Nikolaj Ehlers

[Derp...]

We could always use more centres.

True

I think we can get get by with Horvat as a temp 1C in the future if we have to, but ideally we need a top line centre to have real depth.

[JeremyCuddles]

True

I think we can get get by with Horvat as a temp 1C in the future if we have to, but ideally we need a top line centre to have real depth.

Our current centres are potential 2/3rd line. A Reinhart would be nice, but do would Ekbkad, and Ehlers and Virtanen.... Lol.

[BanTSN]

Left-wingers. Centers.

Meanwhile Grenier's alllll by himself shouting "HELLLLO!!! A LITTLE HELP HERE!!!!"

[Absent Canuck]

If we do get a LW like Ehlers or Dal Colle I will be stoked.

Ehlers/Dal Colle Horvat Kassian

Shinkaruk Cassels Jensen

Fox Gaunce Grenier

LaBate Lain Kenins/Mallet

I am glad you brought him up. This guy gets no love whatsoever. I think he has earned a shot in training camp. I have been rooting for him .

[Smashian Kassian]

My point is every player has flaws even NHL player. Theres no point of trying to convince everyone that he has this overal rounded game and is tops on all categories. Not many NHL players are solid in all around games. infact like maybe only 3 or 4 players. Kane is highly skilled but he’s not known for his strong defensive and PK game. So there is no point comparing Kane to Lucic as they provide different benefits to their respective teams. There’s no point for people to try and say Ritchie’s is a better player than Ehlers (and vice versa) as they play two different types of games. There overall on a rating would be almost identical just each player had a few more/less attributes in other areas.

Ehlers may be average size but he doesn’t play a heavy game and is soft on the puck. That not necessarily a bad knock, just acknowledging that’s not his type of game. Kane isn’t either. If both go on an one on one battle with Chara they are likely going to lose that battle where a big heavy player like Ritchie might win. Ehlers might get a lot more break ways and score odd man rushes that Ritchie on the other end.

It all comes down to what type of player team feels it needs, the big power forward, a speedy forward, a smooth visionary, or the all rounded player. We want a balanced team, eventually one of each. Not a roster full of the same type of player. aka EDM

Speaking for myself again, I'm not trying to convince anyone what to think, I'm just stating my opinion, and dis-spelling incorrect myths (though I have kinda given up on that)

I disagree that Ehlers is soft on the puck, does he play a heavy game? No he's not built for it, but does that mean he is soft on the puck? No, that's not a quality determined by size & I don't think he's lacking in that area. If you thats fine, but I don't.

You can't really compare Ritchie & Ehlers right now as players, but you can prefer one to the other, (I have those two at 6 & 7 so right next to each other).

Left-wingers. Centers.

Meanwhile Grenier's alllll by himself shouting "HELLLLO!!! A LITTLE HELP HERE!!!!"

the majority of Wingers can play both sides, Jensen can, Kassian is a RWer, Cassels can play wing I'm pretty sure, I don't really see Winger/Center as a big deal with this pick given the likely players available.

[S N Y P E R S 7]

So buying this on eBay.

[WiDeN]

So buying this on eBay.

Do you like Ehlers? Couldn't tell.

[asian player]

So buying this on eBay.

That's a pretty card. How much?

[Absent Canuck]

You guys have probably heard of Cory Pronman of ESPN doing his hockey prospectus. His list came out yesterday as most of you know and I saw the link posted as well.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/10933126/aaron-ekblad-sam-bennett-lead-top-100-draft-prospects-nhl-draft-2014

Nylander is ranked #3 and Ehlers at # 5

Ritchie and Virtanen follow a few spots down the list.

However, Pronman also goes onto HFboards to explain his rankings.

http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=1672177

He chimes in about 1/2 down the first page and eventually starts to reply. Give it a read.

[Absent Canuck]

Speaking for myself again, I'm not trying to convince anyone what to think, I'm just stating my opinion, and dis-spelling incorrect myths (though I have kinda given up on that)

I disagree that Ehlers is soft on the puck, does he play a heavy game? No he's not built for it, but does that mean he is soft on the puck? No, that's not a quality determined by size & I don't think he's lacking in that area. If you thats fine, but I don't.

You are trying to talk to a guy who has been told this 5 times already. You are wasting your time. He just makes up whatever he wants to believe.

This idea of being 'heavy' on the puck actually means 'strong' on the puck. Ehlers is very difficult to knock off the puck. His center of gravity is excellent. He is also one of the best forecheckers in the QMJHL and part of it is because he wants the puck and you can see it whenever he plays.

So I take it this 'heavy' on the puck must be some way where Ehlers would not be eligible due to the size advantage for Ritchie. Its a novel way to create a concrete negative that he thinks cannot be questioned.

If you want to spend your time correcting myths and then re correcting myths and then furthermore correct them some more then be my guest. At some point you may want to stop and ask yourself if these guys have an honest objection or are just using excuses to perpetually argue.

[Robongo]

You are trying to talk to a guy who has been told this 5 times already. You are wasting your time. He just makes up whatever he wants to believe.

This idea of being 'heavy' on the puck actually means 'strong' on the puck. Ehlers is very difficult to knock off the puck. His center of gravity is excellent. He is also one of the best forecheckers in the QMJHL and part of it is because he wants the puck and you can see it whenever he plays.

So I take it this 'heavy' on the puck must be some way where Ehlers would not be eligible due to the size advantage for Ritchie. Its a novel way to create a concrete negative that he thinks cannot be questioned.

If you want to spend your time correcting myths and then re correcting myths and then furthermore correct them some more then be my guest. At some point you may want to stop and ask yourself if these guys have an honest objection or are just using excuses to perpetually argue.

I would say Ehlers' balance is actually one of his weaknesses. The thing is you don't get to see him knocked off the puck too often because of his blazing speed. The good news is, this is very much correctable and he's not done growing either . After his first year playing in North America he likely realizes what he really has to work on. He's a top 5 player skill wise in this draft and he'd be ranked accordingly had he had another year in the q previously .

This thread has been a constant regurgitation of the same unsubstantiated claims over and over, regardless of the information to the contrary and thus an overall giant waste of time.

[Absent Canuck]

I would say Ehlers' balance is actually one of his weaknesses. The thing is you don't get to see him knocked off the puck too often because of his blazing speed. The good news is, this is very much correctable and he's not done growing either . After his first year playing in North America he likely realizes what he really has to work on. He's a top 5 player skill wise in this draft and he'd be ranked accordingly had he had another year in the q previously .

This thread has been a constant regurgitation of the same unsubstantiated claims over and over, regardless of the information to the contrary and thus an overall giant waste of time.

I disagree.

Where have you seen him show poor balance? . I agree that most of the highlights you see of the guy are his blazing end to end rushes . If you watch the full games you will see him shield the puck when at lower speeds in traffic. He has an excellent center of gravity.

And yes, we need to make a sticky and a laundry list of ridiculous questions that have been asked and answered. Wont do much good. They just ask them again when they think the coast is clear.

[Robongo]

I disagree.

Where have you seen him show poor balance? . I agree that most of the highlights you see of the guy are his blazing end to end rushes . If you watch the full games you will see him shield the puck when at lower speeds in traffic. He has an excellent center of gravity.

And yes, we need to make a sticky and a laundry list of ridiculous questions that have been asked and answered. Wont do much good. They just ask them again when they think the coast is clear.

I've watched more than highlights (mooseheads final two rounds mostly) and he doesn't have poor balance per say, but his lower body strength is a bit of a weakness. Albeit, it's really nit picking because it's nothing major and it's quite evident he is still growing. He does get outmuscled from time to time along the boards from what I've seen, but he has great tenacity and is relentless when he turns the puck over. One thing you can't question, is his work ethic, and that goes a long long way. He's my pick at number 6 if nobody falls, but to get defensive and say he has no flaws is just flat out wrong, sorry.

[S N Y P E R S 7]

New updates from [NHL.com Draft Profiles].
Nothing that we don't already know:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?cat=1&dpid=85782&sort=finalRank&year=2014

• In 2013-14, Ehlers finished fourth in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 104 points (49-55—104) in 63 games. Ehlers then added 28 points (11-17—28) in 16 postseason games before the Mooseheads were eliminated in the seventh game of their third round series against Val-d’Or. Ehlers formed a dynamic duo in Halifax while playing alongside Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin (selected third overall in the 2013 NHL Draft). Drouin (29-79—108) finished third in League scoring, Ehlers finished fourth.

• His impressive 2013-14 season saw him earn a multitude of QMJHL awards including: Rookie of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year and Best Professional Prospect along with All-Rookie Team and Second Team All-Star selections. He led all rookies in goals, assists and points and led the entire League with a plus-65 rating.

• Part of Denmark's gold medal-winning teams at the 2014 Under-20 World Junior Championship (Division 1, Group A) and the 2013 Under-18 World Junior Championship (Division 1, Group A) where he led all players with eight assists (3-8—11) in five games.

• His father, Heinz Ehlers, played 16 seasons of professional hockey across four different European professional leagues from 1984-85 to 2001-02. His brother Sebastian, skates for the Aalborg Pirates in Denmark’s premiere league.

• Ehlers played soccer at the national team level until he was 14, before choosing to pursue hockey full-time.

• He speaks five languages – Danish, English, French, German and Swiss.

FAVORITES

NHL team: Dallas Stars
NHL player: Mike Modano
Shootout move: "I have a few I like to use."
Goal celebration: "Touching the ice with the glove and punch."
Video game: NHL14
Movie: Pearl Harbor
Actor: Jason Statham
Website: NHL.com
Sport (other than hockey): Soccer, golf, tennis

[JeremyCuddles]

New updates from [NHL.com Draft Profiles].

Nothing that we don't already know:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?cat=1&dpid=85782&sort=finalRank&year=2014

In 2013-14, Ehlers finished fourth in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 104 points (49-55104) in 63 games. Ehlers then added 28 points (11-1728) in 16 postseason games before the Mooseheads were eliminated in the seventh game of their third round series against Val-dOr. Ehlers formed a dynamic duo in Halifax while playing alongside Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin (selected third overall in the 2013 NHL Draft). Drouin (29-79108) finished third in League scoring, Ehlers finished fourth.

His impressive 2013-14 season saw him earn a multitude of QMJHL awards including: Rookie of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year and Best Professional Prospect along with All-Rookie Team and Second Team All-Star selections. He led all rookies in goals, assists and points and led the entire League with a plus-65 rating.

Part of Denmark's gold medal-winning teams at the 2014 Under-20 World Junior Championship (Division 1, Group A) and the 2013 Under-18 World Junior Championship (Division 1, Group A) where he led all players with eight assists (3-811) in five games.

His father, Heinz Ehlers, played 16 seasons of professional hockey across four different European professional leagues from 1984-85 to 2001-02. His brother Sebastian, skates for the Aalborg Pirates in Denmarks premiere league.

Ehlers played soccer at the national team level until he was 14, before choosing to pursue hockey full-time.

He speaks five languages Danish, English, French, German and Swiss.

FAVORITES

NHL team: Dallas Stars

NHL player: Mike Modano

Shootout move: "I have a few I like to use."

Goal celebration: "Touching the ice with the glove and punch."

Video game: NHL14

Movie: Pearl Harbor

Actor: Jason Statham

Website: NHL.com

Sport (other than hockey): Soccer, golf, tennis

Something tells me you know his favourite restaurant. Lol. I'm kinda hoping we draft him just to see fangirl out or something.

[TOMapleLaughs]

I've watched more than highlights (mooseheads final two rounds mostly) and he doesn't have poor balance per say, but his lower body strength is a bit of a weakness. Albeit, it's really nit picking because it's nothing major and it's quite evident he is still growing. He does get outmuscled from time to time along the boards from what I've seen, but he has great tenacity and is relentless when he turns the puck over. One thing you can't question, is his work ethic, and that goes a long long way. He's my pick at number 6 if nobody falls, but to get defensive and say he has no flaws is just flat out wrong, sorry.

He falls down when opponents brush against him. It is a significant issue. As it is the case with most undersized players.

He is not relentless without the puck. He often does nothing but wait in open ice without it. This is a coachable fix, but due to him being a physical non-factor, there are limits.

If the 'work ethic' equates to capitilizing on open ice opportunities after a shifts-worth of waiting for the puck to float his way, then yes, there's a lot of that.

I've watched him just as much as you have. He's quick, he's skilled, but small, a defensive non-factor and is mostly a power play guy, where he had to be used on the point.

He's non worth a 6th based on skill and he'll likely be outside the top-10 based on risk.

[Derp...]

He falls down when opponents brush against him. It is a significant issue. As it is the case with most undersized players.

He is not relentless without the puck. He often does nothing but wait in open ice without it. This is a coachable fix, but due to him being a physical non-factor, there are limits.

If the 'work ethic' equates to capitilizing on open ice opportunities after a shifts-worth of waiting for the puck to float his way, then yes, there's a lot of that.

I've watched him just as much as you have. He's quick, he's skilled, but small, a defensive non-factor and is mostly a power play guy, where he had to be used on the point.

He's non worth a 6th based on skill and he'll likely be outside the top-10 based on risk.

Do you have some video of this, I'd love to see some personally.

[nuckster33]

He falls down when opponents brush against him. It is a significant issue. As it is the case with most undersized players.

He is not relentless without the puck. He often does nothing but wait in open ice without it. This is a coachable fix, but due to him being a physical non-factor, there are limits.

If the 'work ethic' equates to capitilizing on open ice opportunities after a shifts-worth of waiting for the puck to float his way, then yes, there's a lot of that.

I've watched him just as much as you have. He's quick, he's skilled, but small, a defensive non-factor and is mostly a power play guy, where he had to be used on the point.

He's non worth a 6th based on skill and he'll likely be outside the top-10 based on risk.

LOL!

I'm new but certainly know a troll when I see one

You've spent 100 pages bashing this kid

LOL!! says enough

[TOMapleLaughs]

Do you have some video of this, I'd love to see some personally.

Ask Smashian Kassian for the link. I cannot recall. During their last series I focused on all of Ehlers' shifts and all of Drouin's shifts, looking for tendancies, positives and faults.

Ehlers is fairly easy to knock off the puck. He needs open ice to be effective. He cheats ahead to find it. He stays behind on backchecks to find it. He'll need to grow and develop some sorta defensive game before becoming an NHLer.

While most legit offensive stars can step in right away, Ehlers won't. He can't. He's not big enough for an NHL game, and he's not talented enough to overcome that. He'll be a project. And we all know that lightweight projects, like Schroeder for example, who was skilled in his own right, carry a lot more risk with them.

There will more talented, more balanced, more defensively enabled and less risky picks available to us at #6.

Good luck to him wherever he goes. Hopefully to the east, which has seen offense from players like Skinner and Giroux translate quickly. Perhaps i'm wrong about Ehlers' short-term upside and he'll succeed in the east right away.

[Derp...]

Ask Smashian Kassian for the link. I cannot recall. During their last series I focused on all of Ehlers' shifts and all of Drouin's shifts, looking for tendancies, positives and faults.

Ehlers is fairly easy to knock off the puck. He needs open ice to be effective. He cheats ahead to find it. He stays behind on backchecks to find it. He'll need to grow and develop some sorta defensive game before becoming an NHLer.

While most legit offensive stars can step in right away, Ehlers won't. He can't. He's not big enough for an NHL game, and he's not talented enough to overcome that. He'll be a project. And we all know that lightweight projects, like Schroeder for example, who was skilled in his own right, carry a lot more risk with them.

There will more talented, more balanced, more defensively enabled and less risky picks available to us at #6.

Good luck to him wherever he goes. Hopefully to the east, which has seen offense from players like Skinner and Giroux translate quickly. Perhaps i'm wrong about Ehlers' short-term upside and he'll succeed in the east right away.

So would you take Fiala over Ehlers then? He seems pretty ready to play against men in the NHL.