slats432 said:
I must admit....I am becoming a believer.
OTOH....that guy in your avatar needs a kick in the caboose.
Yes, yes he does. I'm sure it's just a case of post-draft complacency though. I compare the draft year for a junior player to a contract year for an NHL player. Often they overachieve, but they're still generally considered the same caliber of player beneath all the statistics, they just give that little extra that they usually can't muster in the draft or contract year. Though sometimes players never revert back to their contract year form and end up being a bad sign, and that's the same situation that a "bust" in the draft can endure. If he can find that motivation again, he'll be just fine. That motivation that you have to dig deep for that a drafted player playing junior hockey usually finds very hard to attain. Not saying it's alright or making excuses, but he's probably a prime candidate for that sort of thing.
Also, the whole team isn't doing as well as everyone would have initially hoped. Ladd is just one of many on that Hitman team that isn't playing up to snuff. I'm just concerned that he keeps hitting and forechecking and playing hockey the way he's supposed to. If he does that, he will at the very least have a role in the NHL. A line with Erik Cole and Andrew Ladd would be one of the best forechecking combinations of wingers in the league if Ladd can bring that to the Pro game. Overall, i'm not very worried about him at this point. He's had a few really great games this year to accompany all those bad ones, so the light is still there. It's very early yet!
