RW Rocco Grimaldi (2011, 33rd overall, Florida)

[R S]

I wouldnt mind seeing the Avs get this kid early in round 2 to be honest.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I wouldnt mind seeing the Avs get this kid early in round 2 to be honest.

He'll be gone before then. IMO, this draft has the odor of being somewhat weak. A smart team with a little faith (DETROIT!) will take a flier on him.

 

[MarkovtoSubban]

If he makes it to Montreal's pick then they must take him!

Having proven the great strength of hobbits yet again, Grimaldi would be a natural for them.

 

[Riggins]

Any updates on Grimaldi? How has his season gone? I wonder if he's grown any on top of that 5 foot 6.

What kind of speed does he have? Enough to make up for his size?

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Any updates on Grimaldi? How has his season gone? I wonder if he's grown any on top of that 5 foot 6.

What kind of speed does he have? Enough to make up for his size?

The guy definitely has elite wheels that make up for size. But I'm not sure he has grown, and there are some who think he won't grow that much beyond his 5-6 frame (both parents are quite short). This is really the only reason he isn't a sure-fire top 15 pick.

But his production at the U18 team can't be ignored. He is easily the top scorer with 31-26-57 in 44 games. To put that in perspective, Tyler Biggs - who many see as a top 10 pick - has only 15-9-24 in 42 games. Perhaps more importantly, going against the college teams, Grimaldi is still almost averaging a ppg with 7-7-14 in 15 games. Biggs, who has done well against college teams given his size, has 5-4-9 in 16 games.

Think about that in terms of NCAA freshman drafted last year and their relative production in college against 19-23 year olds. 1st rounders last year like Sheahan, Bennett, Coyle, Hayes and Bjugstad are all in the 0.4 to .65 ppg, which is decent production for a freshman. Grimaldi, a year younger, is outperforming all of those guys.

Jaden Schwarts, with 33 points in 22 games, is really the only guy lighting it up as a freshman. And it wouldn't surprise me to see Grimaldi put up similar numbers next year to what Schwartz is doing. Grimaldi has also been solid to great in every international tourney he has played at. Grimaldi is smaller for sure, but might be more dynamic, which is saying something.

Just like Schwartz moving up last year, I think someone will grab Grimaldi in the 15-25 range.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

The guy definitely has elite wheels that make up for size. But I'm not sure he has grown, and there are some who think he won't grow that much beyond his 5-6 frame (both parents are quite short). This is really the only reason he isn't a sure-fire top 15 pick.

But his production at the U18 team can't be ignored. He is easily the top scorer with 31-26-57 in 44 games. To put that in perspective, Tyler Biggs - who many see as a top 10 pick - has only 15-9-24 in 42 games. Perhaps more importantly, going against the college teams, Grimaldi is still almost averaging a ppg with 7-7-14 in 15 games. Biggs, who has done well against college teams given his size, has 5-4-9 in 16 games.

Think about that in terms of NCAA freshman drafted last year and their relative production in college against 19-23 year olds. 1st rounders last year like Sheahan, Bennett, Coyle, Hayes and Bjugstad are all in the 0.4 to .65 ppg, which is decent production for a freshman. Grimaldi, a year younger, is outperforming all of those guys.

Jaden Schwarts, with 33 points in 22 games, is really the only guy lighting it up as a freshman. And it wouldn't surprise me to see Grimaldi put up similar numbers next year to what Schwartz is doing. Grimaldi has also been solid to great in every international tourney he has played at. Grimaldi is smaller for sure, but might be more dynamic, which is saying something.

Just like Schwartz moving up last year, I think someone will grab Grimaldi in the 15-25 range.

Jason Zucker, freshman at Denver, was leading the WCHA in scoring before last night. I think Schwartz has him beat in points per game, though.

 

[pmorris]

For anyone that is watching him play, is he a natural center a la Danny Briere or will he be more suited as a wing like Fleury and St. Louis?

 

[HockeyGuy1975]

Think about that in terms of NCAA freshman drafted last year and their relative production in college against 19-23 year olds. 1st rounders last year like Sheahan, Bennett, Coyle, Hayes and Bjugstad are all in the 0.4 to .65 ppg, which is decent production for a freshman. Grimaldi, a year younger, is outperforming all of those guys.

Jaden Schwarts, with 33 points in 22 games, is really the only guy lighting it up as a freshman. And it wouldn't surprise me to see Grimaldi put up similar numbers next year to what Schwartz is doing. Grimaldi has also been solid to great in every international tourney he has played at. Grimaldi is smaller for sure, but might be more dynamic, which is saying something.

Just like Schwartz moving up last year, I think someone will grab Grimaldi in the 15-25 range.

Zucker at Denver U. is having the best freshman year among the high U.S. draft picks. Interestingly, some of the draft-eligible freshman are having better years than last years picks (Clendening, Nieto).

 

[HockeyGuy1975]

For anyone that is watching him play, is he a natural center a la Danny Briere or will he be more suited as a wing like Fleury and St. Louis?

I have a friend that played with Briere in juniors and he still says that he was the best junior player he had ever seen and played with. Grimaldi is more Fleury than Briere. He has Briere-like hands with Fleury-like grit and edge.

I think Grimaldi is sort of a Fleury at the center position. I don't know whether he can play center in the NHL though.

 

[William H Bonney]

Grimaldi had 2 more goals tonight including the game winner, a penalty shot, in OT. He now has 33 goals and 27 assists (60 points) on the year. Pretty impressive considering he's the only consistent offensive threat on the U-18 squad.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Zucker at Denver U. is having the best freshman year among the high U.S. draft picks. Interestingly, some of the draft-eligible freshman are having better years than last years picks (Clendening, Nieto).

Yeah, missed Zucker, as I just did a quick perusal of the first 40 picks. He deserves some props. But the main point was simply that freshmen don't typically make much of an impact, and anyone averaging a ppg is in pretty good company. For Grimaldi to do it a year before being drafted, is impressive.

 

[IkeaMonkey*]

Grimaldi had 2 more goals tonight including the game winner, a penalty shot, in OT. He now has 33 goals and 27 assists (60 points) on the year. Pretty impressive considering he's the only consistent offensive threat on the U-18 squad.

But if you listen to some here, Biggs will be a 50-65 pt guy in the NHL!!!

(Not me, I've actually seen the kid play, many times)

 

[The Vinstar]

"elite wheels" Elite as in phil kessel/mike Camilleri or elite as in Mason Raymond/Michael Grabner?

 

[HockeyGuy1975]

"elite wheels" Elite as in phil kessel/mike Camilleri or elite as in Mason Raymond/Michael Grabner?

From the few games that I've seen, the former. Although I wouldn't consider Cam an elite skater. Kessel is probably a good comparison.

 

[HockeyGuy1975]

Yeah, missed Zucker, as I just did a quick perusal of the first 40 picks. He deserves some props. But the main point was simply that freshmen don't typically make much of an impact, and anyone averaging a ppg is in pretty good company. For Grimaldi to do it a year before being drafted, is impressive.

Yeah, I agree with you. Which is why I don't understand how Nieto and N. Shore don't get more attention on these boards. Both have been good freshman. I definitely think that the former has top 10 talent. He looked timid in the beginning of the season, but his talent and hockey IQ is top notch.

 

[The Wyzerhood]

Totally agree with you. The key being "when given a chance." Numbers show that smaller guys are often passed over as they rise through the ranks. By the time they make it to NCAA or Major Junior, no matter how good they are, size is always a consideration. It would be a mistake to say, "not many small guys are drafted, so they must not be good enough." More likely there are a lot of small guys who are very good, but aren't given a chance unless they can really set themselves apart from even the bigger guy. I've said there are execptions and Grimaldi could be the next one, but just look at the numbers:

Out of 1076 players drafted from 2005-2009:

• 5'6": 1 - Nathan Gerbe (2005)
• 5'7": 1 - Justin Azevedo (2007)
• 5'8": 5 - Jordan Kozun & Brandon Schroeder (2009), David Warsofsky, Jared Spurgeon, & Garret Roe (2008),

Odds go up if you can make it to 5'9" (20 players in five years). Grimaldi's young enough. Hopefully, he can put on another 3 inches in the next 24 months, otherwise he'd be only the second player in six years to be drafted (which could happen given his abilities). The trend isn't looking good, though, with kids getting bigger: it's been 5 years since a 5'6" player was drafted. Doesn't look likely this year, either. Every kid should keep his hopes up, but every kid should also consider the chances. Since 2005 less than 2.6% of all drafted players were under 5'9" tall (27/1076).

Who's brandon schroeder? How Grimaldi does in this year's 2011 U-18 Tournament will directly affect his draft stock. I still think he'll slide to late in the first round or early in the second due to his size.

 

[member 30781]

http://hockeyspy.blogspot.com/2011/03/size-doesnt-matter.html

That's an article I wrote on Grimaldi. Hope you guys like it.

 

[SuperSaiyanBeastmode]

I can really see the predators picking him especially if he's a character guy just based on steve sullivan. is he as fast as him? or is he a pure skill guy with determination?

 

[member 30781]

I can really see the predators picking him especially if he's a character guy just based on steve sullivan. is he as fast as him? or is he a pure skill guy with determination?

Given his small frame, he is probably faster (will be eventually if not at the moment). Good thing about Grimaldi is he is very skilled because he needs to be. He doesnt have the height or reach to shield the puck as easily as guys who are 6 foot or taller. He knows he needs to make moves very quickly to beat defenders and he has thrived off that.

 

[Madic]

Yeah, I agree with you. Which is why I don't understand how Nieto and N. Shore don't get more attention on these boards. Both have been good freshman. I definitely think that the former has top 10 talent. He looked timid in the beginning of the season, but his talent and hockey IQ is top notch.

I wondered the same, except I haven't seen him play. I know he was getting talked about a bit earlier in the season, and statistically he seems to have followed through against good competition...so what's the deal? Too small? Slow? Absolutely no buzz around him right now as a 1st rounder.

 

[YNWA14]

Would be interesting to see a team take a chance on him. Could he be the next Fleury/St. Louis? Also could Fleury have been even more dominant in the new open league? Hm...

I like Grimaldi's chances. Hope he does well.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I've seen Grimaldi a couple times now and was blown away both times. They might as well refer to the US U-18 team as Rocco and friends. It's the Rocco Grimaldi show. He's THAT much better than the rest of his teammates and the opposition. The main drawback of course is his height. I honestly think we'd be talking about him in terms of the #1 overall pick if he was 6'0" instead of 5'6". Before seeing him I more or less wrote him off at his height but as skilled as he is, I don't doubt he'll find a way to make it in the NHL. He's super skilled, has supreme hockey sense and flies like the wind. I personally would have no qualms with taking him in the 2nd half of the 1st round. I think a team will take him later in the 1st but I could also see him slipping to the 2nd...in which case I really hope my Blues grab him.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

If he was 6'0", he'd be a top 5 pick this draft. I am begging for the Rangers to pick the kid.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

He's only grown an inch since then, but man can he dangle.

 

[SPORTSMANIAC]

A lot of talent in that video with Grimaldi, Reid, McColgan on one team...Anyone else notice Lucas Lessio at the 6:12-6:15 mark playing I believe for the Toronto Marlboros