Player Discussion: Sebastian Aho

[NC 1972]

I think Aho is showing he has the potential to be a #7/8 defenseman. I would be concerned though that come playoff time if there is an injury about him slotting in getting many minutes at all. Hickey had some decent regular seasons for this team and was never good come playoff time.

I don't think you need worry about the playoffs.

 

[YearlyLottery]

I don't think you need worry about the playoffs.

Hahahahaha certainly not this season!

 

[GOLFWANG]

100% agree if he is put in the playoffs, I see someone with a lot of turnovers and easily pushed off the puck. I feel he is one of those guys that will cost us a goal or two if he played in the playoffs. Would he make it up in an assist or goals maybe.

 

[doublechili]

D who successfully shift to F are very rare, but Aho's goal tonight looked like a quality RW goal. His boards play might be a bit of a problem though....

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

D who successfully shift to F are very rare, but Aho's goal tonight looked like a quality RW goal. His boards play might be a bit of a problem though....

Yeah...but remember when Hickey moved to RW and scored 2 goals in a game!

 

[Eye of Ra]

doing good?

 

[PK Cronin]

doing good?

Not really.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

doing good?

He's picked things up in recent weeks and even makes a few plays to help generate offense that we're not necessarily getting from a number of higher profile players.

He does some neat things along the way.

But he's doing all he can to just swim out there. Just about every shift looks like he's just in pure survival mode. He does not have the body to be a regular defenseman in this league. He is willing to go where it hurts, but he takes a beating and spends half his time on the ice, often just diving around to avoid some of the hits.

If he were on a team that didn't have serious ambitions and could really use his sort of transition game despite all else, he could possibly find a niche role and put together a 30-point season somewhere.

 

[leeroggy]

He's picked things up in recent weeks and even makes a few plays to help generate offense that we're not necessarily getting from a number of higher profile players.

He does some neat things along the way.

But he's doing all he can to just swim out there. Just about every shift looks like he's just in pure survival mode. He does not have the body to be a regular defenseman in this league. He is willing to go where it hurts, but he takes a beating and spends half his time on the ice, often just diving around to avoid some of the hits.

If he were on a team that didn't have serious ambitions and could really use his sort of transition game despite all else, he could possibly find a niche role and put together a 30-point season somewhere.

One thing that I like about him is that he won't try to make a risky play on defense but will take more chances in his offensive zone. He'll move the puck quicker under duress. It's only when he feels he has a step that he carries it in his zone.

A note on Pelech I've noticed . . . it looks like the word is out that he tries to stickhandle a little too much deep in his zone and the other teams are jumping him quickly on the forecheck, and that's where his turnover numbers are showing up, as well as a few stick penalties.

 

[leeroggy]

This was Aho's writeup on Elireprospects.com:

A mobile defenseman with tremendous hockey sense. Is on the small side, but usually solves situations easily with his exceptional way of reading the game. Likes to carry the puck and does that with confidence. Very good passer and a defenseman that can be used in most situations. (EP 2014)

He's played 73 NHL games, let's see how he grows this year before we fully judge him. We made a mistake some years ago on another small player like him who was drafted in the 6th round and that kid is Minnesota's captain now. And Spurgeon was even smaller.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

He's played 73 NHL games, let's see how he grows this year before we fully judge him. We made a mistake some years ago on another small player like him who was drafted in the 6th round and that kid is Minnesota's captain now. And Spurgeon was even smaller.

I'll never forget (if I recall quickly) that the choice for Snow came down to signing Ness or signing Spurgeon. And Ness' signing was coming off some surprisingly ineffective college play. The team felt they brought the same size and game to the table, so there wasn't a desire to sign both.

If so, Snow chose... poorly.

 

[leeroggy]

I'll never forget (if I recall quickly) that the choice for Snow came down to signing Ness or signing Spurgeon. And Ness' signing was coming off some surprisingly ineffective college play. The team felt they brought the same size and game to the table, so there wasn't a desire to sign both.

If so, Snow chose... poorly.

I remember it like you. And I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to Snow picking the 2nd round pick instead of the 6th rounder because it would have made him look worse for wasting the 2nd round pick (they were both in the 2008 draft).

Of course, if we had drafted Josi at 36 (he went 38) with the Trevino pick, none of this would be discussed . . .

 

[steveat]

I thought Spurgeon didn't want to sign, so he left. The one player we didn't want to sign was Kitchton

 

[Seph]

I'll never forget (if I recall quickly) that the choice for Snow came down to signing Ness or signing Spurgeon. And Ness' signing was coming off some surprisingly ineffective college play. The team felt they brought the same size and game to the table, so there wasn't a desire to sign both.

If so, Snow chose... poorly.

That's how I recall things, they were too similar to sign both, so he went with Ness. Will also mention that Ness was the superior skater, so we should all view this as a good reminder that skating isn't everything when it comes to undersized players.

 

[isles55]

Another solid game tonight. He had 5 shots on net as well.

 

[YearlyLottery]

Aho is really growing on me. The one thing that worries me is if the increased physicality of the playoff will make him look like the Aho of past years.

 

[mm11]

He is gonna be sheltered in the spring if we make it but appears to becoming a guy that can make difference in the regular season. Sort of like toews first few years here

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Aho is really growing on me. The one thing that worries me is if the increased physicality of the playoff will make him look like the Aho of past years.

He has been growing on me his season as well. He is what he is, a bottom pairing defenseman and I am thinking he is filling the role just fine. Let’s not try to compare him to a top 4 when we watch.

He was good today leading the team with Brock with 5 shots on goal in only 12:39 of ice time against Ottawa.

 

[crasherino]

Aho is really growing on me. The one thing that worries me is if the increased physicality of the playoff will make him look like the Aho of past years.

That's my overarching fear as well. But....as far as his improvement, as much as he's not a prospect anymore, he still is getting his feet wet as far as being an everyday player in the big league. So while he's always be a physical liability out there, the fact that the game may be simply slowing down for him now, may bode well for him overall.

At the start of the season, I had him pegged as a 7th/8th Dman going forward, and he may still regress to that level. But at this point, he's progressed to a solid 3rd pairing Dman that seems to be gaining some confidence. And having him paired with Mayfield is about as perfect a pairing as you can find for him. And its not like there haven't been small-ish Dmen in the playoffs before. Being that the rest of the blue line had decent size, its not a huge deal if he's the guy they roll with, IMO.

I was hoping/expecting Salo would be that guy to take the reins on the 3rd pairing. But if Aho is the guy and he plays well, no issue on my end.

 

[seafoam]

Aho is really growing on me. The one thing that worries me is if the increased physicality of the playoff will make him look like the Aho of past years.

I think they will look to bring in a guy like Kulikov at the deadline because of the concern with Aho in the playoffs.

Unfortunately that would sacrifice offense and Aho has been a nice surprise in the offensive zone (jumping into plays, etc.)

 

[MJF]

I think they will look to bring in a guy like Kulikov at the deadline because of the concern with Aho in the playoffs.

Unfortunately that would sacrifice offense and Aho has been a nice surprise in the offensive zone (jumping into plays, etc.)

If Aho survives the season without getting burned on D too often I can’t see Lou bringing in someone to replace him at the deadline. The Isles count on his offense. They won’t sacrifice it for the playoffs.

 

[seafoam]

If Aho survives the season without getting burned on D too often I can’t see Lou bringing in someone to replace him at the deadline. The Isles count on his offense. They won’t sacrifice it for the playoffs.

What about Gostisbehere or *gasp* Karlsson (yes I know he’s right handed but he’s looking like his old self this season. Barzal/Dobson/Karlsson would be such a rare blend of skill on a top powerplay.

 

[crasherino]

I think they will look to bring in a guy like Kulikov at the deadline because of the concern with Aho in the playoffs.

Unfortunately that would sacrifice offense and Aho has been a nice surprise in the offensive zone (jumping into plays, etc.)

I get that he's on the smaller side but people are acting like he's generational smurf. The Avs won the Cup with Girard and Makar both being under 6 ft and 200 lbs. I get that we don't want a whole blue line of smurfs, but one undersized guy - who is offensively inclined and paired with a defense-first partner - isn't going to be such a liability. Especially if he keeps doing - or improves upon - what he's currently doing.

Its a long way from the trade deadline but I'm not sure if our defense really needs to improved upon at this point. If Kulikov could be had for a 4th rounder - sure, bring him in - for depth. But I'm not taking Aho out of the lineup at this point.

And they've done a decent job of sheltering his minutes - that probably continues. Managed to have only Pelech at over 21 minutes last night (he was still under 24) with Aho getting 12:39. That seems to be manageable.

 

[impaaaaaact]

What about Gostisbehere or *gasp* Karlsson (yes I know he’s right handed but he’s looking like his old self this season. Barzal/Dobson/Karlsson would be such a rare blend of skill on a top powerplay.

I think that the long term plan is for Bolduc to take that spot, and if we make the playoffs this season maybe bolster it with a mid round pick. We’re only one covid riddled season removed from Trotz comparing him to John Carlson. Aho (and Salo) have showed they can hold down the 12 minutes a game they get well enough for us to not have to go big there and save our assets for something else (or just keeping them)

 

[PK Cronin]

I get that he's on the smaller side but people are acting like he's generational smurf. The Avs won the Cup with Girard and Makar both being under 6 ft and 200 lbs. I get that we don't want a whole blue line of smurfs, but one undersized guy - who is offensively inclined and paired with a defense-first partner - isn't going to be such a liability. Especially if he keeps doing - or improves upon - what he's currently doing.

Its a long way from the trade deadline but I'm not sure if our defense really needs to improved upon at this point. If Kulikov could be had for a 4th rounder - sure, bring him in - for depth. But I'm not taking Aho out of the lineup at this point.

And they've done a decent job of sheltering his minutes - that probably continues. Managed to have only Pelech at over 21 minutes last night (he was still under 24) with Aho getting 12:39. That seems to be manageable.

It's not his size for me, it's how he plays. Last night on the Giroux goal he was incapable of doing anything to stop that pass. It's because of his size, but also how he plays defense. He's always trying to wrap guys up and just hang on for dear life, but he's ineffective. His offense is okay, and other times completely non-existent. He's not like Leddy where he's always doing something positive with his feet during some portion of the game. He's solely an offensive zone player and if I'm sacrificing defense for offense, I'd like a bit more offense.