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Player Discussion Nick Paul (LW)

aragorn

aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
28,560
9,065
I think Paul makes the lineup & stays all yr, IMO he is the perfect 4th line centre for this team. I expect a few guys to be moved at the deadline especially the guys in their last yr of their contracts like Wideman & Pyatt & possibly Paajarvi & McCormick. Zack Smith or JG Pageau are two other guys who could get moved soon as well as another one or two guys (EK, Ryan, Gaborik, Anderson, Condon) could be up for grabs so there will be lots of roster room for prospects including Paul to show whether they belong or not.

I expect Paul & White to stick with the team out of training camp as well as Chabot & Wolanin on defence. I also expect that Jaros, Brown & Chlapik to push & challenge for spots next season.
 
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Xspyrit

Xspyrit

DJ Dorion
Jun 29, 2008
30,832
9,765
Montreal, Canada
Tuna99 said:
I found Paul didn't have a good defensive game and lacked energy. He had shifts were he did nothing and would rather stick battle for a contested puck then assert himself physically and claim space for himself.

To me he lacks focus on the ice, he'll have a good shift and follow it up by being invisible for the rest of the game. Typical big man who plays without intensity or focus. Plays a light game, gets yelled at by the coach, runs around for a shift or two hitting people and then reverts back to soft Nick Paul.

Lots of tools, but the drive and focus isn't there IMO
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I agree that he seems to lack consistency but it's often a problem for young players, they have to find a way to replicate their last shift, but even some veterans never figured it out (which limits their impact long term). It's a harder thing to do than people think, because the level of competition is so high.

Small sample size but Paul had excellent possession metrics last year, as well as very low xGA, but again very small sample size. You may not liked his game aesthetically but it was very efficient. Of course, expectations have to be 4th liner who can keep the puck away from his net.

Another thing to not forget is that tall players often seem to lack energy on TV, because their skating stride is so different, can't expect them to move their feet as much as smaller players, and hence look as dynamic.

Like Rafi said, he could have gotten more opportunity and a chance to establish himself last year but his injury and then Burrows and Thompson signings as well as Dumont pick up didn't allow him to do so. We'll see what he can do this year. Safe to say it's a make or break year for him in the organization.
 

ottawah

Registered User
Jan 7, 2011
3,473
612
Xspyrit said:
Small sample size but Paul had excellent possession metrics last year, as well as very low xGA, but again very small sample size. You may not liked his game aesthetically but it was very efficient. Of course, expectations have to be 4th liner who can keep the puck away from his net.
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He had 84.4% offensive zone starts, no wonder his possession metrics looked good. When people are extremely sheltered, yeah their advanced numbers can look good. Just ask Claesson what happens when you moved from extremely sheltered minutes to tougher minutes.
 
Xspyrit

Xspyrit

DJ Dorion
Jun 29, 2008
30,832
9,765
Montreal, Canada
ottawah said:
He had 84.4% offensive zone starts, no wonder his possession metrics looked good. When people are extremely sheltered, yeah their advanced numbers can look good. Just ask Claesson what happens when you moved from extremely sheltered minutes to tougher minutes.
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oh wow I didn't notice the deployment... that's crazy but again that's why we can't draw conclusions from small sample sizes... weird because prior to last year, he didn't seem sheltered like that. Boucher is really weird and it further proves that he really didn't trust young players

And to your Claesson argument, we could also ask Ceci what it does to your advanced metrics when you're not sheltered at all...
 
Do Make Say Think

Do Make Say Think

& Yet & Yet
Jun 26, 2007
51,166
9,908
He was too big amd slow last year.

Obviously his size is an asset but I remember thinking "he is actually pretty shifty for a huge kid' when I first saw him at the NHL level.

FQL called well a few posts/pages ago: he needs to skate to be effective and his bulking up ended up making him less mobile and agile which took away his ability to keep up with the play.
 

Boud

Registered User
Dec 27, 2011
13,568
6,993
He's been solid. I rememeber in training camp scrimmage I thought he was very good, and every time he played this year he was noticeable in a positive way. He's much better than Pyatt and Paajarvi. He was criticized by Dorion last year and props to him he's really taken a step forward and is proving to be a NHL player now.
 
coladin

coladin

Registered User
Sep 18, 2009
11,805
4,497
Boud said:
He's been solid. I rememeber in training camp scrimmage I thought he was very good, and every time he played this year he was noticeable in a positive way. He's much better than Pyatt and Paajarvi. He was criticized by Dorion last year and props to him he's really taken a step forward and is proving to be a NHL player now.
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If this is a rebuild, there is no reason for Paul not to play in front of Pyattarvi. None. Time to push ahead and see what we've got after Christmas.
 
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Micklebot

Micklebot

Moderator
Apr 27, 2010
53,653
30,817
God Says No said:
lol
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If a fire burns down my 3 bedroom executive home, and I can only afford to replace it with a trailer home, that's still kind of a rebuild...

Anyhow, I've liked Nick Paul in most of his games this year. Obviously this was his best game, but he has always done well on the forecheck and cycle imo.
 
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Micklebot

Micklebot

Moderator
Apr 27, 2010
53,653
30,817
coladin said:
Is this the game that gets Pyatt scratched permanently?
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Not sure what happened with Pyatt, he was much better last year, and the year before. Either way, I think we should only have one of Pyatt or Paajarvi in the lineup at a time whenever possible, and Paul seems to doing his best to force one out. I liked what Pyatt brought as a 12th forward, but this year he just isn't cutting it anymore.
 
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JimmySpaetzle

JimmySpaetzle

Registered User
May 16, 2014
1,272
1,286
If only he could put all the individual skills together... but maybe he’ll prove me wrong
 
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