Player Discussion Rudolfs Balcers - LW

[BatherSeason]

Maybe we'll get lucky though and some of our big players can turn into some of your favourites from years gone by like Buddy Robinson, Jakub Culek, Dave Dziurzynski and Derek Grant. Then we'll be sitting pretty.

Don't forget Ben Harpur and Jared Cowen.

 

[aragorn]

It is a physical game. Thanks for pointing that out.

Being quick, fast and talented are all physical traits. Some players use size to be effective, others use speed, yet others use skill. Almost all have to have smarts to excel in the NHL.

Smaller players don't need to consistently score to be effective. Pageau is fantastic without the puck, for example. Mitch Marner, ditto. If they do things that make us have, or finish, more chances than the other team does they are effective. Period. It doesn't matter if they don't hit. What matters is the puck. Hitting, like skating is a tool for getting or keeping the puck.

As for comparing Dahlen to Balcers? As lazy a comparison as it gets. Both slightly undersized and both European. The similarities kind of end there. Balcers is the same age as Dahlen, give or take a few months, and has outperfromed him at every level. He's also had a pretty nice season in the WHL, which last I checked is the most physical junior league in the world. Comparing Balcers to Dahlen would be basically the same as me saying Logan Brown is going to be Joe Colborne, Nick Paul is going to be Hugh Jessiman and Drake Batherson is the next Denis Hamel. Big players never make it but they're OK in the AHL. It's making easy, generalized statements on players based on their size and a very vague set of skills. And it doesn't work.

Maybe we'll get lucky though and some of our big players can turn into some of your favourites from years gone by like Buddy Robinson, Jakub Culek, Dave Dziurzynski and Derek Grant. Then we'll be sitting pretty.

I just don't see where Balcers fits in on any future Sens team at forward given the prospects they have now & who they could draft in the next two drafts. My guess is that like Dahlen it's more likely he will be moved at some point.

 

[Tuna99]

I just don't see where Balcers fits in on any future Sens team at forward given the prospects they have now & who they could draft in the next two drafts. My guess is that like Dahlen it's more likely he will be moved at some point.

forward depth has always been weak since we traded Heatley, why would be taking prospects who look like they have solid NHL careers ahead of them and pretending they won't amount to anything, feels like a big time Jakob Silferberg mindset

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I just don't see where Balcers fits in on any future Sens team at forward given the prospects they have now & who they could draft in the next two drafts. My guess is that like Dahlen it's more likely he will be moved at some point.

That may end being the case, but it won't be because he's small or soft. It'll be because we have better players.

But it would be pretty damn silly to make that decision right now (as you seem to have) given how well he's produced at every level, including the NHL in the closing weeks of last season. Heck, even his 14 points in 36 games as a rookie last year is pretty good. Compares favourably to guys like Couture, Rackell and William Karlsson at the start of their NHL careers.

 

[BatherSeason]

That may end being the case, but it won't be because he's small or soft. It'll be because we have better players.

But it would be pretty damn silly to make that decision right now (as you seem to have) given how well he's produced at every level, including the NHL in the closing weeks of last season. Heck, even his 14 points in 36 games as a rookie last year is pretty good. Compares favourably to guys like Couture, Rackell and William Karlsson at the start of their NHL careers.

Well, if they continue to play him on the 4th line in a sheltered, limited role as they did the other night, he won't produce and his hot streak will have evaporated and his confidence will be shot by the time he gets sent back down to Belleville. If you aren't gonna play Balcers, leave him in Belleville and call up Beaudin. Seems simple enough. Gotta protect the tank while ensuring a playoff position in Belleville.

 

[aragorn]

That may end being the case, but it won't be because he's small or soft. It'll be because we have better players.

But it would be pretty damn silly to make that decision right now (as you seem to have) given how well he's produced at every level, including the NHL in the closing weeks of last season. Heck, even his 14 points in 36 games as a rookie last year is pretty good. Compares favourably to guys like Couture, Rackell and William Karlsson at the start of their NHL careers.

Maybe it will be because he is small & soft if this coach wants a bigger tougher team, neither one of us knows for sure, I just gave my opinion. The problem with comparing him to players who have succeeded is that he is not those players & nobody knows what he will become in the NHL, it's all conjecture on our part. IMO he is NHL ready, but since I don't want him on this team I would like to see him moved in a package in order to upgrade a position of weakness. I doubt him alone gets us very much but maybe packaged with another player or asset helps improve the team.

 

[aragorn]

Well, if they continue to play him on the 4th line in a sheltered, limited role as they did the other night, he won't produce and his hot streak will have evaporated and his confidence will be shot by the time he gets sent back down to Belleville. If you aren't gonna play Balcers, leave him in Belleville and call up Beaudin. Seems simple enough. Gotta protect the tank while ensuring a playoff position in Belleville.

I think calling them up even in a limited role can be beneficial since for the time he is up here he earns a lot more money & most people can use more money. The experience also helps & they learn what they need to work on to improve. He may not be hurting for money, but most people love to get a bigger pay cheque & sock it away for a rainy date or like a lot of young guys blow it on an expensive vehicle. haha

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Well, if they continue to play him on the 4th line in a sheltered, limited role as they did the other night, he won't produce and his hot streak will have evaporated and his confidence will be shot by the time he gets sent back down to Belleville. If you aren't gonna play Balcers, leave him in Belleville and call up Beaudin. Seems simple enough. Gotta protect the tank while ensuring a playoff position in Belleville.

I agree of you call these guys up because they deserve a chance and a look.. give them a couple games with decent minutes at least. Anyway on the road vs the Caps it won't get better. Smith wants to win every game which he should as a coach but as an organization we have to see what these guys have .. if they play there way on to the team and the plan isn't to keep them there and let them grow into a role, just keep them down.

As a player I would hate being called up to be short shifted and changed out on every dzone draw not caused by an icing and given next to no shifts when we are ahead by a goal or down by a goal and then get told to go work on something when they send you back down to play Sabourin

 

[BatherSeason]

Maybe it will be because he is small & soft if this coach wants a bigger tougher team

This is the same coach who continues to play Tyler Ennis in every single situation imaginable, even when he shouldn't.

 

[BatherSeason]

I think calling them up even in a limited role can be beneficial since for the time he is up here he earns a lot more money & most people can use more money. The experience also helps & they learn what they need to work on to improve. He may not be hurting for money, but most people love to get a bigger pay cheque & sock it away for a rainy date or like a lot of young guys blow it on an expensive vehicle. haha

Balcers was the hottest player in the American Hockey League, now he gets saddled with 4th line minutes and 4th line linemates and he will be returned to the AHL nice and cold.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Maybe it will be because he is small & soft if this coach wants a bigger tougher team, neither one of us knows for sure, I just gave my opinion. The problem with comparing him to players who have succeeded is that he is not those players & nobody knows what he will become in the NHL, it's all conjecture on our part. IMO he is NHL ready, but since I don't want him on this team I would like to see him moved in a package in order to upgrade a position of weakness. I doubt him alone gets us very much but maybe packaged with another player or asset helps improve the team.

Really? After you compared him to Dahlen for no reason other than his size and the continent on which he was born?

So it's OK to compare him to a guy who "failed" because they both were born in Europe and are 5'11. However it's problematic to compare his statistics in the same league and same era to players who have gone on to do well in the NHL. Gotcha.

Yeah you showed me you're objective and unbiased in your assessment of these players.

 

[HSF]

I just don't see where Balcers fits in on any future Sens team at forward given the prospects they have now & who they could draft in the next two drafts. My guess is that like Dahlen it's more likely he will be moved at some point.

what future team? How do you know who will make it at the NHL level? Weird thing to say when we are one of the worst teams in the league with barely any top 9 forwards

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Really? After you compared him to Dahlen for no reason other than his size and the continent on which he was born?

So it's OK to compare him to a guy who "failed" because they both were born in Europe and are 5'11. However it's problematic to compare his statistics in the same league and same era to players who have gone on to do well in the NHL. Gotcha.

Yeah you showed me you're objective and unbiased in your assessment of these players.

You're catching on.

 

[The Worst One]

Stop putting down my boy Rudy or else. He's gonna be an effective nhler and that's all there is to it.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Solid 3rd liner imo. Don't see the issue with his size in that spot. I'll be surprised if he ends up consistent enough to be more of a top 6 forward.

 

[DrEasy]

Stop putting down my boy Rudy or else. He's gonna be an effective nhler and that's all there is to it.

And I wouldn't mess with @The Worst One . He's got no teeth left, and so nothing to lose.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Balcers had a better showing today than his last two games. He has shown some positive signs but I am skeptical of his upside based on his performance at the NHL level. I think he is a surefire NHL player but I am skeptical that he will be more than a 3rd liner. He isn't particularly fast; maybe it is an issue of acceleration because even in short distances he doesn't get there very quickly. He is also a bit undersized; the majority of NHL players are 200 lbs+ so Balcers being only 180 lbs is a bit on the small side, relatively speaking. He has good puck skills and makes and receives passes with ease. His shot is good but not great. His biggest strength seems to be his hockey IQ and even there I don't necessarily think he is elite. He makes a lot of smart plays and is solid positionally but I am not wowed by his hockey sense. I was wowed by Mark Stone's hockey sense and I don't see Balcers as having hockey IQ on that level.

Being a bit smaller I would prefer if Balcers had better speed and acceleration. Or with his current speed/acceleration I would prefer for him to have a bit more size. I don't think he will be an impactful player from a physical standpoint. He isn't much of a hitter and if he was faster or bigger he would have a greater capacity to make more of an impact physically. He will put up points at the NHL level but I don't think his shot will allow him to be a high end goal scorer. At this point I don't think in the long run he is an ideal player to play in the top six. I think he would be capable of playing with top six players I just don't think he would contribute as much as other players on a high end team. So I see him more as a smart third line type that can move up and down the lineup.

I think what would be best for Balcers is to put on some muscle mass. He should get up to around 200 lbs. Daniel Alfredsson was listed at 5'11 200 lbs and Henrik Zetterberg was listed at 6' 197 lbs. I don't think Balcers will ever be like those two but I do think that in order for him to be somewhat comparable to them he will need to get bigger and stronger. I also think that the added muscle mass will help improve his acceleration.

I am basing this off a small sample size so far so I will keep an eye on his play and see how he performs over the next bit and update my assessment accordingly.

 

[supsens]

Balcers was the hottest player in the American Hockey League, now he gets saddled with 4th line minutes and 4th line linemates and he will be returned to the AHL nice and cold.

The fourth liners are better than anyone he is playing with in the AHL soo there is that. And who cares if he was “hot” he wants to be an NHL player they want him to be an NHL player they don’t want him to suck and be sent down ever..

 

[Burrowsaurus]

The fourth liners are better than anyone he is playing with in the AHL soo there is that

Mm no not relatively speaking. The top line in the ahl is dominant vs other ahl teams. Fourth liners in the nhl are not dominant against nhl competition. Also. Fourth line nhlers arent usually first liners in the ahl

thay being said he doesn’t necessarily look ready but he can’t keep playing in the A. We need to just force him out there at this point sink or swim

 

[supsens]

Mm no not relatively speaking. The top line in the ahl is dominant vs other ahl teams. Fourth liners in the nhl are not dominant against nhl competition. Also. Fourth line nhlers arent usually first liners in the ahl

thay being said he doesn’t necessarily look ready but he can’t keep playing in the A. We need to just force him out there at this point sink or swim

Umm if you havn’t noticed the first liners we call up are not better than anyone on the team. There is a large gap from the AHL to the NHL it’s a big step and lots of those guys don’t make it.
If they were better than teams current fourth liners they would be in the NHL not the AHL.
You should check out the top AHL scorers the last few years. It’s a real who? Of who’s

 

[Sweatred]

I agree of you call these guys up because they deserve a chance and a look.. give them a couple games with decent minutes at least. Anyway on the road vs the Caps it won't get better. Smith wants to win every game which he should as a coach but as an organization we have to see what these guys have .. if they play there way on to the team and the plan isn't to keep them there and let them grow into a role, just keep them down.

As a player I would hate being called up to be short shifted and changed out on every dzone draw not caused by an icing and given next to no shifts when we are ahead by a goal or down by a goal and then get told to go work on something when they send you back down to play Sabourin

You would also hate making $85G in Belleville, ON when you could probably at least double that in the KHL or other Euro city. Getting these guys some money is a big part of these callups.

 

[The Worst One]

Just watched a video where DJ spoke about how Balcers is doing since being recalled from Belleville. From what I gathered, he doesn't like Rudy. Hopefully he can get out of DJ's doghouse.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

forward depth has always been weak since we traded Heatley, why would be taking prospects who look like they have solid NHL careers ahead of them and pretending they won't amount to anything, feels like a big time Jakob Silferberg mindset

forward depth wont be an issue soon though? defensive depth will be though. how many forwards do you expect us to carry and keep happy?

balcers is behind this years first , tkatchuk, formenton. Paul on LW. on RW theres Batherson and again poentialy this years first. I dont think baclers is good enough o consistently be in our top 6. I mean we can have a future third line of formenton - white - balcers maybe?

 

[Icelevel]

Has been a “force to be reckoned with” this year. Just like Crawford predicted.

 

[Micklebot]

You would also hate making $85G in Belleville, ON when you could probably at least double that in the KHL or other Euro city. Getting these guys some money is a big part of these callups.

He has a 92k signing bonus, so his total compensation even if he only plays in the AHL is actually around 162 k which is competitive with anything he'd likely get in Europe.