I wonder if Washington wanted Ovechkin to play center
Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part II
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Peltz
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That would be a killer line.
Man, watching the Laf highlight video is really something else. Kid has such incredible hands. He can hit some crazy angles with his shots too. I really felt his confidence was building in the last third of the season.
I think he comes out the gate scoring this year.
Peltz
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I know you're being sarcastic and I agreee.
Panarin sets up on the left side then basically does whatever he wants out there. No reason to push these guys into positions they don't normally play. Especially center.
Peltz
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Nah... Kreider should start on the third line.
Kakko should start on the first line.
I know many have a 3rd kind of Kreider-Chytil- Goodrow.
And some think a 2nd line of Panarin-Strome-Kravtsov/Kakko.
I’m not sure it shakes out that way. I also don’t think they like the idea that all 3 shoot left on 3rd line and all 3 shoot right on the proposed 2nd
I doubt Gallant would want any line to have 3 left or 3 right handed shots on the same line. Going to be interesting to see how it shakes out from camp. I’m not so sure kreider is destined for 3LW duty to start the year though. He has proven chemistry with Zibby, and LaF would be a nice compliment on the RW for both their styles of play.
However, it could create other question marks further down the line up.
A 3rd line of
Goodrow-Chytil/Barron- kravtsov/ kakko is also an idea that’s going to be in play.
Hopefully kravtsov can build some chemistry with LaF/Panarin At camp. The top 9 looks to be too crowded atm.
I also think those fans penciling in Blais for 4 th line duty are in for a rude awakening....
Reaves is probably still an everyday player, even at his age. 4th line minutes shouldn’t be too demanding. I think Hunt will get the chance to be an everyday 4th line option, unless he shows he can’t handle the role.
Still way too many uncertainties right now. I still can’t believe Drury hasn’t made at least 1 more trade.
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mas0764
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You have to dominate a larger area on the ice as a center but for these elite athletes I'm not sure why that is a tough thing to do. They also have to be asked to be more defensively focused and hustle to different areas of the ice, have to be more of a facilitator.
But some of our prospects already demonstrate these qualities but at wing. I'm not sure what else they would be forced to learn.
pld459666
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And move Lafreniere back to his natural position on LW
This post doesn’t make sense. Positions are about as fluid as in any other sport. It’s not that easy for a first baseman to play third. They obviously can, but it’s not ideal.
Rongomania
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My fuc*in' brain hurts. Gallant switching Laf to RW will be the biggest switch any of these kids make. Book it.
Amazing Kreiderman
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A 1st or 3rd baseman plays the same position on the field throughout the game. Hockey is much more dynamic. There are players who are just as comfortable on the right side as they are on the left side. You just can't expect any player to transition that easily.
Personally, I wouldn't move Lafrenière out of position because I don't really know how he feels playing RW or C, but a guy like Barron, Rueschhoff, Richards, Berard? Yeah. I'd have no problem with that because I know they feel comfortable in other positions.
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pld459666
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I get that positions can be changed, but I have always lived by the mindset that "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".
He's played his whole life at LW, he just dominated his three years in Juniors from the LW to the point of getting picked, unanimously, 1st overall in 2020.
What justification is there to move him to RW.
It is clearly a case of just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Personally, let the kid come into his own in this league before you start dicking around with where he plays and potentially f***ing with his confidence at the pro level.
People that try to be the smartest in the room make the dumbest decisions.
He's played his whole life at LW, he just dominated his three years in Juniors from the LW to the point of getting picked, unanimously, 1st overall in 2020.
What justification is there to move him to RW.
It is clearly a case of just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Personally, let the kid come into his own in this league before you start dicking around with where he plays and potentially f***ing with his confidence at the pro level.
People that try to be the smartest in the room make the dumbest decisions.
If you had a 6’3” center with great court vision, handling, and could hit three pointers you probably wouldn’t balk at the idea of moving him to point guard even if he’s never played the position.
Peltz
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It all depends on the player, their ability to learn, and getting the most out of them.
If the player is a 10/10 center vs an 8/10 point guard, play them at center. I'm a firm believer in playing players in their best position rather than moving them around based on short-term needs of the team.
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
Granted, if you had 6'3" center, you'd be 0-82 and would have nothing to lose.
EdJovanovski
#RempeForCalder
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
Scouts considered him way too soft to play along the boards. That aged well.
mas0764
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There's no real gain moving Lafreniere to RW anyway, so I understand why not to take the risk. If you are gonna risk a decrease in production by moving positions, do it with a lesser value asset: Kreider, if someone has to move just to fit into the top 6.
In reality I suspect "in today's NHL," you can deploy three lines as offensive lines in different roles and give them all very good ice time, and so, you can make room for three different LWs to get "starter's minutes," without having to shift one into the "top 6." So in that sense moving Lafreniere to RW to fit him into an arbitrary "top 6," when the "top 9," gets nearly as much ice time, doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
On the other hand, we actually stand to gain something by finding if one of our star wingers can play center long term. That's a risk worth at least testing the waters on.
We have two forwards with synergy. They go together. Find others that do. Then put them together.
SA16
Sixstring
There is a lot of gain considering without moving one of our LW to RW we have one of the worst RW groups in the league.
yeah it’s not an apt analogy. Just about as far off as the ones in the other direction was more or less the point.
UnSandvich
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- Sep 7, 2017
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If you're moving Lafreniere to RW to accomodate Chris Kreider of all people, something has gone very badly wrong. If you're doing it to load up a Panarin-Zib-Laf line, maybe i can see it.
Still dumb though.
Still dumb though.
Amazing Kreiderman
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Our line-up isn't really a difficult puzzle.
Lafrenière-Zibanejad-Kakko
Panarin-Strome-Kravtsov
Kreider-Chytil-Goodrow
Blais-Rooney-Gauthier/Reaves
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Lundkvist
Shestyorkin
Georgiev
Goodrow will be a center here. not a winger. just a gut feeling
Amazing Kreiderman
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Swap Chytil and Goodrow. Fine by me. But neither of those are seeing top6 minutes unless we have serious injuries.
The Crypto Guy
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