Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread - Who ordered a taxi?
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Fogelhund
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stickty111
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Romanov is benched more then he plays. Did the Habs mess up another prospect?
Robertson is terrific.
I wouldn't worry about the weight not changing too much yet. Nylander and Matthews didn't really bulk up until they got into their 20's either and they both added 20-25lbs.
Robertson is still just 19 years old. Plenty of time for that to come.
SeaOfBlue
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I always find it funny that people still have Hallander ahead of any of the top Finns (Miettinen, Niemela, and Hirvonen).
He's a good prospect, but he is not top 5 here.
I'm sure he's more highly rated to some due to his higher floor.
In terms of future projections to me he's almost a sure fire top 9 utility guy who can bounce around your lineup.
However I'm also very high on the 3 you listed as well, Niemela being my personal favourite as potentially the most impactful.
To be fair, we have an excellent prospect pool.
Stephen
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Wait and see approach for me. You don't necessarily draft for immediate need but where I'm skeptical of this prospect group is where the path to full time employment with the Leafs are and if they get there, do they offer complimentary skills to the Big 4 core group.
Menzinger
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SeaOfBlue
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Colour me surprised, but Victoriaville just won the President's Trophy.
stickty111
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Miller, Holmberg, and Abramov all champions. Maybe Victoriaville weren't expected to win the finals, but expectation was they could go far.
Stephen
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SeaOfBlue
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They were in the mix but probably not even in the top 3 in terms of favourites, and it is rare to see those kinds of upsets at lower levels.
A few questions.
Abramov - What kinda potential does this kid have? Seems like his stock has risen since his draft year.
Niemela - same question as above plus what kinda timetable are we looking at for him?
Abramov - What kinda potential does this kid have? Seems like his stock has risen since his draft year.
Niemela - same question as above plus what kinda timetable are we looking at for him?
Abramov has middle six upside. I saw him in the 3rd period and 1st overtime. He’s good with zone entries and i thought he had a good head for the game, at least in the offensive zone. He was one step of his teammates. I saw him strip some guys in the defensive zone as well. Abramov is probably 2 years away at the earliest.
Niemela- my opinion is based on wjc so take it with a grain of salt. top 4 upside, but how he deals with injuries and his progression for d+2 in a tough league will determine if he makes it. He was incredibly dynamic at wjc. His skating and his transitions are so good. He does need to be more selective with his shots though. 2 years away approximately, but even higher upside than abramov.
@Prominence did a solid job describing both. But I have a slightly differing opinion on Abramov. He's got an NHL shot and he's got NHL hustle. His area of work is going to come down to how well he can adjust to the pro game next year and maintain his competitive level against men. I've been following the kid since before the draft and he was one of the players I was really hoping we would target. He was stuck on an absolutely atrocious Victoriaville team and honestly, it's flabbergasting to see them win the Q championship (even with less teams and short season and all) but a lot of it comes down to the fact that they loaded up on older players and guys like Abramov are coming to their junior career ends and have had multiple years of experience under their belt in the league.
Abramov was a decently valued prospect coming out of Russia who basically gave up his shot at becoming an impact player in Russia for the unknowns of the QMJHL (CHL) all because he wanted to fully commit to becoming an NHL player and thought that coming to Canada and playing in the juniors would give him the most exposure. Abramov at multiple points of last season D+1 (pre corona) had more goals scored than the 2nd highest POINT getter on his team. He was head and shoulders above his teammates and he was basically carrying them on his back to a playoff spot at that point. And even after all of that, the Russian WJC team gave him a big f*** you and didn't even consider him. This year he got off to a close to 2 PPG start in the Q and because of all the quarantining rules, he was basically told that even though he would be invited to the WJC camp for Russia, there was no guarantee of him getting a fair shot. The kid basically shelved 1/3 of his Q season to go overseas and worked his way into a lackadaisical Russian WJC team and IMO showed the most energy and grit while being given next to no minutes. He earned his ice time the more he played and even though he got shafted on the whole experience, he played his butt off. Russian team ofc got demolished and finished 4th this year and from the sounds of it, Abramov took it hard and his game plummetted. He went from being on an absolute tear to not being able to pick up even 2ndary assists. His game and effort were there but I feel in the few games that I watched that his mind was either preoccupied with the WJC loss or he was just a mental step behind after having to quarantine again.
Overall, from the training camps where I have noticed our prospects, the big 3 that always stuck out for me were SDA, Abramov, and Timashov. Abramov being the biggest of the 3 and the one with the best shot. Long term, he probably is at least 1 year away if not 2 from cracking the Leafs lineup potentially but if/when he does, I think he has the potential to be a good 2 way W. Unlike most people I believe he has the ability to play up and down your lineup in the top 9. His skillset, energy, and shot plays on all 3 lines. I'm very high on him and I think he's one of the next waves of prospects on the farm who has the potential to give us a serious shot in the arm. The other guy I'm eagerly waiting on is Veeti Miettinen. I think Miettinen can provide us with a very good goal-scoring winger in the middle 6. I think his game is similar to that of current Predators player Eeli Tolvanen (also Finnish player). Both guys have a top-tier NHL shot and small frames. Think the game well and have very good puck skills to complement their game.
Impact prospects IMO:
High probability of being good contributors in the NHL for us:
Abramov - Top 9 W
Miettinen - Middle 6 W (outside shot at top W)
Robertson - Top 6 W
Niemela - Middle/ Bottom pair RHD
Hirvonen - Bottom 6 C/W
Abruzzese - Middle 6 W
Holmberg - Bottom 6 C/W
Hallander - Middle 6/ Bottom 6 W
Amirov - Top 6 W
Medium probability/ Bubble players:
Ovchennikov - Top 6 W. Can be a bust or can become a superstar. Doesn't play overly physically. Relies a ton on his skill and speed and brains. Fantastic passer, average shot. A poor man's Mitch Marner I would say.
Kokkonen - Steady, stay at home D. Bottom pair most likely.
Tverberg - Top 9 W. Zach Hyman type, all energy guy who has a nose for the net and plays gritty. Can absolutely fly too. Watched him a couple of games and came away extremely impressed. No idea how the hell he dropped to the 7th round. This kid reminds me of a smaller and much less skilled but as gritty and quicker version of TJ Oshie. He won't pass up on a hit. Love his game.
Koster - High-end potential top 4 D but could bust at the pro level. He is by far the most reliable and arguably the smartest defensive prospect we have though. His size is concerning but the guy can skate and pass the puck on top of his ++ defensive ability.
Gogolev - Middle 6 W ---> After watching him with the Marlies this year, I see a lot of Andrei Burakovsky in his game and I think he's a legit prospect if he keeps developing and wouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised if he finds his way to the NHL quicker than most of our prospects (once we sign him to ELC).
Kral - Bottom pair LHD
SDA - Middle 6 W. To be quite honest, I'm still not sure what to make of his game. He's smart and responsible but still physically immature and needs to work on his speed. He is a very smart player but I think he has a long way to go physically before he becomes a threat to challenge for an NHL job. In juniors, he looks completely out of sorts sometimes but playing pro both in the KHL/ AHL and NHL camps, he looks like a guy that can play. His "team game" IMO is very questionable. He's just an oddball overall.
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It's important for our prospects to succeed at all levels even though it doesn't always translate so quickly. All of Willy, Auston, Mitch, JT have won significant games, championships, major awards in their junior/ international careers. We just need them to win in the show.
Abramov what type of player is he going to be in the NHL and a reasonable time for him to play for us ?
justashadowof
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Abramov maybe got robbed of playoff MVP. Lead the team in points. Lost to an undrafted 21 yo linemate.
SeaOfBlue
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Beaucage had more points, and probably was more robbed considering he scored twice as many goals as Abramov.
I think Tardif won because he scored some really key goals... Although obviously Beaucage scored the one that ultimately won the entire thing so what do I know.
SeaOfBlue
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As good as Tardif is, he is not an ELC candidate. Maybe gets an AHL contract somewhere, and given he spent most of his career in Sherbrooke the Leafs will know him well, but the Leafs have literally never signed an undrafted OA straight out of the CHL... And I doubt Tardif changes that.
The only AHL contracts they've signed to ELC's to this point have been large players (Holl, Rubins, and Marchment).
Leaf Fans
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hamzarocks
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Aren't you a habs fan? How can you possibly find it more fun/thrilling to come in and discuss the leafs prospect pool over being excited about your team's playoff run or at least trolling us by saying the habs beat the leafs?
I've never seen you have a positive post about the leafs, but I've also never seen you have a positive post about the habs or any other team.
Do you watch hockey simply to see Toronto fail?
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