Confirmed with Link: Caps sign madison bowey to 2 year deal at 1 mil per

[HTFN]

Has his ceiling collapsed? He scored an awful lot of goals in Kelowna. IIRC he was a captain as well. That points to a much higher ceiling than what we have today. What happened? I seem to remember some injuries, but once he hit Hershey, his scoring vanished.

I presume he was forced to focus on learning defense, and that it remains a priority today.

File under the never happen category, but I would like to see him get a sniff here and there on PP2.

what happened is that his game was already "polished" at the WHL level and the majority of his points seemed to come by being 5-10% more physically talented than his peers.

I never got the impression with him that there was another level to uncover. He may get more physically mature and experienced, but the way he sees and thinks the game is somewhat basic. As he climbs the ranks and finds himself surrounded with more physically talented people, that production was expected to evaporate (and so far it has). He'll get some of it back when he matures but I think he only goes as far as his body can take him, as his decision making and creativity is too pedestrian for my taste.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I feel like he was overwhelmed and just tried to focus on D and he gimped himself. Either that or he was instructed to play more defensively.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

what happened is that his game was already "polished" at the WHL level and the majority of his points seemed to come by being 5-10% more physically talented than his peers.

I never got the impression with him that there was another level to uncover. He may get more physically mature and experienced, but the way he sees and thinks the game is somewhat basic. As he climbs the ranks and finds himself surrounded with more physically talented people, that production was expected to evaporate (and so far it has). He'll get some of it back when he matures but I think he only goes as far as his body can take him, as his decision making and creativity is too pedestrian for my taste.

So it’s all between the ears for him in your opinion? How much did you watch him in Jr’s? I may have seen a few games tops so I have no idea of how he really carried himself at that level.

 

[Ridley Simon]

People writing him off is silly.

But the Caps have a lot of good D prospects. So....if they can sign an Orpik to play #6, then I’d rather see them deal Bowey for a forward type prospect in return....so he’s not #7 in the press box when all are healthy.

They may not sign another D. Least, not someone that expects to start a la Orpik. It’s a tough position for the team. Orpik is Reirden (and the teams) “guy”.....so I’d be shocked if they don’t try and bring him back if the money works (read, Wilson is under 4.5m/yr AAV).

So then what w Bowey? Injury plug in and press box warrior?

I dunno. For this years team, I am partial to Orpik. For the future, I’m partial to Bowey.

Decisions....decisions......decisions.

I also think they sign G Lehtonen to a cheap 1yr deal. Push Copley down/out. Vanacek would also need a slot.

Lots of fringe issues hanging around.. but we say how important a solid back up G was this past season.

 

[racingmoose]

So it’s all between the ears for him in your opinion? How much did you watch him in Jr’s? I may have seen a few games tops so I have no idea of how he really carried himself at that level.

I'll probably get blasted like I did in the Hershey part of the forum, but having seen nearly all of his AHL games in Hershey it is mostly between the ears for him. Yes, he could appear to be the best player on the ice at times with his physical gifts but he also would make many mistakes, bad decisions putting himself out of position, and show lack of hustle. Hopefully he can get the mental part straightened out.

 

[Chockey Hockey]

When he got sent back to Hershey for awhile this past season, he was far and away the best defenseman on the ice. It looked to me like he really learned something and played with a lot of confidence. For some reason however, many fans ragged on him but then again, they have no clue what they are watching.

 

[racingmoose]

When he got sent back to Hershey for awhile this past season, he was far and away the best defenseman on the ice. It looked to me like he really learned something and played with a lot of confidence. For some reason however, many fans ragged on him but then again, they have no clue what they are watching.

Sort of what I expected. As I said, at times he was the best defenseman on the ice. But those who really understand the game could see the mental mistakes. If he corrects that part of his game and ups the hustle, he has all the tools.

 

[HTFN]

So it’s all between the ears for him in your opinion? How much did you watch him in Jr’s? I may have seen a few games tops so I have no idea of how he really carried himself at that level.

Yep. He can make relatively simple plays look good because his skills are there and he's an NHL caliber athlete, but I don't think I would ever label him as a "clever" player. They're not precisely the same as players but in terms of their NHL adaptability I see him something like Luke Schenn. In Juniors it was impressive to watch them play the game, but not necessarily think the game. Get to the NHL where everyone is just that much quicker with their decision making and for every moment that they do something physically impressive (big hit, shot, whatever) there will probably be two or three where they thought the game too slow and got doped. Narrow the gap on the advantage that they had physically and now it's harder to lean on/catch up to the guy too, and suddenly they don't look so defensively capable anymore either.

All of this being said I still think he can be plenty effective, I just think it will take some significant learning of the NHL game, if not an overhaul on his game and what his role should be going forward.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Yep. He can make relatively simple plays look good because his skills are there and he's an NHL caliber athlete, but I don't think I would ever label him as a "clever" player. They're not precisely the same as players but in terms of their NHL adaptability I see him something like Luke Schenn. In Juniors it was impressive to watch them play the game, but not necessarily think the game. Get to the NHL where everyone is just that much quicker with their decision making and for every moment that they do something physically impressive (big hit, shot, whatever) there will probably be two or three where they thought the game too slow and got doped. Narrow the gap on the advantage that they had physically and now it's harder to lean on/catch up to the guy too, and suddenly they don't look so defensively capable anymore either.

All of this being said I still think he can be plenty effective, I just think it will take some significant learning of the NHL game, if not an overhaul on his game and what his role should be going forward.

Honestly though....had he been talented in the “thinking” aspects of the game, he never would have been available as a 2nd rounder.

IMO the real mistake we made, was we didn’t trade him a few summers ago. His star was still really bright, and we could’ve gotten a lot for him as a top prospect. Now? Not so much.

 

[HTFN]

Honestly though....had he been talented in the “thinking” aspects of the game, he never would have been available as a 2nd rounder.

IMO the real mistake we made, was we didn’t trade him a few summers ago. His star was still really bright, and we could’ve gotten a lot for him as a top prospect. Now? Not so much.

agree wholeheartedly. would have done it when the kelowna hype was at its fullest.

 

[maacoshark]

Sounds like you guys are giving up on him. You guys all know it takes dmen more time to develop. He may never turn into a good NHL dman but ut s way too early to tell. He is only 23.