Trelane42

HS was consistently rated as one of the worst skaters of the draft (early rounds). No way MG was gonne go that route after CoHo. Gaunce was it if you wanted a solid NHLer, albeit maybe not top 6 material. Wait & pray.

/\/\ Nearly impossible, I'd say, if Nuge and co. are available. Our boy sure has been getting killed on the score sheet lately. I guess there goes that 3rd line checking gig we figured he'd get as early as next year. BTW, is it just me or has overall scoring in the OHL gone down the last few seasons? Copying the (lack of) entertainment quotient of the NHL, I see.

Looking at those films I'm not seeing the Kesler or Staal comparisons. He does, however, look a lot like a left shooting, less gangly Trevor Linden, and it ain't just the black uniform. Good wrister, works hard at both ends and in the corners, and though he doesn't turn on a dime he has good speed once in motion. Passing ability may be underrated. I'm also not getting the 2/3 line ceiling and a sure fire bottom 6 NHLer. His physique will give him an edge but beyond that there is no sure thing with any of these guys. 1st liner or suckage can't be ruled out. Was the number 1 rated Canadian forward in the draft and ranked number 2 at the OHL draft with very good numbers prior to CHL.

Yeah. So much for Gillis saying after the Bruins series that there wouldn't be any changes to his philosophy of building a team. Obviously the loss stung hard and he made an equally hard right turn to make the team bigger. This guy seems like a safe pick. A bottom 6 checker (as Kesler was once regarded) who may surprise and develop into a solid two-way top six player.

1st game review: -good skater for a big man (not as fast as Oreskovich but much better than Bitz and other behemoths) -decent hands, good judgment to go along with accurate passing but could have held on to the puck longer on occasion (likely nerves) -showed glimpses of a developing cycle game but there is more to give -best sign--chances were there when he played with more skilled players Realistically he's a bottom 6 forward for at least this year and the next. Up to him after that. Like all players his age he needs confidence and some results to prove to himself he belongs.

Schroeder's performance in the second half made Cody more expendable. This Kassian cat is the sort of player a 5'9" pivot needs to get by in the NHL. Perhaps in 2 years time we will see a line of Schroeder flanked by Jansen and Kassian. Kassian, I note, had a better PPG (draft and final years) in junior than Jansen. His truculence in that league has no equal among Nuck prospect pool.