joshjull
Registered User
I don't think he's a bust, but I'd still take 10-to-1 odds that he's in Rochester to start the year. This camp is a chance to develop for him.
Agreed. I really hope all the work he did this summer translates to the ice
I don't think he's a bust, but I'd still take 10-to-1 odds that he's in Rochester to start the year. This camp is a chance to develop for him.
That's where he should be unless he blows the doors off the competition. The prospects this team has is ridiculous if he pans out. Add 3 firsts next year, sheesh.I don't think he's a bust, but I'd still take 10-to-1 odds that he's in Rochester to start the year. This camp is a chance to develop for him.
There's a little more nuance to the opinions of people who are down on Alex than you're assumingAll you guys who think Alex is a bust is going to get a rude awakening!
He was really good at WJC. He is 20...so calling him a "bust" right now is just ridiculous. I remember when Vic Hedman came to NHL...guy looked like he didn´t belong. But today everyone know who he is.
I´m not a Sabres fan...but will catch some games to see how Dahlin AND Nylander is doing. You guys got a future team....i expect Mittlestadt to break out this year...and maybe that Olofsson kid...he looked pretty good. What a future team you guys have!
And that is?There's a little more nuance to the opinions of people who are down on Alex than you're assuming
Physically, there are no questions. Nylander is healthy and monstrous. He looks like a power forward rather than the slick-handed playmaker who made former GM Tim Murray salivate.
It's not simply that the skill hasn't been there - 18 goals in 117 games since being drafted. We understand that prospects can start slow and some take years to become NHL-ready, so nobody is completely writing him off.And that is?
He was hurt last year.It's not simply that the skill hasn't been there - 18 goals in 117 games since being drafted. We understand that prospects can start slow and some take years to become NHL-ready, so nobody is completely writing him off.
But underneath that production, there hasn't been a player with a burning desire to score more, to play better. Consistent reporting on this forum and others from people who have seen him play dozens of games over the last two years is that he doesn't have the on-ice drive that propels people with limited skill into an NHL lineup. This drive hasn't gotten better over time, it's been exactly the same. I get my posts edited for saying this so I shouldn't, but internally the organizational view is that they'll be surprised if he ever becomes an NHL player, despite what they say to cameras, because they see it too. They aren't benching him in AHL playoff games because he can't compete - as you can see on instagram, the dude is in incredible shape and isn't too small/overwhelmed by the league - it's because he WON'T compete when he's on the ice. He shies away from the play, from the puck, from contact. He floats and plays disinterested hockey, and no matter how silky his mitts are in warmups, 18 goals in 117 games is not a level of skill that overcomes a lack of on-ice engagement that has been consistent of him since the first game after he was drafted, and followed him to being healthy-scratched for his most recent on-ice action, AHL playoff games, solely because of it.
He could turn around this fundamental aspect of who he is as a player, but a betting man wouldn't put money on it, so many fans are rightly skeptical. At the same time, anything is possible, so there's no harm in keeping him around and hoping.
But it's not simply that his production has been limited in AHL action. He needs to fundamentally change and we won't believe it until we see it because that's a switch that demonstrably rarely gets switched at this stage of the game.
It's not simply that the skill hasn't been there - 18 goals in 117 games since being drafted. We understand that prospects can start slow and some take years to become NHL-ready, so nobody is completely writing him off.
But underneath that production, there hasn't been a player with a burning desire to score more, to play better. Consistent reporting on this forum and others from people who have seen him play dozens of games over the last two years is that he doesn't have the on-ice drive that propels people with limited skill into an NHL lineup. This drive hasn't gotten better over time, it's been exactly the same. I get my posts edited for saying this so I shouldn't, but internally the organizational view is that they'll be surprised if he ever becomes an NHL player, despite what they say to cameras, because they see it too. They aren't benching him in AHL playoff games because he can't compete - as you can see on instagram, the dude is in incredible shape and isn't too small/overwhelmed by the league - it's because he WON'T compete when he's on the ice. He shies away from the play, from the puck, from contact. He floats and plays disinterested hockey, and no matter how silky his mitts are in warmups, 18 goals in 117 games is not a level of skill that overcomes a lack of on-ice engagement that has been consistent of him since the first game after he was drafted, and followed him to being healthy-scratched for his most recent on-ice action, AHL playoff games, solely because of it.
He could turn around this fundamental aspect of who he is as a player, but a betting man wouldn't put money on it, so many fans are rightly skeptical. At the same time, anything is possible, so there's no harm in keeping him around and hoping.
But it's not simply that his production has been limited in AHL action. He needs to fundamentally change and we won't believe it until we see it because that's a switch that demonstrably rarely gets switched at this stage of the game.
Thank you for for elaborate answer. Still, there are plenty of players who did not live up tp the hype immidiately. Eichel (to name one of your own), the twins in Vancouver...and so on and so on.
He is young....i don´t think his drive has nothing to do with him not wanting it....i think it´s a confidence issue. His father and brother have HUGE confidence. He, is so nervous and akward in inreviews....but underneath that...there is some serious elite level skills. Give him some time...his confidence will grow...and will be a 1:st liner. I belive that he will crack the lineup this year.
So any injury now to a player and we just excuse them all year? His issues were not injury related because they were the same issues as the year before.He was hurt last year.
Not all fans give prospects time to develop. Mainly due to draft position. Impatience is pervasive for some.
You see, if you are drafted in the top 10 of any draft, then gosh darn it (slaps knee) you should be able to contribute in a big way on the big club right away. And if you don’t, then the doubts start to creep in for some fans. Then if you don’t do well the following year, then Jesus, Mary and Joseph! You are the beginnings of a bust. And heaven forbid, you struggle when you’re 20-21. I mean c’mon! Top 10 pick and you can’t even excel and be great 3 years after your bloody draft!
And I love the timeline of 21, not a bust.
But 22! Oh yea. Bust-o-Rama!
Age is everything to some. Just like draft position or pointzzz is everything to others. Or maybe it’s the same people.
Some people are still saying that Grigorenko is young and give him time.
Not all fans give prospects time to develop. Mainly due to draft position. Impatience is pervasive for some.
You see, if you are drafted in the top 10 of any draft, then gosh darn it (slaps knee) you should be able to contribute in a big way on the big club right away. And if you don’t, then the doubts start to creep in for some fans. Then if you don’t do well the following year, then Jesus, Mary and Joseph! You are the beginnings of a bust. And heaven forbid, you struggle when you’re 20-21. I mean c’mon! Top 10 pick and you can’t even excel and be great 3 years after your bloody draft!
And I love the timeline of 21, not a bust.
But 22! Oh yea. Bust-o-Rama!
Age is everything to some. Just like draft position or pointzzz is everything to others. Or maybe it’s the same people.
They say the same thing about Armia.
Some people are still saying that Grigorenko is young and give him time.
The problem (as stated above) is that it's the people who both see him the most and are closest to the situation who are the most negative about him, not random posters here. That's the scary part: the people who know the most about him think he's going to be a total washout.Not all fans give prospects time to develop. Mainly due to draft position. Impatience is pervasive for some.
You see, if you are drafted in the top 10 of any draft, then gosh darn it (slaps knee) you should be able to contribute in a big way on the big club right away. And if you don’t, then the doubts start to creep in for some fans. Then if you don’t do well the following year, then Jesus, Mary and Joseph! You are the beginnings of a bust. And heaven forbid, you struggle when you’re 20-21. I mean c’mon! Top 10 pick and you can’t even excel and be great 3 years after your bloody draft!
And I love the timeline of 21, not a bust.
But 22! Oh yea. Bust-o-Rama!
Age is everything to some. Just like draft position or pointzzz is everything to others. Or maybe it’s the same people.
I'd love for this to be the case.Thank you for for elaborate answer. Still, there are plenty of players who did not live up tp the hype immidiately. Eichel (to name one of your own), the twins in Vancouver...and so on and so on.
He is young....i don´t think his drive has nothing to do with him not wanting it....i think it´s a confidence issue. His father and brother have HUGE confidence. He, is so nervous and akward in inreviews....but underneath that...there is some serious elite level skills. Give him some time...his confidence will grow...and will be a 1:st liner. I belive that he will crack the lineup this year.
I'd love for this to be the case.
Eichel's warts are fundamentally different from Alex's, theyhave far more to do with hockey IQ than with off-the-puck indifference, and his strengths are orders of magnitude apart from Alex's, which makes that a difficult comparison to uphold.
You'll see good hockey from Alex change people's minds. Most posters that appear negative about anything in general here aren't negative people, they just need to see the hockey before they change their minds. Off the top of my head, struck/Jame/Aladdyn, those types, I bet will be the most giddy posters when we're actually doing real hockey stuff out there.
I would reject your characterization of what my take is. It is not "negative unless proven otherwise."So negative first unless proven otherwise. Whee.
You're sure making some assumptions. It's sort of ironic how optimistic you are the negative posters won't be negative. Hmm...we shall see.