GDT: All Purpose Prospect Camp Thread

[tarheelhockey]

Just a few more observations since I have to leave early.

The physicality stepped up and that caused a couple of new guys to rise to the surface.

Webber. @CanesInducedComa hit it on the head yesterday. He’s a huge kid who doesn’t move like he’s that big. Not fast but he gaps really well and has a loooong reach which he knows how to use. Aside from being a scary guy to engage physically he also has strong footwork and on a couple of occasions danced all over the ice with a forward without losing position. There’s a little glimmer of a Chara type game there, probably with a long learning curve but worth the investment.

Hoefenmayer. He wasn’t messing around. Laid into a number of guys who wanted to get cute with him, and looked like he relished the contact. He made almost no impression yesterday so I’m guessing he’s a guy who starts with the physical game and goes from there. Decent positional fundamentals on defense.

Honka already drives me crazy. He’s about a 2 on the intensity scale and has some really bad posture habits as a result. Tons of skill, maybe the most in camp. He got knocked over by Suzuki in a puck battle, which was the only time Suzuki wanted a piece of anyone.

Drury is just not good at this level of hockey. Turnover machine with scary bad hands. He does a lot of things coaches like but he isn’t nearly skilled enough for it to matter.

Felipe really brought it. He wanted the puck, he wanted to hit. Still not sure where the ceiling is with him, but at least he drove the play more today.

Rees and Cotton are interesting. They both have a pretty good motor and seem strong on the puck. Seem like guys we could try in the AHL and go from there.

Puistola has just kind of been there. Same with Henman, Wall. And Killinen, which is disappointing because he seems to have some upside.

Anyone not mentioned is fading into the background for me.

 

[A Star is Burns]

I just hope we move quickly to get value for some of these prospect camp busts before other teams find out.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Perhaps all the bobbles are from the dogshit ice at PNC

 

[dogbazinho]

Hoglander is having a great camp. Is this the right thread?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Didn’t Bean have a crappy first camp, to the point where people were saying Ryan Murphy looked much better.

Fun to get insight into Prospects camp though, but needs to be put in context.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Perhaps all the bobbles are from the dog**** ice at PNC

The ice is really, really bad. Lots of guys fanning on shots which is not something we'd normally see at all.

But still, you can tell the guys who settle the puck with one touch and zing on-the-tape saucers, from those who are just trying to swat it down and hope it lands flat. Good hands are such a fundamental requirement in pro leagues, those who can't deal with a little soft ice are probably not destined to be around for very long.

Didn’t Bean have a crappy first camp, to the point where people were saying Ryan Murphy looked much better.

Fun to get insight into Prospects camp though, but needs to be put in context.

To be fair to Ryan Murphy, he was a hell of a prospect until he got concussed.

Anyway, here's the thread from Bean's first camp: 2016 Development Camp Roster Set

He's young. He was clearly nervous. And he has oodles of talent. In particular, his skating and his passing ability are both something special. He was very poised and made beautiful tape to tape passes at speed. His quick stick allowed him to make some nice defensive "strips". He also got used badly twice that I saw, both times by older, more experienced guys (once by McLovin....er, uh Warren Foegele and the other time by Steve Lorentz). But he didn't seem flustered or frazzled in the least, just getting back to the business at hand. As a matter of fact, after Lorentz stripped him of the puck, he recovered nicely and made a nice play to eventually break up an offensive rush. And in one case he hooked up on a 2 on 1 defensive rush with Roland McKeown for a beautiful feed for a goal. He'll be good, but my initial impression is that he's got some learning yet to do.

Bean- Looks lost when he is actually playing D. Also looked a little nervous (as someone mentioned yesterday. When he has the puck though, he does special things. quick release, even though not an overwhelming shot. Seems like an accurate shot though.

Bean has great lateral movement and a great shot. Bit of a project defensively.

Bean - As advertised, he looks like a somewhat less spectacular but more reliable version of Murphy. He's very mobile for a defenseman and his passes are crisp, flat, and on the mark. If he has anything other than a muffin for a shot, he didn't show it. Looks like a guy who wants to float pucks through screens rather than try to actually beat the goalie.

One note about Bean....while I've not been overly impressed, he has flashed some serious skill. It's just that I think we got spoiled with Hanifin, et al. Jake Bean is going to need some time to develop more. You can, however, see why the Canes were impressed. Great passer and seemingly good decision-making....except when he's about to get beat....he gets flustered then.

Bean - Ok showing, continues to come as advertised. He handles the puck well, sees the ice, and passes very well. Not much of a shot, though.

I'd say the three "name" defensemen each showed up at about the level you would want to see given their respective stages of development. None of them are complete players yet, but all look like they have NHL futures. The rest looked like minor league fodder. But it's a good class of players at that position.

Bean looked good, but not as far ahead as Fleury, which is what you'd expect.

I accidentally deleted your quote about Bean already, but I wanted to point out the play where he tried to make a wide, circling attack in the offensive zone. He was swallowed up by 3 defenders almost immediately, and retreated back to the neutral zone with a look on his face that said "so, I guess that's not gonna work anymore."

The same holds true for Jake Bean, who I did notice making some slick passes and a rush or two. He just wasn't where my eyes were most of the time.

That all seems pretty on-the-nose about what Bean was at the time, and how he has developed since then.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That all seems pretty on-the-nose about what Bean was at the time, and how he has developed since then.

Which is my point. He looked nervous and had some struggles at his first prospect camp and he was a 1st round 16th oa pick, but has continued to develop nicely.

Don’t take offense, as I wasn’t suggesting that you were saying all these guys won’t amount to anything, just saying no need to read too much into one prospect camp. I do Appreciate the info you are providing though.

 

[FreshSeabass]

Here a live stream for camp this morning so you can watch while your supposed to be working. Don't worry i won't tell.

 

[MinJaBen]

Here a live stream for camp this morning so you can watch while your supposed to be working. Don't worry i won't tell.

You can also get it from Periscope here:

Carolina Hurricanes @NHLCanes

 

[GoldiFox]

Rod was working with Rees on faceoffs. Weird because Rees (5'11") looked an inch or two taller than Rod. Maybe just the top-down camera.

 

[MinJaBen]

Rod was working with Rees on faceoffs. Weird because Rees (5'11") looked an inch or two taller than Rod. Maybe just the top-down camera.

On average, you lose an inch a decade after 40.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Rod was working with Rees on faceoffs. Weird because Rees (5'11") looked an inch or two taller than Rod. Maybe just the top-down camera.

Rod is in permanent warrior crouch.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Rod was working with Rees on faceoffs. Weird because Rees (5'11") looked an inch or two taller than Rod. Maybe just the top-down camera.

Rees does look bigger than that. Yesterday when I wrote that thing about him and Cotton, I originally was going to say “big guys with good motors” and corrected it when I saw the roster sheet.

That being said, I don’t think he’s big enough to look down on 6’1” Rod.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

From briefly watching the feed.

Honka oozes talent. He needs to step up the effort

 

[GoldiFox]

From briefly watching the feed.

Honka oozes talent. He needs to step up the effort

Looked half-interested in that last drill. Seemed like guys were going at him harder than others.

 

[GoldiFox]

Kochetkov is a big boy. Towering over a lot of these prospects.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Kochetkov is a big boy. Towering over a lot of these prospects.

Goalies these days are wild. You see them standing next to other players and it’s like, “holy **** that guy is huge”. Then you see three goalies standing together and they’re all the same size.

 

[RodTheBawd]

There is no way Rod is 6'1. The couple of times I've met him I've had at least 2 or 3 inches on him. He's shorter than me too.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

There is no way Rod is 6'1. The couple of times I've met him I've had at least 2 or 3 inches on him. He's shorter than me too.

Plus at the draft Suzuki was noticeably taller than him - by at least 2 inches

 

[The Faulker 27]

On average, you lose an inch a decade after 40.

I thought it was a half-inch every decade after 40.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I thought it was a half-inch every decade after 40.

Gravity is getting stronger (climate change)

 

[MinJaBen]

I thought it was a half-inch every decade after 40.

You could be right. I am not a doctor and I didn't stay in a Holiday Express last night.

 

[bleedgreen]

Especially during Rod’a day things like height were notoriously listed inaccurately.

I watched for a bit today, it’s fun to see guys skate but there’s just so little to be garnered from this. There’s no true hustle or intensity. You can maybe see how graceful a guy is on skates and see how comfortable he is with the puck, but they’re not doing it at anywhere near the NHL level of pressure so that part is generally useless. Goons can dangle and snipe in practice. Because we ARE talkin bout practice.

It’s just close to impossible to grasp onto anything tangible to move forward with in terms of predicting who’s gonna make it. Drury standing out as an awful skater last year was actually one of the first times I’ve seen something that had me strongly leaning one way or the other about anything when it comes to these.

It’s fun to see them wear the jerseys, that’s about it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Especially during Rod’a day things like height were notoriously listed inaccurately.

I watched for a bit today, it’s fun to see guys skate but there’s just so little to be garnered from this. There’s no true hustle or intensity. You can maybe see how graceful a guy is on skates and see how comfortable he is with the puck, but they’re not doing it at anywhere near the NHL level of pressure so that part is generally useless. Goons can dangle and snipe in practice. Because we ARE talkin bout practice.

It’s just close to impossible to grasp onto anything tangible to move forward with in terms of predicting who’s gonna make it. Drury standing out as an awful skater last year was actually one of the first times I’ve seen something that had me strongly leaning one way or the other about anything when it comes to these.

It’s fun to see them wear the jerseys, that’s about it.

There's so much else involved in who finally makes it at the end -- physical growth, their natural attitude and maturation as a person, injuries, workout habits, outside influences on the player, the influence of coaches and others, some dumb luck about what opportunities they get to experience between now and then. None of that can be accounted for at this phase.

That said, you definitely can look at two guys side-by-side in drills and in a competitive scrimmage and feel pretty good about how they compare to each other at the present moment. You can get a sense of who's closer to the NHL today for sure. All the other things will kick in with time, but the location of the starting block is a pretty important factor in a race.

 

[Lempo]

Gravity is getting stronger (climate change)

Technically not stronger; you're just standing closed to the gravitational core because the erosion is grinding stuff off of the Earth's surface.