Is Cam Barker worth having a look at

[RonJeremy]

Cam Barker is an UFA, he was considered a top young dman with Chicago a few years ago, but since then he has been traded a few times, and I haven't seen him play in years. I know we have lots of dmen, but we have lots of old and lots of chronically injured dmen. Is this guy still any good, anyone seen him play the past few years?

[JR Ewing]

Cam Barker is an UFA, he was considered a top young dman with Chicago a few years ago, but since then he has been traded a few times, and I haven't seen him play in years. I know we have lots of dmen, but we have lots of old and lots of chronically injured dmen. Is this guy still any good, anyone seen him play the past few years?

 

Nope, nope, nope. You don't want him.

 

You want an actual NHL defenseman.

 

JR

[flyercanuck]

Barker is one of those rare cases of a "can't miss" prospect...missing. Guy looked like a surefire anchor on D with good size, skill and decent skating ability. A series of injuries seemed to disrupt his development and now he just looks like a bust. Went 3rd overall I believe.

[yave1964]

Cam Barker. HEH. heheheh. HOho ho haahaaheehee. Ahem. no.

[pilldoc]

saw him play in Norfolk when he was with Chicago.....my advice....

 

[JR Ewing]

Barker is one of those rare cases of a "can't miss" prospect...missing. Guy looked like a surefire anchor on D with good size, skill and decent skating ability. A series of injuries seemed to disrupt his development and now he just looks like a bust. Went 3rd overall I believe.

 

The signs were definitely there.

 

Offensively - Barker, even in junior, lived and died by the PP, and was helped by being part of Medicine Hat's huge offensive game: they were the runaway leaders in GF in Barker's deaft year of 2004. Pretty much the same story during his NHL career. His one big year, when he had 40 pts in 68 games, he played about 3.5 minutes per night on the PP, just about all with Brian Campbell, and had a big number of 2nd assists.

Defensively - He's just never really gotten it done at ES at the NHL level, but it's also interesting to see the sort of things which have been said about dating back to his draft year. How Redline Report scouted him:

 

"Big, highly mobile defender has easily the most offensive upside of any blue-liner in the draft. Hardly had to break a sweat this year while putting up outstanding numbers. Didn't often perform at the top of his game - played nearly 30 minutes a game and seemed to pace himself. Is most effective when he forcefully takes the puck and heads up ice, leading the break and creating dangerous odd-man rushes. Has the ability to undress opponents as he goes end-to-end. Excellent vision and can make plays at top speed. A top notch PP quarterback with a hard shot who makes good decisions in puck distribution. Still a work in progress in own zone, but improved steadily in both physical play and positioning as the year progressed. While he lacks explosive speed, he has good agility and his overall mobility is above average."

 

I don't think anybody wants to see those things being said about young players...

Barker has had ankle issues:

http://www.tsn.ca/nh...rs/bio/?id=4498

Ankle injuries seem likely to have affected his mobility. Combine that with a player who was always seen as a work in progress, and it can be bad news. The history of the league is LOADED with kids who never learned to play defense at the NHL level. Far more than ever figured it out.

 

JR