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Prospect Info: - C Kieron Walton #187 2024 NHL Draft | Page 6 | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League
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Prospect Info: C Kieron Walton #187 2024 NHL Draft

The only thing with Walton that worries me is if he's benefitting a lot from being an almost 19 year old giant among 16-17 year old boys.

But I'm happy and pulling for him regardless.
 
Jets said:
The only thing with Walton that worries me is if he's benefitting a lot from being an almost 19 year old giant among 16-17 year old boys.

But I'm happy and pulling for him regardless.
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Ya I’m not sure about that. If you watch the highlights he use his length for sure to protect the puck but he uses his skill more than his physical strength in most of his play.
 
Jets said:
The only thing with Walton that worries me is if he's benefitting a lot from being an almost 19 year old giant among 16-17 year old boys.

But I'm happy and pulling for him regardless.
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I wouldn’t let that concern you too much.

A few things to try to put you a bit more at ease. Although he is tall he doesn’t play a power game yet as such. He is more of a shooting Blake Wheeler type using finess and skill more than force. Also he is an average age for the OHL, there are lots of 19 and 20 year olds. On top of that there is the fact D+1 data is all apples to apples. He has the same age advantage every D+1 prospect has always had.

He needs to keep up the pace and not fall off a cliff. Then of course how does his D +2 season go?? Walton is having about as good a 1st half of a draft +1 season as we have ever seen out of one of our prospects. Certainly way better than Scheifele. That being said he is a long way from the NHL.
 
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ps241 said:
I wouldn’t let that concern you too much.

A few things to try to put you a bit more at ease. Although he is tall he doesn’t play a power game yet as such. He is more of a shooting Blake Wheeler type using fitness and skill more than force. Also he is an average age in the OHL, there are lots of 19 annd 20 year olds. On top of that there is the fact D+1 data is all apples to apples. He has the same age advantage every D+1 prospect has always had.

He needs to keep up the pace and not fall off a cliff. Then of course how does his D +2 season go?? Walton is having about as good a 1st half a draft +1 season as we have ever seen out of one of our prospects. Certainly way better than Scheifele. That being said he is a long way from the NHL.
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Agreed, things can change very quickly with prospects compared to even the young pros.

I'd take a guy like Walton that is screaming diamond in the rough over a solid performer like even Yager for instance.

Yager went from point a game in his draft year, to 1.16 per game, to 1.46, to 1.66, to 1.47 so far this year in 23 games (that will improve I'm sure)

Where as Walton went from 0.66 in his draft year last year, to 1.73 this year in 34 games. That's such a steep upward trajectory that you know he has more improvement ahead.

College does seem like a pretty logical next step for him so he isn't playing OHL again, then AHL. Can live the life at a major college, play some WJC and frozen 4 high pressure situations...and come out if/when the NHL lineup spot is ready for him. If we can get him signed to an ELC soon even better.

Edit: missed your note about Scheifele first time around. That Walton is outscoring Scheifele's D+2 season in his D+1 is quite the eyebrow raise...

It's not all about points, size and tools matter as well as work ethic and character. He isn't lacking in the size or tools department. In fact, those are more indications his game should translate to the pros.

Injuries can always have an adverse effect if they happen. But man, this dude looks like our best prospect the longer he keeps this up. Only other one even in consideration for me at this point is Salomonsson.
 
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ps241 said:
He is more of a shooting Blake Wheeler type using fitness and skill more than force.
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Hmm, wonder if he also shares Wheeler's aversion to the team that drafted him. Not sayin', just sayin'.
Tick tock, Kevin...:popcorn:
 
Gm0ney said:
Wheeler's talked about that. The Coyotes jerked him around a bit.
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In his interview with Sarah Orleski, Blake went into detail about how well he was treated by Doan and the organization and how much he wanted to play for the Yotes but once they turned over their coaching staff and Managment the new incoming front office and Managment were not sold on Blake and they didn’t give him a chance to make the roster so he went back to College and decided to go in a different direction.
 
ps241 said:
In his interview with Sarah Orleski, Blake went into detail about how well he was treated by Doan and the organization and how much he wanted to play for the Yotes but once they turned over their coaching staff and Managment the new incoming front office and Managment were not sold on Blake and they didn’t give him a chance to make the roster so he went back to College and decided to go in a different direction.
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I wasn’t aware of this part of the story.
 
Flair Hay said:
Agreed, things can change very quickly with prospects compared to even the young pros.

I'd take a guy like Walton that is screaming diamond in the rough over a solid performer like even Yager for instance.

Yager went from point a game in his draft year, to 1.16 per game, to 1.46, to 1.66, to 1.47 so far this year in 23 games (that will improve I'm sure)

Where as Walton went from 0.66 in his draft year last year, to 1.73 this year in 34 games. That's such a steep upward trajectory that you know he has more improvement ahead.

College does seem like a pretty logical next step for him so he isn't playing OHL again, then AHL. Can live the life at a major college, play some WJC and frozen 4 high pressure situations...and come out if/when the NHL lineup spot is ready for him. If we can get him signed to an ELC soon even better.

Edit: missed your note about Scheifele first time around. That Walton is outscoring Scheifele's D+2 season in his D+1 is quite the eyebrow raise...

It's not all about points, size and tools matter as well as work ethic and character. He isn't lacking in the size or tools department. In fact, those are more indications his game should translate to the pros.

Injuries can always have an adverse effect if they happen. But man, this dude looks like our best prospect the longer he keeps this up. Only other one even in consideration for me at this point is Salomonsson.
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I'm going to dial this back a bit, he is scoring at a 2.4+ PPG rate in his 17 game point streak. We shouldn't expect him to go up from there, but we should be very excited that he's capable of what he's doing right now.

Yager dropped because he lost the only other player on his team who can put up points. You can only do so much by yourself.
 
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KingBogo said:
I wasn’t aware of this part of the story.
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Ok digging around a bit this one was from a Wiebe article :


“This was not the career path Blake Wheeler envisioned, though he's pretty happy about how things have worked out.

After playing in his 500th NHL game on Friday night, it's clear that Wheeler has found a comfortable hockey home with the Winnipeg Jets.

Now in his seventh NHL season, Wheeler took some time to reflect on how his career began earlier this week, starting with an early lesson about the business side of pro hockey.

“I played my last college game and I was fully expecting to sign with Phoenix and maybe even play games at the end of that season. I was ready to go,” said Wheeler, who was chosen fifth overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. “I watched their games and knew players on the team. I thought that was going to happen. But (Coyotes GM Don Maloney) talked to me a couple days after and hinted that it wasn't looking that way.”

The Jets host the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday in what will be their second-to-last game before the NHL All-Star break.

Wheeler ended up exercising a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement that allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent in late May of 2008 — following his junior season at the University of Minnesota — and signed with the Boston Bruins that summer.

“It was a clean slate. When I was drafted in Phoenix, it was different management and pretty much a different organization from the time I was drafted to the time I went to Boston. They had a new regime and new prospects,” said Wheeler. “I was far down the totem pole and it would have been a tough situation for me to claw my way out of there.”

The interview I saw he was discussing how much he liked Doan and looked up to him and how he was really looking forward to playing with him. I will try to remember when, where, and with whom that interview was.
 
ps241 said:
Ok digging around a bit this one was from a Wiebe article :


“This was not the career path Blake Wheeler envisioned, though he's pretty happy about how things have worked out.

After playing in his 500th NHL game on Friday night, it's clear that Wheeler has found a comfortable hockey home with the Winnipeg Jets.

Now in his seventh NHL season, Wheeler took some time to reflect on how his career began earlier this week, starting with an early lesson about the business side of pro hockey.

“I played my last college game and I was fully expecting to sign with Phoenix and maybe even play games at the end of that season. I was ready to go,” said Wheeler, who was chosen fifth overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. “I watched their games and knew players on the team. I thought that was going to happen. But (Coyotes GM Don Maloney) talked to me a couple days after and hinted that it wasn't looking that way.”

The Jets host the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday in what will be their second-to-last game before the NHL All-Star break.

Wheeler ended up exercising a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement that allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent in late May of 2008 — following his junior season at the University of Minnesota — and signed with the Boston Bruins that summer.

“It was a clean slate. When I was drafted in Phoenix, it was different management and pretty much a different organization from the time I was drafted to the time I went to Boston. They had a new regime and new prospects,” said Wheeler. “I was far down the totem pole and it would have been a tough situation for me to claw my way out of there.”

The interview I saw he was discussing how much he liked Doan and looked up to him and how he was really looking forward to playing with him. I will try to remember when, where, and with whom that interview was.
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Thanks for sharing the history. Very informative.
 
What do you think is his realistic ceiling based on his performance this year?

Could it be:
1st line centre?
Top 6?
Top 9?
Mid 6?

I am very intrigued by what people think. He has 21 more points than his nearest teammate. Crazy that he is #3 in the OHL, #2 was our 1st round pick, and #1 is Michael Misa. This could have been touted as the potential undisputed greatest Jets draft ever.

Greentree, He, Walton.
 
Scheifele55 said:
What do you think is his realistic ceiling based on his performance this year?

Could it be:
1st line centre?
Top 6?
Top 9?
Mid 6?

I am very intrigued by what people think. He has 21 more points than his nearest teammate. Crazy that he is #3 in the OHL, #2 was our 1st round pick, and #1 is Michael Misa. This could have been touted as the potential undisputed greatest Jets draft ever.

Greentree, He, Walton.
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Just out of curiosity, what timeline are you in where the Jets picked Greentree? :huh:
 
nobody imp0rtant said:
Just out of curiosity, what timeline are you in where the Jets picked Greentree? :huh:
Click to expand...

That timeline.

1736548057867.png
 
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