Anthony DeAngelo, the Sewell, NJ native playing for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, is one of the most high octane defenseman to come along in years. He didn’t just put up more points than games played, he put up more assist than games played. That’s pretty impressive for any position, let alone a defenseman. DeAngelo seems like the kind of player that can QB any scoring line or PP unit.
But then, well, we get to some pretty nasty stuff.
Here’s the thing with this situation, it’s never good. There is no “misunderstandings” or “I was just joking”, this is hate. The press releases don’t list what kind of slurs were used, but I’m better off not knowing personally. There is no acceptable way to spin this. And this isn’t some “PC damage control effort”, this is Sarnia, one of the most prolific teams in the OHL. A team that is trying to title almost every year was sitting their best defensive player for weeks because of this. I want to talk about the other flaws in his game, but they seem pretty minuscule compared to this. Small defenseman have succeeded in the NHL, the league is transitioning into offensive-defenseman, etc…
The fact is that DeAngelo is a very good prospect, but in a league that takes the “locker room” more seriously than any other in the 5 major North American sports, I find it hard to believe that a franchise will spend their best asset on someone who may be a detriment to the team regardless of talent. But, he is a local kid, and I know he fills a bunch of needs, and he’ll probably get the Bobby Ryan treatment if we don’t draft him, so I figured might as well.
Bio
- Born: 10-24-1995
- Nationality: USA
- Height: 5’11″
- Weight: 168 lbs
- Position: Defense
- Team(s) – Sarnia (OHL)/
Stats:
Flyers Potential
Look, even I’ll admit that the stat line and the style that DeAngelo plays with are what I want in a flyers defenseman. And I’m sure his ability and local ties are intriguing to the Flyers as well. In a perfect world, he would probably be a great pick for the Flyers.
But we don’t live in a perfect world. The fact that he got in trouble for using slurs is bad enough. The fact that it happened more than once is even worse. The fact that he used them directed at his own teammates concerns me about him off the ice. I’m not one who believes in the “locker room culture”. I think it’s an argument used by people who dislike change. But this isn’t carter and Richards showing up at keggers at Temple. This isn’t Martian St. Louis requesting a trade issue. This especially isn’t a “boys will be boys” issue either. This is a kid who has a lot of hate built up inside him, and if he doesn’t try and help himself now, then I highly doubt he ever makes it far in professional hockey, especially in todays world. Everyone knows everything about you, and Anthony DeAngelo won’t be able to hide behind closed doors forever.
I’m trying to be as impartial about these prospect profiles as possible. But I just can’t with DeAngelo. I don’t believe the Flyers, or any team will draft him in the first round, and I especially don’t want the Flyers to draft him in the first round. Heck, I’m not sure I really want the Flyers to take him in the 2nd round either, even though I can somewhat justify the talent over risk then. I don’t think he gets drafted in the 1st round anyway, but the bright red flags are too much for me to ignore. Just say no Flyers, just say no.
Watch for Yourself
