by mikey287 on Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:56 am
Despite D.J. King being in there, the Blues wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole...
Gergen is useless, Ehelechner is worthless, besides the White Tiger pinball...
No one realizes how good Patrik Berglund actually is...hell, most people don't know who he is...well...get ready, you'll find out soon enough...
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I love talking about prospects...so, I'll throw out a few that might make some sense...but I think this is gonna be a niché topic...
If we didn't have a goalie of the present and future already, I'd suggest trying to swipe Ondrej Pavelec from Atlanta...this kid, with a little polish, is gonna hit the big time...he's the most underrated goalie prospect in quite some time...it won't be long before he challenges Kari for the #1 job...and Kari is a God in my eyes...
Proposal:
Penguins get: Jordan LaVallee
Thrashers get: Jonathan Filewich
Reason: I'm sick of Filewich being talked about here...I'd rather waste my time talking about another longshot NHLer, this one is at least a potential power forward...there's some hidden upside in LaVallee, but time is an issue...if we can throw in someone awful like Muzzin and get Latvian Arturs Kulda, then all the better...
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Proposal:
Penguins get: Tim Kennedy
Sabres get: Nick Johnson
Reason: Yeah, it's a lateral move at best for Buffalo, one that they probably would never do, they like Michigan State kids too much...plus Kennedy is undersized, we has Buffalo written all over it...but still, I like the kid's upside, all-around player, very consistent night in and night out for the Spartans...has an NHL future for sure...drawback: I could not call Tyler Kennedy "TK" anymore...nor could I call him "Kennedy"
I don't want to pursue just drafted players, because that's even bigger crapshoot...but if I could, Corey Fienhage as an intriguing upside...complete player that went largely unnoticed on draft day...Jhonas Enroth is a very talented goaltender if we ever needed one...
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From Chicago, I was always a big fan of Niklas Hjalmarsson...for some reason, I just got the feeling that he would always make it, even when he was ranked #19 on Chicago's prospect list...not really sure why, he's not even that impressive of a player, but he struck me as someone that makes the show...he ended up making it and now is #6 in Chicago's deep prospect pool...we don't need a player like him, but it would have been nice to have if we didn't have Goose...
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Proposal:
Penguins get: Davy Jones
Colorado gets: Nick Johnson
Reason: I don't hate Nick Johnson, but I'm trying to keep the deals as even as possible...I like Davy Jones' upside, for a big guy, he can skate very well, and he had some unexpected tricks up his sleeve...I like him, but I feel he might be close to reaching his potential already...
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Proposal:
Penguins get: Jakub Voracek
Columbus gets: All of our prospects
Reason: Jakub Voracek is a monster...he's an absolute dynamo...he probably has severe back problems from carrying the Halifax Mooseheads for the past two seasons...I considered him the most NHL ready prospect in 2007, he decided to stay in the Q for another year...he's a man amongst boys there...he will win the Calder trophy this season...
Again, I don't want to pick on recently drafted players, but Matt Calvert, I had him going in the 40 or 45 area, he slipped all the way to the 5th round I believe...he could be the steal of the draft, there must be something wrong that I don't know about for him to fall that far...adding d-men Marc Methot or Teddy Ruth to the organization would not hurt one bit...
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I'm Dallas' writer for HF, so, I'm gonna be a little biased here...but James Neal and Jamie Benn (both are better than any prospect we have, IMO) are great players...Benn was leading the WHL in scoring as a rookie before he hurt his ankle...Neal is an up and coming power forward...he has big time upside...every one has given up on Konstantin Pushkarev and Lauri Tukonen, and I'm not saying they are gonna be stars, but don't scrap them from the radar...Tukonen needs some ice time, some coaching and an injury-free season...he'll be right there...his potential isn't what we thought, but he's a good two-way forward, he's not your typical European winger...neither is Pushkarev, he's not afraid of the rough stuff, and he's got some hands on him...
Raymond Sawada is in the Ryan Malone type mold, not nearly as good...but he would provide organizational depth on the wing...
Enforcer Luke Gazdic says he models his game after Ryan Malone actually...but I don't particularly care for him, he's nothing more than an enforcer...
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Proposal:
Penguins get: Jakub Kindl and Jonathan Ericsson
Red Wings get: Alex Goligoski and Robert Bortuzzo
Reason: Kindl had an awful year on an awful team...I can't fault him, but he's got a higher upside than Goligoski does offensively, he was a point-per-game player from the blueline twice in juniors, he's got a projectable frame, isn't scared of the rough stuff, he's starting to develop something of a mean-streak...I have very high hopes for him...and Ericsson is a solid player, he's already NHL ready, no doubt about it...
Other players to get: Daniel Larsson, little known goalie prospect, would provide some rare NHL-caliber depth in net at a smaller price...Cory Emmerton, forgotten prospect for some reason, but has all the tools to be a big time player...Johan Ryno will have an NHL job on size and work ethic alone, anything on top of that is bonus...
Alright, I'll stop there, I'm typing too much and I want to go to bed now...