Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
Zachary LHeureux has no business being in the top 15 in my opinion.
If you're picking in the top 15, it's generally a bad idea to pick CHL players who aren't well-over a point per game. When you consider the fact that LHeureux isn't a great skater, plus he's sub-6 feet, I just don't think he'd be a great pick.
I wouldn't suggest that the Flames trade down to the mid-20s to pick him. This year has been such a drag. If LHeureux was all the Flames had to show for it, it would be very disappointing.
Since 1990, there have been only three CHL forwards that the Flames picked in the first round who had lower point per game totals. Greg Nemisz and Chris Dingman are two of them. Those two players combined for 35 points in the NHL. Both were late first round picks and both were 6'3.
Morgan Klimchuk was the other. Zero points in the NHL.
There are a few guys who were only just barely point per game players (or below) and ended up being good. Ryan O'Reilly, Ryan Getzlaf and Patrice Bergeron come to mind. However, two of these guys were second round picks. But this overall these are the exceptions, not the norm.
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I have to respectfully disagree. A player's future projection doesn't always show up in their point totals. L'Heureux had 39pts in 33 games, so just to project that-66 games would give him 78 points, which is a better than Dach, McMichael, or Konecny just to name a few. Plus, while he didn't score at the same clip as Lafrenniere in his draft year, he posted a better scoring chances per 60 than Laf did. Problem is, he doesn't have near the talent to work with this year in Halifax, as he did last year with Pelletier in Moncton. Last year, in his D minus 1 year, he had 53 points in 55 games. If he played there this year, he would be tearing up the Q.
Not sure where you're hearing that he's a bad skater, I've read and seen plenty that would tell me the opposite. He's not an elite, burner type, but it's nothing to worry about. There are many aspects to rate a player's skating on, like balance, agility, edging, first-step, acceleration, turning, directional, etc-and he may have a hitch in one or two of those things, but it's fine. Anything that's off will fix itself as he matures.
L'Heureux may be 5'11", but he plays like a guy who's 6'3". Very nasty (maybe too nasty, he's been suspended a handful of times in the Q), physical, with a great shot, and uber-aggressive in all 3 zones. He's been said to be excellent in transition. Willing to drop the gloves at any time. I agree that right now, I wouldn't rate him that high, but I wouldn't be at all upset if we took him there.