Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix
Klimchuk here. Often overlooked and not flashy, I think he has as good a chance as anyone on this list. I liked what he did once he was dealt to Brandon, it was good to see him end the regular season well. I see him as an eventual mainstay on the 3rd line, eventually playing a role similar to what I expect out of Frolik.
I thought about Ortio here but ultimately goalies are such a crapshoot, I find it really hard to rank them vs skaters unless they are a high end prospect like Gillies. With him you're looking at one of the top 5 goalie prospects in hockey, it's hard not to get excited about that. Where does Ortio rank? Top 15? Top 25? The only real advantage for Joni is that he's closer to the NHL but that doesn't really factor in with me. I care about ceiling vs likelihood of reaching ceiling.
Not to say Joni won't be great, I obviously can't predict the future. It's just that I'm much more confident of Klimchuk being a successful 3rd liner than I am of Ortio being a top 15 starter. If goalie only turns out to be a backup or even a 1A, I'll take the 3rd liner 10 times out of 10. Goalies are all essentially interchangeable outside the top 10, so if he doesn't attain that status he's essentially nothing special.
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Nice Comparison of Klimchuk to Frolik.
Frolik was #10 overall and as a 19 year with Rimouski 65 pts in 45 games.
Klimchuk put up 80 pts in 60 games as a 19 year old with Regina/Brandon
As a 20 year old Frolik was 21 goals and 45 pts in 79 NHL games with Florida .