Tomas Jurco (Re-signed to two year deal, post #301)

[T Low]

The people saying he should be sent down are the same people who hate when the Red Wings leave players in Grand Rapids too long.

I'm an example of your wrongness.

 

[Mijatovic]

I just dont see an awful lot with Jurco yet. At least with Tatar, he drives possession, creates chances. Jurco has maybe only had a couple of those moments in 10 games.

Jurco is probably lucky we dont have an option at the moment.

 

[Kyleftlx]

I just dont see an awful lot with Jurco yet. At least with Tatar, he drives possession, creates chances. Jurco has maybe only had a couple of those moments in 10 games.

Jurco is probably lucky we dont have an option at the moment.

Cleary?

 

[jaster]

It takes a special hockey IQ to translate that type of skill to the NHL, though. Datsyuk, Forsberg, etc. It might be tough for Jurco to put it all together at this level so the potential to disappoint is there. I don't think he'll be a 30 goal guy, but he does so much right he will always have a spot on an NHL roster.

This. And it's that simple. So far, the skill has not translated to the NHL level. Maybe it will in the future. Maybe it won't. But I think most people expected more skill to be on display by now than there has been.

As it is, there's still a wide range in terms of what he could turn out to be, from year to year. I think his floor is averaging around 35 points, and his ceiling is averaging around 65. So he'll probably end up somewhere in between.

I've always liked Jurco as a prospect, but I've never been quite as high on him as a lot of people. I think expectations got set unfairly high for him. If he turns out to be a 2nd-liner who goes 25-25 each year, I'll be very happy.

 

[jaster]

Right now, sending him down might not be a bad idea. The confidence just isn't there. He's too much of a perimeter player atm, and he can't be that if he's going to realize his potential.

 

[19 for president]

Its probably not a bad idea to send him down for a bit and let him hopefully dominate a lesser opponent. I don't want Babs to do to Jurco what he did to Flip, ie focus so much on D and two way play that his offensive game doesn't really develop.

I honestly think Jurco is so scared of being sent down right now that he is playing really safe to make sure Babs doesn't have an excuse to send him down.

With that said Tats didn't look great for the first 20 or so games that he played in last year either. Even Nyquist took awhile to get going. It may just take him a bit to figure things out.

 

[detredWINgs]

The people saying he should be sent down are the same people who hate when the Red Wings leave players in Grand Rapids too long.

These aren't really comparable situations. The reason people aren't happy with Jurco's play is ironically the same reason why he's in the NHL right now: Babcock loves size. So he's in the lineup because hes a big kid. But the reason people want him here is for his skill. Unfortunately, he's playing like a grinder right now, most likely because he's still too inexperienced to figure out how to marry his skill with his physicality. And if he has to choose one side to play up to it's going to be his size, not his skill. Because that's what Babs would prefer.

It's kind of troubling if you ask me, and part of the reason I wouldn't have minded Jurco starting in the AHL this year. I'd hate to see Babcock's "physicality first" attitude detract from Jurco developing his skill

 

[RedWingsForPresident]

I've never really been all that high on Jurco. I would say more than not that the "YouTube" players always seem to never have great NHL careers. I don't know what word to use to describe him but the only one I can think of is "timid". He never seems to want to battle for the puck and never comes in contact with anyone. Just my opinion though

I don't think he should be sent down by any means. He's definitely worthy of spot with who the options at forward are

 

[DanZ]

I've never really been all that high on Jurco. I would say more than not that the "YouTube" players always seem to never have great NHL careers. I don't know what word to use to describe him but the only one I can think of is "timid". He never seems to want to battle for the puck and never comes in contact with anyone. Just my opinion though

I don't think he should be sent down by any means. He's definitely worthy of spot with who the options at forward are

I think a lot of this comes down to confidence. People have to realize that he's the youngest prospect to play for the Wings in a long time. He will become a more aggressive and assertive player the more confidence he gains in his own abilities.

 

[Pavels Dog]

I've never really been all that high on Jurco. I would say more than not that the "YouTube" players always seem to never have great NHL careers. I don't know what word to use to describe him but the only one I can think of is "timid". He never seems to want to battle for the puck and never comes in contact with anyone. Just my opinion though

I don't think he should be sent down by any means. He's definitely worthy of spot with who the options at forward are

He's 2nd in hits on the team. He's physical and strong on the forecheck and good at battling for pucks. If anything the problem is he's not playing like a "Youtube player", because we're not seeing much of his stickhandling and scoring talent.

I think this thread is a bit funny, because this is exactly how I expected Jurco would play. He's young, he's still developing his game. Starting in GR wouldn't have been bad for him but saying that was like blasphemy in the offseason.

Still I think he's doing a lot more good things on the ice than he's getting credit for. Him and Nestrasil have been similar in that they're doing a lot of things right but they're not managing to get involved in a lot of scoring plays.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I've never really been all that high on Jurco. I would say more than not that the "YouTube" players always seem to never have great NHL careers. I don't know what word to use to describe him but the only one I can think of is "timid". He never seems to want to battle for the puck and never comes in contact with anyone. Just my opinion though

I don't think he should be sent down by any means. He's definitely worthy of spot with who the options at forward are

I very much disagree with this sentiment. What impresses me the most about him is his willingness to bang, especially on the forecheck. This was not part of his game at the AHL level.

I think there is no question that he is still trying to figure out how to be effective at the NHL game. He hasn't found a way to create time and space for himself. I think this is why we don't see him with the puck on his stick a ton (and consequently why he is now be labeled a "grinder"). He also looks like he is thinking a bit too much (for lack of a better word).

You can send him down to give him confidence, but I am not sure how it solves his primary problem with the NHL game and as others have said, it doesn't make the Wings better. Anyways, he is still very, very young, especially for the big club's roster. My money says that he figures it out.

 

[InjuredChoker]

He's 2nd in hits on the team. He's physical and strong on the forecheck and good at battling for pucks. If anything the problem is he's not playing like a "Youtube player", because we're not seeing much of his stickhandling and scoring talent.

I think this thread is a bit funny, because this is exactly how I expected Jurco would play. He's young, he's still developing his game. Starting in GR wouldn't have been bad for him but saying that was like blasphemy in the offseason.

Still I think he's doing a lot more good things on the ice than he's getting credit for. Him and Nestrasil have been similar in that they're doing a lot of things right but they're not managing to get involved in a lot of scoring plays.

there were lots of people who felt that they were fine with jurco starting in AHL. depending on how he plays in the camp, who we sign etc.

much different than what it was with tatar and nyquist.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

If I were coaching him, I'd tell him he needs to go to the net and he needs to shoot the damn puck. The guy has that Red Wing quality sometimes where he's content to wait all day and then try for some ridiculous deflection or a halfhearted backhand. All too often, he tries to keep the play behind him, which is just something you can't do in the NHL.

But I think his skill is definitely there, and he's every bit as skilled as people said back when he was drafted. At the risk of sounding Babcockian, he just hasn't adapted to playing in a men's league yet. He can't move people yet, and he's a player who needs to move people to reach his potential. Sheahan is pretty much the opposite... he's not nearly as purely skilled as Jurco, but he's a mountain of a guy and he moves defenders around whether they like it or not.

I think he just needs another year. Even though game-wise it doesn't exactly hold, I think he's mentally having a sophomore slump. Give him another season of learning to win battles and a big offseason in the gym and then he'll be the guy we want.

 

[VM1138]

If I were coaching him, I'd tell him he needs to go to the net and he needs to shoot the damn puck. ThTe guy has that Red Wing quality sometimes where he's content to wait all day and then try for some ridiculous deflection or a halfhearted backhand. All too often, he tries to keep the play behind him, which is just something you can't do in the NHL.

But I think his skill is definitely there, and he's every bit as skilled as people said back when he was drafted. At the risk of sounding Babcockian, he just hasn't adapted to playing in a men's league yet. He can't move people yet, and he's a player who needs to move people to reach his potential. Sheahan is pretty much the opposite... he's not nearly as purely skilled as Jurco, but he's a mountain of a guy and he moves defenders around whether they like it or not.

I think he just needs another year. Even though game-wise it doesn't exactly hold, I think he's mentally having a sophomore slump. Give him another season of learning to win battles and a big offseason in the gym and then he'll be the guy we want.

Considering Jurco hadn't shown progress, maybe it'd be best to send him down and use his spot as the rotating rookie spot. Would give us a chance to see how good or other kids are.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Why not send down Jurco and bring up Pulkkinen? Give him a bit of a look again.

 

[mikerooooose]

He needs to work on the basics of the game and putting the puck in the net and stop working on the garbage stick/puck tricks that have to practical use in the NHL.

I know plenty of guys in our beer hockey league that can do amazing things with the puck, but it never works in an actual game. They actually end up losing the puck more than the average player because they constantly put themselves in bad positions.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Why not send down Jurco and bring up Pulkkinen? Give him a bit of a look again.

i'll support this idea. i don't think he would be any worse than nestrasil.

and having RH shot on the pp would open up a lot more options.

 

[SirloinUB]

Why not send down Jurco and bring up Pulkkinen? Give him a bit of a look again.

Please can we do this. Jurco just isnt getting it done. 2 assists in 11 games is not up to snuff. Lets put him in the A, give him some time to find his game and take a look at our other assets.

 

[Winger98]

I very much disagree with this sentiment. What impresses me the most about him is his willingness to bang, especially on the forecheck. This was not part of his game at the AHL level.

I think there is no question that he is still trying to figure out how to be effective at the NHL game. He hasn't found a way to create time and space for himself. I think this is why we don't see him with the puck on his stick a ton (and consequently why he is now be labeled a "grinder"). He also looks like he is thinking a bit too much (for lack of a better word).

You can send him down to give him confidence, but I am not sure how it solves his primary problem with the NHL game and as others have said, it doesn't make the Wings better. Anyways, he is still very, very young, especially for the big club's roster. My money says that he figures it out.

It doesn't necessarily make them worse, either. I think we could plug Nestrasil into that same spot and get roughly the same thing, which doesn't reflect well on Jurco. Not entirely sure why we don't either play Jurco more - he's getting only, what, 12 minutes a night?) or send him to GR to play and ask someone else to go out, grind, and just be a big body.

 

[JPE123]

Why not send down Jurco and bring up Pulkkinen? Give him a bit of a look again.

I like this idea too. Pulks would give us a different look on the PP. I think Jurco is going to be a very solid NHL'er but maybe needs to find his game again.

 

[Flowah]

Right now, sending him down might not be a bad idea. The confidence just isn't there. He's too much of a perimeter player atm, and he can't be that if he's going to realize his potential.

I wouldn't call him a perimeter player. He's going hard to the right areas. He crashes the net and gets dirty in the corners.

i'll support this idea. i don't think he would be any worse than nestrasil.

If our callups' lower bounds are what Nestrasil has shown, I'll be very happy. Kid was solid. Not productive, but solid. And he had some chances in the last few games he was playing. Just couldn't bury it. But that was basically the story of our team so far.

 

[KasperTheGrittyGhost]

I've never really been all that high on Jurco. I would say more than not that the "YouTube" players always seem to never have great NHL careers. I don't know what word to use to describe him but the only one I can think of is "timid". He never seems to want to battle for the puck and never comes in contact with anyone. Just my opinion though

I don't think he should be sent down by any means. He's definitely worthy of spot with who the options at forward are

I couldn't disagree with your first point more. He was one of the better forecheckers on the team to my eyes during the stretch run last season. I think he's just snakebitten right now. Confidence is a huge part of his problem. I think once he gets a few bounces to go his way, we'll see more of what he can do.

Still think the kid is a top 6 winger, hitting 50+ point clip through his prime.

 

[jaster]

I wouldn't call him a perimeter player. He's going hard to the right areas. He crashes the net and gets dirty in the corners.

I love his game on the boards and in the corners, he doesn't shy away from contact there, and he wins battles. But he's still being a perimeter player; when the puck is on his stick, he dumps and chases, or fires a long, useless shot hoping for a rebound. He doesn't drive the net with the puck like I've seen him do in juniors and GR and even in Detroit last year, occasionally.

 

[Claypool]

I love his game on the boards and in the corners, he doesn't shy away from contact there, and he wins battles. But he's still being a perimeter player; when the puck is on his stick, he dumps and chases, or fires a long, useless shot hoping for a rebound. He doesn't drive the net with the puck like I've seen him do in juniors and GR and even in Detroit last year, occasionally.

He's playing too safe, which isn't exciting for some for a guy of his skill level. He's not going to dangle people for fear of turning the puck over. That's not how you win points with Babcock. I mean, it'd be nice if he was scoring, but he's playing a good 200-foot game right now. He just needs to be more confident offensively and the points will come. I'm not worried.

 

[KasperTheGrittyGhost]

I've never really been all that high on Jurco. I would say more than not that the "YouTube" players always seem to never have great NHL careers. I don't know what word to use to describe him but the only one I can think of is "timid". He never seems to want to battle for the puck and never comes in contact with anyone. Just my opinion though

I don't think he should be sent down by any means. He's definitely worthy of spot with who the options at forward are

I couldn't disagree with your first point more. He was one of the better forecheckers on the team to my eyes during the stretch run last season. I think he's just snakebitten right now. Confidence is a huge part of his problem. I think once he gets a few bounces to go his way, we'll see more of what he can do.

Still think the kid is a top 6 winger, hitting 50+ point clip through his prime.