Alexandre Mallet Talk

[Millerdraft]

What's the general consensus on power based forwards? They almost always develop later than their skill based counterparts. David Backes was 22 before he looked like an NHL player and he came from that uber draft in '03.

It might take Mallet until 23-24 before he feels comfortable using his size to his advantage against much bigger competition at the professional level. Our scouts also said Kassian was the most NHL ready powerforward prospect around and he's just now starting to show glimpses of what he can be at age 22. Mallet has nowhere near the same skill level so it's best to be a little more patient here (something of a scarcity in these "microwave society" days).

[wshdrvvn]

If the only reason Gillis selected Mallet in the second round was because he thought he'd be gone by the fifth, well, I'm not buying it. I think they must have thought Mallet was the bpa; better than Boo Nieves, better than Damon Severson, better than Devin Shore, Juhjar Khaira, Jimmy Vesey. Better than some pretty highly touted prospects. Otherwise he would have traded down for additional picks, especially since he retained so few picks for that draft. He obviously thought he was a legit late second/early third round pick and thought other teams were of a similar opinion with regard to Mallet's value.

hindsight tells us it could have gone different ways. i think the best thing that could have been done was to trade down for a couple thirds or a 3rd & 4th. we can't say this is a loss yet though. who else in the system has the skillset mallet has? thing is; even though mallet isn't lighting it up by any means, none of the guys you've named have had a shot at the NHL yet either. maybe they are putting up prettier numbers and their projection at this moment looks a little brighter, but we shouldn't be writing off mallet at this point.

to be fair i'm one of those "won't write anyone off until they are released" type of people.

[Fred65]

I have to think Gillis new he needed to get bigger and tougher in a hurry if he's to have success during the Sedin era. So he's drafted Mallet, UFA Lain and maybe Grenier hoping maybe 1 or even better 2 would come through plus Friesen as a pest factor and good on the draw. Not all of them will make it. It's a tough role to fill...tough to play against and always ready to drop the gloves if need be The Bruins and Kings have proved this point come the play-offs that's waht's needed

[canucklax]

I have to think Gillis new he needed to get bigger and tougher in a hurry if he's to have success during the Sedin era. So he's drafted Mallet, UFA Lain and maybe Grenier hoping maybe 1 or even better 2 would come through plus Friesen as a pest factor and good on the draw. Not all of them will make it. It's a tough role to fill...tough to play against and always ready to drop the gloves if need be The Bruins and Kings have proved this point come the play-offs that's waht's needed

thats the problem, drafting does not fill current holes unless its a top 5 pick or so. Most players will require 3-5 years to develop to even get a sniff of the nhl. Free agency and trades are for nhl issues

[Derp...]

I think we are passed the drafting to fill holes and onto the BPA.

[Fred65]

I think we are passed the drafting to fill holes and onto the BPA.

To a degree that's the case for every team and every pick....but...Gillis is not looking at those that are shall we say vertically challenged plus he leans on character to a large degree. There's been a shift towards big ( the exception being Shinkaruk )players seems like he can't get enough of them and that's because he understand come the play-offs and the way they're called that's the way it will be. Man there's some studs amongst the prospects one or two will surely come through.

[wshdrvvn]

I think we are passed the drafting to fill holes and onto the BPA.

this years draft reflects this, definitely. completely different philosophy in scouting and at the actual draft.

[canucklax]

this years draft reflects this, definitely. completely different philosophy in scouting and at the actual draft.

Also it was a very deep draft, which makes it easier to scout

[L. Stanley]

if you look back, aside from Damon severson, not a lot of standout names that got picked after Mallet.

I would say we have decent depth in all positions, just keep picking BPA

really liking the drafting of

Hutton

McNally

Corrado

Subban

Labate

Cassels

Gaunce

Shink

Bo

Grenier, Mallet, Jensen, Canata - enigmatic group, we will see what comes of them.

[canucklax]

if you look back, aside from Damon severson, not a lot of standout names that got picked after Mallet.

Nieves is doing well as a fats 2 way guy at Michigan, Severson is obvious, Devin Shore is a leader at Maine as a sophmore. Early 3rd had lots of notables like Jon Gillies, Tim Bozon, Shayne Gostisbehere, Adam Pelech. Also to a lesser extent, Jimmy Vesey, Jujhar Khaira, Troy Bourke, and MAtt Gryzlek are all guys that would've been better choices

[Rounoush]

I just don't like this pick. Never really did. Would've rather had drafted Severson or Pelech.

It's somewhat surprising too that Gillis didn't draft his nephew in Pelech.

[DeNiro]

If Mallet becomes a Kyle Clifford type player I don't think anyone will be complaining.

Most 2nd round picks never make the NHL. So drafting a guy that is perfectly suited for a fourth line energy role is not as risky as you'd think. Drafting a player like Rodin was much riskier.

[Derp...]

Mallet will get his chance, and probably succeed. He's got the tools and has shown the ability to raise his level for big games. 2 more years in the A though. One to take that next step offensively, and one to get that consistency the pros have in their game.

[mrsasaki]

If Mallet becomes a Kyle Clifford type player I don't think anyone will be complaining.

Then we can trade him for Cody Hodgson!

[Maniwaki Canuck]

Mallet will get his chance, and probably succeed. He's got the tools and has shown the ability to raise his level for big games. 2 more years in the A though. One to take that next step offensively, and one to get that consistency the pros have in their game.

Can't see how he doesn't get a 4th line shot eventually, and he certainly has the potential to play his way up from there. With the forward depth we are accumulating, though, it's possible he may get burried and eventually end up on another team.

[LeanBeef]

He has been winning a few fights lately.

Nice to see him dropping the gloves more this year.

[CanuckleHorse]

He is slowly coming around i think this dude just has to grow his game a bit more and i believe he can do that once he gets a bit more comfortable we will singing his praises i love his willingness to go thats my favorite part of his game and his speed and that he is hard on the puck

[Fozzy]

Mallet was born on May 22, 1992. So let's look at some highly touted picks, who are forwards, of the 2010 draft class (this is the 1992 birthdays draft year and the 1st year that Mallet was eligible to be drafted) and see where they are at with there development.

Okay so the first 8 are all currently in the NHL, so we'll skip them. 9 is Mikael Granlund so I'll skip him too. 10-16 I'll skip as well.

Okay so let's compare Mallet to the #18 pick - Austin Watson. Watson was drafted by Nashville after he had 20 pts in 10 games for the Peterborough Petes. So how did he fair in his most recent season in the CHL? In 29 games he had 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points. And in the playoffs he had only 17 points in 19 games. Compare those stats to Mallet. Who would you rather have?

Okay now let's compare him to highly touted Charlie Coyle, who was drafted 28th by San Jose but is now Minnesota property. Coyle had, in 23 games, 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points for the Saint John Sea Dogs. Not bad at all, but he only had 8 penalty minutes. In the playoffs he really ramped it up for 34 points in 17 playoff games but once again he only had 8 penalty minutes. Coyle is obviously better than Mallet, but is he really that much better? Remember that Coyle is projected top 6 in the NHL one day.

Oh this should be fun. Let's compare him to Quinton Howden. All of you guys know who he is and how we could have drafted him if it wasn't for the Keith Ballard trade. Howden is actually older than Mallet by a few months. Howden played for Moose Jaw this year and racked up 65 points in 52 games. Howden also finished the year with a whopping 16 penalty minutes. When the playoffs came around Howden's production actually went down. In 14 games he got 15 points and 6 penalty minutes. Compare his stats to Mallet's. Who would you honestly rather have in our system?

Let's look at the #39 overall pick in Brett Bulmer. I personally know this kid and I can honestly say he is a dick. But that's not why we're here. He played 9 games for Minnesota this year before being sent back down to junior. In those 9 games with the Wild he got 3 points. He was also one of the final cuts for Team Canada this year at the world juniors. When he went back to junior he played for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. He amassed 62 points in 53 games with 93 penalty minutes. In the playoffs he got 5 points in 3 games and 17 penalty minutes. So this is a kid who has played in the NHL and is older than Mallet but his numbers in the CHL aren't as impressive.

I could find more examples but I really am sick of typing.

So my point is this; Just because Mallet is older doesn't mean he isn't going to be successful. When you compare his stats to touted prospects the same age, Mallet actually has equally good or even better statistics.

This kid has amazing potential and I am just absolutely jacked that MG drafted him.

Wonder if this guy still thinks he has great potential

[Utica Fan]

I thought he got traded to Ottawa for a Notre Dame prospect back at the trade deadline. Did I miss something?

[Drouin]

I thought he got traded to Ottawa for a Notre Dame prospect back at the trade deadline. Did I miss something?

That was Patrick Mullen.