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Originally Posted by moon
LOL
Solid argument there.
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I'm mostly pessimistic with my evaluations, but you take it to new heights, basically writing off everyone except the top two or three guys as being ones that have little to no hope of making the NHL. I don't know why you are so very pessimistic though.
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I have no problem with projecting players to do well but making definitive statements like at worst he is a 3rd line scorer when there is still a reasonable chance he turns into nothing and that Knight is a lock to be a quality 2nd/3rd liner is silly for any prospect and especially second tier guys like these two.
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There is always a chance that a player falls on his face once he makes it to the NHL, but both Klimchuk and Knight have enough all round skills and make up to be in the NHL. Knight is going to be on the Flames to start the year guaranteed unless he is injured. He's better than a lot of the 3rd and 4th liners that I've watched play for the Flames the past few years. So it's not a stretch to say that he's a lock to be a 3rd line C (especially with the Flames awesome C depth).
Klimchuk has a dynamite shot and good offensive instincts but plays like Nystrom or any of the Sutters. If he didn't have the offensive skill, the other parts of his game would likely make him an NHLer (he's in the same ballpark defensively as Reinhart, who will likely start on the 4th line this year)
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It has nothing to do with me "hating all things Flames" and everything to do with having watched a ton of prospects to know that there is always a risk with guys like this and they are not close to being locks for anything especially 2nd/3rd line players at this point in their careers.
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I too have watched tons of prospects over the last 20 years and of course not everyone will make it full time and there are no guarantees with any one player, but with all of our top ten guys, from similar prospects I've watched in the past, they all have a greater than 50% chance at being NHLers (except Gaudreau), even if only in a third/4th line role/backup. If a player has a well above average skill, they will likely be NHLers even if the rest of their game is average or worse. Poirier could only be Andrew Cogliano, Knight becoming another Steckel, and Gillies being a Backup goalie, but because of their niche talents, they should all be in the NHL.