Reply With QuoteHe's just a special kid. Seems to have a real solid perspective on things. Understands what it takes but also what's really important. I'm not the least bit concerned about him making it as a pro.
Very interesting interview with Schwartz here.
Reading the interview, I was struck by how much more thoughtful Schwartz comes across than your typical hockey player, especially when reflecting on the choice to play in the NCAA rather than go the major junior route. Great skills and lots of meat between the ears. This kid is going to be a gamer.
If you were investing in stocks, would you grab a potentially blue chip stock that's trading for pennies and shows all the solid fundamentals necessary to have explosive valuation growth within a 2-3 year timeframe?
Schwartz's injury at the WJC prevented his hype from getting too much momentum, but there's also an upside to it: it has shortened the time between his hype becoming huge and him making an impact in the NHL. Plan accordingly.
He's just a special kid. Seems to have a real solid perspective on things. Understands what it takes but also what's really important. I'm not the least bit concerned about him making it as a pro.
The NCAA tournament has started and Schwartz' underdog Colorado College is playing Boston College. Schwartz is having a spectacular game scoring 2 goals and 2 assists. Impressive. Colorado currently leads Boston College (Kreider, Samuelsson and Hayes brothers) 5-2. There's still a full period to play for Jaden to add to his 4 points
Colorado - ranked 16th
Boston College - ranked 2nd
If Schwartz doensn't miss all that time I bet CC finishes way higher. One of those underdogs you definitely can't underestimate. **** Schwartz is amazing.
Could Jaden Schwartz leave the NCAA Colorado College to play in the WHL next season? It seems there is a roster spot waiting for him in Tri-City if he wants it. Playing a year in the WHL before turning pro is probably best for his development.
Full story here; http://www.truehockey.com/articles/S...ded-to-the-WHL
I personally don't see it. Players who make the jump to the CHL after playing a year in college are ones who fail or are completely underutilized. Schwartz is a star at Colorado College. He can continue to grow his game and play there without any concerns of his development. His family took the time to figure out his plan to go to Colorado College well before he got there and with his brother Rylan on the team it's where he wants to be.Originally Posted by Dean Youngblood
If the Blues did a serious sell job on Tri-City then maybe he goes but I fail to see how it would improve his development. The major concerns for Schwartz are about his physical readiness for NHL competition. Personally, I'd rather see Schwartz in college where they spend more time in the weight room than they do on the ice and only playing on weekends than burning himself out playing the rigorous WHL season. The only thing that I think the WHL would help him improve is endurance over the full NHL season but as far as competing against bigger bodies I'd have to say college is where he needs to be. The players are older, the competition is comparably good and he'll have more time to focus on getting stronger.
Regardless of whether he plays a year in the WHL or not Schwartz is going to have a steep learning curve adjusting to pro hockey so ultimately I don't really see switching leagues being beneficial for him.
I agree but the longer season is exactly why it would help him prepare for or at least help with the transition to the long pro season.
Last edited by Dean Youngblood; March 27, 2011 at 7:33 PM.
Yeah, I just think he probably spends a year or two in the AHL because of the depth St. Louis already has they won't have to rush him at all so he can just as easily make the transition there once he's had another year in the weight room. If he goes to the WHL then he's going to have no time to ever put on weight the right way and that could hinder his speed. Putting on weight should occur naturally over month/year long periods. If he goes to the WHL he'll have no time to put on weight the way he needs to and then he'll be left with only short summers to put in the weight room time, which isn't nearly long enough. I'd much prefer he progressed in the natural order of things. Sculpt the body first then work on endurance. Doing both at once doesn't work out so well.
If he's not already on your radar as a top prospect, perhaps some context on his numbers will help. Here is a list of the limited number of players that have produced well in the NCAA at the age of 18. You'll notice that most are established NHL players.
Schwartz: 1.57 P/GP
Parise: 1.56 P/GP
Gionta: 1.55 P/GP
Heatley: 1.47 P/GP
Toews: 1.35 P/GP
Kessel: 1.31 P/GP
Schroeder: 1.29 P/GP
Stastny: 1.07 P/GP
Hensick: 1.07 P/GP
Sterling: 1.06 P/GP
Comrie: 1.05 P/GP
Palushaj: 1.02 P/GP
Oshie: 1.02 P/GP
Okposo: 1.00 P/GP
Turris: 0.97 P/GP
Booth: 0.92 P/GP
Stafford: 0.89 P/GP
Stepan: 0.83 P/GP
Schwartz is going to be a serious player, and he lines up at LW. Ignore him at your own risk.
That right there is some food for thought. My hope is people have had him high up on the radar already but that's definitely the sort of context that will get people's attention. Thanks HPG, glad we aren't pooling together otherwise we'd be wrestling for him.
No doubt. I have him in every league I'm in, mostly picked up after his prospect draft because he slipped off so many radars. I maintain that if he had been listed as a LW, he would have been grabbed much earlier in every league.
Next year's WJCs will see his stock rise to Eberle levels. If you don't sell on him then, you gotta hold him for 3 years or so after that. If your league setup permits you to sit on him for that long, do it because he'll be a good one. If it doesn't, then flip him when the hype train catches up to his accomplishments.
A lot of things combined to keep him down but certainly the lack of hyping him as a winger was one of them. His size was another. The fact he was playing in the USHL further complicated matters. Even when the comparisons of his numbers to those of Vanek arose people still ignored them because Vanek had just had his worst season since he was a rookie. The already muddy depth chart in St. Louis didn't make things easy. Finally, because he was going the college route it was assumed we'd be waiting a long time and rightly so.
A lot of that stuff is true and yet he's still down right amazing. I'm sitting on him in the leagues I have him because I can afford to. Obviously I'll sell high if the opportunity arises but I won't be actively looking for it because he'll be worth the wait.
A lot od rumblings about Jaden Schwartz being close to signing with Tri-City (WHL)
Posting Permissions
