Here is an excerpt from good draft review of Caputi.. It highligts the discrepancy of being described as a physical player by some and lacking in physicality by others....
“He loses balance easily due to light weight and is not an effective hitter yet. A mystery with regards to asserting himself physically, sometimes willing to fight, sometimes willing to let teammates like Osala fight for him, he needs to find a balance between playing with both edge and skill.”
“He loses balance easily due to light weight and is not an effective hitter yet. A mystery with regards to asserting himself physically, sometimes willing to fight, sometimes willing to let teammates like Osala fight for him, he needs to find a balance between playing with both edge and skill.”
So wait. He's slow, he shies away from physical play, his effort is inconsistent, and he falls down a lot? THAT IS MICHEL OUELLET!
I hope from bottom of my heart, that Caputi would be a top-4 winger some day. Hopely we see him in action soon as possible. Maybe occasionally every now and then on 3rd or 4th line. Caputi - Staal/Talbot - Kennedy would sound good to me.
Guy with a nose for scoring goals but issues with physical play and skating... this could be Michel Ouellet all over again.
Also, his nickname obviously has to be Filthy Luca.
There's a stripper who regularly comes through Thunder Bay named "Luca Da Titz"... not that I go to those types of places... they just show the name of the headliner on the sign
Or... Ryan Malone ANNND Michel Ouellet! The one thing I do like about Luca is his positive attitude. Hopefully he takes off and hits a big switch for his career.
So wait. He's slow, he shies away from physical play, his effort is inconsistent, and he falls down a lot? THAT IS MICHEL OUELLET!
Through 10 seasons in the QMJHL, ECHL, AHL, and NHL Ouellet does not have one fighting major. Caputi's physicality is described as inconsistent and he is sometimes willing to drop the gloves (9 fights in 3 OHL seasons).
Here is more from the review that contained the excerpt you quoted:
"Caputi reminds me of Jordan Staal quite a bit. Their games aren’t that different. They each battle hard for loose pucks, are very adept at killing penalties, clean up the mess offensively in front of the net, and utilize their huge wingspans to drag the puck out of danger and steal it away from defenders in the boards..... a team could see themselves with a talented 6’3’‘ power forward who does the “little things." http://www.faceoff-factor.com/junior...on-luca-caputi
That is not Michel Ouellet.
Oullet is 6'0 200 lbs who never was physical and never will be. Caputi was 6'3, 190 when he was drafted with potential to become a consistent physical player.
I think he can score 40 goals in the NHL within 3 years of coming to the big club.
Yes, he is that good.
Lets not get too carried away.
Some fans really do think getting 40 goals is easy as pie. Elite scorers like Datsyuk haven't cracked the 40 goal mark yet, while celebrated snipers like Elias and Kovalev have only hit the 40 goal mark once later on in their careers.
Last edited by Elephant In The Room: 06-26-2008 at 10:58 AM.
I think he can score 40 goals in the NHL within 3 years of coming to the big club.
Yes, he is that good.
You would only make such a bold statement after countless hours of watching this young prospect play, correct? You would never be so careless as to make this projection based solely on stats, would you?
+1 to that... 40 goals is pretty much top of the league. Did you mean 40pts???
If it's 40 points then maybe. But for a late rounder starting from the bottom 2 lines and working their way up, 40 points can still be a lot to ask for from a young player.
You would only make such a bold statement after countless hours of watching this young prospect play, correct? You would never be so careless as to make this projection based solely on stats, would you?
Oulette's effort was never in question. He tried as hard as anybody on the team, and arguably got as much from his (very) limited talent as anyone.
I questioned his effort. Either that or his hockey sense isn't good enough to know when the proper time to fight with everything you got in you.
Also, are we seriously already prorating a prospect with some goal scoring touch in junior to be a 40 goal guy? Do you know what this reminds me of? Ramzi Abid. Hours after that trade we were plugging him as a future 30-40 goal guy.
I questioned his effort. Either that or his hockey sense isn't good enough to know when the proper time to fight with everything you got in you.
Also, are we seriously already prorating a prospect with some goal scoring touch in junior to be a 40 goal guy? Do you know what this reminds me of? Ramzi Abid. Hours after that trade we were plugging him as a future 30-40 goal guy.
To be fair, Caputi's already a better skater than Abid ever was. I can see the comparison, but Abid was built like a tank even at the junior level. Caputi's still growing into his body. I would imagine he'll spend the whole year in WBS, and looking at who's there right now, he could have a shot at making the all-star team.
All in all, you've got to like the fact that he battles in front of the net. How many legitimate prospects have the Pens had with that combination of size and hands in front? I would agree that forty goals is pushing it, but on a team thin with scoring wingers in the system, I can see why it's easy to get excited.
Ouellet was a perimeter player, and I'll compliment him that he had a good shot, but so much separates these two players it's not even worth mentioning them together. Caputi has that desire to do whatever it takes to score goals, including (most defining from Ouellet) going to the net and scrapping much in a similar way that Malone did, admittedly. He's got an uncanny sense on where to be to find the net; very good at finding that soft spot also, which seems to be important for players of his ilk that aren't necessarily great puck rushers like Crosby who create space with their speed.
Ouellet scored from the high slot for the most part, which isn't where you'll see Caputi scoring his goals.
I questioned his effort. Either that or his hockey sense isn't good enough to know when the proper time to fight with everything you got in you.
Ouellet was a hard working player for us. I never doubted his effort and he actually got better defensively and along the boards towards the end of his Penguin tenure.
He simply isn't all that talented aside from a good shot, and it showed plenty of times. But it's wrong to question his effort.
Same thing with Joe Melichar. Melichar played hard every game; he just wasn't that good.
