Morgan Rielly Appreciation Thread.

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Morgan Rielly is definitley in the coversation for one of the best from his draft class.

It's why we need to be patient with Liljegren and Sandin because they can also be key pieces to the team, but it may take 4 or 5 years after their draft to get up to that level.

I think Morgan Rielly is the best all-round player from the draft, with Gostisbehere being the best pure offensive guy, and then Filip Forsberg is obviously the best forward.

I think Rielly is better than Ghost offensively

 

[Cor]

I think Rielly is better than Ghost offensively

It could work out that way, but Gost has been the better offensive producer up until now

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

It could work out that way, but Gost has been the better offensive producer up until now

that's pretty much because he's gotten way more powerplay time up until now. Rielly's offense at 5v5 is quite a bit better, and he actually produces at a better rate on the PP once you take minutes into account

 

[zeke]

It could work out that way, but Gost has been the better offensive producer up until now

actually he hasn't. he's just had many more PP minutes.

 

[zeke]

hey, btw, Mo has 62pts in his last 80gms.

 

[Shanty]

hey, btw, Mo has 62pts in his last 80gms.

Definitely the most underrated 1D in the league at this point.

 

[Faltorvo]

STUD AND TRUE #1D

close thread

 

[LeafFever]

Definitely the most underrated 1D in the league at this point.

By far.
Ridiculous the criticism he gets.

 

[Damisoph]

Mo is the only other guy on this team I could see them slapping the C on, other than 34 and 91.

 

[TAYGB52]

Mo is the only other guy on this team I could see them slapping the C on, other than 34 and 91.

Him or Matthews for me. Tavares would be a fine captain but for me, with this group, it has to be Matthews or Rielly

 

[TAYGB52]

By far.
Ridiculous the criticism he gets.

It’s beyond ridiculous in my opinion!

 

[Faltorvo]

Mo is the only other guy on this team I could see them slapping the C on, other than 34 and 91.

2nd best player from the entire 2012 and he is OURS

muahahahahaha

 

[Atomos2]

STUD AND TRUE #1D

close thread

Why close the thread?

Why not celebrate having an elite #1 D? I love reading this stuff.

 

[nsleaf]

He is certainly closing the gap that separates him from top 1 D status, but a prolonged play off run next spring will leave no doubt, IMHO.

 

[Apotheosis]

I think Rielly is better than Ghost offensively

Ghost had more PP time as well as being in relatively sheltered minutes in comparison. Just like how Ghost isn't bad defensively, the gap offensively between the two isn't large by any means. Anybody who watches Rielly knows he has elite vision and great stick handling.

 

[Mr Hockey]

Ghost is pretty elite offensively and a scoring threat, Rielly is not there yet.

 

[nsleaf]

Ghost had more PP time as well as being in relatively sheltered minutes in comparison. Just like how Ghost isn't bad defensively, the gap offensively between the two isn't large by any means. Anybody who watches Rielly knows he has elite vision and great stick handling.

Not to mention the talented forwards he has the luxury to work with, he's so far showing how his game feeds theirs.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Shout out to Rielly's newly developed half-slapper shot. Still needs some work on accuracy, but it shows he's at least been working on it. Was surprised to see him pull that out of the bag a few times already this season.

 

[IPS]

Shout out to Rielly's newly developed half-slapper shot. Still needs some work on accuracy, but it shows he's at least been working on it. Was surprised to see him pull that out of the bag a few times already this season.

It'll always suck but he's more than good enough with his other skills anyway. Keith never shot the puck worth a damn either and he does ok for himself.

 

[93LEAFS]

Shout out to Rielly's newly developed half-slapper shot. Still needs some work on accuracy, but it shows he's at least been working on it. Was surprised to see him pull that out of the bag a few times already this season.

I wish I could ask certain questions sometimes, that very few reporters would ask because it wouldn't get a daily hit but would be an interesting story.

I sometimes think that players are reluctant/unable to incorporate certain techniques which people think are simple due to equipment choices. How crafted and catered too NHL guys are is amazing when it comes to this stuff. Kessel used a ridiculously flexible stick with a low kick, which almost no one else would attempt using. It also made it very hard to develop a quality one-time or pure slap shot of any kind, which is why he always religiously used his snapshot. I wouldn't be surprised if Matthews set up is similar (I've heard 82 flex, which isn't crazy, with a low kick, but he's also 220). For someone like Rielly, I wonder if he was always used a stick that catered to a certain shot profile, and if he has adapted with his new found power play time and if he's changed his stick. Its sort of funny how little this stuff is openly talked about.

In a lot of cases it is catering to what you are already good at, and maximizing it, but it comes at the expense of other things.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

I wish I could ask certain questions sometimes, that very few reporters would ask because it wouldn't get a daily hit but would be an interesting story.

I sometimes think that players are reluctant/unable to incorporate certain techniques which people think are simple due to equipment choices. How crafted and catered too NHL guys are is amazing when it comes to this stuff. Kessel used a ridiculously flexible stick with a low kick, which almost no one else would attempt using. It also made it very hard to develop a quality one-time or pure slap shot of any kind, which is why he always religiously used his snapshot. I wouldn't be surprised if Matthews set up is similar (I've heard 82 flex, which isn't crazy, with a low kick, but he's also 220). For someone like Rielly, I wonder if he was always used a stick that catered to a certain shot profile, and if he has adapted with his new found power play time and if he's changed his stick. Its sort of funny how little this stuff is openly talked about.

In a lot of cases it is catering to what you are already good at, and maximizing it, but it comes at the expense of other things.

I think I read somewhere before that Rielly used an unusually short stick (or at least not as long as most defenceman since reach is an asset). Not sure if this would affect what kind of shots a guy would be most comfortable taking, but I assume having a longer stick would make taking a slapshot easier.

I appreciate it when players add new wrinkles to their game. It shows they're not content with what works. Marner's wrist shot for instance looks much better than it did in juniors, as has Kadri's, though Kadri's is still a little sweepy at times.

 

[Duffman955]

The way he can move the puck up the ice effortlessly is something every team wants.

He has much improved play defensively as well. Tons of leadership qualities

 

[93LEAFS]

I think I read somewhere before that Rielly used an unusually short stick (or at least not as long as most defenceman since reach is an asset). Not sure if this would affect what kind of shots a guy would be most comfortable taking, but I assume having a longer stick would make taking a slapshot easier.

I appreciate it when players add new wrinkles to their game. It shows they're not content with what works. Marner's wrist shot for instance looks much better than it did in juniors, as has Kadri's, though Kadri's is still a little sweepy at times.

There's a lot to go with other than height now that kick-point and flex is so customizable. With a small stick, a low kick-point, with a lot of flex would help you get a really quick release. A lot of the big defenders on PP's tend to use a long-stick, with a mid-kick and a high-flex. Doing that would lead to extreme tourque on slap shots. There's a bunch of other small things too. The biggest complaint about people trying to use Kessel's stick was that the flex was so low with a low-kick point that receiving crisp nhl passes at speed was very tough.

 

[hockeywiz542]

If you had to do the draft all over again, maybe Nashville centre Filip Forsberg would have gone first overall. That is, if you don’t favour a goalie such as Andrei Vasilevskiy (19th), Frederik Andersen (87th) or Connor Hellebuyck (130th).

But if you want a No. 1 defenceman — and which team doesn’t? — then you’d take Rielly ahead of Hampus Lindholm or Jacob Trouba. You couldn’t really say that about him last year or in any of the years before.

Rielly was good, but he wasn’t great. He was, at best, a No. 2. He was the kind of defenceman who played a ton of minutes and in a variety of situations, but who didn’t put up a ton of points.

This year, that’s changed. We’re only four games into the season, but with a league-best 10 points (heading into Wednesday’s play), it’s becoming immediately clear Rielly is going to have a monster year offensively. He might not put up Erik Karlsson-type numbers. But now that he’s passing the puck to some of the most talented forwards in the NHL, you can pencil him in for at least 70 points.

The question is whether that gets him noticed for the Norris Trophy, which is as much about points as it is about reputation.

In the previous five years, Rielly has never received even a single vote for the award. A big reason for that is a lack of production. Rielly, who had a career-best 52 points last season, tied with Jake Gardiner for 15th among defencemen in scoring. It was the only time he’s ever been ranked in the top 30.

Now that he’s quarterbacking a dangerous power-play unit that includes Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Mitch Marner, it’s not unrealistic to suggest he could finish in the top five.

If so, you can expect that he’ll get some Norris Trophy recognition.

 

[Skin Tape Session]

People claiming Rielly isn’t a #1D are ridiculous.

What more does he have to do? He’s carrying the corpse of Ron Hainsey with him

Weekend at Hainsey's