F Cullen Potter - Green Bay Jr. Gamblers, U16 AAA (2025 Draft)
- Thread starter LeProspector
- Start date
-
It's Back - NHL Survivor 2024 is now open Click here to join.
95snipes
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2019
- 1,109
- 1,445
95snipes
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2019
- 1,109
- 1,445
I was able to attend both games this weekend vs Air Force. Always nice to get the perspective of watching games in person. Here are my thoughts on Cullen Potter:
-I had modest expectations, but overall I thought he played quite well.
-Not breaking anything here, but Potter really is a great skater. 2 strides and he's flying. It makes him a threat at all times, an example of this - He used his speed in the Saturday game to win a race to a puck on a broken play and then circled the net and fed backdoor which almost resulted in a goal (late 3rd in a tie game at the time). Another sequence he beat his defenseman to the far post which resulted in a grade A chance. He's also a puck carrying option on the powerplay.
-He did not play timid at all. Thought that might be the case for a 17 year old making his debut, but it wasn't. Looked comfortable right away; on his first shift of his NCAA career took the puck from behind his net to through the neutral zone through a crowd of players. Wanted and always calling for the puck. His teammates started to find him, but there where a few missed chances early on where Potter had speed and his teammates didn't get him the puck.
-Played center, but I don't think he's an NHL center. Lacks size and strength to contain bigger players down low in the d zone once he lost body positioning. Nothing too bad, but better teams will likely expose this more. Combine that with the fact that he isn't a natural playmaker and I think his game translates better to wing at the next level.
-Individual skillset wise, I like everything. His hands were displayed on that goal I shared in the prior post. I'm not sure yet exactly how good his shot is, but it's not a muffin. Good release, just can he beat goaltenders from a distance.. not sure of that.
-I did not appreciate how good his vision is watching him last year. He made some passes through the neutral zone that I really liked. Headman / cross rink. Some give and go to exploit space. I liked his ability to find teammates in the offensive zone, showed good vision and awareness. There were a couple plays where he went coast to coast, but the end result was a Potter shot from the outside - which doesn't appear good enough to beat goaltenders. You love his ability to beat the first layer of the defense, but once he gains the o zone, I'm looking to see how that develops over the course of the year. Can he put himself into dangerous areas for a chance.. Can he draw attention and find teammates.. If that happens, Potter could be very good.
-He looked more comfortable the 2nd game, both in a good and bad way. He was creating offense, but had some turnovers as well. You want your most talented player to be creative and not necessarily always make the safe 100% play every time, but something to monitor as he adjusts to the NCAA.
-A point of contention might be his battle level given his size. He doesn't shy away, but he's not overly eager to engage in puck battles either. Not every player needs to muck it up, but if he's not scoring in the NHL, then you end up with an Avs era Alex Newhook type of player where he has talent, but a misfit of a player who isn't helping you win hockey games. Potter is more looking for space - where he's dangerous - than playing along the boards. The thing I like there though is that he keeps his feet moving so that when he gets the puck, he's ready to explode and create offense.
-Curious if he plays with Lucius when he's back and if so, how they'd mesh. Lucius can keep up with him, but they might be better off on separate lines.
-Obviously will get harder from here as they play better teams, but I liked what I saw from Potter. Early to declare this definitively, but right now projection wise I'd be hoping for a 2nd line winger who can break a game open with his speed. 1st round candidate.
-I had modest expectations, but overall I thought he played quite well.
-Not breaking anything here, but Potter really is a great skater. 2 strides and he's flying. It makes him a threat at all times, an example of this - He used his speed in the Saturday game to win a race to a puck on a broken play and then circled the net and fed backdoor which almost resulted in a goal (late 3rd in a tie game at the time). Another sequence he beat his defenseman to the far post which resulted in a grade A chance. He's also a puck carrying option on the powerplay.
-He did not play timid at all. Thought that might be the case for a 17 year old making his debut, but it wasn't. Looked comfortable right away; on his first shift of his NCAA career took the puck from behind his net to through the neutral zone through a crowd of players. Wanted and always calling for the puck. His teammates started to find him, but there where a few missed chances early on where Potter had speed and his teammates didn't get him the puck.
-Played center, but I don't think he's an NHL center. Lacks size and strength to contain bigger players down low in the d zone once he lost body positioning. Nothing too bad, but better teams will likely expose this more. Combine that with the fact that he isn't a natural playmaker and I think his game translates better to wing at the next level.
-Individual skillset wise, I like everything. His hands were displayed on that goal I shared in the prior post. I'm not sure yet exactly how good his shot is, but it's not a muffin. Good release, just can he beat goaltenders from a distance.. not sure of that.
-I did not appreciate how good his vision is watching him last year. He made some passes through the neutral zone that I really liked. Headman / cross rink. Some give and go to exploit space. I liked his ability to find teammates in the offensive zone, showed good vision and awareness. There were a couple plays where he went coast to coast, but the end result was a Potter shot from the outside - which doesn't appear good enough to beat goaltenders. You love his ability to beat the first layer of the defense, but once he gains the o zone, I'm looking to see how that develops over the course of the year. Can he put himself into dangerous areas for a chance.. Can he draw attention and find teammates.. If that happens, Potter could be very good.
-He looked more comfortable the 2nd game, both in a good and bad way. He was creating offense, but had some turnovers as well. You want your most talented player to be creative and not necessarily always make the safe 100% play every time, but something to monitor as he adjusts to the NCAA.
-A point of contention might be his battle level given his size. He doesn't shy away, but he's not overly eager to engage in puck battles either. Not every player needs to muck it up, but if he's not scoring in the NHL, then you end up with an Avs era Alex Newhook type of player where he has talent, but a misfit of a player who isn't helping you win hockey games. Potter is more looking for space - where he's dangerous - than playing along the boards. The thing I like there though is that he keeps his feet moving so that when he gets the puck, he's ready to explode and create offense.
-Curious if he plays with Lucius when he's back and if so, how they'd mesh. Lucius can keep up with him, but they might be better off on separate lines.
-Obviously will get harder from here as they play better teams, but I liked what I saw from Potter. Early to declare this definitively, but right now projection wise I'd be hoping for a 2nd line winger who can break a game open with his speed. 1st round candidate.
