From what I'm reading, he had a steep progression curve upward at the end of the season, Habs are probably hoping that holds on.
Prospect Info: Adam Engstrom
- Thread starter Adam Michaels
- Start date
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
NHL network's only blurb for him really was that he was the highest european riser from mid year to year end.
Adam Michaels
Registered User
Bobrov said of him that he is very mobile. And he said Engstrom told them because his team was so bad when he was younger that he would often take the puck and skate and go to score.
They'd lose like 8-1 and he would go up to score their one goal.
And because of that, he was improving on his skating.
They'd lose like 8-1 and he would go up to score their one goal.
And because of that, he was improving on his skating.
Sagikev
Chadstudsky
- Sep 16, 2018
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You've seen center Lidström, now get ready for defence Lidström!
Whitesnake
If you rebuild, they will come.
- Jan 5, 2003
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Let just say that if this report is true....
What an ignorant comment. This kid live for hockey. He will play two more junior season and will be just fine. His hockey IQ is elite. You cannot teach that, but you can train to be stronger and faster. Rockstrom got a win over Audette ans Boisvert for the third time. Vejdemo over Nicolas Roy, trade down for Norlinder and Le Guerrier, instead of Samuel Bolduc. And the Habs picked Joshua Roy last year just to shut up the french speaking medias last year. He was the bonus for years of picking francophones late to shut up the medias. Why the team pay for two scouts following the Q? Just picj a random player in the last three rounds and the job will be done. I don't want to force thing to take a francophone, but Dumais was right there at a godd spot for them, and they went with a guy barely listed.
KevSkillz4
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- Apr 11, 2016
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Purely looking at stats here, but he had almost identical stats to Odelius for Djurgardens J20 (two fewer points while playing in two more games) but was a +28 compared to a +3 for Odelius.
He also went 6-2-5-7 in the playoffs compared to 6-0-2-2 for Odelius.
He also went 6-2-5-7 in the playoffs compared to 6-0-2-2 for Odelius.
- Aug 2, 2005
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I mean your comment is ignorant too.
Who said anything about this IQ? Of course he has good IQ and scoring. If this was 15 years ago, he'd have been drafted much earlier.
His skating is atrocious. He makes Corey Locke look quick.
You can train to improve your skating, sure. But he's got a long way to go before it's even average.
Also I couldn't give two shits if we never drafted a French or even Canadian player for the next 100 years. Who gives a shit where a player is from? I just want to win.
Hey, wake up, you cannot get 108 points at 17 if you are as slow as you describe him to be. He is not very fast, but not slow either and yes proper training will improve him enough. Maybe he will need to work on it until he is 22, like Jake Evans, but his IQ and will to succeed are so high that he will likely make it.
Small slow guys with sky high IQ are a trap. Small slow guys who play major junior almost by definition have sky high IQ, because how else are they keeping their roster spot?
Hockey isn't chess, you have to skate for your opportunities. If you're not fast or big enough, even the smartest player can't make good choices when all you have are bad options.
Archijerej
Registered User
Our Swedish scouting strategy is a mystery to me. It's been what, a decade now that none of those picks resulted in an NHLer? Or maybe they see Vejdemo as a success? A solid AHL player who wasn't far from making it.
- Aug 2, 2005
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Oh I'm awake. The likelihood of a 3rd round pick making it is already low. Add in poor skating and it's even lower. You can most definitely succeed in junior if you're slow. Lots of junior players are slow.
Evans skating issues were the that his stride was awkward and hindering his first step explosiveness. He was never slow. He was just slower than he could be.
Dumais is just slow. Can it improve? Yes. Can it improve enough to not be a hindrance to his linemates, especially with the type of players we are drafting? Doubtful.
On top of that, add in that he's small. He's Corey Locke. And Locke couldn't stick even when the NHL was a bit easier for slow players to succeed in.
- Aug 2, 2005
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Most of the Swedes we draft are pretty low rounders. The only 2nd rounders I remember are De La Rose who played 240+ games, which is solid and Collberg who everyone loved and was traded for a good return before he fizzled out.
We picked Olofsson in the second round too. It's not a lot of players, but most of the time they had that lanky frame you could "project" growth onto with generally solid overall play. It seems they kinda went that way again so if you look at our scouting history there this isn't a marked difference.
Then again it could also just be because we never really were in a position to pick the top Swede prospects and just defaulted to the kind of projects you get in those rounds, so eh
End of the day, we've got dick all out of one of the most productive hockey nations in the world for decades now. What's more is there is no region in the world where we clearly have the inside track, like Detroit with Sweden, or Anaheim and the Q. Habs have just been a very poor team drafting and developing.
- Aug 2, 2005
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Right. He's not a bad player, just never developed the offense they thought he could. He could probably play spot minutes in the NHL, but at this point he makes to much money in Sweden.
Say that to Wayne Gretzky, Mike Ribiero, Luc Robitaille, or Tyler Toffoli, and don't tell me Gretzky was a fast skater, his mind was very fast.. Also, Dumais will improve his skating in the next four years. In the third round there is no players without something to improve.
About speed, look at the NFL. Some of the fastest guys cannot have a career, especially at wide reciever and cornerback because they lack the IQ and for WR, the hands to catch the ball, while some slower guys will become elite at the position. You cannot only have slow WRs, but you can sneak in one if other players are fast. Look at Cooper Kupp with the LA Rams. The guy is slow by NFL standards for WRs, but he got 2,000 yards last year. It's the same in the NHL. You can fit a slower guy with very high IQ surrounded by faster players. And don't tell me we already have Caufield that is small. The goal in the draft in the third round is to hit a player that will ultimately make it to the NHL in 4-6 years.
Harry Kakalovich
Like and reply
This is so fantastic. I think he was a riser is that correct? Or was I reading that about one of the later picks. Very exciting if he can work out
Vejdemo was a decent pick for the third round. Had a good skill set, showed some upside but was just slightly below the level he needed to be for the NHL. It's a shame it didn't work out but he was a decent gamble to take and his development wasn't nearly the disaster it was for so many of our other prospects.
Overall there has definitely been something lacking with our ability to scout and connect with Swedish players, it is very strange. The Habs have been fairly middle of the road league wise when it comes to European scouting and development, we've been decent at it but for some reason Sweden and the Habs just never seems to work out.
The Engstrom pick was one of the more interesting in this draft. Without having watched him regularly he seems to have the kind of game that would translate well, albeit a boring one.
The best try so far has been Norlinder, IMO. We'll see how he develops.
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
Bergevin really punted his development this year and then the injuries. Sucks cause his skill-set is so good.
