Prospect Info: (D) Nolan Allan - 2021 32nd Overall

[RayP]

They did an awful job handling him. You're never supposed to bounce prospects back and forth between NHL and AHL. It never works.

They also stapled him to De Haan at the NHL level so he had no support.

And he got not PP time.

They set him up for failure.

This is kind of my point. He didn’t do a single thing to suggest he earned even a second of PP time.

Not a single mention by you of anything he did poorly. He really didn’t do anything at any level well, yet you don’t blame him for that and blame it all on everyone else.

 

[Giovi]

This is kind of my point. He didn’t do a single thing to suggest he earned even a second of PP time.

Not a single mention by you of anything he did poorly. He really didn’t do anything at any level well, yet you don’t blame him for that and blame it all on everyone else.

He played like he was scared. He looked totally overwhelmed. Putting him on the pp or changing his d partner was not going to change that.

Yet somehow it's the Hawks fault.

 

[RayP]

He played like he was scared. He looked totally overwhelmed. Putting him on the pp or changing his d partner was not going to change that.

Yet somehow it's the Hawks fault.

Yep, and he’s not a huge guy so a smaller guy like him playing scared makes him even smaller on the ice.

 

[Pez68]

Actually I'm not even in this conversation coz of Musto. Clearly he exaggerates his takes (which some I agree with some I don't) so I never understood the silly outrage taking them at face value.

I commented coz I think it's so hypocritical some you are running judgement police on literally everything here, mostly third party opinions. Why does your first paragraph routinely not apply to you for example?

I'm not here posting stupid f***ing hot takes, and contradicting the opinions of professional scouts. I back my criticism up with logical reasoning and references. I don't just say "I know better than the scouts working in the NHL" like a f***ing assclown. I've also posted what credentials I have many, many times.

I'm not pretending to be an expert or smarter than people working in professional hockey when it comes to scouting. There's a reason you don't see me coming here criticizing draft picks or making mock draft boards. I have zero interest in it, and absolutely no experience watching any of these kids play shitty junior hockey.

I've met plenty of guys like Musto that pretend to know their shit because they've watched a bunch of youth hockey games. Most of them are full of shit, and there's a reason he's paying to watch them play, and the guys making the picks are PAID to watch them play.

If you don't want people criticizing stupid shit you post, then don't post stupid shit? If you think I'm bad online, you should see my visual indicators when you say stupid shit to me in person. And if I know you well, I'm going to be as blunt as can be, and not sugar coat anything I respond to you with.

Faux experts spouting bullshit need to be called out whenever you see them. I don't believe anything Musto says. Strikes me as the prototypical online "expert" who pretends to know what he's talking about. He's given me zero reason to ever trust his opinion, and plenty of reasons not to.

 

[BobbyJet]

And you wonder why the Hawks can't develop defensemen

This is the NHL. Teams can't afford to pamper players who aren't ready to make the jump. That's what the minors are for.

 

[Larmer83]

He played like he was scared. He looked totally overwhelmed. Putting him on the pp or changing his d partner was not going to change that.

Yet somehow it's the Hawks fault.

Yes and no.

The Hawks brass believed him to be ready to begin the season. If you believe your characterization of Mitchell, did the Hawks not miscalculate on his NHL readiness?

He should have started in Rockford and stayed there the entire season, however short it was.

 

[MileHighHawksFan]

He lost credibility with me when he blamed Mitchell’s poor performance on management.


Sometimes you need to just admit you’re wrong, but not a lot of people are willing to do that these days.

Im honestly as big of a Mitchell fan as Musto just not nearly as delusional

IMO Mitchell’s performance is on him not having confidence to play and defend aggressively, thats when he’s at his best. In college he would take away time and space and end up with the puck then transition it quickly up ice. We really didnt see him defend or play like that. He had some moments in the offensive zone but needs his d game to be on. I believe once he gets that going that confidence is going to pour over to the other parts of his game. Thats why Im still so high on him, bc if he can do that he can definitely still get near his ceiling.

 

[Giovi]

Yes and no.

The Hawks brass believed him to be ready to begin the season. If you believe your characterization of Mitchell, did the Hawks not miscalculate on his NHL readiness?

He should have started in Rockford and stayed there the entire season, however short it was.

I don't think the Hawks could have known he was going to be so timid.

 

[ClydeLee]

Yes and no.

The Hawks brass believed him to be ready to begin the season. If you believe your characterization of Mitchell, did the Hawks not miscalculate on his NHL readiness?

He should have started in Rockford and stayed there the entire season, however short it was.

The AHL season didn't start until like 3 weeks after the NHL season though, that's kinda glossed over.

 

[madgoat33]

This is the NHL. Teams can't afford to pamper players who aren't ready to make the jump. That's what the minors are for.

I agree to an extent. No amount of minor league hockey is going to prepare a guy for the nhl, and young players need to still be developed in the big leagues. That said, if a guy cant make adjustments and continues to look overwhelmed for a whole season+, then well....

 

[BobbyJet]

Yes and no.

The Hawks brass believed him to be ready to begin the season. If you believe your characterization of Mitchell, did the Hawks not miscalculate on his NHL readiness?

He should have started in Rockford and stayed there the entire season, however short it was.

I'm a firm believer in giving a young player a start at the NhL level if they appear to be a solid prospect. It gives both the player and coaching staff a good indication of where that player stands in their development. Mitchell showed he wasn't ready almost immediately.

 

[BobbyJet]

The AHL season didn't start until like 3 weeks after the NHL season though, that's kinda glossed over.

Yeah, Covid f***ed everything up in so many ways.

 

[BobbyJet]

I agree to an extent. No amount of minor league hockey is going to prepare a guy for the nhl, and young players need to still be developed in the big leagues. That said, if a guy cant make adjustments and continues to look overwhelmed for a whole season+, then well....

I agree to a degree however I wouldn't underestimate the AHL for developing talent. I think Blackhawks in the past were negligent in acquiring a solid coaching staff in RFD and it directly affected some players development.

 

[RayP]

I agree to an extent. No amount of minor league hockey is going to prepare a guy for the nhl, and young players need to still be developed in the big leagues. That said, if a guy cant make adjustments and continues to look overwhelmed for a whole season+, then well....

Disagree here. It was the first time he’s played against actual men. There is value into easing him into that vs him struggling at the NHL earning a consistent spot to keep playing in. Best case scenario he then plays really well in the AHL and he forces a call up.

For a guy of his small size and skill set confidence is going to be key for him.

 

[BobbyJet]

Disagree here. It was the first time he’s played against actual men. There is value into easing him into that vs him struggling at the NHL earning a consistent spot to keep playing in. Best case scenario he then plays really well in the AHL and he forces a call up.

For a guy of his small size and skill set confidence is going to be key for him.

I guess most of us thought it was possible that Mitchell at 22, after a good college career might be able to step right in... perhaps the Hawks' org thought that as well.... but I hear ya, not many Dmen can do that.

 

[RayP]

I guess most of us thought it was possible that Mitchell at 22, after a good college career might be able to step right in... perhaps the Hawks org as well.... but I hear ya.

I would have probably given him a start in the A and rolled with Keith, Murphy, CdH, Z, Boqvist, and Beaudin to start the season. Call him up down the road if he’s actually playing well when someone gets hurt or needs a breather.

I was pretty high on Beaudin going into last season after what he had previously shown in his very, very brief stint.

 

[BobbyJet]

I would have probably given him a start in the A and rolled with Keith, Murphy, CdH, Z, Boqvist, and Beaudin to start the season. Call him up down the road if he’s actually playing well when someone gets hurt or needs a breather.

I was pretty high on Beaudin going into last season after what he had previously shown in his very, very brief stint.

I also liked what I saw from Beaudin early on but his play tapered off. Hopefully, he returns to playing with confidence that we have seen flashes of early in his career.
That said, I think Kalynuk has shown more - it will be an interesting camp.

 

[RayP]

I also liked what I saw from Beaudin early on but his play tapered off. Hopefully, he returns to playing with confidence that we have seen flashes of early in his career.
That said, I think Kalynuk has shown more - it will be an interesting camp.

Definitely. I don’t think Kalynuk has the highest of ceilings but that’s ok we need reliable second pairing guys too. Not to mention we have a legit top pairing at the moment anyway.

 

[Brightwing]

The AHL season didn't start until like 3 weeks after the NHL season though, that's kinda glossed over.

I think last season was an anomaly where they were trying to get young guys in to get a good look at them. They knew very well they couldn't handle big minutes yet which is why you had 7D nights. The competition for spots is a lot tougher this year.

The thing with Mitchell is it's too bad he didn't come over the prior year when the Hawks wanted him too because he could have worked out his growing pains sooner and would have been in a better position last year. But hindsight etc.

 

[BobbyJet]

Nope....if Mitchell wasn't ready in 2020-21 he probably would have been worse off the year prior..... even in RFD.

 

[giza]

With the exception of DeHaan still being on the team, with our adds, we no longer need to rush these guys any more. Of the 3, Kalynuk looks most ready to play in the NHL full time now---he's also a little older, but give both Mitchell and Beaudien top minutes in Rockford, gain some strength, etc and watch the light go on ......maybe they play their way on to the Hawks by mid-season. Unfortunately, we didn't get the instant product like Makar or a host of other highly touted college D men over the years.....but that doesn't mean Mitchell is a bust. He was WAY over-hyped ----adjust the timing expectations.

 

[Muffinalt]

I'm not here posting stupid f***ing hot takes, and contradicting the opinions of professional scouts. I back my criticism up with logical reasoning and references. I don't just say "I know better than the scouts working in the NHL" like a f***ing assclown. I've also posted what credentials I have many, many times.

I'm not pretending to be an expert or smarter than people working in professional hockey when it comes to scouting. There's a reason you don't see me coming here criticizing draft picks or making mock draft boards. I have zero interest in it, and absolutely no experience watching any of these kids play shitty junior hockey.

I've met plenty of guys like Musto that pretend to know their shit because they've watched a bunch of youth hockey games. Most of them are full of shit, and there's a reason he's paying to watch them play, and the guys making the picks are PAID to watch them play.

If you don't want people criticizing stupid shit you post, then don't post stupid shit? If you think I'm bad online, you should see my visual indicators when you say stupid shit to me in person. And if I know you well, I'm going to be as blunt as can be, and not sugar coat anything I respond to you with.

Faux experts spouting bullshit need to be called out whenever you see them. I don't believe anything Musto says. Strikes me as the prototypical online "expert" who pretends to know what he's talking about. He's given me zero reason to ever trust his opinion, and plenty of reasons not to.

Crazy how you don't see irony in this.

 

[Pez68]

Crazy how you don't see irony in this.

Crazy how much you care about me being mean to other posters.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

Just trade Allen and Mitchell for Lindholm at the deadline. Boom our top 4 is set for the foreseeable future.

 

[Muffinalt]

Crazy how much you care about me being mean to other posters.

No it's not about that. But im not able to communicate the point across it seems.