Player Discussion Chris Wagner

[Otherworld]

There are a couple of different Bruins that equally deserve to be named 7th player. Wagner is a really good choice not only because of the work he has done throughout the year. But for what he exemplifies as well.

Wagner has been very consistent in leaving it all out there and emptying his tank every single game. Not to say that other players haven't done the same, he has just been the best example of that.

Congrats Waggs!

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Well deserved. Carlo would have been ok but I think most of us expected Carlo to up his game this year. Wagners been a lot better than you can expect a 4th liner to be.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

There are a couple of different Bruins that equally deserve to be named 7th player. Wagner is a really good choice not only because of the work he has done throughout the year. But for what he exemplifies as well.

Wagner has been very consistent in leaving it all out there and emptying his tank every single game. Not to say that other players haven't done the same, he has just been the best example of that.

Congrats Waggs!

I honestly thought wagner had 2 goals and 1 assist over his first 28 games this season and most people were saying he sucked

oh wait, I just double checked and I am right..

all credit goes to wagner for playing the next 40 games quite well but to say he was a standout the whole season is wrong

and honestly anyone who doesnt expect at least 18 points from a fulltime 4th liner is really not expecting much at all. im glad wagner players a high temple physical game gut that was exactly why he has a job. its not above and beyond expectations

 

[Otherworld]

I honestly thought wagner had 2 goals and 1 assist over his first 28 games this season and most people were saying he sucked

oh wait, I just double checked and I am right..

all credit goes to wagner for playing the next 40 games quite well but to say he was a standout the whole season is wrong

and honestly anyone who doesnt expect at least 18 points from a fulltime 4th liner is really not expecting much at all. im glad wagner players a high temple physical game gut that was exactly why he has a job. its not above and beyond expectations

The Wagner pick tells me, and probably others on the team that you are more than just a stat line. He stands out because he exemplifies what it means to be a Bruin. Again, you don't need a ton of points to do that IMO.

A lunch bucket mentality will serve everyone on the team very well and Wagner is a great example of it.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

The Wagner pick tells me, and probably others on the team that you are more than just a stat line. He stands out because he exemplifies what it means to be a Bruin. Again, you don't need a ton of points to do that IMO.

A lunch bucket mentality will serve everyone on the team very well and Wagner is a great example of it.

wasnt he signed to be more than a stat line? wasnt his physical play already top shelf even before he got here?

I guess his pick simply says a bunch of voters for this award had no real clue who he was or what to expect from him

but... I will share a secret with you... at around the 25 game mark there was lots of vocal posters here saying he sucked because he had no stats. these people became convinced he sucked.

later he scored some big time goals that got noticed... and these fans accepted that the line was being used to play physical [which it was the entire year. I personally debated many posters here who said he sucked and said he isnt here to score}

the support for him as 7th player is 100% because he scored some points recently and thats as long as the voters really are able to remember. his 6 goals in his last 20 games projects very well for a 4th liner and would be worthy of 7th player if it hadnt only been a 20 game number

he won the award because he had a good stat line in the most recent stretch of games that the voters were capable of remembering... and they thought he overachieved because their memory of him before those 20 games was that he sucked for us and they had no clue who he was before he arrived in camp this past fall

I just use the 'stats' because I hope to educate these voters for next year. an 18 point season for a 4th liner is rather normal... and playing physical is why he had a job in the first place. there was nothing exceptional to wagners season other than he won over some fans who previously thought he was crap not because he was crap, but only because they didnt know any better

 

[arider1990]

the 7th player shouldn't just go to whoever was an obscure player that no one understood could play... its called 7th player because a team can put 6 guys on the ice when things are 'important'

these 6 guys are expected to be the difference makers for your team... on our team I would say they are
pastrnak/Bergeron/marchand/McAvoy/chara/rask

now... krecji is sort of in a gray zone... most of us expect a good second line performance out of him for his 7 mill contract and based on his past. he's been good, but honestly I don't think he has exceeded expectations. rather just met them

for me that's where wagner/kuraly are too. neither has played well enough to earn regular promotion off the 4th line. have they been very good 4th liners? no doubt... am I happy they have played career best hockey? no doubt. but have they really given us more than we expected?

grzelyck hasn't really played himself above that bottom pair/rotation... we expected that... hes delivered. maybe he deserved 7th player last year? but mostly because he was obscure last year.

the one guy who has marketly improved his performance over last year and probably changed a lot of informed opinions is carlo. no one was thinking of him as a front line player going into this season. now hes regularly the min leader on the team and the guy getting put out there when the game is on the line even ahead of McAvoy/chara/krug

if you look at why the award was created and named... its for the guy who becomes the 7th in line for glory after the starters. the one that the light didn't shine on but deserves more.

carlo has been good the whole year... not just 1/3 of the year... hes the 7th player

I agree on everything except the stuff about Krejci. He is 4 points away from tying his career best in points and 1 assist from tying that. He is currently having his second best season for points. And he also is the only player on the team that has played every game. To top it off he has seen more wingers than he should have. I personally expected a low 60 point season at best and him missing a game or two not the season he is having which is definitely more than expected.

 

[Kalus]

wasnt he signed to be more than a stat line? wasnt his physical play already top shelf even before he got here?

I guess his pick simply says a bunch of voters for this award had no real clue who he was or what to expect from him

but... I will share a secret with you... at around the 25 game mark there was lots of vocal posters here saying he sucked because he had no stats. these people became convinced he sucked.

later he scored some big time goals that got noticed... and these fans accepted that the line was being used to play physical [which it was the entire year. I personally debated many posters here who said he sucked and said he isnt here to score}

the support for him as 7th player is 100% because he scored some points recently and thats as long as the voters really are able to remember. his 6 goals in his last 20 games projects very well for a 4th liner and would be worthy of 7th player if it hadnt only been a 20 game number

he won the award because he had a good stat line in the most recent stretch of games that the voters were capable of remembering... and they thought he overachieved because their memory of him before those 20 games was that he sucked for us and they had no clue who he was before he arrived in camp this past fall

I just use the 'stats' because I hope to educate these voters for next year. an 18 point season for a 4th liner is rather normal... and playing physical is why he had a job in the first place. there was nothing exceptional to wagners season other than he won over some fans who previously thought he was crap not because he was crap, but only because they didnt know any better

Don't forget the local guy factor.

 

[mikelvl]

Seventh player is the guy who goes above and beyond expectations. I can honestly say that I had no idea what Wagner was going to bring, other than bottom six depth. Didn't stay up late to watch too may Ducks games. They actually got it right this year by not giving it to the high scorer.

 

[missingchicklet]

Well deserved. Carlo would have been ok but I think most of us expected Carlo to up his game this year. Wagners been a lot better than you can expect a 4th liner to be.

That's the way I see it as well. I said preseason that I felt Carlo was going to take his game to a new level, which he did. Not surprised at all in his play this year. Halak had a great stretch, but he really hasn't gone above and beyond expectations on the whole. Wagner hasn't scored a ton of points, but the thing that stands out for me is how many of his points have been impactful. He also has made big hits at opportune times that have turned games around. I wasn't blown away by him at first, but since January I have very much come to appreciate what he brings to the team. Wagner is EXACTLY what I want in a fourth liner for the Bs -- physical, makes almost no mistakes, plays good D, can score when needed, and has a blue collar mentality. Really happy he won the 7th Player Award this season.

My second choice might seem odd, but I feel like Krejci has had a renaissance in his overall game this season. I won't go into a bunch of specifics, but he has exceeded my expectations in many ways this season and has kind of been an unheralded hero for the team. I know he is expected to perform and makes a lot of money, but Krejci has been incredible in both performance and attitude given what a crap and inconsistent line situation he has dealt with. Maximum respect to him.

 

[ODAAT]

That's the way I see it as well. I said preseason that I felt Carlo was going to take his game to a new level, which he did. Not surprised at all in his play this year. Halak had a great stretch, but he really hasn't gone above and beyond expectations on the whole. Wagner hasn't scored a ton of points, but the thing that stands out for me is how many of his points have been impactful. He also has made big hits at opportune times that have turned games around. I wasn't blown away by him at first, but since January I have very much come to appreciate what he brings to the team. Wagner is EXACTLY what I want in a fourth liner for the Bs -- physical, makes almost no mistakes, plays good D, can score when needed, and has a blue collar mentality. Really happy he won the 7th Player Award this season.

My second choice might seem odd, but I feel like Krejci has had a renaissance in his overall game this season. I won't go into a bunch of specifics, but he has exceeded my expectations in many ways this season and has kind of been an unheralded hero for the team. I know he is expected to perform and makes a lot of money, but Krejci has been incredible in both performance and attitude given what a crap and inconsistent line situation he has dealt with. Maximum respect to him.

good point on the DK opinion, my expectation was he`d be underwhelming for half the year, post about 50 pts but he`s had a terrific season

My two were Carlo and Wagner, the way Carlo`s game has elevated has been a blast to watch, especially that stretch where they were missing Z, just appreciate all the hard work he must have put in to consistently improve and he`s not done yet.

I didn`t really notice Wags during his Ducks days strictly due to the fact I was then living on the East coast and didn`t have access to Duck games. Read a ton about him being an energy guy and initially I felt he was meh, didn`t really notice him that much, didn`t feel he was playing with the energy I was expecting but you could see him then start getting comfortable with his line mates, his role and then started to also contribute here and there.

Definitely exceeded my expectations, well earned recognition

 

[Don Cherry]

Don't forget the local guy factor.

Yeah, we can't ignore that VERY important factor.

 

[Otherworld]

wasnt he signed to be more than a stat line? wasnt his physical play already top shelf even before he got here?

I guess his pick simply says a bunch of voters for this award had no real clue who he was or what to expect from him

but... I will share a secret with you... at around the 25 game mark there was lots of vocal posters here saying he sucked because he had no stats. these people became convinced he sucked.

later he scored some big time goals that got noticed... and these fans accepted that the line was being used to play physical [which it was the entire year. I personally debated many posters here who said he sucked and said he isnt here to score}

the support for him as 7th player is 100% because he scored some points recently and thats as long as the voters really are able to remember. his 6 goals in his last 20 games projects very well for a 4th liner and would be worthy of 7th player if it hadnt only been a 20 game number

he won the award because he had a good stat line in the most recent stretch of games that the voters were capable of remembering... and they thought he overachieved because their memory of him before those 20 games was that he sucked for us and they had no clue who he was before he arrived in camp this past fall

I just use the 'stats' because I hope to educate these voters for next year. an 18 point season for a 4th liner is rather normal... and playing physical is why he had a job in the first place. there was nothing exceptional to wagners season other than he won over some fans who previously thought he was crap not because he was crap, but only because they didnt know any better

I really have nothing to add as I agree with you. What I really wanted to point out is I believe he exemplifies what it means to be a Bruin.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I really have nothing to add as I agree with you. What I really wanted to point out is I believe he exemplifies what it means to be a Bruin.

hes one hell of a bruin... did I know what he would do when he showed up? no... im as ignorant as most here about what he was doing before he got to us. am I glad the teams proscouts identified him as one of our boys? that the coach struggled through his cold start and didnt listen to the cries to bench the bum? hell yeah... but it just goes to show you the team felt strongly he would help us.

I hate giving the 7th player to someone just because us fans were uneducated

and the award is called 7th player because you dress 6 important guys who get the glory... the 7th player is the first one off the bench.... its similar to a basketball concept.... which player is next in line when the glory boys are done? which is your goto player that you didnt expect but can go out there and get the job done?

is wagner even our 7th forward? id put Bergeron/marchand/pastrnak/debrusk/krejci all head of him... and id probably put Heinen/kuraly on the same level.

we are blessed to have a lot of good players... several of which are having career years. wagner had basically as many points... as many hits... last year... he played a lot more center last year... a lot of his stats are better last year

his one and only difference this year is he scored some big goals that were game winners late in the year... johnny on the spot to capture the spotlight

I cheered as loud as anyone... I love this kid... but hes only doing what he was brought in to do.

god I hate being put in the position to talk bad about one of my favorite players... I get stuck doing this with Heinen too. I love when these guys succeed... but they are expected to succeed. Heinen hasnt scored 40 points. he was expected to. hes below expectations. and wagner has a career high in goals but he threw more hits last year, won more faceoffs... and scored 16 points compared to 18 this year. its really not a huge step up from what he did last year

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I dont really want to kick dirt on a guy I like... but whats up with wagner the past month since last I posted on him? is he still hurt? is he being sat because hes hurt or just because he hasnt done anything in over a month

looks like he has 0 goals, 0 assists for 0 points in his last 17 games
while being a minus 6

he still seems to be a decently physical forward but im still wondering why we voted him 7th player

was it because he had 6 goals in 13 games when the ballots were handed out?

he had 6 goals and 6 assists in 74 games the rest of the season and 6 goals and 1 assist in the 13 games when people were voting on the 7th player

I hope people keep this in mind next time they are voting for the 7th player. the 7th player is a very important award. it should go to someone that actually had an outstanding season and is becoming one of our top 6 players

brandon carlo admittedly struggled last year... people wanted to see him get a mean streak. people wanted to see him become good enough to help carry a partner like krug. maybe become a 22-23 min a night chris tanev style shut down stud. well... guess what people... carlo became our best dman on a lot of nights. he might still be behind chara/McAvoy and even krug on the depth chart a lot of the time... but there are nights hes our best guy and hes being important almost every single game hes playing.

maybe wagner has been hurt for the past month? maybe thats why hes barely noticed in these playoffs? im still a fan of his... but he was supposed to throw a lot of hits this year. he was supposed to be a 15-20 point guy. other than getting hot right at voting time he didnt really do anything that special to win the 7th player

I say shame on the voters. it was your own fault you didnt know wagner was a quality 4th liner. and you were way way way too impressed by a couple big goals that were probably as much luck as anything else.

please vote the 7th player more wisely in the future

 

[DominicT]

Bruins forward Wagner to drive pace car for Cup race at NHMS

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I love Wags

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I dont really want to kick dirt on a guy I like... but whats up with wagner the past month since last I posted on him? is he still hurt? is he being sat because hes hurt or just because he hasnt done anything in over a month

looks like he has 0 goals, 0 assists for 0 points in his last 17 games
while being a minus 6

he still seems to be a decently physical forward but im still wondering why we voted him 7th player

was it because he had 6 goals in 13 games when the ballots were handed out?

he had 6 goals and 6 assists in 74 games the rest of the season and 6 goals and 1 assist in the 13 games when people were voting on the 7th player

I hope people keep this in mind next time they are voting for the 7th player. the 7th player is a very important award. it should go to someone that actually had an outstanding season and is becoming one of our top 6 players

brandon carlo admittedly struggled last year... people wanted to see him get a mean streak. people wanted to see him become good enough to help carry a partner like krug. maybe become a 22-23 min a night chris tanev style shut down stud. well... guess what people... carlo became our best dman on a lot of nights. he might still be behind chara/McAvoy and even krug on the depth chart a lot of the time... but there are nights hes our best guy and hes being important almost every single game hes playing.

maybe wagner has been hurt for the past month? maybe thats why hes barely noticed in these playoffs? im still a fan of his... but he was supposed to throw a lot of hits this year. he was supposed to be a 15-20 point guy. other than getting hot right at voting time he didnt really do anything that special to win the 7th player

I say shame on the voters. it was your own fault you didnt know wagner was a quality 4th liner. and you were way way way too impressed by a couple big goals that were probably as much luck as anything else.

please vote the 7th player more wisely in the future

I disagree completely. The 7th player award should more commonly go to players like Wagner who play balls to the wall every night and who contribute in ways that they don’t always get statistical credit for. In my mind, it’s a true fan’s award, and not just an honor for a predictably rising star (which is usually the type of player who gets it).

Let the big guns try for the other league wide awards and big money contracts. Under appreciated assets like Chris Wagner are the exact type of players for which that award was created IMO.

 

[ODAAT]

I disagree completely. The 7th player award should more commonly go to players like Wagner who play balls to the wall every night and who contribute in ways that they don’t always get statistical credit for. In my mind, it’s a true fan’s award, and not just an honor for a predictably rising star (which is usually the type of player who gets it).

Let the big guns try for the other league wide awards and big money contracts. Under appreciated assets like Chris Wagner are the exact type of players for which that award was created IMO.

exactly, the "big guns" have trophies of their own to work on competing for.

 

[Olden McGroin]

Wags teams up with Harpoon Brewery for 'Don't Poke the Bear' beer

Harpoon & Chris Wagner Team Up For Don’t Poke The Bear - mybeerbuzz.com - Bringing Good Beers & Good People Together...

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I disagree completely. The 7th player award should more commonly go to players like Wagner who play balls to the wall every night and who contribute in ways that they don’t always get statistical credit for. In my mind, it’s a true fan’s award, and not just an honor for a predictably rising star (which is usually the type of player who gets it).

Let the big guns try for the other league wide awards and big money contracts. Under appreciated assets like Chris Wagner are the exact type of players for which that award was created IMO.

my point was a guy that didnt have 5-6 games where he scored big goals near the voting period

my point was someone that actually played a full season as a valuable player

wagner last year did score some very emotional goals for us... and had the good fortune to do it at the voting time period... but he was almost invisible the first 1/3 of the season and then disappeared through the playoffs as well

i will appreciate he was injured... but disappearing is disappearing

there was better options for the 7th player last year

and i am the one who is saying it should go to players who play balls to the wall every night. you might have misunderstood my post

again this year he has been nearly invisible for half the season now and has actually been rather bad recently. if he suddenly put up 10 goals in the next 25 games it wouldnt make him the 7th player this year either

give it to a guy like coyle that might not show up on the scoresheet but plays hard every night... or maybe halak who was brought in from the minor leagues in ny and signed to scoreful expectations here... but has been saving our bacon when rask hasnt been available...

if debrusk can finish around 60-65 points after all the crap he took earlier i think he would get my vote this year. if he doesnt come through i might go with carlo who people were joking about not being able to score or play with any grit going into this season

 

[BigGoalBrad]

I think Wags is going to need to earn the rest of this contract in Providence.

 

[mikelvl]

I think Wags is going to need to earn the rest of this contract in Providence.

Kuhlman scores once every two weeks. Senyshyn has no hockey IQ. There isn't anyone kicking down the door to take the 4th line RW job.

 

[Bumper]

scoring once per two weeks is pretty good for a dude getting on the game ice about that often. great guy, but... Wagner to wherever.

 

[LouJersey]

Wagner is a 12th/13th forward that brings some grit. I don’t mind him

 

[Healthy Wrap]

Kuhlman scores once every two weeks. Senyshyn has no hockey IQ. There isn't anyone kicking down the door to take the 4th line RW job.

If Kuhlman is on the ice in the final seconds of last night's game, he clears the puck out the D zone