p_diddy_datsyuk_13

I am split here... he is obviously talented and a magician with the puck, but there are a few things against him:
1) He is 5'7" (I won't say this will preclude him from NHL success, but read the rest)
2) In that video, most of his goals are scored from within 10 feet of the goal. In not one of those videos was a defender actually covering him. In the NHL, he would have been leveled (especially at 5'7") in two thirds of those plays had he been in the NHL.
3) Those videos are from the SEL, notice, not once does a defender skate up on him, he is allowed to skate freely through neutral ice, that won't happen in the NHL.
On the other hand though, the big European ice does make him look awfuly slow, I think he is faster than it looks, and in North America, guys have more energy cause there is less space to cover. So this may not be a big issue.
The big thing is size. Zetterberg has shown that speed doesn't really matter, but at least Hank has four inches (5'11 I believe) on this kid.
I don't think it would be the worst idea to sign this kid, but only for a one year deal at an affordable rate... it is not too often that someone of his stature turns into Martin St. Louis. I don't know if anyone on here has ever heard of Corey Locke, but that kid basically led the OHL in scoring for two years, but has never made it to the NHL because of his size, and inability to adapt his game as he moves up. The smaller a player is the bigger a risk because there is a lot more adaptation involved with each level of play. Size goes with speed and good hands as some of the most important things in hockey that you can't teach, and with only one of the three, he isn't even in the Martin St. Louis category, as he is a bit slow, but he would be more of a Zetterberg, with less size.