Player Discussion: Cole Perfetti 10th OA pick

[KingBogo]

These guys also had very unique and disjointed development processes due to the Covid restrictions. Cole would have had at least one and possibly two years in Juniors based on his physical size after the draft alone. He was thrust into playing vs men while still in a boy's body at 18 so his puck touches were vastly reduced. He would have had the puck on his stick almost continuously had he gone back to juniors

Being able to play for the Moose, rather than having to go back to junior was pumped as an advantage for him at the time.

 

[KingBogo]

This.

If I’m an opposing GM, I’m not valuing Perfetti any higher than a second round pick at this very moment. If he can build up some momentum and point production, could see him being valued as a (late) first.

Bottom line, I can’t see him as an enticing trade chip. Offensively inept, and while he’s a decent defensive player it’s not enough to offset the lack of production.

This is sad if true. I would have thought he would at least be holding onto late 1st value. At least a GM would have an idea what he gets in Perfetti, though I case that may not be enticing enough. I could see Perfetti being part of a bigger package deal for a player with term.

 

[DRW204]

Being able to play for the Moose, rather than having to go back to junior was pumped as an advantage for him at the time.

yeah that was my recollection too. iirc he was dubbed as one of the more nhl ready prospects that draft (pretty sure it was scott wheeler, fwiw) with not much more to prove in juniors. it's not like he fell on his face in the AHL either and IIRC many commented positively on his play.

 

[Buffdog]

yeah that was my recollection too. iirc he was dubbed as one of the more nhl ready prospects that draft (pretty sure it was scott wheeler, fwiw) with not much more to prove in juniors. it's not like he fell on his face in the AHL either and IIRC many commented positively on his play.

Perfetti scored at a similar clip to Ehlers in their draft years (Perfetti 1.82 points per game vs 1.65 point per game for Ehlers)

Ehlers went back to junior and put up 1.98 points per game. I think Cole would have been well served to have had that opportunity

Cole produced well in his D+1 in the AHL (0.81 points per game as an 18 year old) while learning how to play a sound defensive game. I think in terms of him being "pro ready" it was good for him, but not having the opportunity to have the puck on his stick almost continuously each game in juniors probably stunted the growth of his offensive game to some degree

 

[Gm0ney]

yeah that was my recollection too. iirc he was dubbed as one of the more nhl ready prospects that draft (pretty sure it was scott wheeler, fwiw) with not much more to prove in juniors. it's not like he fell on his face in the AHL either and IIRC many commented positively on his play.

In terms of Jets prospects NHLe going back to 2011, Perfetti had the best draft year of any of them. Better than Ehlers, better than Scheifele, better than Connor. He improved his scoring stats year over year until last season and this season. He was basically Top 3 to 5 out of everyone the Jets 2.0 have drafted in every year up until...he got Namestnikov as his primary C last season.

 

[voyageur]

These guys also had very unique and disjointed development processes due to the Covid restrictions. Cole would have had at least one and possibly two years in Juniors based on his physical size after the draft alone. He was thrust into playing vs men while still in a boy's body at 18 so his puck touches were vastly reduced. He would have had the puck on his stick almost continuously had he gone back to juniors

It seemed like his development on the Moose was good. That's a bit of a stupid rule, where Lambert and Lucius were able to play their d+2 seasons in the A, Roslovic too.

But the reality of the whole CHL rule and Covid is that Perfetti would have been in junior and not on the Moose in his d+2 if he hadn't had that first year of Covid playing on the Moose. Which led him to being called up midseason with injury, and burning a slide year on his ELC.

And why that is important is that no one would be talking about his career as a Jet being over, if the Jets still had the option of sending him down to the Moose, to work through his slump. Now he's at the point where the little details are victories, but the points aren't coming and he's being paid as a point producer this year, not an entry level prospect.

 

[sipowicz]

How many more seasons of zero production after November when the league tightens up do we need to see from Perfetan?

Either you have it or you don’t, he doesn’t have it!

 

[Buffdog]

In terms of Jets prospects NHLe going back to 2011, Perfetti had the best draft year of any of them. Better than Ehlers, better than Scheifele, better than Connor. He improved his scoring stats year over year until last season and this season. He was basically Top 3 to 5 out of everyone the Jets 2.0 have drafted in every year up until...he got Namestnikov as his primary C last season.

He may have had Names as his C, but he also predominantly had Nik "I make Everyone I Play With Better" Ehlers as his other winger over that span

I think it's obvious that it's a lot easier to take a player with amazing offensive instincts and turn them into a responsible player defensively than the other way around. I think that they did that with Cole a season early due to the aoahL not playing that season

On other words, Cole has turned into exactly the type of player that they developed him into

 

[Xavier Laflamme]

He may have had Names as his C, but he also predominantly had Nik "I make Everyone I Play With Better" Ehlers as his other winger over that span

Ehlers is too fast and chaotic for Fetts and just don't seem to read each other well, and of course both have suffered with Vladdy as their centre, the day we acquire a true 2C with term will be a glorious one if it ever comes.

 

[Finster8]

He's definitely not a bad player but there's something missing I think. It's always been missing too.

Four elements to a good top 6 forward (IMO)



Size
Speed
Tenacity
Skill (vision, playmaking, shot)

He's got the skill, but it feels like he needs another 10% - 15% of some or all of the others to get to that level we need him to be at.


Like any young player who has played and had nothing but success in his career and then goes to the show and doesn’t pan out like he or his management wants.
I’m sure Cole isn’t happy not doing what he is capable of in his own assumption. IMO whether he turns it around now, later, or never. Bottom line other top players drafted top 20 are figuring out how they can be better as well, do to bad numbers.
Cole is the only one to make Cole a better all around player. He gains some weight and strength are doable. Getting put with the right people and being held accountable for his play is the way you get better.
Let’s hope he at least gets a dozen games to get quality TOI without Ehlers. They don’t compliment each other it’s like putting a square into a circle it doesn’t work much like those 2. So make the right changes to have them both more successful. If it’s a trade then fine. As long as it helps the team be more competitive.
Jets are lacking a bonafide 2C once that is done I can see a much stronger team that has 3 strong lines and that makes the team better. Remember Cole is 23 and has played well at times but was drafted to put up some points.
We hope as fans that he can get his game back and a real 2C will help the team. One of the keys to the teams success if they want to get past the 1st rd

 

[Gm0ney]

He may have had Names as his C, but he also predominantly had Nik "I make Everyone I Play With Better" Ehlers as his other winger over that span

I think it's obvious that it's a lot easier to take a player with amazing offensive instincts and turn them into a responsible player defensively than the other way around. I think that they did that with Cole a season early due to the aoahL not playing that season

On other words, Cole has turned into exactly the type of player that they developed him into

I don't know if Ehlers makes everyone better...he's traditionally made Scheifele better. Perfetti has been better without Ehlers (and Ehlers has been better without Perfetti) over the past two seasons.

 

[voyageur]

Ehlers is too fast and chaotic for Fetts and just don't seem to read each other well, and of course both have suffered with Vladdy as their centre, the day we acquire a true 2C with term will be a glorious one if it ever comes.

I just saw stats today that Ehlers shooting stats went through the roof with Lowry. Sometimes it's just being big and good defensively that gives space for skilled players.

Unfortunately the defensive acumen that you hear about Perfetti is maybe played up a little, as he didn't get the nod with Scheif and Connor when coach was looking for a defensive winger, it was Iafallo. He didn't get the nod to play with Lowry when the team reconfigured it's checking line.

Namestnikov gets results, and is a better skater. The drag on Perfetti is his skating. It's why he's not a center. Can't skate puck through the neutral zone. Can't defend quick enough to cover the middle of the ice. If he's lucky Namestnikov will be his center on a 3rd line. Continuing to get results. Because Nino fits in the top 6, Iafallo can play top 6, and Namestnikov as recently as last game played top 6. The question now is can Perfetti play bottom 6? Because I don't see the Jets going back to Ehlers-Perfetti for the stretch. There's really nothing that makes him more effective than a Vilardi or Nino pr Iafallo type, that complements a smooth skater.

 

[Cnile]

How many more seasons of zero production after November when the league tightens up do we need to see from Perfetan?

Either you have it or you don’t, he doesn’t have it!

I always thought you were too tough on him, but you were pretty dead on.
Showed promise but never broke through.
He could still improve but it’s obviously not going to be here.
Might be of some interest to a GM willing to take a chance.
What is he worth??

 

[Xavier Laflamme]

Unfortunately the defensive acumen that you hear about Perfetti is maybe played up a little, as he didn't get the nod with Scheif and Connor when coach was looking for a defensive winger, it was Iafallo. He didn't get the nod to play with Lowry when the team reconfigured it's checking line.

I don't think his defensive acumen is played up per se, he is usually defensively sound as a player and the advanced analytics definitely backed that up last season but have taken a bit of a hit this season when I last checked, I have definitely noticed a lot this season that he just gets bullied off the puck way to easily along with not winning as many board battles as he previously did.

 

[voyageur]

I don't think his defensive acumen is played up per se, he is usually defensively sound as a player and the advanced analytics definitely backed that up last season but have taken a bit of a hit this season when I last checked, I have definitely noticed a lot this season that he just gets bullied off the puck way to easily along with not winning as many board battles as he previously did.

I am skeptical of some analytics, I'll always be one of those posters that doesn't trust everything about them. From the time he was with Dubois to this point where he has been demoted, it's been mostly offensive zone starts, home ice he's in a 3rd line matchup situation. So he should be decent analytically with those two things in his favour, and for the past two seasons, the Ehlers effect, which is generally positive in shot metrics.

I actually think Perfetti may have bulked up more in the upper body to take more contact, which has slowed him down a little. And you can't really lose that weight once you start playing. It's offseason when the change will come.

I'm not in the camp of trading him though because I see this team being potentially liquidated in the offseason. There's 30 teams that would like to have the same status as the Jets, and they have the financial means to improve by poaching them. That's what Chevy will have to contend with.

I'm hoping Fetts settles in long term with Yager, couple of good Team Canada boys. I'd love to see Yager in that spot as early as next year. He looked like a Bryan Little type center in TC.

And so the lineup looks something like

Connor-Scheif-Valardi
Perfetti-Yager-?
Nino-Lowry-?
Barron-Kupari/Gus-?

The missing pieces either come from inside (like Chibrikov/Lambert/Ford) or outside through trade, or players re-signed.

I'll go a step further and say that I'd like to see Heinola and Perfetti start to become a force on the 2nd PP, as Heinola too grows through the learning curve.

That the Jets don't abandon their young players, but give them time to grow into pros, and learn what it takes, because this team is going to need some young talent sooner than later. And they are going to need some chemistry from those young players. Perfetti and Chibrikov didn't look so out of place when they were given a chance.