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Originally Posted by Bingo
Jankowski has never dominated any level like Bennett did in his draft year and then that abbreviated spin after shoulder surgery.
Jankowski I see more of that safe two way guy that ideally centers the third line.
Both have high floors though.
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Jankowski was absolutely dominant in the AHL last year, and there was reason to believe even his senior year NCAA numbers were lower than they should have been due to how the coach distributed ice time evenly and the fact that his top scoring linemate turned out to be an ECHL washout. He also had a longer development path due to physical shortcomings that are now physical strengths.
If you subscribe to it there's also the fact that Jankowski was estimated to have the top Quality of Competition in the AHL last year yet posted top 3 estimated points/minute (GuentzL was #1 so really it's top two) while leading an entire professional hockey league in WAR as a rookie. There's reason to believe that if Huska didn't roll four lines pretty evenly, Jankowski might have been the AHP MVP as a rookie last year. Tyler Johnson did something along those lines before hitting the NHL and being a 50-70 point two way center (and PPG playoff performer on a contender) - and one might argue Jankowski's tools translate better to the bigger, faster NHL.
Bennett did dominate lower levels but also saw less team success at lower levels - he was a great player on a team that needed him to be a great player. I would argue Jankowski was (eventually, bu the second half of his D+3) a great player on a team that needed and only asked him to be a solid player. I don't believe they win the NCAA Tournament, dominate the standings the next year only to lose when Jankowski was seriously ill, make the AHL playoffs and do some serious damage (an OT gaffe by Kostka away from advancing past #1 seed) the next year, if Jankowski was not highly dominant. It just isn't obvious in the basic counting stats.
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Jankowski I see more of that safe two way guy that ideally centers the third line.
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He could play that role, as Backlund and Bennett could play that role, and as Jordan Staal and Nick Bonino did play that role on teams already strong down the middle. But he is so much more than that. His hands, vision, skating, size, shot, and hockey sense are above the level of even a third line center in my opinion. It's like Ferland and Backlund though, where his raw top 6 production might not be there in a bottom 6 role but will flourish with a Gaudreau or a Frolik rather than a Chiasson or a Bouma.
