With Monahan and Backlund looking like a legit One-two punch down the middle I love that it puts a heck of a lot less pressure on Jankowski to be "that guy" and he can just develop his own game without us fans putting it on him. He'd be a great big winger too.
I totally think this kid is going to make the NHL - but at what time and in what capacity is totally up in the air.
Size
Skill
Hockey IQ
Skating Ability
He has everything - how well he puts it together and develops will take him from the 1st line center position to a 3rd line checker (or 4th line, if he adds some physicality to his game as he builds on his frame).
This makes him the most interesting prospect in the organization to me (well, him and Ferland). Not saying the highest rated - but the most intriguing simply because he COULD become a 1st line center, but is such a project. Great start and I hope he just excels so badly this year.
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makes sense ... I remember coach Leaman talking about easing him in at the wing in year one and that the plan was to switch to center in year two. They also lost their best center Tim Schaller to graduation, so there's a center spot for Janko for sure.
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Providence should adopt the Flaming Friars mascot with all the future Flames making contributions there.
__________________ I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love." - John Steinbeck
Video I took at flames camp. Crazy backhander from Knight and some pretty good shooting by Jankowski on Gillies. Although maybe Janko is used to shooting on Gillies and knows where to score on him lol.
Frick Jankowski is starting to look like a pretty big boy out there, they got him listed at 175 on the Friars website. How old is he now? 19? 20? Lots of room to grow. The more he learns to utilize that size the scarier he will be.
So far it doesn't look like I will get to see a BC vs Providence match up in the QF's.. but that's fine, I would prefer to see Johnny stomp some team I have no allegiance with. I wonder if I can still find those Johnny Hockey t-shirts.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
When I watched them in (rookie) camp, asides from Monahan scoring a goal and playing on a line with Gaudreau - Monahan and Janko looked like 2 players of a pretty similar ability but slightly different levels of development. Not in their shot, skating, or passing etc. But the way they think and impose themselves on the game. Monahan would get the puck and do something positive with it every time it seemed. Whereas Janko would kind of dissapear but when he did manage to get the puck he was just as impressive with it as Monahan was. So I think a lot of fans will be pleasantly surprised by our "reach" pick. He looked just a little lacking in confidence and that kind of "I am a good player and my line will have success through me". I feel like this swagger and assertiveness in his game will grow with the fact he is now playing C at providence and also playing a bigger role in their team overall. The call-up to the Canadian WJHC team could only help him in this sense.
Would be a nice 1-2 punch if they could both reach their potential. 2 big two-way Canadian centers who would love playing in Calgary.
When I watched them in (rookie) camp, asides from Monahan scoring a goal and playing on a line with Gaudreau - Monahan and Janko looked like 2 players of a pretty similar ability but slightly different levels of development. Not in their shot, skating, or passing etc. But the way they think and impose themselves on the game. Monahan would get the puck and do something positive with it every time it seemed. Whereas Janko would kind of dissapear but when he did manage to get the puck he was just as impressive with it as Monahan was. So I think a lot of fans will be pleasantly surprised by our "reach" pick. He looked just a little lacking in confidence and that kind of "I am a good player and my line will have success through me". I feel like this swagger and assertiveness in his game will grow with the fact he is now playing C at providence and also playing a bigger role in their team overall. The call-up to the Canadian WJHC team could only help him in this sense.
Would be a nice 1-2 punch if they could both reach their potential. 2 big two-way Canadian centers who would love playing in Calgary.
When I was watching them, I was thinking that in terms of raw ability of skills they were in the same ballpark (shot/skating/passing) and the only thing that really separated them was how good Monahan thinks the game. You could see that Jankowski was a little behind the 8 ball due to his rapid ascension through the developmental ladder as he is still adjusting to being 6-3 and how to play in a manner suited to his size. However, the talent level and ability is clearly there, just as you can see it when you see Sven, Monahan, and Gaudreau play.
If you believe Monahan has the upside to be a 80ish point center down the road if he develops fully, Jankowski should be in the mid 60's if he continues to progress and adapt to the NHL game. They could very well develop into a solid one two punch in the future, or depending on the upcoming drafts, they could possibly a good pairing on a line in the same way the Sharks have played Burns and Thornton together recently.
I think it is very possible that we already have 6 of our future top 9 forwards in house already (Sven, Janko, Gaudreau, Monahan, Poirier, and Klimchuk) so we are not going to be rebuilding long once those guys start getting further along in their development.
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