Rookie Breakouts?????

[sko789]

Ok so we all have or will be cheering for hall and seguin being picked 1 and 2 in the draft, did anyone get a chance to see the rest of the prospects in action? can we expect a 3, 4 or 5 pick do really well this year?? anyones thoughts on this?

[30ranfordfan]

My guess:

Taylor Hall makes the Oilers, Seguin spends another year in junior, instead of Boston.

For the others.... Gudbranson (#3 to Florida) is a maybe. I'm betting back to junior with him too though. The only other top 10 I see with a good chance to make the club out of camp, is Nino Niederreiter (#5 to NYI).

Cam Fowler (#12 to Anaheim) and Brandon Gormley (#13 to Phoenix) also have shots.

Wildcard?? #65 Kirill Kabanov. He's got the talent, but probably isn't ready. He's anotehr NYI pick - so being ready may not matter.

[cnshockey]

My guess:

Taylor Hall makes the Oilers, Seguin spends another year in junior, instead of Boston.

For the others.... Gudbranson (#3 to Florida) is a maybe. I'm betting back to junior with him too though. The only other top 10 I see with a good chance to make the club out of camp, is Nino Niederreiter (#5 to NYI).

Cam Fowler (#12 to Anaheim) and Brandon Gormley (#13 to Phoenix) also have shots.

Wildcard?? #65 Kirill Kabanov. He's got the talent, but probably isn't ready. He's anotehr NYI pick - so being ready may not matter.

This post is win.

Agree on Hall and Seguin. Don't see Gudbranson in the NHL next year. I see Nino tearing it up next year. Fowler might because the Ducks D sucks but Gormley won't. Kirill would make the team based on skill alone and the fact that he burned his bridge in juniors, plus his hatred for the KHL makes you think he'll be in the NHL too

[stop__dreaming]

I agree about Nino. Really looking forward to seeing him play next season. He was the dark-horse for me in the Draft!

[sko789]

ya i've heard some good things about this kid Nino Niederreiter, im really looking forward to seeing him play.

[30ranfordfan]

Yeah. Seguin is probably good enough to make most teams, but I just don't see Boston being one of them. It's a nice problem to have. They're likely going to let the kid dominate Junior for another year, instead of making him a 4th line Centre.

The Islanders are weak enough the Nino probably makes the squad. Kabanov could too. Both have a lot of talent, and could move in.

The 3 dmen I mentioned, are all very talented - and were all drafted by teams with weak defense corps. It's probably best for all of them to go back to Junior for another season.... but I could see any of FLA, ANA, and PHO being desperate enough to move them in now. All good enough that they won't look that out of place. I just happen to think that getting 30ish minutes per game, in all situations, and being able to dominate your peers is a much better way for an 18 year old defenceman to grow.... than playing 3rd pairing minutes, with limited special teams.

This post is win.

Agree on Hall and Seguin. Don't see Gudbranson in the NHL next year. I see Nino tearing it up next year. Fowler might because the Ducks D sucks but Gormley won't. Kirill would make the team based on skill alone and the fact that he burned his bridge in juniors, plus his hatred for the KHL makes you think he'll be in the NHL too

[sko789]

another question i have (cause you all seem to know alot about these guys) is where do you get the information on them? i can never get Junior or AAA games, collage...ect. where is the best place to get information on the up and comming players?

[30ranfordfan]

Well, if you're just interested in stats - all the leauges do have their own sites (i.e. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/) or you can go to similar website for the individual clubs.

I try and get to a dozen, or so, OHL games a year.... so I've usually got a pretty good idea who the best guys here are. Other than that - honestly - it's media coverage. The World Junior Tournament gives a lot of exposure to a lot of these players. It's absolutly huge in Canada. Junior hockey is covered by all the major sports networks here.

[capt55]

Sleeper, Brett Connolly drafted by Steve Yzerman.

[cnshockey]

Yeah. Seguin is probably good enough to make most teams, but I just don't see Boston being one of them. It's a nice problem to have. They're likely going to let the kid dominate Junior for another year, instead of making him a 4th line Centre.

The Islanders are weak enough the Nino probably makes the squad. Kabanov could too. Both have a lot of talent, and could move in.

The 3 dmen I mentioned, are all very talented - and were all drafted by teams with weak defense corps. It's probably best for all of them to go back to Junior for another season.... but I could see any of FLA, ANA, and PHO being desperate enough to move them in now. All good enough that they won't look that out of place. I just happen to think that getting 30ish minutes per game, in all situations, and being able to dominate your peers is a much better way for an 18 year old defenceman to grow.... than playing 3rd pairing minutes, with limited special teams.

Phoenix has the 2nd best defenseman not in the NHL right now in Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He'll be on the team before Gormley. And if you were wondering who was number one, its Adam Larsson. Remember this right now Sean, I GUARANTEE Adam Larsson goes number 1 overall next year.