Opinions wanted on young D-corps

[4horsemen]

I've been digging deep for defensive help this year and have added a bunch of youngsters. I'd love to hear how you guys would rank these young defencemen. Our league counts G,A,+/-, SOG and PIM. This league is 30 teams deep so the pickins are slim. Please offer any insight and take a stab at rating them based on a 2-3 year horizon (I'm not worried about production next year).

Anssi Salmela-he's had a few cracks at it so far and hasn't shown much I'm not convinced his return to NJ is going to pay any dividends and wonder if he's simply a fringe player.

Matt Gilroy-didn't think he'd light it up but I certainly expected more than he's shown this year. Is there reason to think that at his age there's going to be much of a bump in his production in the next couple years? I just don't see any top PP minutes in this guys future with the young d-men in NY.

Luke Schenn-I feel that this guy's got the potential to start picking up some 2nd PP unit time and maybe start flirting with 30 points next year. Then again, maybe I'm just being a homer on this one ; )

Jeff Petry-I love his development curve and have heard nothing but glowing reviews of his allround game. The Edmonton PP could be a great place to be in a few years so maybe he's worth the wait?

Tyler Eckford-Could crack NJ lineup next year and it seems like PP time there is wide open.

Vyacheslav Voynov-Was on a tear for the first half of the season in the AHL but seemed to fade away. Like his upside but how long might the wait be in LA?

[metaldude26]

Voinov has got to be tops on that list. I really like his game and he should fit in well in LA if he can win a spot, it does look pretty crowded there though.

Eckford probably goes next but I think the drop off from Voinov is pretty steep. Eckford is a converted forward who has produced reasonably well at the pro level and has had a brief cup of coffee with the big club this year. Projects as a solid two-way puck mover and could definitely find some PP time.

Petry is next for me because I think he might get a better opportunity in Edmonton than Gilroy will get in New York. He projects as a shutdown guy but could be used in a two way role and find some PP time. He's a right handed shot so I'm not sure how that would mesh with Gilbert. He's got a big shot that they could use but it really remains to be seen how they plan on utilizing him. I'd expect a couple of years in the AHL learning the pro game.

Gilroy is talented but I don't like his situation in New York. He's got to get past Del Zotto and Sanguinetti to be one of the young guns to make the squad beyond them there is limited room because of the huge contracts of Redden and Roszival. They seem unwilling to send either to the minors to open up cap space and with Gilroy's contract not entirely cap friendly either, as a borderline NHLer his contract doesn't do him any favours. He's probably worth more to the Rangers in the AHL as organizational depth than on the actual roster. If he does make it. He's sitting at third spot on a low scoring totum pole.

Luke Schenn. Just don't his absolute upside is 30, which he might hit once in a blue moon, you are certainly thinking with your blue and whites rather than your pink and wrinkly if you think he can be a strong fantasy asset. Still he's made the show and that has to count for something. I'd bet that by simply playing NHL games he ends up being worth more than a couple of those on this list but their upside still locks them in as worth taking a chance on. Could be good for some PIM though.

Salmella. I've completely given up hope.

[DuklaNation]

I dont like any of them to be honest. Maybe you will get a 30-40 pt guy out of some of them, but I see them as high risk 40 pt potential. Id dump a couple and go fishing for some other guys.

[metaldude26]

I dont like any of them to be honest. Maybe you will get a 30-40 pt guy out of some of them, but I see them as high risk 40 pt potential. Id dump a couple and go fishing for some other guys.

I think it's pretty presumptuous for your to assume that none of these guys can carry value for him. As he indicates in his post, the league is a 30 teamer. So there's unlikely to be many fish in the sea. While I'm not excited about any of them (outside of Voinov of course) I wouldn't go as far as to say dump them without knowing what his other options are. If we are to assume he's done his homework but just needs help narrowing this group down to a couple "longshots" then fire him some advice he can use.

[sparrowtrini]

Voinov has got to be tops on that list. I really like his game and he should fit in well in LA if he can win a spot, it does look pretty crowded there though.

Eckford probably goes next but I think the drop off from Voinov is pretty steep. Eckford is a converted forward who has produced reasonably well at the pro level and has had a brief cup of coffee with the big club this year. Projects as a solid two-way puck mover and could definitely find some PP time.

Petry is next for me because I think he might get a better opportunity in Edmonton than Gilroy will get in New York. He projects as a shutdown guy but could be used in a two way role and find some PP time. He's a right handed shot so I'm not sure how that would mesh with Gilbert. He's got a big shot that they could use but it really remains to be seen how they plan on utilizing him. I'd expect a couple of years in the AHL learning the pro game.

Gilroy is talented but I don't like his situation in New York. He's got to get past Del Zotto and Sanguinetti to be one of the young guns to make the squad beyond them there is limited room because of the huge contracts of Redden and Roszival. They seem unwilling to send either to the minors to open up cap space and with Gilroy's contract not entirely cap friendly either, as a borderline NHLer his contract doesn't do him any favours. He's probably worth more to the Rangers in the AHL as organizational depth than on the actual roster. If he does make it. He's sitting at third spot on a low scoring totum pole.

Luke Schenn. Just don't his absolute upside is 30, which he might hit once in a blue moon, you are certainly thinking with your blue and whites rather than your pink and wrinkly if you think he can be a strong fantasy asset. Still he's made the show and that has to count for something. I'd bet that by simply playing NHL games he ends up being worth more than a couple of those on this list but their upside still locks them in as worth taking a chance on. Could be good for some PIM though.

Salmella. I've completely given up hope.

Solid acessment by MD here. Agree VV is top guy but as he said. i dont necessarily think the situation is too crowded. I personally think VV has a shot at the #1PP unit with Doughty(but no one knows for sure.) Hickey and JJ to the 2nd unit.

Eck has the offensive skillset but its tough to succeed on the PP in there setup.

I really like Petry as a future fantasy sleeper and he has the skill to be a #1PP guy. Watch for who they draft here. If they end up at #3 u could be looking at Fowler or Grundy which would affect his impact.

Gilroy another one of those good puckhandlers. MD sums the rest up.

As he does with Schenn & Sammy.

[metaldude26]

Sparrow... Oilers are guaranteed a top 2 pick, it'll be Seguin or Hall and for them and you can take it to the bank, so long term they've got no one on the backline past Gilbert.

[DuklaNation]

I think it's pretty presumptuous for your to assume that none of these guys can carry value for him. As he indicates in his post, the league is a 30 teamer. So there's unlikely to be many fish in the sea. While I'm not excited about any of them (outside of Voinov of course) I wouldn't go as far as to say dump them without knowing what his other options are. If we are to assume he's done his homework but just needs help narrowing this group down to a couple "longshots" then fire him some advice he can use.

Well, sometimes the cold hard truth is req'd. I dont know who's available, how many d-men he has currently, how many d-men are started in a 30 team league (which is way too big IMO), how easy it is to keep guys who might be 4 yrs away from decent production. That being said, obviously in 30 team league you are going to have 20 pt d-men on your team. A top 50 d-man in the NHL this season got around 30 pts! If the league has 4? d-men, than thats the top 120! Insane. So getting 20 pts and 100 PIM like a Schenn might have huge value. In fact, Roszival might have huge value in a league like that. Go figure.

What Im saying is that these guys have limited upside. A Schenn is going to play no matter what, you're better off gambling in the last couple of spots. These other guys I just dont see it. Take a chance on Junland or Stefan Elliott, or Colby Cohen.

[4horsemen]

Great feedback MD!!

Well it seems like a consensus on VV so I'll use a spot to protect him for sure, thanks for that. I'm also going to hold Schenn because he's going to log big minutes for TO and that alone will make him worth holding onto in my league. You've confirmed my inclination to cut bait on Salmella, done and dusted.

So if you could protect one of; Gilroy, Petry or Eckford, who'd it be? Looking at a 2-3 year timeframe.

Dukla: I'm not sure why you'd think that you're providing me with the 'cold hard truth'. We roster 6 d-men in a 30 team league, that's 180 players and I'm asking for help with my fringe guys. Didn't mean to give the impression that I expected any of these guys to be top 50, I'm digging deep here. Thanks for the three names you threw out though....one of them is available in my league and I've been watching him closely.

Real men play 30 team keeper leagues ; )

[playmaker26]

Not sure on how he will project fantasy wise in the NHL but Petry is a beast. One of the best defenseman in college hockey.

[Puck Crosby]

I really like Eckford despite a lackluster finish to the season after some injuries. Auditioned on the pp on his 3 game call up which I think gives an indication of how the organization sees him. If he did not end up the top + on Lowell, he was very close at +11 which is a big improvement from his -16 last year. Actually, I very much like his development statistically throughout college and the BCHL, though I admit he was not on my radar at all until this year.
Obviously, the perceived opportunity of becoming the pp QB in NJ holds intriguing potential as well. More of a gamble then Voynov, but might compliment your safer picks nicely.

[Puck Crosby]

Sorry for the double post, but I thought it would be interesting to pull a quick NCAA points comparison for these guys at different ages.

AGE:......20....21....22....23....24
Petry.....24....14....29
Eckford..18....22....31
Gilroy....N/A....8.....26....21....37


Of course, Gilroy is now in the NHL and Eckford has 2 years in the AHL.

[4horsemen]

Intersting comparison PuckCrosby.

I've dug in a bit deeper to see if I can pry anything else from the stats and a couple of things stood out.

In Gilroy's final 37pt (45gp) season he was playing on a STACKED Boston University squad; Colin Wilson, Brandon Yip, Kevin Shatenkirk, Nick Bonino, etc. The team scored a whopping 177 goals that year compared to Eckford's 07-08 Alaska team that only managed 80 goals, making his 31pts all the more impressive. Petry's Michigan State squad potted a mediocre 115 goals this year so his performance is also quite impressive.

In Eckford's final year of NCAA hockey I don't recognize one other name on the team plus he had 55 PIM to Gilroy's 12, which make him even more attractive.

It's starting to seem like Gilroy's value might have been over inflated after being setup in a perfect scenario to succeed in his final year at BU.

Petry or Eckford?????