#66
Registered User
Those Czech teams were in a ton of turmoil and Frolik hardly played. So judging him from those games isn't really fair because he was so misused. IMO Frolik's raw ability and sense is as good as anyone in this draft. Plus he's very well rounded for a young player and has value all over the ice.X-SHARKIE said:I caught him twice in a stretch, where he also played against MSOE. I like Saguinetti as well....nothing against him or Eric Johnson. I think you missed the part where I said upside. At the moment yeah Eric is way ahead of him, but several years from now they both could be top pairing defenseman IMO. I'm just speaking in projection. Just going by what i've seen.
The Czech Republic has weird way of developing their best young talent. Frolik is falling in the same trap that Michalek & Olesz were put in. As 16-18 year olds they're asked to play against men as 3rd & 4th liners. They're not asked to perform offensive roles, plus the Elite league is a very soft and defensive league and it's difficult to put up big numbers. Jiri Hudler however did break through and astounded me with his output years back. Frolik is going through that now. He still has performed badly at the last U-18 & WJC's...so that scares me off, while Backstrom is consistantly breaking through and forcing his coach to play him in all situations, all the while being great for Sweden at every tournament. Even watching them side by side at the U-20's I came away Backstrom > Frolik..but Frolik is very intriguing and will likely go top 10 because of his Havlat like upside.
Komisarek was a stud in his draft year and was furthur along then Wishart and Williams. Mike would've been ahead of both of them if they would be in the same draft. I like Monster Bertuzzi's comparison of a Coburn esq player for Wishart, how ever...I think we're just seeing the tip of the ice berg for Wishart and with small development in a few areas he could be a dominating defenseman. He has caught my eye.
I'm not saying that this is how the draft will go but this is the order in which I like these players...
1) Erik Johnson - All the tools are there to be a great #1 defenseman. Coming out of this draft he can be on par with Jack Johnson as one of the best defensive prospects.
2) Jordan Staal - Just a big horse of a player that is still very raw. I can care less about the Staal bloodline. The Staal name means character and this kid will work to be the best that he can be. I think that he can be a Carter type of player with more skill but not in Malkins elite class.
3) Mikal Frolik - IMO he has a chance to become one of the better 3D players in the league. By 3D I mean that he has value in the offensive zone, the defensive zone and in transition. He also seems to play well along the boards and has some great hand skills.
4) Niklas Backstrom – Its hard to ignore what he’s doing right now. While I don’t think that he’s in Forsbergs elite class, his skilled game does remind me a little Pavol Demitra (not at that age though). He has some scrap to him too and he’s not soft at all.
5) Phil Kessel – I still don't think that his game will translate well to the pro's. My question marks about him aren't about things that can be worked on, like his skating or his shot but more in term of his sense and style. IMO those make his question marks huge as he will have to change his game alot. There are alot of things that he does that remind me alot of Maxim Afinogenov. That being said, I think that he still has the most upside in this draft. His shot isn't the most accurate but he gets a ton on it and his skating is elite. There are some things that he does that remind me alot of Alex Mogilny, mostly getting a hard shot off while striding. IMO theres alot of boom or semi-bust in Kessel and there are some other players that I like in this draft that might not have the upside but seem to be surer shots in the NHL.
6) Johnathan Toews – IMO this kid is a sure shot NHLer. The only question is, how good will he be offensively? He already does a lot of pro things and has great sense. I think that he’s a hard read right now because his ability is very, very raw right now. He reminds me of Brad Richards as far as vision and a feel for time and space but he also brings the work ethic of a great role player. While I do think that he can be a great player in his own right, I think he would be best served as a player that complements a star, kind of like the way Ron Francis complemented Jagr.
7) Peter Mueller – He could work on his foot speed but this kid is putting up some nice numbers. He’s projected to be a future power forward that plays with a chip on his shoulder. In the games I’ve seen, he isn’t that flashy but gets the job done playing a straight ahead, up and down game.
8) Bryan Little – More than anything sense comes to mind when I think of Little. He just always seems in position to make a play. He isn’t the fastest player but again he just seems to out think other players. He reminds me a lot of Mark Savard because of that sense and his scrappiness.
9) Nigel Williams – Seems to be a little under rated to me. Very good skill and great size. I’ve seen some people rank him as low as 15th. If a team gets him that low they’re going to be extremely happy.
10) Derick Brassard – Just a great playmaker. He’s another player that is alittle raw right now but his passing is just awesome.