Prospect #1
5'7" - 145lbs
WHL 3 years / 215 games
Points per game - 1.31
Goals per game - 0.63
Prospect #2
5'8" - 155lbs
WHL - 4 years / 230 games
Points per game - 1.27
Goals per game - 0.46
One of these prospects is Matthew Phillips. The other is a much more highly touted prospect who was taken late in the first round of the 2017 draft. The highly touted prospect is only 6 months younger than Phillips.
Even better: Hockeydb has Phillips at 155 and Yamamoto at 154.
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Prospect #1
5'7" - 145lbs
WHL 3 years / 215 games
Points per game - 1.31
Goals per game - 0.63
Prospect #2
5'8" - 155lbs
WHL - 4 years / 230 games
Points per game - 1.27
Goals per game - 0.46
One of these prospects is Matthew Phillips. The other is a much more highly touted prospect who was taken late in the first round of the 2017 draft. The highly touted prospect is only 6 months younger than Phillips.
I try to take the homer hat off but still pick Phillips over Yamamoto, For me it's Phillips because he seems to have that extra gear come playoff time, he wants the puck and he wants to be the difference maker. Yamamoto has nice talent but hides a lot when the games get important. Phillips also has a far better shot, his wrist shot is lethal and NHL ready when he makes the step.
I try to take the homer hat off but still pick Phillips over Yamamoto, For me it's Phillips because he seems to have that extra gear come playoff time, he wants the puck and he wants to be the difference maker. Yamamoto has nice talent but hides a lot when the games get important. Phillips also has a far better shot, his wrist shot is lethal and NHL ready when he makes the step.
In junior they've been pretty similar.
Hard not to give credit to Yamamoto for training camp last year though. Phillips was invisible.
Hard not to give credit to Yamamoto for training camp last year though. Phillips was invisible.
Yup, and then Yamomoto did his best Houdini come regular season (can’t blame him though, that whole team disappeared until they were officially eliminated from the playoffs
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Valimaki almost certainly spends a season in Stockton. Not to say he's a potential call-up if there's a string of injuries, but a full season learning the pro game in the "A" is a reasonable scenario.
I doubt he plays a full season there. IMO he's a top prospect and thus a candidate to step in earlier than most players at his position would. Look at when guys like Provorov, Chychrun, McAvoy, Werenski, Hamilton made the NHL. I think Valimaki is closer to those guys than he is further from them. Heck even Robyn Regehr spent minimal time in the AHL, basically only doing a conditioning stint after recovering from his horrific car crash injury. Top prospects at defense step in early and I put forward that Valimaki is in that upper echelon of defense prospects.
Wouldn't surprise me if he spends some time in the AHL but I suspect he won't spend a full season there. Kid was close to making the NHL last year and might've if we had worse depth at that position. I think its likely he sees some time on the big club this year. Could be as little as a call-up stint, but also could be as much as the whole season. Will really depend on his camp and if Treliving trades a dman this summer. But I think the Flames really hit on that pick and that he's not far off at all. He's got the size, skating, confidence, skill, strength, leadership to make an impact sooner rather than later.
I think Valimaki will contend for a spot this fall and will see more than a cup of coffee this year. Just my prediction, could be wrong but I get the feeling this kid is way ahead of the normal curve for defenseman development. He may be ahead of Andersson in many ways despite his youth.
Last edited by Flames Draft Watcher; 06-03-2018 at 12:24 PM.
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I doubt he plays a full season there. IMO he's a top prospect and thus a candidate to step in earlier than most players at his position would. Look at when guys like Provorov, Chychrun, McAvoy, Werenski, Hamilton made the NHL. I think Valimaki is closer to those guys than he is further from them. Heck even Robyn Regehr spent minimal time in the AHL, basically only doing a conditioning stint after recovering from his horrific car crash injury. Top prospects at defense step in early and I put forward that Valimaki is in that upper echelon of defense prospects.
Wouldn't surprise me if he spends some time in the AHL but I suspect he won't spend a full season there. Kid was close to making the NHL last year and might've if we had worse depth at that position. I think its likely he sees some time on the big club this year. Could be as little as a call-up stint, but also could be as much as the whole season. Will really depend on his camp and if Treliving trades a dman this summer. But I think the Flames really hit on that pick and that he's not far off at all. He's got the size, skating, confidence, skill, strength, leadership to make an impact sooner rather than later.
I think Valimaki will contend for a spot this fall and will see more than a cup of coffee this year. Just my prediction, could be wrong but I get the feeling this kid is way ahead of the normal curve for defenseman development. He may be ahead of Andersson in many ways despite his youth.
Wholeheartedly agree. Think Valimaki could spend about as much time in the AHL as Jankowski did this year.
Andersson needs to make some noise this camp. Skating needs to show measurable improvement.
Kylingtons development hasn't stalled, but he's not making the leaps many anticipated he would by now.
Think BT moves an NHL d-man (Brodie, Hamonic) and maybe kicks in Andersson or Kylington as a sweetener for an RW.
Hard not to give credit to Yamamoto for training camp last year though. Phillips was invisible.
One guy was playing with Leon Draisaitl on the top line in training camp from the first shift onward. The other guy was not.
I mean, yes, it's great when a prospect can elevate the Tanner Glass' of the world the way Dube did in training camp last year, but sometimes different skillsets require different experimentation. If Phillips were a guy who could help run our power play would you find that out based on how he was used? If he is a guy who likes to get hit with a clean first pass would you find that out with Bartkowski types? If he is a guy who is best carrying the puck do you find that out playing dump and chase?
I do feel Phillips was invisible in preseason last year, but it really doesn't mean much to me. I don't see him as a super-versatile Paul Byron type who will always be noticible. I see him being similar to Versteeg, but with a bit more speed. So I need to see him put in a position to play to HIS strengths. It's really the whole story of the last two years under GG, a one-size-fits-all approach that wasn't working for "all" or even "most".
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Last edited by GranteedEV; 06-04-2018 at 02:06 PM.
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One guy was playing with Leon Draisaitl on the top line in training camp from the first shift onward. The other guy was not.
I mean, yes, it's great when a prospect can elevate the Tanner Glass' of the world the way Dube did in training camp last year, but sometimes different skillsets require different experimentation. If Phillips were a guy who could help run our power play would you find that out based on how he was used? If he is a guy who likes to get hit with a clean first pass would you find that out with Bartkowski types? If he is a guy who is best carrying the puck do you find that out playing dump and chase?
I do feel Phillips was invisible in preseason last year, but it really doesn't mean much to me. I don't see him as a super-versatile Paul Byron type who will always be noticible. I see him being similar to Versteeg, but with a bit more speed. So I need to see him put in a position to play to HIS strengths. It's really the whole story of the last two years under GG, a one-size-fits-all approach that wasn't working for "all" or even "most".
Phillips issues started sooner though; it's a process.
He was pretty non stand out in Penticton, and because of that he didn't really earn the right to play with the Draisaitls of the Flames camp.
Foo had a good Penticton and then faded.
Dube was strong throughout and stuck the longest.
But Phillips was pretty quiet all the way through.
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