Prospect Info: 2018 NHL Draft / Pick #22 - K'Andre Miller (D) - Part II

[SnowblindNYR]

‘Good’ is an adjective and ‘well’ is an adverb. That’s all you need to know. Use them accordingly. So ends today’s grammar lesson.

I know but Jon Gruden doesn't.

 

[Ola]

The one downside is he will still have a big adjustment in the speed-of-game difference which is so profound from NCAA to NHL. It's one of the reasons why Pionk has better angles during cycle plays in the NHL as opposed to quick end-to-end rushes.

But there's really no league that has things happen at the speed of the NHL. Certainly not Europe.

Yeah. But like I watched Vic Herman closely since he was 15-16. He might not be the best D prospect ever, but I do think that he must be the safest bet ever. The rookie season wasn’t easy for Herman and neither was season 2 and 3.

Playing in the NHL is so tough for a defender. I just think we must be prepared to give these kids a lot of time.

And especially offensively — I think a defender benefits grately from playing at a little lower level for a while. Like I wouldn’t like to have Kravtsov score 70 goals in the OHL, think he mostly would just learn to cheat and pick up bad habits from a NHL perspective. But it’s different for a D were so much is about just realizing that you do have time and place out there despite the fact that you are facing a boat load of crazy semi body builders on skates coming at you at like 40 mph trying to knock you cold, more or less...

But seriously, like a young JT Miller can put his head down and go in the NHL and develop his offensive game. With a D it’s very different, every time they are stripped it’s a disaster. If a D gets to play at a level where he is more dominant he can get to expand his register more.

 

[darko]

My manager is Australian, and I've been teaching him the difference between less and fewer for over a year and he's finally getting it now. I will take my time with darko

That poor manager has his work cut out considering the quality of the workers around him.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

The person that described his 4-point game, thank you. It’s good to know how he played in addition to his points. Luckily, no one expected him to dominate games this early, especially as a freshman defenseman. So no pressure there. If he isn’t dominating, but the points are coming from him playing smart hockey, that’s just as good. I still think the upside to be “dominant” is there, which is why I see him as our #2 prospect (maybe even #1, but I like Kravtsov too much to put him at #2).

Is that excluding Shesty from the list?

 

[bobbop]

Wilde not being here makes little sense. Hes been good so far in the OHL and the only righties there are Keane, Emberson, Kemp and St Ivy. Should make Keanes job of making the team a lot easier though

Methinks he might have burned some bridges here. He did drop well out of the first round of the draft for a reason.

 

[bobbop]

Gimme a Miller-Keane pairing

God willing!

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Is that excluding Shesty from the list?

I know some people will disagree with me on this, but I just don't see a goalie as an important enough position for a prospect to be ranked number 1.

I have always felt the difference between a good and elite goalie is a lot smaller than the difference between a good and elite center/winger/D-man.

 

[Leetch3]

I know some people will disagree with me on this, but I just don't see a goalie as an important enough position for a prospect to be ranked number 1.

I have always felt the difference between a good and elite goalie is a lot smaller than the difference between a good and elite center/winger/D-man.

not disagreeing with your point...but which player/position is the most important and which player is the best are 2 completely different topics

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I know some people will disagree with me on this, but I just don't see a goalie as an important enough position for a prospect to be ranked number 1.

I have always felt the difference between a good and elite goalie is a lot smaller than the difference between a good and elite center/winger/D-man.

I agree, but what what about the difference between an elite goalie and an elite center/winger/dman? Would you rather have had a Lundqvist in his prime or a Stamkos in his prime? A dumpy goalie can ruin a whole team in the playoffs where a team with average centers can likely still get by if they have an elite goalie and good wingers/dmen(kinda like our Rangers in 2014).

 

[RGY]

Really hoping K’Andre can be a Brent Burns lite. Big, physical, solid skater.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

If Miller has a solid WJCs he will catapult into our "Top" tier of prospects with the company of Krav, Shest, Andersson, and Chytil. (I'm sure he's already there for a bunch of people).

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I know the difference but I think like 5% of the population does. People don't even know the difference between well and good. You hear sports announcers make that mistake all the time, it's embarrassing.

Oh man, that one is nails on a chalkboard for me.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I agree, but what what about the difference between an elite goalie and an elite center/winger/dman? Would you rather have had a Lundqvist in his prime or a Stamkos in his prime? A dumpy goalie can ruin a whole team in the playoffs where a team with average centers can likely still get by if they have an elite goalie and good wingers/dmen(kinda like our Rangers in 2014).

Stamkos. Easy. Good goalies win cups with elite centers more often than elite goalies do with good centers

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Stamkos. Easy. Good goalies win cups with elite centers more often than elite goalies do with good centers

Again, that is true, but there are also a lot more elite centers than elite goalies so that would make sense (and i'm talking about real elite goalies, like in the past decade: prime Lundqvist, Price, Bobrovsky, Rinne..not the next level down like Miller, Crawford, Fleury etc).

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Again, that is true, but there are also a lot more elite centers than elite goalies so that would make sense (and i'm talking about real elite goalies, like in the past decade: prime Lundqvist, Price, Bobrovsky, Rinne..not the next level down like Miller, Crawford, Fleury etc).

Elite centers have a bigger impact than elite goalies.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Elite centers have a bigger impact than elite goalies.

Sometimes. Sometimes not. Goalies can stand on their head and win a game a team had no business winning. And likewise, a center can put up 4 points and dominate a game defensively where his goalie gave up 3 goals on 12 shots. I honestly don't see the difference that big when we are talking about legit elite goalies.

IMO, i'll take the top 3 goalie for a decade in the league (like a Lundqvist in his prime) over a 85 point center. It may sound crazy but that's just me. Or maybe it's just me remembering how brutal it was to watch the rangers the years between Richter retiring and Lundqvist coming into the league

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Sometimes. Sometimes not. Goalies can stand on their head and win a game a team had no business winning. And likewise, a center can put up 4 points and dominate a game defensively where his goalie gave up 3 goals on 12 shots. I honestly don't see the difference that big when we are talking about legit elite goalies.

IMO, i'll take the top 3 goalie for a decade in the league (like a Lundqvist in his prime) over a 85 point center. It may sound crazy but that's just me. Or maybe it's just me remembering how brutal it was to watch the rangers the years between Richter retiring and Lundqvist coming into the league

Maybe it's just me remembering the last 20 years without a truly elite center putting up 90 points. But hey... Whatever works right?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Maybe it's just me remembering the last 20 years without a truly elite center putting up 90 points. But hey... Whatever works right?

Whatever puts the Ws up haha.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Whatever puts the Ws up haha.

Elite centers do more so than elite goalies.

 

[Edge]

Personally, I continue to believe it’s easier to win with a higher-end center and an above average goalie, than it is to win with a higher-end goalie and an above average center.

 

[Synergy27]

Sometimes. Sometimes not. Goalies can stand on their head and win a game a team had no business winning. And likewise, a center can put up 4 points and dominate a game defensively where his goalie gave up 3 goals on 12 shots. I honestly don't see the difference that big when we are talking about legit elite goalies.

IMO, i'll take the top 3 goalie for a decade in the league (like a Lundqvist in his prime) over a 85 point center. It may sound crazy but that's just me. Or maybe it's just me remembering how brutal it was to watch the rangers the years between Richter retiring and Lundqvist coming into the league

The difference is that a middle of the road goalie can play like an elite goalie for extended periods of time. Entire playoffs, if not fill seasons. It happens all the time.

The same is simply not true for skaters. There is a reason why the Rangers haven't won a Cup work Lundqvist despite him clearly being the best goalie of his generation. There are always one or two goalies who simply aren't as good as him who play better than him for weeks and months at a time. Derek Stepan does not outscore Crosby for weeks on end.

 

[Edge]

When I look at Cup winners in my lifetime, I see a lot of goalies who were good, sometimes very good, but not necessarily excellent year in and year out, or the best of the best.

However, I do see a greater frequency of legit, top centers whose impact reverberated up and down a lineup.

That’s not to say it’s one or the other, and there aren’t exceptions. But I do see some pretty clear patterns.

Years later, people talk about Toews, or Lecavalier, or Staal, or Yzerman, etc.

But you don’t really hear the same type of stories handed down about Corey Crawford, or Cam Ward, or Chris Osgood.

Not to say they weren’t important, but they weren’t consistently counted among the best of their positions.

 

[Edge]

Getting back to Miller, he might be the best pure athlete this team has drafted in my lifetime, not named Lundqvist, Leetch or Kovalev.

 

[McRanger]

Getting back to Miller, he might be the best pure athlete this team has drafted in my lifetime, not named Lundqvist, Leetch or Kovalev.

Kreider is a physical freak. Malhotra was pretty ridiculous as well.

 

[Edge]

Kreider is a physical freak. Malhotra was pretty ridiculous as well.

Both great choices, but I still think Miller, from a pure athletic standpoint, is a bit ahead at the same stage.

I think that’s one of the things that helped Miller take his skating to the next level and learn a new position.