C Gabriel Vilardi (2017, 11th, LAK)

[stl76]

It's easy to forget that Vilardi just barely made the cutoff for the 2017 draft. Born August 16th, he was one of the younger players in 2017. If he had been born a month later he'd be in the 2018 draft. That gap in age can be a big difference for players this young, and has to be factored in when judging prospects like this.

Been a fan of Vilardi for quite some time (had him ranked #3) and was shocked to see him drop so far on draft day. I was actually really hoping the Blues would trade up and snag him if he dropped any further. Glad to see him succeeding coming back from injury, LA got a steal at #11. Would not be surprised in the slightest if Vilardi went much higher in a hypothetical redraft in several years time.

 

[1972]

I don’t think there was ever a question if he would be able to dominate in the OHL.

 

[Dominance]

I don’t think there was ever a question if he would be able to dominate in the OHL.

Implying that his performance is negligible, or something?

 

[WhatWhat]

We was my favorite forward after Nicko and Nolan and the guy I wanted Dallas to take if they didn't go D. Happy to see him killing it after getting healthy.

Kingston is stacked this year thanks to their pickups. Excited to see how far they go

 

[RedHawkDown]

I am so upset that we didn't draft this kid. I was screaming at my TV

 

[lawrence]

What does Pettersson have to do with it? I think you're just mad at the Hischier Pettersson comparisons. Stop going through life so easily triggered fam

Anyway i would definitely says Vilardi has higher upside than Glass

Nothing. Elias Pettersson has nothing to do with Gabriel vilardi. What he did was actually indirectly acknlowdge pettersson as the best prospect in the world by making the decision to compare him to pettersson. Many other prospects he could have made the comparison too. He chose pettersson.

Thank you.

Over the years, we’ve been told countless times many names of prospects that’s will be better then our prospectd, Eg yakupov and Nichushkin being better then horvat, Tyson jost, kapanen , shmaltz being better then boeser(just naming a few)

Hfboards.com have been so consistently wrong with these projections, that they literally starting to look stupid. The only projection you theh have gotten right is that’s ehlers or Nylander was a better option then virtanen, since then virtually all projections have been dead wrong or the out rights oppositite has happen. In other words since 2014 they haven gotten on projection right when it comes to Canuck prospect Vs other prospect.

Now he’s officially the 1st to say vilardi is better then pettersson, as a nucks fan too use to seeing other fans crap on our prospects making claims xxx prospect is better the boeser! Or xxx prospect is better then horvat.

All of them have been wrong.
With this pattern we can probably see where this one is going in regards to the vilardi being better then pettersson projection.

I personally welcome it open arms when they say mittelstadt is better or whoever is better. It’s like the opposite will most likely happen.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Nothing. Elias Pettersson has nothing to do with Gabriel vilardi. What he did was actually indirectly acknlowdge pettersson as the best prospect in the world by making the decision to compare him to pettersson. Many other prospects he could have made the comparison too. He chose pettersson.

Thank you.

Over the years, we’ve been told countless times many names of prospects that’s will be better then our prospectd, Eg yakupov and Nichushkin being better then horvat, Tyson jost, kapanen , shmaltz being better then boeser(just naming a few)

Hfboards.com have been so consistently wrong with these projections, that they literally starting to look stupid. The only projection you theh have gotten right is that’s ehlers or Nylander was a better option then virtanen, since then virtually all projections have been dead wrong or the out rights oppositite has happen. In other words since 2014 they haven gotten on projection right when it comes to Canuck prospect Vs other prospect.

Now he’s officially the 1st to say vilardi is better then pettersson, as a nucks fan too use to seeing other fans crap on our prospects making claims xxx prospect is better the boeser! Or xxx prospect is better then horvat.

All of them have been wrong.
With this pattern we can probably see where this one is going in regards to the vilardi being better then pettersson projection.

I personally welcome it open arms when they say mittelstadt is better or whoever is better. It’s like the opposite will most likely happen.

The only patterns in here are 1. effusive, justified praise for Vilardi and 2. a bunch of insecure thread-hopping Pettersson tire-pumpers party pooping.

 

[lawrence]

a bunch of insecure thread-hopping Pettersson tire-pumpers party pooping.

these guys are outnumbered badly by the insecure Canuck haters who try desperately to downplay any success hes having. Probably the same dumbasses that will vote for Yakupov over Horvat in a poll.

Better than Pettersson so yes. I’m a devil fan and to be quite honest if we got the second pick, this is the guy I’d want us to take right now. He was ranked 3rd all year for a reason. Incredible arsenal of skills with off the charts strength, and good size. He’s going to be a good one and teams (NYR specifically) are going to regret passing him hp

this was the answer to a "is he better then Cody Glass?"

makes a harmless comparison to Cody glass. Turns into a bash Pettersson.
zharkenby insecure as hell. this stuff is not even made up.

I guess stuff like this is justified?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

these guys are outnumbered badly by the insecure Canuck haters who try desperately to downplay any success hes having. Probably the same dumbasses that will vote for Yakupov over Horvat in a poll.

this was the answer to a "is he better then Cody Glass?"

makes a harmless comparison to Cody glass. Turns into a bash Pettersson.
zharkenby insecure as hell. this stuff is not even made up.

I guess stuff like this is justified?

Whether or not it's an accurate opinion, comparing Vilardi to other prospects in a Vilardi thread is a long way away from a monologue about underrating Canucks prospects.

 

[Dominance]

these guys are outnumbered badly by the insecure Canuck haters who try desperately to downplay any success hes having. Probably the same dumbasses that will vote for Yakupov over Horvat in a poll.



this was the answer to a "is he better then Cody Glass?"

makes a harmless comparison to Cody glass. Turns into a bash Pettersson.
zharkenby insecure as hell. this stuff is not even made up.

I guess stuff like this is justified?

Do you not recognize that you are the one that appears incredibly insecure? Zharkenby definitely seems to have a vendetta against Pettersson, and I think it’s cool how you and EP are so excited about your prospect...

But at the same time I think a lot of posters on here will agree with me that you two are turning into a bit of a joke. You have very high expectations and opinions on your guy; great. But you think that anybody who disagrees with those expectations and opinions is flat out wrong. Like you won’t even entertain that Vilardi (or other players) could be better than or even remotely close to Pettersson, now or in the future, and you explode against anyone who states those things. The victim complex is starting to become really evident and annoying, too.

Love the passion, and here’s hoping Elias beats Greztky’s records, but maybe cool off a little bit?

 

[lawrence]

I think it’s cool how you and EP are so excited about your prospect...

I have not once made any projections about Pettersson. I said he will be a 65 point guy. I've been more or less just defending him. I leave the "he had 3 points tonight" to the other guys. I'm also on the fence of he needs to add muscle, or spend a year in the AHL next year.

But at the same time I think a lot of posters on here will agree with me that you two are turning into a bit of a joke

now how was I doing this? you mean putting 2 guys on the spot on the Pettersson thread? Outright pwning them after seeing them trash our prospect endlessly for 3 pages? I actually held back. I'm sure you do the same if one day I go into the Liljegren thread and start smart assi trashing him.

But you think that anybody who disagrees with those expectations and opinions is flat out wrong

I didn't disagree with him thinking Vilardi is better then Pettersson right now. I didn't though. I even went as far as disagreeing with Canuck fans who continue to slam Heicher and Patrick and think Pettersson is better. Check my thread history. In fact I like Heicher alot and you will see me saying "he's a beaut"

Like you won’t even entertain that Vilardi (or other players) could be better than or even remotely close to Pettersson,

I personally welcome it open arms when they say mittelstadt is better or whoever is better. It’s like the opposite will most likely happen.

yup. that was me. that said I didn't really make an opinion on his comment wether He will be better then Pettersson or not.

and you explode against anyone who states those things. The victim complex is starting to become really evident and annoying, too.

I didn't expolode into anyone. When did I explode? I was actually responding to Elias Pettersson, he was confused too, because he was just asking if Vilardi is better then Cody Glass, and he gets a nasty response from a Devils fans literally bashing him like he already knows he's better then Pettersson? How would you like it if I said Juolevi is better then Liljegren?

The victim complex is starting to become really evident and annoying, too.

it's common here among all fans. Just look at leafs fans. this is really nothing.

"Like you won’t even entertain that Vilardi"

might as well, I personally don't think he will, the way he is saying it seems more aggressive too be honest, it's not constructive commenting, it felt like he had a vendetta against Elias Pettersson (user)
and wants to take it out on him, that said, I don't think he will. I don't think he will be better then Pettersson, but what he is doing is unreal. Kings fans have every right to be excited. Hope to see him light it up at the WJC next year. I'm actually surprised at how good he is playing, because I didn't have ranked very high, my rankings was more influenced by where the Canucks had him.

btw thanks for the response. appreciate a good chat. hope it clears things up a little.

I do think the "he is better then Heicher" or Patrick needs to stop. Or the he is a future 90 point player needs to stop. I full out responded to those guys telling them to stop over projecting them and to slow down.

 

[Redder Winger]

What's with all this Pettersson vs Vilardi nonsense? The issue is Vilardi. Vilardi vs Rasmussen. f***!!!!

 

[elitepete]

The only patterns in here are 1. effusive, justified praise for Vilardi and 2. a bunch of insecure thread-hopping Pettersson tire-pumpers party pooping.

The guy that started the Pettersson talk was a devils fan that just brought up Pettersson out of nowhere

 

[Dominance]

I have not once made any projections about Pettersson. I said he will be a 65 point guy. I've been more or less just defending him. I leave the "he had 3 points tonight" to the other guys. I'm also on the fence of he needs to add muscle, or spend a year in the AHL next year.



now how was I doing this? you mean putting 2 guys on the spot on the Pettersson thread? Outright pwning them after seeing them trash our prospect endlessly for 3 pages? I actually held back. I'm sure you do the same if one day I go into the Liljegren thread and start smart assi trashing him.



I didn't disagree with him thinking Vilardi is better then Pettersson right now. I didn't though. I even went as far as disagreeing with Canuck fans who continue to slam Heicher and Patrick and think Pettersson is better. Check my thread history. In fact I like Heicher alot and you will see me saying "he's a beaut"







yup. that was me. that said I didn't really make an opinion on his comment wether He will be better then Pettersson or not.


I didn't expolode into anyone. When did I explode? I was actually responding to Elias Pettersson, he was confused too, because he was just asking if Vilardi is better then Cody Glass, and he gets a nasty response from a Devils fans literally bashing him like he already knows he's better then Pettersson? How would you like it if I said Juolevi is better then Liljegren?



it's common here among all fans. Just look at leafs fans. this is really nothing.

"Like you won’t even entertain that Vilardi"

might as well, I personally don't think he will, the way he is saying it seems more aggressive too be honest, it's not constructive commenting, it felt like he had a vendetta against Elias Pettersson (user)
and wants to take it out on him, that said, I don't think he will. I don't think he will be better then Pettersson, but what he is doing is unreal. Kings fans have every right to be excited. Hope to see him light it up at the WJC next year. I'm actually surprised at how good he is playing, because I didn't have ranked very high, my rankings was more influenced by where the Canucks had him.

btw thanks for the response. appreciate a good chat. hope it clears things up a little.

I do think the "he is better then Heicher" or Patrick needs to stop. Or the he is a future 90 point player needs to stop. I full out responded to those guys telling them to stop over projecting them and to slow down.

My bad, I really agree with everything you’ve said in this essay!

Now we can get back to Vilardi while I work on making sure I know who I’m speaking of.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

In the meantime, Vilardi had another 3 assists last night, up to 11 goals and 23 assists in 16 games

 

[LAKings88]

Thinking Vilardi’s injury was more of a factor in his fall to 11 now. I think the skating is overblown.

We will see if he can translate his production in the NHL. Kid is on fire now tho.

 

[NA Hockey]

Vison and puck protection are elite. Will get stronger and skating will improve if he continues to work. If he doesn't make the NHL next year he will simply dominate the OHL.

 

[lawrence]

Thinking Vilardi’s injury was more of a factor in his fall to 11 now. I think the skating is overblown.

We will see if he can translate his production in the NHL. Kid is on fire now tho.

don't think so because he had time to showcase himself still at the memorial cup, where he played really good.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Vison and puck protection are elite. Will get stronger and skating will improve if he continues to work. If he doesn't make the NHL next year he will simply dominate the OHL.

And I think that's why a lot think he's not going to be back next year. Kings probably see a big ball of clay to start molding and developing; there's not much else to do at the junior level. He's a dominant scorer that already has one memorial cup win and may be pushing for another. Using his 'big body' tools against junior kids probably does nothing more for him. Getting him to the LA development team for strength building and skills seems like it would be more beneficial than more OHL games and it seems like Rychel thought that as well. Like, would it be better to play another OHL season, or 20ish NHL games with supervision, learning from Kopitar et. al.?

 

[1972]

Thinking Vilardi’s injury was more of a factor in his fall to 11 now. I think the skating is overblown.

We will see if he can translate his production in the NHL. Kid is on fire now tho.

He fell 100% because scouts had concerns with his skating and if he would be able to play at the pace of an NHL game. Dylan Strome is still struggling with that as a bigger heavish foot skilled player, Grigorenko did as well. I think we’ll know soon enough if the scouts who passed on him were right or if they were wrong.

 

[LAKings88]

Not saying he doesn’t have skating issues but I think the injuries also played a big part in his fall to 11. That was a big freaking drop. I don’t know what he will become. Hoping he can translate for LAs sake tho.

 

[newfy]

Not saying he doesn’t have skating issues but I think the injuries also played a big part in his fall to 11. That was a big freaking drop. I don’t know what he will become. Hoping he can translate for LAs sake tho.

I would say a combo of the two. Probably a lot of people scared he was going to lose a step speed wise because of the injury as well. It was a serious enough injury that that could've definitely happened.

Does anyone know if its an injury with a high chance of happening again or is it one of those random one time things?

 

[HockeyAddict]

Another 3 pts game for Vilardi yesterday... now up to 20gp, 12g, 27a, 39pts for the season.

 

[93LEAFS]

Not saying he doesn’t have skating issues but I think the injuries also played a big part in his fall to 11. That was a big freaking drop. I don’t know what he will become. Hoping he can translate for LAs sake tho.

The issues were skating and doubts he could be a center. This was due to a lack of foot speed and the fact he played wing almost the entire year with Windsor contributed to this.

I liked him at 3 even if he wasn’t a center. I don’t think he has the same issues as Dylan Strome, who lacked foot speed but wasn’t particularly strong. Playmakers who overcome a lack of foot speed tend to be guys who can create space with their strength on the puck and high end hands. He’s built similarly to Matthews, Tavares and Draisaitl, two of which were heavily knocked for skating issues. It tends to be guys like Sam Reinhart and Grigorenko who have issues when they are slow because they aren’t strong enough to constantly win battles to get to the center of the ice vs strong defenders.

It still baffles me how anyone who watched him and Tippett in the OHL in their 2 seasons pre-draft could come to the conclusion Tippett was the better prospect.

 

[Zaddy]

He fell 100% because scouts had concerns with his skating and if he would be able to play at the pace of an NHL game. Dylan Strome is still struggling with that as a bigger heavish foot skilled player, Grigorenko did as well. I think we’ll know soon enough if the scouts who passed on him were right or if they were wrong.

The thing is, if you watch him and Strome play they are nothing alike as players. Strome is more the Reinhart type in that he relies on his hockey IQ more than anything else to make plays happen. That's the defining feature of his game. Contrary to Reinhart he just happens to be in a big body, but he doesn't use it to his advantage at all. The same goes with his feet, he doesn't use them enough either. So the combination of him not being an explosive skater but also not having a good motor is really limiting him.

Vilardi is the opposite. He has everything you want in a player except the skating part. He works really hard, he's strong, great in the corners, has great vision, iq, passing, shot and the main thing is that he competes and moves his feet. So there's a huge difference there. Strome is more like a Sam Reinhart type whereas Vilardi is more like a Leon Draisaitl type.