Voting almost purely based on how well I know the player, with the idea that if I know something about them, that's a reasonable proxy for their hype/skill/likelihood of making the dance.
... It's not perfect, but it's all I've got.
Hanowski has played in the bigs. Easy choice over the other "who?"s.
I think a lot of us are withholding votes for these 2 and others due to their age.
Yeah, they're 23 and 24 now and that's the oldest I believe of our prospects, so it will probably be a case of diminishing returns but I still don't see writing them off. In Hanowski's case he only has one year of pro hockey and did pretty well while adjusting his game to his new reality.
Cundari was mentioned as having a chance to make the Flames last season but from what I heard showed up in poor shape. This training camp will be huge for him as well as some others. Defencemen take a little longer as well.
Not sure I understand Hanowski over Van Brabant. They are both likely 4th liners. BVB is a hitter and hard worker who can fill a Lance Bouma type role. Hanowski doesn't have that same physical edge which puts him a step lower in my mind. Hanowski will outscore BVB in the AHL but for the role they are going to play in the NHL if they make it, BVB is a much better fit.
Not sure I understand Hanowski over Van Brabant. They are both likely 4th liners. BVB is a hitter and hard worker who can fill a Lance Bouma type role. Hanowski doesn't have that same physical edge which puts him a step lower in my mind. Hanowski will outscore BVB in the AHL but for the role they are going to play in the NHL if they make it, BVB is a much better fit.
Rafikov is an interesting case. I think because of the Russian factor, and the fact most of us haven't seen him play much, he's slipped quite a bit. He does seem to get selected for a lot of his country's international teams though. I hope he makes the WJC team. It would be nice to get a longer look at him and see what we really have.
It's unfortunate he didn't get drafted into the CHL. It would have gone a long ways in convincing me he wants to play here.
Summer 2014 Prospect Ranking Poll Rd25
