F Cullen Potter - Green Bay Jr. Gamblers, U16 AAA (2025 Draft)
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95snipes
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2019
- 1,110
- 1,449
Strong debut for Potter. Looked great.
95snipes
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2019
- 1,110
- 1,449
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.
BRayne
Registered User
- May 5, 2011
- 282
- 151
Based on the fact that Powers has Potter starting off centering the second line and that I doubt he separates Sillinger and the Jackson twins at this point, it seems pretty likely that they'll be on a line together when Lucius gets healthy.
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Team down 2 with a minute to go yesterday. Assist to make it 3-2 and goal to make it 3-3 within that last minute.
Has 2+2=4 points in 4 games. Good start for him so far in college. Playing 1C for ASU.
Has 2+2=4 points in 4 games. Good start for him so far in college. Playing 1C for ASU.
Despite the somewhat odd look of him reneging on his Sparty commit and NTDP U18 season, it seems like Potter bet on himself and it looks like a great bet so far. There was a reason many had him pegged as handily the best talent in the U17 team - and despite the momentarily blip of this summer, back on the ice - it sure seems like that was the case, more than ever. He's settling like a duck in water at the next level while the rest of the 07’s continue to spin in place. Did he feel he was being held back by the coaching or surrounding talent (or both) as he entered his pivotal pre-draft season?
Let’s see if his skating and production in a pre-draft NCAA season can carry him back up into a lottery-level first round type pick after all.
William H Bonney
Registered User
Glad to see him having a good start so far. He was clearly the most talented '07 on the NTDP team, and thankfully his bet on himself is paying off so far. Spartans are probably regretting their decision even more at this point.
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i read article somewhere that his mom basically said he couldn’t do anything or showcase his talents at ntdp because his linemates were not that good or skilled enough to keep up with him .
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
He has a slow start at the NTDP, but his numbers the second half of last year were a lot closer to what you’d expect, and especially if you factor in that it isn’t the highest scoring group either. Other than being 5’9 I think he’s like a clear first round range talent.
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
He was the best hockey player of the NTDP 07’s. Didn’t have the points early on last year and being 5’9 doesn’t help towards the draft, but these are the types of shifts he had often last season.
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Central Scouting, which will measure these players, now lists him at 5’10. He was listed at 5’9 at the NTDP last season.
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