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RD Ethan Bear - Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL (2015, 124th, EDM)

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sandhu111 said:
Oh okay thanks, If he was able to develop a good one timer and hard slapshot he would be prefect for the pp with mcdavvvy one day
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I actually don't think he's to far off from being that, his defensive game is a little lacklustre, and he's not a great skater. But his one timer and his snapshot are very nice. If he can work on some of deficiencies and put in a strong effort in the AHL next year he could become a great 4 to 6 Quarter back for us
 
McNurse said:
I actually don't think he's to far off from being that, his defensive game is a little lacklustre, and he's not a great skater. But his one timer and his snapshot are very nice. If he can work on some of deficiencies and put in a strong effort in the AHL next year he could become a great 4 to 6 Quarter back for us
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Even to develop into a reliable 3rd pair at regular minuets

but first unit PP would be great, biggest need on our team.
 
Leading the Thunderbirds in scoring with 45 points and in scoring with 18 goals (Barzal only has played 25 games). Hes 1st amongst WHL D for % of team goals and almost a full 2% higher than next closest D (Iriving). Hes also 3rd among WHL for primary points and 7th overall in the league for total points

Pretty good offensive year for being on a low scoring team. Who are some other CHL D to lead their team in scoring?
 
Aceboogie said:
Leading the Thunderbirds in scoring with 45 points and in scoring with 18 goals (Barzal only has played 25 games). Hes 1st amongst WHL D for % of team goals and almost a full 2% higher than next closest D (Iriving). Hes also 3rd among WHL for primary points and 7th overall in the league for total points

Pretty good offensive year for being on a low scoring team. Who are some other CHL D to lead their team in scoring?
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Shea Theodore is one of note at least from the WHL. he had 79 points in 70 games in 2013-14 (Bear's rookie year). The next highest player on that team was a forward that had 63 points in 71 games.
 
5 goals, 3 assists 8 points in last 5 games. 21 goals, 31 assists and 52 points this year. On pace for 27 goals as a D
 
Hows his defensive game? Has he grown at all or got bigger since he was drafted?

Looks promising.
 
Topkatz said:
Hows his defensive game? Has he grown at all or got bigger since he was drafted?

Looks promising.
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Its weird because he was regarded as a defensive D in his draft year. A majority of scouting reports echoed he was either solid defensively to great and this was where his strength lied

Only had 38 points in his draft year. Then draft+1 his points sky rocketed to 65, then goals have been seeing a massive increase. Maybe hes sacrificing defense for offense. Or maybe his defensive ability was just good for a 3rd round pick and now that hes putting up great point totals, people are analyzing his game more
 
Aceboogie said:
Its weird because he was regarded as a defensive D in his draft year. A majority of scouting reports echoed he was either solid defensively to great and this was where his strength lied

Only had 38 points in his draft year. Then draft+1 his points sky rocketed to 65, then goals have been seeing a massive increase. Maybe hes sacrificing defense for offense. Or maybe his defensive ability was just good for a 3rd round pick and now that hes putting up great point totals, people are analyzing his game more
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Bear has a really accurate shot. Last season he was tied for 1st in PP goals in both the regular season and playoffs amongst D men. This season he's 2nd in PP goals for D men.

He has a knack for finding the net with his shot and he's a good playmaker from the point 5 v 5 and on the PP. He'll need some AHL time, his skating needs some work and he'll need to work on his strength.

A couple years in the AHL and off seasons dedicated to his skating/strength training and he could be a 2nd pairing D man and PP QB. Plus, he's right handed which is a huge benefit.

He's not NHL ready right now, and likely won't be for a couple years. If we bring him along right, having him on an ELC for a couple years when we're paying our other guys will be huge. Should be a nice addition down the road, no need to rush him.
 
Hat trick tonight. Shaky defensively though.

Caleb Jones has been the best player on the ice.

Solid offensive defensemen in the WHL right now.
 
2g. 2a. last night. Kid is on fire this year. First part of the year he was quieter than I thought he would be but as expected once Barzal came back, Bear and the whole team has been on fire... Bear has put up 14 goals and 15 assists in 20 games since Barzal came back from WJC and the team finally almost had a full lineup(Seattle had key players injured all season/players gone at NHL camps and WJC.. They are still missing one of their better forwards Scott Eansor)

61 points in 57 games so far and has been a force

Seattle has a big 4 of Bear(EDM), Barzal(NYI), Gropp(NYR) and Kolesar(CBJ) that has taken the league by storm since Barzal came back on Jan. 14th

Those 4 have put up 143 points in 20 games combined since that Jan 14th game when Barzal returned
 
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jasonfilatov said:
Hat trick tonight. Shaky defensively though.

Caleb Jones has been the best player on the ice.

Solid offensive defensemen in the WHL right now.
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I didn't see last nights game, but Bear has always been very solid defensively in my viewings of him. Good positioning, good in puck battles, good breakout pass and solid at getting in shooting lanes.
 
Excellent find for the Oilers hes def one of the steals of one of the deepest drafts. IMO would be close to a 1st in a redraft
 
Mogilny to Bure said:
Excellent find for the Oilers hes def one of the steals of one of the deepest drafts. IMO would be close to a 1st in a redraft
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as much as I love him(my post history will show) I don't think he would. I think in a redraft he would POSSIBLY be a 2nd rounder and forsurely no later than a 3rd, but not a 1st.

I really don't know why, but ive always questioned his pro upside. Sure he may have a great AHL career, but I just am not sure how easy it will be for him to have a solid NHL career.

I saw him play a lot in bantam at POE prep school and I knew he would be a good WHLer, but now that his junior career will be coming to an end after this year, I truly don't know what his pro career will bring.

I PRAY I am wrong

Ive ranted and raved about him for years, and people that have seen my posts may think its odd I am saying this about Bear, but I have just always questioned his pro upside. Great player and I wish he was considered for the WJC teams over the past couple years and IMO might even win some awards this season
 
Skinnyjimmy08 said:
as much as I love him(my post history will show) I don't think he would. I think in a redraft he would POSSIBLY be a 2nd rounder and forsurely no later than a 3rd, but not a 1st.

I really don't know why, but ive always questioned his pro upside. Sure he may have a great AHL career, but I just am not sure how easy it will be for him to have a solid NHL career.

I saw him play a lot in bantam at POE prep school and I knew he would be a good WHLer, but now that his junior career will be coming to an end after this year, I truly don't know what his pro career will bring.

I PRAY I am wrong

Ive ranted and raved about him for years, and people that have seen my posts may think its odd I am saying this about Bear, but I have just always questioned his pro upside. Great player and I wish he was considered for the WJC teams over the past couple years and IMO might even win some awards this season
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I think this is an good assessment. While Bear is putting up some big numbers, its his draft +2 year and there has been other D who have done this and not gone on to much. The things going against Bear is that he has relied heavily on the PP and PP numbers have a tough time translating to NHL (mostly because limited PP QB spots). Although his ES production has shot up this year compared to last. To add, his skating has been questioned. While Ive seen reports its not bad (but not good), smaller D need to have near elite skating to cut it in NHL as an offensive D

I do see a possibility he cuts it as a #5/6 PP QB in the NHL one day. I dont see as much of a possibiloyt he becomes a Krug/Barrie/Vatanen/Spurgeon type D as his skating is not at that level. If he improves that, then maybe

For me, Caleb Jones is the one to watch. I dont really see many holes in his game. Hes got good size, hes a good to great skater, he can contribute offensively and possesses dynamic ability. Hes also shown to be good defensively. If there was any Oiler D id peg to have middle pairing to even top pairing upside, id say its Jones
 
Aceboogie said:
I think this is an good assessment. While Bear is putting up some big numbers, its his draft +2 year and there has been other D who have done this and not gone on to much. The things going against Bear is that he has relied heavily on the PP and PP numbers have a tough time translating to NHL (mostly because limited PP QB spots). Although his ES production has shot up this year compared to last. To add, his skating has been questioned. While Ive seen reports its not bad (but not good), smaller D need to have near elite skating to cut it in NHL as an offensive D

I do see a possibility he cuts it as a #5/6 PP QB in the NHL one day. I dont see as much of a possibiloyt he becomes a Krug/Barrie/Vatanen/Spurgeon type D as his skating is not at that level. If he improves that, then maybe

For me, Caleb Jones is the one to watch. I dont really see many holes in his game. Hes got good size, hes a good to great skater, he can contribute offensively and possesses dynamic ability. Hes also shown to be good defensively. If there was any Oiler D id peg to have middle pairing to even top pairing upside, id say its Jones
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Yup... Ethan Bear has the eye popping offensive numbers and +- but IMO Jones has better pro upside... I agree
 
I agree with a lot of what you both said and do see Jones as a much more sure thing, but I think a lot of Bear's deficiencies are overstated. His skating has improved and while its not elite its above average at the WHL level. His size isn't all that bad. He's listed at 5'11.5 and looks to be as tall as Barzal on the ice. He's a solid kid already weighing 200+ and is noticeably strong in board battles with bigger opponents.

I think he could definitely fail to become an NHL D, but I think it will have more to do with him lacking an elite aspect to his game than any one deficiency. His offensive tools are good (moves the puck well, hard accurate shot, finds shooting lanes well) but not elite. Same goes for a lot of his other tools such as skating, size/strength, and defending ability (all good, but not elite). He is a very smart player though, so if he can really just continue to improve his skating, strength and offensive toolkit he could be a good NHL Dman.
 
Heres some other stuff on Bear (all rankings are just for D)

PP goals: 14, 2nd most in league behind Quenville
% of teams goals: 11% #1 in WHL. Hobbs is second at 8.93%. Jones at 8th
% of teams points: 10%, #1 in WHL
Even strength goals: 14, 3rd
Even strength points: 38, #5
Primary points: 52, 2nd for D, 3rd had 45
Game winning goals (random I know): 9 most in league for D
First goals: 8, most for D

Some other things, Hobbs had 2 130 point scores on his team, Bear had Barzal (79) and Gropp (84). Pats lead the league in goals with 353, Seattle 103 behind at 250. Which really makes Bears point totals stick out as he did so on lower scoring team

Hobbs will get D of the year but Bears year is really impressive
 
Aceboogie said:
Heres some other stuff on Bear (all rankings are just for D)

PP goals: 14, 2nd most in league behind Quenville
% of teams goals: 11% #1 in WHL. Hobbs is second at 8.93%. Jones at 8th
% of teams points: 10%, #1 in WHL
Even strength goals: 14, 3rd
Even strength points: 38, #5
Primary points: 52, 2nd for D, 3rd had 45
Game winning goals (random I know): 9 most in league for D
First goals: 8, most for D

Some other things, Hobbs had 2 130 point scores on his team, Bear had Barzal (79) and Gropp (84). Pats lead the league in goals with 353, Seattle 103 behind at 250. Which really makes Bears point totals stick out as he did so on lower scoring team

Hobbs will get D of the year but Bears year is really impressive
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Hobbs doesn't deserve it over Bear, no chance in hell. Hobbs had a better offensive season but Bear is the most complete dman in the Dub. He was used in every situation and was relied on way more than Hobbs was relied on by Regina.
 
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