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Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus
Tall not huge and by all accounts lacks the IQ needed to play in the show.
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Where did you read that? IQ has been one of his strengths from what I looked up about him.
http://thecanuckway.com/2017/04/26/v...c-ostap-safin/
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Safin is a promising player who should be a lock to make the NHL in one role or another, as long as he puts in the necessary work. He has the basics down — size, skating, hockey IQ — so teams shouldn’t worry about him too much. The team that selects him gets a center with a lot of upside and a prototypical frame.
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The Hockey Writers didn't make a mention of his IQ at all, which is a bit surprising to me. Not good, not bad - just absolutely no mention.
LWOS didn't provide any info on his IQ either, but they did provide 2 different comments that I guess you can interpret as IQ. One was concerning, the other one was great.
http://lastwordonsports.com/2017/06/...-nhl-draft-66/
The bad:
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Perhaps he does not have the on-ice vision to make the necessary plays. Perhaps he lacks the confidence to make creative plays. Whatever it is, the concern is that it will hold him back from maximizing his offensive potential.
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The good:
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Safin has a well-developed defensive game for his age. He has very good positioning. He also anticipates well, and can see plays developing and then break them up.
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FC doesn't provide any insight into his IQ either.
I don't think the Flames draft him anyways. He is ranked in the late 1st round until the middle of the 2nd round. There are players I definitely seem to like better than Safin, but Safin is a very intriguing prospect. Players of his size with his quickness and speed and potential offensive upside (he is known for his lethal shot and his speed) is something that NHL teams simply covet. Will be interesting to see when he gets drafted. If the Flames do end up taking him at 16, then they must really, really like him. I think it is more likely that if they like him, they do a trade down and grab a second, and hopefully address goaltending.
I also really like Lias. There are actually a solid handful of prospects that I do think project well that may be available at 16 and later. Safin wasn't on my radar at all until I saw his agenda posted up online with the Flames' interview, so naturally I looked him up and I really like what I see in him too. Definitely a very interesting prospect, and I am sure that the Flames have been scouting him for a while since they seem to be finding FAs out of the Czech Republic these days. He does seem like a smart player to me, so the reference of him having poor IQ is news to me. Where did you find it?