This year's second
round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, Alexandre Mallet caused a
bit of a stir among Canuck fans. The fact that he has only posted
great numbers in the QMJHL as an over-ager being the main backing
behind this.
An argument against
picking over age players is that they are more physically mature than
the competition in junior. For instance, Darren Archibald — signed
as a free agent by Vancouver in 2010 — was a hulking 6'3” 212
pounds, and able to out muscle most young players in junior.
Archibald had a great prospects camp, followed by a disappointing
start with the Chicago Wolves that ended up seeing him play with the
Canucks ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings, for most of this season.
A prime example of the difficulties involved of transitioning from
being physically dominant against boys, to playing against men.
There is no argument
against Mallet being strong, but he doesn't have the hulking frame
like Darren Archibald that would allow for pure physical domination.
Mallet is a modest 6'1”, 194 pounds (modest for hockey players
anyway), a height and weight that is not uncommon amongst hockey
players.
Looking at Mallet's
numbers prior to this season, and you would notice they are not very
impressive. However, the 57th overall pick had a major
breakout season this year, tallying 81 points in just 68 games, while
still maintaining the physical edge that he's always had in the
QMJHL.
The thing about
Mallet, is even if he isn't able to produce hugely at the
professional level he will still be able to bring energy and
intensity to a team's bottom six forward core. The kid can hit, play
with grit, and was a fairly tenacious fighter at the junior level.
Not a bad prospect to have for an organization with mainly boom or
bust top six prospects such as Jordan Schroeder.
If Mallet works hard,
and comes into camp determined, the Canucks could have a very good
energy forward with some offensive talent in the future. Though
Mallet will probably start this season with the Chicago Wolves, he
should be given a chance by the fans to show what he's capable of at
the professional level of Hockey. Some players are just late
bloomers, and hopefully such is the case with Alexandre Mallet.
Mallet Quick Stats:
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ---- Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008-09 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 10 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2009-10 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 39 4 5 9 31 -- -- -- -- -- 2009-10 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 26 5 5 10 54 12 2 0 2 6 2010-11 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 60 10 9 19 86 5 0 2 2 7 2011-12 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 68 34 47 81 132 21 10 15 25 22 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stats Courtesy of HockeyDB
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