Player Discussion Nikita Scherbak - Stay In Yo Lane Edition

[Habs100]

Hudon dominated for two straight years in the AHL and was dominating a third that year. Hudon was playing a mature, smart game and still is to this day.

Their situations are completely different and Scherbak needs to stay in the AHL all year long and should never have been called up earlier this year.

Well when he was called up earlier this year he was effective and gave this team a spark...Bottom line is, he can't lose by staying in Laval. The team is healthy and Lehkonen is coming back. So it makes sense to integrate Lehkonen into the lineup.

But if Scherbak keeps knocking at the door this hard, he'll basically break down the door and we should find a spot for him. He could be a difference maker.

 

[GTA]

Drouin and Scherbak don't have game breaking talent??

No they dont.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Drouin and Scherbak don't have game breaking talent??

Nope. Drouin is trending as a career 20 goal 50-55 point player. Definitely useful, don't get me wrong, but he hasn't really shown he can take over a game and dominate it. Scherbak I look at in the same way. To look at that proposed top 6 and think we have a bright future can only indicate blind optimism.

Scherbak for example is about to turn 22 and hasn't even shown he can play full time in the NHL yet. If he had game breaking talent, he'd already be an NHL regular. Drouin is a similar story. he will be 23 years old by season's end and has only eclipsed double digit goals once. he'll most likely do it again this year if he stays healthy, but come on. These guys aren't 19 year old prospects. They are approaching their mid 20s and haven't really done anything at the NHL level that wows you. If they were game breakers we'd have seen this by now.

 

[CauZuki]

That's the top 6 of a team that will be missing the playoffs.

And how is that different from the top 6 we are icing presently?

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

Honest question, wich AHL player with actual nhl upside stayed in the AHL a whole season with being well above 1ppg, because that could happen with Scherbak.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

And how is that different from the top 6 we are icing presently?

Its not, my point is we should be aiming for better.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Honest question, wich AHL player with actual nhl upside stayed in the AHL a whole season with being well above 1ppg, because that could happen with Scherbak.

Eric Staal, but that was because of the lockout.

 

[CauZuki]

Its not, my point is we should be aiming for better.

The issue is we can't even discuss aiming for better until our management is revamped nearly from top to bottom.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Doesn't make sense, Hudon has never been even close than being this productive even if you try hard to make him look good, Scherbak is head and shoulder above him AHL wise. Charles is struggling to put up points in the NHL, no way was he ready last season. Looks good but still have so much to learn.

Hudon was a better option than Martinsen, King, Flynn and a bunch of other plugs they tried to score with.

Hudon was in the AHL all star game in his first pro season. He had full seasons under his belt of production.

Scherbak is looking great right now but look at his past two seasons. Neither were full and the production wasn't consistent.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

The issue is we can't even discuss aiming for better until our management is revamped nearly from top to bottom.

I can agree with that. Our current management doesn't understand how to build a good team in the current climate.

 

[tazsub3]

Hudon was a better option than Martinsen, King, Flynn and a bunch of other plugs they tried to score with.

Hudon was in the AHL all star game in his first pro season. He had full seasons under his belt of production.

Scherbak is looking great right now but look at his past two seasons. Neither were full and the production wasn't consistent.

In your last line you defined how players progress. Not every player is born a star. and lack of consistency is usually the biggest hurdle they need to overcome.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Well when he was called up earlier this year he was effective and gave this team a spark...Bottom line is, he can't lose by staying in Laval. The team is healthy and Lehkonen is coming back. So it makes sense to integrate Lehkonen into the lineup.

But if Scherbak keeps knocking at the door this hard, he'll basically break down the door and we should find a spot for him. He could be a difference maker.

A difference maker for what? Helping us get the 15th overall pick instead of the 7th?

There's nothing good to come from bringing him up to try to salvage a season that's already lost.

He has 90 games less in the AHL than Hudon had.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Well when he was called up earlier this year he was effective and gave this team a spark...Bottom line is, he can't lose by staying in Laval. The team is healthy and Lehkonen is coming back. So it makes sense to integrate Lehkonen into the lineup.

But if Scherbak keeps knocking at the door this hard, he'll basically break down the door and we should find a spot for him. He could be a difference maker.

A difference maker for what? Helping us get the 15th overall pick instead of the 7th?

There's nothing good to come from bringing him up to try to salvage a season that's already lost.

He has 90 games less in the AHL than Hudon had.

I'm with WTK here. I think Scherbak is NHL ready, but I think staying in the AHL is best here. He'll get a full season of playing at a high level and can make the team out of camp next season. Neither he, nor the team, have anything to benefit from playing the season at the NHL, especially since he won't exactly be getting strong minutes.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'm with WTK here. I think Scherbak is NHL ready, but I think staying in the AHL is best here. He'll get a full season of playing at a high level and can make the team out of camp next season. Neither he, nor the team, have anything to benefit from playing the season at the NHL.

He's been injured every year since pretty much being drafted. Bringing him up against the most physically fit guys in the hockey is just asking for more issues. I also don't like the idea of messing with a players ocnfidence once they have it.

I'm a big fan of Scherbak, he was who I wanted in that draft and when we got him, I was super stoked. I think he's extremely talented but with most offensive players, confidence is everything and phyiscally, he needs more work. He will have plenty of time to get bigger in this off-season and work it out against bigger players in the NHL next year.

This team isn't making the play-offs, so bringing him up and interrupting his dominance like they did with McCarron, is a dangerous game to play for literally 0 upside. If he's still PPG after the trade deadline and they want to see where he is vs. NHL competition, that's another story, but for now, he shouldn't be called up.

 

[LaP]

Scherbak is looking great right now but look at his past two seasons. Neither were full and the production wasn't consistent.

He was 19 for pretty much half of his first season though. Should not be ignored. I mean he is 21 at the time of writing this most American players are still playing at the university level at that age.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He was 19 for pretty much half of his first season though. Should not be ignored.

He was 19, he was coming off a knee injury during the Summer. He played LW, C, and RW.

 

[LaP]

If he can keep the pace it's going to be a very impressive season. I doubt it but not a lot of players can produce at that rate in the AHL for a very long time without being NHL quality player.

 

[Habs]

Drouin and Scherbak don't have game breaking talent??

Drouin does, NS hasn't really proven he does.

 

[Skip Bayless]

15 pts in 9 AHL games makes some people go cray cray

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Nope. Drouin is trending as a career 20 goal 50-55 point player. Definitely useful, don't get me wrong, but he hasn't really shown he can take over a game and dominate it. Scherbak I look at in the same way. To look at that proposed top 6 and think we have a bright future can only indicate blind optimism.

Scherbak for example is about to turn 22 and hasn't even shown he can play full time in the NHL yet. If he had game breaking talent, he'd already be an NHL regular. Drouin is a similar story. he will be 23 years old by season's end and has only eclipsed double digit goals once. he'll most likely do it again this year if he stays healthy, but come on. These guys aren't 19 year old prospects. They are approaching their mid 20s and haven't really done anything at the NHL level that wows you. If they were game breakers we'd have seen this by now.

By your logic, Pacioretty has game-breaking talent since hes been one of the top goalscorer in the league and has been a consistent 65 pts guy.
And Radulov does not since he never got 60 pts in the nhl...

Thats obviously wrong...

A guy with game breaking talent is someone who can singlehandedly dominate and is able to create plays out of nothing.

Drouin has absolutely shown that capabilities. He hasn't done it consistently yet, but hes shown it.
Same goes for Scherbak. Hes shown it at the junior level and at the ahl level.

You don't need to make the nhl straight away to be considered to have game breaking talent. Thats because talent isn't enough to become an nhler. Strength, decision making, defensive game, etc. are all aspects that Scherbak needs to improve improve to make the nhl. So just because he hasn't made the nhl full time yet, it doesn't mean anything on whether he has game breaking talent or not.

Also, Mackinnon was mostly a 50 something pt player before this year. Does that mean he didn't have game breaking talent and now magically has that capability since hes on pace for 97 pts?

and lmao at Scherbak and Drouin approaching their mid-20s. They are 21 and 22 years old respectively.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

By your logic, Pacioretty has game-breaking talent since hes been one of the top goalscorer in the league and has been a consistent 65 pts guy.
And Radulov does not since he never got 60 pts in the nhl...

Thats obviously wrong...

A guy with game breaking talent is someone who can singlehandedly dominate and is able to create plays out of nothing.

Drouin has absolutely shown that capabilities. He hasn't done it consistently yet, but hes shown it.
Same goes for Scherbak. Hes shown it at the junior level and at the ahl level.

You don't need to make the nhl straight away to be considered to have game breaking talent. Thats because talent isn't enough to become an nhler. Strength, decision making, defensive game, etc. are all aspects that Scherbak needs to improve improve to make the nhl. So just because he hasn't made the nhl full time yet, it doesn't mean anything on whether he has game breaking talent or not.

Also, Mackinnon was mostly a 50 something pt player before this year. Does that mean he didn't have game breaking talent and now magically has that capability since hes on pace for 97 pts?

and lmao at Scherbak and Drouin approaching their mid-20s. They are 21 and 22 years old respectively.

Radulov would have been a consistent 60+ point guy had he not been playing in Russia though. using him as an example is highly disingenuous.

As for Scherbak, he's literally 9 days away from being 22 and hasn't shown he can stick in the NHL yet. I realize he's had health issues and still has a bright future, but if he was a gamebreaker, he'd already be in the NHL. Gamebreaking ability is almost always shown early. I can't think of a single player who couldn't even stick around in the NHL by their 22 year old season who went on to become an elite player. Pacioretty is probably the closest example I can think of, who I don't think many of us would call "elite" and even he had more NHL success through his year 22 season.

 

[Rapala]

A difference maker for what? Helping us get the 15th overall pick instead of the 7th?

There's nothing good to come from bringing him up to try to salvage a season that's already lost.

He has 90 games less in the AHL than Hudon had.

Funny I argued the same thing about Mete.
I guess MB did realize we were sorely depleted or he was simply trying to deflect the attention away from the gaping holes in this line-up.
The more I watched Victor the more I realized he still needs some strength conditioning. I hope they allow him to pursue the Olympic experience. If Canada was smart they'd allow more of these kids to take part. I always liked the idea of canning the WJHC every four years and getting the kids back to the Olympics.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Funny I argued the same thing about Mete.
I guess MB did realize we were sorely depleted or he was simply trying to deflect the attention away from the gaping holes in this line-up.
The more I watched Victor the more I realized he still needs some strength conditioning. I hope they allow him to pursue the Olympic experience. If Canada was smart they'd allow more of these kids to take part. I always liked the idea of canning the WJHC every four years and getting the kids back to the Olympics.

I'm not sure but I think since they have a NHL contract, they are ineligible to perform.

 

[Rapala]

I'm not sure but I think since they have a NHL contract, they are ineligible to perform.

Wow seems like a very grey area. IOC or NHL rule?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Wow seems like a very grey area. IOC or NHL rule?

Think it's the NHL rules.