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Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread - 2023-23 Season Edition

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Lots of talk of Minten recently.

I'd imagine Minten tops out as a pretty decent 3rd line centre. You would hope for more from a high 2nd round pick but that's what I see from him right now.

I hope I'm wrong and this post gets quoted in 2-3 years and he is absolutely killing it.

Who knows, with the big increase in opportunity he's going to get in the WHL this year (with most of the really good players ahead of him on the roster graduating), he might explode production wise in 2023-24.

I was looking at a tweet of the LA Kings prospect pool from 2021 (when they were rated tops in the league) and it is absolutely crazy to see how the perception of those players has changed so much in two short seasons. Some of those players are complete busts now and some that weren't even on the list are now really decent prospects. Development is definitely not linear.
 
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VanW27 said:
It's an interesting question to ask simply because following from the birds eye view on video and reacting in real time on the ice are so different. Although I suppose if you can't understand it on video it probably doesn't bode well for your ability to process and react at ice level.
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Yeah but it does kind of speak to the other fault, ice level vs birds eye view...that birds eye view is usually for the healthy scratches...

A good scout should be able to identify if a guy has hockey IQ or not because you're seeing if they're in the right position or knowing where to be.

I want to know if they have the tool box to take advantage of their good IQ

LeafChief said:
Lots of talk of Minten recently.

I'd imagine Minten tops out as a pretty decent 3rd line centre. You would hope for more from a high 2nd round pick but that's what I see from him right now.

I hope I'm wrong and this post gets quoted in 2-3 years and he is absolutely killing it.

Who knows, with the big increase in opportunity he's going to get in the WHL this year (with most of the really good players ahead of him on the roster graduating), he might explode production wise in 2023-24.

I was looking at a tweet of the LA Kings prospect pool from 2021 (when they were rated tops in the league) and it is absolutely crazy to see how the perception of those players has changed so much in two short seasons. Some of those players are complete busts now and some that weren't even on the list are now really decent prospects. Development is definitely not linear.
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I think you hit it, Minten had some injuries last year and wasn't the main star on that team...he should get more TOI this year...should help us assess him better.
 
Whatever Minten turns into eventually is secondary behind how much he can pump his value with top offensive minutes imo. If he pushes his value to a late 1st that’s bigger for us at the deadline than if he turns into a 3C in a few years.
 
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Martin Skoula said:
Whatever Minten turns into eventually is secondary behind how much he can pump his value with top offensive minutes imo. If he pushes his value to a late 1st that’s bigger for us at the deadline than if he turns into a 3C in a few years.
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Even if he only tops out as a 3rd liner, he could still hold a lot of value to this team. How many people in Leafs nation complain about this team being soft or that we have too many small skilled players in our prospect pool and that we need to diversify. People also complain that we bring in those types of players when they're past their prime instead of when they have young and healthy bodies like Simmonds, Clifford, Foligno etc. We have the chance to have a guy like that coming up.

Minten is one of the very few power forwards in our pool with size and physicality. His defensive game is his strong point and if he also offers secondary scoring to the bottom 6 and 2nd pp unit, that can hold a lot of value to this team still. Adding guys like him, Knies, Cowan and Tverberg who all play with physicality and energy will go a long way to filling and balancing out our roster around our core.
 
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LeafChief said:
Lots of talk of Minten recently.

I'd imagine Minten tops out as a pretty decent 3rd line centre. You would hope for more from a high 2nd round pick but that's what I see from him right now.

I hope I'm wrong and this post gets quoted in 2-3 years and he is absolutely killing it.

Who knows, with the big increase in opportunity he's going to get in the WHL this year (with most of the really good players ahead of him on the roster graduating), he might explode production wise in 2023-24.

I was looking at a tweet of the LA Kings prospect pool from 2021 (when they were rated tops in the league) and it is absolutely crazy to see how the perception of those players has changed so much in two short seasons. Some of those players are complete busts now and some that weren't even on the list are now really decent prospects. Development is definitely not linear.
Click to expand...

It really makes you appreciate just how lucky and how much praise we have to give to our scouts that we hit on every one of our top picks.

Matthews was so lucky, because if get either #2 or #3 and our entire franchise would look different.
Marner was a homerun selection and we got very lucky by ARZ screwing up.
Nylander was a homerun selection and we got very lucky by NYI, VAN and CAR really screwing up.
Rielly was a homerun pick and we got lucky with almost all 4 teams drafting before really screwing up.
Kadri was a homerun pick at #7.

It looks easy in hindsight to draft the correct top pick but at the actual time of the pick it's not always so easy and many times there can be alot of disagreement.
 
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Brock Caufield is a Marlie. He is the older, taller, lighter with less goal scoring ability brother of Cole.
 
SprDaVE said:
Dillingham, Weiss, Singleton, Shea, Caufield and Berezowski

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Dillingham, 21, registered 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 45 games with the Sarnia Sting (OHL) this past season and also picked up three goals and three assists in 12 playoff games. The Mississauga, Ontario native was the recipient of the 2022-23 Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy. In 147 career OHL games all with Sarnia, Dillingham collected 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists). Also known for a hit on Roni Hirvonen in a scrimmage game.
 
Good for Dillingham. He can now send a gigantic double middle finger fck you to all the media dorks who shit on him this past weekend. "That's not how you earn a contract", "you don't earn a contract in development camp", "there is no place for this behavior"......

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That said, the ECHL/AHL is likely where his career will start and end, but at the very least he can go down saying he is a pro hockey player. Which is one hell of an accomplishment.

By all accounts he has a ton of character. He was voted captain unanimously by his team in addition to winning the 2022-23 Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy. There are plenty of players who make the jump from the coast to the NHL, and he doesn't need to look to far to find those examples. The Leafs are one of the better organizations for this type of development. Just look at McMann, Holl, SDA, Hollowel, Marchment... just to name a few.

Always nice to add character and competitiveness to the organization.

Congrats to him and all the other signees
 
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Twine Tickler said:
Good for Dillingham. He can now send a gigantic double middle finger fck you to all the media dorks who shit on him this past weekend. "That's not how you earn a contract", "you don't earn a contract in development camp", "there is no place for this behavior"......

View attachment 728826

That said, the ECHL/AHL is likely where his career will start and end, but at the very least he can go down saying he is a pro hockey player. Which is one hell of an accomplishment.

By all accounts he has a ton of character. He was voted captain unanimously by his team in addition to winning the 2022-23 Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy. There are plenty of players who make the jump from the coast to the NHL, and he doesn't need to look to far to find those examples. The Leafs are one of the better organizations for this type of development. Just look at McMann, Holl, SDA, Hollowel, Marchment... just to name a few.

Always nice to add character and competitiveness to the organization.

Congrats to him and all the other signees
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More ..

Nolan Dillingham have all put pen to paper as well. If that last name looks familiar, it's because Dillingham made headlines last week when he absolutely flattened one of the Leafs' top prospects, Roni Hirvonen, during a Leafs summer development camp scrimmage.

Many had suspected at the time that laying out one of the Leafs' top prospects as a camp invitee likely cost Dillingham any shot that he might have had at a contract. However, Leafs AGM Hayley Wickenheiser was quick to point out that the hit was a clean one in the eyes of the Leafs, who obviously appreciated Dillingham's willingness to step up and play the body in an attempt to disrupt a zone entry.

We know that Hirvonen suffered a concussion as a result of the hit, but we also know that he was up and walking around after the scrimmage and touching base with all of his teammates to let them know he'd be okay.

Dillingham, 21, is a 6-foot-1, 200 lb right shot blueliner from nearby Mississauga, who played his last four seasons as a member of the Sarnia Sting in the OHL. He was a teammate of fellow Leafs prospect Ty Voit and has captained the team since February of 2022.

Dillingham suited up in 45 games for the Sting last season, tallying 6 goals and adding 8 assists for a total of 14 points over that span. He also added 6 points in 12 playoff games.
 
With Dillingham having played with Sarnia, being Voit's teammate, they would have seen him play many times, when the Leafs scouts went to watch their prospect. He was probably someone on the radar even before the camp.

You never know with these kids, look at Wifi with Montreal... undrafted guy.
 
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It looks like Eric Wellwood is on the fast track to becoming an NHL coach. He was identified as a very smart player with average skills at a young age. His brother Kyle was a very smart player with good skills in a non-athlete's body. It's amazing what he did accomplish. I guess it's by choice that Kyle hasn't entered hockey management in some capacity. I bet he could coach/scout/manager/evaluate.
 
Caufield has name power behind his signing, but his resume, size and skillset make him the least interesting signing of the bunch.

Dillingham looks like a fun addition to the team. I thought of Xhekaj when I saw Dillingham's hockeyfights page. Fingers crossed.

Weiss is another free high draft pick that didn't sign an ELC, like Tychonick. Some upside for one potentially.
 
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I see we're still in the business of handing out AHL contracts to undersized forwards without standout NCAA numbers. Harmless in the sense that it's just AHL contracts. Head scratching in that these aren't the sorts of players who have even the slightest chance of making the NHL.
 
Twine Tickler said:
Good for Dillingham. He can now send a gigantic double middle finger fck you to all the media dorks who shit on him this past weekend. "That's not how you earn a contract", "you don't earn a contract in development camp", "there is no place for this behavior"......

View attachment 728826

That said, the ECHL/AHL is likely where his career will start and end, but at the very least he can go down saying he is a pro hockey player. Which is one hell of an accomplishment.

By all accounts he has a ton of character. He was voted captain unanimously by his team in addition to winning the 2022-23 Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy. There are plenty of players who make the jump from the coast to the NHL, and he doesn't need to look to far to find those examples. The Leafs are one of the better organizations for this type of development. Just look at McMann, Holl, SDA, Hollowel, Marchment... just to name a few.

Always nice to add character and competitiveness to the organization.

Congrats to him and all the other signees
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Are you his brother or something? You are making a mountain out of a molehill, most people don't care here.

I've seen you post many times defending him and yelling at people who don't exist on this board.

What character does he have? Genuinely curious, can you point to any scenario?

If he got in cause he brings a quality that helps our teams or development, great, he should.

Congrats to all of them.
 
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