Are our prospects the real deal?

Here’s what I’ve seen from watching almost all the Checkers games on video:

1. Dalpe: The best Hurricane forward prospect at the moment. He is very fast and has a scorer’s touch. Dalpe’s knee seems to be almost entirely healed and he has his explosiveness back. Dalpe is at his best when the game is on the line. He is stronger this year; but needs to add a more physical element to his game to maximize his impact at the NHL level. He is not a soft player; but could use more strength,especially in his upper body.

2. Bowman: Bowman plays a complete game. He, too, is fast, and plays with desire. He is not as elusive as Dalpe, but he has a wicked shot. Bowman also plays with an edge.

3. Boychuk: Boychuk had a slump of sorts during parts of this season at Charlotte; but he is playing much better. Boychuk is a natural scorer. When Boychuk gets into trouble it is usually because he is spectating during parts of his shift rather than anticipating the puck. To me it looks like he is still over-thinking and that leaves him stationary rather than moving his feet. When Boychuk skates the entire shift, he is an impact player. Boychuk is working on being more dynamic and creative with the puck. Only time will tell if he will flourish under Muller. There is no reason he cannot be a top six forward.

Here is what I’ve seen from watching Rask both on WHL Live and the WJC. Rask is big, fast, and strong. He plays a very strong two way game. When the game is on the line, Rask takes over games in the way Skinner can take over a game. There are shifts where Rask completely dominates the competition. Rask has great vision of the ice and has a sense of the good ice. Rask is also a puck magnet. The puck seems to find him. Rask is the Hurricanes second best forward prospect. Rask will be a top six forward in the NHL sooner rather than later. Rask’s best assets include his strength handling the puck and on his skates. He is seldom knocked down. Rask also has a mean streak; and if somebody hits him, he takes his time, but he will return the hit at some point during the game. Rask is also an extremely fit player. If he works on his explosiveness and his overall strength this offseason, I would not be surprised to see him take a roster spot.

Samson is a player who uses his skills to the maximum. He has strength and relentlessness. He has a great sense of where the puck is going and gets more than his fair share of pucks. He scores through hard work and finding shooting lanes. He is extremely strong on his skates. He’s shown he can play in the NHL.

In short, based on what I’ve seen, Dalpe, Bowman, and Samson are NHL ready. Boychuk has the skills to be a good NHL top six forward if he puts in the work and if he is given a chance. It’s a numbers game; and given Boychuk’s size, he has to show he is better than some combination of Dalpe, Bowman, Samson, and Rask to make it with the Hurricanes. I have little doubt Boychuk will be a solid NHL player for some time in the near future.

Other notable players for the Checkers. Nash is going to make the Hurricanes roster sooner rather than later. He is big, fast, has great vision on the ice and has fine hands. He is good around the net; and plays a strong defensive game. Nash probably needs to assert himself more on the ice. He’s been hurt recently. I think the Checkers will make the AHL playoffs; and it will be telling to see which players step up their game for the playoffs. Nash is quite well rounded. Brett Sutter is showing he is NHL ready as a fourth line center/wing. He plays a complete game; and thrives when the play gets physical. He is one of the best open ice hitters on the team. Brett Sutter is fast and strong. Brett Sutter has more offensive upside than he is showing; but he has been quite good on the fourth line.

I put little faith in looking at a player’s statistics and making projections. If it were that simple, scouts wouldn’t exists. Computer models would decide who played in the NHL.

Having the “tools” doesn’t mean anything if you can’t “put it all together.” Yeah, the people watching the games can tell you about matchups, power play time, and injuries, which seem like they’re a really big deal here, as well as possession and instincts in all zones (since obviously in just a few games sometimes you don’t get the bounces). But ideally, the sooner a guy dominates his league, the better.

I have seen a lot of Terry; and he does have plenty of skill and grit. Terry sees the ice very well. He’s become a very well-rounded player, even though he began as primarily a goal scorer. I didn’t summarize the rest because I have seen them far less. I’ve been reading up on Andersen and trying to follow his games as much as I can. Because Andersen is on Twitter, it is somewhat easier to keep up with his games, although I tried to find a link to buy a subscription to the videos of his games and the link I found was in Swedish. Any help there from Caniacs would be appreciated.

I saw as much as I could of Hofmann in the WJCs; and kept up with him via a number of the scouts who were there. Here’s what I’ve seen and been told or read (really a combination of the above) thus far:

Hofmann is a sleeper. He is tough and fast. He also is an excellent open ice hitter. I’ve written before, so at the risk of repeating myself, he reminds me of a young Ruutu. He needs to add weight because he plays a hitting game and crashes the net. Hofmann has the entire package. He has that extreme degree of will and speed that it takes to succeed. He also plays a North American game in terms of loving the physical game. I think a common theme for many of the young forward prospects is that they can move seamlessly among any of the top three lines.

Alt is a great athlete. Alt is big, fast, well-conditioned, and highly athletic. He is still working on his skating; but he has great eye hand coordination.

Levi is big and fast and has a mean streak. The last I saw him play, he was a bit rough around the edges; but he has been quite well-coached and is highly coachable by all reports. Lowe is continuing to improve. He is filling out and is quite a good skater. Lowe has no hesitation in dropping his gloves; and having come from a hockey family, he is well coached.

Biega also comes from a hockey family. He’s having an excellent year. He is fast and strong. Beiga is dedicated to being fit and conditioned. He, too, has been well coached.

Andersen is having a tremendous year. He is huge and is extremely athletic. He also has a leader’s personality. I imagine that he will need to continue to focus on being NHL conditioned because the Hurricanes coaches put a huge emphasis on that aspect of every player’s game, including goalies. Barrasso is basically fit enough now that he would look like an NHL player without having to go to training camp to shed any excess weight.

I did not intend to be offensive. I did intend to differentiate between looking at a narow set of statistics to make conclusions and using staistics such as are found at www.shutdownline.com and using video (live is far better). Dumoulin was lsted the 50th best NHL prospect by Hockey Prospectus.