[ballsdeepfreeze]

I live in Saskatchewan and have not seen this kid play at all live, or even on tv. I have seen a highlight here or there, but nothing serious and was wondering if anyone has seen him play live out west. Does he look as good as his stats suggest with 10 goals in 15 games? Don't want to jump the gun by any means but this could be a good prospect for us, especially as a 5th rounder, but how did he fall that far? Seattle plays in Saskatoon on Nov. 15 and I cannot wait to see this young guy play live.

[gmen81]

Don't get too excited, he will never play for the Canucks. He may have a good junior career but remember a guy by the name of Gilbert Brule. So it doesnt mean it will transfer to the NHL level.

[Hafizzle]

gmen81, on Oct 30 2008, 05:32 AM, said:

Don't get too excited, he will never play for the Canucks. He may have a good junior career but remember a guy by the name of Gilbert Brule. So it doesnt mean it will transfer to the NHL level.

Agreed. Its definetly a long shot he ever makes the nucks.

[Hodgson19]

Cool lets write this kid off 4 months after he has been drafted.

He is 18/19 years old and is putting up good numbers in Junior. Probably means he can take the next step in development next year and go pro in the ECHL or Manitoba Moose. Give him 3 or 4 years to develop and then we can call him a bust or not.

[VaNuCkZ]

Hahha.

There goes the "he's good in the WHL, therefore he'll be good in the NHL" argument again.

Byron Ritchie scored over 120 points in the WHL.

What did he do in the NHL?

Exactly.

[KelownaCanucksFan]

I watched him play last night in Kelowna against the Rockets (7-3 Rockets for those interested). He was the best player for his team last night, he has speed and when he wants to he can take over a game, he did score and get an assist last night but his team played horrible, so take it for what its worth. As I have seen from watching him this year is that most of his goals are on the PP or garbage goals. He will definetly make the nhl, but in what capacity? well thats up to him he has the skill set to be a top six forward or he can be a 4th liner, just depends whether he is willing to put in the effort.

[c-a-n-u-c-k-s]

Saying he won't ever make the NHL is just as lame as assuming he automatically will due to his play in junior (which nobody actually said)

So if he won't ever make the NHL why would the Canucks have drafted him? craps n giggles? geez

This post has been edited by c-a-n-u-c-k-s: 30 October 2008 - 08:31 AM

[Baggins]

Wasn't Wellwood a 5th round pick?

[Canuck4Life est. 1984]

KelownaCanucksFan, on Oct 30 2008, 08:09 AM, said:

I watched him play last night in Kelowna against the Rockets (7-3 Rockets for those interested). He was the best player for his team last night, he has speed and when he wants to he can take over a game, he did score and get an assist last night but his team played horrible, so take it for what its worth. As I have seen from watching him this year is that most of his goals are on the PP or garbage goals. He will definetly make the nhl, but in what capacity? well thats up to him he has the skill set to be a top six forward or he can be a 4th liner, just depends whether he is willing to put in the effort.

Good to know somebody can still post useful things on here. Prab's biggest knock on him is that he isn't that physical and isn't going to get dirty in the corners too much to make plays. With the way the NHL is going it suits his game which is speed and scoring off the rush. I think you can argue either way with him. From watching him develop in the last few years I know that he is focused and has put on some real size ie. Grabner. He trains in the off season with guys like Kyle Turris and Colton Gillies so I think he is going to continue to improve and hopefully have some great training camps the next few years.

[CanuckinEdm]

ballsdeepfreeze, on Oct 30 2008, 04:52 AM, said:

I live in Saskatchewan and have not seen this kid play at all live, or even on tv. I have seen a highlight here or there, but nothing serious and was wondering if anyone has seen him play live out west. Does he look as good as his stats suggest with 10 goals in 15 games? Don't want to jump the gun by any means but this could be a good prospect for us, especially as a 5th rounder, but how did he fall that far? Seattle plays in Saskatoon on Nov. 15 and I cannot wait to see this young guy play live.

Cause he is a complainer though i dont blame him he demanded a trade to get more playing time. And not to sound racist (cause im far from it) its cause hes East Indian its the same reason why players like Hansen and Kopitar slipped a bit they arent from a Hockey country though Rai is Canadian by NHL scouts eyes hes from India.

[SedinsEdlerLui]

Hes such a joke though. I remember last training camp when they asked him about what he would bring to the canucks and the nhl and he said he was the complete package, that he could score, fight, skate, do everything well....hahahhaa made me laugh. It's like come on you little female dog, you're not going anywhere at anytime. You will never play for the canucks and is just an arrogant man who I would love to see play in the nhl and get worked over! not to be racist either, but i agree with the whole east-indian bit, as i dont think gms like it as much. Whenever i think of east indian hockey players, i think of arrogance! not being racist as i have nothing against anyone, but thats just my impression from being around the game a lot and having lots of buddies who are east indian. Hes a decent hockey player, but needs to get his head in the game and not let his head get so big. He shouldnt make statements like he does.

This post has been edited by SedinsEdlerLui: 30 October 2008 - 09:20 AM

[hertzman]

gmen81, on Oct 30 2008, 05:32 AM, said:

Don't get too excited, he will never play for the Canucks. He may have a good junior career but remember a guy by the name of Gilbert Brule. So it doesnt mean it will transfer to the NHL level.

Thats an extremely ignorant statement. Have you scouted him? Have you watched him play a lot? Im sure you said the same thing about Jannik Hansen right?

[scoot]

writing a kid off because he is a late pick in a deep draft is not wise.. granted the percentages are definatley against him.. I htink a first round pick has something like 10% chance of making the NHL (those only really get higher in the top 10).

There are so many variables that go into the development of a teenager, so many that we cannpt even begin to contemplate them.

All we can do is observe that he has the hockey skillz, and hope that the sense and smarts, and profeesionalism will follow.

With Rai its clear that he has the skillz.

[Spinnaker]

Some people here are kind of being racist...

Jesus.

[themcdeal]

SedinsEdlerLui, on Oct 30 2008, 09:17 AM, said:

Hes such a joke though. I remember last training camp when they asked him about what he would bring to the canucks and the nhl and he said he was the complete package, that he could score, fight, skate, do everything well....hahahhaa made me laugh. It's like come on you little female dog, you're not going anywhere at anytime. You will never play for the canucks and is just an arrogant man who I would love to see play in the nhl and get worked over! not to be racist either, but i agree with the whole east-indian bit, as i dont think gms like it as much. Whenever i think of east indian hockey players, i think of arrogance! not being racist as i have nothing against anyone, but thats just my impression from being around the game a lot and having lots of buddies who are east indian. Hes a decent hockey player, but needs to get his head in the game and not let his head get so big. He shouldnt make statements like he does.

what do you want him to say. "I can skate fast", thats a good answer. How can you say this guy will never play for the Canucks, you're the one thats pretty arrogant. He's 19, give the kid some time. Look how long Bieksa took. Why must fans be so judgemental, we should be wishing him the best saying hopefully he'll able to crack a roster spot down the road.

[hockeyville88]

He's going to have to keep that up if he hopes to make the Canucks. I would love to see him on this team. He's a solid player, a BC boy and, being Indo-Canadian myself, I know it would be a huge motivator for other young kids to see Prabh Rai in the NHL.

[Drgnslyer]

Sure Brule didn't light it up at the NHL level, but what about Iginla? I watched him play while he was with the Blazers, and he also had a great junior career.

I'm not saying Rai is going to be nearly as successful as Iginla, just that it's really tough to paint someone with such a broad brush. Rai could really focus on his development and turn into a great late pick...or something could happen in his life that convinces him that he just doesn't want to play hockey anymore...There really isn't any telling until that time comes.

For now, I'm happy knowing he's doing well, and I'm going to see if I can catch him playing in Kamloops sometime next time I'm there.

[DirtyHarry]

After watching him play i dont see anything really special from him. Might make it, but i doubt it.

[HSD19]

SedinsEdlerLui, on Oct 30 2008, 09:17 AM, said:

Hes such a joke though. I remember last training camp when they asked him about what he would bring to the canucks and the nhl and he said he was the complete package, that he could score, fight, skate, do everything well....hahahhaa made me laugh. It's like come on you little female dog, you're not going anywhere at anytime. You will never play for the canucks and is just an arrogant man who I would love to see play in the nhl and get worked over! not to be racist either, but i agree with the whole east-indian bit, as i dont think gms like it as much. Whenever i think of east indian hockey players, i think of arrogance! not being racist as i have nothing against anyone, but thats just my impression from being around the game a lot and having lots of buddies who are east indian. Hes a decent hockey player, but needs to get his head in the game and not let his head get so big. He shouldnt make statements like he does.

I think that's called confidence, sure it might sound like he thinks he's all that. But being asked that question he wanted to demonstrate that he can do more then just skate. And as for being ignorant, that title goes to you for saying that he'll never make it in the nhl. How do you know this? and why do you think of arrogance when you think of east indians and hockey?

[74Hunter74]

So I guess cause he was a 5th rounder, by logic Zetterberg 7th rounder and Datsyuk 6th rounder should have sucked even worse than him.