Hey there, you're a Ducks fan I imagine? Question for you. Is there any suspicion that Getzlaf may go to FA? I doubt he will, as I would be surprised if he didn't retire a Duck, but was just thinking about center options on the market next year and was looking for your input. Thanks in advance!

Doubt it. If I'm not mistaken, he bought a new house in SoCal a while ago. It also seems very unlikely that he would leave his family. He'll either retire this summer (as he's now the franchise leader in points) or he'll get the Selänne treatment (1-year-deals until retirement).

Do you mind if I us the same ranking system for a Oilers prospect Pyramid?

My thoughts:
-Would love to see Dosty become a top 15 goalie, but I don't think it happens. That being said, he's 21 and has been outstanding in the AHL, so who knows....I'd probably have him in tier 3, and Clang in tier 4 (kinda evens it up...). Gotta see Clang on NA ice first though.
-I feel like, at first glance, I'd bump Zellweger up a tier, because he's been downright nasty this year, but I think you're probably spot on with it. I'd like to see him get his 9 games in to start the season next year, just to see how not playing on a super team (Everett >>>> would affect his production. Be pretty cool if exGMBM drafted a Quinn Hughes clone, but I'm assuming it'll be more of a Barrie-lite.
-I don't know why, but I've got Lacombe over Thrun.
-Long shot, but I think Hunter Drew ends up being a 6th/7th dman/13th fwd, and becomes a fan favourite. Guy is tough as nails and can put the puck in the net. If the Ducks are going to be bad next year, he could find his way into the lineup.

Not at all, feel free to use it. Prospect pyramids aren't my invention (weren't they invented by Steve Dangle?) and I just came up with new descriptions for the different categories.

I'm still a believer in Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Trevor Janicke. Hope springs eternal.

I think that your rankings are appropriately and commendably conservative.

Agree with the goalies and Zellweger, but Im a hard disagree on LaCombe over Thrun. Id even bump Thrun up a tier here

He had more points than Owen Power this past NCAA season and is a nominee for best defensive defenseman in the NCAA, I think he's among the most underrated prospects in the league to the point of disrespect honestly

Id only have McTavish, Pastujov and Zellweger above Thrun personally, maybe even have Thrun above Pastujov

-Always liked Clang and he could be a tier higher, it was very close. The fact that he hasn't played in NA is the main reason for the placement in tier 4.
-Hope he gets those 9 games. Don't see Barrie at all in him. Barrie is basically a pylon defensively, Zellweger, while not being a shutdown D-man, can hold his own in the D-zone. If he puts on some muscle, his defensive abilities will likely increase further since most of his issues in his own zone at the moment are due to the lack of muscle in my opinion. His def. positioning is a bit inconsistent, but that can be worked on.
-I have favoured Thrun for a long time now. I see him as the better overall player that will have the bigger impact.
-I like Drew. Won't be a D-man, it seems like he's staying at forward. Could be that, fits the tier as well. I have a feeling that Perreault could become a fan favourite because of his pest game that I think will remind a lot of Ducks fans of Perry.

I don't know...I have no idea why I think LaCombe is going to be solid, especially given that he's a bean pole, but I do.

I think Groulx fits a bottom 6 role very well. Never expected him to be much more and I hope he turns out to be that.

Thanks!

I think you and @OldNYIFan know thats how I was (and partially still am) with Mahura Sometimes you just like a prospect

Sami Pahlsson 2.0!

I love Thrun and he certainly has 2nd pairing upside. Feel like tier 3 is a tiny bit too high, idk why. Had him there (+above Pastujov) the last time, but I feel like that would be too naïve (although it might not be realistically speaking). He almost made it to tier 3, but I prefer players to outperform my expectations instead of me hyping them up just for them to underperform by a good bit (which has happened quite a few times).
He's absolutely underrated and his defensive game is also a factor why I have him over LaCombe because latter's offensive game isn't that far ahead of Thrun's if at all.

It's basically my biggest wish in terms of Hockey that Thrun makes it to the Top 4. Watched him since his time at the USNTDP (only like 2 games in 17-18) and following his career has been a lot of fun.

Yeah, I think with Zellweger, his speed should help close gaps reasonably efficiently. I haven't had enough time to watch a ton of WHL hockey this year, but watching clips (keeping in mind that they're just the highlight reels of his play), my first thought is always "Dear lord how did we get Quinn Hughes 2.0?!?!". But, prospects are for peasants, and I'm completely aware that he'll break my little heart.

Agreed with Perreault.

As I said above, I have no rational reason for LaCombe over Thrun, it's just where my head is at. To be completely fair, we're probably going to be back here in 5 years comparing them to Guhle/Larsson

I like being a peasant then

I never expected Guhle and Larsson to make a huge impact and I've never really liked their play-styles. Always guessed they're going to be 6th D at best. Not sure what the exact narrative among Ducks fans was around them back then.

Hahaha, I too am a peasant (for now...). Once the team takes off, I'm absolutely in the "Buy buy buy!" crew.

I feel like the Larsson narrative was that he was a solid pick at the time, with top 4 upside, but to be fair, a lot of us still listened to the words coming out of Craig Button's mouth back in 2015. With Guhle, I don't know...he just seemed like a guy that was going to all of the sudden click. I honestly thought that Montour trade was going to be a f*ckin' steal, until St. Louis decided to go into insane-mode and win the cup. At the time of the trade, the Blues were heating up, but were still a fringy playoff team. Not that I don't think Brayden Tracey will be fine, it's just that the Blues pick (that ended up being the Sharks pick) had a decent chance of ending up as a lotto pick that year.

Think it'll take a while until I'm going to be pro-buying again. I'm probably gonna be very hesitant until the team looks good for a longer period of time.

Yeah, I thought its as similar to that but couldn't remember everything anymore. Tracey's such a weird prospect at times. Looked very meh last season and the stat line in the AHL showed that as well (I mean 0 pts in 12 games in your D+2 as a former 1st Round pick isn't exactly great as a Forward). But he's been great this season. I'm excited to see what he develops into.

I'm pro-buying. I mean, I'm not going to go crazy and say start moving 1st round picks, but if it's me, I'm absolutely using some of the assets that the team just acquired for expriing contracts, and flipping them to upgrade the team. If you can turn .25 years of Lindholm, Rakell and Manson into Chychrun+a few picks and prospects left over from it, then that's a massive steal. I'd be gung-ho trying to add a winger for the Zegras/Terry line as well (After replacing Eakins, obviously, because you could have f*ckin' Gretzky available to play with him here and he'd still put Grant with Zegras). If you could add a guy like Gaudreau or Forsberg, and then sprinkle in a bit of depth here and there, and start moving forward. Fringe team next year-contender the following year.

Will piggyback off some of the other posts, Zellweger should absolutely be in Tier 2. Guy is legit