Jets Top Prospects Poll: #14 Prospect

[puck stoppa]

Jets Top 20 Prospects:

1. Kristian Vesalainen - 66.9%
2. Sami Niku - 90.7%
3. Mason Appleton - 42.9%
4. Dylan Samberg - 78%
5. David Gustafsson - 39.7%
6. Brendan Lemieux - 48.7%
7. Michael Spacek - 44%
8. Logan Stanley - 71.8%
9. Luke Green - 35.8%
10. Mikhail Berdin - 31.9%
11. Johnathan Kovacevic - 32.4% (55.7% winner in tiebreak over Comrie)
12. Eric Comrie - 50%
13. Nathan Smith - 39.7%

Click to read more...

 

[puck stoppa]

Suess, McKenzie or Gawanke. I'm actually going to have to think about this one.

 

[Nickel eye Heel hers]

I've been clicking McKenzie for a while.
Dark horse.
He's going to be what some of us thought Petan had the potential to become.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Suess - and it shouldn't be anywhere close. Really.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

Kerdiles. From what I've read its injuries that have held him back, mostly concussions.

 

[puck stoppa]

Suess - and it shouldn't be anywhere close. Really.

How can you say it's not close when a guy like McKenzie scores 42 and 47 goals his last two seasons. He's one of those guys (along with Stanley, Green, Berdin and even Spacek) that I'm really excited about. I can't wait to see how these guys do taking the next step in the Pro game. There are a lot of unanswered questions about these guys, we shall see who steps up this season.

 

[puck stoppa]

Kerdiles. From what I've read its injuries that have held him back, mostly concussions.

Ya, I wish I knew more about this guy. He's another guy I'm very interested to watch. The Moose will have so many players that I can't wait to see, not the same top end as last year but these guys intrigue me. Who will become an Appleton vs Kosmachuk?

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

How can you say it's not close when a guy like McKenzie scores 42 and 47 goals his last two seasons. He's one of those guys (along with Stanley, Green, Berdin and even Spacek) that I'm really excited about. I can't wait to see how these guys do taking the next step in the Pro game. There are a lot of unanswered questions about these guys, we shall see who steps up this season.

McKenzie's production was similar to Gennaro and Stallard who weren't even offered contracts. His size is similar to Petan's except he is 15 lbs lighter. His production is way lower than Petan's was. He might be a slightly better skater.

Why are you so excited by long-shots? Even Spacek? He may be the best of those skaters. They all have a chance - none of them is an 'exciting' prospect.

 

[puck stoppa]

McKenzie's production was similar to Gennaro and Stallard who weren't even offered contracts. His size is similar to Petan's except he is 15 lbs lighter. His production is way lower than Petan's was. He might be a slightly better skater.

Why are you so excited by long-shots? Even Spacek? He may be the best of those skaters. They all have a chance - none of them is an 'exciting' prospect.

Why am I excited? Because out of all these guys one will have a break out year like Appleton. Maybe not to that degree but I'm hoping one of those guys becomes an NHL regular, and I'm curious to see which one it will be. Watching them transition to pro game is unpredictable, I enjoy my live eye test in the AHL as I get more viewings that way vs watching video in Jr or College.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

Suess, McKenzie or Gawanke. I'm actually going to have to think about this one.

Seuss was up for hobey baker award and has moose contract.

 

[puck stoppa]

Seuss was up for hobey baker award and has moose contract.

Oh I know. I think the Jets like him. Having him or McKenzie as #14 prospect isn't all that bad if you ask me.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Why am I excited? Because out of all these guys one will have a break out year like Appleton. Maybe not to that degree but I'm hoping one of those guys becomes an NHL regular, and I'm curious to see which one it will be. Watching them transition to pro game is unpredictable, I enjoy my live eye test in the AHL as I get more viewings that way vs watching video in Jr or College.

As near as I can tell Suess is the closest comparable to Appleton among them. There is no guarantee that any of them will have that kind of breakout year.

I understand enjoying watching the prospects. It becomes exciting when one does outperform expectations but none of these guys have done that yet.

The chance of any of them becoming an NHL regular is slim.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

Oh I know. I think the Jets like him. Having him or McKenzie as #14 prospect isn't all that bad if you ask me.

That is why jets are Still ranked one of the top systems in league.

2018-19 Organizational Prospects Rankings

This said. No love for jets prospects on main boards right now

 

[puck stoppa]

As near as I can tell Suess is the closest comparable to Appleton among them. There is no guarantee that any of them will have that kind of breakout year.

I understand enjoying watching the prospects. It becomes exciting when one does outperform expectations but none of these guys have done that yet.

The chance of any of them becoming an NHL regular is slim.

The point is there are a lot of them breaking into the AHL this year, a large number of them. And a lot with unanswered questions for different reasons:
Can Green bounce back from a tough year then an injury plagued year?
Can Stanley take that next step and be effective?
Can Berdin make the jump from the USHL?
Can McKenzie continue to score at the AHL level?
Can Kerdiles show us that he's a replacement level player?

This is what I mean. Things above have been documented and debated in our prospects thread for a while. Now we get to see some of the answers.

 

[ThinIce61]

Kerdiles. Really want to see what he can do if healthy.

A little hard to fathom that Harkins is still there but each vote I just see someone I like better at this point.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The point is there are a lot of them breaking into the AHL this year, a large number of them. And a lot with unanswered questions for different reasons:
Can Green bounce back from a tough year then an injury plagued year?
Can Stanley take that next step and be effective?
Can Berdin make the jump from the USHL?
Can McKenzie continue to score at the AHL level?
Can Kerdiles show us that he's a replacement level player?

This is what I mean. Things above have been documented and debated in our prospects thread for a while. Now we get to see some of the answers.

Fair enough.

It will be interesting to see how these players respond. The only 2 there that I have any high hopes for are Green and Berdin. Both have some hurdles to climb.

Stanley is still a long way off - unless he leaps forward in 1 off-season. McKenzie needs to do something special just to get on the radar. Kerdiles looks like an AHL'er to me.

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

Kerdiles. Just cause I want Savannah to be our Carrie.

 

[jetsforever]

Dr Suess

 

[Jimby]

Do you see Suess as a top 6 player on the Moose this year? I think that is what it takes to even have a remote chance of becoming an NHL player. That is why Harkins has dropped off my radar.

Nogier.

 

[Whileee]

Nogier. Hard working kid, good skater, good character, and he was coming on before his injury.

 

[surixon]

Do you see Suess as a top 6 player on the Moose this year? I think that is what it takes to even have a remote chance of becoming an NHL player. That is why Harkins has dropped off my radar.

Nogier.

Seuss is 25, Harkins is 21. Some perspective is needed here. Given how old Seuss is id peg him as an extreme long shot to play in the NHL.

 

[puck stoppa]

Seuss is 25, Harkins is 21. Some perspective is needed here. Given how old Seuss is id peg him as an extreme long shot to play in the NHL.

You think Harkins is better than Mckenzie?

 

[Channelcat]

Do you see Suess as a top 6 player on the Moose this year? I think that is what it takes to even have a remote chance of becoming an NHL player. That is why Harkins has dropped off my radar.

Nogier.

Suess wont play in the NHL. Nogier might, probably would've if he hadnt gotten injured. Bourque will also play some NHL games imho.

 

[Gm0ney]

You think Harkins is better than Mckenzie?

Age 16: Harkins 0.51 p/gp, McKenzie 0.25 p/gp
Age 17: Harkins 1.13 p/gp, McKenzie 0.36 p/gp
Age 18: Harkins 0.83 p/gp, McKenzie 1.17 p/gp
Age 19: Harkins 1.12 p/gp, McKenzie 1.21 p/gp

Harkins was better younger, and didn't improve his p/gp numbers after his draft year (in fact they dropped), but he was the scoring leader in Prince George in his 17 and 19 year old seasons. McKenzie had great 18 and 19 year old years, but I'm not sure how much of a boost he was getting from playing with Glass or Bellows or the run and gun Portland system. He was never the top scorer there - 3rd in p/gp the last two seasons (and way down the list in his 17 year old season).

So I think there's a good argument that Harkins is a better prospect than McKenzie...but we'll see how this year goes.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Age 16: Harkins 0.51 p/gp, McKenzie 0.25 p/gp
Age 17: Harkins 1.13 p/gp, McKenzie 0.36 p/gp
Age 18: Harkins 0.83 p/gp, McKenzie 1.17 p/gp
Age 19: Harkins 1.12 p/gp, McKenzie 1.21 p/gp

Harkins was better younger, and didn't improve his p/gp numbers after his draft year (in fact they dropped), but he was the scoring leader in Prince George in his 17 and 19 year old seasons. McKenzie had great 18 and 19 year old years, but I'm not sure how much of a boost he was getting from playing with Glass or Bellows or the run and gun Portland system. He was never the top scorer there - 3rd in p/gp the last two seasons (and way down the list in his 17 year old season).

So I think there's a good argument that Harkins is a better prospect than McKenzie...but we'll see how this year goes.

Considering that Harkins played 1C with low quality team mates, and McKenzie played on the wing of Glass, I think it's safe to say that 0.09p/gp difference is not enough for McKenzie to get the edge.

I'll keep beating this point to it's death, but in Moose, Harkins produced better on even strength than Spacek. Spacek even got to play some games with likes of Petan, which should result to a boost in production