Just getting faster for getting fasters sake doesnt make any sense to me.

Hell Rinaldo could actually skate pretty damn fast but that doesnt mean he would improve the team.

Currently I view this pick with cautious optimism.
- opeth_pa

Brad Jones could skate like the wind. At least three teams took a shot on him back in the day. Couldnt do much of anything else though.

Unpossible. Frost will need to stickhandle for about a half minute while Foerster stumbles his way up the ice to be in a half decent scoring position.
- jmatchett383

Lol

Brad Jones could skate like the wind. At least three teams took a shot on him back in the day. Couldnt do much of anything else though.
- Doc_Sarcasm

I'd add Jordan Weal as another guy who was an above average skater and could never put it all together to become an NHL regular

Thanks to you and Tomahawk.

I confess I know utterly nothing about these guys.

Looking at some of the prospect rankings, I see he rose from 41 midterm to 20ish in central scouting final rankings. McKenzie 29, Button 16. Sportnet 30.

But not a first round pick in ISS, Elite Prospects and McKeens.

So, here is my question: if he has such a tremendous shot, and if skating can be fixed, why does he fall to lower third of 1st or worse? What else is a negative?
- PT21

Look who is bending the knee today.

Pretty sure he was being snarky at the obviously idiotic post he was responding too....
- MBFlyerfan

I hear Brink can't skate either

I hear Brink can't skate either
- Bayareaflyer

Neither could Debrincat. The undersized player/skating issues dual knock pushed him out of the first round. Ditto Brink. Has worked out fine for Debrincat, and I think it will for Brink, too.

One instance I remember of a player really improving their skating was RJ Umberger. One off season he came back and he was much better skater. It was very noticeable.

Neither could Debrincat. The undersized player/skating issues dual knock pushed him out of the first round. Ditto Brink. Has worked out fine for Debrincat, and I think it will for Brink, too.
- bmeltzer

Bill what do believe the plan is for Sandin given he was signed for only one year. Will he be given an opportunity for 3rd line RW?

One instance I remember of a player really improving their skating was RJ Umberger. One off season he came back and he was much better skater. It was very noticeable.
- login

Its almost as if NHL level skating coaches know what they are doing in some cases.

A lot of rankings skewed this season. Lots of tournaments scouts attend were cancelled so the degree of evaluation should be more vast than normal. Anyone that says skating isn’t a major issue with ANY player is just delusional. There is NO comparison to past generations or players that can be able to be made. (Sorry bill) skill hockey iq hands hitting passing blah blah blah. In today’s nhl you have to be able to skate first and foremost. Can you get away with average skating? Sure ... for short periods of time. Can you have a few players on roster that excel in other areas but average skating? Sure. But overall if you don’t have a lot of team speed you can’t compete with the top teams in playoffs. The scary thing is they’re getting quicker and faster. Average skaters going way of doodoo bird just like fighters and heavy checkers. In regards to trees he’s part of the next wave So if skating is average it can work. Unless most of next wave is just average skaters. Time will tell with picks over next few years. I do love the speed picks of bee York O’Brien add that to Myers provy sanheim tk not bad start. Can throw brinks trees in there and be fine.
- SMS4016

Farabee isn't especially fast. Not slow either, but speed isn't one of his outstanding traits.

How fast is Couturier? How fast in Ryan O'Reilly? How fast is Mark Stone? How fast is Jamie Benn, especially since the two core muscle surgeries? Even at his fastest, Giroux was more quick than fast. Mark Recchi was more quick than fast. Really depends on the player.

Unless Ghost has a big bounce back or Myers takes a huge step forward it’s hard to see the D as better. I’m also not thrilled with Therrien still running the pp. However having a healthy Lindblom and hopefully a healthy Patrick along with the addition of Frost and a more experienced and likely stronger Farabee means the forward group should be better. Hart now has playoff experience and that is a plus as well. Overall, I think they are slightly better with potential for more.
- BiggE

I feel a huge gap in age at forward in terms of high end talent. What I mean is, Giroux, Voracek and JvR are on the wrong side of 30. Patrick, Konecny, Farabee, Frost, are 23 or young. So we’re still waiting on that growth. Only Hayes and Couturier are in the prime of their careers and I’m not so sure I’d call either guy top scoring forwards in the league.

Neither could Debrincat. The undersized player/skating issues dual knock pushed him out of the first round. Ditto Brink. Has worked out fine for Debrincat, and I think it will for Brink, too.
- bmeltzer

Actually debrincat didn’t have skating issues. Don’t know where you heard that. He was scouted as excellent quickness and shiftiness. He dropped for 1 reason only. Size.

Wow it is like improvement is a foreign concept to people.

All prospects have weaknesses, no pick is a guarantee. Some obviously are close to guaranteed like your Crosbys and McDavids but there is always a Daigle out there. Drating isnt a black and white process. Drafting the better player doesnt necessarily mean he can take his skills and transition them to the NHL. Some picks arent able to over come their weaknesses. Just because one prospect cant overcome one weakness does not mean another cant.

If Drafting was easy, no future stars would make it past round 1 but the fact is it isnt and you get late 4th round picks that end up being star players. No one can tell exactly how much someone can improve their game or if the can't which is why busts exists.

I feel a huge gap in age at forward in terms of high end talent. What I mean is, Giroux, Voracek and JvR are on the wrong side of 30. Patrick, Konecny, Farabee, Frost, are 23 or young. So we’re still waiting on that growth. Only Hayes and Couturier are in the prime of their careers and I’m not so sure I’d call either guy top scoring forwards in the league.
- SuperSchennBros

Couturier had back-to-back 30 goal seasons. Elite scorer, no. But that's plenty good enough for a 1C who is an elite two-way guy.

Actually debrincat didn’t have skating issues. Don’t know where you heard that. He was scouted as excellent quickness and shiftiness. He dropped for 1 reason only. Size.
- SMS4016

Came right from two scouts; one a Flyers scout. BTW, "shifty" and "quick" aren't always the same as fast.

Couturier had back-to-back 30 goal seasons. Elite scorer, no. But that's plenty good enough for a 1C who is an elite two-way guy.
- bmeltzer

Need more. Need better. Especially around him. Sean Couturier only MIGHT have scored 30 this season if not for the stoppage. Close but not a slam dunk.

Wow it is like improvement is a foreign concept to people.

All prospects have weaknesses, no pick is a guarantee. Some obviously are close to guaranteed like your Crosbys and McDavids but there is always a Daigle out there. Drating isnt a black and white process. Drafting the better player doesnt necessarily mean he can take his skills and transition them to the NHL. Some picks arent able to over come their weaknesses. Just because one prospect cant overcome one weakness does not mean another cant.

If Drafting was easy, no future stars would make it past round 1 but the fact is it isnt and you get late 4th round picks that end up being star players. No one can tell exactly how much someone can improve their game or if the can't which is why busts exists.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

One of the fastest skaters Ive seen. But a perfect example of how skating is only one aspect of a players game.

Brad Jones could skate like the wind. At least three teams took a shot on him back in the day. Couldnt do much of anything else though.
- Doc_Sarcasm

Sounds like the late Al Davis demanding Darius Heyward-Bey because he was FAST.

Couturier had back-to-back 30 goal seasons. Elite scorer, no. But that's plenty good enough for a 1C who is an elite two-way guy.
- bmeltzer

This is true. However it would be nice to have a player on the roster that can be reliably penciled in for 35 goals and 80 points. It’s something they lack right now. Outside of St Louis, most recent Cup winners have at least one guy like that.

Farabee isn't especially fast. Not slow either, but speed isn't one of his outstanding traits.

How fast is Couturier? How fast in Ryan O'Reilly? How fast is Mark Stone? How fast is Jamie Benn, especially since the two core muscle surgeries? Even at his fastest, Giroux was more quick than fast. Mark Recchi was more quick than fast. Really depends on the player.
- bmeltzer

When I say speed i don’t think anyone means flat out point a to point b. It includes quickness and edge work shiftiness. The players you cite minus benn all have the shiftiness especially in tight spaces. Players like coots stone oreilly use their smarts and size to maneuver around ice effectively. But they have adequate “speed” to be able to to do it. Generally speaking big guys don’t have the shiftiness to overcome below average skating. Especially in today’s nhl. Again a pick like trees can work. Just have to get to average skating. Probably not gonna use his attributes like coots stone oreilly once there. His main attrition will be that killer shot. Which is fine. I trust scouts that they can get his skating there. We have too.

Came right from two scouts; one a Flyers scout. BTW, "shifty" and "quick" aren't always the same as fast.
- bmeltzer

Shifty/quick= torque
Fast= horsepower

What’s the deal with Jay O’Brien? Talk about a pick who is never talked about.

Need more. Need better. Especially around him. Sean Couturier only MIGHT have scored 30 this season if not for the stoppage. Close but not a slam dunk.
- SuperSchennBros

no guarantee, but i think lindblom probably gets 30 last season if he's able to play. konecny could be a 30 goal scorer in my opinion.

What’s the deal with Jay O’Brien? Talk about a pick who is never talked about.
- SuperSchennBros

What’s there to talk about?

Same goes for Labarge.

From Charlie O’Connor at the Athletic:
After all, Foerster scored 36 goals and 80 points while “behind the pace of the OHL,” according to the unnamed scout mentioned above. Imagine if he merely matched the pace. In this sense, Foerster fills a long-standing stylistic need and represents the “big swing” that a deep prospect pool can allow an organization to take. The plausible upside is clear.
https://theathletic.com/2...ource=user_shared_article

These comments matched my thoughts as well. It sounds like he is all-in on working on his skating and has improved over the summer. His shot looks amazing-puck has eyes!