That was my point exactly, that he is a 4th line grinder or fighter. I have never really heard of a guy above 6'5 scoring 20 goals in a season, if Smith pulled it off he would be an anomaly.
I think being 6'5"+ in it's self is a huge anomaly. Apart from above, Mats Sundin was 6'5". Although obviously he was a 1st overall talent that Smith isn't.
That was my point exactly, that he is a 4th line grinder or fighter. I have never really heard of a guy above 6'5 scoring 20 goals in a season, if Smith pulled it off he would be an anomaly.
And no 6'9" defenseman ever played top pairing minutes prior to Chara. What is your point?
That was my point exactly, that he is a 4th line grinder or fighter. I have never really heard of a guy above 6'5 scoring 20 goals in a season, if Smith pulled it off he would be an anomaly.
This is the dumbest thing I've read in a long time.
A person's ability to score goals does not decrease as they get taller... The reason you've never really heard of a guy that tall scoring 20 is because there are not very many guys taller than 6'5''.
If you must have an example though, I can think of Nik Antropov off the top of my head (6'6'').
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If "above 6'5"" means 6'6" or greater, there were 6 forwards in the NHL last year who are at least 6'6" who played at least 55 games, so it's a very small sample size to start with. 333 total forwards played a minimum of 55 games, so the super-tall forwards are less than 2% of the total.
Even then, 3 of those 6 scored at least 10 goals, 2 of whom were playing their first full NHL seasons. Scott and Bordeleau are the only ones of the six who didn't average at least 10 minutes a game.
The other 4:
Boyle has scored 20 in the past.
Hanzal scored 15 goals in 65 games. He also had 11 in 39 the year before, which is a 20+ goal pace over a full season (this was the second time he has scored at a 20+ goal pace in less than a full season).
Jimmy Hayes had 11 in 53 games in his first full season.
Bjugstad had 16 in 76 games in his rookie season.
It's not unreasonable to think that Hanzal or Bjugstad could hit 20 goals in the future (even Hayes could if he develops well).
There's certainly no reason to suggest that a player is too tall to be a first or second line player.
Will Smith be the next Lucic? Almost certainly not. Does that mean his ceiling is as a fourth line plug? Definitely not.
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Forgot about Arnold, what's his current potential look like? 3rd liner?
Admittedly I haven't seen enough of Arnold to have formed a completion opinion, but from what I have seen of streamed games and highlights, it seems that Arnold's upside isthat of a 3rd line centre with a strong two way game. I think he's a bit underrated though so who knows. The Heat will be fun to watch this year.
Nick Ritchie beat him in a fight this year. I think Anaheim will be very happy with that pick moving forward
I honestly think the rest of the Pacific division will hate that they chose him. Silver lining is that he didn't go to Vancouver (though there were posters hoping for that since they feel he is a bust). I had really hoped Toronto would have snagged him, and kept him out east.
Nick Ritchie beat him in a fight this year. I think Anaheim will be very happy with that pick moving forward
You mean this one?
Looks like Smith had the advantage early on, then when the helmet came off he used his reach to where Ritchie couldn't land anything but short jabs that did nothing. At best a draw, at worst no clear winner.
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Looks like Smith had the advantage early on, then when the helmet came off he used his reach to where Ritchie couldn't land anything but short jabs that did nothing. At best a draw, at worst no clear winner.
To be fair I watched that fight before we drafted Smith so it was easy for me to see that Ritchie won
With his size and willingness to fight, and that he's not slow, he should become an NHL player. Whether he's anything more than Dwight King or Brian Boyle is TBD. I just hope we didn't waste a 2nd on a goon.
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That was my point exactly, that he is a 4th line grinder or fighter. I have never really heard of a guy above 6'5 scoring 20 goals in a season, if Smith pulled it off he would be an anomaly.
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With his size and willingness to fight, and that he's not slow, he should become an NHL player. Whether he's anything more than Dwight King or Brian Boyle is TBD. I just hope we didn't waste a 2nd on a goon.
You mean anything more than two guys who played important roles in the cup finals? What is he supposed to be exactly?
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