Prospect Info: Marlies & Prospect Discussion

conFABulator

Registered User
Apr 11, 2021
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My neighbour played with BERT in junior and said he is the dumbest dude he has ever met.
Does not mean that his hockey smarts are not strong though.
That's sort of what I heard too. I think there is some crossover into hockey smarts too. He does have good natural instincts on the ice it seemed.
 
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LeafSteel

GO LEAFS GO!!!
Mar 5, 2014
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Toronto
Marlies/depth D men.

Mermis 6' - Niemela 6'
Webber 6'7" - Mattinen 6'6"
Rifai 6'2" - Myers 6'6"
Kokkonen 6' - Villeneuve 6'2"

We've got some size down there.
1723088960059.jpeg
 

Dayjobdave

Registered User
Apr 29, 2010
3,378
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Marlies/depth D men.

Mermis 6' - Niemela 6'
Webber 6'7" - Mattinen 6'6"
Rifai 6'2" - Myers 6'6"
Kokkonen 6' - Villeneuve 6'2"

We've got some size down there.
I like us grabbing some big D men, and more in the junior ranks as well. May as well put some big kids in the pipeline. On D, size and reach can really make a difference.
 

ULF_55

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I like us grabbing some big D men, and more in the junior ranks as well. May as well put some big kids in the pipeline. On D, size and reach can really make a difference.

We were talking the other day, and consensus was on defense, size, skating and ability to make a pass.

Beyond that is ideal, but if they have the size, can move, and make a pass they are usable.
 

Mess

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I like us grabbing some big D men, and more in the junior ranks as well. May as well put some big kids in the pipeline. On D, size and reach can really make a difference.
It actually shows the difference between our new GM Treliving and the past management,

If you're going to invest 1/2 your cap into just 4 forwards then you should be drafting and developing Dmen like they were going out of style to offset those forwards and build the defense and goaltending internally because of lack of cap space.

Instead Leafs empty the prospects pool potential by using draft pick currency to buy rental Dman for short term gain and long term pain and now have nothing to show but a empty DMan prospect pool.

Thankfully, the Leafs finally learned from past mistakes, with Brad Treliving using his 1st round pick to select Ben Danford with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Danford, by all accounts, has some elite defensive instincts, and does all of the little things needed to win hockey games. Unfortunately, it may 2 or 3 years before he has a chance to make the team, and by then, the Maple Leafs' core will likely look quite a bit different from the way it looks now, with John Tavares and Mitch Marner's deals concluding next summer.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but honestly, most of Leafs Nation fans has been shouting from the rooftops about needing to draft and develop real NHL sized defensemen for ages. It's really too bad that it largely fell on deaf ears during the Shanaplan era.
 
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ULF_55

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It actually shows the difference between our new GM Treliving and the past management,

If you're going to invest 1/2 you cap into just 4 forwards then you should be drafting and developing Dmen like they were going out of style to offset those forwards and build the defense and goaltending internally because of lack of cap space.

Instead Leafs empty the prospects pool potential by using draft pick currency to buy rental Dman for short term gain and long term pain and now have nothing to show but a empty DMan prospect pool.

Thankfully, the Leafs finally learned from past mistakes, with Brad Treliving using his 1st round pick to select Ben Danford with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Danford, by all accounts, has some elite defensive instincts, and does all of the little things needed to win hockey games. Unfortunately, it may 2 or 3 years before he has a chance to make the team, and by then, the Maple Leafs' core will likely look quite a bit different from the way it looks now, with John Tavares and Mitch Marner's deals concluding next summer.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but honestly, most of Leafs Nation fans has been shouting from the rooftops about needing to draft and develop real NHL sized defensemen for ages. It's really too bad that it largely fell on deaf ears during the Shanaplan era.​

Let's hope it works out better than Lou's 2017 draft. ;)

Eemeli Rasanen​

Defense -- shoots R
Born Mar 6 1999 -- Joensuu, Finland
[25 yrs. ago]
Height 6.05 -- Weight 203 [196 cm/92 kg]

Fedor Gordeev​

Defense -- shoots L
Born Jan 27 1999 -- Omsk, Russia
[25 yrs. ago]
Height 6.06 -- Weight 225 [198 cm/102 kg]

Ryan O'Connell​

Defense -- shoots L
Born Apr 25 1999 -- Gloucester, ONT
[25 yrs. ago]
Height 6.02 -- Weight 170 [188 cm/77 kg]


2016:

J.D. Greenway​

Defense -- shoots L
Born Apr 27 1998 -- Canton, NY
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.05 -- Weight 212 [196 cm/96 kg]

Keaton Middleton
Defense -- shoots L
Born Feb 10 1998 -- Edmonton, ALTA
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.06 -- Weight 240 [198 cm/109 kg]

Nicolas Mattinen

Defense -- shoots R
Born Mar 5 1998 -- Ottawa, ONT
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.05 -- Weight 224 [196 cm/102 kg]
 

notbias

Registered User
Feb 16, 2017
11,904
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I like us grabbing some big D men, and more in the junior ranks as well. May as well put some big kids in the pipeline. On D, size and reach can really make a difference.

I think the only D with a decent upside in that group is the guy who is six foot.

Mattinen is actually somewhat intriguing to me though.

It actually shows the difference between our new GM Treliving and the past management,

If you're going to invest 1/2 you cap into just 4 forwards then you should be drafting and developing Dmen like they were going out of style to offset those forwards and build the defense and goaltending internally because of lack of cap space.

Instead Leafs empty the prospects pool potential by using draft pick currency to buy rental Dman for short term gain and long term pain and now have nothing to show but a empty DMan prospect pool.

Thankfully, the Leafs finally learned from past mistakes, with Brad Treliving using his 1st round pick to select Ben Danford with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Danford, by all accounts, has some elite defensive instincts, and does all of the little things needed to win hockey games. Unfortunately, it may 2 or 3 years before he has a chance to make the team, and by then, the Maple Leafs' core will likely look quite a bit different from the way it looks now, with John Tavares and Mitch Marner's deals concluding next summer.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but honestly, most of Leafs Nation fans has been shouting from the rooftops about needing to draft and develop real NHL sized defensemen for ages. It's really too bad that it largely fell on deaf ears during the Shanaplan era.​

Does it ever get boring being wrong all the time?

Treliving has used 50% of his 1st round picks on D.

Dubas used 50% of his 1st round picks on D.

The best D Treliving drafted in Calgary were Fox (5'11), Andersson (6'1), Valimaki (6'2), and Kylington (6'0).

I honestly don't think you know what you're talking about.

We tried big hulking D under Hunter, how'd that go?
 
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Mess

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Let's hope it works out better than Lou's 2017 draft. ;)

The Leafs' front office has really done a poor job of drafting and developing defensemen to help address what was one of the biggest organizational needs for the last 8-10 years -- perhaps even longer. Justin Holl was never an answer for this team, despite being protected in the expansion draft as a Key core member of the team.

Yes, they drafted Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin, Sean Durzi and Travis Dermott, but 3 of these players were dealt and only Lou Lam's boy Liljegren remains today.

or as former Leaf Dman Carlo Colaiacovo recently put it on TSN.


I've stated all along, and this goes back to when Kyle Dubas was managing this team," said Colaiacovo.
"When you put yourself in a position to build a salary structure with your team where you are going to build around four forwards and it is going to occupy a large percentage of your cap -- almost half of your cap -- how the heck did you organizationally not decide to draft and develop more stud defensemen is beyond me. That's what has kept this organization back."
 
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acrobaticgoalie

Registered User
Jun 18, 2014
3,467
3,561
It actually shows the difference between our new GM Treliving and the past management,

If you're going to invest 1/2 your cap into just 4 forwards then you should be drafting and developing Dmen like they were going out of style to offset those forwards and build the defense and goaltending internally because of lack of cap space.

Instead Leafs empty the prospects pool potential by using draft pick currency to buy rental Dman for short term gain and long term pain and now have nothing to show but a empty DMan prospect pool.

Thankfully, the Leafs finally learned from past mistakes, with Brad Treliving using his 1st round pick to select Ben Danford with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Danford, by all accounts, has some elite defensive instincts, and does all of the little things needed to win hockey games. Unfortunately, it may 2 or 3 years before he has a chance to make the team, and by then, the Maple Leafs' core will likely look quite a bit different from the way it looks now, with John Tavares and Mitch Marner's deals concluding next summer.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but honestly, most of Leafs Nation fans has been shouting from the rooftops about needing to draft and develop real NHL sized defensemen for ages. It's really too bad that it largely fell on deaf ears during the Shanaplan era.
And we've also had a lack of depth scoring and if we were focusing on just defensive prospects, we wouldn't have forwards coming up to compliment our top 9 or even replace guys like JT. we would've continued to bargain bin shop at forward as well and had no depth scoring outside of the core 4.

We have needed all positions and draft BPA always.
 

ULF_55

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Feb 27, 2002
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The Leafs' front office has really done a poor job of drafting and developing defensemen to help address what was one of the biggest organizational needs for the last 8-10 years -- perhaps even longer. Justin Holl was never an answer for this team, despite being protected in the expansion draft as a Key core member of the team.

Yes, they drafted Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin, Sean Durzi and Travis Dermott, but 3 of these players were dealt and only Lou Lam's boy Liljegren remains today.

or as former Leaf Dman Carlo Colaiacovo recently put it on TSN.
Since 2016, Lou's first draft, through this year:

1723128430207.png


Multiple GM's, multiple scouts.

Liljegren
 
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Mess

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Since 2016, Lou's first draft, through this year:

View attachment 899821

Multiple GM's, multiple scouts.

Liljegren
Colaiacovo really hammered home his point by highlighting the fact that the Leafs really have never drafted and developed a true stud defenseman in the entire Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares era. Really, the Leafs have almost entirely ignored the position since drafting Morgan Rielly.

"Since Morgan Rielly, what defenseman has this team drafted and developed that has been a stud on defense? Justin Holl? Sandin? Liljegren? That's where the organizational failure has been with this team. You've built around four forwards and you just continue to draft forwards to play with those guys... Draft and develop big, stud defensemen, so at this point here, you would have guys that are in their third or fourth years and a stud on your blueline. They get a D+ for trading because every year they're trying to trade for a defenseman, give up draft picks and patch-work that defense to give them a chance to win instead of drafting and developing these guys in your system for three to six or seven years. That's been the organizational failure for this Maple Leafs team."

The Leafs' front office has really done a poor job of drafting and developing defensemen to help address what was one of the biggest organizational needs for the last 8-10 years.
 

ULF_55

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Colaiacovo really hammered home his point by highlighting the fact that the Leafs really have never drafted and developed a true stud defenseman in the entire Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares era. Really, the Leafs have almost entirely ignored the position since drafting Morgan Rielly.



The Leafs' front office has really done a poor job of drafting and developing defensemen to help address what was one of the biggest organizational needs for the last 8-10 years.

Yeah, if anything they should have been concentrating on defenders with Tavares, Nylander, marner and Tavares already there. Those 4 are the backbone on offense, and Rielly stands alone on defense.

Easier to pick up Domi types on July 1st. than 28 year old Tanev types.
 
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Mess

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Yeah, if anything they should have been concentrating on defenders with Tavares, Nylander, marner and Tavares already there. Those 4 are the backbone on offense, and Rielly stands alone on defense.

Easier to pick up Domi types on July 1st. than 28 year old Tanev types.
Chris Tanev is a perfect example of Leafs needing to double down on past mistakes by needing to invest top $$ in an aging DMan, because they didn't draft and develop their own internally.

Nobody believes the length of the Tanev contract is a good thing long-term, as even the NHL Bettman thinks Leafs are abusing the CBA by putting Tanev potentially on LTIR In the latter years. But its a fallout of poor drafting strategy and scorched earth draft pick abuse used as currency for short term gain. :teach2:

Besides RHD that all teams covet are best self drafted because their availability and cost is high.

Ben Danford is a great example of the new management getting this, and he has added quite a few pieces in the Dman with great size and strength back in the system. Using his limited remaining draft picks on BIG dman as well.
 
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Fogelhund

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Sep 15, 2007
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Keeping in mind that Florida won the cup, with two D they'd drafted, and the rest were UFA's, trades, waiver claims... Even then, Kulikov is a guy that left the org in 2016 and only came back this year.

So their D they've drafted, and played with in the playoffs was Kulikov 2009 and Ekblad 2014....

------------------------------------------

Oilers last year, had 2 guys they drafted play all of the playoffs. Plus Broberg who played just 10 games.

--------------------------------------------------

Even Colorado only had two D that they drafted when they won the cup.

-----------------

Clearly I would be drafting D as well, but let's not get crazy here... not many teams have a lineup full of D they drafted.
 

Menzinger

Kessel4LadyByng
Apr 24, 2014
42,068
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Let's hope it works out better than Lou's 2017 draft. ;)

Eemeli Rasanen​

Defense -- shoots R
Born Mar 6 1999 -- Joensuu, Finland
[25 yrs. ago]
Height 6.05 -- Weight 203 [196 cm/92 kg]

Fedor Gordeev​

Defense -- shoots L
Born Jan 27 1999 -- Omsk, Russia
[25 yrs. ago]
Height 6.06 -- Weight 225 [198 cm/102 kg]

Ryan O'Connell​

Defense -- shoots L
Born Apr 25 1999 -- Gloucester, ONT
[25 yrs. ago]
Height 6.02 -- Weight 170 [188 cm/77 kg]


2016:

J.D. Greenway​

Defense -- shoots L
Born Apr 27 1998 -- Canton, NY
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.05 -- Weight 212 [196 cm/96 kg]

Keaton Middleton
Defense -- shoots L
Born Feb 10 1998 -- Edmonton, ALTA
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.06 -- Weight 240 [198 cm/109 kg]

Nicolas Mattinen

Defense -- shoots R
Born Mar 5 1998 -- Ottawa, ONT
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.05 -- Weight 224 [196 cm/102 kg]

Many skating fridges, but no NHLers. Shame really.
 

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