Joseph Taylor Compher | Player Discussion Thread

[Pokecheque]

I don't know, he doesn't look that fast to me. Since I seem to be alone with this opinion I'm probably wrong, though.

Again, he may not think the game fast enough yet, but he can move.

The defensive part of his game is what I'm waiting to see more of. Yes, dude can block shots, but I want to see that part of his game evolve. No reason he can't be trusted to shut down the opposition in due time.

 

[klozge]

Yeah, I was very wrong. Compher can fly. I don't know what I was seeing there.

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah, I was very wrong. Compher can fly. I don't know what I was seeing there.

I think he doesn't anticipate the play well enough, not for a guy who's supposed to be very good defensively. Defensive players IMO always look a step ahead because they know where to be. O'Reilly was obviously not fast at all but it was hard for the opposition to get a jump on him because of that, same to a smaller degree with Stastny. That might be what you're seeing.

While I like his effort level and offensive prowess at present I'm still underwhelmed by his defense. He and the rest of the team looked especially horrendous during that 4-on-4 in the Jets game where Winnipeg was speeding around a bunch of burgundy pylons and both Compher and Lindholm looked downright lazy getting to Bryan Little in the slot. I get it--he's still young yet and defense is harder to learn than offense IMO but I sure hope he starts making major strides soon. I'm not expecting him to turn into a perennial Selke candidate but I do want to see a guy who's at least capable in all three zones and tilts the ice the proper direction whenever he's on.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

That makes no sense at all to me. He's been one of our best two way players all year. Especially on the PK where he and Landy have been the best two all year.


If there's anything to be hoping for more out of in his game so far it's the offense. Defensively and effort wise he's been as good as you can expect if not better.

 

[Pokecheque]

That makes no sense at all to me. He's been one of our best two way players all year. Especially on the PK where he and Landy have been the best two all year.


If there's anything to be hoping for more out of in his game so far it's the offense. Defensively and effort wise he's been as good as you can expect if not better.

I'm afraid I'm not seeing that. The man is willing to block shots with abandon, yes, but I'm still not quite seeing astute defensive play. Certainly not on the level of Landeskog or even close.

Maybe the stats will prove me wrong, I just think there's plenty of room for improvement. He's not Andrighetto/Yakupov in his own end of the ice but he's not as good defensively as I think he could be. I get it, it's a process.

I'd also expect him to be deadly on the transition game, which happens sometimes but not enough. IMO that has nothing to do with him, but rather the overly-conservative defensive system the team currently employs. Given his speed and smarts Bednar should be using him as a disruptive force on the forecheck much like O'Reilly used to be.

 

[dahrougem2]

I actually think he anticipates the play very well. The way he is able to jump on defenders when they're bobbling loose pucks shows his anticipation. Of course there's room for improvement, but I like his anticipation a lot. Combine that with his speed and shot and he's going to be a very good player in this league.

 

[Foppa2118]

I'm afraid I'm not seeing that. The man is willing to block shots with abandon, yes, but I'm still not quite seeing astute defensive play. Certainly not on the level of Landeskog or even close.

Maybe the stats will prove me wrong, I just think there's plenty of room for improvement. He's not Andrighetto/Yakupov in his own end of the ice but he's not as good defensively as I think he could be. I get it, it's a process.

I'd also expect him to be deadly on the transition game, which happens sometimes but not enough. IMO that has nothing to do with him, but rather the overly-conservative defensive system the team currently employs. Given his speed and smarts Bednar should be using him as a disruptive force on the forecheck much like O'Reilly used to be.

The bar for Compher defensively shouldn't be Landeskog right now. He's a rookie, and Landy is arguably the Avs best defensive forward.

JTC is already very solid, and will only get better. He's got great instincts defensively which puts him in perfect position most of the time. This is why you don't see him making many flashy defensive plays. He's just in the right spot at the right time preventing anything dangerous from happening.

He's really good at tying up his man's stick too, and seems to have some sneaky strong forearm strength. Might have something to do with his sneaky wrist shot too.

 

[Pokecheque]

Fair enough, I don't want to belabor the point, just saying that's the facet of his game IMO that needs the most work. AND I'd like to see him used/deployed in a more aggressive manner.

 

[LieutenantDangle]

Last night jtc got some great playing time in all situations. Hope that deployment continues

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I think the nail was hit on the head when talking about how he's always in the right position.


The reason he's able to block shots as well as he does on the PK is because he doesn't get caught roaming out of position or get caught watching the puck. He's always in the right spot and when that shot comes he's ready for it and ready to make the block.



I will agree that it'd be nice to see him used more aggressively in transition and through the neutral zone. We've seen with his SHGs this year how quickly he can turn a play around and be driving it in the other direction. But the Avs play a very defensive neutral structure right now and it doesn't leave him much opportunity to use that speed and quickness of his to make those plays.


It'll be interesting to see what(If anything) Bednar does or changes with his systems over the course of the rest of this year and most likely next year. Now that he has the players in the lineup that can actually play the fast paced game that he wants to deploy, I wonder will he start getting more aggressive with the forwards and applying more pressure on the oppositions Defenders with this speed the team clearly has that it didn't have last year.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Jimothy Timothy bump.

Scoring at a 57 point pace over 82 games.
Monster on the PK
Ginger af

Also I just saw something else I found interesting. Compher is the all time leading scorer for the US National Development Team. That’s while playing less games than the next 6 guys behind him on the list.

 

[Foppberg]

I've always under appreciated him, but it sure looks like he's hitting his stride this year. This JTC being the real one would be huge for us.

 

[Ceremony]

Jimothy Timothy bump.

Scoring at a 57 point pace over 82 games.
Monster on the PK
Ginger af

Also I just saw something else I found interesting. Compher is the all time leading scorer for the US National Development Team. That’s while playing less games than the next 6 guys behind him on the list.

Considering Clayton Keller scored 107 points in a season and Jimothy has 51 points total, I think there's a discrepancy in the numbers somewhere

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Considering Clayton Keller scored 107 points in a season and Jimothy has 51 points total, I think there's a discrepancy in the numbers somewhere

on hockeydb there is a 3 year window where the team is simply called "US National Development Team" instead of U18. Guess there was a name change in that window?

Anyway I just clicked on the one that JT was part of and saw that he was the leading scorer of that team all time but I didn't realize that team only existed on hockeydb for those 3 years lol.

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

I've always under appreciated him, but it sure looks like he's hitting his stride this year. This JTC being the real one would be huge for us.

ROR trade win!

 

[CobraAcesS]

Kakko - Compher - Stone?

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Kakko - Compher - Stone?

Can’t see them playing Dutchy on the 3rd line but certainly possible.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Can’t see them playing Dutchy on the 3rd line but certainly possible.

Especially on the wing

 

[LieutenantDangle]

Especially on the wing

Soda would finally get a competent line mate.

 

[Freaky Styley]

Soda would finally get a competent line mate.

Yeah - Kerfoot!