Stefan Elliott: What do you know about him?

[duballstar014]

I promised under the radar player profiles, and under the radar player profiles you shall get. Unless you followed the 2009 draft intensely, there's a good chance you didn't get a solid profile on one particular player. This guy is a couple years away, but if you have room to stash him on a farm, he's definitely worth a look.

It is absolutely unbelievable timing that Colby Cohen has been traded. My opening to this article originally went like this: "Quick, name the top D prospects in the Colorado Avalanche system. Shattenkirk and Cohen? Good job, but what do you know about Stefan Elliott?" Now that Cohen is out, Elliott's value is already going up...you just might not realize it yet. By the way, it's pronounced "Steffen."

Elliott, who will turn 20 in January of 2011, was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft by the Colorado Avalanche. For those who couldn't do the quick math, that's two years younger than his 2007 counterparts Shattenkirk (1st round) and Cohen (2nd round), both of whom are seeing ice time for the Avs right now (Cohen not so much anymore). At 6'1", 191 lbs, many people actually had Elliott pegged to go in the top 20, so the fact that he lasted to #49 means Colorado got an absolute steal.
What has he done so far? In the 2008-09 season, Elliott took home the "WHL Scholastic Player of the Year 'Darryl K. Seaman Trophy," (other notable winners include Jordan Eberle, Gilbert Brule, Devan Dubnyk, and Scott Niedermayer) as well as the 'CHL Scholastic Player of the Year' (other notable winners include Brule, Dubnyk, Dustin Brown, Brad Boyes, and Scott Niedermayer). That summer he was drafted by the Colorado brass, and Elliott went on in 2009-10 to score the most goals in the WHL by a defenseman (26), as well as the most since Kris Russell's 32 in 2006-07. Notable players who've accomplished this feat recently are Kris Russell (2), Cam Barker, and Ian White (2). Elliott also has played 12 games internationally for Canada between 2007-2009. He also adds a 2006 Western Canadian Bantam championship, 2006 British Columbia minor hockey Player of the Year award, and a Quebec International PeeWee tournament championship to his resume.

Here's another fun fact: Saskatoon picked up Elliott in a trade for former SJ Sharks first round selection Devin Setoguchi. Saskatoon coach-GM Lorne Molleken mentions that they expected good things out of Elliott, but "he has surpassed our expectations." It's pretty easy to tell Stefan is gifted offensively, but many times the offensive defensemen just don't shape up well in their own zone. Elliott has been working on his defensive game to avoid this stereotype, but so far this has been an issue. When people describe him, you'll notice that folks don't say he is very physical, but he makes up for it with his smart use of his stick, most of the time without taking penalties too. Before the 2009 draft, coach Molleken added "In my mind, nobody in our league uses his stick to defend as well as Stefan." He'll likely need to add a few pounds of muscle to crack an NHL roster, but he's seen two training camps and this past year he made it close to the end of camp before being cut. In fact, this past year, he was cut just 2 days before Shattenkirk. Colorado had to have liked what they saw in Elliott, but he's still probably 2 years from seeing some cups of coffee.

The thing that I love about Elliott is the fact that he is pure offense, he's been healthy throughout his career (knocking on wood), and he doesn't have any attitude problems as of yet. Last season Elliott scored 65 points in 72 WHL games and this year he already has 21 in 24 games. Besides the fact that he is offensively talented, he shoots the puck. He already has 8 goals this year and he netted 26 and 16 the last two years, respectively. Take a look at this clip to see a little of what he can do.

As I mentioned before though, there will be a couple things that he needs to do before he can become an NHLer producing for your fantasy roster. One thing is he needs to get better defensively, which he is working on. He is actually the Blades' top defensemen and has helped Saskatoon to an 18-6-0-1 record to start the season, which puts them in 1st place in their Conference. Another thing is confidence. A lot of people could get disappointed with the fact that Elliott went back to juniors this year instead of jumping to the AHL, but the fact of the matter is that he's going to get a lot of heavy minutes and hopefully build his confidence so that next season when he does play in the AHL, he will be slightly more prepared. With a dynamite season there, he could be knocking on the door for a spot on the Avs.

With Shattenkirk playing so well now and the Avalanche liking what Elliott has shown in training camp as well as juniors, Colorado was able to move Cohen without too much regret. They are giving up a pretty good prospect and they know it, but with Anderson on the shelf again, Peter Budaj needs some more help right now. That definitely gives Elliott a clearer shot to the NHL, or at least less of a roadblock in the AHL. Once his season is up, look for him to sign a pro contract and get a couple games in the AHL this spring.

Hockeysfuture has Elliot listed as an 8.0C. Go ahead and do some searching and see how many other defensive prospects you can find that are ranked 8.0C or higher. Most likely, they're all taken in your leagues. Dobber has given him a long-term-upside of 50, very respectable for a defenseman who isn't even profiled in the prospect guide or "the" guide this year. I'd expect two years before he gets some call ups in the NHL, but one run like Shattenkirk is having and the Avs will have a hard time sending him down. Colorado is full of young, dynamic prospects who should mesh together very well and produce for a long time. The Avalanche have only one defenseman whose contract doesn't expire in 2011-12 or earlier. His name is Kevin Shattenkirk. Liles, Quincey, Hunwick, Hannan, Holos, Cuminskey, and Wilson all will need to be re-signed or moved, giving Elliott plenty of opportunity to steal a spot in 2012-13.

I'm sure many of you, especially Avs fans, knew at least something about Stefan Elliott, but hopefully this helps you over the next year or two to grab him before your league mates do.

[wendelclark17]

thanks for the timely post dub, good stuff!!

[SeaDawg]

Elliott is an interesting prospect, and even moreso now that Cohen is gone. Cohen and Shattenkirk played together in college and showed lots of chemistry on the PP together, so I expected those two to be the future on the PP for Colorado. With Cohen gone, Elliott has a better chance of becoming a viable fantasy asset in 2-3 years. Too bad he wasn't even invited to the Canadian Selection Camp for the World Juniors. But I guess with three returning blueliners and lots of players with a similar style to Elliott, there just wasn't space for him.

[joos]

I grabbed him a few season ago... reason why... i just remember reading his profile in one of dobbers prospect guides and it said that he plays similar to Mike Green... it was nuff said for me to grab him lol... but i knew going in that this would be a long-term project.

[duballstar014]

I grabbed him a few season ago... reason why... i just remember reading his profile in one of dobbers prospect guides and it said that he plays similar to Mike Green... it was nuff said for me to grab him lol... but i knew going in that this would be a long-term project.

I've hesitated to throw the name Mike Green out when comparing, but I will admit hes the one that keeps sticking out in my head. Couple yrs from now guys are going to want Elliott on their rosters. I had half this article written when I saw the Cohen trade. Crazy timing.

[Esquire]

Dub, if you're writing about Elliot led to a trade that seemingly helps his odds of making the Avs in a few seasons, does your mention of Setoguchi mean he will stop stinking up the joint once he's healthy again?

Another good read.

[goavsgo]

Nice read dub and great timing! Him and Barrie out west are looking for the Avs' future and with Gaunce and Shattenkirk in the pro ranks, there is plenty of young depth soon to be knocking on the door.

[TheRook]

great article and what timing!!

its contributions like this that really go a long way for this site. I like getting information on players that you dont see or hear about all that often. It allows you to keep a closer eye on them and follow their development and make your own evaluation on them.

[Dakkster]

Great... another Elliott that people will spell as Elliot...

[fzusher]

I've got both him and Shattenkirk - and Calvin Pickard - in one very deep keeper where I'm on a very deep rebuild - and it's looking much better now than 4 months ago ...

The Avs are a really underrated team when it comes to their drafting and developing. Evidence (since 2000 draft):

2nd rounders: O'Reilly, Galliardi, Stastny (with Pickard, Elliott, Cohen, and Stoa on their way to the NHL).
3rd rounders: Kurt Sauer
4th rounders: Tom Gilbert
5th rounders: Brad Richardson, McCormick, Liles
7th round and below: Cumiskey, Yip, David Jones, Svatos.

Curiously enough, they seem to hit a wall in the 6th round: the last player they drafted there to clear 100 NHL games in David Aebischer in 1997. The leading NHLer drafted there since the 2000 draft is Derek Peltier with 14 games.

[Rad64]

Nice read Dubs!

[duballstar014]

Update: Stefan is almost at a point per game (10-17-27 in 29 games) and he is a +22 so far.

[Veritas0Aequitas]

As an Avs fan I want to know if you think Barrie has surpassed him on the depth chart.

Although we won't really know until they make it to the bigs.

[duballstar014]

As an Avs fan I want to know if you think Barrie has surpassed him on the depth chart.

Although we won't really know until they make it to the bigs.

I wouldn't say passed, because I don't think anything matters until you see what they both do in the A. Right now they're on level ground though both in the WHL and with Barrie missing a few more games this year, Elliott has momentum on his side. Elliott was one of the last defenders cut for the Avs this year and with Cohen gone, he will get an even longer look next year.

So, passed on the depth chart? Ehhh tough to say exactly. But who is on track to get to the NHL quicker? I think Elliott. It's still pretty early to say though as I mentioned above, everything depends on what they do in the AHL. By September/October of next year, we'll obviously have a much clearer picture.

[mapletreemarty]

Quick update on Elliott:
19 Goals 48 pts. in 42 GP

Umm that's pretty sick. T-25th in the WHL goal scoring, leads Manning (20 yr. old) by 6 in D-men goal scoring in the WHL, and is 2 ahead of Murphy for the CHL lead.