ESPN's NHL Team-Prospect Rankings...more bad news

[Guest blueadams]

I'm not an ESPN insider, so I can't read the entire article. If someone here who is wouldn't mind posting the entire article, that'd be great. I found 1-16 on another message board here: http://www.fvsports....86099&p=2921701. Detroit is not included in that top 16, and I've read elsewhere that we were ranked behind a team in the 20's.

Not that ESPN knows much about hockey, but this certainly isn't good news.

[Guest Crymson]

The Wings prospect pool was rated in the top ten last season by several entities last season, so I question the validity of your source.

[arag 308]

Nothing new here.

[Nev 1,085]

Yeah, but they probably included Smith and Nyquist in that list - last year they were prospects, now they're roster players.

Not that it means much, how some journalist ranks our prospect pool. Then again we all know that after the 2 mentioned above we don't have any real blue-chippers.

[Zetts 236]

Yeah, but they probably included Smith and Nyquist in that list - last year they were prospects, now they're roster players.

Not that it means much, how some journalist ranks our prospect pool. Then again we all know that after the 2 mentioned above we don't have any real blue-chippers.

Prospect pools are pretty big though...2 players shouldn't make the difference between top ten and bottom ten.

The vast majority of these rankings are crap. I do agree though, we don't have a great system of prospects.

[mmamolo 287]

Personally, I dont really care what ESPN says about the Wings prospect pool. The way I see I, along with a lot of other people, felt the Wings had a strong propect pool before this article came out and now that the article is out I still think the Wings have strong prospect pool. Nothig has changed except we are now aware of someone else's opinion. To me, it's not news.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

ESPN is the least credible, knowledgable source out there for hockey. No worries on this end.

[FlashyG 1,799]

Hockey's Future ranks the Wings at #10

Hockey Prospectus ranks the WIngs at #3

I think both of them are better sources when it comes to hockey than ESPN.

[number9 3,297]

It's ESPN people.....they probably think Yzerman was a goalie. I trust them as a source on hockey very very little.

Like somebody said too, Smith and Goose were prolly not included and they're pretty much our only prospects that have shown they are what they're worth on NHL ice. A lot of teams have 3 or 4 blue chips and the rest of their prospects suck. We don't have any blue chips right now, but very few of our many prospects suck....and a lot of those guys are boom or bust type players. They could turn out to be nothing, or they could turn out to be phenoms.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

It's ESPN. The Wings have one of the strongest groups of forward prospects in the league.

[Nightfall 871]

I agree with everyone here. Its ESPN. ESPN is the same network that would delay or cancel showings of hockey on their network for golf back in the day. One day, I turned on a scheduled game only to find professional poker on instead. ESPN is not the destination for hockey news. It never was, and it probably never will be.

[hooon 1,089]

Not even gonna click on the link.

Its ESPN. If they say we're bad it probably means the Wings prospect pool is great.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Hockey's Future ranks the Wings at #10

Hockey Prospectus ranks the WIngs at #3

I think both of them are better sources when it comes to hockey than ESPN.

The funny part is that the guy who ranked them 3rd on Hockey Prospectus is also a prospects writer for ESPN.

Admittedly I'm not super familiar with Detroit's prospects, but third?? Seems unlikely compared to the high drafts other teams have had year after year.

[amato 3,210]

It's ESPN.

[kipwinger 8,520]

Here's the text from the ESPN rankings. Take it with a grain of salt, it's fairly obvious they've got their heads up their asses over at ESPN

"

18. Detroit Red Wings (Previous Ranking: 6)

With a win-now mentality, the Wings have spun off a few first-round picks lately to acquire roster players. Combine that with their strong finishes in the standings and they haven't had many huge scores from the draft lately. Potential? Yes. Sure hits? No.

Now, following the graduation of Brendan Smith and Gustav Nyquist to the big club, they fall down our rankings a bit. However, by sticking to their philosophy of drafting high-skill players, they have a number of prospects with solid potential, just no imminent stars. Czech Forward Martin Frk (Halifax-QMJHL) was the most recent example, selected in the second round this year. He now joins a system with Tomas Jurco (Saint John-QMJHL), Calle Jarnkrok (SWE) and D-men Xavier Ouellet (Blainville-Boisbriand-QMJHL) and Ryan Sproul (Sault Ste. Marie-OHL). Goaltender Petr Mrazek (Ottawa-OHL) has really come into his own. Could there be a diamond in the rough among this group? Detroit has found them in the past.

Sleeper Prospect: Mattias Backman, D, (SWE) (fifth round/2011)

Some players are just smart enough to figure out a way to get to the NHL, and his character, to go along with his overall improvement in skating, gives him a real chance.

[pazzloski 7]

You have to pay to read the rest of the article? Nice work espn.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Here's the text from the ESPN rankings. Take it with a grain of salt, it's fairly obvious they've got their heads up their asses over at ESPN

"

18. Detroit Red Wings (Previous Ranking: 6)

With a win-now mentality, the Wings have spun off a few first-round picks lately to acquire roster players. Combine that with their strong finishes in the standings and they haven't had many huge scores from the draft lately. Potential? Yes. Sure hits? No.

Now, following the graduation of Brendan Smith and Gustav Nyquist to the big club, they fall down our rankings a bit. However, by sticking to their philosophy of drafting high-skill players, they have a number of prospects with solid potential, just no imminent stars. Czech Forward Martin Frk (Halifax-QMJHL) was the most recent example, selected in the second round this year. He now joins a system with Tomas Jurco (Saint John-QMJHL), Calle Jarnkrok (SWE) and D-men Xavier Ouellet (Blainville-Boisbriand-QMJHL) and Ryan Sproul (Sault Ste. Marie-OHL). Goaltender Petr Mrazek (Ottawa-OHL) has really come into his own. Could there be a diamond in the rough among this group? Detroit has found them in the past.

Sleeper Prospect: Mattias Backman, D, (SWE) (fifth round/2011)

Some players are just smart enough to figure out a way to get to the NHL, and his character, to go along with his overall improvement in skating, gives him a real chance.

They at least give a decent explanation of their ranking, even if it does seem low.

The guy who ranks them third on hockey prospectus doesn't really give a good indication as to why. He makes broad statements but doesn't name any of the current prospects.

[Konnan511 1,736]

The funny part is that the guy who ranked them 3rd on Hockey Prospectus is also a prospects writer for ESPN.

Admittedly I'm not super familiar with Detroit's prospects, but third?? Seems unlikely compared to the high drafts other teams have had year after year.

As someone who watches griffins games and our international bretheren and lives across the street from where the prospects train in TC, I can without a doubt say our pool is that good. We don't have the high quality star player or two, but we have massive quality depth with a slew of high end players. Our last two drafts have been great and the entire hockey world sees it. I'm not worried one bit about our prospects.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

we a LOT of decent prospects - guys that should make the nhl. although none were drafted as a sure stud at their position, most have been reaching for their potential. we have many kids that have a chance, more than that uneducated list talks about. And no, Backman is not our only "sleeper" lol if you want to consider him that.

[xtrememachine1 795]

I have a feeling this ESPN link will be another one those kind of links that we pull up in 5 years and laugh about.

[CheliFan89 3]

Does ESPN even know #5 retired? If I want hockey news/analysis, ESPN is the last place I go

[FlashyG 1,799]

They at least give a decent explanation of their ranking, even if it does seem low.

The guy who ranks them third on hockey prospectus doesn't really give a good indication as to why. He makes broad statements but doesn't name any of the current prospects.

I thought he justified his rankings quite well with this response right here.

Seeing as Detroit's ranking is a if not the main point of contention as far as I can see, I may as well address it although I will have a more detailed DET write-up later in the summer.

As I said and as this quote outlines, DET doesn't have their Huberdeau, Galchenyuk or Strome. That bright light at the top of the system that is a roughly top 10 prospect in hockey. However the top of their system is still very strong, with several top 50 candidates.

I'm sure most people here likes Brendan Smith and can somewhat agree on his high prospect status. I could buy Smith as DET's top prospect, but I've asked 3 scouts to rank Smith, Jarnkrok and Nyquist and got 3 different answers and not because they didn't like any of them and I'd agree those three are tough to rank due to their high talent levels. I wasn't a big Jurco fan last year but heard glowing reports from anyone who saw him in the Q this year. Tatar is not along the talent lines of those four, but AHL scouts I've talked to also praise him quite a bit and he's a notably above-average prospect. Sheahan hasn't put up great numbers in the NCAA but he has a good two way game and in the 10 or so games I saw of him this year he showed significant offensive ability in flashes. Marchenko got hurt which was a shame but I think he would've shone at the WJC's and heard from an exec who would have taken him in the early to mid 2nd last year without the Russian factor. Ouellet has his issues, but his puck moving skills are tremendous and he logged heavy minutes. Sproul has a ton of talent, but is a work in progress. Tvrdon was a guy scouts thought would be a significant sleeper last year who slipped because of his injury and from seeing him and talking to scouts this year he's really been impressive. Almqvist I hoped would put up more points and he has his issues, but the raw puck moving skills and defensive awareness are very impressive. Pulkkinen I'm up and down on, but his talent level with the puck and his shot drive value. I don't even know Brunner that well and wasn't really factored in the ranking but I've heard solid things about him. I'm not even going to mention their 2012 class even though I thought it was just decent because I'm sure everyone is exhausted on draft info by now.

I don't mind a debate about this and I'm kind of used to all the creative things people can call me, but from what I see from going through the same motions I do for every system, there's a ton of talent there. Several well above-average prospects, several above-average ones, and a few that are quite talented but need work. I don't usually talk to scouts about ranking systems, but earlier in the year I heard from one that said he'd rank DET roughly around 5 and I've heard general optimism towards DET's pipeline whenever I've discussed it with industry sources. I really don't get why it's such a big deal and I see a very legitimate argument for them to be very high.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

The funny part is that the guy who ranked them 3rd on Hockey Prospectus is also a prospects writer for ESPN.

Admittedly I'm not super familiar with Detroit's prospects, but third?? Seems unlikely compared to the high drafts other teams have had year after year.

You have to read the guy's reasoning. Basically he's evaluating the entire pool itself, not the eliteness of one or two guys. He basically says that having 5 guys who are 7-8 out of 10 is better than 2 who are 9 out of 10.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

It's rated number 1 here on LGW!

[Echolalia 2,961]

Let's be honest. Nobody has any clue where any one team's prospects compare with others. One site says Wings are top 5, anothet says they're bottom five, another says middle of the pack. How do you rank something as vast and variable as "talent", or "intelligence", especially when there is absolutely no standardization. One kid comes from the CCHA, another from SEL, another from Juniors, another from AHL, and the amount of diversity that each kid faces within a league is immense as well. People try to justify their claims by "compensating" for trends in certain leagues like high scoring, or faster paced or whatever, but the truth is nobody knows what anyone will end up doing of anything. The only sure fire kids are the ones who are put immediately into the NHL, and they're never prospects.