NHL Late Bloomers

[Vladys Gumption]

Its extremely doubtful Rattie ever turns into Mark Stone, but that doesn't mean he can't be a good NHL player. He certainly has the skill and the drive to become a consistent 20/20/40 3rd line player at the NHL level if he can consistently do the other things he needs to do. And while 3rd line players are essentially a dime a dozen in the NHL, he does still have some upside at 23 to where he could blossom into a 2nd liner. He just needs to continue to mature physically and become more effective on the forecheck and the backcheck. He's never going to be fast, but he's always been able to find seams and be where he needs to be to make a play, so I'm less concerned about his speed than I would be for someone with a lower offensive IQ.

I never meant to infer that Rattie has no chance of making an impact. Quite the opposite actually, as I think Rattie can be a solid third line contributor for the Blues. My comments were meant as a comparison to the impact Stone has had. Stone has developed into a first line talent, with a pretty stout defensive acumen to boot. Basically, what I was trying to say was that I don't think he'll ever have the impact Stone does, but I do believe he's an NHL player.

 

[Bluesguru]

Its extremely doubtful Rattie ever turns into Mark Stone, but that doesn't mean he can't be a good NHL player. He certainly has the skill and the drive to become a consistent 20/20/40 3rd line player at the NHL level if he can consistently do the other things he needs to do. And while 3rd line players are essentially a dime a dozen in the NHL, he does still have some upside at 23 to where he could blossom into a 2nd liner. He just needs to continue to mature physically and become more effective on the forecheck and the backcheck. He's never going to be fast, but he's always been able to find seams and be where he needs to be to make a play, so I'm less concerned about his speed than I would be for someone with a lower offensive IQ.

There's a youtube interview of Rattie when he was in the juniors. He compared himself to Jason Spezza and he said that he likes to slow the game down and that's a big asset that he's proud to have. And when you watch him, yes, he does have a high IQ on offense. I can see it. That he has. But, this is the NHL where the game speed just keeps getting faster. Rattie is going to have to redefine his game and style if he's going to stick at the NHL level. Basically, he's going to have to semi-reinvent himself. His slow, make the reads find the seams style won't cut it in today's NHL game.

 

[blood gin]

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[LGB51]

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...wut.

 

[Doohickie]

Not sure about age but I feel like both Nyquist and Tatar played awhile in the AHL before finally cementing themselves as top 6 players in the NHL

That was the Red Wings model while their dynasty thrived. They had enough talent on the NHL squad that they could hold players back in the AHL until they were more than ready for the big time. They'd get a few short stints here and there, but the team was not in a hurry to promote the younger guys. Tatar and Nyquist were near the end of that dynasty; by the time Larkin and Athanasiou came around, they had to be rushed into the NHL because the Wings talent was ageing out.

 

[blood gin]

...wut.

That's dot is a late blooming universe. Soon to be another big bang.

just posted in the wrong thread