Sizing up Filatov

I've seen a lot of banter tossed around about Filatov being undersized for the NHL. Well these two entries from the Red Line Report's Kyle Woodlief seem to put those rumors to bed:

You mentioned size, so let's talk about Nikita Filatov. Are there any legitimate concerns about his size for the NHL?

I don't think there's a concern about his size at all. He's almost a legit 6-1. It may be a bit of a generalization, but it's quite true that many of the European countries don't develop physically as early at their North American counterparts. I think he'll play in the NHL close to 190 pounds.

What are your thoughts on Steven Stamkos?

He's certainly a legitimate first-line center, good for maybe 90 points a year when he gets into his prime years. A terrific two-way player.

It's funny: You bring up concerns about Nikita Filatov, and Stamkos is maybe eight pounds heavier than him; but other than that, they're identical. Neither one of them are afraid to play in traffic, get their noses dirty.

Lets also keep in mind that two youngsters and certainly not "big" prospects made the jump last season in Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner and made the quite the impact. I'm not saying Filatov will follow the exact same path as those two but if he doesn't make it to the NHL right out of camp it won't be just b/c of his size.

There is another interesting read over on NHL.com about prospects who may make the jump straight to the NHL next year. I thought this quote "The Great One" certainly jumped off the page:

"I can't speak for the other teams, but this group of draft choices was widely viewed as having more NHL-ready players than any in recent years," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said after the first day of the draft. "We don't often speak in those terms with such young players."

Hawks GM Dale Tallon also weighs in on the size factor:

"It's the size of his heart that's more important," Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon said of Kane after the draft in June. "Guys his size that play the perimeter, you have concerns about moving up to the next level; but Pat gets his nose dirty, gets into the traffic areas and he doesn't get knocked down. He has a solid, wide base for his size, and when he gets stronger it's going to be even more difficult to knock him down."

"We're not in the business to not put the best players we have on the ice, regardless of age," Tallon said. "We've kept an open mind in training camp each year and kept youngsters like Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and the same may also happen with Kyle Beach this year ... if he's ready to make the jump to the next level."

The article concludes with some names to keep an eye come camp and yes, one Nikita Filatov is in that mix. In fact here are the names that are dropped:

Stamkos. Doughty. Bogosian. Pietrangelo. Schenn. Filatov. Boedker. Beach. Tikhonov.

For those OSU hockey fans out there it was announced yesterday that Tom Fritsche has been signed to a two-way contact by the Colorado Avalanche. Tom, who is the bother of Dan Fritsche, spent 4 years with the Buckeyes and played a few games with Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL after his OSU season concluded.

THN.com takes a look at teams who need to "move it or lose it":

Columbus Blue JacketsIt’s been a tough existence for Jackets fans, who have had to try and support a team that’s traditionally been eliminated from playoff contention by January. The past couple of seasons have brought hope in the form of Ken Hitchcock and marginal improvement in the standings, but only a playoff appearance – preferably, an extended one – will provide real relief. New faces R.J. Umberger and Kristian Huselius will get all the ice time they can handle.

All I have to say to this one is thanks captain obvious.

According to this article the Columbus Blue Jackets will have enjoyed 187 day break since they last played a regular season game to the start of next season. The Pittsburgh Penguins will have the shortest break at 122 days followed by the Red Wings at 127. The Edmonton Oilers have the longest at 192.

Now of course that isn't to say all the Jackets enjoyed that much time off. Remember that Leclaire, Nash, Novoty, Hejda & Chimera all participated in the World Championships after their NHL seasons concluded. Heck even Hitch kept on coaching.

Also its not like most these guys don't train over the majority of the summer anyhow. Regardless the Jackets should be well rested coming into camp.

Also Puck-rakers has announced the offical numbers of some of the new faces for the Jackets. We've covered this once before here but what the heck, lets cover it again:

Backman - 5

Torres - 14

Murray - 15

Umberger - 18

Huselius - 20

Commodore - 22

Filatov - 28

Tyutin - 51

Voracek - 93

..and hey, I think we have a new poll question!

-LTL