- Thread starter
- #1
Psych3man
Active Member
- 683
- 71
- 28
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2013
- Location
- Outside Chicago
- Hoopla Cash
- $ 1,000.00
- Fav. Team #1
- Fav. Team #2
- Fav. Team #3
13. Gabe Vilardi, C, 18 (Los Angeles Kings — 11th overall, 2017)
Vilardi is one of those rare players who you don’t really notice much in a game and then you look at the boxscore at the end of the night and he’s got a goal and an assist. He’s Evan Bouchard… but a forward. During his draft year, I fell in love with his two-way game, particularly during his brilliant Memorial Cup performance where he didn’t score a single goal but he was still Windsor’s best player. Since, I have had to really key in on Vilardi in some of my viewings because I have left a couple of them unimpressed with his tools despite the fact that he’s clearly one of the most productive players in junior hockey. What you realize, when you watch Vilardi enough, is that he’s his most dangerous when he’s just making simple plays, winning battles on the cycling, and hanging onto the puck to allow lanes to open up for a shot or a cross-seam pass. He’s got good hands, he’s strong on the puck, and he’s deftly aware of where his linemates are on the ice. I wouldn’t be surprised if he surprises out of camp and steals a spot behind Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter if the Kings are willing to play Adrian Kempe on the wing. Vilardi should never have been available when they nabbed him 11th overall.
Wheeler: The Top 50 drafted NHL prospects ranking, 2018...
Vilardi is one of those rare players who you don’t really notice much in a game and then you look at the boxscore at the end of the night and he’s got a goal and an assist. He’s Evan Bouchard… but a forward. During his draft year, I fell in love with his two-way game, particularly during his brilliant Memorial Cup performance where he didn’t score a single goal but he was still Windsor’s best player. Since, I have had to really key in on Vilardi in some of my viewings because I have left a couple of them unimpressed with his tools despite the fact that he’s clearly one of the most productive players in junior hockey. What you realize, when you watch Vilardi enough, is that he’s his most dangerous when he’s just making simple plays, winning battles on the cycling, and hanging onto the puck to allow lanes to open up for a shot or a cross-seam pass. He’s got good hands, he’s strong on the puck, and he’s deftly aware of where his linemates are on the ice. I wouldn’t be surprised if he surprises out of camp and steals a spot behind Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter if the Kings are willing to play Adrian Kempe on the wing. Vilardi should never have been available when they nabbed him 11th overall.
Wheeler: The Top 50 drafted NHL prospects ranking, 2018...
