New HF Article: New Org. Rankings Ducks #9

Discuss....

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=8043&mode=threaded&order=0

I don't see how we are not in the top 5.

I knew we were going to drop once Perry and Getzlaf were considered graduated but that hasn't happened yet.

I'd take our top 5 prospects over any other teams besides Washington and Pittsburgh. And I'd take our depth prospects against any other teams depth prospects.

Our weaknesses aren't even weaknesses.

"Weaknesses: Despite adding two goaltenders to the pipeline this summer, between the pipes is still a source of concern for the Ducks. Also a top defensive prospect would be a welcome addition on the blue line."

Levasseur has the potential to be a starter, what are we supposed to do waste a first round pick on a goalie to make HF happy. Mike Wall has NHL potential as does Bouthillette...and a top defensive prospect...Smid and Mikkelson both have top pairing potential.

I don't like how the rankings don't count for the team with have now. Bryz and Giggy are a good set up, and will be for quite some time so we don't need keepers yet. Also Vish is looking good this year, so our deffence doesn't need much work if we can get him to long contract when ever it runs out. Perry has shown himself to be ready for the NHL game, Getzlaf hasn't been bad.

We should be higher IMO.

Hey guys,
Sorry I didn't get to this earlier, busy defending things on the Prospect Board. I was the head of the committee this time around, so...yeah...that was an experience.
I did the writeup and actually I was surprised where the Ducks ended up after all the voting was done. I thought Anaheim was going to drop.
Anyway, Levasseur, Bouthillette and Wall are still unknown qualities as far as I'm concerned. I am not completely sold on Levasseur being an NHL starter type. Bouthillette is showing that he can play solid with a half decent team in front of him, but there's still plenty of work left. Wall is very new to the organization and unfortunately, he wasn't watched closely during his WHL days. If Bryzgalov had chosen to stay in Europe, the Ducks would have been in an even more uncomfortable situation then they are now. Anaheim needs goaltending depth and while what they have now is a bit better thanks to the additions of Levasseur and Wall recently, it still does not deny the fact that when Giguere was injured and Bryzgalov was limping around the dressing room, there was probably more then a few uncomfortable neck tugs in the team's offices. If/when Bouthillette turns pro and then if the Ducks draft another goaltender, the situation won't be as dire, but for right now, it is an organizational weakness.
Ladislav Smid and Brendan Mikkelson are fine on the blue line, but there's not much after them in terms of quality. I am unconvinced of the future potential of Saunders/Smith/Rome/O'Brien. At the most, they could be third pairing types, not ruling out the possibility that one surprises. Either way, I don't see a player in the pipeline who could replace Keith Carney and what he brings to the team. For me, that's a pretty big sticking point. It's quite obvious that Anaheim had hoped Kurt Sauer could/would have been that guy, but we all know how that worked out. If the draft lottery had worked out differently, and Anaheim had been in a position to pick a player like Marc Staal or Ryan Parent, maybe this wouldn't be as big of a deal for me.
As for positioning, I can tell you that the top six were pretty close together, and then the next four were the next set of teams that were pretty close. Anaheim has a very good organization pipeline setup, but consider the overhaul that has happened since Burke showed up. Looking at my top 20, there's an obvious gap after the top five prospects, where the players drop from being top two line forwards and top four blueliners to becoming character guys. For the teams above Anaheim, that gap happens a bit farther down the list.
I had Anaheim at number 9 on both my voting lists.

I agree with the ranking. However I disagree with the comment that "at most" Saunders, Smith, Rome and O'Brien are 3rd pairing guys. They could end up being that, but one of them could also end up being a decent 2nd pairing guy at some point in his career. I think to automatically shoe horn them into 5th or 6th d-men "at best" is a bit premature.

that's why I followed it up with "not ruling out the possibility that one surprises"

Smith or perhaps Rome are my most likely candidates to do better then 3rd pairing

I think the rankings are pretty good, I would only like to see a comparison between the Rangers and the Ducks. Cause i don't see how the Rangers are before the ducks.
Forwards: Edge Ducks
Defense: Equal
Goal: Edge Rangers

So at worst i'd say they are pretty equal.

I've done some coverage of the Rangers, and I would say that they have better quality on the blue line (Tyutin, Staal, Kondratiev, Sauer) and while Anaheim might have better top end guys up front, I think the Rangers have better depth, especially at center. Anaheim does get the edge on the right side. New York is a very deep organization, and despite Anaheim's quality, New York has a better mix of quantity and quality.
For the purposes of voting, I personally saw Anaheim's questions in goal as more of a glaring organizational weakness then anything with New York. I also did the New York writeup, btw.

Remember these teams are very close. I don't think that can be stressed enough and it really can't be fully appreciated until you see how the voting. If I would have had Anaheim up a few spots to say 7th and NYR down to 9th, the final list would have been Columbus-Anaheim-NYR. Despite having eight people contribute, the teams were very close in the end.

I agree with Kevin on goaltenging and defense when it comes to NYR-ANA, even if goalie depth in NYR is just as bad as the ducks, but they have two top quality goalies. Thing is, I don't see how there's much to cheer for on the rangers forwards. Immonen is a borderline 2nd liner at best, Jessiman has done little to nothing since he was drafted, Korpikoski hasn't done much of anything in Finland, Dawes has issues with size, Graham tops out as an average bottom 6 forward, etc. The difference to guys like Penner, Auffey, Brent and Hynes are not that big. Bottom line is that the top 3 forwards in Anaheim make up for the quality in the depth on defense and goaltending.

that's why I followed it up with "not ruling out the possibility that one surprises"

Smith or perhaps Rome are my most likely candidates to do better then 3rd pairing

This contradicts prefacing it with "at the most"

I'm not impressed with Montreal prospects either: while they have plenty of forwards, but no one stood up and they have NO defense.

Instead, I think Columbus deserve a higher spot.

Thing is, I don't see how there's much to cheer for on the rangers forwards. Immonen is a borderline 2nd liner at best, Jessiman has done little to nothing since he was drafted, Korpikoski hasn't done much of anything in Finland, Dawes has issues with size, Graham tops out as an average bottom 6 forward, etc.

I could see this as well, especially in terms of the big 2 in Jessiman and Korpikoski both of which have not shown much thus far in terms of quantifying them as high end picks.

This contradicts prefacing it with "at the most"

fine.
to re-elaborate my previous suggestion

I doubt heavily that Saunders/Smith/O'Brien/Rome will develop into much more then third pairing type blueliners however I will stop short of ruling out the fact that one of them might surprise. My most likely choice for said surprise would be Smith or perhaps Rome.

bien?

quite acceptable thank you

Still on the NYR angle:

Petr Prucha has drawn rave reviews leaving some to question why he was even sent down, Dominic Moore has shown he already is what we hope Tim Brent will someday be and Marcel Hossa looks like he's turned the corner since being acquired.

Anaheim has the edge on top end talent up front, but New York has more depth. I can't dispute that you guys think the quality is better then quantity, but the committee found it better to have depth over studs.

Marcel Hossa looks like he's turned the corner since being acquired.


I love how when a guy with ability just turned 24 and hasn't gotten a full year in the NHL yet and don't really have much of an idea of what they've got, they turn around and deal him and now he's "turned the corner". I never really thought he was in the corner, he's still a kid.

I love how when a guy with ability just turned 24 and hasn't gotten a full year in the NHL yet and don't really have much of an idea of what they've got, they turn around and deal him and now he's "turned the corner". I never really thought he was in the corner, he's still a kid.

Montreal was brutal for him, they expected a lot out of him very early on (a lot to do with his last name I would guess) and when he was unable to deliver, he was dealt. In a new environment, he seems finally able to live up to some of those expectations and is playing a lot better then he ever did for the blue, rouge et blanc

On a side note,
I appreciate you guys a lot, I really do. And here's why: You never let me get away with anything. If I make a claim or a post, you'll debate it to the death. I think that one fact has made me a much better writer, because I know I can't get anything by you all. Everything I say, you question and argue. The mere fact that I have to defend my statements and check my facts has helped my writing immeasurably.
I'm just a young guy and I'm still very much learning my craft. My future at HF with the Ducks is up in the air now that Tanya Lyon (Anaheim based with Ducks credientials) and Paul Callahane (Portland based with Pirates credientials) are on board. They can obviously provide a higher quality of content then my lazy *** in Halifax. But, regardless, I really appreciate these debates.
Continuing with the love fest, I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I didn't end up going back to University for journalism. Instead, I accepted a pretty lucrative position with the provincial organization that represents all amateur sport in Nova Scotia. The journalism bug is still there, just takes time...

I would also disagree, since everybody views every player differently. Smith and Rome are better than a third pairing ,while Staal after seeing him play many times, is overated IMO.

I'm not impressed with Montreal prospects either: while they have plenty of forwards, but no one stood up and they have NO defense.

Instead, I think Columbus deserve a higher spot.

I agree on both Montreal and Columbus. Montreal might be deep in goal and forward, but not much star quality. On defense they have less than nothing. With a top 4 of O'Byrne, Korpikari, Korneev and Yemelin as defensive prospect, I guess they should rank about dead last in the NHL. Korneev is the only one with any potential to develope into anything more than a 6th-7th D, and he's more of a long shot.

On a side note,
I appreciate you guys a lot, I really do. And here's why: You never let me get away with anything. If I make a claim or a post, you'll debate it to the death. I think that one fact has made me a much better writer, because I know I can't get anything by you all. Everything I say, you question and argue. The mere fact that I have to defend my statements and check my facts has helped my writing immeasurably.
I'm just a young guy and I'm still very much learning my craft. My future at HF with the Ducks is up in the air now that Tanya Lyon (Anaheim based with Ducks credientials) and Paul Callahane (Portland based with Pirates credientials) are on board. They can obviously provide a higher quality of content then my lazy *** in Halifax. But, regardless, I really appreciate these debates.
Continuing with the love fest, I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I didn't end up going back to University for journalism. Instead, I accepted a pretty lucrative position with the provincial organization that represents all amateur sport in Nova Scotia. The journalism bug is still there, just takes time...

Well, good luck to you. I enjoy your articles and comment because I care, not to mention that I hold you to a higher standard than I do some others. Quite frankly if Mighty Adam said something about our defensive prospects being all 3rd pairing I'd probably give him more credit than anything else for jotting down a complete thought and not debate the validity at all. Anyhoo, I hope the new chick doesn't cancel out your contributions here basically.

Montreal was brutal for him, they expected a lot out of him very early on (a lot to do with his last name I would guess) and when he was unable to deliver, he was dealt.

That's the thing, he wasn't given any time to deliver in my opinion. He never played a full season with the big club or else we wouldn't be talking about him as a prospect with another club. I just don't get the trade I suppose.

On a side note,
I appreciate you guys a lot, I really do. And here's why: You never let me get away with anything. If I make a claim or a post, you'll debate it to the death. I think that one fact has made me a much better writer, because I know I can't get anything by you all. Everything I say, you question and argue. The mere fact that I have to defend my statements and check my facts has helped my writing immeasurably.
I'm just a young guy and I'm still very much learning my craft. My future at HF with the Ducks is up in the air now that Tanya Lyon (Anaheim based with Ducks credientials) and Paul Callahane (Portland based with Pirates credientials) are on board. They can obviously provide a higher quality of content then my lazy *** in Halifax. But, regardless, I really appreciate these debates.
Continuing with the love fest, I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I didn't end up going back to University for journalism. Instead, I accepted a pretty lucrative position with the provincial organization that represents all amateur sport in Nova Scotia. The journalism bug is still there, just takes time...

Nothing against either Tanya or Paul---I don't know anything about either of them---but I'd just as soon have your "lazy ***"---whether it's in Halifax or Timbuctu---continuing to keep us abreast of what's going on in the Ducks' organization. It seems to me that, as a result of the fact that you're based in Halifax, you have a better opportunity to observe what's going on in the CHL---particularly the QJMHL---than either of them.

BTW, there was some kid named Crossly (or something like that) playing in the Halifax area last year that was supposed to be a pretty good NHL prospect. Whatever happened to that kid? I lost track of him.

BTW, there was some kid named Crossly (or something like that) playing in the Halifax area last year that was supposed to be a pretty good NHL prospect. Whatever happened to that kid? I lost track of him.

There was Crosby
and then the next big kid is Steven Anthony
he's detailed here in this article:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/columnist.jsp?content=20050822_135152_5356
Since that article was written, Anthony has decided to attend Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H.

another step down is Kelsey Tessier and Patrice Cormier. They're both from Moncton. Tessier's currently playing for Shattuck St. Mary's, where Crosby played before the QMJHL, while Cormier is the younger brother of Phoenix draft pick (and current Halifax Moosehead) Kevin Cormier.
They're expected to go 1 and 2 in the QMJHL draft next summer (edge to Cormier because he's physically more prepared to make it to major junior).

Nothing against either Tanya or Paul---I don't know anything about either of them---but I'd just as soon have your "lazy ***"---whether it's in Halifax or Timbuctu---continuing to keep us abreast of what's going on in the Ducks' organization. It seems to me that, as a result of the fact that you're based in Halifax, you have a better opportunity to observe what's going on in the CHL---particularly the QJMHL---than either of them.

I second that. Kevin, you have shown dedication and heart in your work which we all appreciate. For the past few years, you have been a valuable tool for many of us and I hope you continue your work. The new contributers will only enhance the great work that you have already established here.

9 is fair, but how many goalies do you need? Giguere is what 28? Bryzgalov 25?

I think the group of forward prospects is easily top 5 though.