Bjugstad as a winger

[FrolikFan67]

what are the thoughts on perhaps converting bjugstad to a winger? you essentially need 3 skilled centers, especially your top 2. we have barkov as one of our top-2 centers moving forward. then we have bjugstad, trocheck, shore (who can play the wing), and the possibility of keeping matthias and/or goc. I'm personally very high on trocheck, he'll excelled at every turn, scoring 50goals and being the ohl mvp, playing great at the world juniors, at the development camp, at rookie camp, during the rookie games (and their shootouts), at training camp, during the preseason games, and now leading the rampage so far in goals and points. if he continues his strong play in san antonio (and i think he definitely will) i think he'll earn a top-3 center role for us next season.
people may think of possibly converting trocheck instead but he's been doing so well id rather just keep him where he is (not saying bjugstad hasn't been great or anything). i also love goc, so id love to keep him around longer, possibly as the 3rd center behind barkov and trocheck, or, shore being the 3rd center behind those 2 is another possibility, but goc gives us some veteran experience on what would be a very young offense in that case.
i think he'd handle the wing just fine. and for the record i wanna extend fleischmann and bergenheim, those 2 along with huberdeau we're set at LW. rw we're thin at, bjugstad is a right handed shot and i think he'd look nice on a line with bergenheim and goc. also, being very high on trocheck, if he does in fact continue to impress and maybe gets that 2nd line center spot next year, i would at least explore the possibility of trading bjugstad in a package for a top-6, preferably top line rw.

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[Howboutthempanthers]

Moving Bjugstad to wing, no. Trading Bjugstad, no.
I don't know of any team in the league that would be trying to move Bjugstad to wing because they had Trocheck, and I like Trocheck. What's your fascination with all these small players?

 

[FrolikFan67]

which small players besides for trocheck? bergenheim is 5'10 but he's over 200lbs, goc is 6'1 and nearly 200lbs, i know huberdeau's a little underweight but he's still 6'1 at least. barkov is 6'3 and 210lbs at 18 years old so he's gonna be getting bigger. flash is 6'1 and just under 195lbs.
i mean the idea of possibly moving bjugstad to wing i don't think is some ludicrous idea. if i recall correctly I'm almost positive its been discussed in the past. I'm not even saying lets convert him, I'm just thinking about the possibility and would like to hear other peoples opinions on it so if you don't like the idea id love for u to expand on it.
and i never said i was looking or wanting to trade him, i said i'd explore the possibility. i think gm's are constantly doing that no matter how good you are. if a team offered up a top line rw for bjugstad and something else that was reasonable, id strongly consider.

 

[gudzilla]

he's very good defensively, he can dig around behind the net on the defensive play. he's very good at draws, he's massive. he can play infront of the net

just no, there's absolutely no reason to convert him to wing, big centers are a rare thing in the nhl.

having barkov-bjugstad-shore-matthias down the middle would make this team one of the biggest teams down the middle and thats just droolworthy

 

[MintyFresh88]

he's very good defensively, he can dig around behind the net on the defensive play. he's very good at draws, he's massive. he can play infront of the net

just no, there's absolutely no reason to convert him to wing, big centers are a rare thing in the nhl.

having barkov-bjugstad-shore-matthias down the middle would make this team one of the biggest teams down the middle and thats just droolworthy

Agreed. No reason to move Bjugstad to wing right now, he's looked pretty solid the last few games and you can tell he's gaining confidence with the puck.

 

[Panthers607]

Makes no sense. Bjugger fits right where he is.

 

[Mogo]

Makes as much sense as using Markstrom as a Dman

 

[Bronz]

Is Huberdeau on Bjugstad's wing? Seems to be the way the last few games have started, but Hubey ended up playing on 3 different lines last game it seemed.

 

[angry_treefrog]

Love the way Jugs uses his big frame to shield the puck and can see how he can develop that skill to dominate play around the net.

He's great in the face-off circle.

He and Barkov could develop into a scary 1-2 punch up the middle - something bizarre for a team that's never even had one punch.

Why move him?

 

[ShootIt]

The way Bjudstad is playing you move Shore or Trocheck to wing if you want them to get top 6 minutes. While neither are proven players, we have not had two centers in the mold of Barkov or Bjudstad before.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

which small players besides for trocheck? bergenheim is 5'10 but he's over 200lbs, goc is 6'1 and nearly 200lbs, i know huberdeau's a little underweight but he's still 6'1 at least. barkov is 6'3 and 210lbs at 18 years old so he's gonna be getting bigger. flash is 6'1 and just under 195lbs.
i mean the idea of possibly moving bjugstad to wing i don't think is some ludicrous idea. if i recall correctly I'm almost positive its been discussed in the past. I'm not even saying lets convert him, I'm just thinking about the possibility and would like to hear other peoples opinions on it so if you don't like the idea id love for u to expand on it.
and i never said i was looking or wanting to trade him, i said i'd explore the possibility. i think gm's are constantly doing that no matter how good you are. if a team offered up a top line rw for bjugstad and something else that was reasonable, id strongly consider.

Yakupov is your favorite player, correct (I'm not saying that's a bad thing)? I'm assuming by your name you at least at one point liked Frolik (I'm not saying that's a bad thing). Add all that up with the thought of moving Bjugstad around for Trocheck, I came to that conclusion.

 

[FrolikFan67]

well frolik is my favorite nhl player, and gudbranson is my favorite panther. yakupov might be my favorite nhl player outside of panthers, ducks, and red wings, who are my 3 favorite teams.
i know they probably won't move him to the wing, i just wanted to hear opinions on it. i don't think it'd be terrible if he did move, jeff carter does extremely well still and i think of him a lot when i think of bjugstad. i have no problem of having barkov-bjugstad-trocheck as our 3 top centers moving forward.

 

[gudzilla]

well frolik is my favorite nhl player, and gudbranson is my favorite panther. yakupov might be my favorite nhl player outside of panthers, ducks, and red wings, who are my 3 favorite teams.
i know they probably won't move him to the wing, i just wanted to hear opinions on it. i don't think it'd be terrible if he did move, jeff carter does extremely well still and i think of him a lot when i think of bjugstad. i have no problem of having barkov-bjugstad-trocheck as our 3 top centers moving forward.

jeff carter is a tad bit smaller, but i don't remember jeff carter as very solid defensively? however much praise barkov get defensively, i think bjugstad is our2 nd best defensive forward

 

[RainingRats]

I've been impressed with Bjugstad. He looks to be getting better. I think once he gets a few goals he'll gain that needed confidence to play to his abilities.

He's too big and has too much defensive potential to move to the wing. You want a guy with size who can battle down low and in front of your net.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I concur with most. Size, size, size down the middle. Barkov and Bjugstad will make a great 1-2 punch in a couple years. Maybe Trocheck ends up as the #2 center. But you definitely want to keep Bjugstad at that position. Move Shore or Trocheck to wing. Dineen has said that they've already talked to Shore about having to move to the wing when they want him to play there. So it seems like they might be getting him ready for the shift.

 

[FrolikFan67]

I'm more in favor of keeping bjugstad at center too, its just i think, and though things can always change and i can be wrong, but i think trocheck will end up earning that 2nd center position. i think bjugstad and trocheck are both going to be awesome and thats why i want them both in the top-6 and thats why i made this thread. shore i think will most likely be a rw for us with all our center depth. id hate for one of bjugstad or trocheck to be stuck on the 3rd because you really need 2 high end centers as well as a skilled/solid 3rd center but they can easily be had through trade or free agency (like how we got goc). i don't think they'd be able to contribute to their full potential on the 3rd and would command money that 3rd liners don't deserve (because they aren't 3rd line quality, they're higher and will play like it), so i like exploring the idea of fitting them all into the top-6. because of those reasons i could see the one centering the 3rd potentially being traded at some point own the road (not anytime soon, a few years when they develop more and play in the nhl more) for top-6 talent. id love to have our 3 centers of barkov-trocheck-bjugstad as long as possible until contracts start becoming more of an issue. i hope one becomes amazing and centers that 2nd line for a long time behind barkov, and the other i could still see being a great 3rd liner, similar to brandon sutter as far as being a young/talented right handed center man that solidly contributes. either way, having so many young and talented centers is a great problem to have!
just exploring ideas/possibilities

im in favor of keeping bjugstad at center but i think a line of Huberdeau-Trocheck-Bjugstad would look pretty good

Fleischmann-Barkov-???
Huberdeau-Trocheck-???
Bergenheim-Bjugstad-Shore

two top-6 rw's and we'd be set.

 

[LUUUUUIS]

... i think bjugstad and trocheck are both going to be awesome and thats why i want them both in the top-6 ...

Bjugstad and Trocheck are both awesome, and I can understand wanting them both in the top 6. That's why you put Trocheck on the wing.

 

[pb1300]

Bjugstad and Trocheck are both awesome, and I can understand wanting them both in the top 6. That's why you put Trocheck on the wing.

This makes the most logic. I think Trocheck can have success at either wing or center, but Jugs is best suited for center. Moving Bjugstad from center is a mistake, plain and simple.

 

[mbitonti]

You always want size down the middle. Plus, Bjugstad has been really good at faceoffs so far (beat Toews in our own zone with just a few minutes left in a tie ball-game in the third period a few games ago) and very good defensively. Having him and Barky as our top two centers in a year or two gives us the two big, highly skilled, two-way centers this team hasn't had in a while. I think Trocheck will be great as well, and honestly probably better offensively than Bjugstad, but you can't move somebody as big as Bjugstad to the wing and put Trocheck at center. That'd be like moving Big Joe Thornton to left wing and having Couture be his center.

Also, I like Shore as either our number three center of the future or as a right wing. At least thus far he appears to be the lesser skilled of our four main center prospects (Barky, Bjugs, Trocheck, Shore). I think Grimmaldi will need to be moved to wing as well, especially given how small he is. He seems to have some speed and putting him on a line with Huby would be great to watch.

On a slightly related note, Weiss is currently looking at 2 goals, 0 assists, and -5 in 12 games. Don't misunderstand me, Weiss is my all time favorite panther, and I really do not blame him at all for leaving (I probably would have too), but it is nice to see that we're not missing much. I'm sure he'll get it together and end up heating up, but for now it a little consoling to see that Bjugs, Barkov, Goc, and Matthias all have more or the same number of points as our former top center so far.

 

[CaptainScrewy]

I wish this thread was about Trocheck and his ability to play wing. Can he do it? I sure hope so, guy looks like a legit top 6 player in the NHL.

 

[FrolikFan67]

either way, whether its trocheck moving to rw or bjugstad, I'm fine with either as long as their play doesn't suffer from it. if bjugstad stays at center and plays amazing and trocheck is put on the wing and continues to play amazing, then i will be very happy.

 

[pb1300]

either way, whether its trocheck moving to rw or bjugstad, I'm fine with either as long as their play doesn't suffer from it. if bjugstad stays at center and plays amazing and trocheck is put on the wing and continues to play amazing, then i will be very happy.

You just cant put a player like Bjugstad on wing though, its rather pointless. He is good defensively, wins faceoffs, and has size, all of which you want in a center. He is going to be a pain in the butt to play against once he has more experience. As far as our future is concerned, you start with Barkov and Bjugstad as your top two centers, then fill in the rest with whats leftover. That is what is best for this organization.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

You always want size down the middle. Plus, Bjugstad has been really good at faceoffs so far (beat Toews in our own zone with just a few minutes left in a tie ball-game in the third period a few games ago) and very good defensively. Having him and Barky as our top two centers in a year or two gives us the two big, highly skilled, two-way centers this team hasn't had ever. I think Trocheck will be great as well, and honestly probably better offensively than Bjugstad, but you can't move somebody as big as Bjugstad to the wing and put Trocheck at center. That'd be like moving Big Joe Thornton to left wing and having Couture be his center.

Also, I like Shore as either our number three center of the future or as a right wing. At least thus far he appears to be the lesser skilled of our four main center prospects (Barky, Bjugs, Trocheck, Shore). I think Grimmaldi will need to be moved to wing as well, especially given how small he is. He seems to have some speed and putting him on a line with Huby would be great to watch.

On a slightly related note, Weiss is currently looking at 2 goals, 0 assists, and -5 in 12 games. Don't misunderstand me, Weiss is my all time favorite panther, and I really do not blame him at all for leaving (I probably would have too), but it is nice to see that we're not missing much. I'm sure he'll get it together and end up heating up, but for now it a little consoling to see that Bjugs, Barkov, Goc, and Matthias all have more or the same number of points as our former top center so far.

Fixed for ya.

 

[FrolikFan67]

if we can get trocheck as a top-6 rw for us that'd be really big.

 

[pb1300]

if we can get trocheck as a top-6 rw for us that'd be really big.

And if he ends up centering the 3rd line, there is nothing wrong with that. People have this perception about the 3rd line, how its not top six, and how players on the 3rd line arent suited for a top six spot. If players are getting close to equal TOI, then I dont see a problem going with Barkov-Bjugstad-Trocheck down the middle.