Prospects, and the future of the NHL

I better get in on some Boston radio.

 

great post bob.
i think you're right that wingers should be valued higher than they are. a center is more reliant on his wingers now more than ever and can't just carry a line w/ a couple slugs riding shotgun.
i also agree that having a true 1D is most important. your point that the minutes are more is valid but i also think that the supply vs demand issue w/ real top D makes them the most valuable. of course every team has a Dman that logs his team's highest number of minutes but that isn't really indicative a true 1D to me. I would say that there are probably 10-15 of them in the whole league.
great point also about a unit on the ice now being 5 skaters as opposed to the older stereotypes based on size/skating. the league and game itself may fall in to the old Russian way of just having 5 man units instead of separate D pairings and F lines.

 

something along the lines recently of, "tell me why Loui Eriksson is better than Vatrano???.you cant't. why are we believing that, because that's what the Bruins tell us? puuuuulllease, Loui Eriksson isn't really good at anything, Frank Vatrano is a pure goal scorer and will only get better."

 

With the ice so much smaller, relative to player size today, I'm not sure what else could really progress out of what they're doing right now.

 

UND rookie Brock Boeser finished as National Collegiate Hockey Conference scoring champion wilth 35 points, becoming the first UND rookie ever to lead a league in scoring. He also led the league in goals with 20 in conference play in his brilliant freshman season. Nice draft pick but is Nuck property. Benning will sell him for 6th pair defenseman.

 

Headlines: NHL discussing moving draft age to 19

The NHL is at least considering moving the age of draft eligible players to 19, according to Sportsnet?s Elliotte Friedman.

During Saturday?s Headlines segment, Friedman reported that a group of executives led by Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine are looking at increasing the draft age in order to improve player development.

?Last May, the NHL had a meeting, they called it their Developmental Summit,? said Friedman, who listed the NHL, NHLPA, CHL, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey and NCAA among the participating organizations. ?They?re looking at changing, or trying to look at changes for the development model across North America ? grassroots all the way up to the NHL.

?The biggest factor this could have on the league: discussions about moving the draft age up to 19. No guarantees it?s going to happen, but it?s something to be looked at.?

The NHL currently allows players who are or will be 18 years old by Sep. 15 the year of the draft to be eligible. According to LaFontaine, increasing the age to 19 is an idea being talked about.

"We're exploring many ideas in improving conditions for player development, and raising the draft age is one of many things that we're looking at, and those discussions remain very preliminary," he told ESPN.

Raising the draft age would carry several implications towards a player's potential earnings. Taylor Hall, who was 18 when he debuted as a rookie in 2010, doesn't think the NHL needs to make a change.

"I think it's fine where it's at," said Hall, who scored 22 goals in his rookie season. "You're seeing kids come in and do great things in this game. When you're 18 you should be able to work and seek employment however you want, so I think it's fair."

 

That would make for one piss-poor draft class the first year they made the change; all the good 19 y.o.'s would already have been drafted the year before. The only way I could see this work if they worked it in over 6 to 12 years, by moving the DoB by a month or two each year until they got to 19 years.

At first this looks like a self-serving comment, but it really is not since he's already in the league. I think his comment about an 18 year old's rights is actually pretty sound.

I would prefer that all hockey organizations get on the same page to eliminate the insanity that exists today with players being forced to go back to the CHL if they do not make the NHL team. Some of these prospects are too good for the CHL but not good enough for the NHL yet. The AHL would be the best place for some of them, and it would probably facilitate their development.

 

This idea reeks of something, I can't identify the smell though.

How does this help the players? All it does is push compensation hike dates back without improving the level of competition. Looks like push back from the owners with all the arbitration drama ratcheting up since the last CBA. Buys them time.

I don't quite see a gain for the CHL, but I see a loss for the NCAA since they're already built with an extended timeline.

This idea will have me thinking for a while as to who wins with this rule and how.

My first thought is that there should be a gigantic "HELL NO" from the PA.

 

Nevermind, I know what I was smelling. It was the CHL...again.
They get to keep all their top players for a whole extra season without distractions.

Obviously owners and gms get their job made easier by this rule.

 

stop pandering to the CHL and let the 18 year olds that should play in the AHL actually play in the AHL.

 

NCAA hockey is expanding and improving, and it continues to attract a lot of Canadian boys. Now we have alternatives in Europe that will take - and pay - the more elite youngsters.

In time the under-20 rule is going to bite the CHL in the ass. They've been warned.

 

as bob and dan mentioned, the grapes rule needs to go. stop pandering to those chl markets.

 

i got to see 'the next great Mass player' this weekend in Jake Wise. I thought the comparisons to Eichel and Hanifin were exaggerations but maybe not, this kid is exceptional.
He's only a soph in HS and passed up an opportunity to play for USNTDP this year, hoping he makes the smarter decision for next year. If he does I think his name will get out there to all the lennies.

http://www.eagletribune.com/sports/...cle_9dade46b-9281-59cb-a881-0d38ccb7777d.html

 

Jason Kasdorf, the G that was the "throw in" for Buffalo in the Kane/Bogo trade with WPG, has signed his ELC.

He's a goalie that fits TM's mold, i.e., he's a big boy. With the proposed rule changes to goalie equipment intended to promote more scoring this is a trend we'll probably see more of - bigger goalies.

Buffalo has gone from a semi-dire state to one that may be in good shape as far as the G-pipeline. Our boy Linus Ullmark acquitted himself well while serving as an injury fill in this season. They have one or two prospects that will be looking elsewhere next and that is progress. Last year we felt the need to hold on to guys just so we'd have someone in net.

 

I could have posted this in the Rules Change board since it's related to the proposed changes regarding goalie gear and possibly net size. I decided to stick it here because my focus is on the future of the NHL.

I've done some digging into the past, and was a little surprised that goalies have gotten a lot bigger over the decades. Some select data:
Season Ave. Hgt. Ave. Wgt. SV%
1984-85 5' 10.06" 176 .874
1989-90 5' 11.14" 182 .881
1994-95 5' 11.65" 190 .901
1999-00 6' 0.33" 193 .904
2005-06 6' 1.03" 196 .901
2015-16 6' 2.46" 202 .916

Obviously the increase in SV% cannot be attributed solely to the increase in average goalie size. Defenses, for instance, are generally much better than they were a few decades ago. Also, the NJD had some success with their horseshit neutral zone defense that changed the way the game was played. Still, at least on the surface, there is a direct correlation between fewer G's (higher SV%) and goalie size.

SOG have remained fairly steady over the past few decades, while arguably Quality SOG have gone up. All things being equal, we'd expect SV% to go down.

In fact, the last goalie drafted high with a "slender" frame was Jonathan Bernier, (6' 0", 185) taken #11 in 2006. I think the under 6' goalie is going to be an oddity in the future. Meanwhile, players such as Ben Bishop (6' 7", 216) and Rob Lehner (6' 5", 240) will be the model as teams draft. In the 1990's goalies such as Ron Hextall, (6' 3", 205) and Olaf Kolzig (6' 3", 220) were relative hulks in net; the norm was goalie-size such as Grant Fuhr, (5' 10", 184), John Vanbiesbrock, (5' 8", 175), and Chris Osgood, (5' 10", 178).

 

the late Pelle Lindbergh was 5'9 and that's being generous...

 

Hudson Fasching has signed his ELC and will forego his Sr. year at the Univ. of Minnesota. I've been eagerly anticipating his Sabres' debut. He'll probably get 8 games this season as a Sabre.

He'll probably spend all or most of next year in Rochester. He is a very intense player, and between him and Will Carrier the org. Is now in good shape at winger. I'm going to be happy if both made the big club next year, but the Sabres won't rush them.

 

Leafs and canes in the hunt for lithuanian goalie prospect Mantas Armalis, 23 yrs old with a .918 save % in the swedish elite league.