Prospect Info: Bruins Prospects \ Providence \ Atlanta

[bizman]

am I the only one who isn't that high on JFK? I'd probably rate him 6th of those first 6 picks in the 15 draft. He seems like a smart player but doesn't really wow me in any aspect in his freshman year at bu. He was a serviceable guy and played well but didn't stand out collegiately. Not in the way Heinen or mcavoy did. For kicks my top 10 is

1. Mcavoy
2. Vatrano
3. Heinen
4. Carlo
5. Debrusk
6. Senyshyn
7. lindgren
8. Zboril
9. Lauzon
10. Gabrielle

HM: JFK, donato, bjork

This list seems pretty reasonable. McAvoy is probably the only one with superstar potential. Lots of good depth though.

 

[Fonzerelli]

Czech winger Simon Stranksy gets an invite. Was a point per game with Prince Albert in the WHL last year. Seems like most people had him as a 2nd round pick this year with 1st round skill. Apparently he can play both wings. Dom via twitter reports that some say he could have attitude issues, but is a high IQ player with a great release. Pasternak has played with him previously for Czech national team, I believe.

Stransky has a nice offensive skillset. The problems he's had in the WHL have been a total lack of interest in playing the game on his own side of the redline and a complete lack of any physical/competitive component. An absolute perimeter player who refuses to go to any hard areas at any time. He's a world class shinny player. A very good power play guy and probably would be a development camp standout, but once contact enters the equation he becomes a passenger far too often.

That said, he's also a WJC player and a nice pickup for a camp invite. Some experience playing with Pasta, good bloodlines, and we've had some luck with Czek players. Free money if we can fix the holes in his game.

 

[BruinsPortugal]

Czech winger Simon Stranksy gets an invite. Was a point per game with Prince Albert in the WHL last year. Seems like most people had him as a 2nd round pick this year with 1st round skill. Apparently he can play both wings. Dom via twitter reports that some say he could have attitude issues, but is a high IQ player with a great release. Pasternak has played with him previously for Czech national team, I believe.

As well as Drake Rymsha. Kid has been riddled with injuries but i love his potential.

 

[CDJ]

Idk if it is his brother or cousin or whatever, but there is a Stransky born in the same town 4 years earlier who is currently at 6'3" 200+ lbs. I literally know nothing about the guy but perhaps the younger Stransky has room left to grow

Of course the size doesn't matter all that much if he doesn't use it...


The older one is named Matej and is in the stars system

 

[DKH]

am I the only one who isn't that high on JFK? I'd probably rate him 6th of those first 6 picks in the 15 draft. He seems like a smart player but doesn't really wow me in any aspect in his freshman year at bu. He was a serviceable guy and played well but didn't stand out collegiately. Not in the way Heinen or mcavoy did. For kicks my top 10 is

1. Mcavoy
2. Vatrano
3. Heinen
4. Carlo
5. Debrusk
6. Senyshyn
7. lindgren
8. Zboril
9. Lauzon
10. Gabrielle

HM: JFK, donato, bjork

I ran into a friend of mine this weekend watching our family members play Pop Warner football. He does some scouting and watches BU to see his guys and draftable prospects and he brought up JFK
He loves him. No disrespect but I'm going with this guy view (and his kid is going to be a player)

I kind of played the 6 of 6 rating game with Woodlief just going by his comments

The 3 he was very energetic and complimentary were

1. Lauzon
2. Senyshyn
3. JFK

He definitely liked him

I asked a bunch of HF buds who I respect a lot to pick any 5 prospects and JFK & Donato were almost always mentioned

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Idk if it is his brother or cousin or whatever, but there is a Stransky born in the same town 4 years earlier who is currently at 6'3" 200+ lbs. I literally know nothing about the guy but perhaps the younger Stransky has room left to grow

Of course the size doesn't matter all that much if he doesn't use it...


The older one is named Matej and is in the stars system

Per the attached it is in fact his brother.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/prospect-interest-411-simon-stransky/

 

[DoubleAAAA]

The strength of Simon Stransky’s game is his playmaking ability. He is a very good stick handler, protecting the puck from opponents and able to make nifty moves to avoid defenders. He can speed up the play, or slow it down depending on the circumstances, giving his linemates the opportunity to get open before hitting them with a tape-to-tape pass for a scoring chance. Stransky has very good vision and hockey sense, and seems to see the play develop. He also has a decent wrist shot and a good release, often using his shot from the half boards. His slap shot also shows some power, and very good accuracy. Stransky is a bit of a perimeter player though, he needs to get stronger and go to the dirty areas of the ice more often going forward. He can also improve his ability to battle on the boards, and be stronger on the puck.

Stransky’s skating shows some very good areas, and some areas that need a little bit of work. He has decent speed, but it isn’t anything to write home about. His first step quickness and acceleration are good though. He has the ability to change gears and fool defenders off the rush that way. Stransky also has very good lateral movement and agility. This combined with his good stickhandling ability allows him to beat defenders one-on-one. He could stand to develop his core body strength, which would improve his balance and help him in the areas that need improving.

Stranksy’s defensive game is also a work in progress. Again this is an area where his lack of strength can see him pushed off pucks by bigger and stronger opponents. He also needs to learn to stay active in the play, and not get caught watching the puck withouth moving his feet. Being responsible and not leaving the zone early is also an issue. With good coaching and strong work ethic these issues can be overcome.

Stransky is a bit of a project, in that it will take him time to work on gaining strength and improving his skating and defensive game. However there are a lot of high end skills here, and a lot to like in this prospect. With time he could develop into a top six winger at the NHL level. In terms of a stylistic comparison, Stranksy plays the game similarly to Alex Tanguay. However this is a style comparison only and not one based on talent.

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/06/14/simon-stransky-scouting-report-2016-nhl-draft-74/

Echoes much of what Fonz mentioned.

 

[Bruins78]

am I the only one who isn't that high on JFK? I'd probably rate him 6th of those first 6 picks in the 15 draft. He seems like a smart player but doesn't really wow me in any aspect in his freshman year at bu. He was a serviceable guy and played well but didn't stand out collegiately. Not in the way Heinen or mcavoy did. For kicks my top 10 is

1. Mcavoy
2. Vatrano
3. Heinen
4. Carlo
5. Debrusk
6. Senyshyn
7. lindgren
8. Zboril
9. Lauzon
10. Gabrielle

HM: JFK, donato, bjork

JFK didn't always jump out to me when staring at him during BU games but by the end of the game he's flash some good skill a couple of times and more importantly would flash some serious awareness/IQ. Little things like a loose puck in front would find his way to him and while everyone else would shoot immediately he'd pass it w/out hesitation across the crease withou staring his teammate down for a easy tap in. Things like drawing defenders in and creating creases for teammates, etc. Th ekind of points he scored this year often seem like the kind that can translate to the NHL. That being said I wasn't overly impressed with his skating and notice he was pretty winded on some back checks late in a few different games...although that could also be because he takes so many important draws in close games and gets stuck on the ice at times. All in all, I see him as a very good face off guy, may kill penalties and who could put up something like 15-18 goals, 25-30 assists as a third line center...definitely some value there and seems to have a high floor for me, especially if his skating gets a little better.

 

[Montecristo]

JFK didn't always jump out to me when staring at him during BU games but by the end of the game he's flash some good skill a couple of times and more importantly would flash some serious awareness/IQ. Little things like a loose puck in front would find his way to him and while everyone else would shoot immediately he'd pass it w/out hesitation across the crease withou staring his teammate down for a easy tap in. Things like drawing defenders in and creating creases for teammates, etc. Th ekind of points he scored this year often seem like the kind that can translate to the NHL. That being said I wasn't overly impressed with his skating and notice he was pretty winded on some back checks late in a few different games...although that could also be because he takes so many important draws in close games and gets stuck on the ice at times. All in all, I see him as a very good face off guy, may kill penalties and who could put up something like 15-18 goals, 25-30 assists as a third line center...definitely some value there and seems to have a high floor for me, especially if his skating gets a little better.

I think he'll be an nhl player too. A lot call him Bergeron-lite. That's not technically wrong but it's definitely misleading. Bergeron is a 60 point guy who excels at both ends of the ice. I think jfk can be a 30 point guy sure. I just don't think his skills will translate in the nhl like they do collegiately. So because he's good at face offs (which he is), kills penalties well (he does) and scores some points everyone thinks he's a potential Bergeron. I think he's more like manny malhotra. Excellent 4th line center who wins a ton a draws, chips in offensively a bit and takes on PK time to give the offensive guys a breather. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just what I saw when watching BU. He's not explosive enough. When the scorecard reads he had a few points I'm like you and go, "huh, I guess he must have had a good game.." But I didn't actually see it. Just saw a kid who played a lot of minutes and found himself in the right spot a lot. Which is a credit to his hockey IQ. But IQ, doesn't mean top 6 if you can't skate, and can't shoot.

I've always been in the minority on these boards though when I say a 2nd or 3rd round pick looks like a 4th liner to me. And I view it as a compliment and everyone else views it as a dig. Most 2nd and 3rd rounders don't even make the NHL on a regular basis. Me saying he looks like a contributing 4th liner shouldn't be viewed as a slight. I think that profile still is overshooting the average 2nd round picks career trajectory

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I think he'll be an nhl player too. A lot call him Bergeron-lite. That's not technically wrong but it's definitely misleading. Bergeron is a 60 point guy who excels at both ends of the ice. I think jfk can be a 30 point guy sure. I just don't think his skills will translate in the nhl like they do collegiately. So because he's good at face offs (which he is), kills penalties well (he does) and scores some points everyone thinks he's a potential Bergeron. I think he's more like manny malhotra. Excellent 4th line center who wins a ton a draws, chips in offensively a bit and takes on PK time to give the offensive guys a breather. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just what I saw when watching BU. He's not explosive enough. When the scorecard reads he had a few points I'm like you and go, "huh, I guess he must have had a good game.." But I didn't actually see it. Just saw a kid who played a lot of minutes and found himself in the right spot a lot. Which is a credit to his hockey IQ. But IQ, doesn't mean top 6 if you can't skate, and can't shoot.

I've always been in the minority on these boards though when I say a 2nd or 3rd round pick looks like a 4th liner to me. And I view it as a compliment and everyone else views it as a dig. Most 2nd and 3rd rounders don't even make the NHL on a regular basis. Me saying he looks like a contributing 4th liner shouldn't be viewed as a slight. I think that profile still is overshooting the average 2nd round picks career trajectory

You're spot on. Even a late first round pick, being an NHL regular of any measure is success. Interesting I just saw a tweet (take it fwiw obv) detailing expected total NHL players (200 career GP) from the 2016 draft by team. Based on draft position, the model would predict about 1.3 NHL players for the Bruins. Based on actual drafting that expectation dropped to roughly 0.7. Frederic of course dragging that down at the 29th spot.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

You're spot on. Even a late first round pick, being an NHL regular of any measure is success. Interesting I just saw a tweet (take it fwiw obv) detailing expected total NHL players (200 career GP) from the 2016 draft by team. Based on draft position, the model would predict about 1.3 NHL players for the Bruins. Based on actual drafting that expectation dropped to roughly 0.7. Frederic of course dragging that down at the 29th spot.

A related link looking at 2015's first round for those interested. http://canucksarmy.com/2016/5/3/re-drafting-the-1st-round-of-the-2015-nhl-entry-draft

Interesting that DeBrusk and Senyshyn's +1 years put them about where the general consensus was for them - late 1sts. Zboril however dropped off the map, and he was considered the least of a reach of the trio.

 

[Blowfish]

Need me some camp prospect updates!

Sweeney, on his message to the prospects & their ability to push for spots: "I told them today -- the best players will play."

I hope Claude was in the dressing room for this message from Sweeny.

 

[DKH]

A related link looking at 2015's first round for those interested. http://canucksarmy.com/2016/5/3/re-drafting-the-1st-round-of-the-2015-nhl-entry-draft

Interesting that DeBrusk and Senyshyn's +1 years put them about where the general consensus was for them - late 1sts. Zboril however dropped off the map, and he was considered the least of a reach of the trio.

Can you send me the links how the experts rated Marchand, Krejci, Lucic, and Bergeron.

Zero ever made a top 50 list

Three have scored 30 goals in a season and the 4th is a 2 time playoff point leader

All will soon make over $7 M per

Lists are cute and fun to read while eating cereal but most of us and certainly myself know more than 90% of the folks that do these lists

 

[DKH]

Promoting myself I almost forgot why I came to thread - problem being so self-absorbed you get distracted easy

Robbie OGara

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/...ct-rob-gara/a2wvYxAF2KBMKJeTsPbadN/story.html

The brilliance in OGara is the ability to master simplicity.

Knowing how to cook 3 things well is probably 3 more than most his age.

My mother passed away 3 years ago and with it went her great meatball recipe - but if his dad has a recipe that isn't secret I am on this

It's a great idea each season as in winter/spring/summer/fall to master a dish. I been meaning to make the perfect blueberry muffin and somewhere my mothers or grandmothers recipe box has Jordan's.

This could be a potential trade of recipes coming

Excellent article and my view is when he gets the pace down and the routine he's going to be very good

 

[Montecristo]

Can you send me the links how the experts rated Marchand, Krejci, Lucic, and Bergeron.

Zero ever made a top 50 list

The Bruins are an outlier team though. Most teams best players were first round picks. Anaheim/getzlaf perry
Buffalo-eichel, ristolainen, Edmonton...Pittsburgh, Washington, Montreal...I'm just listing teams and then thinking. Most teams talent was known before it matured. So the Bruins have had some good luck in the later rounds, 10 years ago. New regime now. Can't go on trust when all the faces in big spots are different. Until the 15 prospects actually perform well at the NHL level, they should continue to get overlooked and branded as reaches. That's what they were in the first round. Could they prove everyone wrong? Of course. But that shouldn't be projected for them at this stage. Senyshyn, 3rd line speed winger. Might be Chris Kreisler, might be Magnus paajarvi. Debrusk, 2nd line wing. Might be like Joel ward, might be like Seth Griffith. Zboril might be nick hjalmarrsson, or tommy cross. If anything the line for these guys skews to the worst case more than the best case. But such is the nature of prospects. People confuse ceiling with projection too much. They'll all probably fall in the middle of the best case/worst case scenario. Which is pretty good. I just don't view the 15 draft as the Calvary coming to save Boston. I view it as supplemental talent to the actual superstar elite talent on the team. The biggest value they provide is future cap flexibility to sign really good players as they'll be very cheap and serviceable NHLers.

 

[DominicT]

Can you send me the links how the experts rated Marchand, Krejci, Lucic, and Bergeron.

Zero ever made a top 50 list

Three have scored 30 goals in a season and the 4th is a 2 time playoff point leader

All will soon make over $7 M per

Lists are cute and fun to read while eating cereal but most of us and certainly myself know more than 90% of the folks that do these lists

What do you make of this list that has Lindgren and Frederic 7th and 8th?

http://collegehockeyinc.com/articles/iss-hockey-names-top-rookies

 

[DKH]

What do you make of this list that has Lindgren and Frederic 7th and 8th?

http://collegehockeyinc.com/articles/iss-hockey-names-top-rookies

If you around this weekend I'll call you - my kid and her BF left last night to go to Toronto to watch World Cup

My overall view of lists are if they support my argument they are good, if they don't it's garbage and the writer doesn't know Jack **** (but you already knew this )

Hope all is well and you are doing great

Btw thanks for this list perfect timing - breakfast and needed reading material

 

[DominicT]

If you around this weekend I'll call you - my kid and her BF left last night to go to Toronto to watch World Cup

My overall view of lists are if they support my argument they are good, if they don't it's garbage and the writer doesn't know Jack **** (but you already knew this )

Hope all is well and you are doing great

Btw thanks for this list perfect timing - breakfast and needed reading material

Doing good. Back to work Monday after 3 and a half months off.

Enjoy breakfast. I had Fruity Pebbles while reading it.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Congrats to JFJ as becoming the new PBruins GM.

 

[DKH]

Doing good. Back to work Monday after 3 and a half months off.

Enjoy breakfast. I had Fruity Pebbles while reading it.

Your the man. Great to hear!!!

I'm going with shredded wheat but I could eat half a box of cocoa krispies if I had them

 

[DKH]

Trent Frederic very high on that list which is good to see ahead of several really interesting players

 

[Fonzerelli]

What do you make of this list that has Lindgren and Frederic 7th and 8th?

http://collegehockeyinc.com/articles/iss-hockey-names-top-rookies

That's encouraging, but it only ranks the college freshmen. Let's hope that list turns out more fruitful than the HF list of the Top 10 NCAA Prospects of 2008, which in the end featured mostly future ECHL and Euopean minor-pro league talent, producing just one full time NHLer and a couple of tweeners
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/10425/top10_ncaa2008_prospects/


I believe he was asking for overall lists of prospects that had Bergeron, Krejci and Marchand listed high while they were prospects. Not sure I could find them either, but had some fun looking

Here's Bobby Mac's top 30 in their draft year from 2004-2013. Some real swings and misses in here;
http://www2.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=7066

This ESPN list here from 2007 must have just reached Sweeney's desk this summer. It tells him that Tommy Cross is better than Kevin Shattenkirk. (It also insists Jeremy Smith is the top goaltender, with a Cam Ward comparison)
http://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=2791312

Here's an HF Top 10 prospect ranking from 2007 which includes Peter Mueller as a top 10 prospect after his Draft+1 year
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/9513/hockeys_future_top50_prospects_spring2007110/

Here's an old HF thread with some amusing discussion about prospects ranked 11-25 from 2007
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=358455

Here's one from 2010 that ranks the top 100 prospects, ranging in draft years from 2006-2010. Remember when Brandon Gormley, Jordan Schroeder, Jamie McBain & Brett Connolly were considered amongst the best and brightest prospects in the hockey world?
http://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-top-100-prospect-rankings-part-4-1to25/

At the end of the day, it all makes you want to pull out a dart board and create your own list

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Can you send me the links how the experts rated Marchand, Krejci, Lucic, and Bergeron.

Zero ever made a top 50 list

Three have scored 30 goals in a season and the 4th is a 2 time playoff point leader

All will soon make over $7 M per

Lists are cute and fun to read while eating cereal but most of us and certainly myself know more than 90% of the folks that do these lists

What's you're point? A 20% chance of being an NHL player doesn't equal 0%. Those guys hit, that's awesome. There's also 4 other guys for every one of those that had similar Jr careers drafted at a similar spot who weren't successful NHL players. A player's pre-NHL performance correlates to draft position, which correlates to chance of NHL success.

History shows us that we can probably expect 2ish players from each draft class to be NHL players of some calibre. That could be 3, it could be 0.

 

[Alan Ryan]

Doing good. Back to work Monday after 3 and a half months off.

Enjoy breakfast. I had Fruity Pebbles while reading it.

Great news.

 

[PepeBostones]

If this hasn't been posted somewhere else..

PROSPECTS CHALLENGE ROSTER & #

#43 - Matt Grzelcyk D
#44 - Rob O'Gara D
#49 - Linus Arnesson D
#50 - Zane McIntyre G
#52 - Sean Kuraly C-W
#57 - Colby Cave C
#58 - Danton Heinen RW
#59 - Simon Stransky LW listed as a right shot. He shoots left
#60 - Justin Hickman RW
#67 - Jakub Zboril D
#73 - Brandon Carlo D
#74 - Jake DeBrusk LW
#75 - Domenic Commisso C
#78 - Colton Hargrove LW
#79 - Jeremy Lauzon D
#80 - Daniel Vladar G
#81 - Anton Blidh LW
#82 - Jesse Gabrielle LW
#83 - Peter Cehlarik RW listed at 6'3
#85 - Josh Atkinson D
#87 - Drake Rymsha C
#91 - Matt Mistele LW
#92 - A.J. White LW
#93 - Bailey Webster D
# - Mark Naclerio LW

No # on Naclerio so I guess he came in as replacement for poor Zach Senyshyn.

Good luck boys.