Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814
Keller's skill, I would argue, is more useful overall than Logan Brown's combo of size/skill. He's a potential PPG player at his peak. The team needs to get bigger and stronger, but not at the expense of high end talent like Clayton Keller.
If you have Monahan-Gaudreau and Bennett-Keller, you don't need to find their 3rd wheels at the top of the 1st round. You need a couple of Chris Kunitz types who can go to the net and keep up. That's what free agency and trades are for.
The players that really don't come available are players with elite game changing talent. Logan Brown may be a fine NHL player. But his ceiling's not Keller's.
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To be honest, I would be fine with the Flames drafting Keller. As I stated, I do think the Flames definitely have the room for a dynamic scoring top 6 player that is undersized. I also much prefer Keller over Nylander, as Keller seems to push the pace way more. Nylander doesn't have that non-stop motor, and Keller (and Jost, who I also really love, seem to have it).
With that being said, how do you know that Keller's offensive ceiling is higher than Brown's? The point I am trying to illustrate here is that Brown has a much wider 'arsenal' that can potentially translate to the NHL.
For instance, if you watch Brown enough, he can actually dazzle you with some moves, and he has really impressive vision and can thread the needle on his passes. Keller is definitely better at the 'dazzling moves' portion, but I don't think he is all that much better at the passing - if so, I would call it a negligible increase.
I love Keller's anticipation both in the offensive and defensive zones - I think he does well in stealing pucks. Brown does that well too, only he has a gigantic wingspan and has the body to help separate the player from the puck on top of it. Brown is also known for being a good defensive player. That helps a team out a lot. They both would (and again, I think they both are MUCH better in this regard than Nylander).
Shooting - Keller will get the points here, but I think Brown has an EXTREMELY underrated shot. I mentioned it in a few other posts, but I think he is actually one of the best prospects available at getting pucks behind goalies from in-tight. His release is quick, hard and accurate. He finds that loose puck from a rebound or a scrum in front of the net, and it just goes past the goalie so quickly. Again, I don't think Keller is ahead of Brown right now even in goal scoring, especially if you look back at Brown's second half. Was his first half a bit of a struggle? Was he over-passing the puck? I don't know, but in his second half, he was an absolute monster and I think he pretty much shut-up criticisms that were being passed around about his ability to score goals.
Keller won't be the type to contribute much from the cycle, while Brown looks like he will turn into an absolute beast in along the boards, while still be an extremely good playmaker in open ice as well. Not as dynamic as Keller, but many scouts are saying Brown is one of the best playmakers in the draft - that is saying a lot.
Keller has more explosive speed, and the all-important first step is better. That first step is HUGE in the NHL. For instance, Keegan Kanzig is probably the fastest skater in the Flames' organization (you would be shocked). What holds him back is his agility and his first step. That is why I am still 'hopeful and optimistic' Kanzig will amount to a really important depth piece - those things can be worked on well, but there is no guarantee that they end up being fixed. Keller is REALLY strong in that area. Brown has very good top speed, and his agility and first step I would actually call 'average' - not a hindrance, but definitely not the strength of Keller. That means Keller will be able to find the open areas more easily, or evade checkers more easily.
Brown can still get to lose pucks well, and then you factor in his reach. Watching Jankowski using his reach in the NCAA in the last couple of years, and you start to really see how important guys who have that are. You have guys on the PP like Gaudreau that just control the play with their stick-work, speed and agility, and then you have guys who are just as productive but they control the puck with their reach and body. When you look at Jagr on the powerplay, you realize he is just as valuable as a Gaudreau - but in a totally different way.
Keller is WAY more shifty and elusive - that does take a different kind of defender to contain. A 'Brooks Orpik type' or a 'Scott Hannan' type will get eaten alive by Keller. However, a puck-mover will get eaten alive in the corners by someone like Brown.
What I am trying to illustrate is the different strengths that these players possess. They are both excellent playmakers, they both have excellent vision. Neither one of them are 'one-trick' ponies. I do think they both have top-line ceilings. Who will get more points in the NHL? I will agree that Keller right now probably has a bit more of the offensive acumen, but Brown has much more versatility.
When I look at the Flames, I see that adding Brown creates a different dynamic to the team and allows a coach to match lines more effectively by having players that are completely different, but who are bona fide top 6 forwards.
I 100% agree that Keller-Bennett would be a great addition to Gaudreau-Monahan, and recognize that indeed that would in itself make it more difficult for teams to match-up against Calgary in terms of "Which line do you try and stop?".
With that being said, adding someone like Brown also does the same thing, but with the added caveat that not only does a team worry about which line to stop, but they have to ensure they have a different strategy to stop a different line. It makes line-matching against the Flames harder to do.
That is really the point I am trying to make. I do think that people see Brown and think: "Lower offensive ceiling". I thought that too initially. The more you see him, the more you start understanding that he is extremely versatile, plays a 200ft game already, and has incredible vision and playmaking skills now. Add another 20-30lbs to his frame (I will be really, really surprised if he doesn't fill-out to 240 - that is only 23 more lbs right now, and he looks skinny to me - wouldn't surprise me if he hit the 250 mark actually judging by his physique) would make him a pure beast in the corners, but a beast that can also pass the puck really well, and has a really nice quick release. He will be able to not only dig the puck out of the corners, but then turn around and make a good play with it.
You simply are going to be extremely hard-pressed to find that type of player in the 2nd round to help the top 6 with. Impossible? Of course not - you find top pairing defencemen, centers, wingers of all shapes and sizes throughout the draft, including small ones like Keller - but it very difficult to do.
I won't be upset with Keller being drafted. Nylander is dropping like a rock in my standings while Keller moved up, but I just can't see Keller displacing Brown in my own meaningless rankings just because I think Brown will offer the team much more versatility and utility, while not being much less (if at all) of an offensive talent. I think they will both be game-breakers.