Boston Bruins Bruins Prospects Discussion IV - Mod warning 565
- Thread starter Fenway
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I wish all the best for Nico, but I really wish Shero thinks another year in Halifax is what`s best for him (wishful thinking I believe). I just read the article about Zadina finally signing. I don`t know much about him only that the kid is apparently a talent, looking forward to this season even without Nico, real young lineup last year who, as the season rolled along, improved with each passing game.
Fingers crossed, ok, go buy those lottery tickets
There was a time when returning draftees to junior was the exception and not the rule. The high level of development and ability of players now, particularly with elities like Nico, and the trend in the cap era in seeing young players as more cost effective options and will rush them into lineups. Selfishly it's great when when you sees players like McAvoy and Carlo arrive on the scene and be successful but overall not a fan of the trend. Would agree the likelihood of Nico returning are very low. Should he severely struggle that may sway the Devils thinking. Guessing the Moose are not counting on him to be in their plans for this season. Still as you suggest ample talent available to continue to build with and make for a highly entertaining year.
I'll task my better half with investing in a ticket and see what happens. The odds however of cashing in are considerably less than they are with Nico returning.
Sorry to be a little late with posting this info. The junior Sumer showcase is available for viewing today and tomorrow in both the USA and Canada. Details from the USA hockey site noted below on the 2 games on tap for today.
Steen, Koppanen, Vaakananinen and Frederic should be in the line ups for their respective countries. Lindgren has resumed shaking with the team USA but is not expected to play. Also a number of draft eligible players for 2018 on each roster. If you can take it in, enjoy the preview of what is to come with the World Junior Tournament being held in Buffalo later this year.
"TODAY’S SCHEDULE
International competition returns at the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase with Sweden facing Canada at 1 p.m. ET followed by Finland and USA at 4 p.m. ET. Tickets for both games are still available. Both games will be televised live on NHL Network (U.S.) and TSN (Canada)."
Steen, Koppanen, Vaakananinen and Frederic should be in the line ups for their respective countries. Lindgren has resumed shaking with the team USA but is not expected to play. Also a number of draft eligible players for 2018 on each roster. If you can take it in, enjoy the preview of what is to come with the World Junior Tournament being held in Buffalo later this year.
"TODAY’S SCHEDULE
International competition returns at the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase with Sweden facing Canada at 1 p.m. ET followed by Finland and USA at 4 p.m. ET. Tickets for both games are still available. Both games will be televised live on NHL Network (U.S.) and TSN (Canada)."
BruinLVGA
Next: CZ SP-01 Tactical!
There was a time when returning draftees to junior was the exception and not the rule. The high level of development and ability of players now, particularly with elities like Nico, and the trend in the cap era in seeing young players as more cost effective options and will rush them into lineups. Selfishly it's great when when you sees players like McAvoy and Carlo arrive on the scene and be successful but overall not a fan of the trend. Would agree the likelihood of Nico returning are very low. Should he severely struggle that may sway the Devils thinking. Guessing the Moose are not counting on him to be in their plans for this season. Still as you suggest ample talent available to continue to build with and make for a highly entertaining year.
I'll task my better half with investing in a ticket and see what happens. The odds however of cashing in are considerably less than they are with Nico returning.
I remember Nico's agent was asked the question where Nico would play next year and he said the chances are 60% NJD, 30% Bern, 10% Halifax.
Personally, if the NJD decides that the best for him is to do one more year outside the NHL to "ripen" a bit more, I think it's better if he indeed plays in the Swiss NLA rather than in junior. Playing vs men is better than vs kids, IMO.
riverhawkey91
Registered User
Vaakanainen left the US/Finland game today after taking a big hit...looked to be an LBI from what I could tell. Teams are obviously super conservative during summertime hockey so they might have just pulled him to be safe, but he appeared to be in a good amount of pain on the bench.
IMO the Backes comparisons for Frederic are legit. He's great along the boards, plays very well defensively as a C and is one of the US' top PKers right now. They aren't really using him in much of an offensive role so it'll be interesting to see if that changes over the next 4 months, but he looks as advertised at this point.
IMO the Backes comparisons for Frederic are legit. He's great along the boards, plays very well defensively as a C and is one of the US' top PKers right now. They aren't really using him in much of an offensive role so it'll be interesting to see if that changes over the next 4 months, but he looks as advertised at this point.
Frederic looks like a great pick for the B's but he needs some power skating practice. How many times did he fall during the Finland game? And an extra skating step would help him. He already has the hands and smarts.
Interesting strategy with plan B. Somewhat similar to the Mathews approach with his development. Wonder how much the Devils would be involved in supporting or resisting the Swiss option should it come into play. In any regard it would appear to cement any realistic notion of him returing to Halifax. Appreciate the insight.
ODAAT
Registered User
won`t argue that I`ve been impressed with a kid say in a WJHC and used that as my sole basis for future success (mistake). McAvoy however, when I have watched him which has been primarily in big games as they are typically the only one`s televised down here consistently appears like he embraces the stage and has always asserted himself well.
I think we`ll see him have his ups and downs like any young defender but I don`t care what anyone says, this kid literally got pushed into playoff action as his first introduction to the NHL and in no time was either tops in or right near the the top for D-men TOI. It took Cassidy a nanosecond to recognize that this kid, while he`ll make mistakes, shows a poise and an ability to immediately forget a mistake so much so he can put him out without missing a shift and having to worry about the kid carrying the mistake with him to the next shift
He sure appeared to be in major discomfort on the bench. The play that it happened on he was upright when taken into the boards hard with a clean hit. Looked as if his shoulder may have taken the brunt of the impact. Hope it's nothing serious.
Frederic will give his team the perfect fit for a shut down and PK specialist role. Looking forward to their match up with Canada today. Anticapting both teams having more of a final roster look in this one.
s3antana5757
Registered User
- Feb 15, 2014
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Urho was definitely in some discomfort, but I think he'll be ok. Looked more like an UBI to me. He was a little off balance and in a bad spot. I really like his game though. Made some really nice plays defensively. He's definitely going to provide more offense than people give him credit for. He's gotta get stronger in front of the net and in the corners, but other than that I liked what I saw.
Didn't see much offensively from Frederic save for a couple nice passes, but I can see the Backes comparison. And who better to learn from than Backes himself?
BruinLVGA
Next: CZ SP-01 Tactical!
Yes, exactly.
Matthews did indeed benefit from playing with Zurich, experience-wise. Bern is like the Penguins of Switzerland in light of the fact that they won the last two championships and are slated to be the favorites again, together with the other big dog, Zurich (Matthews' old team). So, it would be a highly professional, competitive and positive environment. Nico would probably get to play a total of 80-90 games between friendly games (club and national team), regular season + playoffs, European Champions League (vs Swedish, Finnish, Czech, German, etc etc teams), IIHF WC. IMO that's a better opportunity for growth than staying in juniors.
But if you ask me, I am hoping he comes into camp in September with some good 10-15 lbs of muscle more. If he does that, I think he is in the NHL in 17-18. The only glaring weakness is that he is a bit light (6"2 180).
riverhawkey91
Registered User
No Vaakanainen this afternoon after leaving yesterday.
edit - Gotta love Haggerty with this hot take about how we should already be having regrets about the draft:
http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/...highlights-what-bruins-did-and-didnt-do-draft
Yamamoto is obviously playing as advertised but it still proves nothing in terms of how he'll actually fair in the NHL. He's playing against the exact same players he's been showing off against for years and still has all the same concerns as when he was drafted.
edit - Gotta love Haggerty with this hot take about how we should already be having regrets about the draft:
http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/...highlights-what-bruins-did-and-didnt-do-draft
Yamamoto is obviously playing as advertised but it still proves nothing in terms of how he'll actually fair in the NHL. He's playing against the exact same players he's been showing off against for years and still has all the same concerns as when he was drafted.
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missingchicklet
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- Jan 24, 2010
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Yamamoto was one of a few players I was hoping would realistically be around when the Bs picked. Was a little disappointed they passed on him. Such an exciting player. I'm fine with them taking Urho, though. I understand the logic and have no reason to doubt the scouts who see the players a lot. The Bs have seemingly been doing a pretty good job of drafting and have been going with relatively safe picks. Real cool that Haggerty decided to write an article taking digs at the Bs over a freaking summer showcase. A player that 21 teams passed over is doing well, yay! A player the Bs drafted got hurt, boo! Haggs sees fit to write a whole article using a summer showcase to whine and push his pointless agenda. Neither player has even appeared in an NHL game yet. Maybe Captain KrispyKreme should wait a little longer before proclaiming Edmonton were geniuses in the draft and Boston were idiots. Haggs is a complete dick.
SanDogBrewin
Righteous bucks!
He banged in a loose puck from in close for his first. Scored this beauty on a equally beautiful pass for his second. Just potted his third taking a short feed in stride over the blueline and sniped it far side. He was fairly quiet in yesterday's game but has shown his scoring chops today.
Edit: his line created a turnover and made two nice passes, the last being right on Steen's stick, and he potted his 4th of the day into a wide open net. Guessing he may have secured his ticket to Buffalo as a member of team Sweden with today's performance.
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ickie*
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- Jun 18, 2017
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sucks. i've never gotten to see him play and was looking forward to the hlinka a lot for him
BruinsBtn
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- Dec 24, 2006
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BronxBruin
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Figured I'd share some of my thoughts from the WJSS. Admittedly I didn't pay much attention to Koppanen or Steen (though it was hard to miss the goals by the latter) so I'll only comment on Frederic and Vaakanainen who I paid close attention to.
Frederic:
-- It was a tale of two tournaments for him, IMO. The first 3 games with the split USA squad I thought he was fantastic...the last 3 games with the full squad I was not impressed at all. Early on, his line was controlling the play almost every shift and he was making lots of good, smart plays. In the later games, his line seemed to get stuck in its own end on most shifts and they had a hard time stringing plays together and weren't generating any real offense. Certainly not all of that is on him by any means but I was surprised at the difference in his success throughout the games.
-- His passing and vision impressed me the most. He reminds me of Heinen a bit in how he can slow things down, draw defenders to him, and then will make a neat little pass (often on his backhand) to an open teammate.
-- He showed strong possession skills at times. There were a few shifts where his line cycled the puck beautifully and he used his size well to control play in the o-zone.
-- I thought his speed was solid for someone of his size....seems like something he has worked on. I do agree with the above poster who noted that he did fall down more than I would like...usually when being pressured by a defender leading to a turnover.
-- I give his defensive game a check mark as well. He was good on faceoffs, good at knocking the puck off opponents' sticks, good along the boards, and seemed to be hustling on almost every shift.
-- Overall, I thought he was a lock to make the WJC team after the first 3 games but I'm not so sure anymore. He was often on the #1 PK unit (and the #2 PP during the split squad games) and took a lot of faceoffs (including near the end of the Canada game up 1) so that might be help his chances but it's far from guaranteed.
Vaakanainen:
-- He only played 2.5 games before getting hurt so obviously it’s a small sample size.
-- The thing that impressed me most was his puck handling. He had a shiftiness to his skating where he was able to deke around defenders on the fly while carrying the puck up. He also had some nice stickhandling moves around/through defenders as well.
-- He showed good quickness with some nice bursts to get away from forecheckers...but the Coffey/Neidermayer comparisons are a bit ridiculous at this point.
-- He wasn't afraid to jump into the rush and did so at the proper times. I don't recall him getting caught up ice or pinching once.
-- I also thought he made some real nice passes, often tape-to-tape hitting forwards in stride.
-- Defensively, he often had his stick in good position to break up passes or poke it away. By no means was he smothering like Zdeno but rather efficient and smart with his positioning.
-- However I thought he was often very passive on the defensive end as well. There were a number of times when I thought he would step up and challenge a puck carrier in his zone but he would give them space and let them skate away…though it’s possible that may have been a coaching/system thing.
-- There were also times where he seemed a bit lackadaisical with the puck. More than once the puck headed right for him but went right through him either because he missed it with his skate or didn’t have his stick down. In other cases, he didn’t show much hustle/urgency with forecheckers baring down on him…one case in particular, Joey Anderson picked his pocket cleanly behind his net because of it. Again, it’s a small sample size so It might mean nothing but something to keep an eye on.
-- His shot from the point seemed well below average to me.
-- He did show some grit getting into a crosschecking match with Cliff Pu in front of the net. He ended up taking a crosscheck to the face and drawing a penalty but didn’t miss a shift. Even when he got hurt (my initial guess was a separated shoulder or maybe a broken collarbone), you could tell he was in a lot of pain but stayed on the bench for the final few minutes of the period.
-- Overall, he pretty much came as advertised. He showed some nice glimpses but played a pretty inconspicuous game…I don’t expect many “wow” moments from him in the future. He was usually on the #1 PK unit and got some occasional #2 PP time and is pretty much a lock to make the WJC since he was on last year’s team (which may explain some of the lack of urgency during these games).
Frederic:
-- It was a tale of two tournaments for him, IMO. The first 3 games with the split USA squad I thought he was fantastic...the last 3 games with the full squad I was not impressed at all. Early on, his line was controlling the play almost every shift and he was making lots of good, smart plays. In the later games, his line seemed to get stuck in its own end on most shifts and they had a hard time stringing plays together and weren't generating any real offense. Certainly not all of that is on him by any means but I was surprised at the difference in his success throughout the games.
-- His passing and vision impressed me the most. He reminds me of Heinen a bit in how he can slow things down, draw defenders to him, and then will make a neat little pass (often on his backhand) to an open teammate.
-- He showed strong possession skills at times. There were a few shifts where his line cycled the puck beautifully and he used his size well to control play in the o-zone.
-- I thought his speed was solid for someone of his size....seems like something he has worked on. I do agree with the above poster who noted that he did fall down more than I would like...usually when being pressured by a defender leading to a turnover.
-- I give his defensive game a check mark as well. He was good on faceoffs, good at knocking the puck off opponents' sticks, good along the boards, and seemed to be hustling on almost every shift.
-- Overall, I thought he was a lock to make the WJC team after the first 3 games but I'm not so sure anymore. He was often on the #1 PK unit (and the #2 PP during the split squad games) and took a lot of faceoffs (including near the end of the Canada game up 1) so that might be help his chances but it's far from guaranteed.
Vaakanainen:
-- He only played 2.5 games before getting hurt so obviously it’s a small sample size.
-- The thing that impressed me most was his puck handling. He had a shiftiness to his skating where he was able to deke around defenders on the fly while carrying the puck up. He also had some nice stickhandling moves around/through defenders as well.
-- He showed good quickness with some nice bursts to get away from forecheckers...but the Coffey/Neidermayer comparisons are a bit ridiculous at this point.
-- He wasn't afraid to jump into the rush and did so at the proper times. I don't recall him getting caught up ice or pinching once.
-- I also thought he made some real nice passes, often tape-to-tape hitting forwards in stride.
-- Defensively, he often had his stick in good position to break up passes or poke it away. By no means was he smothering like Zdeno but rather efficient and smart with his positioning.
-- However I thought he was often very passive on the defensive end as well. There were a number of times when I thought he would step up and challenge a puck carrier in his zone but he would give them space and let them skate away…though it’s possible that may have been a coaching/system thing.
-- There were also times where he seemed a bit lackadaisical with the puck. More than once the puck headed right for him but went right through him either because he missed it with his skate or didn’t have his stick down. In other cases, he didn’t show much hustle/urgency with forecheckers baring down on him…one case in particular, Joey Anderson picked his pocket cleanly behind his net because of it. Again, it’s a small sample size so It might mean nothing but something to keep an eye on.
-- His shot from the point seemed well below average to me.
-- He did show some grit getting into a crosschecking match with Cliff Pu in front of the net. He ended up taking a crosscheck to the face and drawing a penalty but didn’t miss a shift. Even when he got hurt (my initial guess was a separated shoulder or maybe a broken collarbone), you could tell he was in a lot of pain but stayed on the bench for the final few minutes of the period.
-- Overall, he pretty much came as advertised. He showed some nice glimpses but played a pretty inconspicuous game…I don’t expect many “wow” moments from him in the future. He was usually on the #1 PK unit and got some occasional #2 PP time and is pretty much a lock to make the WJC since he was on last year’s team (which may explain some of the lack of urgency during these games).
LouJersey
Registered User
Props to Aly who was all over Steen in camp saying how great he looked and that she wanted him signed asap. She was on to something he's been one of the best players in this tourney.
Without searching i am quite certain there was nothing in Erik johnson's history to believe he would not be a star same for mike rathje, kris phillips, ryan murray, Adam larsson etc etc...
Not saying Mac is not destined for greatness but i am saying cant be labelled as a steal yet..Dmen are far too unpredictable
Not saying Mac is not destined for greatness but i am saying cant be labelled as a steal yet..Dmen are far too unpredictable
Thanks Lou!
He's a diamond in the rough imo.
Hopefully he uses this tourney as a launching pad to having a bounce back season and possibly gain a spot on the Olympic team.
From what I read (thanks to google translate) he bounced around between clubs and it caused him to lose confidence and start questioning himself. Looks like he's shaken that off.
I have no doubt we will see him in Providence by the end of the year and I do think he will challenge for a spot on next year's team.
PJ Axelsson sure has an eye for talent and many have compared Steen to PJ. You need guys like PJ on your team.
ODAAT
Registered User
nice finish indeed but my concerns about him cherry picking and clearly not interested in back checking and playing a 200 ft game are legit
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