Midseason conversation with Yzerman

newfy

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Jul 28, 2010
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A really good video that I dont think anyone has posted on here yet. Yzerman talks about his impressions of all the players at the WJC. Talk about Lafreniere a bit.

Discusses Seider quite a bit says hes really mobile, can move the puck and took note of how well he does the little things. Not gonna blow you away with skill but has the potential to be a guy who will play in all situations with your best players because he can get them the puck and can walk the line offensively and can shut down the other teams top players.

Talks about some draft philosophy

Worth watching
 

lilidk

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He said couple of times that Larkin, Mantha, Bert and Hronek are core for feature of the team. Nothing about AA, he needs more picks.
 

Bondurant

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Good interview aside from the last question about attendance. Kind of awkward touting the attendance immediately followed by lower bowl empty seats. No need to push Kool-Aid but, whatever, otherwise solid.

I'm hoping to see Seider and Veleno get a cup of coffee in the big time.

Yzerman isn't shy about the need to obtain draft picks by deadline day. AA and Green seem like the most likely trade bait.
 
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lilidk

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Good interview aside from the last question about attendance. Kind of awkward touting the attendance immediately followed by lower bowl empty seats. No need to push Kool-Aid but, whatever, otherwise solid.

I'm hoping to see Seider and Veleno get a cup of coffee in the big time.

Yzerman isn't shy about the need to obtain draft picks by deadline day. AA and Green seem like the most likely trade bait.
Hope Green can bring us conditional second, same with AA
 

Run the Jewels

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It's a breath of fresh air, really. He's been everything I hoped for. As far as trades go, I can see moving Glendening, Athanasiou, maybe Green and Bernier. Bernier is acquitting himself quite well right now behind a dumpster fire of a roster. Any team with questionable goaltending could make a play for Bernier, heck I'd even retain salary to help improve the pick. Ideally I think he could get us a 2nd or 3rd rounder.

Stock up on as many 1 - 3 rounders as possible and let Hakan and your new NA scouting team go to work. :yo:
 

MBH

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A really good video that I dont think anyone has posted on here yet. Yzerman talks about his impressions of all the players at the WJC. Talk about Lafreniere a bit.

Discusses Seider quite a bit says hes really mobile, can move the puck and took note of how well he does the little things. Not gonna blow you away with skill but has the potential to be a guy who will play in all situations with your best players because he can get them the puck and can walk the line offensively and can shut down the other teams top players.

Talks about some draft philosophy

Worth watching


Interesting.
Yzerman has some tells in his interviews.
Last year he was asked about all the USNTP players and he said something like, "It's a strong year for the US, and not just the USNTDP, but the USHL too."

And then the Wings drafted Mastrosimone and Phillips from the USHL.

This time, asked about Lafreniere, it's interesting that he mentioned Lafreniere's late birthday.

Has Yzerman ever drafted a late birthday guy in round 1?
Seider? 6th overall. April.
Foote. 14th overall. December.
Howden. 27th overall. March.
DeAngeleo. 24th. October.
Drouin. 3rd. March.
Koekkok. 10th. February.
Vasilevsky. 25th. July.
Connolly. 6th. May.

So out of the top 10ers.
Seider? 6th overall. April.
Koekkok. 10th. February.
Drouin. 3rd. March.
Connolly. 6th. May.

Nobody in September, October, November, December or January.

Lafreniere missed the cutoff by less than a month.
Byfield is nearly a full year younger.
 

19 for president

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Yeah few things stood out to me.

1. Repeated mention of Laf's late bday. I do wonder if we could see a Byfield stunner if we get #1.
2. No mention of AA as a core player by Stevie or in the graphics. I think he's as good as gone before next year.
3. Really sounds like he likes the skill on team sweden at the WJC. Maybe a big Haken draft coming up.
4. Seemed happy with Velano and Seiders work at the WJC and like they weren't expecting a big tourney from Mcissac due to the short injury return.
5. I really liked how he talked about vet accountabiliy. Curious to see how that plays out.
 

Hen Kolland

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3. Really sounds like he likes the skill on team sweden at the WJC. Maybe a big Haken draft coming up.

I’ve been wondering about the Hakan factor this year. Last year it seemed that Yzerman was more trusting of the European scouting staff, especially Hakan. Now, he has replaced the NA staff with his own guys, and I’m sure it will be a bit more level, but knowing Hakan’s track record and knowing what Yzerman has said he prioritizes, Holtz and Raymond are extra intriguing when you think about where they might end up on our list.
 

izlez

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-Doesn't mention AA... but I don't think he mentions Bert either, and I don't think anyone's questioning whether or not he's a key piece moving forward, so I wouldn't read TOO much into it.

-Michael Rasmussen continues to not exist.
 

Hen Kolland

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-Doesn't mention AA... but I don't think he mentions Bert either, and I don't think anyone's questioning whether or not he's a key piece moving forward, so I wouldn't read TOO much into it.

-Michael Rasmussen continues to not exist.

Just out of curiosity, what were you hoping he would say about Rasmussen? He wasn't a WJC participant and missed nearly two months of hockey. Just because he wasn't brought up, doesn't mean that he is a non-factor in the organization. He came back from his injury recently and immediately slotted in on the top line at center for the Griffins, clearly he is still well thought of. Hang tight and enjoy his performance in the AHL which had gotten off to a hot start, and looks like it might continue on that track. He will earn a call up sooner rather than later if he can maintain.

I do wonder how the Wings plan on navigating pre- and post-deadline call ups (non-injury call ups). I think the team would obviously like to give some players a look late in the season, and I'm sure they'd like to keep others qualified for the AHL playoffs. With Zadina, Smith, Svech, Seider, Veleno, Rasmussen, Lindstrom, Cholowski, Hirose, and less significant options like Turgeon, Pearson, and Kuffner, it's going to be interesting how they decide who gets what opportunity and when. If they are going to give some players a sneak peek at the NHL (Mo/Joe) or want to see if players have developed over the year (Geno/Ras/Cholo/Taco), I would think that decision might be worth playing around with prior to the deadline.
 
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izlez

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Just out of curiosity, what were you hoping he would say about Rasmussen?
I mean, there was plenty of talk about young prospects, future core, and potential call-ups. You'd think his name would come up.

Heck, if Zadina or Seider were just injured for 2 months, that'd probably have it's own devoted question and answer for 2 minutes.
 

Hen Kolland

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I mean, there was plenty of talk about young prospects, future core, and potential call-ups. You'd think his name would come up.

Heck, if Zadina or Seider were just injured for 2 months, that'd probably have it's own devoted question and answer for 2 minutes.

I think the situation is a bit unique because Rasmussen was up all of last year and was sent to GR to gain comfort as a center in professional hockey, whereas Zadina and Seider coming into this year were riding the hype train of when they would be in the NHL. The team has proven that they don't disclose injury information at any level, and they certainly wouldn't have a Q&A about an injured player regardless of who it is.

The interview was also probably recorded before they had any indication of how Rasmussen would look when he came back from injury. If he had a week behind him and he had picked up where he left off, I'm sure it draws more of a discussion, and if he were to come back and look behind the speed of the game, you probably aren't making these points.
 

TCNorthstars

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You want a second round pick for a 30 goal scorer with a RFA contract pending and only 25? Thank God Yzerman is in charge!

I agree that a second is light. Although, AA scored 30 goals once, I wouldn't call him a 30 goal scorer. That implies a consistency that is not there with AA. I wouldn't call myself a scratch golfer for going under par 2x in my life.
 
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newfy

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I agree that a second is light. Although, AA scored 30 goals once, I wouldn't call him a 30 goal scorer. That implies a consistency that is not there with AA. I wouldn't call myself a scratch golfer for going under par 2x in my life.

True but even with this horrible season, AA is a ~23 goal scorer on average for his career. I would be more worried about it if we werent in such an advanced stats era but other GMs will know how snakebitten/unlucky AA is right now. I'm not saying hes going to betraded for a massive haul but a consistent 20 or so goal scorer coming off a 30 goal season with RFA protection is going to get more than a conditional 2nd rounder
 

TCNorthstars

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True but even with this horrible season, AA is a ~23 goal scorer on average for his career. I would be more worried about it if we werent in such an advanced stats era but other GMs will know how snakebitten/unlucky AA is right now. I'm not saying hes going to betraded for a massive haul but a consistent 20 or so goal scorer coming off a 30 goal season with RFA protection is going to get more than a conditional 2nd rounder

That is why I said the 2nd is light (if from a contender). But lets not kid ourselves, he has scored 20 or more goals the same amount of times he has scored 30. So lets call him a 23 goal pacer? :laugh: Now that I lay that out, maybe an early 2nd is decent for him. Just trying to temper expectations a bit I guess.
 
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Winger98

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True but even with this horrible season, AA is a ~23 goal scorer on average for his career. I would be more worried about it if we werent in such an advanced stats era but other GMs will know how snakebitten/unlucky AA is right now. I'm not saying hes going to betraded for a massive haul but a consistent 20 or so goal scorer coming off a 30 goal season with RFA protection is going to get more than a conditional 2nd rounder

I think there is a fair chance that if Yzerman could get more than a 2nd right now, AA would already be gone. I'm betting he's moved either at the draft or over the summer, when someone else can deal with his contract and maybe some more teams will enter the bidding when they know what their own cap space will look like.
 

Hen Kolland

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That is why I said the 2nd is light (if from a contender). But lets not kid ourselves, he has scored 20 or more goals the same amount of times he has scored 30. So lets call him a 23 goal pacer? :laugh: Now that I lay that out, maybe an early 2nd is decent for him. Just trying to temper expectations a bit I guess.

I'd say the Nyquist trade framework is probably realistic at this point. Right around 2 second round picks (obviously Nyquist's condition wasn't met). Nyquist at the time of his trade was a superior player (considering his impact on possession and consistency + no smoke around him), but with no team control. Maybe I'd push more for a bubble team and a conditional first based on re-signing, and hope and pray they miss the playoffs to push the pick up into the middle of the first. But I just can't see Yzerman hitching his wagon to a condition of re-signing because of Athanasiou's history. If he comes in and there is any form of stink made about him, the incentive would probably fall on the team to not offer him a contract and part with the lesser pick.

It's a delicate situation because the team should never settle for "what they can get" on a good player, even if he has warts, if that player has team control. It will be an interesting development to watch.
 

Claypool

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He said couple of times that Larkin, Mantha, Bert and Hronek are core for feature of the team. Nothing about AA, he needs more picks.

That’s a pretty bad core. They are good building blocks but the players they’ll be drafting over the next three years will be the real core.
 

Flowah

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He said couple of times that Larkin, Mantha, Bert and Hronek are core for feature of the team. Nothing about AA, he needs more picks.
I'm sure nothing pisses Yzerman off more than wasted talent and potential which is basically AA in a nutshell.
That’s a pretty bad core. They are good building blocks but the players they’ll be drafting over the next three years will be the real core.
Surprisingly, the guys I see as top line guys of the ones mentioned are Bert and Mantha. Not because Bert is particularly productive, though he's certainly not doing bad this season, but because he's just all around effective. Physical, decent speed, can cycle the puck, can score and set it up, and still pretty young. They're not the stars of the line but we know NHL coaches love that "piano puller" crap and he's far more a piano puller than Abby. Mantha is a mountain with a disgusting shot and soft hands who could easily put up 30+ season after season with a legit 1C. Larkin is the tweener. On most contenders he's not the top line center. But I could easily see Mantha and Bert on the top line of contenders.
 

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