Rickard Rakell...WTF

[robertmac43]

I traded him at the start of the year in fantasy...regretting it now

 

[Nordic*]

I have noticed that he is somewhat of an enigma.

In many games where he is visibly dominant, he usually walks away with no points.

In games where he looks mediocre he often scores a goal.

 

[TOGuy14]

I think this guy is a prime candidate for regression next year.

30 goals, 11 assists on 20.7% shooting. Don't think that is sustainable...

 

[Sojourn]

I think this guy is a prime candidate for regression next year.

30 goals, 11 assists on 20.7% shooting. Don't think that is sustainable...

It depends on your definition of regression.

Is he going to be a 40 goal scorer? Probably not. Is he a 30-30 capable guy? Yes.

 

[TheCLAM]

It depends on your definition of regression.

Is he going to be a 40 goal scorer? Probably not. Is he a 30-30 capable guy? Yes.

20.7 isn't sustainable - you should cut your number in a little over half 20-20.. The lack of assists is very Clarkson esque

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Or every other player who is a "goal scorer" and thus scores more goals than assists. I don't get the OPs logic.

Its not like we're talking about David Clarkson who randomly at age 30 popped 30g and like 10 assists in a season. That's clearly anomaly.

Rakell has always been a goal scorer, look at his stats in juniors. Look at his stats in the NHL, he scored 20 last year?

It's probably more due to the fact that his linemates (getzlaf, perry) do not score many goals. He's actually real crafty offensively, I don't peg him as a one-dimensional scorer who's goals will dry up.

He's just currently immersed in a situation that has him scoring more than assisting. Its been seen before on Getzlaf's line. He carries the puck half the game and he's always passing it, so?

To me there is something to be wary about when a player has such lopsided goals/assists ratio.

Not saying he's not a great player, but why 30 goals but only 11 assists? I would be worried about that if he were about to be up for a resigning, but it looks like they already locked him up for 6 years $3.8m.

Seems like a pretty good deal for a 30 goal scorer congrats Ducks fans!

What kind of player is he, where does he get most of his goals?

He is a fascinating player, gonna look into it.

 

[Sojourn]

20.7 isn't sustainable - you should cut your number in a little over half 20-20.. The lack of assists is very Clarkson esque

I really wish people would actually stop trying to judge players simply by looking at a few numbers, especially if they are going to argue against people who watch him every game.

Rakell is on pace for 40 goals, over 82 games right now. He was a 20-20 player in 72 games last season(due to a ruptured appendix), and was improving as the season went on. He's 23 years old. If you think he just came out of nowhere to put up 30 goals, it isn't because he wasn't a talented player with high upside. It's because you just weren't watching Anaheim.

Do I think he can score 40 goals? No, I really don't. That would be anomalous. Do I think he can be a 30-30 player? Yes, I absolutely do, and I would have said that last season too before he actually scored 30 goals. You're telling me a player who was 22, and put up 20-20 in 72 games, can't be expected to put up more than that, because of this season? If you're going to tell me that, I'm going to tell you that you're being lazy in your analysis.

 

[Nordic*]

To me there is something to be wary about when a player has such lopsided goals/assists ratio.

Not saying he's not a great player, but why 30 goals but only 11 assists? I would be worried about that if he were about to be up for a resigning, but it looks like they already locked him up for 6 years $3.8m.

Seems like a pretty good deal for a 30 goal scorer congrats Ducks fans!

What kind of player is he, where does he get most of his goals?

He is a fascinating player, gonna look into it.

He is the most skilled player on the team, can dangle guys out of their shorts - but a lot of his goals have come within a really close proximity to the goal, so he doesn't shy away from driving to the net to create chances/take care of rebounds.

 

[TheCLAM]

I really wish people would actually stop trying to judge players simply by looking at a few numbers, especially if they are going to argue against people who watch him every game.

Rakell is on pace for 40 goals, over 82 games right now. He was a 20-20 player in 72 games last season(due to a ruptured appendix), and was improving as the season went on. He's 23 years old. If you think he just came out of nowhere to put up 30 goals, it isn't because he wasn't a talented player with high upside. It's because you just weren't watching Anaheim.

Do I think he can score 40 goals? No, I really don't. Do I think he can be a 30-30 player? Yes, I absolutely do, and I would have said that last season too before he actually scored 30 goals. You're telling me a player who was 22, and put up 20-20 in 72 games, can't be expected to put up more than that, because of this season? If you're going to tell me that, I'm going to tell you that you're being lazy in your analysis.

I'm not saying he can't put up 30-40 goals but people will make up their minds with consistency. His shooting % is 20.. This isn't a sustainable number.

 

[nbducksfan19]

20.7 isn't sustainable - you should cut your number in a little over half 20-20.. The lack of assists is very Clarkson esque

the fact that you use clarkson as a comp shows how asinine your opinion is. Watching 1 shift of either guy would show you all you need to know about their skill level - I recommend you do so.

 

[Sojourn]

I'm not saying he can't but people will make up their minds with consistency. His shooting % is 20.. This isn't a sustainable number.

So when you said I should cut the number in half, and paid no heed at all to the previous season, what were you saying then?

Did you even bother to look at his games played, before you tried to suggest 30 goals wasn't realistic? Apparently not. If I sound frustrated, it's because I am. I'm frustrated at having to repeat myself while people throw out the shooting percentage with no consideration at all for his previous season, or his actual play this season. If someone doesn't watch Rakell at all, it's probably pretty easy for them to dismiss him.

 

[Bloomfield*]

I'm not saying he can't put up 30-40 goals but people will make up their minds with consistency. His shooting % is 20.. This isn't a sustainable number.

who says his shooting % is going to be 20 next season? He might put up 30 with 15%.

people here are really dumb to downplay someone who has more goals then Ovechkin this season at 8 less games played.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I'm not saying he can't put up 30-40 goals but people will make up their minds with consistency. His shooting % is 20.. This isn't a sustainable number.

Nobody is saying 20% shooting percentage is sustainable. We're saying 30/30 is possible because he's at 30 goals this season while having missed 11 games at the start of the season due to his contract holdout and there's still games left to be played this season. He doesn't have to shoot at 20% to be a 30/30 guy, his percentage can come down considerably next season and he could still be a 30/30 guy assuming he plays a full 82.

Bear in mind he's played with linemates this season that have had horrendously bad shooting percentages deflating his assist total.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

20.7 isn't sustainable - you should cut your number in a little over half 20-20.. The lack of assists is very Clarkson esque

Clearly you have never watched him



that is all before his unsustainable season that hes having this year. No one expects him to shoot 20+ percent, but hes got some great hands/skating/good shot and he goes to the high percentage areas. Nothing about his play style is like clarksons

 

[Paul4587]

I think this guy is a prime candidate for regression next year.

30 goals, 11 assists on 20.7% shooting. Don't think that is sustainable...

No the percentage isn't but next year if he plays all 82 games and up's his shot totals slightly he could easily hit 30 if he shoots at around 13-14%.

Also while the shooting percentage isn't sustainable his low assist total isn't either. He has decent vision and is a good passer, he's not going to put up less than 20 assists in a year very often. He's already had two 20+ assist years, both of which came when he only played around 70 games.

 

[Bloomfield*]

No idea why so many people decided to hate on a 30 goal scorer

 

[crowi]

No idea why so many people decided to hate on a 30 goal scorer

Apparently he is Clarkson-esque.

I mean, it's a legit point if you only stat watch, which a lot of people have proven to do here.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

No idea why so many people decided to hate on a 30 goal scorer

people on hf have more fun reading stat sheets than watching games

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

No idea why so many people decided to hate on a 30 goal scorer

Rakell is such a likable personality/hockey player too, always having fun on the ice, high skill level, no real edge to his game.


People act like this season came out of no where even tho hes been trending up in goals from 9-20-30 and hes been a 20+ assist guy in his previous 2 seasons.

i don't expect 30 goals from him every year i see him more of a 25/25-30 guy. Hes just a very smooth, smart player. People really need to take the time to watch a player before judging them.

Its unfortunate he plays out west so a lot of fan bases don't get to see a whole lot of him, but hes one of those players that always looks dangerous when he has the puck on his stick and room to skate

 

[MBTendy]

Such a solid player, with the Stars sucking i've been watching games all around the league more than ever, and Rakell is such a treat to watch. The Ducks got a special player, and lol at the people mentioning him and Clarkson in the same sentence.

Read somewhere last week the Ducks see Rakell as a center long term. Could he see a more permanent role next year as a 3C or will he be flip flopping from a top 6 winger to 3C, kinda like what he's been doing this season?

 

[Ducks Nation*]

Rakell being compared to Clarkson lol.

 

[lindholmie]

someone post those rakell gifs. The one with him stick handling behind his back lol

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Such a solid player, with the Stars sucking i've been watching games all around the league more than ever, and Rakell is such a treat to watch. The Ducks got a special player, and lol at the people mentioning him and Clarkson in the same sentence.

Read somewhere last week the Ducks see Rakell as a center long term. Could he see a more permanent role next year as a 3C or will he be flip flopping from a top 6 winger to 3C, kinda like what he's been doing this season?

I think he plays a more confident style as a winger, and his skill set is better on the wing... and I think most duck fans agree with me. He can play center but I think giving him less responsibility at the wing gives him the opportunity to really show case his offensive skill set. He is very versatile tho, and I suppose it depends what happens @ camp/offseason if some of the young guys like jones/terry/kossila/steel etc earn a spot on the roster or we cant find any 3c to add to the roster I could see rakell going back as a 3c.


That is likely the year after tho seeing as we have Getzlaf Kesler Vermette down the middle next year still, Thompson is gone but I think well give a guy from AHL a shot as 4th c.

 

[johan f]

Ducks must be really stacked if Rakell is destined to play center in a third line.

 

[MBTendy]

I think he plays a more confident style as a winger, and his skill set is better on the wing... and I think most duck fans agree with me. He can play center but I think giving him less responsibility at the wing gives him the opportunity to really show case his offensive skill set. He is very versatile tho, and I suppose it depends what happens @ camp/offseason if some of the young guys like jones/terry/kossila/steel etc earn a spot on the roster or we cant find any 3c to add to the roster I could see rakell going back as a 3c.


That is likely the year after tho seeing as we have Getzlaf Kesler Vermette down the middle next year still, Thompson is gone but I think well give a guy from AHL a shot as 4th c.

Awesome, thanks for the quick input. Cheers man