Is Kessel making a late surge before the draft?

SOLR

Registered User
Jun 4, 2006
12,558
6,001
Toronto / North York
The problem with the 11 pts @ WJC for kessel is the big score victory where he scored a lot of points to after come flat when it was important.

But I still think hes the possible star in this draft.(Closest to the NHL in my book too because of the speed.)
 

joe_shannon_1983*

Guest
Kessel is a risky pick. But he has the highest upside.

The Penguins already have their "sure-bets" in Crosby and Malkin.

Why not take a risk, and take Kessel?

If it doesn't work, that is fine, because you already have "sure-bets" in Crosby and Malkin to fall back on. If it does work, however, then you will have hit a grand slam homerun, and will give yourself a Cup or two, or more.
 

jaydub*

Guest
Tjardus Greidanus said:
An improvement, yes...but not comparable to the likes of, say, Dany Roussin. 54 points in 71 games the season before Crosby and 117 points in 66 games in Crosby's rookie year. Crosby carried that waste of a jersey to being a second round pick as a re-entry.



Not really fair to compare Sid to anyone in the draft...but yeah...I'll go along with the sentiment he doesn't make his teammates all that better.


That looks pretty comparable to the Gordon improvement listed in this thread. Not sure how they aren't comparable really.
 

Gophers

Registered User
Nov 23, 2004
415
6
hawksfan50 said:
...he's a LOSER ...AVOID!
Yeah, Phil Kessel is certainly a loser. I would like to point out that Toews and NoDak lost in the Frozen Four...so technically, Toews is a loser as well because that is all you are looking at.
 

Gopher_Nut

Registered User
Dec 8, 2005
116
0
Rabid Ranger said:
How can you go along with a falsehood? Ask any Gopher fan and he or she will tell you that Kessel made not only his linemates better but his team better. For cryin out loud, he was the trigger man on their dominant power play!

RR, yep, people reading boards and not seeing any of Kessel actually playing. Kessel-Potulny-Irman leading the #1 PP in the nation.

Also, "...doesn't make players around him better" WOW! Didn't see him play at all last yr did ya? Ben Gordon was only up because an early season injury to Irman (I think it was Irman?) or he'd be red shirted. Still wasn't doing much early on...Put him with Kessel and he exploded. Wheeler steadily improved also once on Kessel's line.

"Hawk50" must be patrolling again, worried his love in life (Towes) just may go after Kessel.
:cry: :cry:
 

Jovofan

Registered User
Apr 26, 2006
2,770
1,210
Vancouver, BC
Tjardus Greidanus said:
An improvement, yes...but not comparable to the likes of, say, Dany Roussin. 54 points in 71 games the season before Crosby and 117 points in 66 games in Crosby's rookie year. Crosby carried that waste of a jersey to being a second round pick as a re-entry.



Not really fair to compare Sid to anyone in the draft...but yeah...I'll go along with the sentiment he doesn't make his teammates all that better.
That's a great point, if he can do that with a player like Roussin, just think of what he'd do with Kessel. Crosby is such an excellent set-up man that if you gave him a winger like Kessel that line whould be fantastic and that's a lot of the reason why I think Kessel to the Pens makes so much sense. I see tons of mocks that have guys like Backstrom, Toews and Staal going to Pittsburgh but I really don't understand why. To me, there's only two picks that make sense if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins and it's Erik Johnson or Phil Kessel, I don't see any of the other propsects being good fits there.
 

Jaded-Fan

Registered User
Mar 18, 2004
52,446
14,304
Pittsburgh
Jovofan said:
That's a great point, if he can do that with a player like Roussin, just think of what he'd do with Kessel. Crosby is such an excellent set-up man that if you gave him a winger like Kessel that line whould be fantastic and that's a lot of the reason why I think Kessel to the Pens makes so much sense. I see tons of mocks that have guys like Backstrom, Toews and Staal going to Pittsburgh but I really don't understand why. To me, there's only two picks that make sense if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins and it's Erik Johnson or Phil Kessel, I don't see any of the other propsects being good fits there.


What he said. Nothing against any of those other players, and I am sure that they will make great pros on Crosby's or Malkin's wing, just not as great as Kessel would.
 

Rolexmaster

Registered User
Aug 3, 2005
85
0
The Pens should think of only 2 players (assuming Johnson is picked by St-Louis) :

Toews, Kessel


Why Toews? : Because they already have 2 offensive centers (Crosby, Malkin) so adding Toews would give them a good shutdown/2-way center with great offensive upside...and that's what you need today to win in the new NHL

Why Kessel? : Because you're giving Crosby and Malkin a winger that will finish every great set-up they make.....Crosby needs a sniper on his wing to compliment his playmaking skills (which as you all know are off-the-chart).....

Once you think about it, Kessel makes toons of sense because Crosby and him would dynamic together (assuming Kessel lives up to the hype, and I believe he will.......with his speed and shot, all he has to do is get positioned and Crosby will put it on his stick....)

Of course a d-man is what the Pens need the most, but St-Louis will probably take Eric Johnson (and they should, because he is the total package according to all scouts)
 

Jovofan

Registered User
Apr 26, 2006
2,770
1,210
Vancouver, BC
Rolexmaster said:
The Pens should think of only 2 players (assuming Johnson is picked by St-Louis) :

Toews, Kessel


Why Toews? : Because they already have 2 offensive centers (Crosby, Malkin) so adding Toews would give them a good shutdown/2-way center with great offensive upside...and that's what you need today to win in the new NHL

Why Kessel? : Because you're giving Crosby and Malkin a winger that will finish every great set-up they make.....Crosby needs a sniper on his wing to compliment his playmaking skills (which as you all know are off-the-chart).....

Once you think about it, Kessel makes toons of sense because Crosby and him would dynamic together (assuming Kessel lives up to the hype, and I believe he will.......with his speed and shot, all he has to do is get positioned and Crosby will put it on his stick....)

Of course a d-man is what the Pens need the most, but St-Louis will probably take Eric Johnson (and they should, because he is the total package according to all scouts)

I personally don't like Toews as a fit in Pittsburgh. I know that he'd be a great 2-way center and everything but with Crosby and Malkin he'd be their 3rd line Center and I don't see him living up to his promise only getting 3rd line minutes and that would essentially be a wasted pick with the 2nd overall selection. You want a pick that high to be a superstar instead of a depth forward which Toews would likely become if he went to the Penguins. I think if he goes to a team where he can assume a top six role he'd develop the way we all expect him to.

Kessel on the other hand I agree with you about. Something about Kessel leads me to believe that if he's expected to be the go-to guy on a team that he won't succeed in the NHL. However, if he's in a supporting role like he would be in Pittsburgh he would thrive. It's weird because if Kessel goes to the Hawks and Toews goes to the Pens I don't see either meeting expecations, but if you flip those picks then I think both will be stars. It's amazing what a situation and a team will do to a player's potential development.
 

TCB2004

Registered User
Nov 29, 2004
19
0
Jovofan said:
I personally don't like Toews as a fit in Pittsburgh. I know that he'd be a great 2-way center and everything but with Crosby and Malkin he'd be their 3rd line Center and I don't see him living up to his promise only getting 3rd line minutes and that would essentially be a wasted pick with the 2nd overall selection. You want a pick that high to be a superstar instead of a depth forward which Toews would likely become if he went to the Penguins. I think if he goes to a team where he can assume a top six role he'd develop the way we all expect him to.

Or Crosby or Toews could play on the same line with one of them on the wing.

Or, if you think about all the PP and PK time NHL teams had last season, it would be very possible for Toews to get important minutes even if he is otherwise on a 3rd line.

Or you could realize that Toews is still 1 or 2 seasons away from playing in the NHL (at least) and that there are a lot of things that can happen between now and then (i.e. injuries, trades) and you don't pass up a better rated player by your organization because of some projected lineup of the future.

Quebec didn't pass up Lindros and then trade for Forsberg even though they had Sakic and Sundin and that worked out OK for them.
 

turnbuckle*

Guest
Jovofan said:
I personally don't like Toews as a fit in Pittsburgh. I know that he'd be a great 2-way center and everything but with Crosby and Malkin he'd be their 3rd line Center and I don't see him living up to his promise only getting 3rd line minutes and that would essentially be a wasted pick with the 2nd overall selection. You want a pick that high to be a superstar instead of a depth forward which Toews would likely become if he went to the Penguins. I think if he goes to a team where he can assume a top six role he'd develop the way we all expect him to.

Kessel on the other hand I agree with you about. Something about Kessel leads me to believe that if he's expected to be the go-to guy on a team that he won't succeed in the NHL. However, if he's in a supporting role like he would be in Pittsburgh he would thrive. It's weird because if Kessel goes to the Hawks and Toews goes to the Pens I don't see either meeting expecations, but if you flip those picks then I think both will be stars. It's amazing what a situation and a team will do to a player's potential development.


Third-line minutes? Sort of like Rod Brindamour? Toews will be on powerplay, killing penalties and playing against the other team's top line - he'll be getting more minutes than anyone other than Crosby and perhaps Malkin in a couple of years if he ends up in Pittsburgh. Not to mention that he's more than capable of being put on the wing on occasion, especially on the PP.

Carolina's an example of a team that can have three centers in Weight, Staal and Brindamour; they seemed to be able to get all of them enough ice time. Look at the other Cup finalists with Stoll Horcoff and Peca; is Peca not a valuable piece in his "third-line role?" Primeau in his third-line role in Philly - often with the most ice time when he was playing well. Briere, Connolly, Drury, Roy...Drury was on the defensive line...but he didn't lack ice time. Tell me Sammy Pahlsson wasn't one of the Ducks' most valuable players in the playoffs, and a major reason why they came within two wins of a Stanley Cup berth.

People need to find roles, and on a good team sometimes that role isn't always one of glory - from all accounts Toews is not going to be a 100-point scorer, but if he can become a 70-point man while shutting down the other teams top players and play a pivotal part of the power play (they'll find him a spot) on a contending team......

Would Mark Messier not have been a number one center on the majority of NHL teams in the 1980s? He was given his role as second-line center on perhaps the greatest team of all time behind perhaps the greatest center of all-time. Pretty hard to complain, and he didn't.

Drury, Sakic, Forsberg when Colorado last won. Arnott, Gomez, Holik and Madden - does New Jersey win its last Cup without those four centers being rolled?

Crosby, Malkin, Toews....could be the heralded as the best trio of centers ever some day. Now all the Pens would need is for a couple more Colby Armstrongs in the system to finally develop.

I think the Pens will pick either Backstrom, Kessel or Toews, even though many will have Staal ranked ahead of those three on their lists IMO. the other possibility is that the Pens trade down a couple of slots and pick up another pick or a winger. I could see Washington coveting Staal - perhaps the Pens could flop picks and pick up a Gordon or Fleischmann to compete for top six wing positions. Pittsburgh adds a winger and can still select Kessel or Toews.
 

5mn Major

Registered User
Jan 14, 2006
938
0
Kessel's only making a surge if you misread him and moved him down for a few months.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->