[News] AIK announces they will let Kylington pursue opportunities in North America

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Southside

Children? 16 year-olds?

You'll not find either playing WHL. They are mainly 18-20 year old men.

Let's not exaggerate too much to make a point.

You're also exaggerating to counter his point.

There is an equal spread of 20 and 16 year olds, and the majority of players in the WHL are 17-19. I don't have the exact stat but it's safe to assume the average age in Junior is around 18.

The average age in Swedish Tier II (Allsvenskan) is 25.2 - it's a legitimate pro league. It's not a farm league either - these teams are all competing to be promoted to Swedish Tier I (which is a top 3 Hockey League in the world). Basically it's like if the Oilers, Sabres, Coyotes, Flyers, Devils, 'Canes, Blue Jackets, and Leafs were kicked out of the NHL and forced to play each other to steal Colorado or San Jose's NHL spot. Those teams would still stomp a Junior team with a quarter of their roster.

[Southside]

Name one 16 year old in the Dub. You're on the clock.

[StrykerSteve]

Jordy Bellerive
The second overall selection from the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft enters his first season in the WHL looking to help turnaround the Hurricanes’ fortunes. A 16-year-old from North Vancouver, BC, Bellerive enjoyed a productive campaign with Okanagan Hockey Academy of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) last year. The 5-9, 175 lb centre put up 34 goals and 49 points in 27 games. Bellerive is an offensively skilled forward who has the opportunity to establish himself as a scoring threat for the Hurricanes. Bellerive is a player who the Hurricanes will count on to put the puck in the net and help the team back into the playoffs.



http://www.whl.ca/article/2015-16-wh...ern-conference

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Southside

Name one 16 year old in the Dub. You're on the clock.

I'll name 5 who were 16 last season, just from a quick roster check:

Tanner Kaspick (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Jake Bean (Calgary Hitmen)
Beck Malenstyn (Calgary Hitmen)
Davis Koch (Edmonton Oil Kings)
Luc Smith (Regina Pats)

All 1998 birthdays. All by my quick check played 50+ games out of the 72 the league plays.

[Southside]

So mainly 18-20? Right. That's what I said.

[Enoch Root]

there is a max of 3 20 year olds per team no?

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Southside

So mainly 18-20? Right. That's what I said.

...No, Mainly 17-19, with some 16 and 20 year olds and a few 15 and 21 year olds. Which is not what you said.

[Southside]

Of course. More accurate to say children and 16 year Olds. Typical CP lately. I'm out.

[Vulcan]

IIRC Loob said the best thing for Kylington would to be in a stable position and not moving from team to team or league to league. In that case Brandon looks like the most stable situation for him. This controversy reminds me of Bennett's situation when he came off injury. Treliving sent him to his junior team and I can see the same happening with Kylington.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by Southside

Of course. More accurate to say children and 16 year Olds. Typical CP lately. I'm out.

You're being the spoilt kid in the group that goes "Fine! I'm going home!" while the rest look at each other in confusion.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

You're being the spoilt kid in the group that goes "Fine! I'm going home!" while the rest look at each other in confusion.

I think Southsides point still stands. WHL is not a children's league. It is a legitimate option for Kylington.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

IIRC Loob said the best thing for Kylington would to be in a stable position and not moving from team to team or league to league. In that case Brandon looks like the most stable situation for him. This controversy reminds me of Bennett's situation when he came off injury. Treliving sent him to his junior team and I can see the same happening with Kylington.

Loob also said the AHL was best for him. We'll see how it pans out.

I also don't think his defensive development is as far behind as folks think or thought it was when he fell in the draft rankings. It's not that bad actually.
The one thing over the last few days that stuck out to me in regards to Kylington was Hartley saying "You need to listen" and then later Kylington saying the message was "keep it simple". He adhered to it and it worked out nicely enough that folks took notice in a good way.

I think his penchant is to try and create too much. Which causes problems. Over thinking the game maybe. If this is the case and the K.I.S.S method irons it all out. Holy moly.

[hockey.modern]

Is it just me or does Kylington sound like Cristano Ronaldo?

[PugnaciousIntern]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

I think Southsides point still stands. WHL is not a children's league. It is a legitimate option for Kylington.

I agree. And he's one of the players who has a wide variability in his skill sets and hockey sense. Everybody notices his offensive abilities, but man does he look lost guarding the net at times. If he were to play in the AHL this year, I think he might be the worst defender on that team when it comes to defensive positioning. Certainly looks to have the abilities and smarts to improve, but I think this is the main issue with deciding where he belongs. Defensive positioning = WHL without question. Most everything else = AHL (or even NHL in some cases).

Do you put him in a league where he is challenged to develop 90% of his game and be thrown into a sink-or-swim situation in the D zone, or go with the lowest common denominator and place him in the WHL to give him the best chance to improve his defensive game without being overwhelmed?

Personally, I say WHL. Although an unpopular statement, his defensive positioning really is that bad, and really is that important in the NHL, to not give him the best opportunity to develop.

It all boils down to this: what is holding him back from the NHL? And how is he going to best improve on that?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Loob also said the AHL was best for him. We'll see how it pans out.

I also don't think his defensive development is as far behind as folks think or thought it was when he fell in the draft rankings. It's not that bad actually.
The one thing over the last few days that stuck out to me in regards to Kylington was Hartley saying "You need to listen" and then later Kylington saying the message was "keep it simple". He adhered to it and it worked out nicely enough that folks took notice in a good way.

I think his penchant is to try and create too much. Which causes problems. Over thinking the game maybe. If this is the case and the K.I.S.S method irons it all out. Holy moly.

Yeah that's what I've heard is that he tries to do too much. I think he needs someone on him all the time to use the KISS method, at least for now.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by Southside

Name one 16 year old in the Dub. You're on the clock.

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I'll name 5 who were 16 last season, just from a quick roster check:

Tanner Kaspick (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Jake Bean (Calgary Hitmen)
Beck Malenstyn (Calgary Hitmen)
Davis Koch (Edmonton Oil Kings)
Luc Smith (Regina Pats)

All 1998 birthdays. All by my quick check played 50+ games out of the 72 the league plays.

Originally Posted by Southside

So mainly 18-20? Right. That's what I said.

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

...No, Mainly 17-19, with some 16 and 20 year olds and a few 15 and 21 year olds. Which is not what you said.

Originally Posted by Southside

Of course. More accurate to say children and 16 year Olds. Typical CP lately. I'm out.

Haha. You got owned. You take your ball and go home.

They are good hockey players but they're still kids even at age 20. Off the ice he needs someone older to help him grow up.

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by getbak

No, he can't. If he gets sent to Brandon, he's there until their season is over.

Obviously I meant after the season is done. A year in juniors won't hurt his development at all.

[polak]

lol put it this way. Do you want him to be learning how to play against people who are the size and have the experience that he is expected to play against in the NHL or do you want him to play against "young adults" who are still growing, many of whom aren't even done high school yet? Many of whom who will never play professional hockey in their lives?

That's what I meant.

[868904]

I kind of want to see him go to Brandon and have his elc slide which will be good long term for the flames.

However, I don't know enough about Brandon's coaching to say that it would be a good situation. Pulock and Provorov developed well there but Roy and Pilon not so much. From what I've heard from whl followers on this board is that the Wheat Kings don't play with much structure and I'm not sure that's good for Kylington.

We know he would learn defensive systems and the tricks of the trade in the AhL.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by polak

lol put it this way. Do you want him to be learning how to play against people who are the size and have the experience that he is expected to play against in the NHL or do you want him to play against "young adults" who are still growing, many of whom aren't even done high school yet? Many of whom who will never play professional hockey in their lives?

That's what I meant.

I get what you're saying. It's not exactly true. Kylington will be playing amongst his immediate peers in the WHL. He is only 18 after all. Most of the kids he will be playing against will be the same ones he plays in the NHL when makes it.

In the AHL, he'll be playing against more veteran laden squads full of 18-40 year olds. More diverse and tougher. I still think the AHL is best for him but your train of thought is misguided.