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

[AmericanDream]

Burke will take him if he is still there

cant resists Americans, no matter what size. Its big Canadians he covets after that.

hahaha, I bet if someone pulled up Burke's draft record the past few years, I would bet he didnt take that many American kids.

to be fair, he really didnt have many picks left, but thats a different subject altogether!!

 

[pmorris]

hahaha, I bet if someone pulled up Burke's draft record the past few years, I would bet he didnt take that many American kids.

to be fair, he really didnt have many picks left, but thats a different subject altogether!!

He did give up all those picks for an American kid though...

 

[DuklaNation]

Id be concerned for a 5'6 player that skates with his head down.

 

[Doomsday Device]

Having seen his game a bit more fully now, I think his actual skill level has definitely been overstated. I don't buy at all him being one of the top players in the draft if he was 5'10"+. His size actually makes him more effective at the junior level because of how elusive it allows him to be against players who aren't skilled or talented enough to handle him. However, I do think he actually can have success at the pro level because of the more limited role he'll play. He has such a high energy level that playing 3rd line minutes at the next level means he won't have to pace himself like he does playing for the NTDP and allow himself to be effective as a chaos role player a la Gerbe or Tootoo.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Having seen his game a bit more fully now, I think his actual skill level has definitely been overstated. I don't buy at all him being one of the top players in the draft if he was 5'10"+. His size actually makes him more effective at the junior level because of how elusive it allows him to be against players who aren't skilled or talented enough to handle him. However, I do think he actually can have success at the pro level because of the more limited role he'll play. He has such a high energy level that playing 3rd line minutes at the next level means he won't have to pace himself like he does playing for the NTDP and allow himself to be effective as a chaos role player a la Gerbe or Tootoo.

Amazingly you're now understating his ability.

 

[wej20]

I never looked at it that way in terms of a compensation pick. But I still think it would be a ballsy move for a gm to pick a kid that small in the first round. If he busts or doesn't turn out to be the second coming of Fleury or St. Louis, that GM will be hearing about it for the rest of his tenure, especially if players after him turn out to be studs. I mean, you think Glen Sather likes watching Claude Giroux light up the league knowing that he took Korpikoski right before him?

Also, it would be kind of foolish to take a kid in the first if there's a good chance that Grimaldi could slip into the mid to late 2nd round because other teams are scared off of his size. Take Tim Tebow for example: if the Broncos picked him in the third and used one of their first rounders to take like Dez Bryant or something, then a.) the team is more vastly more talented and b.) Tebow wouldn't be a gamble if you took him in the third round like everyone predicted he would go. Instead Josh McDaniels is sitting in the unemployment line as one of the worst hires in recent NFL history.

So if Grimaldi slides, he will has reasonable expectations associated with his performance, the GM doesn't chance his reputation to a high stakes pick (which it is when you take a kid who's 5'6 in the first round), and the GM looks like a genius if Grimaldi does turn out to be the next Fleury.

Aren't NHL 1st rounder picks especially ones outside the top 10 worth a lot less than they are in the NFL?

 

[Torts]

watched some games from u18 and im officially sold on this kid

one of the last things i judge a player on is size

gionta, gerbe, ennis, st. louis are just a few of the smaller guys in the league

with hard work and a little bit of growth and patience i think this kid will have a decent pro hockey career

 

[Pick Six]

Aren't NHL 1st rounder picks especially ones outside the top 10 worth a lot less than they are in the NFL?

Draft picks in general are worth more in the NFL than in the NHL.

 

[pmorris]

Aren't NHL 1st rounder picks especially ones outside the top 10 worth a lot less than they are in the NFL?

Draft picks in general are worth more in the NFL than in the NHL.

Regardless, no GM is gonna waste a 1st round pick on a kid that's 5'6 because God forbid he busts. If 6 years from now Grimaldi is playing 3rd line minutes in the AHL, then how AWFUL would that pick be? Milbury-esque. And everybody is going to come out and say what a moron you are for picking a kid that's 5'6 in the first round, especially if somebody slips past Grimaldi and becomes a stud. I mean, do you think Glen Sather enjoys the fact that he screwed up and took Bobby Sanguinetti over Claude Giroux? Now imagine if somebody takes Grimaldi in the first round over the next Claude Giroux?

If you take him in the 3rd round or even the 2nd round and he busts, so what. How many GMs get crucified over 2nd and 3rd round picks that bust? And if he's the next Fleury, you look like a genius for taking him later.

So the point is, it's less about value with Grimaldi and more about saving face.

 

[Gobo]

Oilers at 31.

 

[Pick Six]

Regardless, no GM is gonna waste a 1st round pick on a kid that's 5'6 because God forbid he busts. If 6 years from now Grimaldi is playing 3rd line minutes in the AHL, then how AWFUL would that pick be? Milbury-esque. And everybody is going to come out and say what a moron you are for picking a kid that's 5'6 in the first round, especially if somebody slips past Grimaldi and becomes a stud. I mean, do you think Glen Sather enjoys the fact that he screwed up and took Bobby Sanguinetti over Claude Giroux? Now imagine if somebody takes Grimaldi in the first round over the next Claude Giroux?

If you take him in the 3rd round or even the 2nd round and he busts, so what. How many GMs get crucified over 2nd and 3rd round picks that bust? And if he's the next Fleury, you look like a genius for taking him later.

So the point is, it's less about value with Grimaldi and more about saving face.

I'm not saying he'll go in the first round, but this isn't how a GM in any sport thinks. You try to pick the best talent regardless of size, nationality etc. You don't pick a 'safe' player because you want to save face.

But lets say that GM's do think that way. No one was saying to take Grimaldi in the top 15, let alone the top 10. Check out the percentages of players that play a significant amount of games, that were drafted later in the first round. It's not very high, and being wrong is hardly 'Milbury-esque'. Sather gets ridiculed for awful signings and trades, not because he took Sanguetti over Giroux.

 

[wej20]

Regardless, no GM is gonna waste a 1st round pick on a kid that's 5'6 because God forbid he busts. If 6 years from now Grimaldi is playing 3rd line minutes in the AHL, then how AWFUL would that pick be? Milbury-esque. And everybody is going to come out and say what a moron you are for picking a kid that's 5'6 in the first round, especially if somebody slips past Grimaldi and becomes a stud. I mean, do you think Glen Sather enjoys the fact that he screwed up and took Bobby Sanguinetti over Claude Giroux? Now imagine if somebody takes Grimaldi in the first round over the next Claude Giroux?

If you take him in the 3rd round or even the 2nd round and he busts, so what. How many GMs get crucified over 2nd and 3rd round picks that bust? And if he's the next Fleury, you look like a genius for taking him later.

So the point is, it's less about value with Grimaldi and more about saving face.

Plenty of picks in the bottom half of the first round bust, one first round bust is not going to result in said GM getting fired. Would a GM be less of a moron if he picked a 6'4 kid who busts?

 

[17Kurri]

Oilers at 31.

Gawd, I hope not. Maybe at 61 or lower, but not at 31.

That size is a major concern despite the number of people trying to downplay it.

 

[17Kurri]

Plenty of picks in the bottom half of the first round bust, one first round bust is not going to result in said GM getting fired. Would a GM be less of a moron if he picked a 6'4 kid who busts?

For better or for worse, yes, he would be much less criticized over a 6'4" first round bust than a 5'6" first round bust.

 

[wej20]

For better or for worse, yes, he would be much less criticized over a 6'4" first round bust than a 5'6" first round bust.

maybe but if he's a late 1st round pick I doubt a GM gets that much criticism, plenty of late 1st rounders bust.

 

[17Kurri]

maybe but if he's a late 1st round pick I doubt a GM gets that much criticism, plenty of late 1st rounders bust.

Fair enough, but a first rounder is a first rounder and it's much, much easier to overlook a 6'4" bust than 5'6" bust.

 

[ocarina]

Fair enough, but a first rounder is a first rounder and it's much, much easier to overlook a 6'4" bust than 5'6" bust.

I don't get how anyone can look at it like that. A bust is a bust, no matter what the reasons were for the player busting. There isn't a "better" way to bust, a good GM would not get caught up in something like that.

I find it interesting that people keep knocking Grimaldi for his size, yet there have been countless times a GM drafted a guy for his size and it backfired. Off the top of my head, Teemu Riihijarvi, Matt Zultek and Hugh Jessiman are good (or I should say bad) examples of that line of thinking.

 

[17Kurri]

I don't get how anyone can look at it like that. A bust is a bust, no matter what the reasons were for the player busting. There isn't a "better" way to bust, a good GM would not get caught up in something like that.

I find it interesting that people keep knocking Grimaldi for his size, yet there have been countless times a GM drafted a guy for his size and it backfired. Off the top of my head, Teemu Riihijarvi, Matt Zultek and Hugh Jessiman are good (or I should say bad) examples of that line of thinking.

Don't get me wrong, I totally get and accept the "a bust is a bust" argument, but I do believe that managers get more rope for failing with players that "fit the bill" than for going off the beaten path and failing.

Smaller players, especially Grimaldi small (5'6" is a long way from prototypical), aren't a common commodity when it comes to success in the NHL, so picking him would qualify as going off the beaten path, imo.

 

[ocarina]

Don't get me wrong, I totally get and accept the "a bust is a bust" argument, but I do believe that managers get more rope for failing with players that "fit the bill" than for going off the beaten path and failing.

Smaller players, especially Grimaldi small (5'6" is a long way from prototypical), aren't a common commodity when it comes to success in the NHL, so picking him would qualify as going off the beaten path, imo.

I think with the success of guys like Gionta, Gerbe, and even Desharnis, there is going to be an upswing on players like Grimaldi being drafted higher. Grimaldi is obviously an extreme case, but teams are starting to realize that size doesn't really matter if a player knows how to play hockey.

 

[17Kurri]

I think with the success of guys like Gionta, Gerbe, and even Desharnis, there is going to be an upswing on players like Grimaldi being drafted higher. Grimaldi is obviously an extreme case, but teams are starting to realize that size doesn't really matter if a player knows how to play hockey.

You could very well be right, even though, for better or for worse, I think teams place a significant premium on size still.

 

[AmericanDream]

this is a draft where some home run swings are certainly going to be taken higher then expected. Players on both sides of the size spectrum like Oleksiak and Grimaldi are going to go much higher then predicted imo, because they stand out from the rest of the group in their own special ways.

I can see a gm taking Oleksiak top 10 without hesitation because of what he can one day offer. I can also see a gm taking Grimaldi top 10 without hesitation because of what he can one day be offensively...

not saying either one will go top 10, but this draft has a lot of players that can go from 15-35 in all honesty, and there will be some solid teams drafting in the 8-15 range that can afford to take a home run swing and land a player that might not go that high in previous drafts...

 

[Sabres9]

To me, Rocco Grimaldi will make the NHL because he has the heart and the drive plus the skills to match. The only knock on him is his size, not his style of play, not his skill, not his heart, but his size (which he uses to his advantage btw). He will make the NHL imho and could become the next gionta at the high end of things or another gerbe at the lower end, but he will make the NHL.

 

[Torts]

Regardless, no GM is gonna waste a 1st round pick on a kid that's 5'6 because God forbid he busts. If 6 years from now Grimaldi is playing 3rd line minutes in the AHL, then how AWFUL would that pick be? Milbury-esque. And everybody is going to come out and say what a moron you are for picking a kid that's 5'6 in the first round, especially if somebody slips past Grimaldi and becomes a stud. I mean, do you think Glen Sather enjoys the fact that he screwed up and took Bobby Sanguinetti over Claude Giroux? Now imagine if somebody takes Grimaldi in the first round over the next Claude Giroux?

If you take him in the 3rd round or even the 2nd round and he busts, so what. How many GMs get crucified over 2nd and 3rd round picks that bust? And if he's the next Fleury, you look like a genius for taking him later.

So the point is, it's less about value with Grimaldi and more about saving face.

what if he is the next claude giroux?

 

[Brain Hemorrhage]

I would gladly take Grimaldi after the top 8, between 14 and 20, and sit on him for four years and see how he does in a PTO in the AHL. If he bombs, don't sign him and take a compensatory pick.

 

[The Vinstar]

I seriously think he will be a 100 point player.