[OOT] 11 Games

[moon]

Originally Posted by Yakbutter

Would the flames be in the playoffs if they played in the east right now?

Playing against those pathetic East teams they actually might.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by Saqe

This is a bit myth. The kid is 17, considering his size at that age it´s no big suprise that skating is lacking a bit. I would think he just needs a year or two without gaining a lot of weight/height and the skating will catch up.

I doubt his skating will be an issue. At worst he'll be at Hudler speed. I bet he's faster than Granlund was at his age. Adjusting to the overall pace of the NA game might take some work after playing in Finland, though, and even then his size will help so much. Less time to think in NA. At 17 he could well already be bigger than Jokinen is right now. He'll be a tank when his body is mature.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

I doubt his skating will be an issue. At worst he'll be at Hudler speed. I bet he's faster than Granlund was at his age. Adjusting to the overall pace of the NA game might take some work after playing in Finland, though, and even then his size will help so much. Less time to think in NA. At 17 he could well already be bigger than Jokinen is right now. He'll be a tank when his body is mature.

That is what concerns me - he may become too big to be effective

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

That is what concerns me - he may become too big to be effective

Yes.

It would be horrible to have a guy like Lucic on the team.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

That is what concerns me - he may become too big to be effective

He is only going to get stronger. He's just naturally big. He's not going to turn into a sumo wrestler.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Yes.

It would be horrible to have a guy like Lucic on the team.

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

He is only going to get stronger. He's just naturally big. He's not going to turn into a sumo wrestler.

I know you're joking with the sumo wrestler and obviously I wasn't suggesting that.

With respect to Lucic, he is strong and solid, but at 6'4" 220 lbs he is not so heavy that it slows him down.

I am concerned that, considering his size at 18, that by 23 Barkov will be too heavy to maintain NHL speed (like 240ish).

Also, Lucic plays a power forward role on the wing. Barkov is projected as a #1 C. Very difficult be an effective #1 C in the NHL if speed is an issue.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I know you're joking with the sumo wrestler and obviously I wasn't suggesting that.

With respect to Lucic, he is strong and solid, but at 6'4" 220 lbs he is not so heavy that it slows him down.

I am concerned that, considering his size at 18, that by 23 Barkov will be too heavy to maintain NHL speed.

Also, Lucic plays a power forwardrole ont he wing. Barkov is projected as a #1 C. Very diffeicult be an effective #1 C in the NHL if speed is an issue.

I admit that I don't know about how to project players who will become "too big to maintain NHL speed." Is that even a thing? Do people worry about that when they talk about Seth Jones?

From what I read, Barkov is around 6'3'' and over 210 pounds. It's just his body type. I'd expect his strength to catch up with his body if anything. He turned 17 in september, at that age no one has the muscles they will have later on.

I don't know if he's a better pick than some of the other centers, but I'm not convinced that his speed will be an impediment at all. He's not slow, but he's also not explosive at this point.

[Flash Walken]

What if he's so big he cracks the ice and the league won't let him play?

[Henry Fool]

If I had to guess, Barkov ends up being about the size of a guy like Kopitar, slightly shorter unless he's still growing but roughly in that weight group. 240 sounds very heavy. I just feel that his body type suggests that he'll be a strong guy, which works really well for a player of his type. Just a big forward just like any other. I don't think there's any reason to expect him to balloon into some kind of Douglas Murray troll monster.

But I'm just guessing.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

For years we've needed a big #1 centre.

Now some people are nitpicking a potential one because he's big?

Strange discussion.

[JurassicTunga12]

Barkov is the guy I want. Barkov and Jankowski down the middle has great potential.

[EddyBeers]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I know you're joking with the sumo wrestler and obviously I wasn't suggesting that.

With respect to Lucic, he is strong and solid, but at 6'4" 220 lbs he is not so heavy that it slows him down.

I am concerned that, considering his size at 18, that by 23 Barkov will be too heavy to maintain NHL speed (like 240ish).

Also, Lucic plays a power forward role on the wing. Barkov is projected as a #1 C. Very difficult be an effective #1 C in the NHL if speed is an issue.

Lindros played between 230 and 240 for most of his career. Barkov is a couple days removed from being in the 2014 draft and he is putting up PPG numbers in a league against men, a league where the following current NHLer's put up PPG numbers:

Erik Karlsson
Rich Peverley
Lars Eller
Jannick Hansen
Jussi Jokinen
Kyle Turris
Frans Nielson
Mikeal Boddeker
Mikko Koivu

In addition there are a bunch of other NHLer's who underperformed his offensive numbers. The numbers he is putting up in that league against the quality of competition is at least on par with any of the CHL guys.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by EddyBeers

Lindros played between 230 and 240 for most of his career. Barkov is a couple days removed from being in the 2014 draft and he is putting up PPG numbers in a league against men, a league where the following current NHLer's put up PPG numbers:

Erik Karlsson
Rich Peverley
Lars Eller
Jannick Hansen
Jussi Jokinen
Kyle Turris
Frans Nielson
Mikeal Boddeker
Mikko Koivu

In addition there are a bunch of other NHLer's who underperformed his offensive numbers. The numbers he is putting up in that league against the quality of competition is at least on par with any of the CHL guys.

Yes I am aware of that - and that is why he is projected to go in the top 5 in the draft.

I just have a bad feeling about him peaking too young and becoming too heavy to be effective as he matures.

Purely a hunch on my part, but that's how I feel.

There are several other Cs available and I hope we go with one of them instead.

[Henry Fool]

I don't think the points in Finland are a good indicator of future NHL success in general. It's a different game. You look at the qualities more than the numbers. What Barkov has is a level of maturity that I don't think we've seen yet. He's literally years ahead of Mikko Koivu in development, for example, and shows much more offense, so it's understandable that people see a number one center in him.

To me this makes him a fairly safe prospect. If someone argued that he just matured early and won't project as high as some other guy, then you'd have to admit that it's a possibility.

But yes, his stats and his role on the second best team in the league are remarkable. He's not like a hotshot rookie. He already plays like number one center all over the ice.