Player Discussion Brady Tkachuk: Episode 6 - Return of the F.A.

[Sensung]

I know. The Sens are well connected to the media and pay regularly to have their low stock players hyped.

Here’s some MOAR for you from Silver Sevens:

Perhaps the biggest factor in Tkachuk’s transition into the NHL was his relationship, both on and off the ice, with Mark Stone. Their chemistry was immediate and noticeable: they were the only two Sens to post a positive CF% for the season and their line with Colin White dominated in the way you’d expect a good first line to. There was concern for Tkachuk’s play after the loss of his mentor in a mid-season trade, and while there was an adjustment period, overall Tkachuk continued to progress and impress on his own merit. He finished his rook campaign with 22 goals and 45 points in 71 games played.

As Tkachuk fully grows and gains more experience, he has the potential to be a staple of not only the team but one of the stars of the league. Some fans are already calling him for to be named Captain and while I think he’s too young and inexperienced, he certainly does possess the qualities to become a leader in the room in a very short period of time.

So in response to my statement that Brady is overhyped, you post articles where his current and future impact is overstated. Interesting tactic.

What % of Sens articles this year focussed on Brady?

What % of Sens articles this year focussed on Chabot?

The more talented player is undersold and the far less talented player received an avalanche of coverage. Hence OVERHYPED.

 

[Agent Zub]

Brady is definitely overhyped on this board.

It's understandable though. The team lost all of it's skill in a 1 year period and picked Brady Tkachuk with it's highest pick in close to 20 years.

Chabot is a much better hockey player and has much higher upside.

 

[Masked]

Brady is definitely overhyped on this board.

It's understandable though. The team lost all of it's skill in a 1 year period and picked Brady Tkachuk with it's highest pick in close to 20 years.

Chabot is a much better hockey player and has much higher upside.

Chabot is also older and closer to his full potential. Which has higher upside - a blueliner in contention for the Norris every year or the best power forward in the league?

 

[Agent Zub]

Chabot is also older and closer to his full potential. Which has higher upside - a blueliner in contention for the Norris every year or the best power forward in the league?

That's not close. Chabot easily.

Would you rather an Evander Kane or Alex Pieterangelo?

 

[Masked]

That's not close. Chabot easily.

Would you rather an Evander Kane or Alex Pieterangelo?

Bad comparison. Would you rather Ray Bourque or Cam Neely?

 

[Agent Zub]

Bad comparison. Would you rather Ray Bourque or Cam Neely?

Ray Bourque easily. I like my star players to have a gritty, physical edge as much as anyone. But in terms playing ability i want them to be playing chess out there.

Players that constantly outthink the opposition and make their teammates better. Brady Tkachuk isn't that. Brady however provides a very effective and rare game that any great team would salivate to add. He makes every shift hard for the opposition. Those guys are money.

But if you want to be a great team, Brady Tkachuk has to be like your 4th or so best guy. If he's your best guy, you're in trouble.

 

[Masked]

Ray Bourque easily. I like my star players to have a gritty, physical edge as much as anyone. But in terms playing ability i want them to be playing chess out there.

Players that constantly outthink the opposition and make their teammates better. Brady Tkachuk isn't that. Brady however provides a very effective and rare game that any great team would salivate to add. He makes every shift hard for the opposition. Those guys are money.

But if you want to be a great team, Brady Tkachuk has to be like your 4th or so best guy. If he's your best guy, you're in trouble.

Guess you don't remember Gary Roberts performance in 2002 against the Senators.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Bergeron vs Marchand.
Getzlaf vs Perry.
Sundin vs Roberts.
Giordano vs M. Tkachuk

Chabot deserves the C. He’s our best player and contributes higher to overall team success.
But I agree Tkachuk is a unique case and is uniquely rare and powerful player. I think he would benefit best without the C where he can still play his devilish and effective game while Chabot makes magic happen like he did for team Canada and his junior team.

in a perfect world both get A and Laf gets the C

 

[Sensung]

Guess you don't remember Gary Roberts performance in 2002 against the Senators.

Guess you don’t remember EK's far more impressive performance in 2017.

 

[Masked]

Guess you don’t remember EK's far more impressive performance in 2017.

I remember it very well. But Chabot is not Karlsson.

 

[Sensung]

I remember it very well. But Chabot is not Karlsson.

And Brady is not Roberts.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

And Brady is not Roberts.

Much better

 

[Masked]

And Brady is not Roberts.

That's right. He might end up better.

 

[Sensung]

That's right. He might end up better.

What is this "might" stuff?

Brady's a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer!!!

 

[Masked]

What is this "might" stuff?

Brady's a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer!!!

Glad that you're finally posting something that make sense.

 

[Que]

Brady is a tough read. He’s a goof at times but he also exudes something called ‘it’

It’s still early but I think Tkachuk has the potential to be a better captain. He looks to have more mental resilience and toughness and that’s more important than skill in a captain.

Chabot is at his best when he plays fast, and mistakes happen that way. Those mistakes on top of being captain compound the pressure on a player. I don’t want another EK situation on our hands where we burn out a talent far too early.

 

[GCK]

EK delivered that performance as our captain and while injured.

And now Sens “fans” smear his name and legacy.

I have never seen any Sens fan not agree that EKs performance in the ‘17 playoffs was the best stretch any Sens player has ever had. Now if you want to talk about his game since then you will get a debate.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Much better

I like Brady....but saying he'll be a Cam Neely or Gary Roberts...that's going a bit far.

Let's not put those kinds of expectations on the kid, especially when he doesn't have much of a supporting cast.

Let's let Brady be Brady, and be happy to have him.

 

[Samsquanch]

Brady is definitely overhyped on this board.

It's understandable though. The team lost all of it's skill in a 1 year period and picked Brady Tkachuk with it's highest pick in close to 20 years.

Chabot is a much better hockey player and has much higher upside.

Its not just Sens fans that are blown away by him and his impact so far. And its not just because he was a high pick either and we have blinders on as to what we have with him

There is clearly something special about Brady Tkachuk, and I think its silly to argue otherwise. Say what you will about the importance of drafting players with good character, but Brady and his personality are really in a tier of their own.

The hockey media outside of Ottawa adores him for the exact same reasons that we do, and hes a constant source of outside attention for the Sens (in a positive way). Hes just a fun player to watch and follow.

I dont think that many people will argue that hes going to be a PPG player in his prime, which I would start to consider overhyping if the majority of us were pushing that idea hard.... While its possible, I dont hear anyone at all saying it...

30 goals and 60-70pts and 300+ hits is a fairly safe estimate at this point for his prime years. But its his ability to raise the intensity in a game and drag his team along with him that might be his best quality. Yet its the hardest one to quantify...

Regardless none of that above is overhyping him imo, considering how well hes done in his first two seasons on a horrendously weak offensive team.

And at least imo, I feel like that level of production in his prime in conjunction with the everything else he does for his team will make him one of the most valuable wingers in the NHL one day.

 

[Masked]

I like Brady....but saying he'll be a Cam Neely or Gary Roberts...that's going a bit far.

Except I didn't say that. I said he has the potential to be that. There's a difference.

Let's not put those kinds of expectations on the kid, especially when he doesn't have much of a supporting cast.

Lets not pretend that this place is more than it is. Expectations and statements made here are worth zero in the real world.

His dad scored over a 1000 points in the league. His brother is a star on a $7M/year deal. And Brady was drafted higher than either of them. But lets not put expectations on him here because he couldn't handle that.

 

[Agent Zub]

Except I didn't say that. I said he has the potential to be that. There's a difference.



Lets not pretend that this place is more than it is. Expectations and statements made here are worth zero in the real world.

His dad scored over a 1000 points in the league. His brother is a star on a $7M/year deal. And Brady was drafted higher than either of them. But lets not put expectations on him here because he couldn't handle that.

If Matthew Tkachuk was the best forward on this team id have no problem with that. But Brady isn't Matt.

Aside from pest aspect they have very different skill levels and playstyles.

Brady is more comparable to players like Milan Lucic, Dustin Brown etc. He comes into the league much more polished than either so he might top out even higher than them. But that's the caliber of player Brady projects to.

And this is no slight, Prime Lucic and Prime Brown were really good.

 

[Masked]

If Matthew Tkachuk was the best forward on this team id have no problem with that. But Brady isn't Matt.

Aside from pest aspect they have very different skill levels and playstyles.

Brady is more comparable to players like Milan Lucic, Dustin Brown etc. He comes into the league much more polished than either so he might top out even higher than them. But that's the caliber of player Brady projects to.

And this is no slight, Prime Lucic and Prime Brown were really good.

I never said Matthew and Brady play alike or don't play alike. Why are you replying to something that I never said?

 

[Samsquanch]

If Matthew Tkachuk was the best forward on this team id have no problem with that. But Brady isn't Matt.

Aside from pest aspect they have very different skill levels and playstyles.

Brady is more comparable to players like Milan Lucic, Dustin Brown etc. He comes into the league much more polished than either so he might top out even higher than them. But that's the caliber of player Brady projects to.

And this is no slight, Prime Lucic and Prime Brown were really good.

I dont think the gap is nearly as big as you think it is between Brady and Matthew.

Ill agree that Brady is more aggressive and physical, and Matthew plays more of a skilled game. But Brady really isnt all that far off of Matthews pace over his first two seasons, and by comparison Matt had considerably better players in Calgary to play with, and got easier minutes because of their depth.

It might be a hot take, but I personally dont think that Matthew makes the same kind of impact in Ottawa that Brady did in years 1 and 2. Brady seems more like he was more polished and mature, and a better leader, even if hes slightly less skilled than his bro at the same age. And that it just goes to show that points arent the only metric that counts in the real world.

 

[SAK11]

I dont think the gap is nearly as big as you think it is between Brady and Matthew.

Ill agree that Brady is more aggressive and physical, and Matthew plays more of a skilled game. But Brady really isnt all that far off of Matthews pace over his first two seasons, and by comparison Matt had considerably better players in Calgary to play with, and got easier minutes because of their depth.

It might be a hot take, but I personally dont think that Matthew makes the same kind of impact in Ottawa that Brady did in years 1 and 2. Brady seems more like he was more polished and mature, and a better leader, even if hes slightly less skilled than his bro at the same age. And that it just goes to show that points arent the only metric that counts in the real world.

In comparing years 1 and 2 of the two Tkachuk's, Brady has 2 less games, 7 more goals and 8 less points. So they are certainly comparable. It was in year 3 that Matthew broke out, though, with 30+ goals and close to 80 points. That certainly doesn't happen with every young player, so we'll see if Brady can make that type of jump.

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

I legitimately can't understand how a Sens fan could not like Tkachuk. He's going to be a fan favourite for years to come.