GRIFFIN REINHART




Not only does Griffin Reinhart have an awesome name, he’s also huge, standing at 6’4 and 202 pounds. While I believe Reinhart needs to work on his game in the minors, with his size it wouldn’t surprise me to see him play a few games in the NHL next year. Reinhart is a solid two-way defenceman who is effective in all zones; however, he has been largely criticized for his lack of physicality, which given his frame is somewhat surprising.

Looking at the above table, the first thing that stands out to me is that his scoring did not increase much despite the huge gains made by the Oil Kings in the 2011-12 season; this in itself makes me question his offensive upside. However, he has among the best point per game numbers of any 2012-eligible defenceman during the 2010-11 season. Secondly, his adjusted points per game and % scoring are fairly consistent throughout both seasons, which is both a good and a bad thing in my mind. The good is that it makes him a fairly safe pick; the bad is that it again makes me question how much his offensive game can grow.

NHL Comparison(s): Tyler Myers and Ryan Suter. Both of these players were taken in the top 15 (I’d expect Reinhart to do the same), were solid two-way players (like Reinhart), and saw their offensive game bloom over time (yet to be seen with Reinhart, but the potential is there). Like Myers, he is a big body who was criticized for his lack of physicality; however, like Myers, there’s potential for a lot of growth as well.

Long-term Upside: #2 D-man, 2nd PP presence, PK fixture. 7-30-37.

DERRICK POULIOT




Pouliot, like Rielly, is a fantastic skater who makes excellent passes and rushes the puck effectively; however, there are major question marks surrounding his defensive game and he can be a liability at times. As a result, Pouliot may be a bit of a project pick and I think it will be many years before he sees any NHL action.

From the above table, we can see that he made major strides in the 2011-12 season, like Dumba. Although his point per game pace was likely inflated by playing for the stacked Winterhawks team, his adjusted point per game pace still increased significantly and he played a larger role in generating team scoring, both of which are good signs for his future development.

NHL Comparison(s): M.A. Bergeron and Brian Campbell. Both of these players and Pouliot showed tremendous offensive potential in the minors but took a long time to round out their game (ahem, still waiting on your Bergeron…).

Long-term Upside: #4 D-man, PP QB. 5-45-50.

2010-11 POINT TOTALS (Prorated and Adjusted)

1) Ryan Murray - 67 points
2) Griffin Reinhart - 40 points
3) Morgan Rielly - 31 points
4) Matt Dumba – 28 points
5) Derrick Pouliot – 26 points

2011-12 POINT TOTALS (Prorated and Adjusted)

1) Matt Dumba – 71 points
2) Morgan Rielly – 68 points
3) Ryan Murray – 64 points
4) Derrick Pouliot – 44 points
5) Griffin Reinhart – 35 points

2-YEAR AVERAGE POINT TOTALS (Prorated and Adjusted)

1) Ryan Murray – 65.5 points
2) Matt Dumba – 49.5 points and Morgan Rielly – 49.5 points
4) Griffin Reinhart – 37.5 points
5) Derrick Pouliot – 35 points

PERSONAL FANTASY RANKINGS

Rankings are hard to do as every league is different and every fantasy manger approaches drafting differently. With that being said, I’m going to break down my rankings into 2 broad categories – Long-term Upside, Likelihood to Reach Upside, Personal Multi-cat (Factoring in LTU and Likelihood), Personal Points (Factoring in LTU and Likelihood).

Long-term Upside:

1) Morgan Rielly (10-45-55)
2) Derrick Pouliot (5-45-50)
3) Matt Dumba (17-33-50)
4) Ryan Murray (12-33-45)
5) Griffin Reinhart (7-30-37)

Likelihood to Reach Upside:

1) Ryan Murray
2) Griffin Reinhart
3) Morgan Rielly
4) Matt Dumba
5) Derrick Pouliot

Personal Multi-cat

1) Matt Dumba
2) Ryan Murray
3) Morgan Rielly
4) Griffin Reinhart
5) Derrick Pouliot

Personal Points

1) Murray and Rielly – take your pick. Murray is the choice if you’re looking for a quicker impact while Rielly is a no-brainer if all you care about is long-term potential (small farm teams, long-term rebuilds, etc.).
3) Matt Dumba
4) Griffin Reinhart
5) Derrick Pouliot

FINAL THOUGHTS

The point of this article was to 1) provide analysis on 2012-eligible WHL defencemen in context of their team’s stats, and 2) to provide my personal fantasy thoughts on these defencemen.

Something important to note is these rankings could change dramatically based on where these players are drafted – for example, I really like the future for whichever (if any) of these guys end up with the Islanders or the Ducks. On the other hand, I’m probably steering clear of anyone who ends up on Columbus or Toronto.

Hopefully this article achieved the goals I set out when I started writing it and maybe it even provided you with some perspective and a fresh view on 2012-eligible WHL defencemen. I apologize for the long read, I hope you enjoyed it!