In lieu of today’s big news secondary news regarding the Dan Hamhuis trade, I thought it’d be helpful to get some thoughts on the incoming player from the Philadelphia Flyers, Ryan Parent. With that in mind, Geoff Detweiler of sister blog Broad Street Hockey was willing to give us a scouting report on Parent.
Below are a Philadelphia Flyers’ blogger’s thoughts on the departed defenseman (and now two-time Predator), and you can read my report on Dan Hamhuis over at BSH. Many thanks to Geoff for the great content and help.
Peter Forsberg (and a second to Phoenix) for Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Dan Carcillo, and Dan Hamhuis. I’m sure that isn’t the best way to open this for you guys, but that sure does look good for Flyers fans.
Either way, Ryan Parent for Dan Hamhuis and a conditional 7th round pick probably helps us out a lot more than it does you. If Hamhuis doesn’t sign with Philadelphia though, I’m probably in the minority thinking I’d rather have Parent than a 7th rounder. But that’s neither here nor there.
Last week, I wrote (published today) Parent’s 2009-2010 report card. There’s no way around the fact that Parent had a pretty bad year. As Dirk mentioned in his story, Parent has been hobbled by injuries for the past 2 years. It was his groin two years ago while it was his back this year. One is worrisome but common, the other is terrifying and highly unusual.
Any 22-year old who has to have back surgery is in trouble, but an NHL defenseman probably sees his career flash before his eyes. Surely, this had to happen to Parent. He was once looked at as a top-3 defenseman, but two-injury shortened seasons have thrown that into doubt.
When he’s on the ice, Parent is the epitome of defensive-defenseman. He has very little offensive game, but he’s effective in front of his own net and on the penalty kill. The biggest problems for him are that he doesn’t have a lot of confidence and he isn’t physically strong enough to win the one-on-one battles.
At this point, Parent’s first priority is getting and staying healthy. After that, he needs to bulk up. He’s officially listed as 6’3″ 198 pounds, which is just not big enough to punish people in the corners. Since he’s 23, he’s also not experienced (or smart) enough to make up for that size disadvantage.
The first time Parent played in the playoffs (07-08), I immediately became a Ryan Parent fan. He did all the little things right: He kept the forwards to the outside, he stayed in front of the net, he kept his head on a swivel, and he always took his time making the break out pass. He was a steady, intelligent, responsible defender. But then he got injured.
I’m not familiar enough with the Predators defensive depth, but Parent still has the potential to be a second-pairing defenseman. Before the trade, I said signing Parent as a depth defenseman would not be a bad idea. Right now, he really needs time.
If it fits the Predators needs, a three-year incentive laden contract at around $850k would be about right. Give him the off-season to fully heal and hope he has time to bulk up. Start him off in the AHL, continuing to work on his confidence and strength. By the middle of the season, see where he’s at. If he can stay healthy, regain his confidence, and add muscle, he can be a solid third-pairing guy with even more upside.
Right now, though, Parent is not an NHL defenseman. Hopefully the Predators don’t need him to be one.