Mark Jankowski is an interesting player and obviously a unique story. He has grown to 6'3" from about 5'9" in just under 2 years so was under the radar so to speak. He has excellent skill in all regards. Skating is fast, quick and agile. He has great hands & great vision and awareness & is able to make plays that very few can. He has an ease to his game yet is very determined and competitive. I know there is lots of questions about where he plays but that is of no concern to me because I have seen many players star in the NHL that came out of similar situations. To name a few, Bob Carpenter, Tom Barrasso, Phil Housley, Brian Leetch, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk. I think Mark has so much more room to grow as a player & as I have watched him, I have not seen anything that makes me believe that he isn't a very good NHL prospect and I will say it now, he may be as good a player in time as any in the draft.
Remember last year when everyone cried about us drafting midgets (especially with our 1st round pick)?
This is definitely an interesting pick. Let's let time judge him.
The way he's been growing the past few years this guy could end up at 6'4-6'6, and that would be simply magnificent.
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"Man, so long as he remains free, has no more constant and agonizing anxiety than to find, as quickly as possible, someone to worship."
Late last month, Red Line's chief scout and Boston area scout attended the Beantown Spring Classic showcase event to review the top New England prospects, but more important to get several more viewings on draft wild card Mark Jankowski.Much like Shore, the only thing holding Jankowski back from a very high ranking is the difficulty involved in projecting players who have performed at the very lowest competition levels. Jankowski, whose family is from the Toronto area, spent this season at Stanstead College, essentially a college prep school in Quebec's Eastern Townships region, in preparation for entering Providence College next season.
Stanstead's level of competition is so low it doesn't even register on the meter, so not surprisingly, Jankowski is the rawest of raw products in this draft. Playing against some reasonable competition at the Beantown, it was clear that he has the skills to translate to the next level. Where his inexperience shows up is that he doesn't understand positioning or what it takes to compete hard every shift.
As a Sept. 13 birthday, he's one of the youngest players available this year, and that plays in his favor since he presumably has even more development left in him than most others in this class. And already has a lean, projectable frame at 6-2, 175 pounds, to go along with superb natural athleticism and balance.
Given how few skilled forwards there are in this year's crop, someone is going to take a chance on him — and we suspect quite high. Given that his uncle is former New York Islanders chief scout and current Montreal talent hound Ryan Jankowski, we think it's a fair bet the Canadiens will gamble one of their two second-round picks on him. Given the kid's outstanding skating ability and super soft, quick hands, it will be a good gamble.
While the Central Scouting Service ranks Jankowski 43rd among North American skaters, the latest Craig's List has him rated 15th overall.
"He reminds me of John LeClair," Button said from the Czech Republic, where he is covering the world under-18 championship for TSN. "I talked to people in the OHL and they liked his skill set, but he was 5-foot-8. Since then, he's gone through a growth spurt where he's gained six or seven inches in 18 months, and I think he's still growing."
Button, whose resumé includes a stint as general manager of the Calgary Flames, said Jankowski wasn't on his radar until a friend asked him if he had seen "the kid at Stanstead."
"I've seen him play six or seven times, and each time he's looked better," Button said. "The competition at the prep school level isn't the same as major junior, but you can see the skating, the thinking. You can see he's unselfish. The most important thing is his confidence on the ice. You can see him take over when the game is in the balance."
“Jankowski is an interesting player who is getting a lot of attention of late,” said one NHL scout in attendance at the showcase. “He dominated his competition (at Stanstead), but he was expected to do that. I think he did himself a favor skating in the Beantown and showing people how he looked with and against other kids in the draft.
“He’s a raw talent who skates well and is a good playmaker, but he has some bloodlines and with his size and skills, you can see how some are projecting a high ceiling for the kid. Is he a risk? Yes. But he’s also got some homerun potential, too.”
The article is gone now but Dubuque Fighting Saints head coach Jim Montgomery said this:
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Mark is a tremendously gifted offensive player who has high-end hockey sense, handles the puck with soft hands, and can shoot it. He’s kind of like a 6’3 John Gaudreau
“Jankowski is a typical late bloomer as he grew 6 inches this season. His sudden growth spurt has left him rail thin as he is vastly under-developed physically, weighing a slight 170. His strength test results at the Combine were certainly a reflection of that. Nonetheless he is a solid prospect due to his ability to manufacture offence. His vision, puck skills and patience with the puck are his best attributes. More of a finesse player, he lacks a physical dimension to his game. Jankowski skates like a young Jason Spezza as he lacks fluidity but has good levels of speed. His anticpation and hockey sense keep him involved in plays even though he doesn’t have the best start up speed. Jankowski desperately needs to add power and strength to his game. His shot as a result is not very strong nor is the quickness of his release. His sudden spike in development is a healthy sign for NHL clubs. This year he dominated the MPHL and helped his draft stock considerably with a strong end of season showing at the Beanpot Classic playing against better players. Jankowski has the potential to be a top six scoring centre at the NHL level. ” - McKeen’s Director of Scouting David Burstyn
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The beauty of the gaudreau pick (which is similar to this one) was that it was done at the right time. If this guy was on the radar the team should have done more to get an early or mid second round pick well before or during the draft imho.
Finally. A risky pick by Calgary. For a big talented #1 Center who went late because other teams didn't do their homework outside the CHL.
I've been waiting 30 years for us to draft another Nieuwendyk.
It's about F-ing time.
The only thing that bothers me is when Jankowski's coach said it was wild having 25 nhl scouts in stands on a regular basis. The other teams definitely knew what this kid was all about
And yet you isolate only the people who dislike the pick and don't take pot shots at the people that like it. You don't play the voice of reason very well (or your buddy MastadonFarm too for that matter).
Well I for one find baseless negativity more irritating than baseless optimism. Nothing wrong with being positive instead of whining when you really have no clue about something
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Have you? Why are you allowed to vehemently defend it, but anyone who doesn't like it can't voice their opinion?
Oh no, see I'm not. I am totally ignorant of most of these players. I never claimed to be an expert. I am laughing at those like Spears who are also ignorant, but pretending to be experts.
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The people that are claiming it as a huge reach react that way because Bobby Mac says so or because they haven't heard of him. People who have been following prospects closely for the last six months are claiming he has the potential to be a number 1 center. Teuvo is more likely to play RW rather than center btw.
The point is that any over reaction - positive or negative is unfounded. Like every pick tonight time will ultimately tell if it was a good one. I feel a lot better about this pick than the Chucko or Pelech pick however.
The reach is because the kid isn't playing a high level of competition, so its pretty hard to tell how good he is, night in, night out.
At 14, Calgary had other players they could have picked outside of TT, who I just say as good value considering his ranking.
people saying that this kid is going to be a number 1 center are equally exaggerating as those of us calling it a reach.
I feel pretty much the same as I did when we dropped down from picking Zajac to pick Chucko.
That said, I would be more than willing to eat crow if this kid turns out.
Dismiss "the board" all you want, I guess everyone in hockey that refers to "the board" is wrong and Mr mastodon is right.
My god are you ever such a whiny little bitch.
And we all know what you mean by this comment. You are crying because people have the audacity to disagree with YOU. Never mind that you are one of the most ignorant fans I've ever seen on this forum.
I'm not going to rush to judge the kid because, like you, I have no clue what he is about. But the Flames do, and that is worth giving him a chance. How about we reconvene in the future when we've had a chance to watch and judge him ourselves? Or do you just prefer to jump to conclusions based in ignorance?
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Im sorry, but what do you know that clearly puts your opinion ahead of mine?
You can argue that my opinion can be false, but stating yours is the correct opinion is just asinine.
And im here because i truly love the Flames, i dont like what they are doing, but i am a passionate fan and CP is the best place to talk about where the team is heading and what they are doing.
I Dont believe Jankowski is going to be the #1 Center that some people are going to peg him as. I dont believe he is going to be an impact player. At this point i would have been 100X happier had they drafted TT which is who i wanted months ago.
Go ahead and point out what my opinion is...
Because outside of saying that you're a grey cloud of doom, I didn't state one.
I don't have enough info on the kid, our draft order or the context to make an opinion. So instead of freaking out and over reacting, I'll withhold my judgement.
I would wager you know nothing of this kid, so instead of continuing with the non stop gloom spewing, why not do some research and reserve judgement.
The constant negativity couldn't be more tiresome.
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Remember two years ago when the Avalanche took Joey Hishon when he was ranked off the board? People where scratching their heads at that move but he ended up having a great season the year after he got drafted. Sucks that he got injured though or else he would have had an even better season this past year:
Hishon was ranked lower than Jankowski and went higher than he did. The Avs saw that he had upside and it could pay off for them in the future once he gets healthy.
Nope, but I am not the one losing my poop over it.
So you're very much against Jankowski and would have preferred the other guy whose name I can't spell properly. You seem to be an expert on both of these guys.
Ever see either of them play?
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I'd rather draft him than play it safe by going with one of the potential 2nd or 3rd line players that are still available.
What makes this guy anymore likely to be a first line center than guys like Gaunce?
This high risk high reward BS is just that BS. His high reward is no more higher than say Gaunce, the Finnish kid, Maata etc. Its fine to like the pick but his potential is not higher than other kids that went before or around him which is why he was picked where he was.
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Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm
That's a good thing, I'm not pretending to be an expert like most of the dummies going crazy in the past hour.
You mean like Caged Great who is acting much more like an expert than anyone but since he is saying ridiculously positive things I guess people won't whine about that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
I can't say I am surprised at the names of the people crying the loudest about this pick. And something tells me that they are crying so much because they never heard of the kid, therefore he must be a terrible pick. Personally, I think anyone rushing to judge this pick today is a fool.
I can't say I am surprised about at the names of people overrating and rushing to spin this pick.
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So you're the ultimate voice of reason? If this were the oilers or canucks you'd be one of the first one's lining up talking about what a poor move it was.
You mean like Caged Great who is acting much more like an expert than anyone but since he is saying ridiculously positive things I guess people won't whine about that..
Caged Great was (apparently) saying good things about him prior to the Flames drafting him. So that gives him some credibility.
Also to add, I don't think optimism is a bad thing. People tend to forget the fan part of Sports Fan.
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