Player Discussion Brett Howden

[SnowblindNYR]

Wrong thread.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Caught a bit too deep on the 5th goal against but other than that, he was pretty f***ing good once again. Rarely do you see someone step in at his age and be such an effective 3 zone player right off the bat.

Play him more, hes earned it.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Caught a bit too deep on the 5th goal against but other than that, he was pretty ****ing good once again. Rarely do you see someone step in at his age and be such an effective 3 zone player right off the bat.

Play him more, hes earned it.

He kind of reminds me of our other 21 when he made the team at 20 years old

 

[Draft Guru]

Made a filthy pass to set up Vesey on a silver platter in the third and he flubbed it. Poor Vesey should legit have 6 goals this season by now

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He kind of reminds me of our other 21 when he made the team at 20 years old

The difference between them is that I think Howden is a better skater and he's also bigger. Stepan had a tick or two better offensive ability and hockey IQ, not that Howden is bad in this area.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

He kind of reminds me of our other 21 when he made the team at 20 years old

I see the similarities for sure.

Stepan was more advanced offensively at that age though I think Howden is a better defensive player than Step was at 20.

Either way, he looks like a long term fixture here. If anyone is looking to invest in a new Rangers jersey, I think Howden is a pretty safe buy.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

The difference between them is that I think Howden is a better skater and he's also bigger. Stepan had a tick or two better offensive ability and hockey IQ, not that Howden is bad in this area.

Thinking ahead like 15 years, Stepan’s one of those guys that I can see being a great coach just because of how well he understands the game. It’s honestly kind of amazing what he can do with almost no standout physical ability

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Made a filthy pass to set up Vesey on a silver platter in the third and he flubbed it. Poor Vesey should legit have 6 goals this season by now

It's not bad luck though. It's bad skills.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

It's amazing how much better he is in the regular season. He'll be a very good player. Maybe won't be an elite #2 center but could definitely be a good one.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Thinking ahead like 15 years, Stepan’s one of those guys that I can see being a great coach just because of how well he understands the game. It’s honestly kind of amazing what he can do with almost no standout physical ability

He is one of the least physically gifted players I've ever seen at the NHL level.

Hockey IQ>everything else. If he had Howden's size and skating he would have been elite.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

He is one of the least physically gifted players I've ever seen at the NHL level.

Hockey IQ>everything else. If he had Howden's size and skating he would have been elite.

It was honestly astonishing at how many odd man rushes he always seemed to end up being a part of. I think he was super underrated in how much he drove this team while he was here.

On Howden, I’m really excited to see what he looks like at game 10, 20, etc (and in the playoffs when this team is eventually on the up and up)

 

[egelband]

Thinking ahead like 15 years, Stepan’s one of those guys that I can see being a great coach just because of how well he understands the game. It’s honestly kind of amazing what he can do with almost no standout physical ability

Not to be contrarian, but it’s a lot different coaching and communicating. In fact, a guy with great instincts might have a harder time teaching someone how to do it. It’s often the guys that had to work really hard at it, and never made it at all, in some cases, who become the best coaches. Anyhow, you may be right. Just a thought.

 

[Edge]

He is one of the least physically gifted players I've ever seen at the NHL level.

Hockey IQ>everything else. If he had Howden's size and skating he would have been elite.

It reminds me of a conversation I was a part of many years ago with someone in the Flyers scouting department about Mike Richards. They essentially said the same thing about him and how if you met him on the streets, he probably looked like someone who would be doing your accounting and not centering your first line in the NHL.

It led to an interesting conversation about how some guys are just "hockey players." It's what they do, it's what they understand, and it's where their talents converge. They aren't necessarily outstanding athletes, or physical specimens, but they are very good at playing hockey.

You want to take the concept to the extreme, look no further than Phil Kessel.

 

[dangsLITE]

It reminds me of a conversation I was a part of many years ago with someone in the Flyers scouting department about Mike Richards. They essentially said the same thing about him and how if you met him on the streets, he probably looked like someone who would be doing your accounting and not centering your first line in the NHL.

It led to an interesting conversation about how some guys are just "hockey players." It's what they do, it's what they understand, and it's where their talents converge. They aren't necessarily outstanding athletes, or physical specimens, but they are very good at playing hockey.

You want to take the concept to the extreme, look no further than Phil Kessel.

LOL. I know Kessel isn't the most athletic looking guy ever but to act like he isn't athletic is literally the one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard.

Anyone with speed like that has incredible fast twitch muscles and is in fact a naturally gifted athlete. Indisputable.

 

[RangerBoy]

This.

Jed Ortmeyer is the Rangers director of player development. He talked the Minnesota broadcasters at Traverse City. They were doing the games on the Fox Go app for the Wild. They said Ortmeyer compared Howden to Toews. Howden can be a Toews type of player.

If Howden is in the Toews/Monahan mold and he becomes a legit top 6 center/forward on this team, the Rangers won the trade and it doesn’t matter what the other guys do. Some of them look to be potential NHL players like Hajek and Lundkvist. Hopefully they can flip Namestnikov for more assets. They still have the potential of an additional 1st if Tampa wins the Cup or at least a 2nd. Howden is the key.

The Rangers were not re-signing McDonagh or Miller. They only had them for this season.

 

[East Coast Bias]

LOL. I know Kessel isn't the most athletic looking guy ever but to act like he isn't athletic is literally the one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard.

Anyone with speed like that has incredible fast twitch muscles and is in fact a naturally gifted athlete. Indisputable.

He's talking about relative to other players and people in general.

I've met Stepan on the street. My wife was with me and has zero interest in sports. I told her afterwards he's a great hockey player. She was stunned. He and I look about the same size and build in person. That's where the comparison ends.

 

[Edge]

LOL. I know Kessel isn't the most athletic looking guy ever but to act like he isn't athletic is literally the one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard.

Anyone with speed like that has incredible fast twitch muscles and is in fact a naturally gifted athlete. Indisputable.

Well, obviously, anyone playing in the highest league in a sport is going to have athletic ability. The point was that we're not talking about multi-sport athletes, or guys who are dominating the competition because their genetic makeup is startling.

Some guys you meet, and they're natural athletes. They can pick up a bat and hit a baseball, they can learn a lot of sports quickly and not look foolish doing so. You meet them, and you know right away they are just built differently.

Some guys are amazing hockey players.

 

[Lone Ranger]

Thinking ahead like 15 years, Stepan’s one of those guys that I can see being a great coach just because of how well he understands the game. It’s honestly kind of amazing what he can do with almost no standout physical ability

When your standout physical talent is elite male pattern baldness before age 25, and you still become an outstanding hockey player, Stepan deserves a lot of credit.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Thinking ahead like 15 years, Stepan’s one of those guys that I can see being a great coach just because of how well he understands the game. It’s honestly kind of amazing what he can do with almost no standout physical ability

He finished first or second in a recent player poll that asked other players who was most likely to become a coach when they retired. So you definitely aren't alone in that opinion.

Edit - just double-checked. It was an ESPN player poll, and he finished second with 4.5% of the vote to Crosby's 5.7%.

 

[trench23]

It reminds me of a conversation I was a part of many years ago with someone in the Flyers scouting department about Mike Richards. They essentially said the same thing about him and how if you met him on the streets, he probably looked like someone who would be doing your accounting and not centering your first line in the NHL.

It led to an interesting conversation about how some guys are just "hockey players." It's what they do, it's what they understand, and it's where their talents converge. They aren't necessarily outstanding athletes, or physical specimens, but they are very good at playing hockey.

You want to take the concept to the extreme, look no further than Phil Kessel.

I would add Adam Oates to the comparison. Awesome vision and IQ. Horrible skater/not much physical prowess. He didn't turn out to be the best coach...

 

[Inferno]

Well, obviously, anyone playing in the highest league in a sport is going to have athletic ability. The point was that we're not talking about multi-sport athletes, or guys who are dominating the competition because their genetic makeup is startling.

Some guys you meet, and they're natural athletes. They can pick up a bat and hit a baseball, they can learn a lot of sports quickly and not look foolish doing so. You meet them, and you know right away they are just built differently.

Some guys are amazing hockey players.

Yeah my goalie is a freak
He is mid 50s and I thought he was my age (mid 30s). He was a high level skater in Atlanta hockey...decided to try goalie...and he's like...incredible.

He's also a wonderful person so you can't hate the guy for being such a freak of nature. Lol

 

[Unusual Suspect]

I'm of the pretty firm opinion that Stepan should have been chosen captain rather than McDonagh... and the team would have benefited doubly because a) Stepan would have been a more skilled leader (more openly communicative while still having the lead-by-example capacity) and b) McDonagh would probably not have sagged as he did, which I think had as much to do with the perceived responsibility as with injury. Stepan always struck me as a born-to-lead type.

 

[Edge]

The interesting thing with Howden over the years is that he's had a tendency to elevate his play in big- game situations. Certainly, that's going to be more difficult to do in the NHL, but I'm hopeful it's a trend that continues.

We talk a lot about Andersson as a future leader of this team, but I think Howden's potential to be a leader is pretty high up there as well.

 

[Fitzy]

He is one of the least physically gifted players I've ever seen at the NHL level.

Hockey IQ>everything else. If he had Howden's size and skating he would have been elite.

If we count Stepan's hand softness with deflections as a physical gift he definitely comes out of the bottom 5.

I'm also quite confident that I'm a more gifted hockey player than Trevor Gillies was.

On Howden, so far so good. He's getting bigger and bigger roles already. 20 years old.

 

[LeetchisGod]

The interesting thing with Howden over the years is that he's had a tendency to elevate his play in big- game situations. Certainly, that's going to be more difficult to do in the NHL, but I'm hopeful it's a trend that continues.

We talk a lot about Andersson as a future leader of this team, but I think Howden's potential to be a leader is pretty high up there as well.

You can never have too many.