Kritty said:
When will people realize that it's THE OHL, not the NHL. Who cares what he's done in junior. Ever heard of Bryan Fogarty, Jason Bonsignore, Cal McGowan, Dave Chyzowski, Scott Scissons, etc, etc. These guys were all HUGE scoring stars in junior but didn't have the game that equated to success at the NHL level. People should really have more to back up an argument of who is the most underrated prospect than "he was good in junior". Big deal. The reason why Locke is not talked about is because of his size and lack of speed. When you are that small you need to have something that can set you apart. Yes, Locke has some good offensive skills, but will he be able to do that at the next level? Personally I say no, but that's just my opinion. I see him as a career minor leaguer much like Jesse Schultz will be. Big junior scorers but that's it.
It kills me how people are willing to discount Locke so quickly cause he doesn't look like he has the skills.
Here's a quick scouting report on the guy that i think most people would agree with.
Weaknesses
Lack of Size, Lack of Speed
Strengths
Incredible Vision, Hockey Sense, playmaking ability. Good but not great shot.
Hmmm... that could be the scouting report on a young Wayne Gretzky, but he didn't do anything at the NHL Level. :lol Don't get me wrong Locke is not anywhere near that level, nor will he ever be, but if he develops into 1/4 of the player i would be more than happy with him.
It could also be the scouting report on Mike Ribiero or Yanic Perreault coming out of junior who have also had good careers in the NHL. Okay maybe career is off on Ribiero but 65 pts this year ain't a bad start.
Locke's regular season scoring pace was maintainned in the OHL playoffs both last year and this year, so when the checking is tighter he still finds ways to play his game.
Let's also remember Corey Locke is a hard worker with a great attitude something that was lacking in some of the career AHLers you guys have mentionned (Bonsignore, and Fogarty especially).
Anyone ever read Moneyball?? Basically its about how the Oakland A's built a strong franchise with stats based scouting. Instead of saying a prospect doesn't look like a player (skill wise) they looked at his OBP and SLUG % and said if he can do it at this level (example AA), why can't he do it at the next (AAA) and then if he does why not in the majors. It seemed to work there, so whats wrong with seeing what Locke can do at the next level (AHL) before we write him off. I think he's underrated because he has been written off already.