It'll be interesting to see what he can do without Houberdeau on his wing (if he stays in the NHL this year).
Florida seems to be intent upon not rushing anyone to anything, regardless of how hard it is on the big club. I think Huberdeau will be back in the Q this year. That said, I liked Phillips' comment about "he helped me out a lot, and I think that I helped him."
One thing I noticed is that he's very much an upright skater. To a point that can be corrected with coaching and lessons, but at this point in his career that might be something that holds him back if he can't break the habit. Brunette for instance isn't a great skater but he has more of a slow/short stride instead of skating upright. Either way, he won't be able to have any success at the pro level without addressing that. The Wild scouts seemed fairly confident he could improve.
writing my own stuff about all of this. I don't like this pick at all. Phillips like any kid knows his skating sucks and what have you seen. The same ugly stride, the same lack of acceleration. I don't know where anyone is getting these reviews about him being a good skater.
Skating to me is a huge deal. While people love to say the Brunette comparison shouldn't be listed as a negative, in today's NHL I think its extremely difficult to succeed and be a poor skater. Brunette may find ways to score; but let's not forget...for a player who has produced as many points as he has over the course of his career he's had to accept a lot less money to play. Why? Because his skating is such that he has to lower his asking price if he wants to play in the NHL.
I think the team wants to be an up-tempo team. It makes little sense to draft a slow center whose game really only is useful as a Top 6 forward. He's not going to have the speed to be an energy line kind of player so he either works out on your top two lines or you basically have a dry well.
I'd rather have seen the team draft Jurco or Grimaldi. Grimaldi may have a chip on his shoulder but his skills are all better than Phillips. He's just a lot smaller.
Grimaldi will be the steal and Phillips will be the bust, but only time will tell I guess. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the Wild missed out on a great opportunity to continue to add both speed and skill which I think fits with their new focus.
By the way for those talking about Granlund's skating issues; we may not care now but it certainly could limit him in the NHL when he finally arrives in 2012-13. Just sayin'...
writing my own stuff about all of this. I don't like this pick at all. Phillips like any kid knows his skating sucks and what have you seen. The same ugly stride, the same lack of acceleration. I don't know where anyone is getting these reviews about him being a good skater.
Skating to me is a huge deal. While people love to say the Brunette comparison shouldn't be listed as a negative, in today's NHL I think its extremely difficult to succeed and be a poor skater. Brunette may find ways to score; but let's not forget...for a player who has produced as many points as he has over the course of his career he's had to accept a lot less money to play. Why? Because his skating is such that he has to lower his asking price if he wants to play in the NHL.
I think the team wants to be an up-tempo team. It makes little sense to draft a slow center whose game really only is useful as a Top 6 forward. He's not going to have the speed to be an energy line kind of player so he either works out on your top two lines or you basically have a dry well.
I'd rather have seen the team draft Jurco or Grimaldi. Grimaldi may have a chip on his shoulder but his skills are all better than Phillips. He's just a lot smaller.
Grimaldi will be the steal and Phillips will be the bust, but only time will tell I guess. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the Wild missed out on a great opportunity to continue to add both speed and skill which I think fits with their new focus.
By the way for those talking about Granlund's skating issues; we may not care now but it certainly could limit him in the NHL when he finally arrives in 2012-13. Just sayin'...
This totally contradicts your post under Brodin. Brodin is a great skater and you say "Whoopdy doo!". Then in the same breathe when is kid is a mediocre skater (at best) you blast him for it. Then you proceed to say that skating is very important to you?
So, is skating important to you or not? If it's important to you Brodin is a great pick. Very smooth skater and high hockey IQ. If not, the Phillips pick shouldn't concern you as much as it does. It's one or the other.
Seems to me like you're just finding stuff not to be happy about.
This totally contradicts your post under Brodin. Brodin is a great skater and you say "Whoopdy doo!". Then in the same breathe when is kid is a mediocre skater (at best) you blast him for it. Then you proceed to say that skating is very important to you?
So, is skating important to you or not? If it's important to you Brodin is a great pick. Very smooth skater and high hockey IQ. If not, the Phillips pick shouldn't concern you as much as it does. It's one or the other.
Seems to me like you're just finding stuff not to be happy about.
This totally contradicts your post under Brodin. Brodin is a great skater and you say "Whoopdy doo!". Then in the same breathe when is kid is a mediocre skater (at best) you blast him for it. Then you proceed to say that skating is very important to you?
So, is skating important to you or not? If it's important to you Brodin is a great pick. Very smooth skater and high hockey IQ. If not, the Phillips pick shouldn't concern you as much as it does. It's one or the other.
Seems to me like you're just finding stuff not to be happy about.
Ever hear of context?
Well if that's Brodin's only excellent asset I don't really care all that much. Cuma was supposed to be a great skater. As was Gillies but if you can't skate you're very limited.
I'd feel the same way about Phillips if he was a great skater but had no hands...are you really going to have a Top 6 forward who can't handle the puck or score? No...so why draft a guy with no wheels to play a Top 6 spot?
Your comparing apples to oranges. Phillips is a slow playmaker...how many more playmakers does this team need really? I think we need some finishers. Someone compared Phillips to Rolston, show me where he blasts a slap shot or flies past a defenseman on a breakaway?
The Wild have a ton of puck-moving defenseman with very limited offensive ability that are not physical. Brodin is just another guy to throw in the pile. I don't think that style of blueliner has yielded this team a bounty of outstanding defenseman. Its yielded the team lot of 2nd and 3rd pairing blueliners that you basically call "adequate" and that's about it. Sorry that's not the type of return you should get for a 10th Overall pick IMO.
Well if that's Brodin's only excellent asset I don't really care all that much. Cuma was supposed to be a great skater. As was Gillies but if you can't skate you're very limited.
I'd feel the same way about Phillips if he was a great skater but had no hands...are you really going to have a Top 6 forward who can't handle the puck or score? No...so why draft a guy with no wheels to play a Top 6 spot?
Your comparing apples to oranges. Phillips is a slow playmaker...how many more playmakers does this team need really? I think we need some finishers. Someone compared Phillips to Rolston, show me where he blasts a slap shot or flies past a defenseman on a breakaway?
The Wild have a ton of puck-moving defenseman with very limited offensive ability that are not physical. Brodin is just another guy to throw in the pile. I don't think that style of blueliner has yielded this team a bounty of outstanding defenseman. Its yielded the team lot of 2nd and 3rd pairing blueliners that you basically call "adequate" and that's about it. Sorry that's not the type of return you should get for a 10th Overall pick IMO.
Phillips is closer to a sniper than a playmaker. You don't go 38-57-95 without having a strong habit of shooting the puck. Every preview on his listed things like "quick and deadly shot which can fool goalies" and "opportunistic scorer who has great chemistry with teammates." The biggest reason he dropped to 28 was questions about how much his production was a result of his skill, and how much was a result of playing next to Huberdeau. The Brunette comparisons are amusing, but his skating isn't nearly that bad. If he had Brunette level skating, he wouldn't have been projected to go in the first round.
A quick look back at your recent posts makes it clear that you just decided that [player x] would be the best for the Wild and you can't let it go that we didn't pick them so you mope around insulting anything else the organization did.
Scandella and Zidlicky can move the puck. The jury's out on Cuma and Prosser but they have the skills/numbers behind it.
Keep in mind Johnsson was an amazing PMD. Burns didn't get close to his ability until last year IMO.
I disagree.
Scandella can move the puck decently but it isn't his game. He is more of a mobile defensive d-man who has the tools to play physical. He has a bit of offensive upside because he can move the puck decently and has decent shot but its not his main game.
Is Phillips really a terrible skater, or are scouts just focusing on the weakest part of his game, because he's strong in the other areas of the game?
We don't need Phillips to be a good skater. We need him to be a "good enough" skater.
I believe in his press conference right after the draft, Phillips even called himself out on his skating by saying it is the weakest part of his game. He did describe it as something he wants to improve on though. Speed is something that the organization seems to be focusing on, but it's not like speed cannot be developed or improved upon.
From the videos I saw, he's not going to get 10 goals in the NHL against real defensemen and goalies. That shot may be a quick release but it's more opportunistic than anything else. He's going to need to really improve the skating and have quality linemates.
Brunette might be a good comparable, in that he doesn't have an outstanding shot or skating...but also he's one of the best along the boards, has great hockey IQ, and has pretty good hands. You don't score 25 goals with his skillset unless you've got that ability to read the play and even sense where the puck is going to be.
I do think Phillips could be a bit of a project. He's more likely to be a Joel Broda than an Andrew Brunette, so he's got an uphill battle. But if the scouts are confident he can improve his skating, and he does have the nose for the net and good hockey IQ, then he could end up being a steal.
There's always ways to refine skating. Sure, they won't suddenly make Phillips into a speedster but I think he's an acceptable skater as is projected on current development.
At the point in the draft Phillips was drafted, I would have preferred a handful of other players available. But that's not to say I don't like Phillips. It was a fine pick and there's something to be said for kids who have a nose for the net. No one here is watching these players as much as scouts and if they feel he was the right pick over others available, I'll stick with that until shown otherwise. While this current staff has a short track record, I think they've earned some leeway in terms of their selections. We'll just have to see how they turn out. I'm personally not ready to be up in arms over 17 and 18 year olds that I've seen virtually nothing of.
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Scandella can move the puck decently but it isn't his game. He is more of a mobile defensive d-man who has the tools to play physical. He has a bit of offensive upside because he can move the puck decently and has decent shot but its not his main game.
I think we'll be surprised next year. From what I saw the kid had great patience for a rookie, can skate well, and had good hands. If he uses that reach along with those tools, he'll be able to move the puck pretty well. I don't think that will be his primary role though.
There's always ways to refine skating. Sure, they won't suddenly make Phillips into a speedster but I think he's an acceptable skater as is projected on current development.
At the point in the draft Phillips was drafted, I would have preferred a handful of other players available. But that's not to say I don't like Phillips. It was a fine pick and there's something to be said for kids who have a nose for the net. No one here is watching these players as much as scouts and if they feel he was the right pick over others available, I'll stick with that until shown otherwise. While this current staff has a short track record, I think they've earned some leeway in terms of their selections. We'll just have to see how they turn out. I'm personally not ready to be up in arms over 17 and 18 year olds that I've seen virtually nothing of.
Then you are far too sensible to be a Wild fan. Or really a hockey fan in general.
I do agree, let the kids play and develop. When they come to the bigs (or don't) then you can make judgements on what kind of players they are, until then speak with tongue in cheek. Any of these kids could turn out to simply amaze us. Or they could be James Sheppard.
