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G Spencer Knight (2019, 13th, FLA)

Dread Clawz said:
I think he plays 2 years at BC, then Panthers start him in the ahl in year 3. And they'll be patient with him, so I'd say 2022 before he really plays any amount of meaningful games.
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That’s probably the best and most likely path, but I must say I am a little disappointed we have to wait that long before we can see what he can do.
 
Dominance said:
That’s probably the best and most likely path, but I must say I am a little disappointed we have to wait that long before we can see what he can do.
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Believe me, as a Panthers fan I want this kid in the Cats' crease like yesterday, but the Panthers know he is way too valuable of a commodity to screw up. The Panthers never, ever, draft goalies, but it looks like at least initially that they really hit a homer with this pick.
 
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ive actually got him developing a little longer but he could potentially come up that fast. I have him at BC for 2yrs, AHL for 2yrs, then backup for the panthers in year 5. just my random guess. then if he looks ready, we can buyout the last 2yrs of bob's contract or trade him with retention. his salary goes down in those las 2yrs, so if knight continues to develop well then I only expect bob here for a max of 5yrs, its easier to get out of the contract after that. maybe its only 2 at bc, 1 in the A, 1 as a backup in the NHL, then starter. regardless, really like hearing that hes been playing so well.
 
It's hard to develop long-term plans for prospects, especially goalies. It's like when fans of teams (NHL, international, or otherwise) project their rosters a few years out and they're littered with prospects that don't pan out. It's a fun exercise but it's not really fruitful for the most part.

I wouldn't worry too much about about all the possibilities as a lot can change in a few years. Bob could be washed up or be traded, Knight could bust, etc. or everything could go well and there are worse problems than having a star veteran goalie and an elite goalie prospect battling it out.

I think for now the 2 years at BC is about as long as I'd think about planning anything. That will allow Knight to carry a heavy burden for the Eagles, start for Team USA at 2 WJCs, and possibly attend 2 World Championships (playing status wait and see) as well. Check in with his development at that point and if everything is still tracking towards him being a star goalie, then you try to sign him and go from there.
 
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tealhockey said:
They definitely are voodoo but he's the best goalie I've ever seen as a prospect. We haven't had many star level guys like this in America that I can remember recently. I find it surprising that people keep saying Askarov is clearly better than Knight too, he's been awesome from what I've seen but Knight is a freak. Askarov could be top 5 tier (like I thought Knight could have been) if he's actually markedly better
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At minimum Knight is USAH's best goalie prospect since John Gibson. At the same age, I think they're basically in the same exact tier, so it'd be splitting hairs regardless of one's preference. One major difference though is that Gibson was much more of an unknown until he got to the NTDP and started to make his mark, while Knight has been pretty hyped since he was 13/14.

I'm interested to see how Askarov tracks as well. He certainly looks the part of an elite goalie prospect, but I'm also not sure how anyone can say he's definitively a better prospect than Knight or any other top flight goalie prospect given the unpredictability of goalies. So many scouts tout all the medals Askarov has won and his stats in doing so, impressive feats no doubt, but it's not necessarily a sign of stardom; it wasn't that long ago that Jack Campbell did similar, but in more impressive fashion. That's not to say I'm arguing in favor of Knight over Askarov because I'm not, I just think with goalies that level of ranking is largely meaningless. I think tiering goalies is more reasonable and I'd put Askarov and Knight in the same tier at this point.
 
tealhockey said:
They definitely are voodoo but he's the best goalie I've ever seen as a prospect. We haven't had many star level guys like this in America that I can remember recently. I find it surprising that people keep saying Askarov is clearly better than Knight too, he's been awesome from what I've seen but Knight is a freak. Askarov could be top 5 tier (like I thought Knight could have been) if he's actually markedly better
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I think the difference is that Askarov has better athleticism. They are probably the two best goalie prospects to be drafted since Samsonov, but the difference is that Knight has very good athleticism and Askarov has elite athleticism.
 
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William H Bonney said:
At minimum Knight is USAH's best goalie prospect since John Gibson. At the same age, I think they're basically in the same exact tier, so it'd be splitting hairs regardless of one's preference. One major difference though is that Gibson was much more of an unknown until he got to the NTDP and started to make his mark, while Knight has been pretty hyped since he was 13/14.

I'm interested to see how Askarov tracks as well. He certainly looks the part of an elite goalie prospect, but I'm also not sure how anyone can say he's definitively a better prospect than Knight or any other top flight goalie prospect given the unpredictability of goalies. So many scouts tout all the medals Askarov has won and his stats in doing so, impressive feats no doubt, but it's not necessarily a sign of stardom; it wasn't that long ago that Jack Campbell did similar, but in more impressive fashion. That's not to say I'm arguing in favor of Knight over Askarov because I'm not, I just think with goalies that level of ranking is largely meaningless. I think tiering goalies is more reasonable and I'd put Askarov and Knight in the same tier at this point.
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Pavel Buchnevich said:
I think the difference is that Askarov has better athleticism. They are probably the two best goalie prospects to be drafted since Samsonov, but the difference is that Knight has very good athleticism and Askarov has elite athleticism.
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Yeah I agree that they are in the same tier and I think the athleticism thing is negligible. Knight seems to be an elite athlete from what I've seen but it is like splitting hairs. He's def looking the part for BC after what was a weird team to tend goal for in his draft year
 
Askarov looks to have better athleticsm, but Knight doesn't need to have that. His positioning is better. It's as good as any goalie prospect I've seen since Price. And he's definitely explosive enough when he needs to be. He can get from post to post extremely quickly. I see them as pretty equal at this point, I don't see how one has a marked advantage over the other.
 
No one would confuse me for a Knight hater, but clearly there is some reason that Askarov is rated higher across the board, and I don’t think it has much to do with stats or wins.

I don’t see why we even need to compare Knight to Askarov. I agree with those that have said he’s the best goalie prospect our country has produced. If he ends up the second best goalie in hockey as opposed to the best, is it going to make a huge difference for results in a tournament like the WCH or Olympics? Are the Panthers going to struggle to have success because they have the second best and someone else has the best?

If people insist on this comparison, I don’t think it’s favorable towards Knight, but I think it’s pointless. Knight is an excellent goalie prospect with nearly no weaknesses. Comparing him to Askarov turns it into a negative discussion and I don’t think those should be the terms this guy is discussed on, given the caliber of prospect he is.
 
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Pavel Buchnevich said:
No one would confuse me for a Knight hater, but clearly there is some reason that Askarov is rated higher across the board, and I don’t think it has much to do with stats or wins.

I don’t see why we even need to compare Knight to Askarov. I agree with those that have said he’s the best goalie prospect our country has produced. If he ends up the second best goalie in hockey as opposed to the best, is it going to make a huge difference for results in a tournament like the WCH or Olympics? Are the Panthers going to struggle to have success because they have the second best and someone else has the best?

If people insist on this comparison, I don’t think it’s favorable towards Knight, but I think it’s pointless. Knight is an excellent goalie prospect with nearly no weaknesses. Comparing him to Askarov turns it into a negative discussion and I don’t think those should be the terms this guy is discussed on, given the caliber of prospect he is.
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I think the comparison will stick because of the age proximity and how both are such pre-eminent prospects for major hockey powers. Already getting love as a single digit guy for this draft year where I don't think Knight got that, which makes it seem as though he /is/ markedly better. I find it strange how under-rated Knight seems to be in general, when I think about that 01 USA age group I legit think he could be the best out of them all. As you said it is not like it will make a difference, both look to be big time, just don't see what really differentiates them in any respect, including athleticism
 
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He's a franchise prospect.

Where he was picked at awesome value, way too many laughed at Florida/questioned this at the time.
 
BB88 said:
He's a franchise prospect.

Where he was picked at awesome value, way too many laughed at Florida/questioned this at the time.
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People questioned the pick because everyone knew Florida was going to sign Bob to a long term deal.

Few would question Knight's ability or where he was drafted.
 
Go Wings said:
People questioned the pick because everyone knew Florida was going to sign Bob to a long term deal.

Few would question Knight's ability or where he was drafted.
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I know.

Which is still weird. They got a franchise level goalie prospect at their position, for how many forwards/D-prospects available at 13 can you say the same(on draft day)?.
Zero.

Knight being a goalie gave Florida a shot at steal, if he was a forward/D-prospect with similar status he goes top3 easy.
&As we know goalies have the least amount of trade value in general but you don't land prime Rask or Price with a top6 F/top4 D-man.

People just love to laugh without thinking.

So in short they got a Damm good value pick outside top10 and Knight is 18y whereas Bob is 30+.
 
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Killerjas said:
After 10 NCAA games he has suddenly become a "franchise" goalie. Let's wait and see, I remember DiPietro being called "franchise" after similar performances in the NCAA
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He has elite tools and his stats are ridiculous. He was dubbed franchise before the draft took place as well. Of course people are hyped about him. People wanted to say that he got carried by the USDP team but looks like he’s a damn good prospect even without them. Dipietro also was built from glass do not really fair to judge his career.
 
Killerjas said:
After 10 NCAA games he has suddenly become a "franchise" goalie. Let's wait and see, I remember DiPietro being called "franchise" after similar performances in the NCAA
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There's a big difference between a franchise prospect and franchise goalie in the NHL.

Every draft basically has franchise prospects on draft day no issue, are we acting like every draft has 1- 2 better ranked goalies than Knight?
 
With Bob's contract lasting forever, Knight's future as a starter seems to be way into the future. Unless of course Bob is traded/bought out, which is unlikely in the first few years of his contract. That is not a slight on Knight, of course, just an observation of the goalie situation in Florida. When does he see NHL action? In 2023/24 as backup? Sooner?
 
42 said:
With Bob's contract lasting forever, Knight's future as a starter seems to be way into the future. Unless of course Bob is traded/bought out, which is unlikely in the first few years of his contract. That is not a slight on Knight, of course, just an observation of the goalie situation in Florida. When does he see NHL action? In 2023/24 as backup? Sooner?
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Even the best starters in hockey only play 3/4 of the teams games...Without the benefit of a crystal ball I see him backing up and getting in about 30 games in 21/22. With the numbers Florida's 70 million $ man is posting so far, the Panthers may need their franchise goaltending prospect sooner rather than later.
 
42 said:
With Bob's contract lasting forever, Knight's future as a starter seems to be way into the future. Unless of course Bob is traded/bought out, which is unlikely in the first few years of his contract. That is not a slight on Knight, of course, just an observation of the goalie situation in Florida. When does he see NHL action? In 2023/24 as backup? Sooner?
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As Bob ages, the #2 will get more games. I'd expect to see Knight in the NHL starting in 21-22 and by 23/24 getting 25-30 starts a year as a 22 year old.
 
So far in his freshman season for Boston College:

22-8-1
1.97 GAA
.929 Save%
5 shutouts

Pretty damn good! With Bobrovsky and his massive contract in tow, clearly the Panthers won't rush him to the big leagues, regardless of how good he is in college.
 
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