For me its Bennett! Kid could become a star and still never do a chinup, doubt Gretzky could. Gretzky didn't have the strength to tuck in both sides of his jersey for pete's sake!
Never the less the kid knew he was going to be tested, and didn't study. Three months training in a gym and she would be able to do several lol! Never the less the other side of that is imagine what he can accomplish once he does train with professionals. Never the less it is a Red Flag.
A close second is the GERMAN! His playing style concerns me. He plays like Lemieux did, big body and not overly fast. Hey it worked great for Mario, but does this kid have the same skill or is he Joe Colbourne 2.0?
For me its Bennett! Kid could become a star and still never do a chinup, doubt Gretzky could. Gretzky didn't have the strength to tuck in both sides of his jersey for pete's sake!
Never the less the kid knew he was going to be tested, and didn't study. Three months training in a gym and she would be able to do several lol! Never the less the other side of that is imagine what he can accomplish once he does train with professionals. Never the less it is a Red Flag.
A close second is the GERMAN! His playing style concerns me. He plays like Lemieux did, big body and not overly fast. Hey it worked great for Mario, but does this kid have the same skill or is he Joe Colbourne 2.0?
Colborne is turning into a pretty good player given time to develop; players coming out of lesser leagues usually take longer anyway. Draisaitl was pretty damn good in the WHL.
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“@andystrickland: No excuses for Sam Bennett failing to do 1 pull-up but other prospects say they weren't your conventional pull-up, way more difficult #NHL”
“@andystrickland: A few prospects tell me they had a wider than normal grip, had to hang for three sec. before pulling themselves up. Again not making excuse”
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Kid with that kind of drive and committment... He'll be a beast in a few years with nhl coaching, training and diet. It's been said but I just think it speaks to untapped potential. I'd be more concerned if scouting was calling him lazy, disinterested or inconsistent. His intensity is talked up all the time and Burke referred to him as a "pitbull".
Flames have tried a few times to tame the disinterested but talented kind of players, god bless Howse and Ryder but it doesn't work out.
“@andystrickland: No excuses for Sam Bennett failing to do 1 pull-up but other prospects say they weren't your conventional pull-up, way more difficult #NHL”
“@andystrickland: A few prospects tell me they had a wider than normal grip, had to hang for three sec. before pulling themselves up. Again not making excuse”
Kid should be doing P90X. You do pull ups with some uncomfortable, at first, hand grips
“@andystrickland: No excuses for Sam Bennett failing to do 1 pull-up but other prospects say they weren't your conventional pull-up, way more difficult #NHL”
“@andystrickland: A few prospects tell me they had a wider than normal grip, had to hang for three sec. before pulling themselves up. Again not making excuse”
I remember doing this in high school, during which time I was far from athletic. I think I was still able to do 2-3.
It still seems extremely weak to me, and demonstrates a lack of commitment to his fitness given the fact that he knew what would be coming. A week in the gym and he would probably be able to do a half dozen.
I guess my concern is that if he seemingly isn't taking it seriously now, why would he take it any more seriously when he gets a fat cushy paycheck.
Not really soured by him, but I went with Reinhart. I like the intangibles of a bigger, grittier player at that position (such as Bennett or Draistl). I will not be upset in the least if Calgary ended up with him at #4, but there are guys I hope are still there at that pick ahead of him.
What a wonderful problem to have.
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Draisaitl and Ritchie are really overrated. I don't get the people that say Draisatl is the next Kopitar, there are literally no similarities in their game other than being big and being playmakers.
I went with Nylander, even though i never liked him in the first place-basically for all the reasons discussed in this thread, but also because he looks like he should be in a "Lord of the Rings" movie poster standing beside Legolas. I bet he plays his whole career with a full cage.
Dal Colle although I was always sour on him. He is a less skilled Joe Colborne with a much better wrister. People keep saying his frame will fill out but like Colborne he will never use his size to his advantage. He is not going to be able to post up untouched to get that wrister off in the NHL like he does in junior. He could hit his upside which would be a Matt Moulson but I don't think he will.
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Draisaitl and Ritchie are really overrated. I don't get the people that say Draisatl is the next Kopitar, there are literally no similarities in their game other than being big and being playmakers.
This doesn't make much sense to me. So what you're saying is other than their playstyle being very similar (playmaker) and the way they both use their size to their advantage (play big ex. shielding the puck) they have no similarities? Those two things are huge in describing how a player plays. Also you didn't mention they were both said to have high hockey IQ and questionable skating in their draft years. It seems to me that they're very similar players, especially after watching Draisaitl in a bunch of PA games + WJCs + WHC.
That would be like me saying Toews and Bennett have no similarities, except for their 2-way game and consistent effort.
Draisaitl and Ritchie are really overrated. I don't get the people that say Draisatl is the next Kopitar, there are literally no similarities in their game other than being big and being playmakers.
So you're saying that Burke and Conroy, who watch much more hockey than anyone here on these boards and has watched both players extensively, comparing Draisaitl and Kopitar is far fetched?