LD Rio Kaiser - Eisbären Berlin, DEL (2025 draft)

dr1234

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Sep 1, 2022
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I believe Ottawa owns his CHL rights but he has a pro contract in Germany so I wouldn’t expect him to come over pre-draft.
 

LeProspector

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I believe Ottawa owns his CHL rights but he has a pro contract in Germany so I wouldn’t expect him to come over pre-draft.
Peterborough own his CHL rights, he’s not anything special, all he has is size. Nothing else.
 

Dirtyf1ghter

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Aug 7, 2019
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Defenders of this size are highly sought after because they are very rare. Often the profile is underestimated at this stage.

German followers who have seen him play hold him in very high esteem. It has already been mentioned on the site.

NHL likes big guys over 200cm who can play very physical. If it's not him, it will be another guy elsewhere, with very few points but who can hurt a lot.
 

GermanSpitfire

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Defenders of this size are highly sought after because they are very rare. Often the profile is underestimated at this stage.

German followers who have seen him play hold him in very high esteem. It has already been mentioned on the site.

NHL likes big guys over 200cm who can play very physical. If it's not him, it will be another guy elsewhere, with very few points but who can hurt a lot.
I don’t see much out of him, personally. I was frankly shocked he was selected in last years CHL draft.

I think if all goes well he becomes an Oliver Mebus like player, a big guy that can potentially make a few WC teams, but at the ends of the day the most alluring aspect of his game is being tall,

At this point, I’d be shocked if an NHL team drafted him at any point in next years draft - he just doesn’t have much going for him aside from his size, and good skating ability. That being said though, he may be one of those kids that benefits from being a late birthday, although I have doubts.
 

Dirtyf1ghter

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Aug 7, 2019
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I don’t see much out of him, personally. I was frankly shocked he was selected in last years CHL draft.

I think if all goes well he becomes an Oliver Mebus like player, a big guy that can potentially make a few WC teams, but at the ends of the day the most alluring aspect of his game is being tall,

At this point, I’d be shocked if an NHL team drafted him at any point in next years draft - he just doesn’t have much going for him aside from his size, and good skating ability. That being said though, he may be one of those kids that benefits from being a late birthday, although I have doubts.
I'm just relaying German guys who really know him. I trust them more.

A 17-year-old 200cm defender who plays Pro, it's very extremely rare.

It wouldn't surprise me if he was selected. The last 3 German defenders selected had a less attractive profile.
 
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LeProspector

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Feb 14, 2017
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I'm just relaying German guys who really know him. I trust them more.

A 17-year-old 200cm defender who plays Pro, it's very extremely rare.

It wouldn't surprise me if he was selected. The last 3 German defenders selected had a less attractive profile.
You’re doubting the guy literally named “GermanSpitfire”?

LOL!! I want names of the people that “really know him more” than one of the sites best posters, who also happens to be German.
 
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Dirtyf1ghter

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You’re doubting the guy literally named “GermanSpitfire”?

LOL!! I want names of the people that “really know him more” than one of the sites best posters, who also happens to be German.
He's a kid and I'm not even sure he's German.

Considering how much time he spends watching North American bantam, midget and junior, I doubt he watches German hockey.
 

Maverick41

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I don’t see much out of him, personally. I was frankly shocked he was selected in last years CHL draft.

I think if all goes well he becomes an Oliver Mebus like player, a big guy that can potentially make a few WC teams, but at the ends of the day the most alluring aspect of his game is being tall,

At this point, I’d be shocked if an NHL team drafted him at any point in next years draft - he just doesn’t have much going for him aside from his size, and good skating ability. That being said though, he may be one of those kids that benefits from being a late birthday, although I have doubts.

I have to agree and disagree at the same time.
I agree in the sense that I don't expect him to get drafted next year (maybe a team might take a late round flyer on him, but I'd be surprised), but I disagree that he becomes a Mebus type player if all goes well. I think that's what he becomes if he has an average development going forward.

Personally, I suspect him to be a bit of a late bloomer, who is still figuring things out.
In my opinion he has improved quite a bit since the second half of last season and with the right coaching and if all goes well I could see him become a fixture on the national team in the future.
However, even if all goes well there might be a reason he does not become a regular national team player and that is that there are better defensive prospects coming up behind him like Carlos Händel, Max Bleicher and maybe even Fabio Kose (all in the same draft). Some interesting dmen in the 2026 draft as well, but that might be too early to tell.
 

GermanSpitfire

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I have to agree and disagree at the same time.
I agree in the sense that I don't expect him to get drafted next year (maybe a team might take a late round flyer on him, but I'd be surprised), but I disagree that he becomes a Mebus type player if all goes well. I think that's what he becomes if he has an average development going forward.

Personally, I suspect him to be a bit of a late bloomer, who is still figuring things out.
In my opinion he has improved quite a bit since the second half of last season and with the right coaching and if all goes well I could see him become a fixture on the national team in the future.
However, even if all goes well there might be a reason he does not become a regular national team player and that is that there are better defensive prospects coming up behind him like Carlos Händel, Max Bleicher and maybe even Fabio Kose (all in the same draft). Some interesting dmen in the 2026 draft as well, but that might be too early to tell.
I think that all of what you said is absolutely fair, anytime a player that big comes along you kind of have to take notice, and bigger players like Kaiser, their developments usually do take longer in fairness.

The Mebus comparison was a bit lazy, I’ll have to admit - their size and being an occasional NT player is where I pulled the comp from.

I’ll be so happy to be wrong about Kaiser, but his decision making needs a lot of work at both ends of the rink. But like every bigger defender now, there’s the “what if”







A 17-year-old 200cm defender who plays Pro, it's very extremely rare.
If he was playing with a program like Berlin this year, full time while given legit ice time - I’d agree. But he played minutes 2 games in the DEL, 1:32 In one and 3:48 In the other, The third game he didn’t even see the ice. Compared to some of the best U18 defenders in recent memory, it’s hardly anything to write home about. I will say he is the best of the ‘06 defenders for Germany, however the 06 class for us is weak as a whole. Merkl was intriguing last year, but hasn’t shown much progression this season.
He's a kid and I'm not even sure he's German.

Considering how much time he spends watching North American bantam, midget and junior, I doubt he watches German hockey.

You’re right, I wasn’t born in Germany but I did spend my 20’s and a good portion of my 30’s there. I’m still a German citizen, though moved back to Canada last year. But I suppose you know more about me than myself.
 

Dirtyf1ghter

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I think that all of what you said is absolutely fair, anytime a player that big comes along you kind of have to take notice, and bigger players like Kaiser, their developments usually do take longer in fairness.

The Mebus comparison was a bit lazy, I’ll have to admit - their size and being an occasional NT player is where I pulled the comp from.

I’ll be so happy to be wrong about Kaiser, but his decision making needs a lot of work at both ends of the rink. But like every bigger defender now, there’s the “what if”








If he was playing with a program like Berlin this year, full time while given legit ice time - I’d agree. But he played minutes 2 games in the DEL, 1:32 In one and 3:48 In the other, The third game he didn’t even see the ice. Compared to some of the best U18 defenders in recent memory, it’s hardly anything to write home about. I will say he is the best of the ‘06 defenders for Germany, however the 06 class for us is weak as a whole. Merkl was intriguing last year, but hasn’t shown much progression this season.


You’re right, I wasn’t born in Germany but I did spend my 20’s and a good portion of my 30’s there. I’m still a German citizen, though moved back to Canada last year. But I suppose you know more about me than myself.
You can invent any narrative. German nationality does not automatically make you a follower of German hockey and since you already watch a lot of North American bantam/midget/junior hockey, it must be very complicated to follow German hockey.

The guys who introduced me to this player watch German hockey regurlarly.

Playing in DEL at 17 years old on a regular basis is extremely rare. Seider is the only one and he was an elite guy.

At U18, Panocha, Szuber, Munzenberger had 8 professional matches between them. Kaiser has 20 having been born at the end of the year and being 9 to 13cm taller than these guys.

He has plenty of chances. NHL franchises love big defenders.

So yes, he doesn't have the points but based on what I've heard from him and the profile that appears before my eyes, there would be nothing shocking for me to see him selected in 2025.
 

pgfan66

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Jun 26, 2019
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You can invent any narrative. German nationality does not automatically make you a follower of German hockey and since you already watch a lot of North American bantam/midget/junior hockey, it must be very complicated to follow German hockey.

The guys who introduced me to this player watch German hockey regurlarly.

Playing in DEL at 17 years old on a regular basis is extremely rare. Seider is the only one and he was an elite guy.

At U18, Panocha, Szuber, Munzenberger had 8 professional matches between them. Kaiser has 20 having been born at the end of the year and being 9 to 13cm taller than these guys.

He has plenty of chances. NHL franchises love big defenders.

So yes, he doesn't have the points but based on what I've heard from him and the profile that appears before my eyes, there would be nothing shocking for me to see him selected in 2025.
LOL “on a regular basis”? He has 3 DEL games, one of which was without any ice time. He has around 5 minutes combined in the other two games.
 
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Hinterland

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LOL “on a regular basis”? He has 3 DEL games, one of which was without any ice time. He has around 5 minutes combined in the other two games.

The "guys" who "intruduced" him to Kaiser are probably the same ones who told him that Belarus is gonna be the next big thing in international hockey and flood the NHL with players. Or they're just voices in his head. Could be both:laugh:
 
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Dirtyf1ghter

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Aug 7, 2019
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LOL “on a regular basis”? He has 3 DEL games, one of which was without any ice time. He has around 5 minutes combined in the other two games.

You read it wrong. I said Seider was the only German defender to play in DEL at 17.

The "guys" who "intruduced" him to Kaiser are probably the same ones who told him that Belarus is gonna be the next big thing in international hockey and flood the NHL with players. Or they're just voices in his head. Could be both.
Only as 8th nation in 10 years. Sorry for the Swiss nationalist susceptibility.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

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Dec 8, 2013
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You can invent any narrative. German nationality does not automatically make you a follower of German hockey and since you already watch a lot of North American bantam/midget/junior hockey, it must be very complicated to follow German hockey.

The guys who introduced me to this player watch German hockey regurlarly.

Playing in DEL at 17 years old on a regular basis is extremely rare. Seider is the only one and he was an elite guy.

At U18, Panocha, Szuber, Munzenberger had 8 professional matches between them. Kaiser has 20 having been born at the end of the year and being 9 to 13cm taller than these guys.

He has plenty of chances. NHL franchises love big defenders.

So yes, he doesn't have the points but based on what I've heard from him and the profile that appears before my eyes, there would be nothing shocking for me to see him selected in 2025.
Are you kidding me? He has a much better knowledge of German hockey than the vast majority of posters on this website. He has demonstrated that by speaking in a way that only someone who has watched these prospects play would be able to speak in. He most definitely isn’t only stat watching. He knows his stuff and you are barking up the wrong tree claiming his opinion isn’t of value.
 

Dirtyf1ghter

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Aug 7, 2019
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Are you kidding me? He has a much better knowledge of German hockey than the vast majority of posters on this website. He has demonstrated that by speaking in a way that only someone who has watched these prospects play would be able to speak in. He most definitely isn’t only stat watching. He knows his stuff and you are barking up the wrong tree claiming his opinion isn’t of value.
When you spend your time pretending to have an opinion on everything and systematically contradicting a user for years, you lose credibility.
Here he starts very strongly by saying that he was shocked by his CHL selection.

Well, already, a user who masters the concept of CHL Import Draft cannot be shocked by this.

And a user who has mastered the concept of the NHL Draft cannot be shocked by the possibility that a 17-year-old pro defenseman who is 200cm tall could be selectable for the 2025 draft.
 

Albatros

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Let's talk more about prospects and less about users.

If I had a 6th or 7th round pick and didn't know what to do with it, a mobile 6'7" defenseman wouldn't be the worst way to spend that even if the upside was modest.
 
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LeProspector

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When you spend your time pretending to have an opinion on everything and systematically contradicting a user for years, you lose credibility.
Here he starts very strongly by saying that he was shocked by his CHL selection.

Well, already, a user who masters the concept of CHL Import Draft cannot be shocked by this.

And a user who has mastered the concept of the NHL Draft cannot be shocked by the possibility that a 17-year-old pro defenseman who is 200cm tall could be selectable for the 2025 draft.
You have disagreements with many users on this site it seems. You ever take a step back, stop playing victim and say to yourself “the common denominator is me”?


Your arguments in this thread can be simplified as this “This player is tall, so I know what I’m talking about”… and “Trust me, I have a friends who say this guy is good, I’m not telling you who but trust me, I have friends”


Why do you expect people to take you seriously when you say shit like this?
 
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Dirtyf1ghter

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Aug 7, 2019
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You have disagreements with many users on this site it seems. You ever take a step back, stop playing victim and say to yourself “the common denominator is me”?


Your arguments in this thread can be simplified as this “This player is tall, so I know what I’m talking about”… and “Trust me, I have a friends who say this guy is good, I’m not telling you who but trust me, I have friends”


Why do you expect people to take you seriously when you say shit like this?
Conflict is the number one leitmotif of the site and I am the first to deplore it from now on.

I have already questioned myself and changed my attitude in the past.

There are many things that I think about, that I put aside.

My friend has an EP profile, you can find him on Facebook with his family. No question of exposing them.

The main thing is Rio Kaiser. And I don't feel like it's really about Rio Kaiser. Rather a desire to fuel tensions.
 

Garl

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Oct 7, 2006
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He is ahead of Mebus at the same age. Judging by pedigree alone, he is a late draft pick
 

neelynugs

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anyone seen this guy this season? the NHL size bias has me wondering if he's gonna get picked.
 

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