Ok. I will try to discuss this rationally with you one last time.
Yes, I'm rather disappointed in Ladd's
statistical output in Calgary. I wish he had kept the pace or possibly improved it. He didn't, neither did Ladd. Schultz seemed to start slow statistically as well and his goal total was way off. A lot of things, statistically, didn't make a whole lot of sense.
That being said, when I saw Ladd he played well. I saw one or two Hitmen games and I thought he was doing pretty good for what I expect of him as a player. Here lies the first problem. I think you were expecting the next Todd Bertuzzi, and that's why you're disappointed. Those are your own words at the prospect game:
http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=747881&highlight=Ladd#post747881
First period's almost done and these are the guys that have impressed me...
- Andrew Ladd - Powerforward, Todd Bertuzzi'esque.
And earlier:
http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=434281&highlight=Ladd#post434281
After Alexander Ovechkin, my personal favourites are...
1. Cam Barker
2. Johannes Salomonsson
3. Andrew Ladd
4. Wojtech Wolski
5. Carl Soderberg
In between your again obvious crush on Swedish players, I think you started with very lofty. unrealistic expectations for Ladd. It's no wonder that you think he's crap now. He's not going to turn into Todd Bertuzzi if that's what you were thinking.
What irritates me is that you totally fail to see the intangibles he provides. And you continue to insist he isn't a worthy 4th overall pick. The problem is, in this draft, few players stood out.
If you expect a Joni Pitkanen kind of 4th overall selection out of the 2004 draft, you are bound to be disappointed.
If you're obsessed with stats, you should probably factor in his WJC stats, They are impressive for any player and compare favorably to the rest of the Canadian squad. He is in the upper half of Canadian point getters with one of the best +/-.
But I think the stats are beyond the point. I just love how he played over there and still think of him as a very safe, versatile prospect. And I do think there is some upside in him. It is also more and more reported that he was hindered by injuries this year. I wish his offense was the same as last year but I don't think it's that much of a big deal.
It doesn't matter that Chipchura is a similar player. There were a dozen players of similar value from the 4th slot down. It's not Ladd's fault that he happened to be the first selected. Could have been Tukonen or someone else as far as I'm concerned. It wouldn't look much better and it isn't any more significant.