[moon]

Originally Posted by New Era

What do you base your rankings on? How many times have you seen Jankowski play? I bet that can be counted on one finger, at the most, and that was probably a development scrimmage. You have no idea what type of player Jankowski is because you haven't seen him play, so how can you speak to what the guy projects as?

I base it on reading reports from those that have seen him play, comparing stats against others that play with him against him and have played before him, looking at his accomplishments (ie. what teams he has made, what levels he has played at, what individual awards he has won). It is possible to form opinions on guys in the age of the internet and extensive reporting done on players especially first round picks.

Anyone who watched him last season will tell you the difference between his early season performance and the player he was in the post-season was night and day. The kid grew leaps and bounds in every facet of his game. He's an exceptional talent with some developmental challenges, those being his weight and his experience with systems. He's putting on weight well enough and he's learning those systems. He played in the tightest defensive system in all of college hockey last year and acquitted himself quite well.

What indication is that he is an exceptional talent? It is great that he improved as the season went on. I would expect that is the case for almost every freshman player and especially one that was a first round pick. As Chris Rock would say "improving is what he is supposed to do."

I seriously have no idea how you come to these incredible conclusions without ever seeing these youngsters play? A kid that is two months older than Monahan is a bust and Europe bound, even though there is nothing indicated anywhere that the player has not lived up to expectations. In fact, the kid has surpassed a lot of management's experience. I don't know what is with you? You chastise someone for being a Jankowski fan only because he was drafted by the Flames. I think the only reason you hate the kid is because he was drafted by the Flames. There has been nothing to come out that would make anyone sour on this kid. Even in redrafts he holds his position or rises. What is it, other than who drafted him, that you don't like. What aspect of his game have you seen that you can be critical of?

Not sure what incredible conclusions I came to and never said he was a bust at all. I don't expect much out of him but put his ceiling as a second line center. That would be a very good result for a guy drafted at 21 and far from someone I think is a bust right now.

Nothing to do with who drafted him in my view. What I am not keen on (and have never been keen on) is his very low level of competition. People can make up all the excuses they want about his size and his struggles with growth but for me a kid that played Quebec High school and then went on to a lower level NCAA school raises some questions. His okay not great numbers and so-so play overall at the NCAA also raises issues for me. Sounds like he got better as the year went on as you said but still concerns he wasn't better. I also have concerns when the "best" thing that I hear from Jankowski defenders seems to be that he is growing into his body so will get better when that happens. Rarely do I hear comments about how great he played in this game or the big numbers he put up here. I am leery about a guy that always seem to have the caveat about will be this or that rather than is already showing this or that.

I asked the poster to say why he thought Jankowski had a higher ceiling than Monahan. I never chastised him at all for liking the kid. I don't hate the kid at all and was down on him prior to draft before I knew who would or wouldn't take him at all. Plus I love Monahan who is a Flame pick so seems weird that I would like one draft pick and dislike the other just because of the team that drafted them. But it does seem like a typical BS attack on me rather than addressing the issue that you so often resort to.

I can easily point out reasons that I think Monahan has a higher ceiling much better production in much better leagues, already impressing at the NHL level even though a younger player and a year behind in development, ranked and drafted much higher in his draft year and would have been ranked and taken higher had he been in the same draft as Jankowski (whether this year or last), key member of Team Canada junior teams and likely to be one this year if released for WJHC.