Mark "Fricken" Jankowski (aka The Big Jankowski)

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by fotze

I am having trouble keeping up the enthusiasm for Janko. I hope I am wrong. Maybe I just am not familiar with a 'project' development curve. Is there any analogous players development that I could use to increase my hope?

I'm not overly hopeful... but tall guys sometimes take a while to develop. Joe Colborne is a guy who's taken a bunch of time to establish himself in the NHL.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by fotze

I am having trouble keeping up the enthusiasm for Janko. I hope I am wrong. Maybe I just am not familiar with a 'project' development curve. Is there any analogous players development that I could use to increase my hope?

Corban Knight played 4 years of college and now half a year of AHL and is still considered a legitimate prospect. Janko has played 1.5 years of college. Give him time.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Everything I have heard has Jankowski on the 2nd line.

The NCAA doesn't publish ice time stats, but in most games, he takes the third most face offs on the team, but it's usually very close between him and second. Mauermann is their undisputed #1 centre.

For him to play with better line mates, he'd have to play the wing. It's better for his development to play centre.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Corban Knight played 4 years of college and now half a year of AHL and is still considered a legitimate prospect. Janko has played 1.5 years of college. Give him time.

Corban Knight was a PPG player in his second year of college (1 year older than Jankowski is now mind you) and was a 5th round surprise.

Not really a flattering comparison if you ask me

[Calgary4LIfe]

I think it is a decent progression to start Jankowski as a 3rd line center. Though he is a natural center, he hardly has had good coaching or played in a league with strong systems play.

Friars started him off as a winger last year, with spot duty as a center now and then.

This year they play him fully as a center, but on a lower line.

Next season they will bump him up. Hopefully he will have even more mass onto his wiry frame, and can have more of an impact.

They are just bringing him about slowly. Jankowski is a very unique case both because of his build, and where he was drafted out of. Better to bring a kid like this around slowly, but he is developing. We all just need patience with him. We have all seen the skill - his highlight goals were amazing (especially when you factor in his height!) - so the skill IS there. Just needs to continue developing. Hard to say what the finished product will be.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Corban Knight was a PPG player in his second year of college

Yes he was, but it's fair to mention that he was on an offensive powerhouse of a team.

http://admin.eliteprospects.com/team...1&status=stats

5 forwards and 1 D-man in the PPG neighborhood, and a couple of them way above a PPG.

This years friars team is nothing like that.

Just a thought.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by fotze

I am having trouble keeping up the enthusiasm for Janko. I hope I am wrong. Maybe I just am not familiar with a 'project' development curve. Is there any analogous players development that I could use to increase my hope?

First of all, if you watch Jankowski you know why people are "excited" about him. He has the skill and he has the size. I'd probably be a guy some here classify as a Jankowski fan but I've also said it's hard to peg how he'll end up and he's definitely a long-term guy.

The other name that pops up if you're looking for a comparable is Blake Wheeler. Wheeler was a guy picked a lot higher then "the board" by the Coyotes in 2005 but they liked him and they took him. He was a 19 year old freshmen (Jankowski was 18). Wheeler put up 23 points 9 goals in 39 games. Jankowski put up 23 points in 34 games but was a year younger. Wheeler put up 38 points in 44 games in his 2nd year but again as a 20 year old, Jankowski is in his 2nd year as a 19 year old.

38 points isn't huge but he continued to make improvements in all areas. After Wheeler's 3rd year as a 21 year old he actually had less points and goals in the same amount of games the previous year but went onto play for the Bruins the next season scoring 21 goals and 45 points as an NHL rookie.

Who knows how Jankowski will turn out but he is a highly skilled player, has the size and has the right attitude, I like him but hard to make a prediction because on this forum the guys that don't make predictions sit and laugh at the guys that do.

He's made improvements in all areas of his game from this season to last and that's what you want to see, bottom line.

We'll see how he ends up but it could be two more seasons of College and a year to a year 1/2 in the AHL before he sees an NHL game and Flames fans have to learn how to be patient with young players and not write them off if they aren't stars by their 20th birthday.

How many people wrote off Paul Byron (myself included) when he wasn't an NHL'er by the age of 22, how many people thought Backlund was done a month ago and was lost because he wasn't playing well. Some guys take longer to make the show. Jankowski is the furthest thing from a lock but he's a guy you look at and now it will be a while. As long as he continues to improve I'm fine with that.

The one thing I am worried about is his aggression. He needs to be more of a bully out there with his size.

Needs to put up more assists though, he's on pace to more then double his goal total and if he puts up more helpers in the 2nd half he'd easily hit the 30 point mark. Which in a 38 game season as a 19 year old 2nd year player would be very good.

[FanningTheFlames]

I have a huge soft spot for Jankowski, but I don't know how Burke is going to view a soft 6'5" centre. He's neither small nor "beef". How does he find a niche?

[FanningTheFlames]

He needs to be more truculent. That was the answer, you guys. Seriously, I thought I set that up really well.

[TheDebaser]

Wait an hour at least.

Chill

[FBI]

Well I guess Burke doesn't mind our other soft 6'5 center so maybe there is hope.

Originally Posted by FanningTheFlames

I have a huge soft spot for Jankowski, but I don't know how Burke is going to view a soft 6'5" centre. He's neither small nor "beef". How does he find a niche?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by FanningTheFlames

I have a huge soft spot for Jankowski, but I don't know how Burke is going to view a soft 6'5" centre. He's neither small nor "beef". How does he find a niche?

Well as long as he fills out I think he counts as beef for Burke. Even not so physical centres like Joe Thornton are incredibly hard to deal with in the offensive zone because of their size and reach which gives them the ability to hold onto the puck more easily than a smaller player. A guy like Thornton makes room for his wingers and gives the team time to set up passes.

Jankowksi if he fully develops can be that type of big, rangy centre with skill who can hold onto the puck in the offensive zone until he can make a good play. I think Burke is fine with that.

I think there is a huge misunderstanding here. Burke isn't saying every single player must be truculent or huge. But there has to be a few sprinkled in and ideally you'd love to have big, skilled players over small, skilled players if everything else is equal.

So Burke isn't necessarily going to hate big guys who aren't truculent because they could still be adding size, strength and skill. And big centres are going to help our smaller wingers like Hudler, Baertschi and Gaudreau. Monahan is brilliant and I like having a guy like Jankowski in the pipeline developing. Having too many good centres is a problem you'd like to have.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by FBI

Well I guess Burke doesn't mind our other soft 6'5 center so maybe there is hope.

While Colborne isn't a banger he leans on people and uses his size pretty well. I notice him when he's on the ice, he's able to control a lot of the play on the cycle.

[Caged Great]

Realistically in a forward group, you only need about 6 players that are physical regularly. Ideally you would have one agitator on each line and a couple dirt bags on the 4th line. The non physical players though should either be star calibre players or huge so as to not get pushed around.

Janko definitely fits that second definition.

[GreenLantern]

MMF outlined it really well, Janko needs to start playing bigger, even if he hasn't quite caught up to his frame yet. It is easier to play as a big boy now than learn to do it later when you actually have the 200+ pounds to go with that 6 foot plus frame.

Speaking from experience here..

[nik-]

If he hasn't adjusted to his frame there's a problem. His growth spurt was years ago, his change in size is no longer a valid excuse imho.

[Trailer Fire]

Originally Posted by nik-

If he hasn't adjusted to his frame there's a problem. His growth spurt was years ago, his change in size is no longer a valid excuse imho.

No there isn't. I was well under 5' going into grade 8 (I was the shortest in my class by a lot). By the end of grade 9 I was 5'8". By the time grade 10 was ending I hit 6'. I didn't get my coordination going until well after I graduated. Large growth spurts are very, very difficult to deal with. I also didn't gain much weight compared to the height gain, which isn't uncommon. He needs time to pack on muscle and acclimate to his body as it changes.

[Husky]

I don't see an issue here. Somewhat late 1st round pick who was one of the youngest in the draft. He's improved all aspects of his game with much more potential. I would be worried if he was a top 10 pick and at his current level.

[The Fonz]

Originally Posted by Trailer Fire

No there isn't. I was well under 5' going into grade 8 (I was the shortest in my class by a lot). By the end of grade 9 I was 5'8". By the time grade 10 was ending I hit 6'. I didn't get my coordination going until well after I graduated. Large growth spurts are very, very difficult to deal with. I also didn't gain much weight compared to the height gain, which isn't uncommon. He needs time to pack on muscle and acclimate to his body as it changes.

You weren't a 1st round NHL draft pick though.

We've all seen the goals Jankowski is scoring; his coordination is just fine. The growth spurt excuse needs to end.

[YogiBerra]

I have only seen Jankowski in three games over the internet and i realize he isn't getting prime offensive time. He is on the second powerplay unit probably getting 30 seconds per penalty and even then he is positioned in front of the net a good spot for goals which he is banging in at a good pace. He does not get premium ice time which is a problem because obviously he is not considered one of the better centers on his team. Even though he is younger, as a first round pick i expect him to outperform some of the older guys on his team.

Regarding his production we just have to hope that his development increases rapidly. He plays ok along the boards but could stand to gain more grit. Personally I do not see much more than a Joe Colborne type player from him he has shown hands when he has the space but his production against high quality teams is not impressive.