Player Discussion Emerson Etem

[TheRedressor]

Agreed, I think the 4th has been weaker overall this year than previous years. Just hasn't given us an edge really in any way...

Stoll is part of the problem. Very slow and not that heady with the puck or without it. Decent but he hasn't been a good fit next to Moore. Great on FOs though.

Stahlberg haven't been good either. Solid but also hasn't been a great fit next to Moore. Too much blinders on hockey.

Obviously the 4th line hasn't reached the level of Boyle-Moore-Dorsett/Carcillo...yet

But to say it's been weaker than anything that had Tanner Glass is mind boggling!
He was an offensive and defensive nightmare that killed every forecheck the other two players started.

If they stay healthy they might have a pretty solid 4th line this season. This week of practice is gonna be great for them.

 

[Revel]

Agreed, I think the 4th has been weaker overall this year than previous years. Just hasn't given us an edge really in any way...

Stoll is part of the problem. Very slow and not that heady with the puck or without it. Decent but he hasn't been a good fit next to Moore. Great on FOs though.

Stahlberg haven't been good either. Solid but also hasn't been a great fit next to Moore. Too much blinders on hockey.

This is a good post that has opened my eyes a bit. Stoll is a face-off man and I think a good teammate, but has not brought much else on-ice. Stallberg and Moore are both aggressive forecheckers. Staalberg with great overall speed, and Moore with quick, agile skating in short bursts or when he is fighting for the puck. But both of these guys suffer from Tunnel-vision a bit. Not creative at all. Add Etem to the list, and you have yet another guy who has a reputation for playing vision-less hockey. All of these guys are hard workers with specific abilities, but not hockey geniuses. Maybe that is as much as we can expect from a 4th line and I shouldn't be complaining, but having one guy on that 4th line with a modicum of vision could make the entire line dangerous.

 

[Ola]

My problem with Etem is not that he does many good things on the ice, because he does, it's that he really is not involved or a factor at all inbetween those plays. A Pouliot was valuable because he contributed every shift. He got in on the forecheck, he draw the attention of Ds always driving to the net, understood the game and opened things up for his teammates, he was fairly strong on ththe puck along the boards etc etc etc. Etem can fly when he has built up speed but he goes to a full stop almost when changing directions. He is almost always late on the forecheck, seldom on top of he puck and so forth. Don't think this is looking good for the future unfortunately...

 

[kovazub94]

My problem with Etem is not that he does many good things on the ice, because he does, it's that he really is not involved or a factor at all inbetween those plays. A Pouliot was valuable because he contributed every shift. He got in on the forecheck, he draw the attention of Ds always driving to the net, understood the game and opened things up for his teammates, he was fairly strong on ththe puck along the boards etc etc etc. Etem can fly when he has built up speed but he goes to a full stop almost when changing directions. He is almost always late on the forecheck, seldom on top of he puck and so forth. Don't think this is looking good for the future unfortunately...

I think you're too harsh on him, Ola. I saw him making plays with and without the puck the last two games. To me he looked better than, say Kreider, in his early NHL career.

 

[silverfish]

Endless potential. He's going to need to work his way into the lineup full-time. He's not outplaying anyone in the top-9, and using him on the fourth line is a waste.

Keep grinding in practice, and make the most of your opportunities.

He did have a great screen on Smith on one of the goals last night. He could teach Kreider a thing or two about standing in front of a goalie.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

I think you're too harsh on him, Ola. I saw him making plays with and without the puck the last two games. To me he looked better than, say Kreider, in his early NHL career.

Sounds like damning with faint praise--although I don't think you meant it that way--since Etem has played 115 NHL games for the Ducks and over 100 games in the AHL since he's turned professional. The clock is ticking and it's only getting louder. There may not be enough there to keep Etem in this lineup on a regular basis.

 

[Ola]

I think you're too harsh on him, Ola. I saw him making plays with and without the puck the last two games. To me he looked better than, say Kreider, in his early NHL career.

Endless potential. He's going to need to work his way into the lineup full-time. He's not outplaying anyone in the top-9, and using him on the fourth line is a waste.

Keep grinding in practice, and make the most of your opportunities.

He did have a great screen on Smith on one of the goals last night. He could teach Kreider a thing or two about standing in front of a goalie.

I hope you guys are right.

I was fairly excited about Etem for a number of reasons. (i) I don't think he has bad hockey sense. Heck, I think its the opposite. He is really aware on the ice and distributes the puck really well. (ii) He is good when he gets the puck on his stick and has some open ice. Really good actually. You can tell why he scored a ton in juniors and the AHL. (iii) He seems to have no problem with buying into playing on a depth line.

But darn does he have a problem with staying on top of the puck/play on the fore-check at this level. His big problem is how he moves on the ice. When he is to get going he tilts his entire upper-body 90 degrees forward and starts taking these really long deep strides. Then the puck is moved from his target and he has to raise that upper-body, turn and start skating in a new direction. Maybe its my pre-judice, but **** me this kid looks like he skates on roller-blades 90% of the time and 10% of the time on ice. And I mean, if he isn't "good" on the fore-check by NHL standards, like a Pouliot, I don't think he can make it. And right now he is the opposite of good. Like his primary job on any unit he is on is to be high up ice and chase down pucks (the rest is a bonus if it comes), and he can play 2/3 of a game without sniffing the puck.

Its always kind of ridiculous to break down the game too much and talk about percentages, but in this case it becomes relevant, and I think you can say that 90% of the game is about being on top of the puck, stressing the other team, giving your line-mates options when they have the puck, fighting for it in 1 on 1 battles. If we can find a way to make this kid a positive factor overall during this 90%, I think he could become a great asset because he would be unique in the other 10% in a smaller role. And I think its really valuable to have a lot of special ability in those 10% today. With that said, I just don't see it right now. Would love to be wrong, but this kid is still far from it. The best hope I have right now is that Etem still often seems really gassed when the camera zooms in on him after shifts, often looking like he is fighting to catch his breath. He once mentioned that he felt like he had his legs with him after one of his first games of the season, which is kind of odd since he hadn't played much and skated for a long time now. Of course he should have had his legs. If he for some reason really is out of shape, there might be room for drastic improvement once he gets on top of that...

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Bumping this thread as I think he's been getting better and better with each game recently. Really liked his game last night.

 

[Raspewtin]

Needs to stay in the lineup.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Yeah I think he's slowly building and needs more games to get his shot going, get to the net, convert plays, get engaged into the system a little more. He's playing well positionally and needs to grow with the puck and he needs ice time to get there

 

[TheTakedown]

Needs to stay in the lineup.

agreed.

I really like his game. He has potential to be a 40 point player.

Guess who else was basically a 40 point player? The guy we traded for him!

 

[FLYLine27*]

agreed.

I really like his game. He has potential to be a 40 point player.

Guess who else was basically a 40 point player? The guy we traded for him!

Hagalin?

15GP / 1G / 1A / 2P

On pace for 11 points

Traded him just as he left his prime years

 

[haveandare]

He had a very good game last night IMO.

The thing I like about this team in general is that our depth forwards are all capable of playing up and down the lineup. Miller, Fast and Etem can play an (admittedly somewhat limited) offensive game if called on to do so, if not they can grind and hit and play lower effectively too.

 

[ZiGOODejad]

His first period wasn't so good last night but after that he took off and looked like the kid I expect. Raw skill set he just has to develop chemistry with his line mates. Overall he looked a lot better last night then he did when we were all bashing him before. Maybe the playing time is boosting his convidince and its translating to his game. I just hope that he doesn't cough the puck up on the boards are much take periods 2-3 and run with that

 

[Matz03]

really liking the Etem-Stoll-Fast line, I would give them another night and then just rotate Stoll with Moore

Lindberg, Stalberg have played too well. Miller and Kreider aren't coming out either. Maybe Fast if he starts to become invisible can sit here and there.

overall really liking the 3rd and 4th lines now

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

really liking the Etem-Stoll-Fast line, I would give them another night and then just rotate Stoll with Moore

Lindberg, Stalberg have played too well. Miller and Kreider aren't coming out either. Maybe Fast if he starts to become invisible can sit here and there.

overall really liking the 3rd and 4th lines now

I don't see how sitting Fast in favor Etem could ever work--Fast is becoming an elite penalty killer on top of being an solid two way player. He's stuck on the 4th line for now, but ultimately would be well suited to playing on the 3rd line. He's not flashy, but he's becoming part of the core.

Etem's playing better, but he's a long way from becoming an integral part of this team. It will be interesting to see what AV does going forward.

 

[nyr2k2]

Fast is the ****ing man. Sitting him would be a mistake. He's another guy getting better each night. He'll be a 20-goal-scorer one day in the not-so-distant future with terrific defense.

That said, I do like Etem. One of Stoll or Moore might be the odd man out.

 

[Matz03]

I don't see how sitting Fast in favor Etem could ever work--Fast is becoming an elite penalty killer on top of being an solid two way player. He's stuck on the 4th line for now, but ultimately would be well suited to playing on the 3rd line. He's not flashy, but he's becoming part of the core.

Etem's playing better, but he's a long way from becoming an integral part of this team. It will be interesting to see what AV does going forward.

Really you don't see sitting Fast? When he's on his game he's certainly a key player in the bottom and pk, but if he stops being involved and has a string of a few bad games, then he'll sit. It's already happened once this year when he needed to be sat. There's enough depth to rotate a guy in and out if his play drops off.

 

[we want cup]

Really you don't see sitting Fast? When he's on his game he's certainly a key player in the bottom and pk, but if he stops being involved and has a string of a few bad games, then he'll sit. It's already happened once this year when he needed to be sat. There's enough depth to rotate a guy in and out if his play drops off.

I don't think Fast has had many bad games. He has quiet games, but very rarely is he bad. He's also been bouncing around the lineup all season, which certainly helps explain why he has quiet games.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Really you don't see sitting Fast? When he's on his game he's certainly a key player in the bottom and pk, but if he stops being involved and has a string of a few bad games, then he'll sit. It's already happened once this year when he needed to be sat. There's enough depth to rotate a guy in and out if his play drops off.

Nope, I don't see sitting Fast--I fully expect him to be in the lineup as long as he's healthy. I didn't think he was "bad" at the beginning of the season--to me it was more he was a victim of having too many forwards who AV wanted to see in the lineup. He's quietly effective and will score some, even if he's not playing a lot of even strength minutes. If anyone needs to work harder, it's Etem, not Fast.

 

[kovazub94]

Fast is the ****ing man. Sitting him would be a mistake. He's another guy getting better each night. He'll be a 20-goal-scorer one day in the not-so-distant future with terrific defense.

That said, I do like Etem. One of Stoll or Moore might be the odd man out.

I don't even want to call it "odd man out". Both Stoll and Moore are terrific players for the their roles now and especially in play-offs but both are getting long in a tooth especially with their style of play. This is just an excellent depth that would allow AV to give these two a rest during a long season, sit a youngster to learn something from watching a game or not being impacted by an injury (outside of our first liners, Stepan or Hayes).

P.S. Glass was the odd man out, thank God.

 

[Matz03]

I don't think Fast has had many bad games. He has quiet games, but very rarely is he bad. He's also been bouncing around the lineup all season, which certainly helps explain why he has quiet games.

There are too many good players on this team for him to have a quiet game. That's the scenario he found himself in earlier, so it could easily happen again.

Nope, I don't see sitting Fast--I fully expect him to be in the lineup as long as he's healthy. I didn't think he was "bad" at the beginning of the season--to me it was more he was a victim of having too many forwards who AV wanted to see in the lineup. He's quietly effective and will score some, even if he's not playing a lot of even strength minutes. If anyone needs to work harder, it's Etem, not Fast.

I don't think he was bad either, but as I said above if he has a string of quiet games he could sit. The spare forward isn't Glass anymore, the too many good forwards is the depth we have, that's a good problem keeping everyone motivated.

And not a chance he's ever scoring 20 goals, he averages just over 1 shot per game. that's not going to get it done and why he got bumped back to the 4th line. His upside still is 3rd liner but full time 2nd line is stretching it.

 

[Irishguy42]

Etem going for his third game in a row. Lets see what he can do against a better team in the Blues, than the Yotes/Canes.

I kinda want him to be the one to break Allen's shutout streak...

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

There are too many good players on this team for him to have a quiet game. That's the scenario he found himself in earlier, so it could easily happen again.



I don't think he was bad either, but as I said above if he has a string of quiet games he could sit. The spare forward isn't Glass anymore, the too many good forwards is the depth we have, that's a good problem keeping everyone motivated.

And not a chance he's ever scoring 20 goals, he averages just over 1 shot per game. that's not going to get it done and why he got bumped back to the 4th line. His upside still is 3rd liner but full time 2nd line is stretching it.

I don't think there's an issue keeping any player on this team motivated--they wouldn't be here long if they weren't. And I simply disagree with your assessment of Fast--he may not have enough offensive skill to play on the top lines, but he has enough skill for his role and compliments other player well (that's why he ended up as a stop-gap on Stepan's line). He also is becoming the best (non center) forward on the PK and for that alone, he'll continue to play.

And having Fast in the lineup shouldn't be an issue for Etem--pretty sure he needs more minutes at even strength to be effective than he's going to get on the 4th line. With Lindberg, Hayes and Stalberg playing well, he's going to have to wait, or really start producing more than I think he's capable of in his current role to play every day.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Another thing about Etem--he's going to have to learn to take shorter shifts (and I re-call seeing it mentioned that the coaching staff has mentioned this to him).