the 2014 draft

[sjrules99]

Is it me, or does the 2014 sharks draft class currently look like one of the best ever?

Goldobin is playing rather well against men in the Finnish league at age 18/19. His defensive game may not be there yet, but he was solid in world jrs and seems like a potential stud.

Bergman has been a little disappointing but still was in world jrs and still leads london in D scoring. He obviously has potential too.

Rod seemed statistically irrelevant in the weak swiss league, but then he was a stud in world jr's. I read in several places that he was the best player (or nearly best) player on the swiss team, so that's encouraging.

Vanier seems to be weak. Likely miss there. Schoenbern too.

However, the big three to me seem to be the late picks.

Chartier is ripping the WHL. He's a little small, but not that small and he is destroying that league. If it werent for a litlte injury, he'd likely be #1 and is a mile ahead in goals at better than a goal a game. I gather he likely would have made the canadian jr team too... I've never watched him play, and I dont know how his game translates to the NHL, but for a late rounder, this looks legit.

Sadowy leads his team in scoring and is #14 overall in the OHL including T-9th in goals. that's pretty awesome. He has solid size too at 6-1, so he seems like a legit prospect.

Lebanc is a small guy, which may be the only major knock, cuz he's crushing it too. Top on Barrie, 4th overall in OHL scoring. Thats pretty amazing.

I havent gotten a chance to see these guys actually play much, but at least statistically, they are dominating in Jr's as 18 year olds.

it seems like the sharks have 5 or 6 legit NHL prospects from that draft. Not sure how many will come next year, but I suppose this bodes well, especially for the forward crew looking ahead, particularly when you add O'regan and Tierney to the list.

 

[Cbrower91]

The thing about the major juniors whl,ohl, and the Q is that they all tend be high scoring leagues. Though the whl is primaiy known for producing nhl ready players then the others. The Q tends be goalie heavy in terms of what they produce, The O has for the most part been a little weaker then it has been in the past. So I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in Jr numbers unless they are dominating both sides of the ice and are offensively leading by nearly a 2 to 1 margin over the next guy

 

[MrChangoT97]

Good to hear.......

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Just some thoughts on what I've seen from the guys in this draft.

Goldobin has immensely improved his play in the defensive zone and away from the puck. I would still list it as below average for a player at his stage of development but that's a huge step up from being nearly non existent like it was.

Bergman has been London's most consistent two-way dman. He's fought the injury bug quite a bit this year. Even the games he has played in very few have been when he was 100% healthy. Despite the injuries he still logs 25+ minutes a night and is one of the top PKers.

This is Rod's first year playing against men. Prior to this he was in the U-20 league. We saw in the WJC how effective he is against his peers. Once he physically matures he his production will improve. I believe he plans on coming to NA next year so we should see him in Worcester.

I didn't like the Vanier pick. A slow hulking dman who has issues skating backwards is never good. Schoenbern has been a better player than his numbers suggest. I wouldn't write him off just yet.

Labanc has become the pick that intrigues me the most. The kid has obviously worked hard and greatly improved every aspect of his game. His skating is the most improved, overall speed, ability to change speeds, acceleration, his agility/edge work have all gone from below average to poor and can now be considered above average or better. He has points in every game since Nov 1. A stretch of 25 games i believe which is a record for that club.

 

[sjrules99]

Hey Cmon, Where do you find TOI for worcester or junior teams?

Also, thoughts on Chartier or Sadowy? They are kinda rocking it too, no? Not gunna translate to the NHL down the line?

 

[Cmon_WTF]

i think Chartier needs to transition to the wing to have success at the pro level but he has the tools to be a solid scoring line forward.

I don't have much of a read on Sadowy. He reminds me a bit of Scott Hartnell in the way he plays. Doesn't have high end talent but he's very good in the dirty areas. He's really developed a strong physical side to his game this year.

For the CHL I read scouting logs for TOI. Some teams post that stat in their recaps for some games but it's pretty rare. There are people in the Worcester booster club who go to almost every game who keep TOI stats. I get that info from them. Sharkspage will often have it posted.