I have a bit of a weird take on Jesse after watching his press conference.
Much has been said about his Hockey IQ. About how he gets rid of the puck as soon as he gets it. About his shot being muffed because there is something slightly off about his timing (or his blade). We’ve seen Connor visibly frustrated with him on the bench and I’d have to think other players and coaches have had their fill as well.
Listening to him today, I was surprised by just how far behind his English continues to be (despite what Spec said). This is his third NHL deal, and by this point you’d expect the guy would be able to communicate with his team and the media more effectively.
I think when guys are lining up for faceoffs and the C is calling a bit of an audible or even making sure everyone understands their assignments, with the voices muffled behind a glove, that Jesse frankly mightn’t understand what’s being said, asked of him, etc. I don’t think the guy’s hockey IQ isn’t there, I think he’s playing catch up every shift sorting things out as the play the develops much in the same way the defence is. I think he’s simply behind. I think if he understood what was being asked of him, and I mean the finer details, we wouldn’t see these same issues.
I think he gets rid of the puck quickly because he mightn’t be sure what the play is supposed to be and wants it to run through someone else and he’ll just do what he can to “get open” or engage in a basic cycle or drive the blue paint. All of things that I think would work as a Top 9 player/a guy on the third line whose job isn’t to drive offence, but to chip in once in a while. But in the top six, especially on this team with either 97 or 29 as your C, you have to know what’s going on and it’s going to happen quickly without time to figure it out on the fly. You need to be engaged, dialled in and on the same page. I think this is way teammates look him off, why they get frustrated having probably JUST told him something or where to be/go and he isn’t there or he’s late or destroys the play/opportunity just because he’s playing north-south and not much else.
What Jesse does TODAY could make him an elite 3rd line, two-way RW if he would accept or commit to that role. The fact he hasn’t and that disconnect continues to exist is part of the problem.
I’m sure the time has provided a tutor, or his agency and if neither have, he should take it on himself. Unless you’re a guy that drives the offence/the offence runs through you and you’re elite, you can’t be out there guessing. Not on the top two lines. Sure, he can turn over pucks, protect the puck, disrupt breakouts and swat in some rebounds, but I think you want more out of guys on the top 6. You want guys who can create or help their line mates create in more specific ways. What he does is important. He’s good at it. But it isn’t enough for the top six.
I really believe the language barrier is a HUGE part of the problem and I’m surprised more people haven’t brought it up. He was sweating bullets up there today answering questions, not because they were difficult, but because he was struggling to understand the questions and struggling to answer to answer them.
I would think it’s hard to be a foreign guy on the team, when you really don’t speak very good English and your coach and teammates are ONLY speaking English and you kinda catch every third word and have to fill in the blanks. There is just so much specificity and nuance in the way the game is communicated, especially today, that the language barrier is really putting the guy behind the 8-ball. I’d bet good money if he ended up on Carolina on a line with Aho or Teevu, he’d look like a MUCH different player and the guy many of us can see he could be, but I don’t think will be in Edmonton, unless this gets rectified.
This isn’t a “no room for guys who can’t speak English” post ala Don Cherry, but it is a post highlighting that working in a job, any job, where strong communication is not only necessary, but emphasized, and being the guy whose language isn’t that of their co-workers is a big challenge and could explain so much of the disconnect that seems present between Jesse and his teammates, coaches and management. It is incumbent on both the player and team to figure this out, and if Jesse struggles with learning English, find a different way - he’s literally a multi-million dollar investment, figure out some form of accommodation so that investment pays off and the guy can not only live up to his potential, but not feel so isolated (my observation).
GAME 5 - Cape Breton Eagles @ Baie-Comeau Drakkar - Baie-Comeau Drakkar leads series 3-1Wagers: 2Staked: $75.00Event closes
Game 3 Rochester Americans @ Syracuse Crunch - Series tied 1-1Wagers: 3Staked: $535.00Event closes