Prospect Info: Nick Suzuki Part II

[The Great Weal]

It really depends. As enticing as having Kotkaniemi and other young vets like Gallagher, Drouin, Tatar, Byron, etc... to work with none are elite. Beyond that...the D situation isn't pretty. Weber has to come back looking like a stud and what we do by next July 1st is huge too(acquisitions, draft picks). it's too far fetched for me.

Like I said, if you really pitch the idea that "Hey, this kid we just drafted is crazy good. He has a real shot at being NHL ready right away and if not he will more than likely be NHL ready next year".

 

[The Great Weal]

I agree about LD, though Mete and Reilly are off to a good start.

X-Weber
Mete-Juulsen
Rielly-Petry
Brook

RHD looks fine, just need that #1 offensive LHD. Things can really get messy if we don't have a replacement for Weber if he falls off a cliff.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Like I said, if you really pitch the idea that "Hey, this kid we just drafted is crazy good. He has a real shot at being NHL ready right away and if not he will more than likely be NHL ready next year".

These days you're not just pitching to players but to agents too and agents do their homework.

Look, if we got JK this year and got a Dahlin like D next year I can see how the team would look primed for a future but again, don't see it.

We'll see have to agree to disagree but suffice to say I'm not even thinking of Duchene.

 

[donghabs98]

I still think they need to stick with most valuable player available. I truly think our LHD is far worse than our center depth. Kotkaniemi, Poehling, Danault, Hillis, Olofsson is far better than Mete, Rielly, Romanov

I agree with you that LHD is a more pressing need at this point. We simply don't have enough depth or high end talent at that position. Kotkaniemi, Hillis, Suzuki, Olofsson and Poehling give is a good foundation to bet on. The same cant be said at defense.

 

[The Great Weal]

These days you're not just pitching to players but to agents too and agents do their homework.

Look, if we got JK this year and got a Dahlin like D next year I can see how the team would look primed for a future but again, don't see it.

We'll see have to agree to disagree but suffice to say I'm not even thinking of Duchene.

Of course I am just speculating and this is only if everything goes to plan(Kotkaniemi becomes a #1 center right away, Weber back in #1 D form, Price back to the best goalie in the league, Drouin and other young player look great...etc). I can't see Duchene getting TOO discourage if they offer him a big contract and he doesn't have to wait too long to be competitive on the team he grew up adoring. But hey, nobody knows and you are right.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

X-Weber
Mete-Juulsen
Rielly-Petry
Brook

RHD looks fine, just need that #1 offensive LHD. Things can really get messy if we don't have a replacement for Weber if he falls off a cliff.

Byram gives me Doughty vibes and I’d be very happy with him next year to say the least.

 

[The Great Weal]

I agree with you that LHD is a more pressing need at this point. We simply don't have enough depth or high end talent at that position. Kotkaniemi, Hillis, Suzuki, Olofsson and Poehling give is a good foundation to bet on. The same cant be said at defense.

I like that Mete and Rielly can secure the bottom 4. Romanov can surprise, but it would be really unexpected. We desperately need a #1 offensive LHD.

 

[donghabs98]

I like that Mete and Rielly can secure the bottom 4. Romanov can surprise, but it would be really unexpected. We desperately need a #1 offensive LHD.

A guy like Sergachev would perfectly match what we need. If only.

 

[The Great Weal]

A guy like Sergachev would perfectly match what we need. If only.

While I still think that Drouin can be a star forward under the right situation, Sergachev would be exactly what we need.

 

[NotProkofievian]

While I still think that Drouin can be a star forward under the right situation, Sergachev would be exactly what we need.

And then we need a replacement for old man Weber. Yikes, this is going to be a whole thing.

 

[The Great Weal]

And then we need a replacement for old man Weber. Yikes, this is going to be a whole thing.

Who knows what happens with Weber. Markov was still good despite his age, hopefully the same can happen with Weber. Also, Timmins has a lot more success drafting dmen. However, it does look pretty awful right now.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Will he be a center for OS? That's not even assured:



Maybe in a part-time capacity?

So that tweet by Kramer isn’t entirely accurate. Suzuki plays both center and RW every night. It’s the F1, F2, F3 system they run in Owen Sound based more on zone entry than position. He takes plenty of face offs and is assigned defensive coverage so he’s in effect playing primarily as a center in that system.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I agree with you that LHD is a more pressing need at this point. We simply don't have enough depth or high end talent at that position. Kotkaniemi, Hillis, Suzuki, Olofsson and Poehling give is a good foundation to bet on. The same cant be said at defense.

Depends how good Romanov and Mete are in a few seasons. But yes, if we want to be cup contenders, we need someone at LD that can log huge minutes and be a beast out there for us.

Romanov is the wild card here. Hard to pin down how good he is at the moment.

 

[DangerDave]

So that tweet by Kramer isn’t entirely accurate. Suzuki plays both center and RW every night. It’s the F1, F2, F3 system they run in Owen Sound based more on zone entry than position. He takes plenty of face offs and is assigned defensive coverage so he’s in effect playing primarily as a center in that system.

Yeah he takes draws on his strong side and first man back takes center duty. It's a good system if you have 2 players capable of playing center

 

[Habs Halifax]

I think Suzuki would be a good fit with Poehling. Pretty much one top line and two 2nd lines.

Drouin / Kotkaniemi / Armia
Lehkonen / Poehling / Suzuki
Tatar / Danault / Gallagher

- Byron is a good fit for 4th line RW/LW
- DLR is a good fit for 4th line C/LW
- Where do Hudon, Scherbak, Peca, Shaw fit?

Starting as early as next year, there is a cluster of forwards and something has to give. Ideal trades would be Shaw and Scherbak.

Edit: Forgot about Domi. Something has to give with this roster and group of forwards.

 

[danyhabsfan]

I think Suzuki would be a good fit with Poehling. Pretty much one top line and two 2nd lines.

Drouin / Kotkaniemi / Armia
Lehkonen / Poehling / Suzuki
Tatar / Danault / Gallagher

- Byron is a good fit for 4th line RW/LW
- DLR is a good fit for 4th line C/LW
- Where do Hudon, Scherbak, Peca, Shaw fit?

Starting as early as next year, there is a cluster of forwards and something has to give. Ideal trades would be Shaw and Scherbak.

Armia has done nothing to be on the 1st line.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Armia has done nothing to be on the 1st line.

I agree his pre-season did not stand out. However, I like his size and overall game with Drouin and Kotkaniemi. They need a winger with size and some skill IMO.

Remove Armia and put him on the 4th line. Who do you replace him with between Domi, Shaw, Byron, DLR, Peca, Scherbak? I was going for a balanced line-up with different skill set on each line. I think it fits.

These are my player pairings I see working starting next year. Fill in the wingers as you see fit.

- Drouin / Kotkaniemi. They need someone with a shot, some skill, and size!

- Poehling / Suzuki. Young. They need someone who is responsible, has speed, and some skill.

- Danault / Gallagher. Good combo that complement each other. Tatar fits with them but so do many others.

 

[MC94]

Of course I am just speculating and this is only if everything goes to plan(Kotkaniemi becomes a #1 center right away, Weber back in #1 D form, Price back to the best goalie in the league, Drouin and other young player look great...etc). I can't see Duchene getting TOO discourage if they offer him a big contract and he doesn't have to wait too long to be competitive on the team he grew up adoring. But hey, nobody knows and you are right.

Id like duchene as a hab (mainly because I can rub it in my sens fan friend that their best center left the team for nothing ) but him on the team would mean if suzuki ends up a winger and poehling a 3rd line center we would still have kotka and duchene as the top 2 not lookin bad to me

 

[Habs Halifax]

Id like duchene as a hab (mainly because I can rub it in my sens fan friend that their best center left the team for nothing ) but him on the team would mean if suzuki ends up a winger and poehling a 3rd line center we would still have kotka and duchene as the top 2 not lookin bad to me

There would be an even bigger log jamb in our forward group if we insert Duchene, Kotkaniemi, Poehling, Suzuki next year. I rather keep the cap space and be patient looking for a impact LD to play with Weber.

Drouin / Kotkaniemi / Lehkonen
Domi / Duchene / Suzuki
Tatar / Danault / Gallagher
Byron / Poehling / Armia
Shaw, Hudon, Scherbak, Peca, Deslauriers, DLR

???? / Weber
Reilly / Petry
Mete / Juulsen
Quellet, Alzner, Schlemko, Benn, Lernout

We clearly need a LD to play with Weber.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Yeah he takes draws on his strong side and first man back takes center duty. It's a good system if you have 2 players capable of playing center

Perfect for a team loaded with quasi center/skilled wingers. You can pair him with just about any of Drouin, Domi, Koko, Poehling, Olofsson, Hudon, Byron etc etc etc. and it could work in all situations. Nice to have that kind of depth and flexibility.

 

[DangerDave]

Perfect for a team loaded with quasi center/skilled wingers. You can pair him with just about any of Drouin, Domi, Koko, Poehling, Olofsson, Hudon, Byron etc etc etc. and it could work in all situations. Nice to have that kind of depth and flexibility.

Exactly. It's the new way to play and I hope the habs adopt this style. It just makes a lot of sense given the makeup of this team.

BTW, nice avatar haha. Best one on the site.

 

[Scintillating10]

WJC will be good for Suzuki's development

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

WJC will be good for Suzuki's development

I always wonder whether those things could be THAT significant for a player's development.
Still can't wait to see him there. Hopefully he's dominant.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Will he be a center for OS? That's not even assured:



Maybe in a part-time capacity?

He is sharing the center role with Hancock...
OS system allows them to have 2 centers in the same line

 

[Scintillating10]

I always wonder whether those things could be THAT significant for a player's development.
Still can't wait to see him there. Hopefully he's dominant.

See how he handles the speed