What draft eligible player have you soured on?

[TheDebaser]

Originally Posted by loob job

It's always been Draisaitl for me, I watched him hard at the World Juniors and just can't get over his lackluster performance.

Did you watch his game against the states in the world championships? It was the Gaudreau and Draisaitl show.

If seeing both of those pieces come to Calgary is the worst case scenario for us then we are in a good place.

[loob job]

Originally Posted by TheDebaser

Did you watch his game against the states in the world championships? It was the Gaudreau and Draisaitl show.

If seeing both of those pieces come to Calgary is the worst case scenario for us then we are in a good place.

Did you watch every other game he played because i did and he was average at best.

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by loob job

Did you watch every other game he played because i did and he was average at best.

105 points in 64 games is average at best?

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by loob job

Did you watch every other game he played because i did and he was average at best.

He's also 18 years old.

[loob job]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

105 points in 64 games is average at best?

I'm not talking his regular season if you took the time to read my post, i'm talking the world juniors. Don't worry though, pick what you want from peoples posts and run with it. In the coaches poll at the tournament he wasn't even selected as one of the top three players on his team. So yeah, as the thread asks, i've soured on him because of that tournament.

[TheDebaser]

Originally Posted by loob job

Did you watch every other game he played because i did and he was average at best.

The fact that he's even capable of making team Germany a threat, even if it's just for the one game, says volume about the kids ability. He carried Germany against a team of nhl men at 18.


You seem to dislike the kid though, could you elaborate on why you don't think he'll be a great nhl player?

[loob job]

Originally Posted by TheDebaser

The fact that he's even capable of making team Germany a threat, even if it's just for the one game, says volume about the kids ability. He carried Germany against a team of nhl men at 18.


You seem to dislike the kid though, could you elaborate on why you don't think he'll be a great nhl player?

Just from watching him play in the world juniors. I didn't like him, just my opinion no one has to agree with me.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by loob job

Just from watching him play in the world juniors. I didn't like him, just my opinion no one has to agree with me.

Lots of great NHL players had poor WJ performances, and lots of meh NHL players had fantastic WJ performances. It's really not important.

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by codynw

Lots of great NHL players had poor WJ performances, and lots of meh NHL players had fantastic WJ performances. It's really not important.

Also some players who were cut from their WJC team have found success in the NHL (Duchene, Seguin, RNH, etc).

[19Yzerman19]

If we're not just talking about potential top 5 picks, Virtanen. I don't think he should be top 10. 15, maybe.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

If we're not just talking about potential top 5 picks, Virtanen. I don't think he should be top 10. 15, maybe.

Yea, he's overrated. He seems like a good kid, but I don't see him being a good player in the NHL.

[albertGQ]

The more Ritchie's ranking rises as the draft gets closer, the more I sour on him because I do not want him at #4

[killer_carlson]

For me it's Bennett, and I'll admit it has a lot to do with the chin up.

I don't really care that he wasn't strong enough, but it's more an indication of a lack of focus or care. He knew the combine was coming up and knew what tests he would be given. He didn't seem to care enough to train in the specifics.

I'd consider it similar to if he failed a test for marijuana at the combine - I don't really care and don't think it will affect long term, but more an indication that he couldn't be focused enough to make this a priority.

[irrevocable]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

For me it's Bennett, and I'll admit it has a lot to do with the chin up.

I don't really care that he wasn't strong enough, but it's more an indication of a lack of focus or care. He knew the combine was coming up and knew what tests he would be given. He didn't seem to care enough to train in the specifics.

I'd consider it similar to if he failed a test for marijuana at the combine - I don't really care and don't think it will affect long term, but more an indication that he couldn't be focused enough to make this a priority.

You aren't alone on that. I love the kid and think he'll be a star in this league. The fact that he knew the combine was coming and didn't focus on it.. ahhhh, it's not the end of the world.. but yeah, it's kinda on my mind.

[LiquidX]

For me it's Bennet - much to the chagrin of popular opinion on CP I'm sure. I'll preface this by stating he seems to have a great on-ice skill set, and it has obviously worked for him so far. I am also not particularly educated in the pros and cons of this group of draftees. This is based almost entirely on his combine performance and attitude. While I don't expect these kids to be mega athletes, I feel like if you're serious about being a pro athlete between the ages of 17-20, you have to be able to do at least a single chin up. Chin ups aren't only a test of shoulder and arm strength, they also engage your core (to stabilize the legs) - which is why it is often a difficult exercise to do.

But ok, so the kid can't do a chin up... lets play along and see where it goes.

His response was something to the tune of "games aren't won or lost on whether or not I can do a chin up in the gym."

Personally I don't think this is a good answer for anyone to give - let alone someone who is hoping to be picked in the top 5, and play one of the world's most physical games for a living. Games are most definitely won by players commitments to their fitness and performance off the ice. You're not going to be pushing people off pucks or lifting many NHL sticks if you have the upper body strength of an under developed 15 year old.

His answer makes me question his commitment and compete levels. Maybe I'm reading into it too deeply, but to me this just screams out as someone who (thusfar) has failed to take the prospect of an NHL career seriously, and likely isn't someone who will be able to step into the game and contribute in 1-2 years (which I think is what we're hoping for in a new draftee in the top 4).

[H2SO4(aq)]

Weirdly, the more people have seemingly forgotten about Reinhart, and the Bennett hype took over, I started to think that if somehow we were lucky enough to have Reinhart fall to us, we might actually get the best player in the 'big 4'. Despite how much I love Bennett and his comparison to Killer and how much id love to see him in Calgary, I think Reinhart dropping to us will ultimately be the better fit for all parties. Monahan pots clutch goals on one line, Sam sets them up on another. You can surround a skilled smart playmaker with gritty wingers and suddenly you have a "Krejci" type guy that quietly leads you to be a contender.

[Table 5]

I haven't soured on any of these guys, I've only soured on them being drafted earlier than I think they should. I like Ritchie, but I just don't like him at 4.

[Goodlad]

Originally Posted by LiquidX

For me it's Bennet - much to the chagrin of popular opinion on CP I'm sure. I'll preface this by stating he seems to have a great on-ice skill set, and it has obviously worked for him so far. I am also not particularly educated in the pros and cons of this group of draftees. This is based almost entirely on his combine performance and attitude. While I don't expect these kids to be mega athletes, I feel like if you're serious about being a pro athlete between the ages of 17-20, you have to be able to do at least a single chin up. Chin ups aren't only a test of shoulder and arm strength, they also engage your core (to stabilize the legs) - which is why it is often a difficult exercise to do.

But ok, so the kid can't do a chin up... lets play along and see where it goes.

His response was something to the tune of "games aren't won or lost on whether or not I can do a chin up in the gym."

Personally I don't think this is a good answer for anyone to give - let alone someone who is hoping to be picked in the top 5, and play one of the world's most physical games for a living. Games are most definitely won by players commitments to their fitness and performance off the ice. You're not going to be pushing people off pucks or lifting many NHL sticks if you have the upper body strength of an under developed 15 year old.

His answer makes me question his commitment and compete levels. Maybe I'm reading into it too deeply, but to me this just screams out as someone who (thusfar) has failed to take the prospect of an NHL career seriously, and likely isn't someone who will be able to step into the game and contribute in 1-2 years (which I think is what we're hoping for in a new draftee in the top 4).

Yeah, you're definitely reading way too much into it. If anything the fact that the whole thing blew up the way it did and he was able to roll with the punches and respond to the plethora of questions about it in a very professional manner shows a good amount of maturity, and the ability to survive in the spotlight.

Not to mention that a few weeks later he was able to do two pullups already.

The sad part is no one really knows how he did on any of his other fitness tests. For instance, how many of the one-legged squats was he able to do? I would think that exercise would require a much higher level of core strength/stability. Not to mention the combination of leg strength and balance is much more directly applicable to hockey. How about the reflex tests? Jumping ability (which has been pointed out by many fitness experts as one of the best tests of pure athleticism)? Nope, all anyone really knows is that at the combine he couldn't do any pullups.

[H2SO4(aq)]

maybe bennett wanted to drop to 4 so he fudged the chin up to raise some question marks so he can start his career with the same team as killer.....

[Stupid]

Treliving said something like this with regards to Bennett not being able to do one pull-up: Teams would salivate over Bennett knowing what he would be able to do with proper training.