Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
. I don't think Rittich being further ahead in his development right this second means Rittich is suddenly the better prospect longterm and I would caution that type of thinking.
|
I counter with:
"why does that just-as-suddenly mean Gillies is the better long term prospect?"
Because IMO the only thing Gillies has visibly over Rittich is
maybe a marginally better glove hand (emphasis on maybe). Rittich is a better skater and may be more athletic, they're both large goalies (6'4" / 6'5"), Rittich's rebound control comes seemingly natural to him whereas Gillies has been working on it for years and has had his ups and downs in that area, neither is known for their puck handling.
Mentally, I can't say Gillies is necessarily ahead either. Both look to have strong constitutions, but Rittich seemed to have a better attitude last year with less outright meltdowns. It's not like he wasn't an AHL rookie last year... he was a rookie to North American hockey who spent a few parts early in the season just learning the language his teammates were speaking with him. Even a simple "leave it" instruction was something he needed time to learn to understand, along with the different angles needed on the ice sheet being used.
What is Gillies going to add, developmentally, that makes him clearly the better prospect long term? At this point the main reason GIllies is considered the "better prospect longterm" is because he once had a solid college career, which seems to be over-weighing past accomplishments over long term projecting... which seems to be the opposite of what you caution against. Last year wasn't a blip in the radar for a proven pro... it was the first North American Pro season for two players who are roughly a year apart in age. One was coming from amateur hockey, the other from a different size ice sheet and language barriers. Yet the one who was clearly better in nearly every regard, right down to being the only one to win playoff games at the end of the year, is being downplayed because he wasn't a known quantity for five years prior.
At this point I'm just going to watch things unfold, as both are solid prospects, but I am not putting a whole lot of stock into amateur performances. You have to give Gillies some reprieve for his early season inconsistency with the return from injury, but that still doesn't mean he's shown any clear superiority in upside.