Zippy316
aka Zippo
Sarnia will likely have a much better team this year, considering their best players in Zacha, Chychrun, and Koroslotev will be a year older. Adding Jacobs helps too.
Prospect Info: 6th Overall Pick: Pavel Zacha
- Thread starter Emperoreddy
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Sarnia will likely have a much better team this year, considering their best players in Zacha, Chychrun, and Koroslotev will be a year older. Adding Jacobs helps too.
Emperoreddy
Show Me What You Got!
Your second point is an interesting one. Someone who watched all his Sarnia games might know more.
I've read reports he played on the edge a bit but that wasn't a constant (his choices off the puck and routes were consistent)
I trust that the staff through normal scouting and the interviews believe the kid has a good hockey IQ that just needs to be coached.
He is a really big kid. Bigger then a lot of kids in juniors and when he puts his second gear on he is basically a Mack truck so your hypothesis is possible.
AfroThunder396
[citation needed]
I'm not really concerned about prospect camp. Glorified skate-and-shoot sessions mean little to me, other than a chance to finally see a guy play in person. It's not really telling as to the quality of player.
If Hynes and company feel as though he shows up in appropriate shape and does what he's asked to do, you give him a shot. Training camp and pre-season can only tell you so much, you have to see a guy in a live game situation with something on the line.
If Hynes and company feel as though he shows up in appropriate shape and does what he's asked to do, you give him a shot. Training camp and pre-season can only tell you so much, you have to see a guy in a live game situation with something on the line.
Edmonton East
BUT the ADvaNCEd STatS...
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My reasoning for the NHL (if he earns it in camp) is this: I'd much rather have him get acclimated to the NA ice in the NHL, as oppose to a league where he can lean on his size and possibly develop tendencies that don't translate. I would think he is more at risk (impressionable) to developing bad tendencies since he is only a year into NA play.
Feed Me A Stray Cat
Registered User
I'm not concerned about Zacha's physical game. That's secondary. What I care about most if his hockey sense, which no one ever seems to talk about it.
Marshal Rochambeau
Send it
I think he gets sent down after 9 games if Sarnia looks like a championship contender by that point.
Tertiary - I don't care if he runs around hitting people, that's not what is going to make him an NHL player. That's the last thing I want to see him do. Can he be in the right places and does he know where the puck should go, those are my concerns.
Feed Me A Stray Cat
Registered User
It's slightly concerning to me because I've heard so much about his "physical edge", his suspensions and all that - who gives a ****? Very little commentary about the most important things for him as a player, which is what you basically touched upon.
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Basically from what I've read he's somewhere between 100% a bust and potentially dominant...
I think at worst he's a second line player based on his toolbox alone. If his speed was an issue I'd be quite nervous. But being that fast can gloss over mental lapses pretty often. As long as he can learn from mistakes, even if he never has the vision of a Datsyuk or Kovalchuk or Ovechkin, etc., he should find a home in the league. I think about a guy like Wheeler. There was a period of time I wondered if he would fade into obscurity. But his size and skating ability I think allowed him to battle through some periods of questionable play to become a very good player in this league.
I think at worst he's a second line player based on his toolbox alone. If his speed was an issue I'd be quite nervous. But being that fast can gloss over mental lapses pretty often. As long as he can learn from mistakes, even if he never has the vision of a Datsyuk or Kovalchuk or Ovechkin, etc., he should find a home in the league. I think about a guy like Wheeler. There was a period of time I wondered if he would fade into obscurity. But his size and skating ability I think allowed him to battle through some periods of questionable play to become a very good player in this league.
Zajacs Bowl Cut
Lets Go Baby
Feed Me A Stray Cat
Registered User
Wheeler might be a good comp. Zacha said he models himself after Getzlaf.
Earlier in the thread I reviewed his Czech league numbers, up from U18 to the men, and Zacha is probably the best prospect to come out of the Czech Republic in a while. He was well ahead of guys like Hertl, Pastrnak, Krejci, Palat and Jaskin from 15-18. In his first year old season he put up over a PPG in the Czech U20 league, and when he was 16 he played against the Czech men.
Unfortunately his first junior season was not that great. I hope he can put up 90 points next year and dominate.
I don't want him running around the ice trying to overly assert his physicality. I want him to score.
Emperoreddy
Show Me What You Got!
He has an excellent shot and great finish. The guy should be scoring fine.
His less then stellar year at Sarnia has been explained a million times. Sarnia sucked. He was suspended twice and missed time with injuries and world juniors. He never got consistent time on small ice this year.
There are definitely parts of his game that need development. Scouts wrote about what he does off the puck and defenisively.
That said the kid has lots of raw talent and gifts to become a true force.
I think the team thinks he's ready. Who cares if he dominates in Sarnia IF he can hang with the big boys in Jersey.
He had 34 points in 37 games on a crap team. IF anything, the leap is the next move.
He had 34 points in 37 games on a crap team. IF anything, the leap is the next move.
Stephen Gionta
Boston College > Boston University
Assuming Zacha makes the team, (which Shero has fully indicated he intends to give him a roster spot at least to start the season) who would you guys want to see him playing between? I would like to see Henrique at his LW and Palmieri at his RW.
To start the season, I would like to see
Cammalleri - Zajac - (Boucher/Matteau/Thompson/Blandisi/Kalinin)
Henrique - Zacha - Palmieri
Elias - Josefson - (Boucher/Matteau/Thompson/Blandisi/Kalinin)
(Zubrus, Ruutu) - Gionta - (Matteau, Thompson, Kalinin, Tootoo)
in bold is who I'd ideally like to see on each line to start the year.
Zajac, Zacha, Josefson, and Gionta as the four centers.
Henrique has shown that unless he has Parise and Kovalchuk on his wings, he is more productive at LW than at C
I'm still hoping Ruutu gets traded because he just takes up room that a kid could be using. hard to see any team wanting him tho...
To start the season, I would like to see
Cammalleri - Zajac - (Boucher/Matteau/Thompson/Blandisi/Kalinin)
Henrique - Zacha - Palmieri
Elias - Josefson - (Boucher/Matteau/Thompson/Blandisi/Kalinin)
(Zubrus, Ruutu) - Gionta - (Matteau, Thompson, Kalinin, Tootoo)
in bold is who I'd ideally like to see on each line to start the year.
Zajac, Zacha, Josefson, and Gionta as the four centers.
Henrique has shown that unless he has Parise and Kovalchuk on his wings, he is more productive at LW than at C
I'm still hoping Ruutu gets traded because he just takes up room that a kid could be using. hard to see any team wanting him tho...
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Stephen Gionta
Boston College > Boston University
Yup, all signs point to that management and coaching staff think he's ready for the NHL. And I agree, a guy of his size, strength, smarts, maturity, and skill is ready. I'm excited to watch Pavel play this year.
HenriquesJawLine
Registered User
- Mar 6, 2009
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2016
Cammalleri-Zajac-Puljujarvi
Henrique-Zacha-Palmieri
boy, that would be nice.
Stephen Gionta
Boston College > Boston University
Thats why I'd like to see Boucher up there instead of Palmieri. Let Palmieri bring his skills and experience to another line, while veterans Cammalleri and Zajac get a young guy with a quick release on the wing.
Because if you keep Palms TZ and Cammy together, then you have a lot of inexperienced youth on the other lines. But who knows, maybe a line of just kids could pay dividends. (IE: Kucherov, Johnson, Palat)
Feed Me A Stray Cat
Registered User
Because we've seen the story of Manny Malhotra before. Player who wasn't a top scorer in juniors but got drafted high because of his frame and skillset, and was then rushed to the NHL and stagnated.
It's exceedingly rare for a player to score at Zacha's pace in his 17/18-year old draft year and make the NHL immediately.
Feed Me A Stray Cat
Registered User
Excellent shot and great finish are nice things, but unless they're Kovalchuk status, he's not making the NHL on them alone. Look at Reid Boucher.
Hockey smarts are the most important thing for a scoring forward to have. You need to be truly elite in skating/shooting to overcome poor or average hockey smarts.
I like Zacha a bit more after looking at how good his Czech junior production was, but some of you guys get way too wrapped up in scouting reports. Any prospect who goes in the first or second round is going to have glowing things written about some combination of their size, skating, skill, etc. If you read reports for the top 45 prospects, you'll wonder how any of them could bust. Few become top sixers in the NHL, and by the large the ones that do were good scorers in juniors.
I will admit I don't know or follow alot of these players like you do.
Zacha is totally different, he's been playing for awhile now in Europe in better leagues. He in alot of what I've read "Dominated" the OHL in this first year and just get the vibe Hynes and Shero are going to run with him.
The fact that he "shut" down McDavid and is rated to be one of the NHL ready teams, all signs point to him playing.
If Zacha plays this year (and that's a big if, outside of the 9 game tryout) he absolutely needs to be with Elias.
To be fair, Malhotra was not drafted for his skill set. The idiots in Rangers management were very open that they were drafting him for intangibles and expected him to be a future captain. They never thought he'd be a big scorer.
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