Modifié 1 juill. 2022 à 21 h 46
Quoting: glarson17
Olausson is the only decent prospect given here who projects as a middle six winger. Others are fringe nhlers really.
I recognize that I'm going to have a bit of fan bias since I actually follow the prospects in the Avs system, but either I'd say we're gonna have to agree to disagree, or maybe we just have different definitions of "fringe NHLers". Annunen and Ranta are both absolutely "prospects" and have more developing to do to be ready for the NHL. They aren't sure things, but few prospects are and neither of them are anywhere close to reaching their ceiling yet. Both are only 22. Maybe we're getting spoiled by all the things Cale has accomplished at 23, but it isn't the norm for players to have that kind of success this early. Both of them have been entrenched in the Avs top-10 prospects list the past few years, including the years when that group included Byram and Newhook and had that Avs prospect pool ranking towards the top of the league.
Ranta has always taken a while to acclimate to a new level, but he's a hard worker and has a lot of the high-end tools you want in a current NHL winger. He looked a little lost during his cup of coffee this year, but no one who knows prospects expected him to stay with the Avs this year. You can see the physical tools but he's going to need some time to catch up to the speed of the game at the NHL level. That's not unusual, and big wingers typically take a little longer to develop anyways. He needs to learn how to play defense and away from puck at this level, and needs to build up his confidence, but the tools are there for him to be a middle-6 guy.
Annunen has prototypical size for what teams want in NHL goalies these days, and he has a quiet, controlled game like Frankie. He's dominated Liiga as a teenager, which is no joke. He's a big kid and has dealt with some injuries and conditioning problems the past couple of years, but when he's healthy and able to stay in shape he has potential to be a top netminder. If the pandemic hadn't derailed a couple seasons for him, he may very well be ready for the league. You may not have noticed, but Justus was our 3rd goaltender in the playoffs ahead of actual "fringe NHLer" Miska.
Yes, they are still developing and unrealized potential. Both of them have a ton of upside, but could also end up being busts. That's the name of the game with prospects. If they aren't traded I'm pretty excited to see both in Avs sweaters in the coming years and see what they can do for the Avs. I may be slightly over-valuing them cause i like our home-grown guys, but I also think you're underestimating their value and I wasn't just including them as toss-ins.