Prospect Update: My Number Two

My number two prospect for the Ducks is right winger Kyle Palmieri. He has split his time this season between the Syracuse Crunch and the Anaheim Ducks. He is currently still one of the leaders in points in the AHL despite spending time up in the NHL.

Palmieri is 20 years old and was born on February 1, 1991, in Smithtown, New York. He is listed at 5′ 11″ and 193 lbs. The Anaheim Ducks drafted him in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft, 26th overall. He has been brought up through the ranks of the United States National Team Development Program, along with a short stop at the University of Notre Dame.

Unlike a lot of Ducks top forward prospects, Palmieri is a lot smaller in stature but does play bigger than his size. He is a very good agitator that gets under opponents skin. He is a very hard working guy with very good speed. He has good hands and is creative with the puck. He has the ability to dangle and we’ve seen him do that a couple of times in his early career so far. He keeps his feet moving and has great lateral speed as well. He attacks every shift with a level of passion and tenacity that scouts love and compare him to the likes of Chris Drury. He has a wicked shot to go along with his great agility and speed that will scare defenseman and goalies. He is in the right spot at the right time a lot and always makes the right decision. His vision not only helps him in the offensive zone but helps him defensively as well. He is just a great competitor in every aspect of the game and will be all over the ice every game. His scoring upside is very high and can be a top line talent or a very good option for the second line.

Summing up a bit about him, he displays great speed and energy. He has good scoring upside. He is versatile in that he can play center or wing. He will continue to get better offensively as well as defensively. With his size, he has to try harder than more players to be able to be effective, which he is most of the time. Overall, he could reach top level talent, but he could be a very good second line player.

Career Stats – Regular Season:

2009-2010: University of Notre Dame – CCHA: 33 GP, 9 G, 8 A, 17 P, 36 PIM

2009-2010: United States – WJC: 7 GP, 1 G, 8 A, 9 P, 4 PIM

2010-2011: Syracuse Crunch – AHL: 62 GP, 29 G, 22 A, 51 P, -2, 56 PIM

2010-2011: United States – WJC: 6 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 P, +2, 0 PIM

2010-2011: Anaheim Ducks – NHL: 10 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 P, -1, 0 PIM

2011-2012: Syracuse Crunch – AHL: 23 GP, 21 G, 10 A, 31 P, +15, 23 PIM

2011-2012: Anaheim Ducks – NHL: 8 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -1, 2 PIM

Career Stats – Playoffs:

2010-2011: Anaheim Ducks – NHL: 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM

Hopefully, I’ll finish this series later this week. I hope you guys know who my #1 prospect is……..deuces, Ducks fans.

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