Who is a prospect you really wanted to see succeed but didn’t?

[SCampo98]

Who is a prospect you really wanted to see succeed but they never did?

For me, it’s Angelo Esposito. When I started watching junior hockey, he was already almost a dwindling start, but his comeback in 08-09 and eventual gold medal at the world juniors made me love him even more. I really wanted to see him succeed in the NHL, but injuries in 2009 did him in.

What about you, any players come to mind?

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[LeProspector]

Juraj Slafkovsky

 

[barriers]

Charles Hudon

One of the only bright spots on the final season of Hamilton's AHL Bulldogs. I really thought he would bring it together and become a middle-6 NHLer. Alas, it was not meant to be.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

David Rundblad.... Only cause I used some very high picks on him in multiple keeper pools

 

[FriarChill]

Michkov, Reinbacher,...every prospect who gets a lot of heat for whatever reason from some keyboard warriors and fans around the world.

Also everyone trying to achieve their goal (NHL) and plays in the AHL (or somewhere else) for multiple years.

Edit: nevermind, hard to recognize the difference between past and present tense as a non native lol. Should concentrate a bit more. Thx for the heads up @GTA

 

[Mathieukferland]

Alexis Lafrenière because he was the first player with superstar potential to come from Québec in a decade

 

[GTA]

Michkov, Reinbacher,...every prospect who gets a lot of heat for whatever reason from some keyboard warriors and fans around the world.

Also everyone trying to achieve their goal (NHL) and plays in the AHL (or somewhere else) for multiple years.

I don’t think you read the question.

 

[FriarChill]

I don’t think you read the question.

Oh, i read it but i am just stupid lol.

 

[Elvis P]

Idk if this counts but I was hoping Owen Power would be better.

 

[Antiillafire]

Marko Dano, Alex Nylander, Alexsi Heponiemi

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Turcotte.

I guess the jury's still out but everything pointed to a Richards/Toews clone but his body just couldn't handle the recklessness. Just goes to show how rare and special those guys are.

He should still have a career and can still be a fan favorite, it's all work and heart out there. But the upside is likely waning hard.

 

[Bobcat205]

I saw quite a bit in Liam Foudy when he was first drafted, sucks to see him flounder at the NHL level (and now no longer with the team).

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I saw quite a bit in Liam Foudy when he was first drafted, sucks to see him flounder at the NHL level (and now no longer with the team).

40 points in 65 games in his DY (and his 2nd year in the O) never suggested he would be a high end points producer in the NHL. He was projected to go in the 30s or 40s and the Blue Jackets drafted him higher because he had elite speed and they thought the offense might come a bit later, which it didn't.

 

[Slats432]

I really wanted Jani Rita to do well, and more recently Jesse Puljujarvi.

 

[JediOrderPizza]

Zadina.

 

[badfish]

Patrick O'Sullivan, still had 300 career games, but there was a decent amount of hype around him back in the day and he had a rough childhood.

 

[hockeyprospects9]

Alexander Holtz (there’s still a chance, but not likely)

 

[Gecklund]

Goldobin and both Merkleys

 

[WADEugottaBELAKthat]

Niklas Bergfors was my guy

 

[NYI365]

Michael Dal Colle. Thought he'd be Tavares' sniper for years. Neither went as planned

 

[LemonSauceD]

Apart of me wished Virtanen grew a damn brain and was able to gather his shit together and become a powerful forward. Never seen a kid with a rare blend of size, blazing speed, power, and shot at his young age at the time. Too bad he was dumb as shit.

 

[LeProspector]

40 points in 65 games in his DY (and his 2nd year in the O) never suggested he would be a high end points producer in the NHL. He was projected to go in the 30s or 40s and the Blue Jackets drafted him higher because he had elite speed and they thought the offense might come a bit later, which it didn't.

Foudy was playing 4th line minutes for the Knights at the start of the season, at the TDL they let a lot of their good players go to build for the next year. And Foudy got more opportunities as a result and looked really good in the process and I think even scored over PPG from the TDL forward.

 

[Brodeur]

In the moment I wasn't feverishly rooting for him, but I was happy to see Petr Buzek make the NHL. He was a top 15 prospect for the 1995 Draft but got in a bad car accident a few weeks beforehand. Initially doctors thought they might have to amputate a leg.

1995 was the first draft I watched, so I have an indelible image of Buzek being there in a wheelchair waiting to be selected. Eventually Dallas took him in the third round while not knowing if he'd ever play again.

Nowadays Buzek is mostly remembered for being one of the worst All-Star selections (in 2000 during the North America vs. World format). But it always seemed to me like a nod to his journey back to pro hockey.

------

Maybe a random guy that I was high on back in the day was Christian Berglund. Entering the 2001-02 season, he was seemingly the more highly regarded prospect over fellow rookie Brian Gionta. Berglund scored at a higher rate that Gionta in the AHL/NHL that season.

A summer 2002 trade sent Petr Sykora for Jeff Friesen which opened up a RW spot for Gionta while putting another veteran LW in front of Berglund. A late season injury prevented Berglund from being an option in the 2003 Cup run. Berglund and Gionta started on the 4th line together to start the 2003-04 season, but injuries derailed Berglund's season while Gionta worked his way up the lineup.

Then at the deadline he was traded to Florida. Berglund scored 3 goals in 10 games post-deadline and I thought he'd do alright there. But after the season the Panthers fired their coach/GM and then the lockout happened.

Post-lockout new GM Mike Keenan signed a bunch of veterans. Keenan only offered Berglund a two way deal, so he opted to stay in Europe. It seemed like in a blink of an eye Berglund went from promising 21 year old to 25 year old afterthought.

It probably didn't help with the constant changes:

2001-02: Devils hire Kevin Constantine who used Berglund in a top 6 spot.

2002-03: Devils fire Constantine and hired Pat Burns who used Berglund as a 4th liner

2003-04: traded to Panthers by GM Rick Dudley who'd be fired after the season.

2004-05: lockout

2005-06: Mike Keenan is hired as Panthers GM

2006-07: Keenan resigns, Jacques Martin named GM

AHL All-Stars defeat Färjestad BK

theahl.com

The last time I watched Berglund was when his Swedish club played the AHL All-Stars in 2014. He was selected as the player of the game for his squad. For some reason Berglund and Gionta were always attached for me. Gionta was still in the NHL in 2014 and en route to 1,000 NHL games. Meanwhile Berglund never cracked 100.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Igor Grigorenko

It could/would have been Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Grigorenko if not for his car accident back in 2003.

Not saying that Grigorenko would have been Kaprizov but he was putting up borderline star numbers in the old Russian Super League as a 19 year old before the accident. Whit talked on a Chiclets episode about Grigorenko's dominant 2003 World Junior performance.

 

[MuckOG]

Alexander Khovanov.