Pitkanen or Zidlicky
- Thread starter Sole Survivor
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Zidlicky for next year, Pitkanen in 5 years. Marek is a very good offensive defenseman, but Joni is oozing with talent and as he begins to realize his potential, he'll be capable of scoring 60+ points in a season, imo.
Paxon
202* Stanley Cup Champions
markov`
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eddy
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markov` said:
I think Zids will probably always have the edge (numbers-wise) as well, provided he is put in the right position to succeed. He is much more offensive-minded than Pitkanen, who you can tell wants to play defense (he's just not great at it yet). Zidlicky will always have offense on his mind, and that'll get him more points. But, while he might be better right now, he's nowhere near the player Pitkanen should become. Pitkanen has a ways to go to reach the level of offense that Zidlicky put up last season. I don't think people appreciate the numbers Zids put up as a rookie. Jovo, who is considered top flight offensively, has never achieved Zids level of points. Niedermeyer, who is one of the best (if not the best) offensive Dmen in the league has only a scored as many points as Zids twice (outscoring him once by 1 point, and once by 4), and that's in something like 13 years in the NHL. And I'm sure Flyers fans would die to have Niedermeyer-esque offensive production out of Pitkanen.
Zidlicky will have to play well defensively to get the offensive opportunities. I would give the edge to Pitkanen on that basis. Not that Pitkanen is great defensively, but he has much better size and a lot more time to learn.
nomorekids
The original, baby
I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking Zidlicky's points this year were some sort of fluke..or...a matter of being in the right place at the right time, or something of that nature. Having seen him play over 82 games this past year...I can't disagree more. There is something supernatural about his skill with the puck\vision. Let's put it this way...if his shot was a bit more accurate...he would likely have had 20 goals. That's his big drawback, maybe even more than his defensive play...but he's got the moves and the hockey smarts to make it happen, regardless. He should consistently be in the top ten, top five for points by a defenseman.
I think Zidlicky may score more points, but overall Pitkanen is going to be a vastly superior defencemen. I truly expect Pitkanen to be a top 10 defenceman in the league someday.
ALF AmericanLionsFan
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Zidlicky this year, but I would be surprised if Pitkanen keeps pace and Pitkanen for the future. I have a feeling he will be a Lidstrom type player.
ALF AmericanLionsFan
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Zidlicky this year although I wouldn't be surprised if Pitkanen keeps pace and Pitkanen for the future. I have a feeling Pitkanen will be a Lidstrom type player.
Vlad The Impaler
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nomorekids said:
Evidently buy this thread, it looks like nobody thinks it's a fluke.
I am not so sure of that.
nomorekids
The original, baby
Vlad The Impaler said:
but why? it's just TOO unrealistic that this guy could have flown under the radar\exploded so fast-easily in the NHL? It's like I said...it wasn't as if he were Andy Delmore, being spoon-fed the perfect pass by Kimmo Timonen time and time again...he was bursting out of the corners with these insane moves, creating plays by himself. It just seems unreasonable to think that...he'll "lose" some of his skill.
Vlad The Impaler
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nomorekids said:
Well, note I didn't say it is a fluke. I am just not convinced he will repeat. Everything went especially well with him last season. In a lot of his insane plays, I think there was a bit of luck from what I have seen. Cross passes that just shouldn't have made it and great work by his teamates.
He could do it again. But a break (an off-season) is a good thing to properly evaluate a player, so I can't wait to see more next year. It will also be cool to see how Nashville reacts after their first really solid season.
It could go any way as far as I'm concerned. I am not sold on Z, on the Preds or on the coach yet.
Enoch
This is my boomstick
Unless his concussion against the Wings plays a huge part on his game, I see no reason to expect Zidlicky's game to deteriorate offensively, or defensively. His game only seemed to improve as the season went on, and as the Preds offensive talent continues to emerge....I can only see him picking up more assists. Most of the points he put up this year, he created, but in the future, I would expect a lot of the stat-boosting secondary assists.
Offensively - I would choose Zidlicky. As a rookie he put up stellar numbers, on an offensively disfunctional Predators team. He turned around their pp almost single-handedly IMO.
Overall - Pitkanen, rather easily. He possesses loads of potential, and a size element that Zidlicky will not be able match.
Offensively - I would choose Zidlicky. As a rookie he put up stellar numbers, on an offensively disfunctional Predators team. He turned around their pp almost single-handedly IMO.
Overall - Pitkanen, rather easily. He possesses loads of potential, and a size element that Zidlicky will not be able match.
jstreet
LETS GO PREDS
Zids is the real deal., like Nomo said- alot of his goals were from beautiful puckhandling skills, not just firing from the blueline and tipping off of 5 players before going in. He has the talent.
BlueAndWhite
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That's true and he'll get there rather quickly - he had 27 pts in 71 games as a 21 year old rookie. That translates to 31 pts in a full 82 game schedule.SmokeyClause said:
Zidlicky had 53 pts in 82 games, while playing 20 minutes per game and having the second most powerplay minutes (per game) in the entire NHL.
Add in the fact that Pitkanen played 3 less minutes a game and was 133rd in the NHL in powerplay minutes (per game) in the NHL; and the 22 point discrepancy between the two should be erased quite quickly.
He does have to produce significant chunk of offense to reach Zidlicky's level but it's when considering all factors - he isn't as far from Zidlicky as you make it seem.
I think people do appreciate the numbers Zidlicky put up, but they are also quite cautious to laud him with too much praise. Why ? Because if the NHL has taught us anything it is that many players can be great for one year, but not all can keep it going year after year. So why are people more cautious with Zidlicky ? Well for one he is 27 and has just finished his rookie year. For another, he really had everything go right for him in Nashville and he did have an excellent situation to step into it (being able to be first in ice-time among the entire team, having so much powerplay time, etc).SmokeyClause said:
Does this mean to say that Zidlicky will not be able to repeat his numbers from last year, or even better them ? Not at all.
As well your comparisons between Zidlicky's totals and that of Jovo and Niedermayer are off-base.
There is barely a year between Jovo and Zidlicky and Jovo isn't exactly the most consistent defenseman. And it is because of his inconsistency that very few would label him as "top-flight" offensively. Does he have the potential to be absolute dominating at both ends of the ice ? Yes. Has his production reflected that? Not necessarily.
BTW, Jovo was on pace to eclipse the 53 points notched by Zidlicky, in 02-03; however he was limited to 67 games that year.
I have no idea where you came up with the notion that Niedermayer is one of the best, if not the best defenseman offensively - STATISTICALLY*.
Niedermayer is a fantastic two way defenseman who had an amazing year. However, if you look back at his season totals - he is not even top ten offensively year in and year out.
In fact, in his 13 NHL seasons, he has cracked the top ten only three times in points, and the top five only once (this year.)
*I'll be specific so as to avoid "he is being held back by the NJ system" comments, because whether they have merit or not - I do not think they make a difference in this discussion.
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nomorekids said:
I told everyone before the season that Zids was gonna have a big season. Most people said "who is he?". He became a household name in hfboards in one season, like I predicted. Before that he was some throw in, in some mediocre trade.
Last year did not surprise me at all. Everyone who watches the finnish league closely knew he was going to do some damage. But Pitkänen is of course the better player, just a whole lot younger and less experienced.
this year zdlicky in the future pitkanen, dont forget there is like a 6 year differnece in age zdl is like 27 or 28 and pitkanen is like what 21 or something in 3 or 4 year pitkanen will be in his prime and zdlicky will be getting older.so yes to answer your ? pitkanen willl be better in 3or 4 years. for now zdlickySole Survivor said:
I think Pitkänen will be one of the bests attack-defenders(I don´t know the real term, in finland we call this hyökkääväpuolustaja etc. ) in NHL. But it takes years. Pitkänen has said that "Everything happends so fast. I didin`t even think about playing in NHL, but now I`m here." Pitkänen is like Niinimaa, but much more better. He is talented, big, good in power-play and he is from Oulu, which is my hometown 
. I can`t remember Marek when he played here in Finland because I was wery young then, but HIFK fans are waiting him back. I`m sure Pitkänen will scores over 40 points in next season....Is it season 2004-2005 or 05-06, Its your hands, NHLPA!
Ps. Sorry, as you can see, my english is not so good but I hope you understand it.... And I`m only 15-year-old so...(Must say)
. I can`t remember Marek when he played here in Finland because I was wery young then, but HIFK fans are waiting him back. I`m sure Pitkänen will scores over 40 points in next season....Is it season 2004-2005 or 05-06, Its your hands, NHLPA!Ps. Sorry, as you can see, my english is not so good but I hope you understand it.... And I`m only 15-year-old so...(Must say
)no u didnt read the thread right he said whos better now and who will be better 3-4 from now. so i dont think anyone forgot anything04' hockey said:Everyone seems to forget it was Pitkanens FIRST year in the NHL.
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