Alexander Semin's Moves...

[ukyo]

Man... if I didn't have Center Ice, I'd say that all of you are homers. Too bad I can't.

Send him a Get Well card, because that kid really is SICK. I've haven't seen so much humiliation dished out in open ice by a rookie since Selanne.

 

[EroCaps]

Man... if I didn't have Center Ice, I'd say that all of you are homers. Too bad I can't.

Send him a Get Well card, because that kid really is SICK. I've haven't seen so much humiliation dished out in open ice by a rookie since Selanne.

I can't remember the last time a player undressed a defenseman like Semin can, and I'm trying. I'm not so sure he's even that fast, he just scoots so silkily around guys they're left defenseless.

 

[EroCaps]

hejduk probably has the best hands around the net, QUOTE]

...there was a play Semin made a few weeks ago, where he nut-megged a defenseman IN the goal crease with a curl-and-drag and got a shot off...

 

[st_roland]

Hmm...we'll see. Semin has sick potential.

Man, you're a good fan, but a HUGE homer. If Semin ends up like Mogilny(sans injuries), we'll be VERY lucky. In terms of pure skill, Mogilny is top-10 in the NHL right now. Oi! I love this board.

My favorite thing about Semin-his amazing shiftiness. I think the skill he shows in evading checks is pretty damn rare. I'm so glad we drafted him, and he seems like a pretty affable kid too. He's always smiling.


Go Semin!

 

[st_roland]

Milan Hejduk is probably the most deft stickhandler in the entire league. Are you sure Semin is going to be able to top that? Have we seen enough of this kid to give him that type of praise yet?

In my opinion, you're totally right. I think there is a pretty good chance some of these guys haven't watched Hejduk enough. I'd be very pleased if semins stickwork ever equaled Hejduks. However, I think semin might be a better skater than Hejduk, but Semins shot is like a childs compared to Hejduks currently. Hejduk has as good a wrist shot as anyone in the game right now. His accuracy is just super-human.

 

[EroCaps]

In my opinion, you're totally right. I think there is a pretty good chance some of these guys haven't watched Hejduk enough. I'd be very pleased if semins stickwork ever equaled Hejduks. However, I think semin might be a better skater than Hejduk, but Semins shot is like a childs compared to Hejduks currently. Hejduk has as good a wrist shot as anyone in the game right now. His accuracy is just super-human.

Hey, I'm not trying to hype the kid up to be an Art-Ross winner, I just made a few comments about his potential and talent that were, IMO, fairly accurate. No one suggested that Semin was a better player than Hejduk now, but I did note that Semin has broken into the league four years earlier, on a crap team, not a Stanley Cup contender. I've seen Hejduk plenty. Calling me a "HUGE" homer was a little.. rude.

 

[stardog]

I swear.. I'm by no means being a homer or by no means saying he's better than anyone but the moves this kid has look so similar to Kovalchuk's in his first year it's scary. I had him penciled in as a 30+40 point guy but I'm starting to see more of a 45+40 player..the kid not only has amazing goal scoring abilities and those sick moves I spoke of but he has great vision and doesn't mind giving it up(he's already got 2 points tonight). I think he's gonna be a superstar in this league for years to come...Curious what other people think of him(beside's he dives too much.. yeah yeah so did Kovalchuk).

I'm sorry but I saw him last week at a disco is DC and there is no WAY he dances as good as Kovalchuk.
His moves WERE sick, but Kovalchuk reminded me of a youngish John Travolta circa Saturday Night Fever era.

 

[st_roland]

Hey, I'm not trying to hype the kid up to be an Art-Ross winner, I just made a few comments about his potential and talent that were, IMO, fairly accurate. No one suggested that Semin was a better player than Hejduk now, but I did note that Semin has broken into the league four years earlier, on a crap team, not a Stanley Cup contender. I've seen Hejduk plenty. Calling me a "HUGE" homer was a little.. rude.

I didn't mean to be rude. I guess its hard to get across in a text medium, but I was kidding around with you, cause i'm really excited about the kids potential too. To expect more than Mogilny though is really high expectations.

 

[Vagrant]

In my opinion, you're totally right. I think there is a pretty good chance some of these guys haven't watched Hejduk enough. I'd be very pleased if semins stickwork ever equaled Hejduks. However, I think semin might be a better skater than Hejduk, but Semins shot is like a childs compared to Hejduks currently. Hejduk has as good a wrist shot as anyone in the game right now. His accuracy is just super-human.

Exactly. However, Hejduk's shot hasn't always been as devastating as it is right now. It takes experience and practice to hone your skills. In my opinion, you'll see Semin cut some of the flashy stuff out of his game as he gains experience and confidence in his ability. Zherdev will do the same. Chistov will as well if he hopes to be productive. Players with that much skill usually try to overcompensate with their moves instead of beating people with their speed or shot. There have been loads of examples of kids that came into the league with flashy moves that toned their game down to be more productive. Hejduk being one of them. Bure eventually cut a lot of it out, as did Mogilny. Selanne would be a good example, except he's not that productive anymore. Kariya did as well. It's a right of passage for a young talented player like Semin to leave a little of the flash behind as their natural ability takes the forefront. In three years, you'll see an Alexander Semin that is a lot like Pavel Bure in terms of getting himself in position take a shot.

The key to his development as far as i'm concerned is to learn to finish better. Which could come with time.

 

[Absolut]

Maybe I'm more optimistic, but have you seen him play?

More optimistic? Alexander Mogilny is one of the best players of his generation, a truly special talent, and arguable the best Russian to ever play in the NHL. Semin should be so lucky to be regarded in these terms 15 years from now.

Back to Semin. I saw him for the first time last night. I was puzzled. The kid is...well... great. How come we don't hear anything about him? I don't mean the Kovalchuk-esque hype; I mean we don't hear anything about him.

 

[Absolut]

definitely, though though the kovulchuck comparison is a little off since kovy is a pure finisher - and thats what semin lacks so far. kovy has possibly the best release in the game - and has since he started.

Kovalchuk is a lot more than a pure finisher. That's what makes him special. With Semin, who the heck knows. He seems to have excellent vision, moves, etc. We shall see what he becomes once he is surrounded by better talent.

 

[Marshall]

More optimistic? Alexander Mogilny is one of the best players of his generation, a truly special talent, and arguable the best Russian to ever play in the NHL. Semin should be so lucky to be regarded in these terms 15 years from now.

Back to Semin. I saw him for the first time last night. I was puzzled. The kid is...well... great. How come we don't hear anything about him? I don't mean the Kovalchuk-esque hype; I mean we don't hear anything about him.

He didn't really start getting heavy minutes until the fire-sale, so that might have something to do with it, and then the fire-sale fallout was still the big news.

Fully agreed about Mogilny. If Semin develops into a similar kind of player, I, and the Caps, will be ecstatic.

 

[Sundried TOmato]

How is it possible to be more "optimistic" than Alexander Mogilny??? Almo is god. :p

 

[EroCaps]

How is it possible to be more "optimistic" than Alexander Mogilny??? Almo is god. :p

Maybe optimistic was a poor word choice. I just don't see the parallel between Semin and Mogilny.

 

[EroCaps]

More optimistic? Alexander Mogilny is one of the best players of his generation, a truly special talent, and arguable the best Russian to ever play in the NHL. Semin should be so lucky to be regarded in these terms 15 years from now.

Back to Semin. I saw him for the first time last night. I was puzzled. The kid is...well... great. How come we don't hear anything about him? I don't mean the Kovalchuk-esque hype; I mean we don't hear anything about him.

Well he was taken 13th overall in 02. The only substantial hole scouts found in his game was a lack of size. He was itty-bitty- too light. His wrist shot and speed were always celebrated. I don't think anyone expected to see the grit, skating and stickhandling he's flashed all season. He does have the tendency to "go down like a rag doll" from a time to time, but he's so difficult to guard one-on-one, his game doesn't seem to suffer much, if at all. His movement compliments his stickhandling so well and vice versa, a lot of what he does seems effortless.

I'm not predicting any trophies just yet, but after so many seasons watching Jagr, Lang, etc. up close and other players around the league, some of what Semin does is just unheard of.

 

[PSUhockey34]

Well he was taken 13th overall in 02. The only substantial hole scouts found in his game was a lack of size. He was itty-bitty- too light. His wrist shot and speed were always celebrated. I don't think anyone expected to see the grit, skating and stickhandling he's flashed all season. He does have the tendency to "go down like a rag doll" from a time to time, but he's so difficult to guard one-on-one, his game doesn't seem to suffer much, if at all. His movement compliments his stickhandling so well and vice versa, a lot of what he does seems effortless.

I'm not predicting any trophies just yet, but after so many seasons watching Jagr, Lang, etc. up close and other players around the league, some of what Semin does is just unheard of.

Thankgod we got a player like Semin in DC...especially now that we're sending back fussey, gordon, laich and oullet to bring up castoffs like Tvdron and P...however you spell his name. and Yeats...Semin will be getting all the ice time he can possibly get till the end of the season

For a kid whose got be to 180 lbs soaking wet, he'll certainly plant himself infront of the net or take the hit to make a play...the reason why he's just now becoming known in the NHL is b/c at the start of the season he was either benched for 6 or 7 games straight or would only see 10 minutes max a night...now that he's got more time, he's showing good he actually is...you saw glimpses of it when cassidy actually let him play and then you wouldnt see hime for a week in a half...part of that though was that managment really wanted him to learn the game to use his great vision...if he's not making a sick move with puck, you can bet he's setting the play 2 or 3 steps ahead of everyone else...hope i made some sense out of that...he got alot of bad publicity from the WJC, being cut from the team and then let back on blah blah...im sure you guys know the story...the reason why he wouldnt practice with Russian team was the the caps didnt want him to be in a postion like that to get injuried...guess the russian coach didnt like that too much

He needs to cut the diving out, learn english b/c he hasnt yet and gain weight

 

[EroCaps]

Thankgod we got a player like Semin in DC...especially now that we're sending back fussey, gordon, laich and oullet to bring up castoffs like Tvdron and P...however you spell his name. and Yeats...Semin will be getting all the ice time he can possibly get till the end of the season

For a kid whose got be to 180 lbs soaking wet, he'll certainly plant himself infront of the net or take the hit to make a play...the reason why he's just now becoming known in the NHL is b/c at the start of the season he was either benched for 6 or 7 games straight or would only see 10 minutes max a night...now that he's got more time, he's showing good he actually is...you saw glimpses of it when cassidy actually let him play and then you wouldnt see hime for a week in a half...part of that though was that managment really wanted him to learn the game to use his great vision...if he's not making a sick move with puck, you can bet he's setting the play 2 or 3 steps ahead of everyone else...hope i made some sense out of that...he got alot of bad publicity from the WJC, being cut from the team and then let back on blah blah...im sure you guys know the story...the reason why he wouldnt practice with Russian team was the the caps didnt want him to be in a postion like that to get injuried...guess the russian coach didnt like that too much

He needs to cut the diving out, learn english b/c he hasnt yet and gain weight

Is diving a European "ethos" thing? It's like an art in soccer.

 

[Rattrick]

Yea, the diving definately needs to stop. But then again, if the refs would call it like they should, it wouldn't be a problem (and Divin' Darcy Tucker would have no job ).

 

[sveiglar]

All that Semin appears to lack is the size, but he supplants it with ridiculous speed and elusiveness.

40-50 G

Hey, I'm not trying to hype the kid up to be an Art-Ross winner...

You're doing a decent job for someone who isn't trying...

 

[The Jerk*]

More optimistic than Mogilny?! Wowzers. :p

Personally, I think Semin has top end potential like Milan Hejduk. Bottom line potential like Kristian Huselius. That's just how I see it. Mogilnly was generous as far as i'm concerned.

Yeah, I'm very high on Semin aswell, but I don't see how you could be MORE optimistic then comparing him with Mogilny, how good do you expect this guy to be, Almo has had a pretty nice career, no?? I think that was very generous..

 

[EroCaps]

You're doing a decent job for someone who isn't trying...

Hey, our play-by-play and color guys have touted the kid a potential 40 G player. He could hit that mark a couple times.

 

[EroCaps]

Yeah, I'm very high on Semin aswell, but I don't see how you could be MORE optimistic then comparing him with Mogilny, how good do you expect this guy to be, Almo has had a pretty nice career, no?? I think that was very generous..

Scroll up.

 

[Muddy Wilbury]

those moves on Brewer were sick, just sick...

anyone have any good video of recent moves??

-dutch-

 

[John Flyers Fan]

The player Semin reminds me most of is Kovalev.

Right now he looks just like a young Kovalev. Incredible moves, but seems more interested in beating players one-on-one than remembering that the object is to put the puck in the net.

Kovalev's first few years on the Rangers he'd beat 4 guys on a rush, but never dish it off or shoot the puck.

Eventually he learned to use his amazing wrist shot, although still not as often as he should.

In the few games I've seen Semin play, i've seen the same thing. Great moves, but looking to do it himself, and not looking to finish.

 

[Vagrant]

Right now he looks just like a young Kovalev. Incredible moves, but seems more interested in beating players one-on-one than remembering that the object is to put the puck in the net.

That is totally right. Which is why I stated earlier that Semin would lose some of his flash if he wanted to become a more productive player.

The Kovalev comparison slipped my mind, but it is pretty valid. Perhaps in his early Ranger days.