Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Yep. And that's the type of hype you have to be wary about. Hype from Finland from fans desperate to have the next great Finnish star, hype from their media, hype from a fan base desperate for an elite prospect. You have to think for yourself if its warranted. With his size, strength and skating concerns the post-draft hype around Granlund was always questionable. I don't care if THN thinks he's the best prospect outside the NHL, the more elite a player is the sooner they jump into the NHL typically. If he was an elite as the hype suggested he would've stepped in faster and made a bigger impact.
If the hype is coming from NHL scouts in a player's draft year then it's far less questionable. Puljujarvi's upside is massive. Far higher than Granlund's upside has ever been. Puljujarvi has all the tools and all the skills to be an elite NHLer. Granlund's size, softness, lack of strength and lack of elite speed was always going to limit his upside.
|
People should realise that basic stat comparisons are not news to scouts. You can ask, why is the player still ranked so high - given that scouts are not complete idiots and have actually looked at a player's stats - and then you can maybe get into something more substantial.
Filip Forsberg had 17 points in the second tier Swedish league in his draft year, yet scouts really liked him. He was thought to go even higher than he eventually did.
You have to differentiate between hype within Finland which is simply the result of a player being popular in their home country and hype about a player's NHL future. Some youngsters are star players at home and that's just fine and natural. People are more guarded about projecting their futures in the NHL than you'd think - and I mean in general, not on Hfboards.