Kole Lind | RW

[messier's_elbow]

Nice to see all our 2017 picks progressing   nicely, even though it's early. 

[RogersTowell]

12 hours ago, Alexandre said:

Yes, impressive vision and IQ. His skating isn't too bad either. Plus he has an edge and potential as a power forward. Add 20-25 lbs on that frame and he could definitely fill a top 6 role for us.

 

 

You've summed up a lot of what I saw in the prospects game, but I'd like to add that he not only had the vision and IQ, but, like Pettersson, he has the hands to make something really happen with that vision.  He doesn't have the one on one moves of Pettersson, but he can sure play smart and dish off the puck to whoever is right out in front for a scoring chance.  He must have generated between 1/3 and 1/2 of the offensive chances against Winnipeg.

[Derp...]

12 hours ago, gameburn2 said:

Sounds about right.  Is he likely to be given decent ice time in this year's pre-season?  He can already do things with the puck a lot of our right wingers cannot do.  I know he's very young -- and his defensive game is not being talked about as a positive -- but clearly he has that ability to make plays.  And we need that very badly.  On the pp in the young guns game he looked like a center his vision was so good.

 

 

Personally I would only put him in 1 pre season game. He just needs to see the speed, but you don't want him to get hurt. He plays an abrasive style and if he tries that against men now it won't work. You don't want him to change his game either, just keep getting faster and stronger. His goal should be to earn a spot on the WJC team if he can.

[gameburn2]

2 hours ago, Derp... said:

Personally I would only put him in 1 pre season game. He just needs to see the speed, but you don't want him to get hurt. He plays an abrasive style and if he tries that against men now it won't work. You don't want him to change his game either, just keep getting faster and stronger. His goal should be to earn a spot on the WJC team if he can.

I've heard ppl mention that Lind is a "power forward" in the making.  I'm not sure that's his niche.  More of a Makarov play-maker.  Use his size to protect the puck, not whack ppl.  He took some silly cross-checking penalty at the end of the Young Guns game.  You are so right: no way he can be doing that kind of thing at the NHL.  Someone will kill him.  I thought Tkachuk went too far at times last year, as a rookie playing an abrasive game.  Not sure this will work for many rookies.   

 

He did look slow at times -- especially back-checking and returning at the end of a shift-change.  Better when his team has the puck.

You may be right: have a sip of coffee, see how big and fast the rest of the NHL is, and be humbled enough to improve his game over the next year.  I got the impression from the Ryan Johnson interview that this is what happened to Juolevi last year.   He looks like a different player this year.  Paired with a bigger more defensive D, he might make the team this Fall. 

[Alexandre]

3 hours ago, RogersTowell said:

You've summed up a lot of what I saw in the prospects game, but I'd like to add that he not only had the vision and IQ, but, like Pettersson, he has the hands to make something really happen with that vision.  He doesn't have the one on one moves of Pettersson, but he can sure play smart and dish off the puck to whoever is right out in front for a scoring chance.  He must have generated between 1/3 and 1/2 of the offensive chances against Winnipeg.

Yes that's true. He has so many tools in his tool kit I missed that one.

 

Lind's ability that separates him from an ordinary prospect though, and has enabled him to get results like he has had, is on the mental side of things. Namely his vision,  hockey IQ and mental toughness. Sure, he wouldn't be as effective with lesser hands, agility, and size, but there are lots of players that never made the NHL or had mediocre careers that had all his physical skills but were lacking on the mental side. This is what gives some of us confidence that Lind has a bright future.

Edited September 10, 2017 by Alexandre

[NameFaker]

On 9/10/2017 at 0:11 PM, Alexandre said:

Yes that's true. He has so many tools in his tool kit I missed that one.

 

Lind's ability that separates him from an ordinary prospect though, and has enabled him to get results like he has had, is on the mental side of things. Namely his vision,  hockey IQ and mental toughness. Sure, he wouldn't be as effective with lesser hands, agility, and size, but there are lots of players that never made the NHL or had mediocre careers that had all his physical skills but were lacking on the mental side. This is what gives some of us confidence that Lind has a bright future.

I really like that Benning's "administration" has prioritized intelligence and character the last couple drafts. These are inherited traits for the most part that can't be taught. That's not to say they can't be accentuated or dulled, but for the most part they're ingrained from the get-go. 

 

Lind, Gaudette, Petterson, and Juolevi are all examples of this. Gadjovich seems to fit the definition as well. I'd add in some of the other picks from this year but I haven't seen enough of them to comment. I think the greatest asset of these traits is their coachability. The players can understand the dynamics of the game like their coach does, and so his strategic adaptations won't be wasted on them. This could and should make for a terrifically tactical team. I'm so freaking into that.

 

Back to Lind - I see him as a middle six forward with scoring ability, but he could excel. I feel (major hope here) like he might be Benning's Pominville of his tenure as GM here. That would make me soooooo happy.

 

God I can't wait for preseason. GCG!

[Alexandre]

^ Yes. Benning's best steals as Director of Amateur Scouting for Buffalo; Ryan Miller 5th round, Paul Gaustad 7th round, and Jason Pominville 2nd round, oozed with character. You don't lose your ability to identify talent because you become GM. In a few years, we may find that Benning stole another player in the second round of this last draft.

[Boudrias]

On 9/10/2017 at 0:11 PM, Alexandre said:

Yes that's true. He has so many tools in his tool kit I missed that one.

 

Lind's ability that separates him from an ordinary prospect though, and has enabled him to get results like he has had, is on the mental side of things. Namely his vision,  hockey IQ and mental toughness. Sure, he wouldn't be as effective with lesser hands, agility, and size, but there are lots of players that never made the NHL or had mediocre careers that had all his physical skills but were lacking on the mental side. This is what gives some of us confidence that Lind has a bright future.

He looks much bigger than I expected. 

[Alexandre]

On 2017-09-10 at 0:11 PM, Alexandre said:

Yes that's true. He has so many tools in his tool kit I missed that one.

 

Lind's ability that separates him from an ordinary prospect though, and has enabled him to get results like he has had, is on the mental side of things. Namely his vision,  hockey IQ and mental toughness. Sure, he wouldn't be as effective with lesser hands, agility, and size, but there are lots of players that never made the NHL or had mediocre careers that had all his physical skills but were lacking on the mental side. This is what gives some of us confidence that Lind has a bright future.

 

5 hours ago, Boudrias said:

He looks much bigger than I expected. 

He is an inch shorter and a couple of pounds heavier than Henrik and looks big out there. He can play big and that is why if he can add another 20 to 25 pounds to his 6'1" frame, I can picture him becoming a hybrid, a mobile power forward who can make plays.

[Outsiders]

Needs to work on skating much like Horvat did. But the good thing it is easy to fix

[Rob_Zepp]

27 minutes ago, Outsiders said:

Needs to work on skating much like Horvat did. But the good thing it is easy to fix

Uh, not so sure.   I have played with a ton of guys who had everything to be successful except skating and they tried everything.   It isn't something everyone can excel at and Horvat's improvement is unusual for sure.   Certainly players can improve but if you don't have NHL skating already, it isn't the easiest thing to solve at all in my experience.

[Rob_Zepp]

On 9/9/2017 at 8:46 PM, AV's Coin said:

I dont know too much about either player but Lind does seem like a close comparable to Cody Glass for all the CDC'ers that wanted Glass.

 Tall, Lanky, smart, good playmaker, decent skater, not too flashy.

Lind scored 30 goals and 87 points (24 of his goals were at even strength, as were 60 of his points)

 

Cody Glass had 32 goals and 95 points 

 

 

Glass is six-foot-two and 178 pounds.

Lind is 6-1 and also 178.

[Where'd Luongo?]

1 hour ago, Rob_Zepp said:

Lind scored 30 goals and 87 points (24 of his goals were at even strength, as were 60 of his points)

 

Cody Glass had 32 goals and 95 points 

 

 

Glass is six-foot-two and 178 pounds.

Lind is 6-1 and also 178.

Exactly. Lind is a steal where we got him and he is going to prove to be a great player for us.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

On 2017-09-10 at 10:46 AM, AV's Coin said:

I dont know too much about either player but Lind does seem like a close comparable to Cody Glass for all the CDC'ers that wanted Glass.

 Tall, Lanky, smart, good playmaker, decent skater, not too flashy.

You know what's crazy,  we also have a very close comparable to Gabriel vilardi for all the CDC that wanted him in Jonah gadjovich.

 

61 points in 49 games 6'2 201

 

74 points in 60 games 6'1 201

 

guess who is who.   

 

 

 

[cyoung]

19 minutes ago, MoneypuckOverlord said:

You know what's crazy,  we also have a very close comparable to Gabriel vilardi for all the CDC that wanted him in Jonah gadjovich.

 

61 points in 49 games 6'2 201

 

74 points in 60 games 6'1 201

 

guess who is who.   

 

 

 

Not that similar though. Gad played with Suzuki, Vilardi cycled through about 12 linemates and no real stars. But I am definitely excited about gad. 

[Hairy Kneel]

We've needed a strong passing forward for our 2nd and 3rd lines. Not since Brendan Morrison, we might have another assists leader

[stawns]

14 minutes ago, Hairy Kneel said:

We've needed a strong passing forward for our 2nd and 3rd lines. Not since Brendan Morrison, we might have another assists leader

Though they don't necessarily play a similar style, I think that's a great comparison.

[Blömqvist]

8 hours ago, Alexandre said:

^ Yes. Benning's best steals as Director of Amateur Scouting for Buffalo; Ryan Miller 5th round, Paul Gaustad 7th round, and Jason Pominville 2nd round, oozed with character. You don't lose your ability to identify talent because you become GM. In a few years, we may find that Benning stole another player in the second round of this last draft.

As much as it is important being Director of Amateur Scouting (or even Assistant GM) for an NHL team, the GM will always have final say at the draft table. 

 

That might explain why Buffalo and Boston's track record for drafting isn't stellar despite Benning holding high positions within each organization, and also why Vancouver's drafting since Benning became the GM has gotten better despite Ron Delorme being the Director of Amateur scouting up until this season.

 

Benning has drafted several good players already, such as Boeser later on in the first round, Demko, Lind, and Gadjovich in the second round, Tryamkin, Brisebois, and DiPietro in the third round, and a gem in Gaudette in the later rounds. His most recent draft where Judd Brackett had more influence is arguably the most promising since 2014.

 

Prioritizing intelligence and character and, more recently, speed and skill on the draft table will hopefully continue to fill the prospect pipeline for us. 

 

Bringing it back to Lind, I feel like he will be a very good player for us. More known as a goal-scorer up to the draft he definitely showed his playmaking and offensive versatility during the Youngstars Tournament. It'll be good to see him bulk up and further develop in Kelowna's top-notch system. They'll have some very good players on that team so they should make another deep run in the playoffs.

 

 

[MoneypuckOverlord]

2 hours ago, cyoung said:

Not that similar though. Gad played with Suzuki, Vilardi cycled through about 12 linemates and no real stars. But I am definitely excited about gad. 

So your telling me Gad didn't get cycled through 12 linemates?

 

Quote

and no real stars.

Logan Brown and having the chance to share the ice with OHL dman of the year Mikhail Sergachev  and 1st rounder Logan Stanley? 

 

 

[cyoung]

40 minutes ago, MoneypuckOverlord said:

So your telling me Gad didn't get cycled through 12 linemates?

 

Logan Brown and having the chance to share the ice with OHL dman of the year Mikhail Sergachev  and 1st rounder Logan Stanley? 

 

 

He did not cycle nearly as much.... Not even close as much as Vilardi. 

 

Ya Sergachev is a great defenseman.... Great. Logan brown didn't play the whole season with Vilardi. Not to mention Logan brown is not an offensive dynamo himself. Vilardi also played wing and he's a natural center. Numbers coulda been much higher but he played on a systematic team in an important role. 

 

Again..... Not saying gadjovich is a bad prospect but at the moment. Vilardi is much better.