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Player Discussion: Mathew Barzal

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Glory Days

Glory Days

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doublechili said:
Remember the discussion/concern about Barzal's lack of goal-scoring in the WHL last year? He has 22 goals now and is scoring goals at a slightly higher rate than he did in the WHL last year.

He actually has a great shot, just with a somewhat limited range. He has great ability to elevate the puck, and his backhand is among the best in the league. He might not be able to bomb from outside, but his skating allows him to get in position closer in.
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Barzal is such a good passer that I think defensemen are looking for him to pass which opens up lanes to shoot.
 

scott99

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doublechili said:
Remember the discussion/concern about Barzal's lack of goal-scoring in the WHL last year? He has 22 goals now and is scoring goals at a slightly higher rate than he did in the WHL last year.

He actually has a great shot, just with a somewhat limited range. He has great ability to elevate the puck, and his backhand is among the best in the league. He might not be able to bomb from outside, but his skating allows him to get in position closer in.
Click to expand...
That first goal vs Philly last night was a thing of beauty, incredible change of direction and then a great shot. I thought his ceiling was 20 goals, and he goes ahead and does that in his rookie season.

He’s having an incredible rookie season. 8th rookie ever to record 60 assists, first since Crosby in 2005-06. First rookie since Malkin in 2006-07 to reach 80+ points. He’s in rarified air. He tied Mikael Renberg in 20th place alltime for rookie points in a season. Third best rookie season in Isle’s history behind Trottier’s 95 points and Bossy’s 91 points. Will be the 1st Islander to win rookie of the year, in 21 years. Bryan Bedard won it after the 1996-97.
 
PK Cronin

PK Cronin

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scott99 said:
That first goal vs Philly last night was a thing of beauty, incredible change of direction and then a great shot. I thought his ceiling was 20 goals, and he goes ahead and does that in his rookie season.
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That first goal was really nice and it exemplifies the issues defenders have against him. If they give him too much of a cushion he'll beat you by cutting against the grain. If they press him, they're going to be beaten by his speed or passing. It really takes multiple defenders or great angling in order to limit Barzal. If he can improve that shot to be deadly from just a few more feet out, he'll benefit immensely.
 
doublechili

doublechili

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Mr Misunderstood said:
I wouldn't be caught dead wearing those boots.
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The boots are one of the few things he's wearing that I actually would wear (although not really since the heel is kinda on the high side for my tastes).

Overall though, it does crack me up when I see celebs wearing at least a couple thousand dollars worth of clothing and it looks like they got most of it out of the "discard" box at Goodwill. :)
 
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Instant

Instant

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Surprising absolutely no one, but I guess it's worth making it official. Barzal with his well deserved Calder nomination.

 

BMOK33

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It’s a good thing winning this isn’t as much of a curse as winning best new artist at the Grammys is
 
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scott99

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BMOK33 said:
It’s a good thing winning this isn’t as much of a curse as winning best new artist at the Grammys is
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I loved when Chris Rock was host of the MTV music awards once. He mentioned the new artist curse, said some of these artists will be here today, gone today.
 
YearlyLottery

YearlyLottery

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CREW99AW said:
Let me be clear that this isn't a criticism of Barzal.I love what he brings to the isles. I do not mind cocky players or players who don't give cookie cutter answers.

Graziano works for wfan.
I found Graziano's comment that Boston is rumored to have passed on Barzal because of his cocky attitude interesting.

Graziano: Islanders' Barzal Exceeded All Expectations In Rookie Season
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In my psychology class my professor was talking about how he has a friend who is very cocky but it is okay because he is a pediatric surgeon. Barzal can be very cocky if he's putting up 80+ points per year.

This has got to be from the don't pick me and watch what happens comment though. What do you think?
 
LeapOnOver

LeapOnOver

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YearlyLottery said:
In my psychology class my professor was talking about how he has a friend who is very cocky but it is okay because he is a pediatric surgeon. Barzal can be very cocky if he's putting up 80+ points per year.

This has got to be from the don't pick me and watch what happens comment though. What do you think?
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Always been a fine line between cockiness and confidence. Also, I take those comments with a grain of salt. If you go over to the player tribune you'll see a post by a guy who was a former first round draft pick for MLB. He talks about how crazy the pressure is and how he ended up snapping at reporters because he got so fed up. Never know the context behind some of these statements....could have been a bad day. Could have been the last straw, who knows.

My idea on cockiness is there is absolutely nothing wrong with it as long as it's mixed with equal parts humility. Take JHS for example. He got demoted, and instead of being humble and introspective he made comments of the 'others being allowed to give the puck away' and 'last place team thinks I can't help them' ilk. That's not humility. Now if Barzal has a sophomore slump and comes back with things like 'I still had an amazing rookie campaign' or 'I won the Calder Trophy, what more do you want from me?' then we've got problems. However, I don't think that will be the case. His comments already let me know he learned a lot from JT and he knows that you have to be continuously improving in this league to be a star. I've got confidence he'll keep trying to improve.

Reading the JT article on NHL.com (really a great article) was heartbreaking in a way. Hearing that JT got down on himself after a bad season previously (when he obviously wasn't to blame) makes me think that for his personality it was so tough being an Islander. He's almost like a battered wife. I just hope he knows that the divorce is final and he can open is heart to a loving committed and supportive relationship again (damn this sounds cheezy). I hope the scars that Garth Snow left him can heal.
 
CREW99AW

CREW99AW

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YearlyLottery said:
In my psychology class my professor was talking about how he has a friend who is very cocky but it is okay because he is a pediatric surgeon. Barzal can be very cocky if he's putting up 80+ points per year.

This has got to be from the don't pick me and watch what happens comment though. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Yeah,I think Barzal likely made that "don't pick me and see how that works out for you " comment to Boston.

I came across Graziano's article while searching for another Barzal comment. Barzal had been asked about teams focusing on him and responded along the lines of viewing it as a challenge. There are couple of Barzal critics on the nhl board,with the oft repeated " he will struggle once teams focus on him". As if he flew under the radar and teams did not try to stop him from beating them :rolleyes:
 
BelovedIsles

BelovedIsles

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CREW99AW said:
Yeah,I think Barzal likely made that "don't pick me and see how that works out for you " comment to Boston.

I came across Graziano's article while searching for another Barzal comment. Barzal had been asked about teams focusing on him and responded along the lines of viewing it as a challenge. There are couple of Barzal critics on the nhl board,with the oft repeated " he will struggle once teams focus on him". As if he flew under the radar and teams did not try to stop him from beating them :rolleyes:
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Again that’s a complete misperception. Teams DID lock on to him by December; often top pairings were matched against his line (not JTs). Outside of his sublime skill, he’s very smart, driven, and confident; he will adapt to the opposition’s counters.

He still needs to get stronger, accustomed to NHL plays, improve his shot, and make better decisions when he has the puck on his stick 4 mins a clip. Imho this is his main area of growth.
 
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