Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Pronman is a complete and total moron. A soiled dirty Kleenex knows more about hockey than that guy.

Well, you're wrong. Sorry you disagree with him.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Then those scouts should not have a job. Ekblad has much more offensive awareness than Schenn ever showed. I don't see the comparison at all.

After looking at his twitter timeline, it looks like he is saying that the comparison between Ekblad and Schenn is that they dominated junior because of their physical strength and that strength is covering up major holes.

Also looks like he is arguing that Ekblad might have peaked and has very little room to grow and improve his game.

[icecube]

#### the name "Corey Pronman". I've got nothing against the man, just his name.

[Day Tripper]

Originally Posted by icecube

#### the name "Corey Pronman". I've got nothing against the man, just his name.

I laugh whenever I see the name. Pr0nman, hahaha.

[MrMastodonFarm]

'tis a silly name

[codynw]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

After looking at his twitter timeline, it looks like he is saying that the comparison between Ekblad and Schenn is that they dominated junior because of their physical strength and that strength is covering up major holes.

Also looks like he is arguing that Ekblad might have peaked and has very little room to grow and improve his game.

I've been saying both of these for two years now.

[RyZ]

If you think an 18 yr old elite athlete has peaked at anything other than gymnastics, you havent been paying attention. Go home, you are drunk.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by RyZ

If you think an 18 yr old elite athlete has peaked at anything other than gymnastics, you havent been paying attention. Go home, you are drunk.

happens all the time

no law that says he will continue to develop at any particular or meaningful rate

[Tinordi]

What's clear to me is that Ekblad is not the prospect Jones is/was.

[codynw]

If Ekblad was this good at 6' and 190 pounds then I'd be sold on him. But he's 6'4" and 220 pounds, and even then he's not really dominating the OHL the way you would hope.

[Saqe]

I thought it was the exact opposite, that Ekblad isn't dominating because of his size but other abilities. Even Bob just said it in his rankings that Ekblad doesn't rely on his physical ability although he can play that way.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by RyZ

If you think an 18 yr old elite athlete has peaked at anything other than gymnastics, you havent been paying attention. Go home, you are drunk.

Lots of athletes peak early. As has been mentioned, it is usually because they mature early and use their physical advantage over their counterparts. Ekblad may very well be one of these guys. I mean, how many 16-17 year olds can go full Grizzly Adams with their playoff beard? Ekblad definitely matured early for his age and that may also be why he has been ahead of his class for so long. That advantage may not translate going forward as the rest of his draft class reach a similar level of physical maturity. That has been a nagging concern.

[SuperMatt18]

Don't really see the Luke Schenn comparisons either.

Luke Schenn's draft year he put up 0.49 PPG.

Ekblad put up 0.93 PPG, that is a pretty significant difference.

Ekblad's offensive numbers in their draft year are closer to Drew Doughty than they are to Luke Schenn.

[codynw]

I heard a rumour that Ekblad is actually a 25 year old man with a fake ID. Confirm/deny?

[icecube]

The thing about Ekblad is , he still has NHL size now, he still has an NHL calibre shot now. He has the hockey sense, the foot speed and the strength to be solid in his own end. So maybe he doesn't have much more room to grow, but he's practically got the total package already.

That's a safe pick. So what if he tops out as a number two guy? A big right handed defenseman with a cannon for a shot would be a nice asset for any team to have.

[Ashasx]

Ekblad has plenty of room to grow. He's in shape, but he's not ripped or anything.

He's smart, big, strong. Lots to like for a defenceman.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Even if Ekblad only pans out as a top 3/4 defenseman (2nd pairing) guy, we still need a defenseman like that. We have our top 2 and bottom 2, we need the middle ground. If the first three teams see negatives in Ekblad, I'd be thrilled to take him at #4.

[JiriHrdina]

Pronman is great because he has his point of view and he doesn't depart from it. His lists, much like Button, always look different.

If you want to look at lists after lists that all look the same - then there are plenty out there. There is very little deviation in the tons of mock drafts available. That's why I value guys like Button, Pronman and Redline - because they actually have a unique point of view.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Pronman is great because he has his point of view and he doesn't depart from it. His lists, much like Button, always look different.

If you want to look at lists after lists that all look the same - then there are plenty out there. There is very little deviation in the tons of mock drafts available. That's why I value guys like Button, Pronman and Redline - because they actually have a unique point of view.

My main worry with Pronman or RLR is they just don't have the budget to see as much as they insinuate they see. Button has TSN money so he can fly over to Europe for the under 18 and go see these guys in person all over Canada and the US. There is no way Pronman or any of these smaller scouting services are seeing many of these players outside of their home region in person unless they are operating at a mega loss.

They are using TV coverage which is fine but really limits what you see, particularly at the non-major events since anyone who's watched a WHL or OHL broadcast know that some have worse quality cameras than an average smartphone.

[Gaskal]

I've seen a lot of scouting reports indicate that Ekblad should really be playing more physical than he does normally with the man body of his, so he's not as reliant on his physical dominance to win battles for the puck as others are making it out to be.