Injury Report: Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Part IX)

[Born in 1909]

KK will come back in September stronger, faster, wiser, fully dialled in... and still smiling.

Just please keep him away from #92 next year.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Big offseason for Kotkaniemi. Really needs to bulk up and train. Hoping he can get up to 190lbs or so by September.

Also hope he works on his release, he’s got a laser but has had trouble getting the shot off. I think part of it is that long stick he uses, but regardless, if we want him to be a goal scorer he needs to be much quicker getting that shot off.

 

[Mrb1p]

Big offseason for Kotkaniemi. Really needs to bulk up and train. Hoping he can get up to 190lbs or so by September.

Also hope he works on his release, he’s got a laser but has had trouble getting the shot off. I think part of it is that long stick he uses, but regardless, if we want him to be a goal scorer he needs to be much quicker getting that shot off.

A lot of it is never getting a good enough pass because he plays with scrubs.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

A lot of it is never getting a good enough pass because he plays with scrubs.

Drouin may be a lazy f***ing floater, but the guy can pass the puck.

 

[Mrb1p]

Drouin may be a lazy ****ing floater, but the guy can pass the puck.

He played like 10 games with Drouin at a rate of like 8 minutes a game, when Drouin was absolute shit

 

[The Great Weal]

He needs to live at the gym this summer.

 

[Apeironic]

He needs to live at the gym this summer.

Something tells me that he will be putting in the work. If he fills out, next year could be something...

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

He needs to live at the gym this summer.

He will hes 18

 

[Guns n Roses]

He will hes 18

He’s going to be an absolute beast of a player.. like scary good! Exciting times! Imagine him at 21.... Barkov 2.0

 

[NotProkofievian]

He needs to live at the gym this summer.

He did some really good work on his skating last summer. I trust him to put the work in.

 

[Guns n Roses]

 

[atrud66]

I was really impressed with his vision this year but what makes people think he's going to be a big offensive contributor? We didn't really see him shoot too much and he seemed very timid in the offensive zone. I also think he places his bottom hand too high on his stick, limiting his stickhandling. I know he's very young and has time to develop but I'm not sure I see a 1C.

 

[Mrb1p]

I was really impressed with his vision this year but what makes people think he's going to be a big offensive contributor? We didn't really see him shoot too much and he seemed very timid in the offensive zone. I also think he places his bottom hand too high on his stick, limiting his stickhandling. I know he's very young and has time to develop but I'm not sure I see a 1C.

He played with Lekhonen and Armia all year and had like 12 minutes of TOI ? Wtf do you want

 

[Kotkaniemi15]

KK will be amazing. He’s going to take the summer to develop and come back amazing. He’ll probably get around 50 points next year.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

I've said it before, but all of Kotkas issues stem from a lack of physical development. Right now the kid can get knocked down by a sneeze. If he can fill out his frame to the point where he's strong on his skates, and improves the power in his stride, he can be a great player.

 

[calder candidate]

We have seen flash of what he can do. Coming back stronger and more confidence next year will help be more assertive which will make him more effective.

 

[atrud66]

He played with Lekhonen and Armia all year and had like 12 minutes of TOI ? Wtf do you want

Look, I hope I'm wrong and that it was just down to linemates, but I expected to see more flashes of individual skill. I wanted to see him generate more offence individually. But maybe playing this year in the NHL wasn't best for his development. Do you really think he took a step this year?

 

[ottawa]

Look, I hope I'm wrong and that it was just down to linemates, but I expected to see more flashes of individual skill. I wanted to see him generate more offence individually.

He certainly showed signs of flashiness and generating chances to me. He had a fantastic season with a poor stretch during the last quarter-season, nothing wrong with that, he slowly progressed for the most part.

 

[Mrb1p]

Look, I hope I'm wrong and that it was just down to linemates, but I expected to see more flashes of individual skill. I wanted to see him generate more offence individually. But maybe playing this year in the NHL wasn't best for his development. Do you really think he took a step this year?

No it wasn't the best. And he probably won't take the next step until this team chooses to develop him, which is never.

 

[DamianHabs]

So you don't think he's got #1 center potential, think he didn't develop much this season and, lol, are critiquing how he holds the stick.

He's 18 and played a full NHL season but you don't think he showed all that much. I can only conclude you don't watch many games. As for his hand position on his stick, be sure to call Julien and let him know.

QUOTE="atrud66, post: 159205473, member: 233179"]I was really impressed with his vision this year but what makes people think he's going to be a big offensive contributor? We didn't really see him shoot too much and he seemed very timid in the offensive zone. I also think he places his bottom hand too high on his stick, limiting his stickhandling. I know he's very young and has time to develop but I'm not sure I see a 1C.[/QUOTE]

 

[atrud66]

So you don't think he's got #1 center potential, think he didn't develop much this season and, lol, are critiquing how he holds the stick.

He's 18 and played a full NHL season but you don't think he showed all that much. I can only conclude you don't watch many games. As for his hand position on his stick, be sure to call Julien and let him know.

Real solid rebuttal lol. I want Jesperi to succeed and be a big offensive contributor for us but other than his vision/passing, I didn't see a skill set that will translate to a lot of offence. You can laugh all you want about my comment on how he holds his stick but it has a big impact on his ability to stickhandle and keep control of the puck. Add this to the fact that he skates really upright and this leads him to get pushed off pucks rather easily. This can obviously be corrected through strength training and practice and I hope he proves me wrong. He'll definitely be best served to play with linemates who can actually finish the passing plays he sets up. He may be even better served starting in the AHL next season to learn how to protect the puck and generate more offence by himself.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

[MC94]

KK will come back in September stronger, faster, wiser, fully dialled in... and still smiling.

Just please keep him away from #92 next year.

I know how to prevent that, ship him out west! maybe edmonton they seem to like lazy players

 

[417]

Real solid rebuttal lol. I want Jesperi to succeed and be a big offensive contributor for us but other than his vision/passing, I didn't see a skill set that will translate to a lot of offence. You can laugh all you want about my comment on how he holds his stick but it has a big impact on his ability to stickhandle and keep control of the puck. Add this to the fact that he skates really upright and this leads him to get pushed off pucks rather easily. This can obviously be corrected through strength training and practice and I hope he proves me wrong. He'll definitely be best served to play with linemates who can actually finish the passing plays he sets up. He may be even better served starting in the AHL next season to learn how to protect the puck and generate more offence by himself.

I don't think he needs to learn how to protect the puck and generate more offense, it's not like he doesn't know how to do these things, there's a reason why he got drafted 3rd overall...he just needs to get stronger and gain more experience.

2 things that will come naturally with time, he's 18yrs old, of course he's not physically mature.

 

[Archijerej]

KK will come back in September stronger, faster, wiser, fully dialled in... and still smiling.

Just please keep him away from #92 next year.

Or he'll come back worse than he was this season. Which is a very real possibility at the age of 19.