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Prospect Info: Leafs at WJC [12/29 WJC cancelled]

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francis246 said:
Easily he is, his size, his skating, puck handling and shot is a perfect combination. 2 years college and then hopefully he turns pro with us. But he reminds me of a much more skilled Jordan Greenway, maybe a touch less physical.
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I get Kreidr vibes but not quite the same wheels.
 
Kreider's weakness is he's always a lone ranger depending on his speed. Knies more of a dangler with vision that uses his teammates well. Don't love that comp tbh. Knies looks more like a JVR type to me....but not a perfect comp because he's probably not quite as skilled and is grittier.
 
zeke said:
Kreider's weakness is he's always a lone ranger depending on his speed. Knies more of a dangler with vision that uses his teammates well. Don't love that comp tbh. Knies looks more like a JVR type to me....but not a perfect comp because he's probably not quite as skilled and is grittier.
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I also think Knies is probably better actually handling the puck than JVR and passing too IMO.

I think we're all pretty excited about what we have.
 
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Hard not to like Knies. Only 18 and has decent speed with good size and hands

A bit of Ryan Malone and Josh Anderson mix. Not sure if he has the recklessness like Anderson
 
Knies was obviously a steal in the second round. He’s been one of the best players for team USA and has all the makings of a top 6 power forward.

I haven’t been nearly as impressed with Niemela. His numbers against men are really good and you can see his superior intelligence and puck moving skills but I do wonder about his athletic ability and upside. He looks like a jack of all trades guy without the size or physicality. TJ Brodie might be a good comp here.
 
Knies is doing what you'd expect... a big body powerforward using his size to his advantage. But this is junior hockey and bigger players can always get away with using their size a little more. I bit harder to bull NHL players on the ice but it is very encouraging that Knies has the style that likes to be gritty .. We see enough big bodied players fail to do this and it renders them pretty ineffective at the pro level.
 
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RoadWarrior said:
Knies was obviously a steal in the second round. He’s been one of the best players for team USA and has all the makings of a top 6 power forward.

I haven’t been nearly as impressed with Niemela. His numbers against men are really good and you can see his superior intelligence and puck moving skills but I do wonder about his athletic ability and upside. He looks like a jack of all trades guy without the size or physicality. TJ Brodie might be a good comp here.
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Finland isn't playing him enuff .this kid played every other shift last year
Also finish forwards don't use the points on the pp and this may be coaching
Always some coach trying to reinvent the wheel
 
hullsy47 said:
Finland isn't playing him enuff .this kid played every other shift last year
Also finish forwards don't use the points on the pp and this may be coaching
Always some coach trying to reinvent the wheel
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Probably due to the fact they want to save him for big games later on the tournament
A lot of teams show their cards too early with their PP formation and style of play and then they caught

Team Canada played their top players a lot last year, only to have nothing left it seemed in the last game
 
hullsy47 said:
Finland isn't playing him enuff .this kid played every other shift last year
Also finish forwards don't use the points on the pp and this may be coaching
Always some coach trying to reinvent the wheel
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i don’t think it’s that they aren’t playing him as much. It’s just his usage this year has change. He’s playing in more of a top pairing shut down role. So they don’t want to burn him out. He’s up against the other teams best players this year at the WJC
 
Hopefully Niemela possesses some of those Fox traits. Honestly Fox wouldn’t blow you away with his agility or speed or anything , but he’s a master of time and space and super intelligent
 
RoadWarrior said:
Knies was obviously a steal in the second round. He’s been one of the best players for team USA and has all the makings of a top 6 power forward.

I haven’t been nearly as impressed with Niemela. His numbers against men are really good and you can see his superior intelligence and puck moving skills but I do wonder about his athletic ability and upside. He looks like a jack of all trades guy without the size or physicality. TJ Brodie might be a good comp here.
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It must be hard on Niemela. Playing in a men's league where a lot of structure exists to a more chaotic game without the exhibition games to sort out the chaotic. This will be a hard tournament on Finland IMO. They seem to depend more on a team game.
 
RoadWarrior said:
Knies was obviously a steal in the second round. He’s been one of the best players for team USA and has all the makings of a top 6 power forward.

I haven’t been nearly as impressed with Niemela. His numbers against men are really good and you can see his superior intelligence and puck moving skills but I do wonder about his athletic ability and upside. He looks like a jack of all trades guy without the size or physicality. TJ Brodie might be a good comp here.
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Did you watch the WJC last year? Niemela laid a few guys out. I remember the one guy he hit was way bigger than him too. He is sleight but seems to be pretty solid on his feet.

I've always said that I think Brodie is a good comp and ceiling for him.
 
Hirvonen hits the post.. his teammate had some nice vision but a tough pass that Roni took nicely off his backhand and used some nice quick hands to almost score.

Niemela with a great outlet pass to set that up .. Topi's D partner has been giving him some tough passes today.
 
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CantLoseWithMatthews said:
Niemela looks good and steady, but not overly dynamic. I think he has more to offer, but he's playing a very simple game
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Definitely reminds me of Brodie .. Really like his poise and steadiness. He knows he doesn't have to push the pace so he's just staying steady back there.

On a more offensive geared team he could definitely do more there
 
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