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Post by habmeister on Oct 19, 2007 15:11:25 GMT -5
everyone was talking about James Wright as potential top 5-10 pick in the upcoming 2008 draft. i'm going to say now that Evander Kane could be a sleeper pick if the draft was held now and looks like the kid has all the tools to be a solid nhl player. he's only 16 granted, but the kid is strong, skates well, is fearless, gritty, works hard, has good hands, and isn't afraid of running into a guy 40 lbs and 5 inches taller than him.
for those of you that are in the west if the giants come to town, put the spotlight on him.
another kid on that team that made a huge jump from last year to this is craig cunningham, had zero goals last year, but this year has made one of the biggest improvements i've ever seen from year 1 to year 2 for any junior. he's a long shot, but could go from relative unknown to 3rd-5th round pick this year.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Nov 3, 2007 0:16:42 GMT -5
H&C, good insight, will watch and see and thanks for the heads up.
Next summer's Kyle Turris and Andrew Cogliano who could put the current mark on kids coming out of Junior A hockey (mainly because they also want to go the NCAA route instead of Major Junior) is forward Joe Colborne. A big star from last year's U-17 tourney, he is leading the AJHL in scoring with the nationally top ranked Camrose Kodiaks and should light it up in Trail and Nelson in the Junior A World Championship next week.
The kid is big and skilled and is already committed to a good NCAA programme. Early indications are that he will be a first rounder for sure.
Camrose is only an hour away and the Edmonton area has three Junior A teams in the AJHL, so will be watching with interest. I like what I see so far, but it is always hard to compare when it is against competition at a lower level than Major Junior.
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Post by habmeister on Nov 8, 2007 1:41:47 GMT -5
yeah, don't forget he's a kid, so don't expect him to dominate this year, but i project him as a potential star nhl player. he's got all the tools, skating, hands, grit, size, toughness.
he reminds me a lot of jarome iginla. overheard the nashville preds scout talking about james wright and lance bouma both giants and how it was hard to figure out how especially wright seems to have taken a step backwards in this, his draft year. he's got many, many games to sort it out and get back on track to being a top 10 pick.
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Post by habmeister on Jan 31, 2008 15:44:15 GMT -5
again back on evander kane whl.ca/stats/player.php?id=24816 watched him play against zach boychuk, fadden and the lethbridge hurricanes last night in a 3-1 victory. this kid seems to have grown 3 inches since october and is really starting to exude some confidence, even dropping the gloves twice in two away games (have yet to see him fight live). i always like to compare and look back at other juniors and how far they went, and this kid has glimmers of a top 3 pick in 09. not sure if he's on the iss or csb charts, or if they go more than the next draft ahead, but man this kid is just oozing all the tools to be an nhl star player. he's 16 to start this season, and is probably the biggest player on the giants and on the 1st line. he's already better than spencer machacek (3rd round 07) and is closing in on mikael repik (1st round 07). he's a totally different style of player than those two, spencer is a leader mucker with good hands and below average skating, a chipchura in some ways, but not as good at protecting the puck or passing, but a real gritty guy. repik is just a typical euro skill player, has all the tools, but will need to crack top 2 lines to make the nhl. evander kane will make the nhl. his centerman is casey piero-zabotel a 3rd round pick for the pens who just joined the giants this season in november? and is a really smart smooth skating slick passing player. he's already ready for the pro game, and sees the ice at another level above the rest of 99% of the league. he doesn't have great speed, but he knows where the puck is going, and is always a half step ahead of everyone. his problem is being a center in the pittsburgh organization, but for a 3rd rounder he's a steal and a half. i wish i could feed trevor some of this info, i would have been screaming at him to draft milan in the 2nd round! i don't think evander will be around when its our turn in 08 though.  |
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Post by habmeister on Mar 27, 2008 18:27:00 GMT -5
well the regular season is over and i was right about Evander Kane.
last season he had 1 goal in 13 games including playoffs as a 15 year old for the giants.
this season:
Evander Kane 24G 17A +20
to put that into perspective here are some other 16 year olds stats from the whl:
Milan Lucic as a 16 year old
9G 10A
Zach Hamil as a 16 year old
8G 25A
Peter Mueller as a 17 year old
26G 32A
Brandon Sutter as a 16
22G 24A
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Post by habmeister on Mar 6, 2009 20:34:41 GMT -5
Evander Kane is now ranked right around 5th/6th and Craig Cunningham went undrafted last summer and now is at 28 goals for the Giants after having 0 in his rookie year. Word is from Don Hay that he'll be the Giants Captain next season, he will get drafted this summer after being passed over his first year of eligibility.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 7, 2009 1:44:23 GMT -5
Those Hitmen took it to the Giants for the second straight time in the head to head matchup. Calgary has defense and offense to die for. They are one tough team. So are the Giants, but advantage Calgary on all fronts.
Great for Shaw to feature this matchup on TV tonight although I missed it to go the Oil Kings live, as they battle with PA for the chance to meet the Hitmen in the first round. Watch what you wish for!! Hope the Oil Kings still make their first ever playoffs though, even against those beasts from Calgary.
Nice rebuilding season, Cowtown!! What a friggin' defensive corps they have.
Already have some tics for their first round games in the Saddledome to watch them play live in front of that huge crowd. Should be a blast and well worth that little three hour drive.
Blast for a buck, is there are a better deal than the Dub? Great hockey, with kids that still care and work their butts off. Honourable mention to the O and the Q!!
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Post by seventeen on Mar 7, 2009 1:53:10 GMT -5
So do you think Craig Cunningham is a bit of a sleeper, H & C?
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Post by habmeister on Mar 7, 2009 19:14:46 GMT -5
So do you think Craig Cunningham is a bit of a sleeper, H & C? not sure if he's a sleeper anymore, he was passed over completely in the draft last year, i would have wasted a late pick for him myself. he went from 0 goals to 11 goals to currently 28 this year. this despite coming in as a kid with no skill or hands, he's one of the hardest working juniors i've ever seen. you'll see i commented on him in october of his 11 goal season as making one of the biggest improvements in the off-season. he is the best two way player on the giants easily, this despite having limited skills and size and not getting pp time or 1st line time, he's at 28 goals and closing in on 30. pretty good for a small grinder. i've been trying to talk my buddy into repping him since last season, and he's finally starting to come around after Don Hay telling him cunningham would be captain of the giants next season. hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=96636with craig you get the same thing every single shift, 100% effort, his smarts are off the charts, and despite his size i'm going out on a limb saying he very well make the NHL and have a long career as a grinder/pker. |
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Post by habmeister on Mar 7, 2009 19:17:36 GMT -5
Those Hitmen took it to the Giants for the second straight time in the head to head matchup. Calgary has defense and offense to die for. They are one tough team. So are the Giants, but advantage Calgary on all fronts. Great for Shaw to feature this matchup on TV tonight although I missed it to go the Oil Kings live, as they battle with PA for the chance to meet the Hitmen in the first round. Watch what you wish for!! Hope the Oil Kings still make their first ever playoffs though, even against those beasts from Calgary. Nice rebuilding season, Cowtown!! What a friggin' defensive corps they have. Already have some tics for their first round games in the Saddledome to watch them play live in front of that huge crowd. Should be a blast and well worth that little three hour drive. Blast for a buck, is there are a better deal than the Dub? Great hockey, with kids that still care and work their butts off. Honourable mention to the O and the Q!! yeah last night you could see that Calgary is at another level than the giants who looked smaller, slower and less skilled. also our best player Jon Blum just came back after a 10 game layoff, not sure if you caught the first shift, Hitmen won the draw, did a soft dump in Blum's corner and whoever was forechecking absolutely rocked him with a huge hit into the corner glass. pretty tough for him to take that coming off a shoulder injury, and being in a no hit jersey on tuesday. blum didn't play his 25-28 minutes last night and without him this team has a big hole to fill. The giants lack of scoring depth after their top 4 is apparent. They score by committee, but when they play against good, big mobile defence and forwards that backcheck hard they have trouble getting quality chances. great game to be at though, 14,128 fans! there is no better bang for the buck than the Dub. I've got center ice row 10 aisle behind the penalty box, next time watch for me!  |
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Post by goingfornumber25 on Jan 21, 2010 17:37:36 GMT -5
Craig Cunningham now leading the WHL in scoring, oh to get this kid with a late round pick last draft would have been an absolute steal. Wondering what the 6-8 scouts that are at every Giants home game are looking for sometimes. whl.ca/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_scorers |
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Post by CrocRob on Jan 21, 2010 17:51:42 GMT -5
That a 5'10 center who was the 7th highest scorer on his team (behind three defensemen, I might add) might not be an offensive juggernaut?
Any idea why Cunningham has turned it on this season? His past two seasons weren't great scoring wise.
Do you know anything about Neil Manning? He's draft eligible, has decent size and is putting up lots of points on D.
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Post by goingfornumber25 on Jan 21, 2010 18:13:38 GMT -5
you're looking at stats, i'm watching the player in all zones, they draft upside and his curve was heading in a 45 degree angle with no signs of slowing down. he hasn't "turned it on" he's just continued his progression, which is taking huge steps week after week month after month, very much like lucic, the stats weren't there early but once they started coming look out. again you don't draft according to how he's playing today as much as the player you think he will turn into in 3-5 years, cunningham in my eyes was heading to great places as a two way checker, its shocking how many offensive weapons he's added to his skills package. apparently he was a scorer in bantam, never saw him play then, i just loved his work ethic, smarts, and how he seemed to keep improving week after week after week, very subtle/small improvements, but i'd noted them personally.
again the most improved junior i've ever seen year over year, his puck skills and stickhandling are off the charts good, along with his discipline, hockey iq, leadership and work ethic, nobody competes harder or smarter than this kid.
manning is a terrible skater, he's decent offensively and almost all of his points are on the pp feeding connaughton a canucks draft pick that is as good or better than cody franson was offensively. he's a definite no go or np as a scout would call him.
brendan gallagher is having a huge breakout season, but is much smaller than craig, brendan is about 5'6" tops. craig is probably about 5'8", he actually jogged past me christmas day in trail when i was there to be with my sister, i was kinda surprised as i didn't recognize him until he had gone past me, he's definitely dedicated, i'll bet 90% juniors weren't jogging in -10 weather on christmas day.
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