DannyGallivan
Your world frightens and confuses me
I know we still have one game left (against the Leafs) but I'm doing the rankings anyways. Here goes...
A
Ehlers: Best I've ever seen him play. He was flying, well he always flies, but this time it produced regular results. And man, for a skinny guy can he ever shoot the puck. Great season.
Lowry: Why is a third line grinder so high you ask? Because he's among the best third liners in the NHL, and he's ours! The most physical Jet on a team that lost way too much of it's intimidation mojo. He's the last muscle left. Plus, he found his offensive upside. I'm sure there will be debate here.
B-plus
Scheifele: Listen, he's our best player (with apologies to Nick Ehlers). If Ehlers is our Rocket Richard, Scheif is our Jean Beliveau. Midway through the season, he was poised for an A or even an A-plus. However, our big slump hurt almost everybody's rankings. Still, he was our most consistent point producer and actually improved his defence during the second half of the season.
Andrew Copp: The only thing keeping him from an "A" is all the chances he missed on. He should have been an "A".
B
Josh Morrissey: This shows a big improvement since he was a C-minus a third of the way through the season. He really picked his game up.
Neal Pionk: He slowed down just a tad the second part of the season, and like I said, the big slump hurt everybody. He was an A-plus the first third of the season. Still, he continued to remind us that we won the Trouba trade in a huge way
Logan Stanley: Yeah, yeah, he didn't rack up the points and he was "somewhat" sheltered, but he blew the top off of the ceiling he was predicted. He played most of the season and made very, very few errors compared to his peers. He showed poise, a physical presence, a booming shot from the point (it is one of life's greatest mysteries why he only got one goal) and an elite outlet pass. Oh, and his stick check was pretty slick too. He gets this grade on the curve. It's not that he's as good as Morrissey or Pionk yet, but he had a great rookie season.
Kyle Connor: Here's another guy who was at least a B-plus until his massive slump. Still, he's one of the slickest forwards in the NHL. He's almost as fast as Ehlers, but a better puck handler. Trouble is, he handles the puck too much.
Paul Stastny: He was a solid pick-up when we almost made it to the finals a few years ago and he's still solid. His great hockey sense often makes up for his slower foot speed and penchant for taking penalties.
Mason Appleton: Mason is what happens when a big, strong player with average coordination knows how to exploit his positives... Go-T0-The-Net (Pierre-Luc, take note).
Blake Wheeler: Did he really play all those games with cracked ribs? Maybe he should have sat. He's a rare Jet who's grade actually improved over the last part of the season.
Connor Hellebuyck: He's a workhorse who continues to bail out defensive breakdowns. However, he let in more weak goals this season than last. Still an elite goalie who can be the difference maker starting next Wednesday.
Laurent Brossoit: Very similar season to last year. Highly capable back-up.
Matty Perreault: In my eyes, he was the third most physical forward after Lowry and Dubois... and he's little! Seemed slow out of the gate, but really showed how valuable he is midway through the season. Great supporting player.
Trevor Lewis: It's a stretch to give a fourth liner with minimal minutes a "B", but his work on the penalty kill and the fact that I really liked our fourth line this year helped.
Dylan Demelo: He stunk when he came late to the season. He eventually got his legs and looked pretty good during the second half.
C-plus
Jansen Harkins: Didn't have a bad season, the limited time he was playing. But he has too much talent to produce so little.
Nate Thompson: Given his role on the team, this is as good a score as he could get. I like his game, he's a good fourth liner.
Derek Forbort: He was looking like a solid "B" the first half of the season, then he started fading fast.
C
Tucker Poolman: Every now and then he makes a great play and you wonder why he doesn't do that more often.
D
Pierre Luc Dubois: Sorry, but based on expectations alone he should get a failing grade. To be fair, he looked solid in between quaratines and his injury, but he's a player who has to work his butt off to be effective. When he's working, he shows glimpses of stardom. When he doesn't, you feel sympathy for Torts. They say that he is a playoff guy, so let's keep our fingers crossed. He has all the tools to dominate. He just needs to play smart and angry.
Nathan Beaulieu: Great team player. Bleeds willingly for the team. Weaknesses were all too apparent during the season.
No Grades
Heinola: Didn't see enough action. Not fair to grade him at this point.
Vesalainen: Same as Heinola. Played much harder from what I did see of him, which was positive.
Coaching Staff
D
Sorry, but this team is far too talented - even with the holes on defense - to have suffered through the slump they went through. No excuses.
A
Ehlers: Best I've ever seen him play. He was flying, well he always flies, but this time it produced regular results. And man, for a skinny guy can he ever shoot the puck. Great season.
Lowry: Why is a third line grinder so high you ask? Because he's among the best third liners in the NHL, and he's ours! The most physical Jet on a team that lost way too much of it's intimidation mojo. He's the last muscle left. Plus, he found his offensive upside. I'm sure there will be debate here.
B-plus
Scheifele: Listen, he's our best player (with apologies to Nick Ehlers). If Ehlers is our Rocket Richard, Scheif is our Jean Beliveau. Midway through the season, he was poised for an A or even an A-plus. However, our big slump hurt almost everybody's rankings. Still, he was our most consistent point producer and actually improved his defence during the second half of the season.
Andrew Copp: The only thing keeping him from an "A" is all the chances he missed on. He should have been an "A".
B
Josh Morrissey: This shows a big improvement since he was a C-minus a third of the way through the season. He really picked his game up.
Neal Pionk: He slowed down just a tad the second part of the season, and like I said, the big slump hurt everybody. He was an A-plus the first third of the season. Still, he continued to remind us that we won the Trouba trade in a huge way
Logan Stanley: Yeah, yeah, he didn't rack up the points and he was "somewhat" sheltered, but he blew the top off of the ceiling he was predicted. He played most of the season and made very, very few errors compared to his peers. He showed poise, a physical presence, a booming shot from the point (it is one of life's greatest mysteries why he only got one goal) and an elite outlet pass. Oh, and his stick check was pretty slick too. He gets this grade on the curve. It's not that he's as good as Morrissey or Pionk yet, but he had a great rookie season.
Kyle Connor: Here's another guy who was at least a B-plus until his massive slump. Still, he's one of the slickest forwards in the NHL. He's almost as fast as Ehlers, but a better puck handler. Trouble is, he handles the puck too much.
Paul Stastny: He was a solid pick-up when we almost made it to the finals a few years ago and he's still solid. His great hockey sense often makes up for his slower foot speed and penchant for taking penalties.
Mason Appleton: Mason is what happens when a big, strong player with average coordination knows how to exploit his positives... Go-T0-The-Net (Pierre-Luc, take note).
Blake Wheeler: Did he really play all those games with cracked ribs? Maybe he should have sat. He's a rare Jet who's grade actually improved over the last part of the season.
Connor Hellebuyck: He's a workhorse who continues to bail out defensive breakdowns. However, he let in more weak goals this season than last. Still an elite goalie who can be the difference maker starting next Wednesday.
Laurent Brossoit: Very similar season to last year. Highly capable back-up.
Matty Perreault: In my eyes, he was the third most physical forward after Lowry and Dubois... and he's little! Seemed slow out of the gate, but really showed how valuable he is midway through the season. Great supporting player.
Trevor Lewis: It's a stretch to give a fourth liner with minimal minutes a "B", but his work on the penalty kill and the fact that I really liked our fourth line this year helped.
Dylan Demelo: He stunk when he came late to the season. He eventually got his legs and looked pretty good during the second half.
C-plus
Jansen Harkins: Didn't have a bad season, the limited time he was playing. But he has too much talent to produce so little.
Nate Thompson: Given his role on the team, this is as good a score as he could get. I like his game, he's a good fourth liner.
Derek Forbort: He was looking like a solid "B" the first half of the season, then he started fading fast.
C
Tucker Poolman: Every now and then he makes a great play and you wonder why he doesn't do that more often.
D
Pierre Luc Dubois: Sorry, but based on expectations alone he should get a failing grade. To be fair, he looked solid in between quaratines and his injury, but he's a player who has to work his butt off to be effective. When he's working, he shows glimpses of stardom. When he doesn't, you feel sympathy for Torts. They say that he is a playoff guy, so let's keep our fingers crossed. He has all the tools to dominate. He just needs to play smart and angry.
Nathan Beaulieu: Great team player. Bleeds willingly for the team. Weaknesses were all too apparent during the season.
No Grades
Heinola: Didn't see enough action. Not fair to grade him at this point.
Vesalainen: Same as Heinola. Played much harder from what I did see of him, which was positive.
Coaching Staff
D
Sorry, but this team is far too talented - even with the holes on defense - to have suffered through the slump they went through. No excuses.
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