Jonathon Blum*****
Country: USA
Position: Defense
League: WHL
Team: Vancouver Giants
Height: 6'0'''
Weight: 160
Shoots: Right
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Scouting Report: Rancho Santa Margarita, California native is mentally tough having dealt with the death of his sister (house fire) and illness to mother (cancer) all before the age of 17 .. Blum has a unique skating style as his knees unusually jut out in motion .. nonetheless his skating is so smooth, so controlled, and so expansive .. covers a lot of ice gracefully and has a sturdy stride .. played with Festerling in 5 on 5 action .. owns a great pair of hands and can stickhandle around players .. not overly physical but is diligent about initiating contact and uses the textbook move of exploding up into forwards .. is a great passer and even catches his own teammates off guard with his ability to execute under pressure as forwards barrel down on him .. played with Fransson on the powerplay .. is very active on the powerplay as he roams all over in the offensive zone presenting his forwards with options .. acts like a fourth forward and is confident in his offensive abilities .. shows a risky side as he likes to step up in the neutral zone and attempt dangerous takeaways, which sometimes backfires on him .. a frustrating defenseman as he can look unseasoned and unintelligent one period and steady the next .. loses focus lugging the puck up the ice and forces himself to scramble as a result .. prone to miscommunicating with his partner and needs to iron out periodic brain cramps .. Vancouver’s second pairing defenseman is an intriguing option in the first round who must get stronger and improve some areas defensively.
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2006-2007 Regular Season Stats
2006-2007 Regular Season Stats
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72 games 8 goals 43 assists 51 points +37 48 PIM
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2007 Playoff Stats
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22 games 3 goals 6 assists 9 points +13 8 PIM
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Draft Day Status/Projection: Blum is a great pro prospect for his solid skating, superb hands, and decent defensive game. He compares to a less dynamic Bobby Sanguinetti and we believe Blum has the mental fabric to make it in the NHL. DraftBuzz thinks he is a top 35 talent and project him to be drafted anywhere in the range of 7 to 40. He is a prospect whose value has the potential to climb as he will be given more playing time and added responsibility with the subtraction of a few blueliners who should be turning pro (Franson -'87, Mikkelson-'87, Festerling-'86, and Thelen-'86).
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Draft Day Status/Projection: Blum is a great pro prospect for his solid skating, superb hands, and decent defensive game. He compares to a less dynamic Bobby Sanguinetti and we believe Blum has the mental fabric to make it in the NHL. DraftBuzz thinks he is a top 35 talent and project him to be drafted anywhere in the range of 7 to 40. He is a prospect whose value has the potential to climb as he will be given more playing time and added responsibility with the subtraction of a few blueliners who should be turning pro (Franson -'87, Mikkelson-'87, Festerling-'86, and Thelen-'86).
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(photo courtesy of www.whl.ca)
2 comments:
I hear there's a kid from Middletown, NJ who is a top prospect. Any chance you'll do a profile on him?
I seriously cannot see what is all the fuss about this player. I watched him through out the season and into the playoffs and into the memorial cup and didn't see that he is a great talent on the ice. His ability to read plays incorrectly helps the other team not his own. He has been caught starring at a forward and allowing opponent to shoot rather than defend the goalie a number of times.
I am sure he is a great all around type of kid with a great personality I just can't see what makes him so special on the ice.
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