I don't know much about Bailey, but it seemed like most were pleased with his signing with Toronto late last season, and he played with the Leafs for the latter part of the season. However, the current prospect poll places him very far down our prospect depth chart. Is there a reason for this? Will he play in the NHL this season, or in the AHL?
Casey Bailey
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StuckOutHere
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I'm as excited for this guy as I was for Matt Frattin entering this season. Good shot, but doesn't have the skills or speed to get into the right place to use it.
I wouldn't get my hopes up.
NHL caliber shot & has a good nose for finding the open holes. He has some size (6'3") & if he puts on 15-20 LBS of muscle, along with his continued work on his skating this summer he could become your prototypical power forward. He does play with some grit & is very competitive but I would like to see a little more meanness.
He will have to become more comfortable & confident at the NHL level, but I did see that as his games progressed & his icetime increased. His Penn team was a team of no names, so his production there should have a gold star attached to it. I would like to see how he does finding his holes with a good set up man feeding him the puck.
I think he will start in the AHL, which will allow him to gain the confidence & get lots of ice.
I wouldn't worry about the prospects ranking. After the first 5 or so you could probably pull the names out of a hat & the list would be just as accurate.
HEAVY DUTY
Thanks to denial, I’m immortal.
RyanOhReally
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He's supposedly been working on it a lot this summer. At least that's what I've been hearing about him. i have no idea how it was at the rookie camp, but there's still enough time to put in some work.
Honestly, if his skating becomes average and he adds on the strength to be around 205-210lbs, he'd have a floor of a 4th liner and a ceiling of a Top-6 winger.
If he doesn't though, he could spend his entire career in the minors and in Europe after a few brief NHL stints. Classic NCAA Free Agent pick up.
Hammer, meet Nail.
This is exactly what I thought watching him in the few games he played last season. If he can get his feet to catch up to the NHL, the rest of his game is already at that level. He is only, what, 23? He could score 20 in this league, I would say. But that is probably his ceiling, and big hurdles to get there.
I think he makes the opening night roster. AHL will do him no good, he will be able to ignore the skating problems and rely on his shot to succeed. Play him against the best so he can see how far he has to go to catch up.
It's like every roster player this year is in a 'prove it' situation, huh?
Larcos_Unal
Excuses are for losers
Didn't watch too many games down the stretch but he looked great vs the Habs. I'd give him ice time. Could end up being a nice piece in the bottom 6 as we move forward.
Super Mega
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TheCLAM
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Frattin was more highly regarded imo
My buddy that played last season for Penn State told me there's no real weakness in his game. Skating could be the difference between him being a 2/3rd line guy vs. a career AHL'er
StuckOutHere
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He is well rounded, but sometimes it can be detrimental not having a + tool to bring to the table.
I never really got to see him use his 'NHL calibre' shot last year. He never seemed to be in position to use it. Free wallet, like others have said.
FlyingLeafus
But what about the playoffs?
Honest question, is there any evidence of the impact she's had since joining the Leafs? Any time a players skating is brought up her name pops up.
Backhandshelf81
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- Jun 14, 2013
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JVR comes to mind. The improvement he showed in 13-14.
Last year he wasn't as good though, but you could attribute that to his weight gain.
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