The Journey

Brian Burke has his detractors, no doubt. But when you consider Tomáš Kaberle had the Toronto Maple Leafs’ over the proverbial barrel, a hotshot prospect like Joe Colborne and a first round draft pick is a pretty decent return. Especially, if Colborne, and his six-foot-five frame, dominates at the NHL level in a few seasons, the way many believe he can.

Brett MacLean has a knack for scoring goals. And since coaches need those to win games, the 22-year old Port Elgin native will no doubt find his way to the NHL one day. It’s just a question of when.

While the Carolina Hurricanes were on the receiving end of James Reimer’s first career shutout last night at Air Canada Centre, top prospect Zach Boychuk tried his darndest to single-handedly erase the donut on the scoresheet.

Recalled to the big club for the third time this season from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, Boychuk posted four shots on net in the 3-0 loss, showing signs of what’s to come from the swift-footed forward.

While owner Mike Ilitch made his fortune delivering HOT-N-READY® pizzas, the management of the Detroit Red Wings prefers a far slower approach with its incoming talent.

Take Tomáš Tatar for example. If the 20-year old Slovak was flying under fantasy radars at all prior to this season, you couldn’t have missed him November 30^th if you visited any hockey-related website worth its salt. That’s because the night before, Tatar unleashed a staggering seven-point performance for the Grand Rapids Griffins in a 10-8 win over the Chicago Wolves in AHL action.

It’s been humbling looking back at some of the advice I’ve given. While some of it has been good – especially in Part I last week – this week I’m noticing more misses.

Looking back and re-assessing your judgment of players is a great exercise because it helps you adjust your evaluation skills. You see signs that you missed that would have told you a player was better than you thought, and you see which traits attracted you to a player like a moth to the light.

Here’s a look back (chronologically) at some more players I’ve written about in the last year, and how good my assessment was.

If you like following the story of a long shot, hitch your wagon to Brendan Ranford.

One of the things you’ll sometimes hear scouts say is that a player has “good bloodlines.”

It means that a prospect is the son of a former NHLer or pro hockey player and the phrase implies that hockey talent is hereditary and passed on genetically.

The Buffalo Sabres lack size – especially in their top six – and have been looking to fix that problem through the draft and waiting patiently for some draft picks to develop.