He made an objective observation and one that most of us would agree with. What is your point and why even ask such a question? If he doesn't care for the player then he will say as much.
I have missed much of the last 3 games but I definitely value anything that you say about any player. As soon as I read your post the thing that I thought of was how free and creative Kotka looked in the preseason and his first 2-3 regular season games and then it hit me.
Going to have to disagree here. Most people don't learn well by starting at the most difficult level. The smaller ice and speed of the game are new to him. He would likely be best served by figuring out the nuances of the NA game at a lower level then coming back with a revised and honed approach at a later date. Just hanging on for dear life and not trying new things for fear of failing doesn't exactly provide a fertile environment for him to grow his game.
Kotka is not being used properly, he’s always playing with Armia, Benn, Ouellet, gets no PP time, still creates chances, could easily of had a few more points and be PPG right now, but passenger man golden boy Danault has 3 points playing with Tatar and Gally... Danault would have zero points if you switched their situation around,and Kotka who knows what he would have, and people would be freaking out that he’s producing. @montreal is not being fair here.I have missed much of the last 3 games but I definitely value anything that you say about any player. As soon as I read your post the thing that I thought of was how free and creative Kotka looked in the preseason and his first 2-3 regular season games and then it hit me.
He's definitely one of out top 9 nine forwards already and even higher on the depth chart. The question is, as someone who just turned 18, would he develop more offensively by being a first line dominant center in the AHL or Finland or as 3rd line center in the NHL. Confidence is huge for a hockey player.
It's not the only post I've noticed, he generally seems unenthused from what I've seen - which is why i asked the question. Maybe he never liked the pick?
Being demoted after playing 14-15 minutes a night in the NHL, putting up some points, and being fairly responsible could give poor confidence as well.
Pretty much. No one can say that he's had more impact/played better than Peca/Domi/Danault. He's basically a lower end bottom 6 C at the moment with lot of room to grow his game offensively/defensively/strength wise. He's not out of place on the ice but not really making an impact unless you solely focus on him and ignore that other players on the team also have nice plays here and there. I'm not sure as many people will be as keen to keep him on the roster if he was a 3rd round pick vs 3rd overall.
Why does he need quality offensive minutes right away? Why can't he adapt to the NHL slowly, and get offensive minutes after he's proven he's too good for anything less? It didn't seem to hurt him in Finland where he started from the bottom and worked his way up.
If he's not a 2-way guy, I don't want him on my 1st line anyway.
Ya I'm not saying I don't want him playing D, but we also don't want him playing conservatively when he has the puck.
