Morgan Rielly's rookie season, how would you grade it thus far?

[cookie]

Reminds me of Kaberle a lot for some reason. I also think team mates not being able to receive his hard passes may have hampered his stats a bit. He needs to be better defensively but sadly a lot of this blame can be shifted to who he's partnered up with. He has sky-high potential and if he works on his shot he will be able to consistenly put up 50+ point seasons in his prime.

 

[AustonMitchWilly]

A+

Developing well and making slight but minimal mistakes. Cant expect more than what he's been done.

 

[Mansfield]

he's been quite good. definitely getting more comfortable as the season progresses as well

 

[Super Mega]

B for his season (which i feel was rocky due to his pairings)

his talent and potential? A+

When leafs draft I generally like to dig into videos of junior and that was where I was really sold on Riellys game. This is the first drafted leaf I have been excited about since Wendel Clark. He has that something special, its elite talent, this isnt a kid you can over-hype. Barring injury I would be shocked if he doesnt eventually make the leafs top pairing and surprised if its not within 4 years. He seems to be adapting to Toronto (better than Schenn did) and I realize hype can be damaging, but Morgan seems to take that in stride. Watching him post game interviews he has changed even within the past month, he seems confident already.

 

[Gary Nylund]

B for his season (which i feel was rocky due to his pairings)

his talent and potential? A+

When leafs draft I generally like to dig into videos of junior and that was where I was really sold on Riellys game. This is the first drafted leaf I have been excited about since Wendel Clark. He has that something special, its elite talent, this isnt a kid you can over-hype. Barring injury I would be shocked if he doesnt eventually make the leafs top pairing and surprised if its not within 4 years. He seems to be adapting to Toronto (better than Schenn did) and I realize hype can be damaging, but Morgan seems to take that in stride. Watching him post game interviews he has changed even within the past month, he seems confident already.

Agree 100%. There are no guarantees of course but it sure looks like this kid is going to be special.

 

[Stu]

A+

Developing well and making slight but minimal mistakes. Cant expect more than what he's been done.

Minimal? Not sure what you've been watching.

Anyway, I think he's been OK, he's made plenty of mistakes this year quite a few which have cost us goals but it was to be expected for such a young guy. I think he will be a superb defenseman in the next 2-3 years. He has abilities which cannot be coached.

 

[LeafsNation75]

So far I have been impressed with his play. He still makes the odd mistake, however that's no different compared to other rookies.

 

[Marner]

Kid is going to be a stud. no doubt

 

[ConnorTO]

B+

great on the puck
hasnt really dominated and dictated the play but has shown glimpse of

 

[Antropovsky]

I like that he actually has a physical side to his game, unlike gardiner or kaberle, not alot.. But he's 20 and you can see him becoming more and more physical out there which is a good sign for the future.

I agree, stud.

 

[Duke Silver]

His speed is obscene, when you watch him out there he's got wheels.

There's no doubt that he's extremely fast. I would just like to see him turn it on a little more, kind of like Gardiner goes flying down the ice a few times a game.

 

[Team Overrated]

A from me, and he has gotten notably better as the year has gone on.

 

[diceman934]

Let's look at the big picture. He had been a plus 2 since sitting his last game. He has to play his weak side because older players can not do this. He has played with a different partner every two weeks before Gleason came and now they have gone to a seven man rotation he has played both sides of the ice, the only d man on the team to do so consistently. He has played mistake free hockey recently and is being depended on to play against the speedster in the league as well as many of the top players in the league. He is blocking shots and hits as well as carrying the puck out of the d zone when there are not better options. Kid is playing much better then most on here thought as most thought he was a soft one demensional offensive d man. Even Bob Mackenzie said he was this type of player at the draft. Made me laugh as he had not seen him play much if at all.

We have a stud he may even be among the best at his position in a couple of years. So for any who have rated him low at like a -b or Lower you really have no idea of how well he has played and under the pressure of Toronto and for a demanding coach who expects perfection. Yeah I may be slightly bias but he is a sold A.

 

[Quares27]

He has definitely gotten better as the season went on. I don't really remember any bad turnovers or defensive play in the last 15 or so games but he was really bad with bonehead plays and bad D earlier in the season. I'd say a B-. IMO he really needs to shoot the puck more because sometimes he overpasses in the offensive zone and handcuffs the D with an unnessecary pass in a bad spot. I love to watch him skate though.

BTW off topic but seeing that -10 besides Rielly's name, how common is it for teams to have such a massive difference in +/- between pairings? Rielly is -10 and Franson is -16 while Gunnarsson is +17 and Phaneuf is +18. I find that odd as Gunnarsson and Phaneuf get the harder minutes and zone starts too. I'm guessing I just forgot how bad Rielly and Franson were to start the season

 

[LeeIs]

Best thing about him is that he's a fast learner. He started the season shaky as expected. But day after day that shakiness is getting out of his system. The difference between his last game and his first game is huge.

Smart kid, good set of wheel and can move that puck so smoothly out of the zone. Once he develops a better shot he'll be super dangerous.

 

[socko]

He plays more like a guy with the skills of Bob Rouse than a guy with the skills of Bryan Berard. I think he's really good but I think it's always easier to tone down a wild man than get a passive type of guy to play more reckless. Scott Niedermeyer was the same way and he never changed. Would like to see him more physical obviously, he probably needs to hit the weight room.

 

[Daisy Jane]

wait, so all this time, Morgan has been playing his wrong side?

Wow.

I think he looks great, and my hope is, and Nonis said that it is a priority, to surround players like Jake, Morgan etc, with support/vets. Gleason/Rielly actually look really good, but if you get that special someone for him (or let him develop with the Leaflings who are coming up, Grannberg, Percy, MacWilliam?), we could develop something amazing

 

[WTFMAN99]

I'd like to get fayne for him to play with next season. He looks like he hit a wall recently but fayne is a rd and allows Morgan to go to ld

 

[member 147413]

B

Performing well, yet makes the occasional poor read in the dzone. All the talent and intelligence is there, so I'm not worried. That said, I really want him playing on his strong side.

 

[Cleatus]

B- rating from me. Dude seriously needs to work on his shot.

 

[Body Czech]

B- rating from me. Dude seriously needs to work on his shot.

You're downgrading him for his shot? Seriously he has so much potential. The kid is 20 so yes I agree let him work on it. But does it matter that much? Hes so young and has great potential to be a top 10 defender in this league BUT let him mature a bit before rating him a B- . Not fair to rate him so low when hes also this whole time not on his strong side. Hes young, and hes playing in a seven man rotation consistently and you're worried about his shot?

 

[mikebel111*]

wait, so all this time, Morgan has been playing his wrong side?

Wow.

I think he looks great, and my hope is, and Nonis said that it is a priority, to surround players like Jake, Morgan etc, with support/vets. Gleason/Rielly actually look really good, but if you get that special someone for him (or let him develop with the Leaflings who are coming up, Grannberg, Percy, MacWilliam?), we could develop something amazing

Those prospects are great. However matt finn is probably perfect partner for rielly.


Please arrive finn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Celly Hard]

You can just tell this kid is gonna be amazing. He gets better and better the more games he gets under his belt.

 

[ponder]

B+. He's a rookie offensive dman, all of the defensive mistakes and turnovers are expected. His net contributions aren't overly positive at the moment, but I didn't expect them to be. However, he HAS shown a huge amount of potential, he's an incredible skater with great vision and talent, and has shown flashes of good defensive ability. I didn't expect him to make the team full time this year, and not only has he made it, he hasn't looked out of place. Yes, he's looked like a rookie, but he still deserves to be here, which is more than I expected out of him at this age. This season has increased my certainty that he's going to mature into a good top pairing dman, so I'd say it's been a good one so far.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I expect a lot of Rielly, he's been okay, but I know he can be a lot better. He's barely touched his potential yet.