- Sep 29, 2016
- 11,901
- 5,575
I know it was a throwaway comment (last year sucked when Tkachuk was going to be around our pick - how much fun would a Tkachuk / Dvo / Marner line have been to watch last year?) but as stated I think the reasoning behind the Strome pick remains intriguing. If he never becomes a first line centre, it is the kind of misstep that can sink a team. I remain hopeful though.
Are you crazy? Marner is nothing but a one dimensional winger. Just another Hudler or Gaudreau. Strome is gonna be the next Christian Dvorak...just with a bit more size. He needs one more year to figure out his skating and mobility but he's gonna be an important piece of the team going forward. You can always sign a scoring winger...especially lefties. But franchise center hardly ever hit free agency.
Tkachuk is great but he's an unfair ***** who needs to be taught a lesson. Deserves a proper beating and a long suspension if he continues to behave the way he did last season. He's about to turn into the next rat...Marchand 2.0.
To summarize:
I'm more than happy with Perlini, Dvorak and Fischer and I'd take that trio over yours any day of the week. Perlini is a natural goalscorer without defensive liabilities and Fischer is big, tough and should be one of the teams best two way forwards from day 1.
I think it's interesting to consider Nylander's trajectory, too. He doesn't have the same draft context or pressure as Strome (8th vs. 3rd in that stacked first round), but he shows how difficult it is to start at centre in the NHL for those non-generational talents. After the growth spurt Nylander seemingly put in much more conditioning work than Strome in his draft +1, yet even with his insane post draft resume & the benefit of the early AHL option, he's still played few games at centre in the NHL. Matthews is the obvious reason for that, but it's interesting to think how Nylander would have looked at C full time last year compared with Strome this year. Does Strome need that AHL season / half season?
Comparing Nylander and Strome would be like comparing apples and bananas. One
does well purely because of speed and mobility, the other one isn't ready to play in the NHL because of it. But there's a reason why Nylander didn't go 3rd overall. There's also a reason why he didn't get to play Center and probably won't in the near future.
It may all end horribly, but for now I'm glad to at least have that potential at centre rather than saddling Dvo with all the pressure of having to be the guy, or Keller to have to play in the middle, or to worry about making a trade for a 1C, or for Stepan to be the best C on a future cup winning team. Following Strome or seeing Edmonton's turnaround reinforces how hard it is to develop elite talent without draft luck, & how important it is to keep hold of the elite talent you do have, like OEL. You cannot afford to miss on high picks, but I think the positional argument - the need to build a strong spine - is still there.
Why would it end horribly? Only if Chayka and co mess up in my view.
Coyotes have great Center depth. Can't have too many. Franchise defenders and Centers are the toughest to get. Strome, MacInnis, Pederson, Mayo and Joseph all looked good so that's positive. I still want DeAngelo back and I think it was a mistake to trade him but what can you do...
Erm, on topic, did they double shift Demers last night? He seemed to pop up on the left a few times.
They had four righties in last night. Weird lineup. Demers did play on the left side now and then and man it wasn't pretty. Definitely not the solution