Quote:
Originally Posted by sureLoss
Which is why scouts don't just use the WJC to evaluate prospects.
At the beginning of the season there were genuine concerns about Ekblad.
His offensive numbers showed little improvement from his 1st year in the OHL to the 2nd year. Now in his draft year he is out producing Jones, and Jones was on a much more talented offensive team.
Also concerns about whether his size was helping him dominate weaker players in the OHL and that advantage would disappear in the NHL. While true to some degree, there is a lot more to his defense side of the game than just physical domination from the reports I have heard.
The gap between Ekblad and Jones is a lot closer than what was perceived at the start of the season.
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I don't disagree with any of this, Ekblad has emerged as a solid prospect. But what your post didn't convince me of is that Ekblad is pulling even with Jones. Jones was the number 1 ranked prospect for almost the whole year in a draft that was considered much stronger. Jones was considered a special prospect, infact he's still looking special when he's been relied on to be Nashville's #2 defenceman throughout the season as a 19 year old.
And yes, use much more than the WJCs but the eye test can be important sometimes. Jones was that American team, the whole play defensive and offensive funneled through him, and a team that eventually won the tournament. Ekblad just wasn't close to that level in the tournament. Sure there could be many reasons for that but it was a strong contrast between the two players.