David Rundblad

[_Del_]

I think he looks "choppy" sometimes because he is so hesitant right now.

 

[RR]

My .02 cents
I think Rundblad's problem is simple: he's terrified of making a defensive mistake. Makes him ineffective in the O zone and on the PP because he's too worried about getting beat going the other way. Same with his outlet passes and movement with the puck. Both are areas he excels at, but again he's too afraid of turning it over and making a defensive mistake because he knows he'll end up back on the bench. It may be he doesn't and never will fit a Tippett-coached team. Which is too bad. I think the kid's going to be a stud somewhere, but unfortunately it won't be here.

 

[letowskie]

I'm not a skating expert by any stretch but Rundblad looks very awkward when he skates and smooth is probably the last word I'd use to describe it. So far the main strength I've seen from him is his uncanny ability to get the puck on the net from the point regardless of how clogged the shooting lane is.

"choppiness" is a very subjective term, so it's hard to know what different people mean by them. He does have a tendency to take more steps per the same distance on skates, but that does not necessarily have anything to do with the quality of his skating.

If you watch him at Skelleftea and at Portland, he is generally a very competent in his skating. He's not particularly fast in terms of top speed, but he has very good acceleration (sometimes people refer to this as him having deceptive speed). He could turn with small radius exceptionally well, on multiple occasions, I remember him being able to make such tight turns along the boards that the opposing D or back-checker would actually lose an edge (wipe-out) trying to follow him. He also is one of those players that can turn on either edge equally well, makes him rather shifty and hard to defend against. Another positive about his skating is that he can move laterally very smoothly, which is an important attribute for playing the point and changing PP configurations on the fly.

His skating though, is definitely not his strongest asset, which are probably his reaction time (his ability to make split second decisions) when rushing the puck, and his vision in the O-zone that allows him to see plays as they develop and appropriately distribute the puck. He also has a pretty hard shot from the point that takes relatively small wind-up. He's basically your ideal kind of package of skills to run the PP, and to rush the puck; he's going to be really dynamic if he ever develops with the team. But he's probably not used to play a north-south start-stop type of style, so he's probably struggling with it.

 

[RemoAZ]

My .02 cents
I think Rundblad's problem is simple: he's terrified of making a defensive mistake. Makes him ineffective in the O zone and on the PP because he's too worried about getting beat going the other way. Same with his outlet passes and movement with the puck. Both are areas he excels at, but again he's too afraid of turning it over and making a defensive mistake because he knows he'll end up back on the bench. It may be he doesn't and never will fit a Tippett-coached team. Which is too bad. I think the kid's going to be a stud somewhere, but unfortunately it won't be here.

Agree. Gotta wonder why Maloney traded for him. He knows who coaches this team.

 

[Summer Rose]

Agree. Gotta wonder why Maloney traded for him. He knows who coaches this team.

He's at least an asset still that could be turned into something else in the trade market who will fit more in the DT system, I guess...

 

[drgregg]

"choppiness" is a very subjective term, so it's hard to know what different people mean by them. He does have a tendency to take more steps per the same distance on skates, but that does not necessarily have anything to do with the quality of his skating.

If you watch him at Skelleftea and at Portland, he is generally a very competent in his skating. He's not particularly fast in terms of top speed, but he has very good acceleration (sometimes people refer to this as him having deceptive speed). He could turn with small radius exceptionally well, on multiple occasions, I remember him being able to make such tight turns along the boards that the opposing D or back-checker would actually lose an edge (wipe-out) trying to follow him. He also is one of those players that can turn on either edge equally well, makes him rather shifty and hard to defend against. Another positive about his skating is that he can move laterally very smoothly, which is an important attribute for playing the point and changing PP configurations on the fly.

His skating though, is definitely not his strongest asset, which are probably his reaction time (his ability to make split second decisions) when rushing the puck, and his vision in the O-zone that allows him to see plays as they develop and appropriately distribute the puck. He also has a pretty hard shot from the point that takes relatively small wind-up. He's basically your ideal kind of package of skills to run the PP, and to rush the puck; he's going to be really dynamic if he ever develops with the team. But he's probably not used to play a north-south start-stop type of style, so he's probably struggling with it.

Wow!

Seriously, it is ananlysis like this that makes me love this site. You don't get this kind of depth anywhere.

Great job Trevor Letowski(e) and thank you.

 

[XX]

Agree. Gotta wonder why Maloney traded for him. He knows who coaches this team.

Maloney had a gun to his head and got good value out of it, even if that value doesn't fit our system.

I am a Rundblad fan because he flings the puck at the net pretty much every time he gets it. It usually hits someone in front, but his shot (even if it's not hard) almost never gets blocked at the point.

 

[letowskie]

Wow!

Seriously, it is ananlysis like this that makes me love this site. You don't get this kind of depth anywhere.

Great job Trevor Letowski(e) and thank you.

Thanx. I have seen him play quite a bit, just trying to give some thoughts that might help others' assessment of him.

BTW, my userID doesn't really have to do with trevor letowski,

 

[DesertDawg]

...

BTW, my userID doesn't really have to do with trevor letowski,

I for one thought it did...

 

[Longwayfromhome]

Something is wrong if he doesnt play against Jets.

 

[letowskie]

Good example of his vision on ice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXuEqMNTKBY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[Desert Ice 11]

Well this might sound crazy but can he be converted to a forward? Very good at distributing the puck. Offensive minded and can skate pretty good.

I know this will probably never happen but I was just wondering.

 

[Summer Rose]

Well this might sound crazy but can he be converted to a forward? Very good at distributing the puck. Offensive minded and can skate pretty good.

I know this will probably never happen but I was just wondering.

It does happen on occasion in the NHL.

I think the Jets are trying to do it with Dustin Byfuglien.

 

[Longwayfromhome]

http://www.fiveforhowling.com/2014/...ad-remains-hopeful-while-awaiting-opportunity

A good article on Rundblad. He seems to have good attitude. Some interesting Doan quotes in there.

 

[Desert Ice 11]

It does happen on occasion in the NHL.

I think the Jets are trying to do it with Dustin Byfuglien.

It happened with Byfuglien when he was on the hawks and they won the cup. Brent Burns was once a D man. It is rare but it has happened. Why not try it on in a practice and see how it goes. I think he could be I am also not a NHL professional.

 

[CC96]

Usually the few D-men, who get converted to forward, are extremely big and strong and are typically used in a power forward role.

 

[zerekstar]

Well this might sound crazy but can he be converted to a forward? Very good at distributing the puck. Offensive minded and can skate pretty good.

I know this will probably never happen but I was just wondering.

I have asked the same thing a few months ago. I don't see where we would have anything to lose by trying it. He is more creative then most of our forwards and wow was that some kind of pass to Greening. Why can we not have the luxury of seeing that regularly?

 

[WJF]

Dave Tippet has destroyed whatever confidence Rundblad may have had.

He will never be effective under Tippet. He makes one mistake and he's sat on the bench and misses the next 10 games.

Tippet has cost us a few decent young players already: Turris, Rundblad, Miele, Chris Brown.

I shudder to think what he'll do to Max Domi.

 

[zerekstar]

Well I don't know what Tip's expectations are but it doesn't just happen here. Kadri is having the same issues with Carlyle in Toronto. And who knows what is going on behind the scenes. Everyone thought Turris was a good, submissive kind of young kid but when he was told to play a certain way and didn't like it, a different side of him showed up. I doubt Rundblad is like that but I'm just saying we don't always know all the details.

 

[zerekstar]

Well I don't know what Tip's expectations are but it doesn't just happen here. Kadri is having the same issues with Carlyle in Toronto. And who knows what is going on behind the scenes. Everyone thought Turris was a good, submissive kind of young kid but when he was told to play a certain way and didn't like it, a different side of him showed up. I doubt Rundblad is like that but I'm just saying we don't always know all the details.

Kane could be added to that comment too in Winnipeg but the just fired the coach so it will probably be different there now.

 

[Desert Ice 11]

Dave Tippet has destroyed whatever confidence Rundblad may have had.

He will never be effective under Tippet. He makes one mistake and he's sat on the bench and misses the next 10 games.

Tippet has cost us a few decent young players already: Turris, Rundblad, Miele, Chris Brown.

I shudder to think what he'll do to Max Domi.

Those two names made me laugh a little bit. Its not DT. Who was coaching when Tikko and Wheeler came through here. Who was coach when Murphy was called up to play? What about Boedker and Hanzal? Max Domi almost made this years roster and thankfully he didn't. Two, now AHL players were given a chance start of the season. They were sent down because they couldn't perform.

 

[cobra427]

Dave Tippet has destroyed whatever confidence Rundblad may have had.

He will never be effective under Tippet. He makes one mistake and he's sat on the bench and misses the next 10 games.

Tippet has cost us a few decent young players already: Turris, Rundblad, Miele, Chris Brown.

I shudder to think what he'll do to Max Domi.

Lets take ALL the D men out of the list, woops Runblad is the only one. Now lets add add some D too the list, OEL, Yandle, and Murphy. Tip has those 3 who have excelled, so the only thing Runblad needs to do is watch and listen. Name a better coach and better mentors for a young D with offensive upside?

 

[Sinurgy]

My .02 cents
I think Rundblad's problem is simple: he's terrified of making a defensive mistake. Makes him ineffective in the O zone and on the PP because he's too worried about getting beat going the other way. Same with his outlet passes and movement with the puck. Both are areas he excels at, but again he's too afraid of turning it over and making a defensive mistake because he knows he'll end up back on the bench. It may be he doesn't and never will fit a Tippett-coached team. Which is too bad. I think the kid's going to be a stud somewhere, but unfortunately it won't be here.

Yeah I think you're probably right but I wish he'd stop it. His tentative, afraid to make a mistake play has gotten him a lot of healthy scratches so it's not like that approach is working. He might as well just go out and play his game to the best of his abilities and if it means mistake then so be it. After all it's not like he can be scratched more than he already has been. It makes no sense to continue playing scared, just do your thing kid!

 

[Guest]

It makes no sense to me the way they are handling Rundblad, it's just poor asset management. I understand he is not waiver exempt so they can't just send him down. I understand that others may have out played him on the depth chart. The lack of a decisive action is what drives me nuts here. Either plan him so we can trade him, send him to the minors, or play him outright. Playing 1 out of every 10 games does nothing to make him a better player and he's at that age where they are hurting his confidence and development.

I could see this being distracting as a team too. I don't know if Rundblad is well liked or not, but either you are seeing a team mate dragged through the mud or he's someone that everyone would rather move on. How do you come out of this with any positives?

 

[Jakey53]

It makes no sense to me the way they are handling Rundblad, it's just poor asset management. I understand he is not waiver exempt so they can't just send him down. I understand that others may have out played him on the depth chart. The lack of a decisive action is what drives me nuts here. Either plan him so we can trade him, send him to the minors, or play him outright. Playing 1 out of every 10 games does nothing to make him a better player and he's at that age where they are hurting his confidence and development.

I could see this being distracting as a team too. I don't know if Rundblad is well liked or not, but either you are seeing a team mate dragged through the mud or he's someone that everyone would rather move on. How do you come out of this with any positives?

Rundblad has played 11 games this year, and has not seized the opportunity. Murphy came in and played great for about 15 games, stumbled and was sent back down. When the opportunity presents itself Rundblad has to do what Murphy did, he has to show the coaches he belongs.