Personally I love Granlund as a prospect. I still think he has one of the more lethal shots on the team, and he knows where to go to get it off. What I didn't see was progression from his first season and handful of games to this past season. Do I think he has the tools to become a solid 2nd line winger? Yes. I do not think he will make it as a center, however (and nothing to do with his faceoff abilities - I always assume rookies will 'suck' at it).
Hickey, however, really reminds me of a Trouba. Maybe in a way, a Phaneuf. Wait, what? I mean, Phaneuf in his first couple of seasons in Calgary where he was a decent skater (I think Hickey is better) was physical (Hickey loves that, though I don't think he will lay guys out like Phaneuf used to do in his first couple of years), is good offensively with a wicked one-timer, and unlike Phaneuf, actually plays defence well and seems to be universally liked by the team (cheap shot there at Phaneuf - but apparently Hickey is a very good character guy).
Better comparison would be a more aggressive Giordano in style of play? To me, he seems to have top-pairing upside still. If he has top pairing upside, and he is developing along nicely, then in my rankings it is far more valuable and important than a 2nd line winger. He may only develop into a top 4 - but it sure seems like he is going to be a very good 2-way defencemen.
I can't remember where I ranked Granlund last season, but I think I started voting for him fairly early (IIRC). I always thought he was a pretty good prospect. I just think last season was 'meh' from him developmentally. I do think a lot of his points were the type of points where he wasn't driving the play much, and I do think other prospects have improved substantially. Yes, he has NHL games under his belt, but for the most part, I just didn't see him creating much out there. He DEFINITELY has some very good tools, but he just needs to show them more consistently for me to rank him higher.
|
