3 Minute Minor
Registered User
- Sep 29, 2009
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This gets thrown around a lot, but the only player I can think of in the last 15 years that fits that description is PM Bouchard (and injuries had a lot to do with that). Historically, finesse forwards from the Q have had no problem translating their game to the NHL (at least, not any more than prospects from other leagues). It's the burlier, more physical players (Picard, Bourret, Bernier, Sheppard) that have had these problems.
You kidding? How many QMJHL players who were flashy in junior were able to step right into the NHL right away? That's the real question.
David Perron was good in the NHL but he's injured all the time because he gets roughed up so easily, similar to PM Bouchard.
More guys who couldn't translate: Angelo Esposito, Alex Bouret, Derick Brassard (he's looked good in 15 games with NYR but he's been dominated for 6 years now), Francois Bouchard.
I'm sure there's many more examples but those are the guys who were drafted high enough to have some expectations. There's a ton of other examples who were picked late because they were deemed unable to translate their game to the NHL because of their lack of physical ability. That's why Charles Hudon was drafted so late and it still remains to be seen if his game can translate