Little Jerry: Why I (over)Value Jerry D’Amigo

"Little Jerry ran from here to Newman's in under thirty seconds!"First off, thanks to Curt S for asking me about this. I have been running on fumes for ideas of what to post for a while. If you haven’t already, check out Curt’s blog, Blue Chip Prospects.

The initial question stems from my post on the top 25 players in the Leafs organization under 25. Here is the excerpt on D’Amigo:
9. Jerry D'Amigo: Little Jerry looks to be a star. Hopefully he's a college dropout too after this season. D'Amigo has already dominated in college, and the World Juniors, and if he can keep it up for this season he'll be ready to at least get his shot as a Marlie. His speed and finishing abilities are why he's this high up on the list, but with the amount of hype, and the possibility that his game won't transition to the pros could make him the biggest bust on this list as well.

Nothing too crazy there right? Though I can see the argument that It’s odd that I’d rank him ahead of Brad Ross, Korbinian Holzer,Jussi Rynnas, and Mikhail Stefanovich (who is projected in a similar way). We’ll try and address that now.


Before we look at what is right about D’Amigo, let’s look at what is wrong with me (besides my hatred of proofreading my writing.) I am part of that well known group that overvalues performance at the World Juniors. It’s safe to say that I am currently under the impression that Jordan Eberle is a Calder candidate, and John Carlson will be a top four defenseman on the Caps this season. I don’t defend my stance on this, it’s an affliction that causes you to believe that Boyd Devereaux could be a 30 goal scorer in the right situation . It’s an ugly condition, and it’s the reason that Justin Pogge is still employed. The other part of what’s wrong with me (when relating to this specific situation) is that I randomly fall for young Leafs potential. Alexander Suglobov was going to be the face of the franchise by now. Before that I had a history of Todd Warriner and Jeff Ware infatuations. Not a great track record. In fact, maybe Little Jerry should be traded now before the stink of my approval ruins him.

Me Likey Future Goal Scorer"If there is a poster boy for Maple Leafs prospects, it just may be forward Jerry D’Amigo." -Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun

Let's start with where my appreciate of D'Amigo began. The World Juniors. It's already impressive that he made the team, as you'd assume as a 6th round pick he would face an uphill battle. For Jerry to then take over the tournament for Team USA and put up 6 goals and 6 assists in 7 games is even more amazing. Having a goal and an assist in the overtime win over Canada is what had me thinking he was the real deal, and being named one of the top forwards in the Tournament clinched it. D'Amigo should that he can dominate against the best competition in the World in his age group, and he proved that he can be a clutch scorer in that circumstance as well.

The effect that his performance from the Juniors had on me was that I needed to follow his stats more closely. The result was learning that not only is D'Amigo a point a game scorer, it's that he is such a consistent scorer. Ending the season at a point a game, there were few times that his totals spiked or declined. Ending his rookie season with 10 goals, 25 assists in 35 games is a great first step for 19 year old kid playing against 23 year old competition. Factor in that D'Amigo was seeing freshman ice time for a good chunk of the season, the numbers are even more impressive. It is no surprise that D'Amigo was named ECAC Rookie of the Year beating out Habs first round pick Louis LeBlanc in the process.

If D'Amigo can improve on his last season in the NCAA it's likely that he could face pressure next season to leave school and join the Leafs organization. While he's understandably a couple of years away from being a Leaf, it would be great to give him a season in the AHL and still have in a Leafs uniform before his 22nd birthday.

It has been confirmed this week that Jerry will return to Team USA to help defend their World Juniors Championship title, and should face additional pressure this go around as the team will be looking to him as a leader, and he will no longer be able to take the competition by surprise.

In closing, Hooray for teenage growth spurts, because the 5'10 player the Leafs drafted is now a 6'0 200 lb. potential power forward. While I'm not suggesting the Leafs wait 2 years to fill this need, it is certainly nice to have a strong forward prospect in the pipeline who will one day fill a top six role. I certainly think that from an organizational stand point there are few prospects greater than D'Amigo's raw scoring talent.