Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread - Who ordered a taxi?

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Not sure if you meant my list as I have so many people blocked (and you might have quoted them), but I think 13 is a fair placement for him, but like I said, anyone in any tier is pretty close to interchangeable and I don't believe he deserves to be in the tier above.

Guy has all the talent in the world, but he overdoes everything to go along with it. It's like watching the less talented version of Marner with production being good/great, but not special. I think he could definitely play in the NHL soon, but unless he picks up another gear and smartens up he may just be a AAAA player. Lots of upside, lots of risk.

SDA has looked like he at least belongs in every men's league he has played in, and has shown flashes of high end skill. He seems pretty accustomed to playing center and can make plays in tight areas. He's also pretty dedicated off the ice from what I've heard.

His hangup for me is that shooting is typically the furthest thing from his mind, no matter how good of a scoring chance he has. Even if the rest of his game is NHL level (which would not surprise me), he has to be at least a small threat to score or it's all meaningless. And he does actually have a surprisingly good shot, he just almost never has the willingness to use it

 

[stickty111]

This is my end of season prospect breakdown. Bolded is new info.
#17. Ian Scott
Overview
We get to our 1st of 2 goalie’s who are in the top 20. I debated putting Scott higher, and you can make a strong case he should be. However, he’s only had 1 albeit great season, while the others weren’t good at all and he missed all of this season, so 15 sounds about right. He also can really jump if he has a good season in pro. Scott came into his WHL bantam draft with a lot of hype taken 9th overall in 2014, but failed to deliver on the promise, and then Scott was taken 110th overall in the 4th round in the 2017 draft. You could have made the argument Leafs chose Scott after missing out on the higher goalie’s ranked, and after his D+1 season, he wasn’t looking good, but he really took off in 18/19 with a fantastic season, and gave people excitement and was rewarded with an ELC. He missed all of this season with an injury, so his pro debut will come next season, but we will have a better idea if 18/19 was a one off, or he is a blue chip goalie prospect. Scott hasn’t had a lot of injury problems which has really hurt him. He finally got into a game with the Marlies which was his first real action in about 2 years.

Stats
2017/2018
WHL
GP: 50
GAA: 3:10
SV%: .897
SO: 0
2018/2019
WHL
GP: 49
GAA: 1.83
SV%: .932
SO: 8

Statistical Analysis
As you can see, what a difference a year makes. After being poor in the season prior and season’s before that as well, Scott put in an MVP season. His GAA was lower then 2, and his SV% was .932 along with 8 shutouts. He was given the top goaltender award. His playoff numbers were even more impressive with just a slight dip in both categories finishing with a 1.96, and a .925 SV%. He was named best goalie in the playoffs as well. You can scream “one year wonder”, but Prince Albert was just a good team on paper, and Scott was their best player, so Scott really was the driving force of the team. This might just be a player who is finally living up to the hype he had a few years ago. Injuries have halted any progression for Scott. This year he got into action with the Marlies after a long layoff. He looked okay but tough to tell from such a short sample size.
Talent Analysis
I’m not going to even try evaluating a goalie, so there is nothing here. However I might have a little more analysis on Woll seeing him more.

My future projection: His talent is still there, but the injuries have really hurt him. I still believe in him and believe he will ascend again but he has to stay healthy
NHL Player? No, but really because goalie’s are so unpredictable plus the 2 years he has lost. You can put him as yes too because of the position.

 

[AuraSphere]

Grabvo was super fiesty. He didn't a rats ass what you felt about him. I still remember his hate towards Habs.

Also he was gutsy. I remember him getting pounded by chara only to score the winning goal

We miss that tenacity. That dont f with me attitude

Honestly my fav leaf in the past decade

 

[Leaf Fans]

Marlies signed Ben Finkelstein
Toronto Marlies Sign Defenceman Ben Finkelstein – Toronto Marlies

 

[Stephen]

Grabvo was super fiesty. He didn't a rats ass what you felt about him. I still remember his hate towards Habs.

Also he was gutsy. I remember him getting pounded by chara only to score the winning goal

We miss that tenacity. That dont f with me attitude

If any of our core players had Grabo's fire, we would be well on our way.

 

[Stephen]

SDA has looked like he at least belongs in every men's league he has played in, and has shown flashes of high end skill. He seems pretty accustomed to playing center and can make plays in tight areas. He's also pretty dedicated off the ice from what I've heard.

His hangup for me is that shooting is typically the furthest thing from his mind, no matter how good of a scoring chance he has. Even if the rest of his game is NHL level (which would not surprise me), he has to be at least a small threat to score or it's all meaningless. And he does actually have a surprisingly good shot, he just almost never has the willingness to use it

I think SDA is a good example of where the Leafs pipeline doesn't connect up well with the big roster. Yeah, you can use the old cliche that you draft the best players available, but a slight, skilled, lackadaisical poor man's Marner isn't going to ever be a good support player for a big roster. It's not complimentary, you can't convert him to play another role.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Marlies signed Ben Finkelstein
Toronto Marlies Sign Defenceman Ben Finkelstein – Toronto Marlies

Competition for Kapcheck. One will likely be the 4th RD and the other will likely end up as the top pairing ECHLer next year.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I think SDA is a good example of where the Leafs pipeline doesn't connect up well with the big roster. Yeah, you can use the old cliche that you draft the best players available, but a slight, skilled, lackadaisical poor man's Marner isn't going to ever be a good support player for a big roster. It's not complimentary, you can't convert him to play another role.

I don't really have an issue with SDA, since the Leafs have appalling center depth and he can at least address that area of concern. If all goes well, he can replace Kerfoot for 2.5 million less per year.

In general, I think a bigger issue is if they can't find a way to add missing elements by trading prospects/picks/roster players or signing them in free agency. If Dubas can't find physical players in their 30s in free agency, he's probably not going to be able to find them on draft day late in the draft and then develop them to reach their potential.

 

[Stephen]

I don't really have an issue with SDA, since the Leafs have appalling center depth and he can at least address that area of concern. If all goes well, he can replace Kerfoot for 2.5 million less per year.

In general, I think a bigger issue is if they can't find a way to add missing elements by trading prospects/picks/roster players or signing them in free agency. If Dubas can't find physical players in their 30s in free agency, he's probably not going to be able to find them on draft day late in the draft and then develop them to reach their potential.

I would be extremely surprised if SDA replaced Kerfoot and excelled at 3C responsibilities whilst helping the team get better.

 

[Morgs]

I would be extremely surprised if SDA replaced Kerfoot and excelled at 3C responsibilities whilst helping the team get better.

Why? He's a solid 200 foot player, strong playmaker, great entry/exit player, refuses to shoot. Weirdly he's basically a Kerfoot clone except for the fact he's a natural center.

 

[Knies iT]

Why? He's a solid 200 foot player, strong playmaker, great entry/exit player, refuses to shoot. Weirdly he's basically a Kerfoot clone except for the fact he's a natural center.

Far worse skater than Kerfoot and even less willingness to shoot, but also more cerebral. Lacking both separation speed and shooting ability at the NHL level is usually a fatal flaw. I personally have never seen mainstay NHLer in SDA's future, but he seems to elevate in harder leagues. Bit of an enigma and hard to evaluate.

I would argue that Abruzzese is more of a Kerfoot clone, but with higher IQ.

 

[Stephen]

Why? He's a solid 200 foot player, strong playmaker, great entry/exit player, refuses to shoot. Weirdly he's basically a Kerfoot clone except for the fact he's a natural center.

What about skating? Kerfoot is a zippy player with great speed and agility and SDA has always been “it’s passable, let’s not talk about it too much.” Typical cliches about being able to pick up momentum through the neutral zone, lack of separation speed. And when you watch his videos he’s underpowered. Kerfoot is a greasy, tenacious player and SDA has been described as lacking in that department. They don’t seem very similar at all.

 

[Morgs]

I mean, no two players are identical. They're relatively similar though and hoping SDA could have a Kerfoot-level impact is entirely plausible.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I would be extremely surprised if SDA replaced Kerfoot and excelled at 3C responsibilities whilst helping the team get better.

well, a 3rd round pick excelling in a top 9 role in general is pretty much the best you can realistically hope for. I just thought your issue was that even if he does hit on his potential, there's no role he could fill on this Leafs team. That is definitely the case for some prospects, but I don't think it applies to SDA

 

[Stephen]

well, a 3rd round pick excelling in a top 9 role in general is pretty much the best you can realistically hope for. I just thought your issue was that even if he does hit on his potential, there's no role he could fill on this Leafs team. That is definitely the case for some prospects, but I don't think it applies to SDA

Well, kind of the classic twofold problem that I'm concerned with this prospect pipeline.

From the sound of the write ups, he kind of sounds like a Kyle Wellwood: supremely talented puck handler and passer, lack of separation speed, not a scoring threat, let's say not an up tempo player, let's say good 200 foot game, not a ton of physical presence...

Zooming out to a standard 3C wishlist, does SDA check very many boxes and does he fit that role that helps the Leafs? Does he have the ingredients to do it better than Kerfoot, who didn't do it that well, or would you rather just throw $900K at a Nick Bjugstad (which Minnesota just re-signed him for).

 

[tronoleaf]

Abramov played a big part in Victoriaville winning the Q. Potential 3rd liner in X years?

 

[New Liskeard]

I would be extremely surprised if SDA replaced Kerfoot and excelled at 3C responsibilities whilst helping the team get better.

I watched SDA with Robertson and his other linemate (can't recall but was very good) play against the Generals. I would be shocked if SDA is ever an NHLer; he floats and lacks a sense of urgency. His linemates overshadowed him in a huge way.

 

[Stephen]

I mean, no two players are identical. They're relatively similar though and hoping SDA could have a Kerfoot-level impact is entirely plausible.

Having a training camp for the first time in 2 years will help answer some of these questions but it’s a two fold problem for me.

Seems like it you ignore the skating difference, body type and competitive make up, you might have a Kerfoot level player on your hands.

But a Kerfoot on the 3C is already not an ideal fit as it is so putting SDA in that role is something I would be skeptical of. Compare and contrast the Bruins sliding a Jack Studnicka into the lineup and you see the next generation of mismatches happening already.

 

[tronoleaf]

I watched SDA with Robertson and his other linemate (can't recall but was very good) play against the Generals. I would be shocked if SDA is ever an NHLer; he floats and lacks a sense of urgency. His linemates overshadowed him in a huge way.

Yuck. 5-9 160 lb floater? Good pick, Dubas.

 

[Stephen]

I watched SDA with Robertson and his other linemate (can't recall but was very good) play against the Generals. I would be shocked if SDA is ever an NHLer; he floats and lacks a sense of urgency. His linemates overshadowed him in a huge way.

He was projected to be a boom bust pick a few years ago, so ideally he would have boomed a little like Abramov (who will probably translate better).

Obviously this whole crop of prospects have been impacted by the pandemic, so we’ll have to catch up to see where he’s at, but his player type doesn’t come across as an ideal supporting cast for our current group in the top six, nor does it sound like he has as much of the undeniable skill that would make him any more employable than the likes of Timashov, Soshnikov, Malgin, Petan, Bracco, Dzierkals, Moore, Brooks or any of the guys we’ve tried bringing up over the years.

When you think of a young, home grown 3C option, you kind of envision a guy with a similar frame to a Jason Spezza (obviously not the same upside or skill) who can learn the role and make a contribution on the third line and lower.

 

[Makaveli]

Do you guys think any of our current prospects get promoted to the big league next year? Timothy, Robertson, Sandin (not sure if he still a prospect) are the obvious ones. Anyone else a dark horse to make the team?

 

[aingefan]

I think Lili and Joey Anderson are about fully cooked.
Adam Brooks deserves a chance.
Malgin had a nice year and deserves to compete for a spot.
And the FO favours Sandin and Robertson.
I’d like to see all of them competing for jobs.

 

[LaPlante94]

Do you guys think any of our current prospects get promoted to the big league next year? Timothy, Robertson, Sandin (not sure if he still a prospect) are the obvious ones. Anyone else a dark horse to make the team?

All 3 have a good chance to make it, especially if we expose Holl or move him. As for dark horse guy to make it. I think I'd go with Anderson, Steeves, or Semyonov as guys who'll battle for a bottom 6 spot. My real dark horse pick though of someone we drafted to compete for a spot is a little tougher. I guess I'll go with Abramov or Abruzzese. Don't really know Abruzzese situation with school because of the Covid stuff but he really impressed that one season and if he decides he wants to go pro now after 2 years of Harvard then you never know. I probably forgot a few prospects but these 2 I always thought would surprise us by possibly making the jump sooner than expected.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

No he doesn’t. Grabovski was effort and played hard. If you’re big on effort, SDA will INFURIATE you.

Completely agree. SDA in no way resembles Grabo.

IMO Abramov somewhat resembles what Grabo brought in that he's a shoot first center who plays with some tunnel vision but attacks with speed and tenacity.

 

[Brobust]

Do you guys think any of our current prospects get promoted to the big league next year? Timothy, Robertson, Sandin (not sure if he still a prospect) are the obvious ones. Anyone else a dark horse to make the team?

I think Holmberg, Hallander, Amirov, and Kokkonen will be around for the training camp.