Patrick Eaves?

[st_roland]

I taped the ESPN2 re-broadcast of the WJC gold medal game and just watched it. I gotta say i was impressed with the play of eaves. It surprised me because I heard a lot of negative remarks regarding his play in that tournament. Am I just over-rating him, or was his play in that game signifigantly better than the rest of the tournament?? I saw a lot of shifty stickwork, hustle, good hockey sense on a few passes he made. He also powered through some defenders and I didnt notice any mental errors, what do y'all think of him?? I think ottawa has got a top-six forward. Very mature for 18.

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[Rabid Ranger]

I taped the ESPN2 re-broadcast of the WJC gold medal game and just watched it. I gotta say i was impressed with the play of eaves. It surprised me because I heard a lot of negative remarks regarding his play in that tournament. Am I just over-rating him, or was his play in that game signifigantly better than the rest of the tournament?? I saw a lot of shifty stickwork, hustle, good hockey sense on a few passes he made. He also powered through some defenders and I didnt notice any mental errors, what do y'all think of him?? I think ottawa has got a top-six forward. Very mature for 18.

I think it was Pierre Maguire who called Eaves the "smartest U.S. forward", and you can see why by his play. He thinks the game very well, and coupled with a nice skill set and a tenacious attitude, and you get a player that should be on one of the top two lines for Ottawa in the future.

 

[L3DZ3P]

I think it was Pierre Maguire who called Eaves the "smartest U.S. forward", and you can see why by his play. He thinks the play very well, and coupled with a nice skill set and a tenacious attitude, and you get a player that should be on one of the top two lines for Ottawa in the future.

Hum i doubt he will ever be a top 2 lines player for Ottawa.

 

[AJ1982]

Hum i doubt he will ever be a top 2 lines player for Ottawa.

I don't know, the kid has skills and he's not as small as I thought he was during his draft year (did he grow?). I think he has a legitimate crack at landing a top two line job with an NHL team, even if it's not Ottawa.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Hum i doubt he will ever be a top 2 lines player for Ottawa.

Then he won't play in Ottawa, because he's not a 3rd line player. He's very similar to Mike York with more of an edge.

 

[Sticky*]

I think he looks like a more skilled version of current Ottawa forward Mike Fisher.

 

[MHJS]

Then he won't play in Ottawa, because he's not a 3rd line player. He's very similar to Mike York with more of an edge.

Actually, he could play in Ottawa. Spezza and Havlat play 3rd line.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Actually, he could play in Ottawa. Spezza and Havlat play 3rd line.

Yeah, that's true. I was thinking in the long term, but you're right, for the first few years he would pull third line duty.

 

[Canadian]

I taped the ESPN2 re-broadcast of the WJC gold medal game and just watched it. I gotta say i was impressed with the play of eaves. It surprised me because I heard a lot of negative remarks regarding his play in that tournament. Am I just over-rating him, or was his play in that game signifigantly better than the rest of the tournament?? I saw a lot of shifty stickwork, hustle, good hockey sense on a few passes he made. He also powered through some defenders and I didnt notice any mental errors, what do y'all think of him?? I think ottawa has got a top-six forward. Very mature for 18.

Actually, he is 19, he was born in 1984. I agree with you though, it wasn't a shocker that he was first round material, the only reason why he wasn't mentioned as much last year in terms of going first round was because of his size and the fact that he was injured or suspended for a good part of the NCAA season. Eaves had an amazing start to his freshman season last year before ending up injured in a freak accident. There was rumour that the New Jersey Devils would draft Eaves, but when Parise fell in the draft, it was a no brainer for Jersey to draft Parise. Anyways, just thought I would clarify his age.