Quote:
Originally Posted by druetetective
I'll admit I've ever seen them play a Finnish league game.
You have seen these two play more than anyone I'd bet. You have mentioned on several occasions you don't think Puljujarvi has elite offensive potential. You also mentioned neither being a cerebral player and Laines skating concerns.
I just think them going from not even a lock to go 2-3 this year to posters arguing they are among the best 5 prospects overall the from the last 3-5 drafts combined is preposterous.
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My reservations about Puljujärvi are in the context of him being compared to the other two top draft eligible prospects. He's a great prospect, I just put him behind Matthews and Laine. I think Laine is a star, I'm not sure Puljujärvi has that quality.
Lots of people disagree and there's a good argument to be made that with Gaudreau, Bennett and Monahan, Puljujärvi might be the player that would give the best chemistry. Laine is a sniper but the Flames already have young goal scorers.
Puljujärvi has been considered a top prospect for a long time. He didn't rise because of the tournament.
Laine was considered as good or better in Finland since the start of the season, it's just that news travels surprisingly slowly and people who made the rankings in NA apparently were not watching him. The tournament was more of a wake up for those observers. Watch the clips in the Finnish league after the tournament, his shot is a laser and he shows dominating puck possession in his best shifts - at age 17.
I don't recall what I've said about Laine's skating. Probably just that Puljujärvi is faster but Laine doesn't need to be fast to be effective. However for his size, he happens to be pretty fast as anyone can see. I don't see any downside to Laine at all. He has everything you could hope for in a big winger.
Not sure RW is his best position though. Seems like he mostly plays LW. Could be wrong, I don't normally make mental notes about these things.
Finally, you mention stats. You mention Mikael Granlund. There's a reason Granlund went 9th overall and guys like Barkov, Laine and Puljujärvi are top-3 prospects, regardless of how their stats compare. Stats aren't irrelevant but people scout based on player qualities, not raw numbers.