canucklax Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 ^ Sounds like he plans on getting his degree if he's applying to biz school. Wouldn't be bad for him to get a few more seasons as a top player and leader before signing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Heyman Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 ^ Sounds like he plans on getting his degree if he's applying to biz school. Wouldn't be bad for him to get a few more seasons as a top player and leader before signing Yeah, I think it's always been a plan for him to go full term in Uni. He's a bit of a project in that way but it'll be the best path for him in the long run in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devoted Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Yeah, I think it's always been a plan for him to go full term in Uni. He's a bit of a project in that way but it'll be the best path for him in the long run in my opinion. I agree that he should, and will finish his 4 years of school and likely another 2 in the AHL. By that time he'll be 24 and should be an intimidating presence on the ice. It might just be me, but I've got some decent hopes for some mid/late rounders - Labate, McNally, Price, Andersson, Cannata Tommernes, and obviously Corrado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Heyman Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I agree that he should, and will finish his 4 years of school and likely another 2 in the AHL. By that time he'll be 24 and should be an intimidating presence on the ice. It might just be me, but I've got some decent hopes for some mid/late rounders - Labate, McNally, Price, Andersson, Cannata Tommernes, and obviously Corrado I'd also add Ben Hutton to that list and maybe Wes Myron, he showed some unpredicted potential in his cup of coffee at the ECHL level. Everyone thought he'd be a pointless plug but he had a real solid scoring pace, albeit at the ECHL level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BureisBest Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 LaBate has an opportunity to really emerge for the Badgers next year. They have USA captain Jake McCabe returning, along with burgeoning superstar Nic Kerdiles and the majority of their top scorers. Wisconsin will be a strong team and hopefully LaBate will be one of the forces behind their success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussyjack Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 lp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devoted Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I'd also add Ben Hutton to that list and maybe Wes Myron, he showed some unpredicted potential in his cup of coffee at the ECHL level. Everyone thought he'd be a pointless plug but he had a real solid scoring pace, albeit at the ECHL level. I like the numbers I've seen out of Hutton as a Freshman, especially his SOG totals. It tells me he has the ability to find lanes, the smarts to get open and the accuracy to hit the net. Myron however will have to produce at the AHL level before my hopes are raised. An over-age 6th rounder who couldn't crack BU's top 9 doesn't wow me, despite the decent production in the ECHL. He strikes me as another Dan Gendur without the monster Dub season. That being said, I'd be thrilled to be wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollieo Del Fuego Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Hutton's playing in the CJHL, I imagine the ECHL is tougher to play in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devoted Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Hutton's playing in the CJHL, I imagine the ECHL is tougher to play in. Hutton put up close to a 0.5 ppg in the Hockey East division as a freshman defenceman. Myron, who is a year older and a forward put up a similar ppg in the ECHL. Not trying to put him down, I love when our prospects succeed, I just want to see more first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Back to LaBate, CDC has a write up on him today for those that haven't seen it: Towering over the competition Big and getting bigger. Fast and getting faster. Strong and getting stronger. It was quite the season for Vancouver Canucks prospect Joseph Labate and his University of Wisconsin Badgers. After starting the season slow, Labate and his team turned it on in the second half, winning the WCHA Tournament and booking a ticket into the NCAA Tournament. “Obviously we started out pretty slow and had a rough start,” said Labate. “Then we pulled together as a team and really turned our season around. I thought we got hot at the right time and went into the playoffs playing our best hockey. We played really well, got some good bounces and were lucky enough to win the WCHA tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament.” The NCAA Tournament didn’t go the way Labate and the Badgers had hoped after getting eliminated in the opener 6-1 to Massachusetts-Lowell. Some would say the Badgers were lucky making it as far as they did considering they started out with just one win in their first 10 games of the season, but Labate said he and his teammates knew they had a good team, it just took a little while to get rolling. Once they got rolling, they were nearly unstoppable, losing just six times in the final 32 games. “Coming in we all knew we had a really good team, but at the beginning of the year things weren’t going right, weren’t clicking, but the coaching staff and the core leadership guys stuck with the team and we all believed we had a good team and just stuck with it and I think that showed at the end of the year.” As for Labate himself, his season mirrored that of his team. He was slow out of the gates, grabbing just two assists in his first 12 games before catching on fire with 21 points in his final 29 games. “I think my season followed in the same path as the teams. Things weren’t going right at the beginning of the year, it just wasn’t working out, wasn’t clicking, and in the middle of the season I sat down and talked to my coaches and my family and tried to start fresh and forget about the beginning of the season and I think I did that. “I finished with more goals then I did last year, more points than I did last year and I was pretty proud that I was able to turn my season around like I did.” Not only did Labate grow as a player this past season, he also grew as a person, in more ways than one. “I learned a lot about myself this season, not only as hockey player but as a person as well by going through that tough time at the beginning of the year,” said Labate. “I also grew an inch this past season, so now I am close to being 6-foot-5.” Labate was already big when the Canucks drafted him in the fourth round (101st overall) in 2011, problem is, he hasn’t stopped growing, something he hopes will happen soon so he can focus on filling out and getting stronger. “I want to stop growing so I can start having my body mature and hopefully it’s starting to slow down now.” Labate says the growth spurt this past season didn’t affect him that much, not like the spurt he had in high school when he went from 5-foot-11 to a towering 6-foot-3 between his freshman and sophomore years. After the school year is over, Labate doesn’t plan to take much time off before getting right back into training and hitting the books. He is applying for business school in the summer, with a goal to major in personal finance. “I get to go home for about a month; I will train at home and spend time with my family in Minnesota and then head back to Madison in the summer, train there, take a couple classes and get a couple extra credits done. Just focus on training, school, my diet and putting some weight on.” Labate knows how important this off-season is for his development as he heads into his junior year with the Badgers. “Over the summer I am going to put on some much needed muscle and mass and I am going to come out of the gates next season faster and stronger. This summer is going to be a big turning point in my career as I finally started to stop growing and I think I am ready to start filling out as much as possible.” Good to hear about his success in the last half of the season and bigger is nice so long as he can fill out as well. He's certainly over 200lbs at this point, but 220+ might be better suited for a guy who's 6'5". He'll have to balance that with speed, agility and flexibility, but if he's in contact with the Canucks or at least has excellent training staff in Madison then they'll help him do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wshdrvvn Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 LaBate has an opportunity to really emerge for the Badgers next year. They have USA captain Jake McCabe returning, along with burgeoning superstar Nic Kerdiles and the majority of their top scorers. Wisconsin will be a strong team and hopefully LaBate will be one of the forces behind their success. if he can step into the spotlight with kerdiles and mccabe there will be a lot of hyp around him. and not just in the canucks community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Here's LaBate's write up from the Hockey Prospectus review of our prospect pool: 9. Joseph LaBate, Center 2011-12 Ranking: 9th Date of birth: 04/16/1993 Age: 20 Height: 6'4'' Weight: 200 Shoots: Left Statistics: 41 GP, 9 G, 23 P (Wisconsin, NCAA) Acquired: Fourth round, 101st overall in 2011 by Vancouver Year in Review: LaBate had a solid sophomore season, although his scoring production remained roughly the same as the season before. The Good: LaBate is a pretty toolsy player. He is a big forward who can make above-average offensive plays. He has good vision and can flash solid puck skills. Given his size and age, he is already a pretty coordinated player. He can protect the puck well with his big frame, establish position in front of the net, and win battles. The Bad: LaBate just does not really stand out in any one area of the game. His skating is just average, he is a good (not great) offensive player, and he is not a standout defensive forward, either. He could continue to gain strength as well. Projection: He could be a third line forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 At 6'4 shouldn't he be near 210-230 pounds? His first game is October 11th, he is pretty fast for his size alot like Lain. I think I'd see him as a 3rd line winger spot with his size. 2-3 years before judging if he is a NHLer or just AHLer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I'm not sure the weight/height are entirely accurate. He was 6'4" last year but the Canucks prospects guy, Tyson Giuriato noted he's grown an inch again over that. It's also hard to fill out when you're still getting taller, but LaBate is working on it as he posted a tweet a year or two ago of him at 203lbs so I'd think he's more than 200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wshdrvvn Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 nevermind, article is posted above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Tyson Giuriato @TysonGiuriato25s Also, Labate got bumped up to the first line on Saturday night, playing alongside Nic Kerdiles. #Canucks Expand Tyson Giuriato @TysonGiuriato1m #Canucks prospect Jospeh Labate has 2PTS in 2GP already this season for the @BadgerMHockey - Took him 12 games last season to get that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 good to hear he is playing on the top line, his production will get a huge boost since the offense runs through Kerdiles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Green Lawn Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Labate could definatley be a sleeper prospect to sneak up and make our team in the next few season. His size and skating would be a real bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Labate with a 3 point night last night (1G, 2A). He now has 5 points in 6 games. Plus he's playing on a really good team. Wisconsin has produced quite a bit of NHL talent under current head coach Mike Eaves. Players like Bourque, Gilbert, Winchester, Burrish, Suter, Pavelski, Skille, Elliot, McBain, Geoffrion, Turris, McDonagh, Smith, Stepan, Gardiner, Schultz, McCabe to name a few. Whatever the guy is doing it works. So many of his players get drafted and so many of them have gone on to play in the NHL. I think it's time we start raising our expectations a bit on Labate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Watching LaBate and Wisconsin on CBS Sports Network, they are down 1-0 against 8th ranked Miami ( Wisconsin is ranked 12th) at the end of the second period, LaBates been noticeable out there, and apparently he was dinged up in the first but came back. He looks big, and fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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