CBJ Prospect and Player Thread

[jimotis4heisman]

this years top 50

Hockey's Future Top 50 prospects, Spring 2008 1-10 - Hockey's Future
1-10
jake voracheck checks in at 6
brassard 14
mason 48

[jimotis4heisman]

cbj top 20 prospects
Blue Jackets Top 20 prospects, Spring 2008 - Hockey's Future

good article with a tidbit on each kid, i dont necessarily agree with the entire list but informative.

[jimotis4heisman]

Goal is for success to carry over to '08-09- Syracuse.com

Goal is for success to carry over to '08-09

Whether Crunch can be a consistent playoff team depends on Columbus.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 By Lindsay Kramer
Staff writer
Even before the final horn sounded on the Syracuse Crunch with a Game 7 loss to Toronto on Monday night, the final grade on the team's chemistry test was already logged in the books.
It was a solid A-plus.
Nothing short of a brotherhood of pluckers and grinders could have lifted the team from its middling start to a 100-point season and a bounce of the puck away from the Calder Cup semifinals. Parent club Columbus deserves credit for finding the right pieces and jamming them together into a near-seamless fit.
Now that they have a blueprint for what a real minor league team looks like, the Blue Jackets must figure out how to replicate it as closely as possible next season. That's hard enough in the transitional world of minor league hockey. Given Columbus' track record of difficulty in establishing a foothold of success in Syracuse, that challenge grows even larger.
In its eight years as parent club of Syracuse, the Blue Jackets have alternated between exhilarating and disappointing Crunch fans when it comes to the playoffs. Since 2002, the Crunch has reached the postseason in even-numbered years, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. It has missed in the alternating seasons, 2003, 2005 and 2007.


continued...

[jimotis4heisman]

i just realized i never updated for last years prospects...

this is from the cbj thread from right after last years draft

umm i plan on doing a draft post and adding to the prospect page sometime when i have about an hour or so, hoenstly some of the picks are pretty interesting. obviously you have the mayorov. hes a big kid that thn had at #14, most places had him in the low 20s, the highest ranking he has i believe was #25 and that was tsn. i sat with some agents and some personnel people on friday night, they thought hed slide to about 40 without a transfer agreeement, and no way hed slide out of the 2nd. edmonton was going to pick him in the 4th, and columbus traded up for him in the 4th (3 spots ahead of the oilers).

maxim mayorov has nhl skating ability, weakness is his dangle, he tends to fumble the puck (not give it away like z he tends to cough it up himself). he can flat out skate, thus giving him a legit 1 v 1 threat, toss in a powerful lateral burst to the fact he has speed to burn and thats his strength, he has a good motor and drives with his feet well. i was told somewhere between the first and fourth best skater in the draft. shoot is hard and not afraid to pull the trigger often, not a natural goal scorer, scores a lot of effort goals going hard to the net. has the ability to throw some nifty passes but has yet to develop the patience and poise to wait for things to open up. plays strong on his skates and handles traffic well, plays ok defense, like most young guys id expect this to come with time. can struggle with consistency, but he plays like a missile when he chooses to. same agent as Z. probably a year away from coming over to north america. good size already at six two 180. i was told a blend of a young forsberg, vyborny and chimmera in style of play.

legein was tagged in the second round is an agitator, think darcy tucker (id say tyler wright but hes more skilled than tyler). kid has good aceleration and seperation gear, ok top end speed. hell play hard all over the ice, covering the enitre sheet with tenacity. gritty player who plays every shift and the entire shift with tenacity and an edge. doesnt see the ice that well but has what im told is amazing hand eye cordination, smallish size at five 10 175.

will weber ushl (#1 overall pick in the ushl draft) kid, who is headed to miami of ohio. one of the guys i was with was suprised he wasnt picked in the first, i asked why "hes big, hes mean, and hes fast" hes raw, but he has a big time shot and a great athlete, he has a lot to work on but he is a pro dman. great hands and nice poise, qbs the power play with creativity and a laser rocket shot. can throw the long stretch pass and creatively utilizes it with his size and using the boards for the bounce pass. needs to accelerate his decision making process and stop trying to do it on his own. will stand up his man at the blue line or crunch guys along the boards, really needs to work on his defensive positioning, one of the better athletes in the draft. the kid is like a young racehorse, tons of potential that relies purely on natural talent. hurt in the draft by playing at a weird michigan hs. the kid has a bone jarring slapper and wicked wrister, he can stick handle in a phone booth for a big guy. six five 210.


and with the seventh pick jakub voracek, six one 190. short and simple, play maker, powerful driver to net, character, excellent shot, great player in traffic, good with puck, inconsistent.

this kid was the #1 player but most services in nov, dec and then again in april. had a small late season injury which dropped him, played well in the playoffs in the q. translates as a playmaker at the nhl level better than anyone. creative, vision, passing abillity are exceptional. can make plays with guys all over him, high skill good sized winger who likes to and excels at crashing the net.last year was his first year in na and adjusted to the small ice very quickly. above average skater, with a stiff stride. nimble feet and good agility. has a deceptive gear when he needs it. soft hands, long reach, great dangler, sheilds the puck exceptionally, awesome vision and creativity. top playmaker in the draft. think hybrid of vyborny and forsberg type player.

those are my initial thoughts of those guys based on very little homework and my predraft thoughts. id really like to do my hwk then get back to you guys with something a little more in depth. overall none of these guys play this year, jakub is atleast one maybe two years out, maxim will be brought over after next year. weber is a ways out and so on.

on the centre, i really dont think i know how to answer that, it seems to me the long term solutions are in place with brassard and brule. its someone to hold down the fort this and possibly next year. after next season you have a ton of ufa free agents, this year you have some but you have such a demand with about 12 teams looking for a #1 centre. id venture a guess that an adequate ufa centre is signed to like a two year deal possibly. im talking about a 2mm to 3mm tops player. right now the team is about five mill from what the team will spend. i think either some point this year or after this season you see brule back in the middle of the ice from the wing he played most of this year. will brassard make the team? i really dont know, he might, he may not. honestly maybe we see some brule in cuse also. i have no idea, hitch will get more free reign with his control this year than last.

[jimotis4heisman]

the newest nik ini columbus is another highly skilled russian. pegged by most services as a right shot lw, he also can play the centre. played for both the u18 and u20 russian teams. speaks pretty decent english and dabbles in french. i think anytime you have russians you have issues and a stigma. ill say this about young russians. ill compare young russians to inner city americans. many of them come from broken homes, poverty, lack the core family etc. nikita has an educated mother and has lived in italy, africa and russia.

nikita is from cska, zherdev also played there along with kosmachev from z's draft, mozyakin

nikita was born in moscow (z is from kiev, ukraine) nikita plays a relatively responsible defensive game, he has speed to burn. highly skilled and like most russians loves the toe drag. nikita likes to play in open ice at high speed and has great vision. the sidney crosby comparison tossed many by suprise as fialtov as a cnetre not a winger. he likely will start at the wing.

nikita is a smaller player who like many russians works in "natural" training. he conditions by running around with rocks, lifting sticks, running up/down hills etc. interesting..

i dont think youll see nikita in sudbury like many think. he is eligible for the ahl and i see him starting the year in the american league. nikita actually was outspoken about his cska experience. he played some for the super league team but spent most of the year at the 2nd tier. he was outspoken about wanting to be pushed and that included the super league. i think it is important for nikita to play at a high level but at the same time develop his strength and get ice time. at the nhl level he may only get 6-11 mins a game vs more at the ahl and loads in jrs. i think hell start the year in the cuse.


look at the kids skill...

YouTube - U18 Russia vs. Sweden, Filatov 3:2

YouTube - Filatov

YouTube - Nikita Filatov Video

[jimotis4heisman]

6-1 195lb
defence
shoots r
u-wisc

cody was the second youngest d-1 player last year. cody actually had ohio state in his final four and eventually picked the badgers over the buckeyes.

he plays a composed game and makes a good first pass out of the zone. makes the smart player. shoots right-columbus is loaded with left shots on the blue line. has good speed, nice powerful stride. playing for the badgers he will continue to refine his postioning and stickwork. these are huge for dmen. has decent size plays doesnt play a real physical game but doesnt shy away from it.competes hard and plays a smart game. id say generally cody plays a simple game, thats a good thing, willing to jump in on the rush, he did more and more as the year went on in madison but also has good responisiblity in his own zone. has good vision and has a nice first pass. like many kids needs to work on his strength and continue to get stronger. playing at wisc he will come out as a player that is tough to play against and will refine his skills. rated by most 45-50.

[jimotis4heisman]

NHL.com - Prospects

nhl.com view of the prospect pipeline.

[jimotis4heisman]

fall 2008 top 20 plus one
Blue Jackets Top 20 Prospects, Fall 2008 - Hockey's Future

notes:
legein has "quit" hockey
the big jump goes to andrei plekhanov, russian dman who playes half the year in the cuse last year.

[jimotis4heisman]

crunch highlights from 10/11

YouTube - Crunch Stomp Amerks 6-1 - 10/11/08

the brawl

YouTube - Bench Brawl

[jimotis4heisman]

08-09 top 12 by tsn.ca
Columbus Blue Jackets: 2008-09 Top 12 prospects

[jimotis4heisman]

Bundle up - Syracuse Crunch moving in on outdoor game - Crunch Hockey Blog on syracuse.com

The Syracuse Crunch is hitting nothing but green lights in its progress toward holding the first outdoor game in AHL history next season.
Wednesday, Syracuse VP Jim Sarosy had another meeting with ice expert Jim Hartnett. The team is leaning toward the rental of a rink for the contest, which would be held in Alliance Bank Stadium. That expense alone could run more than $250,000.
Sarosy has been working on the project nearly every day, and he said he has has yet to hit anything that's an insurmountable problem. There are still a ton of variables yet to close out, ranging from insurance to getting 10,000 portable seats on risers to place in the ABS outfield. But if the rink falls into place, and it's looking like it will, everything else should follow right behind.
If it commits to the game, the Crunch would like to do so by early March. It could then get advance permission from the AHL to book a date and an opponent. The early thinking was that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would be the best opponent, but now it's looking like Rochester is in the picture too.

[jimotis4heisman]

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

Bundle up - Syracuse Crunch moving in on outdoor game - Crunch Hockey Blog on syracuse.com

you might pick up the latest edition of the canadian bible (the hockey news)...

futurewatch edition.

[jimotis4heisman]

John Moore
6-2 195lbs.
USHL Chicago Steel
08/09-57-14-25-39
07/08-56-4-11-15

the chicagoland native is one of the best skaters in the draft. nice stride good burst. has the ability to skate the puck out of the zone, pressure the defense our make the first past. when he skates the puck out of the zone he hits the burst and skates like the wind. a year ago at this time he was 5-10 160lbs and drew some comparisons to kris russell. the comparison now are to mike green (but like i said i see a ryan sutter type player). he should continue to bulk up as he grows into his body.






will not play in the nhl this year. committed to colorado college but id guess he ends up in the ohl. 2-4 years from playing in the is my guess.

YouTube - John Moore - #21 overall Columbus Blue...

[jimotis4heisman]

detroit area player who has been playing centre for the us national developmental team out of ann arbor, committed to um for the fall. my guess is he goes to the wall from the pivot to play wing for the wolverines.

6-1
190 lbs
08/09-63-24-24-48

some considered this a stretch pick. he was ranked about the 100th or so player in the draft. a very good defensive forward who plays a solid two way game. he can put up points but at the nhl level likely projects as a tweener a guy who has skill who plays can play a checking line style. think 7th forward as upside.