Rejoint: mai 2016
Messages: 14,651
Mentions "j'aime": 6,181
Kopitar should be the highest rated player on this team. While I certainly wouldn't put him in the 92-96 range for "best players in the league", he should be in the upper half of the "Elite 1st liners." I'd probably give him a 90.
I think Doughty is fair at an 88, possibly even an 87. However, I think he has more elite seasons left in him if you give him some decent defensive teammates. IN 2021-22, we might see him back in the 90s, but he's not there right now.
I don't think Matt Roy is a top four defenseman. He had a strong showing this season, but was paired with Ben Hutton as the team's 3rd pair for most of the season. Not exactly playing against the opposition's best players. If he's on your 2nd pairing, then you likely have defensive depth issues. He'd be a fantastic 3RD on a contender, but I'd probably have him in the "med top six" or "low top four" category. 82 is probably appropriate.
Sean Walker, on the other hand, should be higher than he is. He got tougher match-ups than Roy did, pairing with Martinez or Doughty for much of the season, and often playing against other teams' top lines. He passed the eye test, but his fancy stats didn't look great until the last 10 games or so after Martinez got traded. He was then paired with MacDermid and given significantly easier minutes, and his numbers (and the team's record) improved significantly. He's the best skating defenseman the Kings have had in a long time. I'd have him a bit higher than Roy, but not by much. Squarely in the "mid top 4" category around an 83/84.
Quick is a tough one to rate. If you are going on his season as a whole, then I think an 80 is fair. However, if you're going based off of his play since January 1, his numbers should be significantly higher. He had an abysmal start to the season, but has a 2.27 GAA and .923 SV% in 2020. I'd give him a 75 for his 2019 play and an 86 for his 2020 play. Average that out to an 80/81.
I don't really understand how the rankings work with prospects that have yet to reach their potential, so I'm not even going to try. What I will say is that outside of Kaliyev, I don't think the Kings have any wingers that project to be top six players. Vilardi and Turcotte are probably the 1C/2C of the future. Madden is looking like an excellent 3C and I have JAD penciled in as the Kings future 4C (he's not a top six player). Players like Kupari, Fagemo, Thomas, and Dudas all look have a future as 3rd line players.
On defense, I think Bjornfot looks like he could be a solid 2nd defenseman. He's never going to be a franchise defenseman, but he'd look real good on Doughty's pair. I hesitate to call him a "top pairing" defenseman, but he fits firmly in the 2/3 spot on a team. He could very well be the second coming of Mattias Norstrom and/or Willie Mitchell.
Anderson has the potential to turn into a quality two-way 2nd pairing defenseman. He's the furthest along in development of the Kings prospect defensemen and has earned himself a regular spot in the lineup.
I think Durzi and Clague are both destined for the 3rd pairing (at best). They could both be Sami Vatanen type players if their development goes well. Both capable of quarterbacking a power play and joining the rush, but defensively suspect. I think they can only afford to keep one defenseman like that on the roster. Which one that will be depends on how the positions around them fill in.
Cole Hults and Jordan Spence are both wildcards for me at this point. Both just earned "defenseman of the year" honors in their respective conferences (QMJHL/Big 10), but also both played for powerhouse teams. Hard to say if they are the real deal or the result of playing on lopsided ice. I can't wait to see them both in Ontario though.
KeepUps15 a aimé ceci.
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