[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

Well I'm sorry but you have a terrible memory. Of course there were still doubters but the guy was 2PPG in the NCAA which is unheard of. Do you even know what hype means? You don't generate hype by playing in the NHL... You live up to the hype(or not).

Better check your memory, friend. You don't have to go too far on this site to see the reactions and discussions from when he was drafted, to his first prospects camp, to each of his years as a prospect. Lots of detractors. A lot more than there were supporters.

Are you saying there was no hype surrounding McDavid or Eichel before playing in the NHL? I sure hope not.

Irrelevant comparison. The number one and two draft picks, one of which is considered a generational talent, will naturally generate more hype than a kid drafted in the 4th round. Not only that, the two players in question had the physical maturity to play in the NHL.

This is also not true. Gaudreau didn't really step up and garner any hype prior to getting held off his World Junior team. He was more determined after that incident and he'll tell you that himself.

Nope. Gaudreau stood out each camp. He didn't get much press because of his size, but he was still a stand out from camp one.

So you won't even get a little excited for a player until he plays in the NHL? Cool, good for you. Some of us like to follow our prospects progress and have a little something called optimism. You should probably not view/post in this thread if you don't care about these prospects.

Didn't say NHL. I said professionally. We'll see if Mangiapane can keep up with the rigors of the AHL before even suggesting a NHL position for him. There was a damn good reason why he was drafted in the 6th round of the second draft he was eligible for.

You can say this for just about any prospect. They are always prospects until they graduate to the NHL or become career AHLers. I assume you haven't followed him at all or you'd know that he's got a solid defensive game and plays bigger than his size.

I've seem a few of his games this year, and he's a typical junior scorer when it comes to two way play. I like his skill set, but I don't know how it will translate to the pros. It's a different game when everyone is big and can skate as good or better than you. Space is something he will have to learn to live without. Can he adapt to that? We'll see when he takes the next step to the AHL. Whether that is next season is also yet to be determined. IIRC he doesn't have a contract yet.

Instead of crapping on us for being excited about a prospect, why don't you spend some time reading up on them...

Relax. I'm not crapping on you. If I was crapping on you you'd know it. I'm telling you that this kid has a very long and difficult road to travel to make it to the NHL. There is really nothing to get excited about at this point because junior hockey is littered with small players who were big time scorers that couldn't cut it in the professional ranks. Maybe you should read up on some of them so you get some insight into the mountain Mangiapane has to climb. I recommend you go back and take a look at the top scorers from the OHL from the past decade and see how many of them made the jump, taking size into the equation. That might temper your enthusiasm a bit.