Quote:
Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary
Speaking of biases...Again, it's not ignoring size: it's saying his skill level is elite and washes out size concerns.
Is gaudreau's height an issue? If we redrafted his year, where do you think Johnny would get picked. Size is not everything: each player is evaluated on the entire package
|
Johnny is a very rare and special player who has basically completely eliminated his size concerns because he's so quick, shifty, agile and elusive that it's impossible impossible to hit him, contain him, etc. I don't think Keller is quite as his level in terms of elusiveness. Certainly there's no guarantee that Keller is able to avoid checks as well as Gaudreau does.
The biggest difference between them though is that Johnny plays the wing which has the least defensive responsibilities in the defensive zone. Keller plays centre which has more defensive responsibilities in the defensive zone. If he continues to play centre it means he'll have to cover forwards down low along with the defenseman. So he'll have to try to prevent big, strong teams like ANA and LA from cycling. Can you imagine Keller checking Lucic, Kopitar, Getzlaf, Perry, etc? Those types of players will be able to shove him away with one arm and carry on their cycle game unhindered. Perhaps this would be less of an issue if the Flames had a huge, mobile and strong defense like Tampa but our defenseman struggle a bit to contain the cycle as it is. IMO this limits Keller's upside at the centre position. I'm sure most NHL scouts and GMs feel exactly the same way.
There's less concern about Keller in the offensive zone, that's where he makes magic happen. There's a lot of concern about how he'll match up in the defensive zone. Scouts and GMs aren't ignoring the latter part of the equation. Certainly the Flames management won't be ignoring that since the Pacific contains many tough match ups. It means that Keller as a centre will have to be a bit defensively sheltered. You can't shelter your #1 centre. Therefore IMO he has #2 centre upside. IMO you aren't taking him top 8 when there are 1st line calibre forwards and potential top pairing defensemen available.