Who better to get an honest objective opinion on a prospect than the reporter who covers him? I asked Victor Fernandes of GoErie.com for help with a scouting report on Andrew Yogan and here is what he had to say.Andrew Yogan has first-round offensive skill, but his dedication to the game, discipline needed to continue developing his game and commitment to the defensive end is still a work in progress.
Those intangibles were nearly non-existent in the first half, enough so that club officials publicly called him out on it. He showed a good bit of improvement in the second half (he went from a minus-20 in the first half to a plus-10 in the second half). But he still needs a lot of work to became more consistent in those ways.
He has all the size and skill needed to one day help the Rangers' offense. For a player his size, he has great hands.
He struggled a bit with his scoring touch this past season, mainly because he was primarily on a line with two other shoot first, pass second players. So sometimes he relied too much on his one-on-one skills. But when he's on a line with a playmaking center and he's out on the wing (which I believe is his most natural position), Yogan can finish as well as anyone. He's got a really quick release and accurate shot, and he loves to score, which all good goal scorers do.
Ultimately it comes down to his mental makeup. If he ever puts it all together at both ends of the ice, he could be a great player.
Make sure when you read us that you also check our Victor's own coverage of the Erie Otters.
Fasth is a very good skater with nice acceleration and top speed. He works very hard, forechecks with impressive intensity and also create a lot of offense thanks to his agility and speed. Has decent hockey sense, technical skills and scoring ability, but it perhaps still more likely to develop into a role player. Is not an overly physical player, but likes to play through rough traffic and does it pretty well.
Our own friend said this as well about Fasth:
If the Rangers can leave him alone in Sweden for two-three years, he may develop into a player.
That won't be hard since Fasth is under contract for 2 more season for HV 71 in Sweden.
More Draft Thoughts
For those of you who remain doubtful about the abilities of the Ranger's scouting department then let us point out that the 3 CHL players who the Rangers invited to Traverse City last season are now the property of an NHL team.
Luke Pither signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, Luke Walker was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche 137th and Craig Cunningham was selected by the Boston Bruins 97th. Of the 3 of course we will say the Rangers should have taken Walker but we are happy for him as this was the 3rd time he was in the draft.
For all 3 of these prospects their hard work has finally been rewarded.
Here Come the (Winter)Hawks
Using Portland Oregon as a home base allows me to be able to sleep in my own bed at night; but it is also a very guilty pleasure to be able to watch them play. If anyone wonders why not to attend Winterhawk games then look at the list of Winterhawk players taken in the 2010 draft.
Ryan Johansen: first round; fourth overall; Columbus Blue Jackets
Nino Niederreiter: first round; fifth overall; New York Islanders
Brad Ross: second round; 43rd overall; Toronto Maple Leafs
Taylor Aronson : third round, 78th overall; Nashville Predators
Troy Rutkowski: fifth round; 137th overall; Colorado Avalanche
Luke Walker: fifth round; 139th overall; Colorado Avalanche
Mac Carruth: seventh round; 191st overall; Chicago Blackhawks
Riley Boychuk: seventh round; 208th overall; Buffalo Sabres
No other CHL team came close to having this many players selected in the draft and if I was going to pick 2 to say will shock people then Brad Ross and Mac Carruth are my picks to be steals in this draft.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Draft Weekend Experience
First off some major kudos to the folks at the Los Angeles Kings for putting together a great show as the NHL Entry Draft is growing into more than a selection show. Really if you have a chance to attend on then come 2-3 days before the draft and enjoy the experience.
Second the NHL gets beaten up for a lot of things involving the on-ice product but off the ice the folks at NHL Media Relations did their as always "above and beyond" performance. You never see these people who work behind the scenes but I do and they make things so very easy for me to do my job.
Mark Fischel, Julie Young and several others (including a blonde young lady who I never caught her name but I have to call her Superwoman as she was everywhere) turned a major disaster into a working orderly (as best it could be) event that allowed us to do our jobs.
Give some credit to the Rangers as well who worked very hard to help the media out; Brendan McIntyre who made sure to include me in the Gordie Clark press briefing even though he never met me before. In New York, Dino Ticinelli who has also never met me and talked to me on the phone maybe 1-2 times makes sure I get kept in the loop.
Yes there is a lot wrong with the Ranger office but there are also several good things that are write.
It was also great to finally put faces to the dozens of people who I have only known online prior to this weekend. It was even nice to discover I was wrong about Steve Zipay who turned out to be a very nice guy.
(Yogan courtesy of Aaron Bell/CHL images, Fasth courtesy of Eliteprospects.com)
2 comments:
Jess - this is unrelated, but how is it that a highly drafted and productive player like Geordie Wudrick goes unsigned(by LA)? Doyle had his rap sheet, Gaulton his injuries, but that kid seemed (from afar) to big, productive, and promising.
elroy
Doyle had one arrest, Gaulton pure unlucky kid
But I have no idea why the Kingd did not sign Wudrick. The only thought is that they could not come to terms
Post a Comment