ratmanfu
Registered User
He'll be your Kopitar.
This.
Our own Kopitar type is exactly what I'm hoping for. That's the kind of player that makes everyone around him better.
He'll be your Kopitar.
Boyes said the only other 18 year old he's ever seen that was that good of a two-way hockey player was Patrice Bergeron. That's a salivating compliment. In his prime he's going to be a perennial Selke candidate and one of the smartest if not smartest player in the league. Absolutely I'm happy with him at #2. Jones is going to be amazing as well but I just think Barkov has something a little more special about him.
Boyes said the only other 18 year old he's ever seen that was that good of a two-way hockey player was Patrice Bergeron. That's a salivating compliment. In his prime he's going to be a perennial Selke candidate and one of the smartest if not smartest player in the league. Absolutely I'm happy with him at #2. Jones is going to be amazing as well but I just think Barkov has something a little more special about him.
Have you seen Jones play in the World Championship. He has been spectacular. The both of them are excellent players
Totally, that Billiards shot he made off the shin from just behind the goal line? THE most underrated goal ever. How many can do that? Datsyuk?
If you're a Panther fan who watched Barkov closely this season and are now watching Kopitar in the playoffs, the similarities are uncanny. Only difference, Kopitar is completely surrounded by world class talent and Barkov isn't whatsoever. Also,mMaybe Kopy's shot is more developed so he chooses to shoot more than Barkov.
He's gonna be amazing. Took us forever to get a top center, now we have two, just need to surround them with the proper talent to compliment their skill sets.
It's incredible but when I first saw us draft Barkov I thought for sure he was a similar guy to Toews, but it's more and more evident that he's basically a Kopitar clone.
I agree that Kopy's wrister is a bit more developed but they have near identical releases.
They're both very cerebral out on the ice and you may not always notice them, but they both skate hard at both ends of the ice. I would even argue that Barkov will have better hands than Kopi does at his age.
I am still very happy we drafted Barkov. The NHL has not seen what this kid can do yet, and boy are they in for a surprise.
I'm really excited when in 2 to 3 years we're getting deep into the playoffs and we get to hear all these analysts talk about how great OUR players are.
This is also mind-boggling to me. We went through so many years with Weiss as our only center depth and everything else in question, he was the default #1. Now we have two of arguably THE MOST sought after assets in the NHL (other than maybe elite #1 goaltending). I still don't think a lot of fans around here realize how lucky we are to have BOTH Bjugstad and Barkov as our 1-2 punch up the middle. Two really ****en big dudes with SERIOUS hockey ability. Teams like Toronto, Ottawa, and MANY others will be envious of us our center depth.
Mack is like Malkin and Barkov is like Kopitar. Who would you prefer? High-end offense of solid two-way game with the ability to contribute offense as well.
It's kind of eerie how similar the Kopitar-Carter combo at center is to Barkov-Bjugstad combo we have right now. Pretty wicked company IMO.
That is what Im looking forward to the most! We are deep into the playoffs, and all they can talk about is how dominant Bjugstad is, or how smart of a play that was by Barkov, etc. The only problem with this happening sooner, than later, is...are our youngsters going to be able to grow playoff beards
This isnt Horton, Weiss, and Bouwmeester we are talking about now...what I feel/believe in our youth now, I never felt in the past with those three. We are nearing the finish line, our youth is starting to become role players on this team, and Im looking forward to how good they can become, and how far they can take us.
Then.
Weiss - small, top-six two-way center, mediocre offensive ability
Horton - serviceable, top-six sniper
Booth - borderline top-six forward with goal-scoring grinder
Bouwmeester - smooth-skating, shutdown defenseman with some offensive ability
That was pretty much the whole core. I don't count Olli, because he was older and acquired via trade.
Now.
Barkov - large, two-way top-line center, high offensive ceiling
Bjugstad - large, two-way, top-six center, some goal-scoring ability (not calling him a sniper yet)
Huberdeau - decent-sized, creative winger with a high offenisve ceiling
Gudbranson - tough dman with leadership ability, good skater
(Ekblad) or (Reinhart)
We are a LOT better off now than we were during the sunrise express era (trying to forget about that era)
"borderline top-six forward" @ booth
he scored 30 goals...
It's ridiculous how good this prospect core has turned out to be. We're also still waiting to see what Howden can do, and honestly last season he impressed me a lot at times and could still turn into that perfect 3rd line winger/PK specialist we wanted him to be. His speed alone could give him an NHL job.
Bjugstad and Barkov are the big ones here. I think Bjugstad still has a lot to show. He showed glimpses of ELITE level play last year (i.e that goal against Detroit where he pretty much made Datsyuk look fooliosh). He scored at a .5 PPG pace in his rookie season. Expecting 50 points next year is not insane at all. The guy has the size and all the tools to be a BIG impact player in the NHL. Not a lot of players have his kind of puck handling/poise and reach to go with it.
Honestly he was. Not quite a 3rd liner but just on the cusp of being a consistent 2nd liner. He played top minutes for us and yes, he did score 31 goals one year and 23 in another which isn't bad, but with his play at the end of his run here and his total lack of success in Vancouver goes to show that he just isn't good enough to maintain that level for an extended period of time.
he got knocked out like hell, he never was the same player after. concussions make a lot of players more aware. if you're a 3rd liner, or a fringe 2nd liner, when u score 31 goals in your eyes, idk what you expect from top lines
he got knocked out like hell, he never was the same player after. concussions make a lot of players more aware. if you're a 3rd liner, or a fringe 2nd liner, when u score 31 goals in your eyes, idk what you expect from top lines
Consistency is one thing I expect from my top lines and the second full year after Booth had the 30 goals, his point total dropped from 60 to 40. That's a 20 point drop-off. Not something you want from top-line players. There after, things went from bad to worse. Without a doubt, the M. Richards hit affected his play, but we can't change that and it ended up affecting the team as well.
Didn't he get his bell rung versus the Leafs the same year?
It's a damn shame he skated with his head down.