I prefer Laine ATM. He looks like that pure shooter that we lack. 40+ goal potential with that one. And while Puljujarvi is a crazy skater, Laine ain't no slouch either. For a kid his size he's got really good wheels.
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The player comp I hear most for Laine is Kovalchuk.
I think that's pretty accurate. Puljujärvi on the other hand is very difficult to find comparables for. Hossa? Very Large Zach Parise? I can't come up with anything.
I think that's pretty accurate. Puljujärvi on the other hand is very difficult to find comparables for. Hossa? Very Large Zach Parise? I can't come up with anything.
From the little I've seen, he looks to me a lot like Olli Jokinen. Just his size and the way he skates plus, he likes to carry the puck and shoot but isn't a great set up man and not often a lot of results happen.
For me Laine looks like a results guy. Maybe not as flashy but who needs flashy. Another thing I noticed is Laine is playing LW where his right handed shot is good for scoring.
Damnit, I need to stop looking at prospect videos. I will again once we know where the Flames are picking, otherwise it's easy to get attached to the top kids and getting disappointed when they go to another team.
Though I did find this and have no idea what the hell its for:
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(Puljujarvi) isn't a great set up man and not often a lot of results happen
Dunno how you can say that. Puljujarvi had 17 points in World Juniors, 12 assists, the best individual "results" in that tourney since Jagr 26 years ago.
I think he's going to put up Taylor Hall type numbers in the NHL, but with better awareness, size, team play. And like Hall, he'll never be a "sniper" but he'll score his share of goals every year just via his ability to generate shots.
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Dunno how you can say that. Puljujarvi had 17 points in World Juniors, 12 assists, the best individual "results" in that tourney since Jagr 26 years ago.
I think he's going to put up Taylor Hall type numbers in the NHL, but with better awareness, size, team play. And like Hall, he'll never be a "sniper" but he'll score his share of goals every year just via his ability to generate shots.
I'm going by what I saw in his highlights before the World Juniors. I don't think he's changed his style, although he had a great tournament.
From the little I've seen, he looks to me a lot like Olli Jokinen. Just his size and the way he skates plus, he likes to carry the puck and shoot but isn't a great set up man and not often a lot of results happen.
For me Laine looks like a results guy. Maybe not as flashy but who needs flashy. Another thing I noticed is Laine is playing LW where his right handed shot is good for scoring.
I think Puljujärvi's skating posture invites the Olli comparison, but Puljujärvi is a significantly better passer. He showed at the U20 that he sees his linemates very well and can make difficult passes. That's nothing like Olli who was a shoot-only player.
So I disagree that Puljujärvi isn't a setup man. That's exactly what he was in the tournament. What I don't think is great is his shot, at least at this point. It's heavy and accurate in practice but not quick enough in game situations as far as I can tell.
I also doubt that Jokinen was much of a two-way player in his teenage years. You could say that he didn't start properly defending until he was coached by Brent Sutter.
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A buddy of mine is bugging me that the flames are goin to go on a tear soon and end up out of the playoffs with the 12-14 pick. If that happens I think the season is huge failure. The top 10 this year look really good and I think the franchise needs another high be top 6 player.
I really like this years draft.
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Fan of the Flames, where being OK has become OK.
A buddy of mine is bugging me that the flames are goin to go on a tear soon and end up out of the playoffs with the 12-14 pick. If that happens I think the season is huge failure. The top 10 this year look really good and I think the franchise needs another high be top 6 player.
I really like this years draft.
It's probably accurate. Flames will struggle to the deadline, sell off veterans, call up and play young players and play well enough to just miss the playoffs. We can only hope that other bad teams keep pace.
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Calgary Flames, PLEASE GO TO THE NET! AND SHOOT THE PUCK! GENERATING OFFENSE IS NOT DIFFICULT! SKATE HARD, SHOOT HARD, CRASH THE NET HARD!
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Still worried about Laine's character. The Flames have the beginnings of a real team with excellent character players. One bad apple and it all falls apart...
"A year and a half ago, Laine was sent back home from the Ivan Hlinka tournament after he showed the middle finger to his coach and yelled something about how he could kill the coach. (Source in Finnish: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/jaakiekko/...725477770.html) At the same time, there were also lots of rumors about how his teammates are annoyed by him because he thinks he's a star already and carries that bad attitude everywhere. After a few months, Laine gave an interview to a Finnish newspaper. He admitted being stupid, said he learned from it and that it wouldn't happen again. He also said he saw team psychologist multiple times. (Source in Finnish: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/sm-liiga/art-1288743958485.html)"
Still worried about Laine's character. The Flames have the beginnings of a real team with excellent character players. One bad apple and it all falls apart...
"A year and a half ago, Laine was sent back home from the Ivan Hlinka tournament after he showed the middle finger to his coach and yelled something about how he could kill the coach. (Source in Finnish: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/jaakiekko/...725477770.html) At the same time, there were also lots of rumors about how his teammates are annoyed by him because he thinks he's a star already and carries that bad attitude everywhere. After a few months, Laine gave an interview to a Finnish newspaper. He admitted being stupid, said he learned from it and that it wouldn't happen again. He also said he saw team psychologist multiple times. (Source in Finnish: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/sm-liiga/art-1288743958485.html)"
He was 16, I'm willing to give him some leeway. Perhaps he has matured? We all know that many teenagers are essentially self absorbed jerks, but most grow out of it. I wouldn't write a guy off solely because of this, especially because the quote indicates he knows he was wrong and he's apparently trying to make amends.
4 points tonight and now leads the WHL in scoring. Why isn't this kid getting more attention?
His size? Several years ago Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen led the WHL in scoring (tied for the lead with Jordan Eberle I believe) and then his team went on to win the WHL title and he was a top playoff scorer and he ended up only being a 5th round pick or something by LA Kings. Kozun was around 5'9" 165-170.
