Paxon
202* Stanley Cup Champions
Vanek was benched in the playoffs in his rookie season too....just saying
More relevantly perhaps, Seguin played all season after being drafted but then was scratched a bunch towards the end of the season. Don't think he played in the playoffs until the Bruins were down big in that series.
Agree 100%... it's a short season and the Sabres need goal scorers not grinders... The problem is Lindy Ruff is in love with grinders... playoffs not so much.
Grigs will get five games but for some reason I already think Ruff is determined to send him down so the old German can play...
Gee, where'd you ever get THAT idea? THE ARTICLE HAS BECOME SENTIENT!!#!##!@
What's with the comments saying "I saw him in the WJC...he wasn't impressive" ???
I watched every minute of every game in the tournament. When the Russians were playing, I really watched out for Grigs. I thought he was consistently dangerous in the O zone and very responsible in the D zone.
He strikes me as a future Dale Hawerchuk type. A guy who looks to pass the puck first, but has a knack for making plays and setting people up with a sweet pass. I thought he looked like a future NHL star.
Yakupov, in contrast, looked like a puck hog with blinders on...another Russian who thinks he can do it all on his own with his glorious level of skill. Those guys are worthless in the NHL, especially come playoff time.
Let's see what Grigs can do in camp and in that 5 game tryout! I'm looking forward to it.
Dale Hawerchuck makes a bit of sense. Dale was a great playmaker but that wasn't his entire game. Grigorenko may not be the most dangerous guy (compared to other high-end offensive talents) going in on a goalie but he has a hell of a shot and shows a good awareness for when to use it and when to create for others. He also has a good capacity for a two-way game if he works at it as his stick is more active than you'd expect and he has pretty good awareness already.
Grigorenko and Kucherov were easily Russia's best forwards and made a hell of a pair. Yakupov and Grigorenko are very different players but in this tournament you can sum up the differences like this: one was flashy and entertaining, one was effective.
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