Jerome Flaake
This is why I don't like doing prospect profiles. Call it the "Curse of GB".
2008-09's semi-popular "Getting To Know You" series featured six players who were (at the time) prospects Leafs' fans were excited about.
One by one, five of these prospects were gradually moved out of the system voted off the team, culminating in yesterday's decision to not qualify Phil Oreskovic.
The result? Dale Mitchell is your MLHS "Getting To Know You" Survivor!
[pause for loud cheering, applause, and a spontaneous "Go Leafs Go" chant]
In the second installment of the Prospect Season In Review, we will take a look at a couple of Maple Leafs prospects who have proven a positive product of the John Ferguson Jr / Cliff Fletcher draft era.
Profiles in this segment include German DEL winger Jerome Flaake and defender Korbinian Holzer, as well as a prospect closer to home: Windsor Spitfires winger Dale Mitchell.
As a reminder/lesson as to what the prospect grades indicate: the number represents a player's traditional realistic potential ability on a scale of 1-10 with ten being "generational talent" and one being "borderline minor league player." The letter (A-F) represents the prospect's realistic chances of achieving their number-rated potential, with A being "all but guaranteed to reach potential" and F being "possess very little potential." In the Leafs' ranks, Nazem Kadri tops out the rankings (with Schenn now considered graduated) as an 8.0C, meaning he's a "first line forward" that "may reach potential, but could drop two ratings." Jonas Gustavsson is ranked second in the Leaf ranks as a 7.5B, meaning he's half way between a "journeyman No. 1 goaltender" and flat out "No. 1 goaltender," with the realistic probability of reaching his traditional potential "likely" with the possibility of dropping one rating. Ranked third is Mikhail Stefanovich at 7.5C, which essentially means he's somewhere in between first and second line potential, with the possibility that he could drop as far as two ratings.
Scouting service, McKeen's Hockey Prospects released their 2009 Final Rankings, in conjunction with their 2009 Draft Guide which includes exclusive content and scouting reports on the top 90 draft eligible players. Patrick King, of Sportsnet familiarity talked about the draft in a Q and A session.
Following suit with the likes of the Redline Report and ISS, John Tavares was not listed at number one. NHL Central Scouting doesn't release a consolidated rankings, ranks are broken down by North American and International, with Goaltenders ranked independant from Skaters.
Rewind a year to Ottawa, when interim GM Cliff Fletcher was preparing to make his last great splash. Trading up to secure hard hitting blueliner Luke Schenn, a player unto which the Leafs hoped to bank their revival, set in motion a summer of upheaval paving the way for Brian Burke to step in mid-season. For many the draft of 2008 marked an era of realization, that change was required and perhaps finally the Leafs were going to commit to a full scale rebuild based on the youth model in Pittsburgh.
Hey folks, Alec's traditionally done this in the past, but I'll be taking over for this one as he's been bogged down with work lately. With the way the Leafs have played over the past few years, we find ourselves looking forward to the future, hoping that there's help on the horizon. Well let's take a gander at what the Toronto Maple Leafs are cultivating down on the farm: [more…]
The school break for Kindergarteners to University students; holiday vacation time for the employed; Christmas celebrations; and finally, the start of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. December never feels the same without it.
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