Player Discussion: Prospects Off Season ... including Gauthier
- Thread starter BertCorbeau
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It is much easier for a center to play wing that it is for a winger to play center. Center is the best position to have too many players for.
BlueBaron
Registered User
You are going to upset a lot of people by suggesting his Marnerness is not to be a C.
I think it all boils down to who plays best. If Marner and Nylander become point a game Centres then Kadri needs to match that to stay in the game .
He is too highly paid to be a 3rd line C IMO and really too small (oh I know size doesn't matter
except it does). We either trade him or shift one of them to wing. Usually the best players keep the C job so who will that be ? I'm sure we all want to hope Nylander and Marner will be better than Kadri but there is a lot of time yet for this story to unfold.
I think it all boils down to who plays best. If Marner and Nylander become point a game Centres then Kadri needs to match that to stay in the game .
He is too highly paid to be a 3rd line C IMO and really too small (oh I know size doesn't matter
except it does). We either trade him or shift one of them to wing. Usually the best players keep the C job so who will that be ? I'm sure we all want to hope Nylander and Marner will be better than Kadri but there is a lot of time yet for this story to unfold.
RyanOhReally
Registered User
I hope we're in the position where this is a problem. But Nylander and Marner have enough wing experience to just move over to fit in our Top 6. I hope Kadri proves us all wrong this year and turns into a 2-way, 60-70 point, 1C. He has the potential to.
JVR - Kadri - Brown
Nylander - Marner - Kapanen
That could very well be our Top 6 in a year or two. (It wont because stuff happens but still)
JVR - Kadri - Brown
Nylander - Marner - Kapanen
That could very well be our Top 6 in a year or two. (It wont because stuff happens but still)
I like the idea of Nylander playing center. That actually really solves a lot of our problems going forward.
I also think that if we actually run 4 lines, there's no reason the 3rd line C can't be a quality player. Kadri might even be more effective on a third line because I think his game is much better against weaker opponents. IIRC, Kadri was on the third line during the short season where him and Frattin racked up all those points behind Bozak and Grabo.
It also depends on whether they think they can sign someone like Stamkos. If they want to go with Stmakos - Nylander - Holland - Gauthier ... then there's no room for either Marner or Kadri. (Babcock might even like Bozak as the number 3 going forward).
For this coming year, I think Marner should play center in the OHL because that gives him a greater chance to dominate down there. But I wouldn't mind if we got the coach to play him for 1/3 of his games on wing too. Even if he plays center in the OHL, there's no reason he couldn't shift to playing wing when he plays for the Leafs or the Marlies.
Ultimately, I think it might be better to have Marner as a winger. With Kessel gone, we're pretty weak on RW.
Our two best forward prospects by a mile are Marner and Nylander. It might be a good idea for those two to be line-mates going forward and hope they develop some chemistry. And from what I know about about these two players, Nylander will probably make a better center than Marner.
I also think that if we actually run 4 lines, there's no reason the 3rd line C can't be a quality player. Kadri might even be more effective on a third line because I think his game is much better against weaker opponents. IIRC, Kadri was on the third line during the short season where him and Frattin racked up all those points behind Bozak and Grabo.
It also depends on whether they think they can sign someone like Stamkos. If they want to go with Stmakos - Nylander - Holland - Gauthier ... then there's no room for either Marner or Kadri. (Babcock might even like Bozak as the number 3 going forward).
For this coming year, I think Marner should play center in the OHL because that gives him a greater chance to dominate down there. But I wouldn't mind if we got the coach to play him for 1/3 of his games on wing too. Even if he plays center in the OHL, there's no reason he couldn't shift to playing wing when he plays for the Leafs or the Marlies.
Ultimately, I think it might be better to have Marner as a winger. With Kessel gone, we're pretty weak on RW.
Our two best forward prospects by a mile are Marner and Nylander. It might be a good idea for those two to be line-mates going forward and hope they develop some chemistry. And from what I know about about these two players, Nylander will probably make a better center than Marner.
Canada4Gold
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- Dec 22, 2010
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newsflash: Centers can play wing if you have too many of them. There's also no such thing as too many.
) Many, many things can change by then
Canada4Gold
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- Dec 22, 2010
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you also don't know if they will all reach their ceiling. You don't just take 1 center with a #1 ceiling and be all, we got our #1C no reason to draft anymore now. If you have 3 then there greater your chances of having that elite 1C and if the other work out great, play 1 at 2C and 1 on the wing.
edwardslane
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- Aug 6, 2010
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If Matt finn can bounce back after a very underwhelming +2 draft year I'd would be awesome for our D prospects moving forward. This guy was projected to be a 1st rounder and fell off.. Has potential and the tools to be a top 4 guy.. Especially with improved skating and conditioning.
The league has become a top 9, not a top 6. Having 3 good centers is EXACTLY what we need. Although they would play on separate lines ES, there is nothing stopping us from having them play together on the PP or maybe PK or even putting all 3 on the same line when down by a goal late in the game. If each plays 13-14 minutes ES TOI and then 2-6 minutes each on the PP + PK, everyone is still getting plenty of ice time.
That said, teams players change often, injuries happen, and people don't always develop to their potential. IF Marner + Nylander both stick at center and IF both develop to or near their potential, we are still talking 3+ years away. We can't even be certain Kadri is still on our team 3 years from now.
That said, teams players change often, injuries happen, and people don't always develop to their potential. IF Marner + Nylander both stick at center and IF both develop to or near their potential, we are still talking 3+ years away. We can't even be certain Kadri is still on our team 3 years from now.
Pyrophorus
Registered User
For year we have been screaming about our C depth
I for one am glad to have it...and keep it.
Just like I would've been in favour of keeping Gardiner, Rielly and Hanifin.
I for one am glad to have it...and keep it.
Just like I would've been in favour of keeping Gardiner, Rielly and Hanifin.
I think he will. He is a motivated kid and is working extremely hard to get back to the level that he is capable of and has shown
Right now none of them are elite. If one becomes "elite" that would be nice. If some miracle happens and they all become "elite" it's an easy problem to fix.
Pyrophorus
Registered User
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
The CyNick
Freedom of Speech!
- Sep 17, 2009
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Why dont we wait to see IF Marner and/or Nylander can actually hack it as an NHL centres, nevermind good ones.
Let's re-visit this in exactly 3 years.
Let's re-visit this in exactly 3 years.
Jimmy Firecracker
They Fired Sheldon!
Exactly. It'd be glorious if they all become elite, and it's not like any of them would look out of place on the wing.
This conversation though is very early as mentioned. We need to see how Marner and Nylander adapt to being full time centres, and see if Kadri can step up and cement his place as a part of the teams core.
How many centers did Team Canada had in the Olympics?
It is easier for Center to play wing than vice versa.
It is easier for Center to play wing than vice versa.
LaPlante94
Registered User
- Apr 12, 2011
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garce
Registered User
Yup, big skill centre, small skill centre, big puck moving D, small puck moving d, skill and more skill. Anyone can move to the wing you don't have to teach less responsibility.
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