Agreed that #62 is much too low, I should've included that in my earlier comment. He's a good young player and should continue to rocket up these rankings but I don't have enough knowledge of prospects outside of Ottawa to give you a personal ranking, however, he's most definitely in the top 40-50 especially over some guys who haven't even played a game yet like Danil But and Stian Solberg.
Fair enough. Marchessault is a 14 year pro with a Cup and a Conn Smythe. I think Buffalo would be pleased with that career outcome from Benson. In anticipation of something like that, ranking him as the 62nd best U23 is off the mark IMO.
Even that viewpoint doesn't really explain some of the takes on that list. Guys like Sanderson, Jarvis and Raymond aren't struggling, yet they're ranked behind players who are barely even doing all that great at lower levels.
He just thinks that at the height of their NHL careers, the prospects will turn out better than the more established guys. It's not that crazy in my opinion. Plus it's fun offseason content.
Imagine all the prospects .....being better than we thought
Pronman was essentially one of the only sports writers who stuck to their guns about Slafkosvky after his rookie season, too. I remember Bultman and Wheeler giving it to him in a podcast before the season last year, and he stood firm.
His draft ranking is usually pretty spot on. I don’t necessarily have an issue with his U23 list although I think some of my team players are too low (everyone could say the same).
I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight short sighted narrow minded hockey writers. All I want is the truth just gimme some truth
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Exactly. He's not rating who they are right now, he's rating who they might become. By definition, younger guys still have a larger range of potential outcomes, so it's not surprising that the prospects still fit in the higher levels of the list.
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Exactly this... Pronman isn't some great prognosticator but he's probably just as well sourced at this point at Bob McKenzie, and he usually takes 1-2 hot takes per year to keep people talking (Yakemchuk, Solberg last year). I'm surprised every time at how UPSET people get when a new list comes out. Sure, he's no better at evaluating talent than you or I, extraordinary keyboard jockeys that we are. But -- I guarantee you Pronman talks to more NHL scouts and spends more time assessing what is likely to happen at the draft, and that's where he is very useful and not at all a hack.
Mendes was hired by the Senators again, as VP of communications.
Mendes received the ultimate promotion: escaping journalism altogether
