Ekblad & Ristolainen

Slapshot Sultan

Registered User
Oct 5, 2017
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a few years ago they were considered one of the most promising young dmen in the league. Ekblad even more so and was supposed to be a sure thing. Now they are both bashed all the time in these boards.

What went wrong with these guys? And who do you think is better of the two right now?
 

Isaac Nootin

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
7,540
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Ristolainen had a rough start to the year, but has played well of late. His game last week vs. the Leafs he was exceptional. Must be frustrating for Sabres fans to know what he's capable of.
 

sadpanda

Registered User
May 19, 2016
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Stockholm
Ristolainen makes a few questionable plays in his own zone. I like the feistiness tho.

Can Ekblad skate?
 

Nithoniniel

Registered User
Sep 7, 2012
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Skövde, Sweden
Ristolainen makes a great first impression. He's got size, a big shot, and plays with physicality, and can complement that with eye-popping wizardry in the offensive zone. He stands out, so I'm not surprised that a lot of people thought he was great. It's equally understandable that the reputation stuck around for a while, as it's always hard to admit that you were wrong. He always was a player with plenty of flaws in his game, and the way he got exposed to tough minutes in Buffalo hasn't helped. He's a tremendous PP weapon though.

The timing for this thread is odd regarding Ekblad. He had a terrific rookie year in a very sheltered role, so he got a bit overrated at that point. Since then, his usage has been pretty much the reverse, which had the expected effect. People forget that he's still young though, and this year he seem to be performing spectacularly from what I've seen.

So I'd say that what went wrong with Risto was that he was never given a good spot to properly develop. Nothing ever went wrong with Ekblad, he just needed time to learn to handle the increasingly tough usage. Ekblad is easily the better d-man right now, despite how strong Risto is on the PP.
 

Filthy Dangles

Registered User*
Oct 23, 2014
28,356
39,703
What's wrong with them? More like what's wrong with us.

Seriously...what am I doingwith my life on a weekend morning discussing wtf is wrong these guys.

---

With the game being so fast and speedy now, Ekblad doesn't have the wheels or agility to be the elite franchise guy he was pegged as. Also head injuries set him back. Still a good player.

Risto was a guy who was historically overrated, his points and physical game he played made him this fools gold top pairing/#1D when he really wasnt. I keep hearing he's been better this year so lets see, he' still relatively young for a blueliner in this league. I was always suspect on his decision making and hockey IQ.

Perhaps Risto can take a step back and compliment Dahlin on the top pairing longer term for Buffalo.
 
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BusQuets

Registered User
Jul 16, 2010
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Risto is much better than Ekblad right now. Nothing wrong with him(Risto is TOI leader in one of the better teams in the NHL). Ekblad though is way too slow to play the minutes he's playing. Florida is easily playoff team maybe even contender if they had any defence whatsoever.
 

tucker3434

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Apr 7, 2007
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Defenders are hard as hell to project and their stock swings pretty wildly from year to year. Ekblad May end up as another Erik Johnson. Solid player but nowhere near the initial projection.
 

Prairie Habs

Registered User
Oct 3, 2010
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Remember the Ekblad is better than Jones posts...

Ekblad came in and won the calder in his draft + 1 year and Jones took until his 4th year in the league and being on his 2nd team to pass Ekblad's rookie numbers. Ekblad started hot and was slowed by injuries where as Jones took a more linear development.

Just because Jones is better now doesn't mean he always has been...
 

Royal Thunder

Frolunda Mode
Feb 21, 2012
4,406
3,426
Risto is a stud who has been playing the best hockey of his career the last couple of weeks. He finally has some talent around him to share the load. He's just not a #1 (even though he has been this year on a good team).

Both overrated
Risto is one of the more underrated players on HF.
 

absolute garbage

Registered User
Jan 22, 2006
4,399
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Ristolainen is the type of D who takes a little more time to develop fully. His peak will probably be at age 28/29. He's a stud.
Where the hell do you base that? I'd get it if he was not up to par physically, but that's certainly not an issue with him.

He's the new Jack Johnson.
 

Maukkis

EZ4ENCE
Mar 16, 2016
10,538
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Ristolainen has never produced points well at 5v5, and holy shit, has his possession numbers been shocking.

The latter is still true, but at least he puts up points at a decent rate at evens now. 72nd among defensemen with 200+ minutes played, which is a considerable increase over his career numbers (0.9 P/60 this year).

He could probably shine a bit brighter if his ice time was severely cut and/or he had a reliable partner who was able to make up for his lack of defensive talent.
 

absolute garbage

Registered User
Jan 22, 2006
4,399
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That doesn't make sense. Nobody gets better physically from 24 to 29.
Sure they can. Not faster, but stronger.

Very rare of course, but it's more plausible for a late bloomer to continue developing physically through his 20s than someone like Ristolainen somehow developing decent hockey sense after 400 games in the league.
 

tsujimoto74

Moderator
May 28, 2012
29,802
21,846
Ristolainen has never produced points well at 5v5, and holy ****, has his possession numbers been shocking.

The latter is still true, but at least he puts up points at a decent rate at evens now. 72nd among defensemen with 200+ minutes played, which is a considerable increase over his career numbers (0.9 P/60 this year).

He could probably shine a bit brighter if his ice time was severely cut and/or he had a reliable partner who was able to make up for his lack of defensive talent.

He's played his entire career on a team that struggled mightily to score at even strength, not his fault. I remember a few short months ago when everyone was telling Sabres fans ROR was a "PP specialist" because his ES production was poor in Buffalo. Now look at his ES production in St. Louis.

Risto's #1 problem historically has been that he's been asked to play a role that maybe 5 D in the league are capable of being successful in, and he's been asked to do it on a poor team with partners who, at their very best, might be considered NHL #4 defensemen. It's not a coincidence that Risto's looked better as Dahlin's earned more minutes and the team around him has improved. He's not an all-situations #1, but he's a good hockey player.
 
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