Duul's Boxing Day Player Reports

[duul]

Have some free time, here are my opinions of our players performances thus far this year.

FORWARDS



Drake Caggiula

Drake is a personal success story for me because I know him personally, having played together for a year in my youth. In his high school hockey and junior years, he was a physical force. Not big, but he could skate fast and loved to take the body. He was the most talented and most physical player on our team while being one of the smaller guys. His offensive game really flourished in North Dakota. He stopped playing (or was incapable of) playing a physical game like he did back in the day and found new ways to create offence. He reminds me a bit of Linus Omark in that he is a smaller guy without that much speed but he is creative enough to find ways to get pucks in the net. I think in time he will gain confidence and strength, and could return to being a physical player. He loves to hit and we've seen that a few times already in his brief NHL career. Although he might do well with some AHL seasoning, he has looked like he belongs in the NHL for the time being, if even in a 4th line role. The offensive instinct is obvious with him and is an intriguing player going forward.

Leon Draisaitl

Leon is without a doubt our biggest surprise this year. I admit that I was low on him going into the year. I had him in a lot of trade proposals due to a few factors, his speed, our centre depth, and his value as a prospect which would have proven worthwhile to acquiring a high-end defenceman (in the deal for Subban as an example).

Thank God Chiarelli knew better than me, because Leon exploded this year. He worked on his skating and is now fast relative to his body size out there. His deft passing ability has continued its progression, and his release looks very impressive this year. This guy generates offence every time he's on the ice and is turning into one of the premier centres in the NHL. A lot of polls and talking heads have him in the top 20 NHL centres already, and I agree with them. At times he looks like he is gassed out there and some shifts he looks like he's about to fall over with every stride, but he is making it work. With another year or two of development I can see us boasting the best 1-2 punch down the middle in the entire NHL. With RNH struggling, he has stepped up and shown to be the best forward from his draft class. Can't ask for more than that.

Jordan Eberle

HfOil possesses polar opposite opinions of this player depending on who you ask. If you were to look at his stats, you would think he is having a good season. However when you watch the games, it's clear he is part of the problem here. He has no willingness to work hard unless he has the puck on his stick. He often looks off our best player only to lose the puck against the wall and refuse to backcheck. I don't know what his personality is like, but from an outside perspective, he seems to either think he doesn't have to play defensively, or he is trying and failing. Either way, I don't believe that players like Eberle who are small, slow, and do not possess heavy shots are going to be in the NHL much longer.

In a previous post I mentioned Phil Kessel. I said that if Phil Kessel couldn't skate like the wind, he would be Michael Ryder. I said that if Phil Kessel couldn't skate like the wind and couldn't wire snapshots from the top of the circle, he would be Jordan Eberle. Eberle fills a very specific niche that a player like Ray Whitney fit. He will get good matchups and all the PP time in the world to get his points, but aside from that, he is a detriment to the team. We have now seen a guy like Mark Letestu take his place on the PP and find more success. For a guy whose only purpose is to score goals, he has the same amount as Letestu and Pitlick. His play thus far has been a total failure, and until he learns how to skate twice as fast or learns how to win puck battles, he is not going to be a helpful piece to a team looking to win a cup.

Matt Hendricks

Heart of gold. There's a reason why he captained Team U.S.A. at the World Championship. Everyone respects his work ethic and attitude towards the game and towards people. He's a role model and world-class citizen, and those types of people are important to any NHL club. His game is faltering and I don't believe he will be playing many more games throughout the year. Similarly to Ference, he brings a lot to a dressing room and even on the ice at times when he's sticking up for teammates and blocking shots. Aside from that, I don't think he serves a purpose that is needed on the ice for this team anymore. I admire him and I'm sure his teammates do to. He is a good guy to keep around, and giving him games off to rest is the right move by McLellan.

Zack Kassian

Love this guy. His actions at the end of the game vs. Arizona says it all. He's willing to do anything for his teammates and isn't afraid to take liberties on the opposition. Go to his .gif thread if you want a good laugh, but at the same time to see how he interacts with his teammates. The .gif of him on the bench when RNH scored in overtime...his reaction was priceless. This guy loves his teammates and they love him. Sure, he may cross the line at times but you want him on your side, not the other. His play is impressive. He does everything he needs to do. I believe that he wouldn't look too out of place in a more offensive role, and I would be interested to see him get a look with someone like Draisaitl. He found success in Vancouver playing a slower type of game with the cycling Sedins.

Mark Letestu

I was a hater last year. He was playing too high up the lineup and was thrust onto the PP in a role he hadn't been played in before. He looked all out of sorts and was ruining offence at every given opportunity while Woodcroft found it to be some sort of sadistic fantastical pleasure. I don't know what he did in the offseason, but I approve. He has reinvented his game. To start the year he was playing 4th line minutes in a role he had always been comfortable with, and looked good. Now he gets some more looks, and I have been told he spent a lot of time in the offseason working on his one-timers and slapshot for the PP. The guy does it all, and like McLellan said...he has been the catalyst for our team for the last little while. He works his ass off and you can put him on the ice in every situation. Valuable player to have, even if we didn't see that last season.

Milan Lucic

I'm torn on Looch. He is nowhere near the type of player he was in Boston. He isn't skating well, he isn't hitting, and he isn't generating any sort of offence. In Boston he was skating hard on the forecheck and lighting defencemen up. He was fighting, scoring, making plays. That hasn't been there this year. Maybe he is waiting for the playoffs? I'm not sure. He puts up points because he is playing with arguably the best playmaker in the world. His passing is almost comical. Many times this year I have burst out laughing in my living room as he wires a puck 15 feet ahead or behind his intended target. For a big guy, his board work is abysmal. One of the worst on the team. I hate seeing him out there with McDavid because he just can't collect the puck off the boards and make an outlet pass. Maroon can. He has value on the PP and I believe he can get back to being a very useful player in the NHL. He has been all right, but we pay him to be good.

Patrick Maroon

What a player this guy is. He compliments a skilled centreman so perfectly. His game is the ultimate compliment to Connor McDavid. He doesn't do anything surprising. He makes the right play every time and therefore is easy to read and play off of. Connor knows that Maroon is going to take a certain second or two to corral the puck off the boards and then glance up quick to see where he is, then make the pass where as Lucic doesn't pick his head up and just fires it into centre ice.

Maroon is sensational along the boards and behind the net. This guy is a monster on the cycle. He possesses a strong wrist shot and has shown he can score goals with it from the top of the circle. He isn't fast or overly skilled, but he fills his role as a winger so perfectly. I'm sure Connor can't think of a better LW to have with him and I hope they stick for the rest of the year.

Connor McDavid

He picked up where he left off last year. Leading the league in points at Christmas break is all that really needs to be said about him. He and Crosby are the two best players in the world and he is such a treat to watch. The only things that have been able to slow him down are a bad cold, and Jordan Eberle. I love watching his progression as a superstar in the league.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Struggling mightily. I think he has taken his "defensive centre" mantra far too seriously. This guy needs a boost of confidence in the worst way, and I'm not sure how he can get it. He has speed, quick hands, and a very nice wrist shot. I don't know what is going on with him. Maybe it is the curse of Jordan Eberle.

Tyler Pitlick

Shame he got injured. He looked dangerous out there and he would find great success in a playoff series. He plays the game exactly how you need to play it in the modern NHL if you aren't a top 20 player skill-wise. We need more guys like him. Fast, physical, strong shot. The antithesis of Eberle.

Benoit Pouliot

The penalty-taker.

Jesse Puljujarvi

I want him back in the lineup for a bit. I would like to see him play ~5 games on a line with Maroon and McDavid before making a decision on him. Put him in Letestu's spot on the PP and allow him to rifle pucks at every opportunity. He has looked decent in his short bursts of time with high-skilled players. I understand why he is being healthied entirely though, as he kept fumbling pucks and our vets are mostly playing good hockey. If he is struggling after those 5 or so games, you send him to the AHL. He has every tool to become a great success in the NHL, but he's so very raw.



DEFENCE



Matt Benning

Great pickup by Chiarelli. He's still clearly getting used to the speed of the NHL, but he has the tools needed to become a good RHD in a league starved for them. Good skating, good breakout pass, good physicality. He is a good, well rounded player who should only improve on this rookie campaign.

Brandon Davidson

Looks like he has picked up where he left off last year. I would consider myself to be his biggest fan on our board, so I won't speak about him too much. His ability to separate the puck from the opponent is something that I don't see too many other players in the NHL matching. I hate comparing middling NHL players to the greats, but the way he skates out there and the way he removes players from the puck reminds me of Nick Lidstrom. Obviously not as good of a skater, not as smooth, not as smart...not as good. Not even close. However, I do believe he has the potential to become a very efficient #2 or #3 guy. A Vlasic type defenceman. Hopefully he gets a bit faster next offseason and KEEPS SHOOTING THE PUCK. I love that about him. He shoots the puck more than any of our defencemen do, and he wires it to boot. Hope he stays healthy.

Oscar Klefbom

Klefbom has been mostly awful in my eyes. Advanced stats will tell you he is a top 10 defenceman in the NHL. He's barely a top 10 defenceman on the Edmonton Oilers. He skates well and looks like he is doing something sometimes, but his giveaway and brainfarts are so visible too. He is another player, like Eberle, that HfOil is split on. I think he has potential to be great given his tools, but his brain is really failing him.

Adam Larsson

As advertised. We've talked enough about him. Incredible defensively with a solid breakout pass and a mean streak. This guy loves hurting the opponent. It would be nice to see him get some PP looks...especially over Klefbom.

Darnell Nurse

Shame he got hurt, because he looked to be our best defenceman for a few games there before the injury. He looked to have taken a huge step in his development. He was passing the puck very well, and had already been great at skating the puck. He is another guy with a mean streak. I'm very excited to see what the future holds for Darnell because he is a rare type of player. Big, fast, and mean.

Kris Russell

The inverse of Klefbom. Advanced stats how him to be in the top 10 worst defencemen in the league, however we would all agree he has been a nice surprise, no? He skates very well and moves the puck very well. He plays physical when he needs to. I see no real flaws to his game other than he isn't putting up a lot of points. It will be interesting to see if he ends up playing here next year, and I would welcome him. He makes our defence better, not worse.

Andrej Sekera

Another player I thought was horrible last year, like Letestu. I know why Chiarelli needed to sign him, but I hated it. I couldn't stand how slow he moved the puck last year or how all he could muster was a weak wrist shot into the other teams shinpads. The shinpad assassin.

This year he is clearly our best defenceman. He is moving pucks quickly and even taking slapshots. His game improved mightily and I would ascribe that to him settling in as a #1 defender in the NHL. I love his game this year and he can always be relied upon.

Not to mention he may be the best 3v3 player of all time...

Click to read more...

 

[booyakasha]

Pretty good write up.
fairly accurate as well....as I would agree with your assessments.

 

[Aerchon]

Caguillia has been meh at best on the Oilers, needs to be sent down if possible, but does provide much needed bottom 6 depth moving forward.

Doubt he ever establishes himself as anything other than a bottom 6 depth guy.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Sekera is the same as last year, IMO.

Which is a good steady top4 D. He has played in more important situations this year and succeeded but he's still the same player IMO.

Last year he never had the support to succeed the way he does now.

Also,

I've come off the Russell wagon lately.

Can't get the puck out.

 

[McFlyingV]

I feel you've been somewhat too hard on certain players and more lenient on others. For example you crap on Lucic a bit for some of the poor aspects in his play, but when it comes to Maroon all he receives is praise. Now don't get me wrong, I love Maroon. But there was a solid 10 game stretch where he was losing pucks in the o-zone and coughing pucks up along the boards on the breakout (actually was the main reason for 2 of our last minute losses by poor board work to get the puck out). Both players have been fine. Lucic could bring a little more consistency for sure, but he's had a lot of good games this season. I think the biggest issue is his usage by McLellan. He doesn't mesh as well with McDavid as Maroon does, and he really shouldn't ever be out there in 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 hockey.

The other part I disagree with is the criticism of Klefbom, while praising Russell. Klefbom has made some boneheaded plays this year no question, but he moves the puck infinitely better than Russell and better than Larsson as well. He's made some bad defensive reads, but he's also made some great offensive reads.

As for Russell, its incredibly obvious why his advanced stats are poor (to my eye at least). He gives up the blue line easier than anyone on this team, but he limits guys to outer range shots and is exceptional at blocking. That alone is going to kill his Corsi. The other part is he still can't break up a cycle no matter how hard he tries (I commend his effort) and isn't overly effective at breaking the puck out. He's been a welcomed edition as he's an actual NHL dman and we needed another one, but calling him anything more than a good bottom pairing D at this point isn't really accurate. His one saving grace for me in terms of the eye test however, is that he makes a lot of good reactionary defensive plays on odd man rushes/broken plays and quite often breaks up plays that could have resulted in very dangerous scoring chances.

 

[McFlyingV]

Sekera is the same as last year, IMO.

Which is a good steady top4 D. He has played in more important situations this year and succeeded but he's still the same player IMO.

Last year he never had the support to succeed the way he does now.

Also,

I've come off the Russell wagon lately.

Can't get the puck out.

I think Sekera for the most part has been the same player as the 2nd half of last year, albeit playing more minutes. But I also think he has had more games this season where he turned in flawless performances. He's been rock solid all year, and even dominant in a sizeable portion of them.

 

[frag2]

Caguillia has been meh at best on the Oilers, needs to be sent down if possible, but does provide much needed bottom 6 depth moving forward.

Doubt he ever establishes himself as anything other than a bottom 6 depth guy.

If we could somehow merge Cagguilla's tenacity and hustle with Eberle's shot [when its actually decent], we'd have Martin St. Louis v2

 

[booyakasha]

I will be the first to eat crow on Sekera.
He's been a great Dman this year.

 

[Aerchon]

If we could somehow merge Cagguilla's tenacity and hustle with Eberle's shot [when its actually decent], we'd have Martin St. Louis v2

Lol. Would be nice.

Just not Eberles one timer. Pretty sure Cagguillia's is already significantly better

 

[frag2]

I will be the first to eat crow on Sekera.
He's been a great Dman this year.

When he's not shooting

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I think Sekera for the most part has been the same player as the 2nd half of last year, albeit playing more minutes. But I also think he has had more games this season where he turned in flawless performances. He's been rock solid all year, and even dominant in a sizeable portion of them.

Sure. Suppose his performances resulted in a soft goal and loss though. You probably don't remember Sekera being any good.

 

[Aerrol]

Always appreciate detailed thoughts on players, even if I disagree with some of them, so thanks for that.

Also, I definitely opened this thinking 'ugh, here we go, get ready to watch McDuul ramble even more about how bad Sekera is', so it's nice to see you changing your tune on the player. Have to disagree with you on his play last year one last time though. I don't think he's played that differently. He's just cleaned his game up and gotten some more support from the rest of the team.

In general, I disagree with almost all your defenceman assessments, lol.

Klefbom - Simply up and down, not 'mostly awful'. This has been discussed in the Advanced Stats thread, but he's definitely a victim of what I bet Sekera was last year for some people - a few glaring mistakes really colouring fans' memories of the player. Klef has had a few amazing games, and a lot of up and down ones so far. Only a few truly terrible games IMO. I still see the most potential in him of all our defencemen.

Nurse - 'best defencemen' isn't even close to it for me, but I do think he was showing some impressive improvement in his game before he got hurt. I was particularly happy to see that his offensive instincts were really starting to improve from his patented "skate in by himself and fire a useless shot at the goalie's chest' from last year. His offensive reads are a lot better.

Russell - I will admit that I have to eat some crow here as I loathed this pickup and he hasn't been bad. But I'd say his passing has taken a pretty huge dive from his early play (I was blown away by some of the passes he made the first few games), and he's very scrambly. Not really a fan still, but I can't deny he's a net positive on our blueline.
edit: McFlyingV did a much better breakdown of similar thoughts than me for Russell.

Davidson - Well. You are his biggest fan, so I won't gripe on this too much... but I don't see the Lidstrom comparison at all. I do see a steady 4/5 dman with a nice shot though. No real complaints about him from me.

Larsson - I agree with you here. I was surprised by how physical he has been, and have been pretty disappointed with his offensive play. I had been hoping that the Jersey fans praising his 'untapped offensive potential' were on to something, but I don't see it at all.

Benning - Also agree with you here good pickup and acquitted himself well. He's not more than a #7 dman right now, but he's young, definitely has some potential, and honestly shouldn't be expected to be more right now.

 

[MessierII]

What does Lucic have to do? Leading the team in hits and being up there in the league among forwards qualifies as "not hitting" being on pace for 50 some points essentially his career average qualifies as "not producing any offense" dominates along the boards but apparently doesn't. No idea what people expected but this is the same BS I heard about Sekera all of last year so I expect none the less from HF.

 

[Aerrol]

Making a part 2 for forwards so it's a little more broken down:

Our views are a lot closer here.

Drake - I agree, but I definitely want him down to get that top 6 time in. But I'm a big believer in making prospects dominate in the AHL/Jrs before bringing them back up. I feel it's much better for their confidence and thus ultimately development.

Draisaitl - The big thing for me is how his play goes the second half of this year. He was clearly exhausted to my eye by the second half of last year, and he's played extra games this year with the World Cup. He also still looks like he gets slower and clumsier by the end of some games (more than most players), so I have concerns that his conditioning still isn't there yet, even if improved. Otherwise, yup. Great surprise for the team.

Hendricks - I agree with you.

Kassian - Another pick-up I am eating crow on. I hated the pickup and he's actually been pretty great for us, while being less of a dirty PoS than I remember (though I suppose that Gagner high stick really coloured my memory). Definitely want to see him re-signed for cheap if we can.

Letestu - I'm right there with you on him. I was making stone-hands Letestu jokes left and right, and outright moaned when I saw him put on the PP, but you know what? He actually has acquitted himself pretty well. Also, he's Winnipeg's kryptonite, which is hilarious.

McDavid - Yup. We're blessed by McJesus.

RNH - I think so too. What really is blowing my mind is the difference in his play between the World Cup and now. What changed? He was garnering lots of praise league-wide for being one of Team NA's most dangerous forwards while still being good defensively. He was keeping up with MacKinnon and skating past Karlsson. What happened to that guy? He's looked slower and less sure of himself from pretty much the moment he put Oilers silks back on. His shot actually still looks good to me, so count me in as someone who'd love to see him play more wing with McDavid or Draisaitl to get some offense going.

Poolparty - Similar to Caggiula, I want him sent down yesterday. I frankly don't think he's been that good with McDavid, he just wasn't awful. And guess what - McDavid makes everyone look pretty good. I can only think of one game where I thought Pulju impressed me at both ends of the ice, though his defensive play has been better than expected. Definitely too raw for the NHL IMO.

Pitlick - Have to agree here too. Absolute shame he got injured yet again.

Maroon - I'm a fan, though I agree with the thought that you're too easy on him and too hard on Lucic. That said, I also think that Maroon is basically doing Lucic's 'job' (as I envisioned it anyways when we signed him) better than Lucic is: forechecking hard, disrupting play with good hits, and keeping up with McDavid. Seems prone to tiring out, and occasionally taking bad penalties.

Lucic - Definitely not earning his pay, but he's not been atrocious. A few thoughts - he hasn't been the player you describe from Boston for a few years now, and a bunch of us warned HFOil about that. He simply doesn't have the same wheels anymore. Continuing to expect that is going to lead to more disappointment. I also think his receipt of passes and puckhandling especially has been comical, but I think he's done a few things quite well that you didn't mention: his passing actually isn't that bad, and he's regularly setting up pretty good breakouts for us. He has been great at maintaining possession in the offensive zone once we're setup, and pretty good on the back-check too. I also have been surprised by his ability to occasionally turn on the jets to almost keep up with McDavid - this seems like the sign of a veteran who knows his limits. That said, I'd much rather he stick with RNH or Drai. Their pace is much better suited for him imo.

Pouliot - Did the penalty-taker decide to take the offseason to do nothing but drink? What the hell happened to the guy who looked like MacT's only good signing? He's taking dumber penalties, skating slower, and mishandling the puck. Count me as confused as to what happened to him.

Eberle - I saved the most contentious for last, but I'm honestly sick to death of the debates here. All I'll say is this: "until he learns how to skate twice as fast or learns how to win puck battles, he is not going to be a helpful piece to a team looking to win a cup." is just flat out wrong. You even cited the real problem earlier in your blurb - he's supposed to be our top finisher, and he's not potting goals. If he gets back to his scoring ways, he's a valuable piece for any team in this league. Just because he's somewhat overpaid and not a centrepiece of a team doesn't make him trash. It blows my mind that there are numerous people on HFOil who can't see this.

 

[Zguy370]

Eberle - I saved the most contentious for last, but I'm honestly sick to death of the debates here. All I'll say is this: "until he learns how to skate twice as fast or learns how to win puck battles, he is not going to be a helpful piece to a team looking to win a cup." is just flat out wrong. You even cited the real problem earlier in your blurb - he's supposed to be our top finisher, and he's not potting goals. If he gets back to his scoring ways, he's a valuable piece for any team in this league. Just because he's somewhat overpaid and not a centrepiece of a team doesn't make him trash. It blows my mind that there are numerous people on HFOil who can't see this.

The Gig is up with him,, this is the next biggest problem Chia needs to address, if this team is going to be a serious contender. Stitching an A on his Jersey was insanely stupid in Sept and 3 mths later the proof is in the pudding

 

[frag2]

RNH - I think so too. What really is blowing my mind is the difference in his play between the World Cup and now. What changed? He was garnering lots of praise league-wide for being one of Team NA's most dangerous forwards while still being good defensively. He was keeping up with MacKinnon and skating past Karlsson. What happened to that guy? He's looked slower and less sure of himself from pretty much the moment he put Oilers silks back on. His shot actually still looks good to me, so count me in as someone who'd love to see him play more wing with McDavid or Draisaitl to get some offense going.

I'm wondering if RNH whines to be a center ala Cogliano back then. I noticed in the last game, before Draisaitl was moved to McDavid's wing, RNH was centering the line the whole time despite doing a terrible job at it this season.

 

[Aerrol]

I'm wondering if RNH whines to be a center ala Cogliano back then. I noticed in the last game, before Draisaitl was moved to McDavid's wing, RNH was centering the line the whole time despite doing a terrible job at it this season.

Could be something there. He's definitely talked a lot in interviews about how much pride he takes in the centre position. That said, it's not THAT weird for McLellan to use his generally defensively sound centre who is our only real top 6 vet centre as a centre. It's definitely what most NHL coaches would do.

 

[frag2]

Could be something there. He's definitely talked a lot in interviews about how much pride he takes in the centre position. That said, it's not THAT weird for McLellan to use his generally defensively sound centre who is our only real top 6 vet centre as a centre. It's definitely what most NHL coaches would do.

I personally don't think he's that great defensively but that's just me watching. He tries hard but rarely gets results it seems. I still think he might carve a niche out as a winger/spot-duty center ala Hendricks but full time checking center he is not.

He definitely isn't doing himself or the team any favours with his lack of production as a center.

 

[Aerrol]

I personally don't think he's that great defensively but that's just me watching. He tries hard but rarely gets results it seems. I still think he might carve a niche out as a winger/spot-duty center ala Hendricks but full time checking center he is not.

He definitely isn't doing himself or the team any favours with his lack of production as a center.

Something about the team seems to crush offensive creativity, so I'm willing to give him a lot of leash to turn it around. I mean, yeah Drai and McDavid are bucking the trend, but Schultz melted down last year (and is now rebounding hard), Ebs looks worse, Pouliot looks worse, Gagner got worse over time, Yak peaked in his rookie season, Parjaarvi never progressed, even Hall slowed down in the second half of his last season here. I don't know WTF we're doing wrong but I'm willing to bet there's still a good top 6 Centre in RNH. Just maybe not with us :/.

 

[Bangers]

I personally don't think he's that great defensively but that's just me watching. He tries hard but rarely gets results it seems. I still think he might carve a niche out as a winger/spot-duty center ala Hendricks but full time checking center he is not.

He definitely isn't doing himself or the team any favours with his lack of production as a center.

He's been subpar defensively the past few months, but he's shown excellent defensive ability in the past. His whole game has been in the toilet this year.

 

[Asiaoil]

McDuul - pretty much agree on all points except Cagguila. He's small but fast and feisty - but is getting pounded in terms of possession. I like the player but he needs some seasoning in the AHL and I hope he gets it the 2nd half of this year. He would come to camp next season ready to make the team and contribute (in place of Eberle as our "small forward").

 

[bobbythebrain]

What does Lucic have to do? Leading the team in hits and being up there in the league among forwards qualifies as "not hitting" being on pace for 50 some points essentially his career average qualifies as "not producing any offense" dominates along the boards but apparently doesn't. No idea what people expected but this is the same BS I heard about Sekera all of last year so I expect none the less from HF.

I heard McDavid is making this guy. He's garbage otherwise

 

[harpoon]

I've come off the Russell wagon lately.

Can't get the puck out.

I just don't get it. I watched this guy move the puck for the Flames all day long.
He had me giddy with the way he was skating the puck out of the zone for the first ten games. Now? Nothing.
We know he can do it. But it seems like he's lost the ability to execute. How does that even happen?

I gave Sekera some complaints last year. He's been excellent the last twenty games.

Disagree with most of op 'love the kids, crap on the vets' evaluations.

 

[Vanqu1sh]

re: klefbom - I think he just needs to play more games, D aint easy, especially top4 20+ and all disciplines. He has very few pro games for his age.. I think the game will slow down for him some more and reads will become more natural.

 

[Stoneman89]

Pretty darned good writeup. Might be a couple points I mildly disagree with, but nothing major.