Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
I've been having fun with hockeyprospecting.com's player comparison, and using that tool I can completely understand why Tree was refusing to give up Juuso Valimaki in any trades.
In his draft year he projected better than Miro Heiskanen and Cale Makar by a small amount.
In his draft+1 year, he projected below Heiskanen but above Makar.
In his draft+2 year, he projected above Heiskanen but below Makar.
Obviously missing an entire season will set the guy back - but the numbers scream that he is in fact a top pairing defenceman with a real high ceiling. The fact that Foote and Brannstrom went ahead of him in the draft (directly ahead of him) was very fortuitous.
That draft went Heiskanen at 3rd, Makar 4th, and then no defencemen were selected until Foote at 14th, Brannstrom at 15th and then Valimaki at 16th.
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I really hope that year off didn't hurt his development. Valimaki reminds me a lot of Gio stylistically too, so he has a good mentor in Calgary