hohosaregood
Banned
- Sep 1, 2011
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Merkley seemed better defensively but some major effort gaps too. Seems like he can do the things we need him to do but not consistently yet.
Prospect Info: Rookie camp and Rookie Tournament 9/17-20
- Thread starter Lebanezer
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I at least have hope at this point that another season in the AHL and he might be worth a call up. Not sure it happens for him this season though. The lack of effort thing is just brutal when it shows up. Overall though better than last season and he looks like he can handle the physical aspect better. He's stronger so now he needs to show it defensively. No one in these prospect games should be able to bull around him wide then cut to the net when he's got body position the whole time. Gotta force them into the end boards.
In terms of who could possibly play on the big club sooner than later: I thought Kin-yah-zev looked good. And while Weatherby, Reedy, Ham-a-lick aren't perfect, they have size and move decently enough.
For the others, I thought Robins' burst really stood out. Maybe as a winger, he could eventually be like a Labanc with wheels.
timorous me
Gristled Veteran
- Apr 14, 2010
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I'm curious to see how long it takes before Kniazev and Hatakka move past Merkley in defenseman prospect rankings. Not too far behind according to rankings on here, and I'm guessing that gap has only closed this weekend. They also seem like better fits with the current NHL group. Merkley's best attribute might be his power play abilities, and I'm guessing we won't see the Sharks as the first team ever with three right-shot d-men on a unit at the same time.
In all seriousness, I think they're already past him for a couple reasons. One, the Sharks RDs are Burns and Karlsson right now, and I doubt the Sharks want to fill their right side with defensive liabilities. Burns is certainly their best defensive RD right now, and Merkley just isn't at the level required to take the 3rd RD spot yet. In a similar vein, the Sharks LDs are not strong at all. Ferraro is the best, and while his effort is amazing and he is decent in his own zone, he hasn't shown much offense. Vlasic is 3rd pairing right now and regressing. Knyzhov, while a nice surprise, isn't exactly firmly entrenched as a top 4 or top 6 dman on the Sharks. He has little to no offense and he and Karlsson got wrecked in their own zone. Of course Karlsson wasn't helping much last year in that regard, but Knyzhov didn't do well with his opportunities either. Then there's Simek who hasn't fully recovered yet from his knee surgery. There's almost no offense coming from the left side, and the defensive acumen isn't high either. Any dman who is reliable in his own zone and can move well I could easily see get a shot on the big club this year, and if Kniazev and Hatakka play well with the Cuda it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them blow right by Knyzhov and Simek on the depth chart. Especially Kniazev if he can bring some offense from the back end.
Funny how the people who do hockey for a living liked Weatherby but a lot of board posters thought his ELC was a waste of a contract space. It's almost like people who do this for a living know more than people who just post about it on the internet.
#appealtoauthority
Prospect Info: - Summer development camp | Tentatively scheduled for 8/15-20 w/ scrimmage 8/19 | Page 7 | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League (mandatory.com)
#appealtoauthority
Prospect Info: - Summer development camp | Tentatively scheduled for 8/15-20 w/ scrimmage 8/19 | Page 7 | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League (mandatory.com)
Let him make the roster before flexing. He went against younger and smaller players. See how he does in a real preseason game. He looked good here but he wasn't exactly dominant.
Pavelski2112
Bold as Boognish
If he makes it, it's a great story, but let's not entirely appeal to authority either. This is a franchise that thought Mueller was gonna be the next Vlasic.
Hodge
Registered User
- Apr 27, 2021
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You don't even need to go that far back. This is a front office that thought Gambrell was a third line center in the NHL earlier this year. If Weatherby makes the team (big if) it's entirely because they were egregiously wrong about Gambrell's ability and have moved on to a slightly younger crappy center prospect.
Weatherby holding his own in this rookie tournament against guys 5 years younger than him means absolutely nothing about his NHL potential.
THe Locked on Sharks guys already have Merkley below Knaizev. This board is late to the realization about Merkley's readiness for the NHL. He may have higher upside offensively but Hatakka is likely to be an NHL regular sooner as he just seems solid and doesn't have effort problems.
themelkman
Always Delivers
Ill admit im wrong about Weatherby when hes legitimately an NHL player. I still think hes just gonna be an AHL forever type that we dont need
To be fair it's not all the same people running development. I doubt DWjr would have pushed that narrative. For all the sins of previous years it seems that they've made some good changes over the last few seasons.
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Not shocked at all that this board would be wrong compared to the pros. The Body has shown consistency and effectiveness in these 2 games. First steps to making the next level. Not sure he'll get there yet but he's making a good case so far. He's waiver exempt though so he's really going to have to be impressive. Pedersen and Gamby likely have the inside track.
You’ll admit he didn’t deserve an ELC unless he makes the show? Most don’t. Those were the comments to which I was referring.
themelkman
Always Delivers
The ELC is whatever, but the guys we lost in Kotkov and Chekhovich were far more interesting to me than him
OrrNumber4
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2002
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I don't think the jettisoning of Kotkov or Chekhovich has anything to do with Weatherby. They weren't progressing well and didn't want to play in the AHL. The Sharks didn't feel that they were valuable enough to put up a fight.
Jargon
Registered User
I don’t really care who passes who on the depth chart, I’m thrilled we have new guys pushing, that wasn’t really the case before.
What I like about Merkley is that he seems to actually take steps to improve. He was told his defense sucked when he was in the lower leagues and he worked on it end was a + player in his last year. His AHL season didn’t go great, he’s come back bigger and seemingly playing with far more confidence. We’ll see how this year goes, but OFD can take a while to develop and I like to see a kid fight to get better - especially one who has been known for behavioral issues. It may take him longer to earn a spot, but he’s got all the skill in the world if he puts it all together.
I hope they all do well and we see Hatakka, Merkley, Ferraro, Kniazev as a top 4 in the future.
What I like about Merkley is that he seems to actually take steps to improve. He was told his defense sucked when he was in the lower leagues and he worked on it end was a + player in his last year. His AHL season didn’t go great, he’s come back bigger and seemingly playing with far more confidence. We’ll see how this year goes, but OFD can take a while to develop and I like to see a kid fight to get better - especially one who has been known for behavioral issues. It may take him longer to earn a spot, but he’s got all the skill in the world if he puts it all together.
I hope they all do well and we see Hatakka, Merkley, Ferraro, Kniazev as a top 4 in the future.
Theres a stat by one of the advanced stat people that shows Knyzhov as last in the league (?) at winning puck battles. He was likely a bigger reason for that pairs struggles than any of us thought. EK65 wasn't great but he did a ton of stuff at an elite level and probably needs a better partner to be truly effective.
Frankly at this point I'm hoping Merkley plays well enough that he can a valuable piece in the Eichel trade.
FFS, seriously? Chechovich got more than enough of a chance and failed. He clearly doesn't have the fire to work in the NA game. He needs the space and soft touch of the KHL. Kotkov wasn't even on anyones radar to ever make the show. He wasn't even that good in the AHL... The Body has a legit chance to be a 4th line center which is more than either of those other 2 were projecting to be. He also just stood out compared to the rest of the Sharks prospects. He definitely deserved an ELC at this point especially with the opening on the Sharks roster.
seroes
Registered User
This. While I liked Chekhovich, he was clearly having issues adjust to NA ice. Additionally, we have plenty of winger prospects coming who could be useful bottom six players. Chekhovich wasn't special. However as an organization we have very few center prospects of any level who actually project to play center in the NHL at any level. A potential 4C is a better use for a contract slot compared to those we lost.
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