Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Read the scouting reports. All of them practically gush about his skating, vision, offensive instincts, and his hockey sense. They all rave about how much better he makes his linemates around him, and how impressed they were at his ability to find team mates in traffic and distribute the puck. I'm fairly confident that the professionally employed scouts who watched him play are able to assess his actual talent level relative beyond his current lower level of competition. In other words, his skating speed will not suddenly diminish; his quality of vision and hockey sense will not disappear, and he not suddenly be unable to distribute the puck at a higher level. His biggest adjustments will be thinking the game at a higher speed and dealing with more physical pressure, but I expect that is why he is taking a longer route to the NHL.
Again, read the scouting reports. ALL of them. Scouts seem fairly unanimous that despite his lower level of competition, Jankowski possesses high-level NHL skills and potential.
Who says the Flames overlooked any of these players? I suspect that they simply were not as impressed by them as they were by Jankowski.
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well, again, that is the big question, and maybe the USHL makes the most sense as the adjustment will be much more gradual.
Thinking the game vs playing the game at the highest level is the challenge for all prospects, not just Jankowski. How many kids have there been that just light it up in Jr only to crater in the AHL or the NHL?
while I don't disagree that scouts have done there best to 'project' Jankowski's ability to the next level, it goes back to the level of competition. Projecting a kid from the CHL or from the NCAA is one thing. Projecting a kid from the Canadian High school system is quite another...Even the US prep leagues have more talent as a result of the minor league infrastructure (or lack there of) in the US. He isn't going to have the same time or space at the higher levels...he's not going to be the tallest guy on the ice and he's going to have faster, bigger player targeting him every night...will he be able to hold up? I can't really say.
Next year will be telling as I recall, Gaudreau lit up the USHL, which definitely was a good sign...and that carried over to BC. If Jankowski lits it up, then I think many will feel much better about the pick.
but as for right now, its hard to rely on the scouting reports for optimism, as reports on other prospects we passed on were equally, if not more, effusive.