Gaylord Q Tinkledink
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- Apr 29, 2018
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Where everyone is a stud and the Habs are lucky if they get a role player out if any of them ?
Prospect Info: Florian Xhekaj
- Thread starter Adam Michaels
- Start date
montreal
Go Habs Go
I don't know if I agree with after the 2nd pick any guy who becomes an NHL regular has a good does of luck, in many cases perhaps but for a number you have guys that were under scouted, injured, etc.. so many factors as to why someone gets looked over. When we pass on Anders Lee, in fact no team drafted him in his first year, I went crazy saying how we had to take a flyer on him and then again the next year when he fell to NYI so late in the draft. You could see the PF in making (scouts were concerned he would go the NFL route) so I don't know how much luck was involved there and not just poor scouting decisions.
With Gallagher it was more a question of his size/skating/speed at the time of the draft, he put in a ton of work. In each draft you have to flesh out where the talent is and where it would make sense just to get a role player. Perhaps it's harder to try to explain, but I don't agree when people say every pick has to be the BPA. There's lot's of factors to take into consideration for each draft is more my point.
Still unclear but that was the gist of my thoughts, I've been on the ground in some pretty hairy places, including countries with ongoing conflict, and it's not like I'm a pretty normal guy doing a normal job. You have to be thorough !
DAChampion
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WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
That's not the point I was making. I was pointing out that Gallagher was not the same type of pick at all. He was a highly productive junior player.
Matthew McConaughay
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- May 3, 2013
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Being a hard hitter is definitely a Xhekaj trait.
That, coupled with his brother progression curve, his recent size growth and comments from his OHL HC coming into their camp gives me hope that Florian might actually pull a Arber 2.0.
Florian ending up as a 6'3 or 6'4 3rd liner that is:
- a great hitter
- not afraid to fight
- great at deflections/redirection
- Decent or + defensively/offensively
Would be an awesome pick if he can be a poor man Tom Wilson.
Kudo Shinichi
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- Apr 20, 2012
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Just needs to follow the same diet his brother had in juniors
Stu Cowan: Beefy Canadien Arber Xhekaj's path to NHL paved with a fork
Eating six meals a day as a junior to gain weight and strength, the 6-foot-4 Hab added 65 pounds to hit his current playing weight of 240.
www.google.com
I was at the game tonight in Kitchener.
I was hoping that Xhekaj was going to take a step up from what I saw of him last year. I was hoping to see him skate with the puck more and try to create some chances. I didn’t see that in his game but he has definitely improved.
He is bigger than last year. He looked faster out there than last year. Most importantly he was way more physical than last year. He finished every check that he could. The game had a bunch of scrums after the whistles and he was in the middle of them when he was on the ice. He was shoving players at the face offs too.
He is a player that is very easy to hate when he is against your team.
I was hoping that Xhekaj was going to take a step up from what I saw of him last year. I was hoping to see him skate with the puck more and try to create some chances. I didn’t see that in his game but he has definitely improved.
He is bigger than last year. He looked faster out there than last year. Most importantly he was way more physical than last year. He finished every check that he could. The game had a bunch of scrums after the whistles and he was in the middle of them when he was on the ice. He was shoving players at the face offs too.
He is a player that is very easy to hate when he is against your team.
He will never become the guy that drives the play IMO.
I can see his absolute ceiling being the son of Anderson+Gallagher.
Yeah, I think you are right. Many years ago I look at every teams top 2 centres and then looked at how they got to tje league. Of the 60 there were a few updrafted guys and 57 drafted. Of the drafted there were maybe 3 taken after the 3rd round, 3 from the 3rd, 8 from the 2nd and 43 or so from the 1st. And in the 1st most Cs taken higher in the round. So there was no question the scouts were very efficient at finding the Cs in the 1st 2 rounds and so finding a top 6 C after that was pretty unlikely.
I know another poster did what I did with Dmen and he found that top D while found mostly in tje higher rounds , could be found throughout tje rounds. So scouts were not as efficient and gems could be picked up in later rounds.
For sure there are reasons why reams will pass on a guy repeatedly and one team looks genius because they risked that the guys skating will be okay or improve or the guy has incredible compete etc.
He will never become the guy that drives the play IMO.
I can see his absolute ceiling being the son of Anderson+Gallagher.
Maybe I worded it poorly. I don’t expect him to drive the play but at the same time I don’t recall him skating with the puck on his stick at all. It would be nice to see him take the puck and just skate it up the ice once in a while. He will put up points because he goes right to the net and will rack up garbage like points in the dirty area.
Matthew McConaughay
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If he becomes a Chris Nilan, i will be happy.
It's actually a travesty he went so low in the draft. Most fans only stood up and took notice the following year although his stats were very similar his inclusion on Team Canada the following year was what brought him to most peoples attention. This is a guy who was a hair away from winning the Calder.
Is skating with the puck his game? I doubt it. Skating for sure but If he wants to make the NHL his path most likely lies in him having an ability to (firmly) seperate players from the puck, win every board battle possible, make smart plays moving the puck, be comfortable going to the net and having decent release under duress. Finally don't forget having that (threat) of violence.
DAChampion
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Yes, but Xhekaj would need to reach a minimum level of proficiency with it to be effective at the NHL, and now and next year are the perfect time for him to work on it.
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
It’s not his game at all but it is a skill that is required to play at a higher level. You have to be capable of receiving a breakout pass and being able to skate up ice with it. It may not be the style of game that you play but you still need to be able to do it.
DAChampion
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I think the term "Mendoza line" from baseball makes for a good metaphor. That is, in baseball, catchers are more valued for their defense than their hitting, but if they hit less than .215, then they're probably not worth having on the team regardless of how good their defense is.
A particular skill might not be a particular player's game, but each player needs to achieve a minimum proficiency in certain particular skills to be adequate in the pros.
Estimated_Prophet
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- Mar 28, 2003
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Gotta correct you here buddy
I am a huge baseball junkie and .200 is the Mendoza line. Also it has nothing to do with the catcher position (perhaps you were not inferring that) and batting average is no longer considered to be of great importance.
I understand what you are trying to say although a catcher could be very valuable if he was great defensively and has an OPS of close to .700 or better through walks and home runs regardless of a BA around .200
Anyways, carry on....I can be very annoying on these topics lol
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Not my description of being a puck carrier at all. You are talking about puck handling and yes these are basic skills.
Habs
It's going to be a long year
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