Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
Oh boy. The homerism is strong in this one.
Valimaki had a great year. He's right on track for overperforming his 17th overall selection. And he's got some nice tools and hockey sense. But he's never been considered the same tier of prospect as Makar. You wouldn't offer him to the Avs for Makar and expect them to take that trade.
And using generalizations about NCAA players is missing the point, he's not an average NCAA player. Here's a list of ALL U21 Hobey Baker winners.
Paul Kariya
John Gaudreau
Jack Eichel
Cale Makar
So maybe you need to admit he's not just an ordinary prospect. Even Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy didn't dominate that league as much nor were they drafted so high, and they jumped right into the NHL as top pair defenseman. McAvoy right into the... you guessed it... playoffs. Werenski's team wasn't playoff eligible when he signed, but he probably plays for CBJ in the 2016 playoffs too. Instead he had to settle for playing for Jared Bednar and leading them to the Calder Cup in the AHL as their #1D.
Girard wasn't hurt two nights ago when Bednar was raving about Makar. Bedner, who we see above knows a thing or two about defensemen straight out of the NCAA.
Valimaki is by your warped definition an "AHL level player" too though.
You're overvaluing NHL experience. Especially in April when a lot of these guys are fully dialed into their games, as opposed to October when all players, not just prospects but seasoned vets, have a lot of rust in their game that gets mistaken for inexperience. Yeah, the NHL playoffs are fast, and a huge step up. But elite talents make that adjustment quickly, and Makar is an elite talent.
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I'm a homer because I'm stating a fact - the Flames have better depth than the Avalanche? Sure thing pal. This self righteous narrative you're concocting that I'm somehow saying Valimaki is better than Makar or that Makar is an average prospect is maybe the poorest attempt at deflecting from your weak argument I've seen on CP all season.
I stand by my comments that Valimaki is 100% more well equipped to step up and contribute in this series than Makar based on his seasoning this year and well rounded skill set. Players need time to adjust to the pro level and will certainly be flawed players until they do so. I have no doubt he can skate and contribute offensively, being able to make all the plays, in all three zones, at playoff speed, without hurting your team, is an entirely different animal and one that is clearly completely lost on you. He can and likely will be the better of the two players but money to be earned and money made are not the same thing. There's a long list of hobey baker winners that didn't live up to their hype, especially at the defensive position.
You want to talk warped views:
You've stated Makar is a top 4 NHL defenceman and he hasn't even played an NHL game. You've also stated that he's tracking to be a superstar and again he hasn't even played an NHL game. You also neglect the fact that there is no precedent of an NCAA defenceman leaping straight into the league, in the playoffs no less, and establishing themselves as an elite talent immediately as you're suggesting.
I already mentioned McAvoy jumped in and is pretty much the only one to do so. His contributions only further reinforce that a player like this going to contribute but certainly will be a flawed player until they acclimatize to the NHL over the course of a few months. Like the Avalanche and their lack of depth this year, the Bruins had no choice but to bring him into the lineup as they were decimated by injury. This is not the same as injecting a Jack Eichel, Zach Werenski level of player into your lineup in October, where the stakes are low and there's time to ease into the game. The jump from defending in the frozen 4 competition to the defending in game 3 against the western conference leading Flames shouldn't be lost on anyone.