I'm not sure if everyone's been following our top forward prospect during the WHL playoffs, but Rattie has been unstoppable. Through 14 playoff games he's put 14-G 14-A, for a 2.0 PPG pace. With tonight's game against the Kamloops Blazers and Blues' D prospect Joel Edmundson, he's already maintaining that pace with an additional 2 primary helpers for a 14-16-30 scoring line through 15 games.
Brian, aka TomorrowsBlues, has done a great job covering the Blues' prospects and has been high on Rattie despite, as he's pointed numerous times, people expecting him to regress with the loss of linemate and Flames' prospect Sven Baertschi.
I'd argue we shouldn't be the least bit surprised by these playoff numbers given his 19-G, 14-A in 21 playoff games last year and his league leading best 1.77 PPG pace (48-G, 62-A, 62-GP). If you look at his PPG numbers during Junior, they've improved each season of his 4 years with Portland.
I haven't had a chance to actually watch Rattie except for a bit from World Juniors, but I'm really high on this kid and hope he makes the Blues out of camp next year. I'm concerned with the Blues' new AHL affiliation with the Chicago Wolves, that he could get stuck there. I think he's proven that he's ready to make the jump. Any other thoughts or impressions about him?