Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Draft Outlook - Part Three (Etem)

Good day to y'all. In today's third prospect watch, we'll be looking at centre Emerson Etem from Medicine Hat in the WHL.

The two players mentioned previously would be 'fallers' in the draft -- that is to say, they're ranked considerably higher on most other teams' lists, and we'd be lucky to have them fall to us. Etem is a more reasonable player to hope for, even though NHL.com suggests that he may go earlier than believed. He definitely won't be winning any height competitions at 6' exactly, but the way he plays almost seems to add a couple of inches to his frame. Don't let his stats fool you: Etem's game is more power-forward than sniper.

Think a combination of Vermette and Jordan Staal, only considerably less talented. In his rookie year at Medicine Hat last year, Etem put up 37 goals and 28 assists in 72 games, pretty impressive considering that the WHL isn't known for goal-scorers. Even ISS' 9th ranked skater, Nino Niederreiter, had one goal and 4 assists less than Etem playing with the Portland Winter Hawks in the WHL, albeit in 7 less games. By comparison, Vermette had 27 goals and 38 assists in 82 games with the Blue Jackets this year. If Etem can put up similar numbers in the NHL, he may be worth grabbing with our first-rounder.

Before going to Medicine Hat, Etem played pivot at Shattuck-St Mary's high school, a boarding school in Minnesota that has produced NHLers like Zach Parise, Jonathan Toews and Jack Johnson, among others. And while Etem will never be confused for any of the above, the fact that S-SM has consistently developed good players indicates that, at the very least, he's receiving good training. He also played for the USA in the U18 league, where he scored solid, but unspectacular numbers.

The Hockey News Draft Preview and the Medicine Hat Tigers website disagree, with the former claiming Etem shoots left, and the latter suggesting he's
a right shot. At this point, I don't think handedness will matter all that much, considering the team we have now may not be the one we have in a few years. Etem is the kind of player you try and build around, not the kind you select because of which side he shoots from. Point is, Etem seems to be a dynamic player, albeit one who "doesn't give you a good feel away from the puck". Still, seems like a solid choice if no one we're particularly high on is available at #16.


4 comments:

  1. I think Etem will go 12th by the Ducks.

    I recently made my top 15 mock draft. The players I think will be available that the Senators may be interested in are Jack Campbell, Quinton Howden, Austin Watson, and John Mcfarland

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  2. oh and Mark Pysysk, Riley Sheahan and Nick Bjustad.

    I have to say that I would pick Campbell, followed by Sheahan. One is apotential franchise goaltender, and the other has been compared to Ryan Getzlaf...

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  3. Actually, I just realised that I put Jon Merril for the Ducks instead of Etem. So I am predicting him being available.

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  4. Interesting take, GMC. Personally, I believe we have no chance at Hall, Seguin, Gudbranson, Fowler, Gormley. The next plateau of players (Johansen, Niederreiter, Skinner, Merril, Connolly, Forbort) will be next-to-impossible. The players that should be available 12-17, then, should be Burmistrov, Etem, Bjugstad, Tarasenko, Watson and Granlund. And personally, out of this list, I'm not too high on Bjugstad. I'd take any of the others, though. Given the choice between Campbell and Sheahan, I'd try and trade down to grab Jarnkrok and get a second rounder back.

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