Line Combos: Kadri as a winger ... Bolland takes over 2nd./3rd. line center

[Rob Brown]

We draft him as a C, switch him to wing, finally give him a chance to prove himself on the big club in the middle, he exceeds expectations, and now we want to move him to the wing so someone who has performed BELOW expectations the last 2 years can take over?

 

[Hero]

Kadri is a lot better in the middle, no board play, he's smart with his stick, and has great vision, keep him in the middle.

 

[gabeliscious]

Lupul-Kadri- kessel
Jvr-bolland- clarkson
Kulemin-grabo-xxx
Mclaren-mcclement-Orr

it doesnt make sense to convert kadri to wing. he is the first young player in a while who is looking like he will become a legit nhl center. why mess with that. he didnt look out of place playing center. sure he can improve his faceoffs and defensive game but these are things most young players need to improve on.

regarding the ^^^ lineup, bolland on the 2nd line and grabs on the 3rd would be a waste. for the first time in a while we have players who know there rolls. ie; grabovski is a 2nd line center, bolland is a 3rd line center, and mclemment is a 4th line center. the only question is can kadri evolve into a 1st line center or is he going to be a good 2nd line center.

i also though someone posted something about carlyle wanting to have mclemment and bolland on the 3rd line and have a sheltered 4th line with the kids (damigo-colborne-ashton/orr).

im hoping to see,


jvr-kadri-kessel
lupul-grabovski-kulemin
mclemment-bolland-clarkson
damigo-colborne-ashton/orr

 

[LaPlante94]

I say keep him C because that's where he plays best and his offensive tools work the best. I can see him playing C on the top line next season with Kessel and JVR and I can't wait.

Kadri
Grabovski
Bolland
McClement

Looks damn good to me or even this if we move Grabovski

Kadri
Bolland
Colborne
McClement

Still looks damn good to me.

 

[stakesishigh]

I would like to see a full season of Kadri playing center with Lupul and Kessel on the first line.

 

[BonMorrison]

While I agree that Kadri should stay at centre, I'm not sure where this myth that he was poor at wing is coming from. When he played wing here, he was pretty much exclusively either on the 4th line or with horrid linemates.

 

[jmart21]

Kadri, 44.2% over 565 faceoffs


Bolland, 46.1% over 518 faceoffs.

Explain to me why It's Kadri that needs to make room for the guy that was worse on the dot this year?

 

[Mess]

Kadri, 44.2% over 565 faceoffs


Bolland, 46.1% over 518 faceoffs.

Explain to me why It's Kadri that needs to make room for the guy that was worse on the dot this year?

How is 46 % worse than 44% ?

 

[jmart21]

How is 46 % worse than 44% ?

Percentages aren't everything. I think it's easy to argue tht as Kadri was use more on the dot and won more draws, he's certainly just as capable as Bolland as our No2 C. As the offensive difference between the two and it's Kadri's position to lose.

 

[Mess]

In a perfect world scenario

#1 Center
Kadri
Bolland
McClement

Where both Bozak and Grabovski are moved out and #1 center and Bolland are brought in as replacements.

 

[Mess]

Percentages aren't everything. I think it's easy to argue tht as Kadri was use more on the dot and won more draws, he's certainly just as capable as Bolland as our No2 C. As the offensive difference between the two and it's Kadri's position to lose.

Percentages was all you provided in your previous post.

Bolland didn't need to take more draws because Chicago has players like Toews and Sharp etc that take them also. Lots of choices.

Kadri took more draws because there isn't much else to chose from previously. Its the very reason Bolland was acquired as a center and the search continues for another top end center as well.

If Kadri was considered the desirable solution for the #1 center spot then we wouldn't be having this discussion and Nonis wouldn't be diligently trying to bring in reinforcements.

 

[jmart21]

Percentages was all you provided in your previous post.

Bolland didn't need to take more draws because Chicago has players like Toews and Sharp etc that take them also. Lots of choices.

Kadri took more draws because there isn't much else to chose from previously. Its the very reason Bolland was acquired as a center and the search continues for another top end center as well.

If Kadri was considered the desirable solution for the #1 center spot then we wouldn't be having this discussion and Nonis wouldn't be diligently trying to bring in reinforcements.

1. This thread isn't about a No1 C.
2. The only reason we are having this discussion is because Ulf is off in lala land as per usual.

EDIT:

-bolland was no2 on hawks in FOT, only Toews took more (Patrick Sharp took a whopping 62 draws, on par with Komarov).

-Kadri was third behind Bozak and Grabo.

-Each player was used about the same amount, Kadri took 19% of Leaf face offs while Bolland took 18% of CHicagos.

 

[cookie]

Wasn't Kariya used as a centre that didn't take faceoffs? Why not use Kadri like that as well? But then again, if that is going to be the case, then he won't be able to center Kessel...unless Kessel takes faceoffs.

 

[Leafidelity]

In a perfect world scenario

#1 Center
Kadri
Bolland
McClement

Where both Bozak and Grabovski are moved out and #1 center and Bolland are brought in as replacements.

I agree. For me that's a damn fine 2-4 group down the middle, but we won't be able to use it as well as we can without that proper #1 guy.

You can go on a deep run with that group.

 

[jmart21]

I agree. For me that's a damn fine 2-4 group down the middle, but we won't be able to use it as well as we can without that proper #1 guy.

You can go on a deep run with that group.

Agreed, it's the ideal scenario.

The good thing is tht we've got very good 2,3,4 Centres and that may help offset not having a Crosby calibre 1C.

 

[The CyNick]

In a perfect world scenario

#1 Center
Kadri
Bolland
McClement

Where both Bozak and Grabovski are moved out and #1 center and Bolland are brought in as replacements.

I thought Bozak was awesome at faceoffs, and faceoffs = success, yadda yadda?

now you want to get rid of him

 

[soulie]

Rookie centers typically have low faceoff winning percentages and tend to improve as they spend more time in the league. Jumping the shark to put Kadri on the wing, not his natural position, is not 'putting him in a position to succeed' but actually the reverse.

 

[LeafOfBread]

Hey you know that thing that didn't work? Let's try it again.

/thread

What a ridiculous proposition. Kadri is not meant to be a winger, end of story. Face-offs can be worked on, look at Giroux's numbers when he started off.

 

[ULF_55]

/thread

What a ridiculous proposition. Kadri is not meant to be a winger, end of story. Face-offs can be worked on, look at Giroux's numbers when he started off.

As a 21 year old Giroux had a 49.5 rate.
As a 22 year old Kadri had a 44.2 rate.

I have no problem using Kadri as a center if he the best option at center.

It looks like getting rid of Eakins didn't happen soon enough. Kadri should have been used a center long before last year. The praise of Eakins never ended here though.

 

[LaPlante94]

As a 21 year old Giroux had a 49.5 rate.
As a 22 year old Kadri had a 44.2 rate.

I have no problem using Kadri as a center if he the best option at center.

It looks like getting rid of Eakins didn't happen soon enough. Kadri should have been used a center long before last year. The praise of Eakins never ended here though.

Eakins was the 1st person to let him play his natural position at C.

 

[jmart21]

Eakins was the 1st person to let him play his natural position at C.

Sttttttteeerike two!

 

[LeafOfBread]

As a 21 year old Giroux had a 49.5 rate.
As a 22 year old Kadri had a 44.2 rate.

I have no problem using Kadri as a center if he the best option at center.

It looks like getting rid of Eakins didn't happen soon enough. Kadri should have been used a center long before last year. The praise of Eakins never ended here though.

Not sure what age has to do with face-offs. This was Kadri's first year as a centre in the NHL, so he should be compared on that basis.

Giroux was still under 50%.

Also, if you want an even more extreme example, Jordan Staal had a face-off % of 37% in his rookie year, followed by 42% in his sophomore year. He constantly hovered at 45-47% the next few years, still only at 46.9% in his 5th NHL season at age 22. He finally figured it out the last two seasons, staying at 51%. And this is a guy who's a 'defensive specialist' too.

 

[CreeksideStrangler]

Grabo should be on the wing imho

 

[LEAFSIN4]

Kadri on the wing is not suitable for this team at all. We would need a legit goal scoring center like Jeff Carter to play with him if we wanted to try that out, and I still don't think it would work.

 

[wulfio*]

No offense taken ...

As soon as Kadri produces like Malkin we can live with Malkin's crappy face-offs.

Kadri will be 23 before the season starts. We aren't talking about an 18 year old kid learning how to take face-offs here.

you're comparing apples and oranges. This was kadri's first "full" season in the NHL. Those 18 year olds you are mentioning, by the time they are 23 they have had 5 seasons of NHL experience. Kadri has had a half season.

Leaf fans are hilarious. We want a #1C, but you want to stifle the development of the only possible #1C in the system... Crosby, to this day, has worked on improving his face off % from when he was younger. If you're reasoning for moving him out of the center positioning, is because essentially in his first NHL campaign, he had a tough time in the dot, and especially against Boston, then I have no idea what to say...