammar
Anways on topic, Colborne came to this organization and posted 16 points and 8 goals in 20 games with the Marlies. Then this year he started out at an absolute tear. Since then he's fallen off. I reckon he's somewhere in between.
Once again Joe C is another example of what's wrong with the people who choose our top prospects (scrolling list at the top of the screen). If they put him in the top 10 I wouldn't question it, but 2nd? Everyone says that these rankings are based on ceiling potential, so Joe C is our 2nd best prospect? Come on now. Is it just because Burke does fancy trades where he always fleeces everybody therefore Joe C is the 2nd best prospect in the org?
This is the biggest problem:
He's 6'5 but is not physical, doesn't use his size well, and doesn't skate well.
He has excellent hands and good hockey sense. . .but just needs for someone to teach him how to skate well and to make him tougher.
you made a terrible comparison in your attempt to preach patience.
patience is not the answer to all disappointing prospects. can't we just admit we wanted to see much more from colborne this year?
lets just be honest and admit that a 22 year old centre who has 40 points in the ahl is not something to get terribly excited about. if he's going to be a leaf and have any kind of impact, he has to get a lot better very quickly.
can he do that? possibly. is there anything wrong with pointing out his disappointing season and saying he has to be much better? no, there isn't.
to suggest the leafs can and/or should be patient and wait until he's in his mid-20s before judging him is very naive.
If patience is not the answer, what is?????????????
It is fair to admit that his numbers and results were somewhat of a disappointment. But be honest with yourself, do young prospects not disappoint at times?????
He didn't have the season we all wanted but most of us will be happy to give him a couple more years. There's a difference between judging him and giving up on him. Right now I will judge him as a young 22 year old player that needs more time and experience which I believe everyone should?
I find most people judge him as a 25-26 year old prospect with tons of experience who has been given countless opportunities and never succeeded! Judge him all you want but judge him for what he is and not based on your clearly unreasonable expepctations.
Once again Joe C is another example of what's wrong with the people who choose our top prospects (scrolling list at the top of the screen). If they put him in the top 10 I wouldn't question it, but 2nd? Everyone says that these rankings are based on ceiling potential, so Joe C is our 2nd best prospect? Come on now. Is it just because Burke does fancy trades where he always fleeces everybody therefore Joe C is the 2nd best prospect in the org?
Exactly. Because a prospect is "the new best thing" it would make sense that the rankings are skewed because people are intrigued by new prospects and thus their ranking is not based on skill or potential but because they are new to the organization, making them favorites.
Once again Joe C is another example of what's wrong with the people who choose our top prospects (scrolling list at the top of the screen). If they put him in the top 10 I wouldn't question it, but 2nd? Everyone says that these rankings are based on ceiling potential, so Joe C is our 2nd best prospect? Come on now. Is it just because Burke does fancy trades where he always fleeces everybody therefore Joe C is the 2nd best prospect in the org?
It's likely because the people building these charts aren't fickle Leaf fans who poop themselves because a young prospect goes through a rough patch.
They likely look at his entire history, his current skillset, unique characteristics and demand for what he brings. Unlike here, where people look at goals and points and if it's not among topin the league the player's a bust!
Not sure what Brian Burke has to do with Joe Colborne's depth ranking but once again your post show only negative emotion and very little intelligence.
I'm kind of surprised people still see him as a possible 2C. I think his potential has fallen to a solid 3C who has some skill and can chip in maybe 40 points a year, probably less.
It's likely because the people building these charts aren't fickle Leaf fans who poop themselves because a young prospect goes through a rough patch.
They likely look at his entire history, his current skillset, unique characteristics and demand for what he brings. Unlike here, where people look at goals and points and if it's not among topin the league the player's a bust!
Not sure what Brian Burke has to do with Joe Colborne's depth ranking but once again your post show only negative emotion and very little intelligence.
You might actually have a point somewhere there, but when you go around chasing me from thread to thread it gets negated.
There is nothing wrong with any of his physical abilities. His skating is good enough, he's already strong enough and he has NHL level skills. So there has to be a reason why he's so underwhelming. It's that, apart from short spurts when he can be very impressive, he's usually too comfortable with staying away from the real action and dirty spots. He's that class of prospect that is most frustrating: what's holding him back isn't his abilities it's his head and/or desire.
Until yesterday, when I had another chance to see him at ice level, I would tend to agree. While not a game breaker, he was effective in two of three zones, worked extremely hard down low and controlled play along the half wall and in the corners and he was very physical. Skating wise, he's actually very good, but big guys often look a little lazy and lumbering. His turns are excellent in every direction, and he transitions into reverse gear very smoothly on the back check.
He definitely appeared to be stepping up with Zig and Kadri out of the mix, and will need to sustain that intensity heading into their post season campaign.
You might actually have a point somewhere there, but when you go around chasing me from thread to thread it gets negated.
Don't flatter yourself, I respond to the post not the poster. It just so happens you like to go around spewing vebal garbage and dragging seperate arguments into posts. Complaining about HF's ranking of Joe C and bringing up Burke is ridiculous, the two have zero connectionto one another.
Joe Colborne had a very good stretch and a very rough stretch. One cannot pin him into a lower role based on the rough patch no more than one can pin him into a higher role based on the good stretch. We have to rely on experts who can look at prospects with no bias's or emotion unlike us. Many of these experts think very highly of Joe Colborne which gives me confidence to ride out the rough stretch of his year. Capping a prospects potential at this point in his career is crazy. Part of a young player's development is dealing with adversity. It's how he responds in the upcoming playoffs and next year that will tell us alot about his character. If his offense dried up but his defensive play developed then to me that is great. I ratehr have him develop slower to be a better all around player than develop faster to be a one dimensional player. There is no rush to get him in this roster and can easily ride out 2-3 more years of development. This is proper prospect mgmt and how yourebuild a good prospect pool!
I think he's gone from blue chipper to long term project with limited upside from his disaster of a campaign in the AHL. How he isn't thriving on a winning team is a mystery. Just looks like an even longer shot to the NHL than a teenage Nik Antropov. I'm horribly disappointed in him and wish we had taken Blake Wheeler in that trade. I don't think his ceiling is even going to come close to Wheeler at his most useless and inconsistent...
1) He was never a blue chipper
2) He had an amazing performance for nearly half the season
3) Blake Wheeler was never in the conversation, they were dealing him with Peverley.
Calm down, not everyone has to make the NHL in their second year pro.
