Alexander Semin's Moves...

[txpd]

kids got skills but he is not in the same class as kovalchuk and co

30+40 is realistic imo

I think you may be shooting alexander short. semin has played sparingly all season, yet has some numbers.
Kovulchuk in his first year had 29g 22a in 65 games. He was a prime ice time guy most of that time. Semin has 8g 11a in 45 games as a part time player. 12:00 a game.

I dont think its a fair comparison. They are different players. Semin is already a much better passer than Kovulchuk is. Kovulchuk is probably going to always be a better shooter. But, of Semin's 8 goals 5 or 6 of them are high reel quality. his release is lightning quick. He is currently playing Lang's spot on the power play and is racking up points. IF the best finisher other them him on the PP was not Jeff Halpern, his points totals might be downright impressive.

its too early to say for sure. but it think his upside and his ability to create offense alone and draw penalties shows me that he is a force to be reconned with

 

[Vagrant]

I think you may be shooting alexander short. semin has played sparingly all season, yet has some numbers.
Kovulchuk in his first year had 29g 22a in 65 games. He was a prime ice time guy most of that time. Semin has 8g 11a in 45 games as a part time player. 12:00 a game.

I dont think its a fair comparison. They are different players. Semin is already a much better passer than Kovulchuk is. Kovulchuk is probably going to always be a better shooter. But, of Semin's 8 goals 5 or 6 of them are high reel quality. his release is lightning quick. He is currently playing Lang's spot on the power play and is racking up points. IF the best finisher other them him on the PP was not Jeff Halpern, his points totals might be downright impressive.

its too early to say for sure. but it think his upside and his ability to create offense alone and draw penalties shows me that he is a force to be reconned with

I disagree. If Semin was a talented goal scorer and finisher already it wouldn't matter who was on the powerplay with him, as it only takes one player to shoot the puck. If his shot is good enough, it doesn't matter where the goalie is as long as the shot is good enough. His assist totals may be hurting from a weak powerplay, but his powerplay goals should actually improve due to the fact that he's the only legit finisher on it. That means the coach gives him the green light to shoot whenever he wants it.

8 goals in 12:00 a game is comperable to Kovalchuk's 29 on the first line? Are you for real? There are decent third line players in the NHL right now that could put up that type of production. 8 goals is nowhere near 29.

 

[txpd]

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.

there is a learning curve and part of what you say is valid. he does look to beat players one on one and he doesn't finish well. on the other hand to say that he is "looking to do it himself and not looking to finish" is controdictory. He does look to do it himself too often and he doesnt finish, but not for lack of interest in doing so. He is not a human puck possesion machine like micheal nylander. he makes his moves with the idea of scoring.

its also fair to say that one of his moves is often followed by a outragiously good pass to a player that is totally incapable of doing anything with it. He has skated many shifts with Stephen Peat and Trent Whitfield. Guys that struggle to catch passes much less shoot without catching.

as far as his finish goes. He gets beat by veteran NHL goalies. He gets to close and gets poke checked. he takes a extra stride before he shoots. he shoots over the net going for a corner. shooting high is new. it means he is learning that to score on an NHL butterfly goalie that is squared that the corners are the only options. In time he will not get close enough to get poke checked. Dunham missed a poke check on him last night and only a hooking penalty kept him from tucking it in the empty net.

but, i think its work mentioning that a rookie that can undress quality veteran NHL defensemen on a regular basis is something to take note of. that guy is already a nightmare with open ice in front of him. He may not be more than a 70pt player.
but, I think you have concede the realistic chance that he could be a superstar.

 

[db23]

All the same things were said about Afinogenov when he first came up. The next Bure. Alex Korolyuk, Alexei Morozov, smae thing.

Reality sets in. The big defenceman don't apprediate being made to look foolish. Payback. The big crunch. An injury prone 15 to 20 goal scorer eventually emerges.

 

[EroCaps]

All the same things were said about Afinogenov when he first came up. The next Bure. Alex Korolyuk, Alexei Morozov, smae thing.

Reality sets in. The big defenceman don't apprediate being made to look foolish. Payback. The big crunch. An injury prone 15 to 20 goal scorer eventually emerges.

 

[The Jerk*]

Scroll up.

my bad, hadn't seen that you clarified your statement, that I do agree with.

 

[Sammy*]

Frankly, he may be a little more realistic than alot of the posts here.
I dont think I have ever seen a lauding of an 8 goal scorer that I have in this thread.
You'd think this guy was Ovechkin or something.

 

[The Jerk*]

Frankly, he may be a little more realistic than alot of the posts here.
I dont think I have ever seen a lauding of an 8 goal scorer that I have in this thread.
You'd think this guy was Ovechkin or something.

I love how you put your foot right down your own throat...yeah, let's "laud" (your word ) a player who hasn't played a game in the NHL yet, but we can't talk about Semin's potential...I also think you missed the point of the "Haterade" post

 

[Sammy*]

I love how you put your foot right down your own throat...yeah, let's "laud" (your word ) a player who hasn't played a game in the NHL yet, but we can't talk about Semin's potential...I also think you missed the point of the "Haterade" post

Whats the point of the Haterade post. That he injected an element of common sense?
Better yet, lets "laud" an 8 goal scorer (as opposed to a guy the scouts & GM's say is the best talent who has come down the pike in 15 or so years) who was picked like 13 overall , & say he is going to be Almo or better .
Come on, lets be a little objective about some of the posts here. They are somewhat over the top when talking about this guy.

 

[The Jerk*]

Whats the point of the Haterade post. That he injected an element of common sense?
Better yet, lets "laud" an 8 goal scorer (as opposed to a guy the scouts & GM's say is the best talent who has come down the pike in 15 or so years) who was picked like 13 overall , & say he is going to be Almo or better .
Come on, lets be a little objective about some of the posts here. They are somewhat over the top when talking about this guy.

scroll up, and look at why he posted "Haterade"..he's calling people, like you, haters..get it, got it, good!

 

[Bobby Orr's Knees]

Frankly, he may be a little more realistic than alot of the posts here.
I dont think I have ever seen a lauding of an 8 goal scorer that I have in this thread.
You'd think this guy was Ovechkin or something.

What does the 8-goal thing have to do with anything? It's not like he is a 24 y.o. who plays every game and gets top minutes.

 

[Sammy*]

scroll up, and look at why he posted "Haterade"..he's calling people, like you, haters..get it, got it, good!

Haters of what?
The guy is a little more , shall we say, circumspect (or perhaps realistic), & because of that he hates the guy.
Ridiculous.

 

[Sammy*]

What does the 8-goal thing have to do with anything? It's not like he is a 24 y.o. who plays every game and gets top minutes.

Well, my point is that I dunno if I have ever seen a thread where an 8 goal scorer who was not picked in the top 2 or 3 players in a draft has been mentioned so consistenly as virtually a guaranteed superstar (hyperbole, but get my point).

 

[EroCaps]

Well, my point is that I dunno if I have ever seen a thread where an 8 goal scorer who was not picked in the top 2 or 3 players in a draft has been mentioned so consistenly as virtually a guaranteed superstar (hyperbole, but get my point).

I didn't realize there were board rules prohibiting/discouraging any talk that doesn't directly correspond to some prescribed talent projection...

 

[Sammy*]

I didn't realize there were board rules prohibiting/discouraging any talk that doesn't directly correspond to some prescribed talent projection...

I am not trying to censor anything.My initial post was simply in response to the implication that db hates Semin, apprently solely because he has a differing perspective/view on things.

 

[EroCaps]

I am not trying to censor anything.My initial post was simply in response to the implication that db hates Semin, apprently solely because he has a differing perspective/view on things.

It was a joke.

 

[Mizral]

As other posters mentioned, Hejduk is probobly a creater comparable to Semin.

However, I should say that Hejduk was doing the exact same thing Semin was at his age - making those fancy plays. Eventually Semin will have to learn that you can't go through players very often in this league and be successful, and he has to stop trying to go through players and use his teammates more to go around them.

To compare Semin to Kovalchuk however is nonesense. Kovalchuk has the potential to be amongst the best players of all time. Semin is not at all at that skill level.

 

[I_r_1337]

This is getting out of hand...

However for all the people saying well the guys only got 8 goals blah blah blah.. He's played on and off all year until the fire sale started. Secondly before it started he was playing with Stephen Peat and X AHL player on the 4th line. What do you expect of him to go out there and score 20 goals with Stephen Peat on his line? The kids played on the 2nd line a couple games maybe 5 and then even until recently wasn't on the first line..even after the fire sale began...Last 5 games, 5 points averaging 13:56 a game.

 

[I_r_1337]

Semin to Kovalchuk however is nonesense. Kovalchuk has the potential to be amongst the best players of all time. Semin is not at all at that skill level.

And for the record if you re-read my original post I never said I was comparing him to Ilya..

 

[txpd]

I disagree. If Semin was a talented goal scorer and finisher already it wouldn't matter who was on the powerplay with him, as it only takes one player to shoot the puck. If his shot is good enough, it doesn't matter where the goalie is as long as the shot is good enough. His assist totals may be hurting from a weak powerplay, but his powerplay goals should actually improve due to the fact that he's the only legit finisher on it. That means the coach gives him the green light to shoot whenever he wants it.

this comment...If Semin was a talented goal scorer and finisher already it wouldn't matter who was on the powerplay with him...is downright stupid. of course it matters who is on the power play with him. the vast majority of power play goals are NOT scored unassisted.

 

[txpd]

Eventually Semin will have to learn that you can't go through players very often in this league and be successful, and he has to stop trying to go through players and use his teammates more to go around them.

that's true, but you are suggesting that he is to use teammates like stephen peat and trent whitfield and darcy verot to catch his passes and do something with him.

you paint him out to be a soloist while even with only occasional shifts with actual nhl caliber players he does have more assists than he does goals. which i might point out is not kovulchuk's MO. he can create offense on his own and does pass the puck with great skill. what is also true is that a certain level of skill is required on the receiving end of those passes. over the last 15 games and certainly since the trades the only even solid nhl forward on the team is jeff halpern and the only nhl level defenseman is brendan witt, who is a defense only player. who is he supposed to pass to?

he had a great two on on break a couple of games ago, but was with bates battaglia. battaglia couldnt catch the pass to put in the empty net.

 

[Vagrant]

this comment...If Semin was a talented goal scorer and finisher already it wouldn't matter who was on the powerplay with him...is downright stupid. of course it matters who is on the power play with him. the vast majority of power play goals are NOT scored unassisted.

I don't think it's stupid at all. The players that some are comparing Semin to in this thread could create offense on their own. To say that he is almost as advanced as Ilya Kovalchuk is asanine. Without a whole lot of help, Ilya Kovalchuk can make a powerplay click. He is a differance maker on a powerplay unit and makes the whole unit better. Semin isn't even close to being at that place yet. Just watch Kovalchuk run his powerplay the next time the Capitals play the Thrashers. The whole center of gravity revolves around him and he's still able to make it productive. That is because Ilya has the natural skill and talent level that can provide him with the ability to create offense on his own and get the puck where the goalie isn't. Same for Mario, Forsberg, Naslund, and all the other dominant offensive players in the league. Even in his rookie season when he didn't have Heatley on his unit he was able to make the muckers and grinders that he was playing with look savvy with the puck due to the defense overplaying Kovalchuk's ability. Which swings me back around to my original point, if you have the talent to produce on the powerplay, you're going to produce on the powerplay.

Yes, most powerplay goals aren't unassisted. However, the burden really falls on the expected finishers on the team in order to make sure a powerplay is working like it should. Just like the Carolina Hurricanes powerplay. Jeff O'Neill, our finisher, had one of his worst seasons of his career and guess where Carolina's powerplay was ranked. Dead Last. It's not always the fault of the supporting cast when the finisher can't produce. The finisher should be scoring the goals no matter what.

Semin hasn't exactly been playing with driftwood either as far as linemates are concerned. The players on the powerplay with him may not be all-stars, but they have enough experience and talent to at least funnel the puck to Semin if he was the finisher that the people in this thread are claiming.

 

[txpd]

Semin hasn't exactly been playing with driftwood either as far as linemates are concerned. The players on the powerplay with him may not be all-stars, but they have enough experience and talent to at least funnel the puck to Semin if he was the finisher that the people in this thread are claiming.

once again you sort of lose the fact that he is the only guy on that group that can really shoot the puck. as for as driftwood. are you sure you know what driftwood is?

Miller has been a 4th liner or a healthy scratch for about half the season on a team this bad. Halpern is a solid 3rd line center. Boumedienne and Kwiatkowski were basically waiver pickups and neither belong in the NHL. I think 3 of the 5 are the definition of driftwood.

and while you are right, they do funnel the puck to semin in thats few games, he is the only guy that can shoot the puck and the PK's all know that. any shot he gets is their mistake.

 

[Disco Volante]

Frankly, he may be a little more realistic than alot of the posts here.
I dont think I have ever seen a lauding of an 8 goal scorer that I have in this thread.
You'd think this guy was Ovechkin or something.

Maybe I'm wrong but I think Semin outscored Ovechkin in last year's second half of the season... (confirmation and details?) - Now I'm not saying by any means he's better than Ove, but he does have 8 more goals than him in the NHL.

 

[I_r_1337]

*cough*Semin with 1+1 so far..(2nd period)*cough*