Player Discussion Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Part VIII) - Pretty Mintniemi Edition

[Justin11]

Relax amigo. Pkekanec played wing sometimes his rookie year to stay in the lineup and sometimes to get him in the top six. He went on to become a great two way center.

If anything a little experience on the wing will help him understand the overall game better and what his future wingers will go through.

I’m relaxed amigo. Never was high on KK since I know what’s coming for him. What do we know, right? Look how this organization has proved us wrong in the past...

 

[Habs4Life]

Domi was great this year. There was nothing wrong with KK seeing the game from the press box. CJ has done a really good job with KK this year.

Disagree he should live and die with a young player like that. He will learn a lot more playing then sitting and watching from the press box. Just doing the same stuff as before and not developing top end prospects properly.

I agree with Domi being left at center tho. No reason to move him to wing he's a 70 plus point center who plays good defensively as well. We should build off that.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Domi was great this year. There was nothing wrong with KK seeing the game from the press box. CJ has done a really good job with KK this year.

There was a lot wrong with letting KK see the game from the press box.

First off, he had 5 points in the previous 7 before he was benched and was playing very well. He's played poorly (and been tentative in his decision making) since. Moreover, those were must-win games and right when we should've been giving him more responsibility we turned it over to a bunch of grinders.

It didn't make sense and the results have really reinforced this.

I'll give props to CJ for getting a lot out of a team I thought would go nowhere this year. But his roster mgmt in the final stretch of the season has sucked.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Disagree he should live and die with a young player like that. He will learn a lot more playing then sitting and watching from the press box. Just doing the same stuff as before and not developing top end prospects properly.

Agreed. If anything we should've leaned on him more to show what he could do. Instead we f***ed up his confidence. Seems like a replay of what happened to Chuck only on a smaller scale.

 

[Habby4Life]

Agreed. If anything we should've leaned on him more to show what he could do. Instead we ****ed up his confidence. Seems like a replay of what happened to Chuck only on a smaller scale.

This is nothing like Galchenyuk. The kid was struggling and he watched a couple of games. People are making a big deal out of nothing. KK looks promising but there will be ups/downs. Nothing wrong with what CJ decided.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

This is nothing like Galchenyuk. The kid was struggling and he watched a couple of games. People are making a big deal out of nothing. KK looks promising but there will be ups/downs. Nothing wrong with what CJ decided.

He wasn't struggling at all.

He started struggling AFTER the benching.

 

[Koivu11]

Kotkaniemi 4th line LW with Thompson at C. I want to die.

Is this an April Fools’ joke? We’re really going to give him the Galchenyuk treatment?

 

[Habby4Life]

He wasn't struggling at all.

He started struggling AFTER the benching.

Sure he was. He had two points in his last 11 games and was a -4. The kid looked tired. Watching from the PB is no big deal and not anything like AG situation

 

[mitchmagic]

Classic. Yes let's ruin another 3rd overall pick.

 

[ZUKI]

Byron is not even 150 pounds ffs **** this argument

game to play ; match the names with the appropriate numbers

a) 6' 2" 184 pounds
b) 5' 9 " 163 pounds
c) 6' 2" 195 pounds

1) Byron
2) Svechnikov
3) Kotkaniemi

 

[Mrb1p]

game to play ; match the names with the appropriate numbers

a) 6' 2" 184 pounds
b) 5' 9 " 163 pounds
c) 6' 2" 195 pounds

1) Byron
2) Svechnikov
3) Kotkaniemi

Ive seen Byron, like two feet away from me, he's not 160 pound and he's 100% not 5'9. I'm 6' and I was towering over him, like a full head, and no, my head isn't that big. It's clearly propped up. He has the smallest legs Ive ever seen, like tooth pick small. Could've broke his leg like a hockey stick.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Sure he was. He had two points in his last 11 games and was a -4. The kid looked tired. Watching from the PB is no big deal and not anything like AG situation

He had 5 in 7 before the benching.

Since the benching he has 2 points in his last 10.

It made no sense.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Classic. Yes let's ruin another 3rd overall pick.

Yeup we're gonna f*** it up.

 

[Kotkaniemi15]

Sad

 

[JianYang]

Has KK only been scratched on the road?

If so, I can sort of see where the coaching staff is coming from, although I don't agree with the rationale.

 

[Guns n Roses]

We drafted him as an elite large offensive center only to play him as a 3rd line defensive center. Now? It is time to send him to Laval relearn his offensive prowess... Sound about right.

He would benefit from playing weaker opponents right now. I would like to see him dominate some games down there. We’re rushing again and we never learn our lesson.

 

[OldCraig71]

Poehling will get the same treatment, stay tuned.

 

[OldCraig71]

At this point, I could care less.

 

[Miller Time]

Sadly very predictable...

It's what happens when you've got a GM with no vision & an organization focused entirely too much on the 2 feet in front of their collective noses.

We deserve Weal & Thompson playing significant minutes. As long as we fans keep molson's coffers full, there's no incentive for him to end this stupidity.

 

[Habby4Life]

He had 5 in 7 before the benching.

Since the benching he has 2 points in his last 10.

It made no sense.

Perhaps, because the kid is 18 and not played this many games before. He looked/looks tired and sitting out two games in California (LA & ANA) is hardly going to impact his long term development.

Frankly, if I am to believe that somehow sitting out two games has damaged him in some way then the Habs are going to be in trouble with KK. However, I don't think this is the case at all, it is much to do about nothing

CJ has done a good job handling KK this year, and if CJ thought he was looking tired and could benefit from watching from above it makes sense. Also, it was two games on the road where KK has not scored a goal all year. They went 1-1.

People are making this into something it is not. To even hint at Galchenyuk situation is total BS.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Perhaps, because the kid is 18 and not played this many games before. He looked/looks tired and sitting out two games in California (LA & ANA) is hardly going to impact his long term development.

No he did not. His analytics were good. His scoring was good. And he LOOKED good. It was a total mystery as to why he sat out. There was no reason to sit him. None. And it was even worse because those were critical games that were all must win for the playoffs.

Since the benching he looks tentative, his production and analytics have tanked. All CJ did was ruin this kid's confidence. It was a terrible move.

If anything we should've played him MORE not less.

 

[Andrei79]

What people need to realize about Julien is that when Gainey made a huge coup in 2004 by acquiring Kovalev, Julien proceeded to put him on the third line LW. So, your GM acquires one of the most skilled players in the league, who's spent his whole career on the RW, and Julien does that.

He cost the Bruins Tyler Seguin, who he was playing on the wing. He refused to play his younger players and his skilled guys to the point management had to fire him and proceeded to become one of the top teams in the East.

So, some posters need to understand where the skepticism about how he manages players is coming from.

By playing Thompson more than Domi when the season is critical, he's doing two things: he's cutting back valuable development time from both Domi and Kotkaniemi, all while making the team significantly weaker with the results we've been seeing. So, what happens is he does a poor job developping AND his roster management makes us miss the playoffs, but just barely. Literally the worst place a franchise can be.

 

[Habby4Life]

No he did not. His analytics were good. His scoring was good. And he LOOKED good. It was a total mystery as to why he sat out. There was no reason to sit him. None. And it was even worse because those were critical games that were all must win for the playoffs.

Since the benching he looks tentative, his production and analytics have tanked. All CJ did was ruin this kid's confidence. It was a terrible move.

If anything we should've played him MORE not less.

Like I said, if KK is that fragile the habs are in trouble. CJ stated he looked tired and gave him two nights off. The team went 1-1 while he was out.

His confidence isn't ruined, please, its far more likely that KK has hit a wall. Its safe to assume he has not played this many games.

Sorry, not even close to a terrible move.This is just another MTL manufactured drama. KK will be fine, CJ has handled him well.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Sadly very predictable...

It's what happens when you've got a GM with no vision & an organization focused entirely too much on the 2 feet in front of their collective noses.

We deserve Weal & Thompson playing significant minutes. As long as we fans keep molson's coffers full, there's no incentive for him to end this stupidity.

Weal is ok, better than Thompson and good on faceoffs.

Roll these lines and be super dangerous:

Lehkonen-Danault-Gallagher
Drouin-Domi-Shaw
Tatar-Kotkaniemi-Weal
Byron-Thompson (Poehling eventually)-Armia

Weal can take draws in the defensive zone if KK is having a bad game in the dot

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Like I said, if KK is that fragile the habs are in trouble. CJ stated he looked tired and gave him two nights off. The team went 1-1 while he was out.

His confidence isn't ruined, please, its far more likely that KK has hit a wall. Its safe to assume he has not played this many games.

Sorry, not even close to a terrible move.This is just another MTL manufactured drama. KK will be fine, CJ has handled him well.

Problem isn't just the benching, it's the limited ice since he's come back. And you can see it now, he's tentative with the puck. He doesn't want to make a mistake because he's afraid that it will mean another night off. It's the exact wrong way to handle a young player.

As for him being "fragile" he's 18. The youngest player in the league. Everything was going well for him and then his coach benches him and starts cutting his ice. Sorry but that's going to f*** with your head.

Bottom line is that if CJ did this to get more out of KK he accomplished the exact opposite.