Comments for Avoiding Sand and Gravel at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Sun, 19 May 2013 15:00:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/45-prospect-schopping/2732-avoiding-sand-and-gravel#comment-5473 great article/comments! Its almost like the Thrashers have been drafting guys by looking at stats- rather than potential, a physically mature kid with average wheels can dominate in junior- and play top minutes in the minors- but unless hes a defensive dman- or a thug,he is black aces fodder. You would hope that at some point they wouldve developed a few role players atleast. The Islanders have the least talented NHL roster IMO, but alot of 2nd-5th rounders the last few years- if a few of them pan out- they will be back in the playoff hunt - Larry Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:55:42 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/45-prospect-schopping/2732-avoiding-sand-and-gravel#comment-5451 Great article and great discussion below. I'm not sure how much it costs an NHL team to operate their own AHL team but considering the benefits, it seems like every team should do it. As for teams to avoid, add the Islanders to that list. In fact, I'd rather draft a Thrasher prospect than an Islander prospect. - lcbtd Sun, 11 Apr 2010 04:18:50 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/45-prospect-schopping/2732-avoiding-sand-and-gravel#comment-5449 Precisely, Ryan. It's no coincidence that most of the Thrashers draftees that played significant time for the Wolves became career minor leaguers and depth NHLers - Derek MacKenzie, Simone Gamache, Colin Stuart, Nathan Oystrick, Pat Dwyer, Guilleaume Desbiens, Jordan Lavallee. It's not that they didn't have the talent to be NHLers - witness how Pat Dwyer is doing in Carolina this year (their big draft busts other then Stefan failed even with the Wolves - see Alex Bourret). It's that what they learnt there is not how to be NHLers but how to be good AHLers. - fzusher Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:09:19 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/45-prospect-schopping/2732-avoiding-sand-and-gravel#comment-5447 Studley, Morin is on the radar for sure, but having been drafted just last summer, it's too early to pass judgement on him, IMO. He had a great year in Kitchener, but he hasn't had an impact in Atlanta yet -- not even in the pro ranks. I agree he has promise, but left him out because of his age and the level he's playing at -- junior -- and not his talent. If he pans out, he could help Atlanta turn the corner. But, as fzusher pointed out, the Wolves are part of the problem. Farm teams should serve the interests of NHL teams. An NHL team should choose its farm team wisely and Atlanta has not. While it does help for players to be in a winning environment and learn from veterans, young players need lots of playing time to develop -- and they need to be used in the roles they're going to fill in the NHL. - Ryan Van Horne Sat, 10 Apr 2010 11:04:18 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/45-prospect-schopping/2732-avoiding-sand-and-gravel#comment-5445 I know he's not enough of a stud to help boost the system, but Jeremy Morin is a huge prospect for Atlanta. Not going to discuss him much but, IMO, he's a huge omission from this piece. I do agree with you overall: while other players like Niclas Lucenius, Eric O'Dell and Jimmy Bubnick could still turn into NHLers, they aren't very helpful fantasy-wise. Sadly I have taken chances on players like Leveille (simply because of his raw talent in his draft year) and the benefits I have reaped are hit and miss. - studley49 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:18:47 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/45-prospect-schopping/2732-avoiding-sand-and-gravel#comment-5444 I think a big part of the Thrashers developing weakness is their affiliation with the Chicago Wolves. Most teams own or partly own their AHL affiliates, and therefore see developing NHL players as the affiliate's first goal and winning the AHL as a secondary goal. The Wolves are an independently owned business and therefore winning AHL titles is their top priority. As a result they fill their ranks with veteran career minor leaguers that take quality minutes away from the prospects. This year is ridiculous in this respect. The Wolves top 9 scorers, in order, are: Jason Krog, Tim Stapleton, Sterling, Joey Crabb, Johnny Pohl, Machacek, Matt Anderson, Kevin Doell, Anthony Stewart. Last year their top scorers were Joe Motzko and jeff Hamilton, with Steve Martins, Anderson and Crabb in the top-9, Jamie Rivers and Clay Wilson as the top scoring Ds. The year before: Krogg, Jesse Schultz, Darren Haydar, Martins, Alex Giroux, Crabb and Doell were top-9 Fs, Joel Kwiatkowski, Brian Fahey, and Karel Pilar in the top-4 Ds. The year before: Haydar, Chad Larose, Krogg, Martins, Doell in the top-9 F, Fahey and Troy Milam in the top-4. Before 2006, when the Wolves were shared between the Panthers and the Thrashers, same story, so it's not the derth of suitable Thrashers prospects that's causing it. The Wolves have never been led in scoring by a prospect. And if you look at their draftees who've made it, Hedman, Bogosian, Enstrom, Slater, Kovalchuk, Heatley, and Stefan went straight to the NHL. Little, Nurminen and Hordichuk played half a season with the Wolves, Coburn one almost full season, but both Little and Coburn started those seasons with the big club and Nurminen and Hordichuk split their seasons. Only Exelby and Valabik spent significant seasoning time with the Wolves. So the Thrashers seem to know they are better off developing all but their defensive Ds themselves. - fzusher Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:14:00 +0100