Oddly enough, his best year at Bridgeport was his first year, he was pretty much invisible after that. I like the talent he has, but until this season, he's never shown that he can be anything more than a 4th line center.
Prospect Info: Isles Prospect Talk PART IX
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Oddly enough, his best year at Bridgeport was his first year, he was pretty much invisible after that. I like the talent he has, but until this season, he's never shown that he can be anything more than a 4th line center.
IslesNorway
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But is he good enough to hold down a regular spot on the NYI roster? There have been several players dominant in Sweden who've failed when coming over, although he has a slight advantage having played in NA before. If Toronto wants him and can offer him a role on their rebuilding team, then I'm all for trading him.
danteipp
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It all depends on where Sundstrom's game is now. I have obviously not seen him since his AHL stint. When I saw him his first year with the BST, he looked solid and on the correct path and learning curve to eventually play in the NHL. But his last year in the AHL, he really floundered. He honestly looked like he was playing hurt much of the time.
If he has stepped up his game and has a legit shot to earn a spot on the Isles, you keep him and use him, if you need him. It all depends on what moves the Isles make in the off season and if they consolidate some talent to add quality over quantity and if they need cheap depth. If the Isles do not need him, then you trade him for draft picks to refresh the pipeline or add him to a larger deal.
It is interesting, I know a couple Swedes (not hockey players but fitness professionals nonetheless) and their seems to be the impression around the Connecticut area that there is not a large enough community or support for some. This is not my opinion mind you but based on my discussions with them. While they are very friendly and a joy to be around, they also seem to get homesick and really seek out other Swedes.
Not sure if that is what happened with Sundstrom and/or John Persson. Persson also had a great rookie AHL season in 2012-13, then flamed out. It is strange that both players had a good first season, then got progressively worse. It should work the opposite way, realistically.
If he has stepped up his game and has a legit shot to earn a spot on the Isles, you keep him and use him, if you need him. It all depends on what moves the Isles make in the off season and if they consolidate some talent to add quality over quantity and if they need cheap depth. If the Isles do not need him, then you trade him for draft picks to refresh the pipeline or add him to a larger deal.
It is interesting, I know a couple Swedes (not hockey players but fitness professionals nonetheless) and their seems to be the impression around the Connecticut area that there is not a large enough community or support for some. This is not my opinion mind you but based on my discussions with them. While they are very friendly and a joy to be around, they also seem to get homesick and really seek out other Swedes.
Not sure if that is what happened with Sundstrom and/or John Persson. Persson also had a great rookie AHL season in 2012-13, then flamed out. It is strange that both players had a good first season, then got progressively worse. It should work the opposite way, realistically.
doublechili
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Anybody know what Sundstrom's status would be re: an expansion draft? Do his AHL and SEL seasons make him draft-eligible, or is he exempt at this point?
Wanderson
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I would say that most of the Swedish players who move to NA and find success has been impact players in the SHL for at least 1 season. In 2011-2012, the season before Sundström moved to NA he was playing in Frölundas 3rd/4th line. When I heard that he was heading for the NA I thought, "good for him, but he is not ready"... That might also be the reason why he moved back home, I dunno.
However, he has looked as a brand new player this season. He started off kinda slow, but he has just became better and better during the season. Sundström has developed a lot this season, and he has evolved into one of the best players in SHL. I would say that he is the reason why Frölunda won the championship this season.
He is good in all three zones. He is strong infront of the net... and his snapshot is very decent. He is also strong around the boards.
Is he good enough for the Islanders? Hard to tell. But I think he is very close, and it would be dumb to not give him the chance.
I've searched for a video with all his highlights from this season, sadly I couldn't find any. If someone is interested, here is one video per point (~50 videoclips) he has scored this season.
http://www.shl.se/trupp/FHC/3179
I assume Ho-Sang never left the ice, considering he's involved in basically every Niagara highligh.
Also, two of the worst goaltending performances ever based on those highlights. They were barely reacting.
thedonger
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Lame Lambert
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I watched it and it turned me into a locker room cancer. Now I'm going to go overdose and die on marijuana.
Bring yourself down as follows: discuss irrelevant bellyaching Swedish prospect as solid high-character responsible two-way 3rd line center of the future.
Technically he can play RW as well, which is a position we are lacking.
On a different note Shawinigan won 7-3, but Beauvillier got no points(Shawinigan up 2-1 in the series). Seattle plays later tonight
LeapOnOver
Mackenzie is a hack!
Seattle wins 3-1, Barzal SHG and an assist, Seattle up 3-0 in their series.
It should be noted Red Deer won, although they are losing the series 2-1. If Seattle meets Red Deer in the finals they get an automatic by to the Memoral Cup since Red Deer is hosting it
It should be noted Red Deer won, although they are losing the series 2-1. If Seattle meets Red Deer in the finals they get an automatic by to the Memoral Cup since Red Deer is hosting it
Brunomics
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Ho Sang looks NHL ready from a skill perspective. I think his speed right now can drive teams nuts.
Wanderson
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Sundström has only played as C this season. I think the intention when Frölunda signed him this season was that he was going to play RW. But than Janmark left for the NHL, and therefore Frölunda lacked one C. They put Sundström there, and he has been brilliant.
IslandersFan17
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I might be putting the cart before the horse here; especially since I'm a huge dal Colle fan... However, with his skating and playmaking ability I'm tempted to say Ho-Sang has jumped Dal Colle in terms of prospect rankings for us.
Well, it depends on how you rate NHL readiness as opposed to upside. As an athlete, Ho-Sang is way more ready than Dal Colle. Dal Colle's hockey sense will make him the better player if he ever develops athletically. Who knows whether that will ever happen.
doublechili
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This probably belongs in the draft thread purely for perspective, but we're basically saying that MDC is not ready and perhaps needs at least a year in the AHL. In his draft year I suspect anyone suggesting that the Isles take Robby Fabbri would have been run out of town. Meanwhile, he's playing regular minutes for STL, and his coach said he was one of the team's best forwards in the 1st round series win. But hopefully MDC is just one of those bigger forwards who need a bit more time.
YoureMyBoyLou
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I really wanted Ehlers, but wasn't upset with MDC. Hopefully, it works out for us in the end.
redbull
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Let's face it, you can "re-draft" every draft year, year after year, and have a different order. Even in Yakupov's year when Snow allegedly offered all his picks for the #2, Ryan Murray, that probably would have worked out well for the Islanders in hindsight. Or maybe picking Morgan Rielly who went the next pick? Is Filip Forsberg the best player in that first round? Went 11th? In a re-draft it's possible 3rd rounders Shane Ghostisbere and Freddy Anderson go in the top 5.
Not picking on you or your post. I remember Don Cherry being upset that the Leafs took Nylander instead of Fabbri who "played in their backyard in Mississauga (part of Toronto, essentially). Yes, Cherry is incredibly biased, hates europeans and maybe he's wrong since Nylander looks like a budding star). St. Louis has some really nice picks recently, Tarasenko (Russian factor) fell to them, they took Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz in the mid-1st round as well. Parayko.
Isles need a few of these players to hit, the outside the 1st round. Like 2008 with Hamonic, Martin, etc.
I like Dal Colle. Fornabaio wrote that he struggled for 5on5 ice time because of turnovers and he didn't trust him. He's not a stellar AHLer yet and not yet an NHLer. Patience. He may not "get it" and maybe he doesn't become any more than Taylor Pyatt. Maybe Steve Bernier (also a mid 1st rounder).
It's so damn tough. I remember watching Cogliano and thinking Fabbri was a clone of him. Small, fast, offensively skilled. Cogliano's become a much different player now that he's matured, still en effective player.
I see Dal Colle and hope for Alex Tanguay. Unspectacular, great support player who can play with great players, can pass, can score, will need to learn to be responsible defensively. Tanguay broke into the league and played with Forsberg, Sakic, Drury, Hejduk and fit right in, had a long career.
I agree with this. And it's because Ho-Sang has NHL-hands, NHL-speed and hockeyIQ. He'll need to get stronger and learn defense, those slick moves won't work in the NHL as much and we all love neutral zone turnovers in the NHL, don't we? Ever hear a coach say "manage the puck"? Ho-Sang will drive Capuano (any NHL coach) crazy with his high-risk play, for sure. But he can do things with that puck that few can. Hopefully he can be like Johnny Gaudreau and less like Rocco Grimaldi.
They are different players, MDC and Ho-Sang and I agree on different development paths/timing. Both good players, both should help the Islanders.
I was really high on Fabbri at the draft, actually. Had we traded down to say 10-14 somewhere and took him, I would've probably been happy with the move, depending on what else we got. As a I recall, when he started to drop, several posters wanted the Islanders to try to trade up and nab him.
The thing about Fabbri at the draft though, was that he was a risky pick. A lot of that risk was due to his size, but he also had a small sample size of playing like an elite prospect. His draft year was the first year he really scored at a high pace. During the regular season his numbers were very good, but he had some good older forwards as linemates and his scoring pace didn't really eclipse theirs, so you couldn't really call his numbers elite. It wasn't until the post season that he really looked like a truly elite prospect, but that's a very small sample.
Don't get me wrong, that he elevated his game so much in the post season was a lot of why I wanted him in the first place. But at the same time, in a situation like this, you can't ignore the risk that it could've just been a hot streak or luck over a short period of time. It's easy to look back now and ignore the risks in the pick since they've been addressed -- he's clearly raising his game yet again come post season, so it hardly seems to have been a fluke. But that doesn't mean they weren't there at the time. And a team would've been foolish at the time of the draft to disregard them when making their pick. In the mid-teens though, he should've been a no-brainer; I am still shocked how many teams passed on him.
doublechili
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Redbull/Seph, good posts. A big part of the reason for my post (and the reason I said it should probably be in the draft thread for perspective) is that at draft time there can be tunnel vision focusing on a few kids who the "experts" have at or near our draft position. I'm a fan of expanding the options and looking at other kids who may be worthwhile options even if they're several spots back on the draft lists. Fabbri is an example of that kind of player, and for now he's doing very well.
Seph, before that draft I recall seeing a chart of prospects from that year and also some previous years with various stats in color-coded format (I really wish I could remember where it was and how to find it again for current years). Just for fun, I checked NHLers to see if there were some stats that had predictive value. I did find 2 or 3 that seemed to be of value (in other words, a high % of kids who became stars had excellent numbers for a particular stat). And kids who didn't pan out tended to have worse numbers for those stats. I may be wrong, but I believe one of them may have been the % of their points that came at 5on5 play as opposed to PP points.
Anyway, I recall that Fabbri was a kid who had numbers that matched current NHL stars in those "predictive" categories. I also recall that MDC's numbers were not great, FWIW.
Seph, before that draft I recall seeing a chart of prospects from that year and also some previous years with various stats in color-coded format (I really wish I could remember where it was and how to find it again for current years). Just for fun, I checked NHLers to see if there were some stats that had predictive value. I did find 2 or 3 that seemed to be of value (in other words, a high % of kids who became stars had excellent numbers for a particular stat). And kids who didn't pan out tended to have worse numbers for those stats. I may be wrong, but I believe one of them may have been the % of their points that came at 5on5 play as opposed to PP points.
Anyway, I recall that Fabbri was a kid who had numbers that matched current NHL stars in those "predictive" categories. I also recall that MDC's numbers were not great, FWIW.
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