Player Discussion Brady Tkachuk: Episode 4 - A new hope

[OD99]

He will get bigger and stronger without even trying at his age so no question he will pack on some muscle and it will absolutely help his game.

His legs and core will continue to get stronger too making him even tougher to move down low.

Kid is a legit player and I see a star emerging before our eyes.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

He deflected both original shots on net; off the goalie's pad (rebound) to a Sens player to Wideman and in.
Have to give credit for him being there to deflect those pucks. He was also instrumental on getting possession to get those original shots in the first place. Deserving of the pts and not easy to manufacture.

Edit: I forgot... lmao

Not saying not deserving. But just as likely he gets zero points yesterday.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Not saying not deserving. But just as likely he gets zero points yesterday.

He does a lot of stuff that leads to goals where he won't always get awarded with the assist. I don't think this is a slight against him, it's a positive.

Forcing a give away, winning a board battle, driving the net, it isn't as sexy as a guy making a great pass but that doesn't make it irrelevant.

(Before any overly sensitive Brady doesn't=Lazar posters chime in, me acknowledging Tkachuk's grittiness is not me saying he doesn't have hands or skill to sometimes make those passes....)

 

[NyQuil]

So far so good.

Eating crow early.

All I ask from young players is the confidence to try and make plays that affect the outcome of games.

Don't just play not to make mistakes.

So far our young guys are generating a lot of the offence.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

And here we go again, he's fine with the weight that he's at.

He's really not. He needs more muscle to realize his potential.

For now? Maybe.

With the style he plays, if he wants to have a long career? Not really. Putting on 10-15 lbs of muscle over the next few years would do the kid a world of good.

Absolutely. Not only for his health though. More muscle mass will help him be more explosive, more balanced and more coordinated.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

The only issue with bulking up is that if he's already not a top level skater, the added weight could slow him down further.

I've seen people often compare Tkachuk's game to Wayne Simmonds. When equalizing for the difference in height, they are roughly the same weight. I don't know how much their body composition differs, but Tkachuk doesn't look to be carrying a ton of body fat.

I think he'll get stronger, and there are things he can do to train his muscles in a way that will improve athletic performance (Core strength, explosiveness), but those things don't necessarily equate to gaining 10-15 pounds of pure muscle over a career.

I'll be surprised if he gets all that much bigger during his career. Battling in front of the net, or in the corners, if he gets injured, I think it'll be less likely that adding size will prevent it. He already appears strong enough to handle his job in the NHL, it'll be the dirty stuff that goes on in front of the net or in the corners that hurts him, if that happens.

 

[scallionjj11]

He's really not. He needs more muscle to realize his potential.



Absolutely. Not only for his health though. More muscle mass will help him be more explosive, more balanced and more coordinated.

And he’s not going to hit his potential in his first year, he’ll naturally get bigger and grow as he just turned 19.

 

[scallionjj11]

For now? Maybe.

With the style he plays, if he wants to have a long career? Not really. Putting on 10-15 lbs of muscle over the next few years would do the kid a world of good.

He’ll be able to gain weight as he keeps getting older, he’ll be fine once he grows into his body.

 

[BonkTastic]

he's fine with the weight that he's at.

he’ll be fine once he grows into his body.

Well... which one is it?

 

[Sentron5000]

I remember a lot of posters criticizing Tkachuk's shot as weak, which had no basis other than scoring 8 goals in college last year. Too many posters were stat watching in regards to Tkachuk and not actually observing his play to form their opinions.

Like this guy?

 

[BonkTastic]

Like this guy?

Oh hey, it's a guy who usually makes bad knee-jerk reactions about the Senators shaming a guy who is usually way too apologetic about the Senators in a bad way.

Sweet. There's a middle ground between those two guys that is pretty much the ideal spot to be in as a fan, lol.

 

[aragorn]

IMO he is just going to continue to get better especially as he matures & puts on a little more muscle. The fact that he can do so many things well now that help win hockey games is the key to him being the better pick for the Sens. IMO he makes the team harder to play against, tougher, bigger, more skilled & makes the players around him better. He's just one of those special players that has that "it factor" that the media seem to love & can't get enough of him.

 

[Peptic Balcers]

Brady was one of the oldest players in the draft, he's supposed to be ahead of everyone else in terms of development. Don't get me wrong, he's doing really well and he's growing on me a lot. But let's slow down with the "I told you so's" and "Zadina Who?'s"

 

[scallionjj11]

Well... which one is it?

He's fine now and it'll be even that much better once he gets some man meat on him. Good chance it runs in the family.

The point still stands that he can play at this weight and put up some points, i know its over a small sample size but things are looking up.

It'll just be icing on the cake once he gains some muscle.

 

[Micklebot]

Brady was one of the oldest players in the draft, he's supposed to be ahead of everyone else in terms of development. Don't get me wrong, he's doing really well and he's growing on me a lot. But let's slow down with the "I told you so's" and "Zadina Who?'s"

Zadina, Hughes and Bouchard were all 99 born too, Bouchard and Hughes are about a month younger than Tkachuk and the guy you mentioned, Zadina was 2 and half months younger. There is no significant development advantage between them.

 

[Sensinitis]

Zadina, Hughes and Bouchard were all 99 born too, Bouchard and Hughes are about a month younger than Tkachuk and the guy you mentioned, Zadina was 2 and half months younger. There is no significant development advantage between them.

Always just spitting cold hard facts. Bless you micklebot.

 

[JungleBeat]

I would have preferred the high rated dmen or Zadina/Wahlstrom with our pick. We’ll have to wait and see now.

 

[Peptic Balcers]

Zadina, Hughes and Bouchard were all 99 born too, Bouchard and Hughes are about a month younger than Tkachuk and the guy you mentioned, Zadina was 2 and half months younger. There is no significant development advantage between them.

Fair, the point I was trying to make was lets not say we won the draft based on his 3 game sample

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Fair, the point I was trying to make was lets not say we won the draft based on his 3 game sample

That name change is amazing.

 

[Peptic Balcers]

That name change is amazing.

Thanks I got a peptic ulcer living in constant fear and over drinking due to the uncertainty of the Karlsson situation so it felt right.

 

[Bileur]

And here we go again, he's fine with the weight that he's at.

I don’t know why you feel the need to defend him, so didn’t say anything negative. It was quite positive.

I said « he certainly isn’t getting pushed around out there. I’m very impressed. ». I don’t even know how this is in any way incoherent with what I quoted from you here or with what you posted later in the thread.

When I talk about the added weight it’s just a pretty solid assumption given that his brother who has a smaller frame plays at over 200lbs and that his father played at 230. I’m not saying he’ll end up that big, particularly in the new NHL but he’s very likely to put some on and the result will likely be awesome.

 

[branch]

For now? Maybe.

With the style he plays, if he wants to have a long career? Not really. Putting on 10-15 lbs of muscle over the next few years would do the kid a world of good.

And he will. He’s going to fill out naturally. When I was 19 I was like 140lbs.

 

[robsenz]

I would have preferred the high rated dmen or Zadina/Wahlstrom with our pick. We’ll have to wait and see now.

I am so confident that Wahlstrom's game won't translate to the NHL as well as people think, He'll be like a Ryan Strome type player.

 

[Sensinitis]

I am so confident that Wahlstrom's game won't translate to the NHL as well as people think, He'll be like a Ryan Strome type player.

He has a much better shot and wheels than Ryan Strome does, but yeah I don’t think he’ll outproduce Brady who already has him beat in literally every other aspect of hockey.

 

[Samsquanch]

Brady was one of the oldest players in the draft, he's supposed to be ahead of everyone else in terms of development. Don't get me wrong, he's doing really well and he's growing on me a lot. But let's slow down with the "I told you so's" and "Zadina Who?'s"

I don't know for sure but personally, even if Zadina becomes does become a dynamic 35 goal/year winger, which is possible, I just cant see this team regretting picking Brady as the center piece of their rebuild.

He would have to fall so hard on his face for that to happen at this point, and that seems very far fetched based on what we've seen.

Brady is the face of change and a new era of hockey in Ottawa, and hes helped the culture change here from his first rookie game.