Prospect Info: 2024 39th OA: Gabriel Eliasson (LHD)

Hale The Villain

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Apr 2, 2008
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Kleven has worked out great but people assumed he was completely talentless and devoid of puckmoving ability because of his size and his very low point totals, but he actually has good hands and because he handles the puck quite well he can move the puck well enough to not be a liability.

From my veiwings Eliasson is the guy the analytics/online scouts thought Kleven was.
 
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Alf Silfversson

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Jun 8, 2011
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Kleven has worked out great but people assumed he was completely talentless and devoid of puckmoving ability because of his size and his very low point totals, but he actually has good hands and because he handles the puck quite well he can move the puck well enough to not be a liability.

From my veiwings Eliasson is the guy the analytics/online scouts thought Kleven was.

I mean, the jury is still very much out on whether Kleven can handle NHL speed and pressure when he has the puck. We should cross the Eliasson bridge when we get to it. Let's see if Kleven can be more than just a Boro type D first.

Eliasson will need work for sure. Not who I would have picked but he seems like a really good kid who has some tools you can't teach.
 
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GCK

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Oct 15, 2018
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Can we please stop calling him a reach. Taking a guy at 39 who was 55 on McKenzie’s list is far from a reach. The leafs took 54 at 31
 
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Nac Mac Feegle

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Jun 10, 2011
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I don't care if he ends up with a 0-0-0 stat line in whatever league he plays. He's not on the ice for generating offense. He's there to be a physical presence and clear out the crease area. If he can reliably chip the puck up the boards and out of the zone, that's good enough.
 

BoardsofCanada

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Aug 26, 2009
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NO ONE is expecting offense from this guy. The question is, at 6'7, can he move fast enough for the NHL? I'm skeptical. How many guy have been able to do it? Hedman, Chara, Tage Thompson are three super stars. Then there's Dougie Hamilton, Brent Burns, Zadorov and Brandon Carlo at 6'5. But the other freakishly tall players are either journey men or fringe NHLers.
 

Tap on the Ankle

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Jun 9, 2004
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I'd say extremely low to amost non-existent points would be a bad sign, even for a guy who is expected to be a defensive player at the NHL level. Very good defensive players still have to be good skaters and anyone with that kind of good skating should be able to do a lot more offensively in lower leagues.

Brandon Carlo is probably a good example of a big guy who is good defensively. His offensive numbers are about what you'd expect from a primarily defensive top 4 guy. Will be lucky to break 20 points in a NHL season at this point but he was still hovering around 0.5ppg in the WHL during his D and D+1 years. Not offensive dman numbers, but certainly not nothing.
 
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Wallet Inspector

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I don't care if he ends up with a 0-0-0 stat line in whatever league he plays. He's not on the ice for generating offense. He's there to be a physical presence and clear out the crease area. If he can reliably chip the puck up the boards and out of the zone, that's good enough.
NO ONE is expecting offense from this guy. The question is, at 6'7, can he move fast enough for the NHL? I'm skeptical. How many guy have been able to do it? Hedman, Chara, Tage Thompson are three super stars. Then there's Dougie Hamilton, Brent Burns, Zadorov and Brandon Carlo at 6'5. But the other freakishly tall players are either journey men or fringe NHLers.

Except we've drafted a bunch of low-offense, big d-men the past 3 drafts, picking Eliasson will probably prove to be yet another mistake.

We could, for once, take a chance on a skilled forward but our meathead scouts hate anyone who isn't 6'2 or taller.
 

Tuna99

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Sep 26, 2009
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Is that from the same group that tried to use their analytics to claim Kleven was a worse passer than a goalie?

From memory Kleven was a much better skater at the same age - Ellisaon is intriguing but Kleven to me was much more projectbale simply because his skating was already at a WjC level and don’t think Ellison is there yet
I don't care if he ends up with a 0-0-0 stat line in whatever league he plays. He's not on the ice for generating offense. He's there to be a physical presence and clear out the crease area. If he can reliably chip the puck up the boards and out of the zone, that's good enough.
we want the bad version of Jared Cowen
 

Nac Mac Feegle

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Jun 10, 2011
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Except we've drafted a bunch of low-offense, big d-men the past 3 drafts, picking Eliasson will probably prove to be yet another mistake.

We could, for once, take a chance on a skilled forward but our meathead scouts hate anyone who isn't 6'2 or taller.

Yes, it would be nice to take more skill kings in the draft.....but we didn't.

But this kid is ours now, so let's hope he hits his ceiling (and not with his head, either).
 

aragorn

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Aug 8, 2004
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That kind of hitting on D has been missing on this team for quite some time. Allowing these speedy little skaters to float into the D-Zone without touching them is infuriating, it will be great to have someone back there who doesn't allow players to skate in unscathed. Hopefully, with Kleven back there as well our defence will grow some teeth over time.
 

armani

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Apr 8, 2005
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Eliasson is a high risk high reward pick (much like Yakemchuk). I like this move, drafting someone who is probably a project (a la Chara in NYI) who can pay a huge dividend if they can mold him into an NHLer. Can't teach size and physicality (of going through people), I personally love this pick! Very intrigued about his development, might take a minute but maybe worth the wait.
 
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Adele Dazeem

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Oct 20, 2015
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If he develops his defensive IQ, he's going to be a beast. Seems like a smart kid who likes to play physical. We have forwards and D who can score and play PP minutes, but on the flip side we are severely lacking in intimidation. This kid can be the answer to that deficiency in 4-5 years.
 
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aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
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Eliasson is a high risk high reward pick (much like Yakemchuk). I like this move, drafting someone who is probably a project (a la Chara in NYI) who can pay a huge dividend if they can mold him into an NHLer. Can't teach size and physicality (of going through people), I personally love this pick! Very intrigued about his development, might take a minute but maybe worth the wait.
Eliasson was one of the few at camp who hit players every chance he got, very refreshing.
 

PlayOn

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Jun 22, 2010
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I think I read somewhere the Kings loved him. They’re pretty good at drafting dmen so maybe that’s a good sign.
 

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