News Article: The Hockey News: Rasmussen likely headed back down ***THN was wrong, Ras staying for now***.

[Pavels Dog]

No point in burning a year off his ELC to play for this team right now.

I disagree with this line of thinking. Experience is worth something too. The growing pains he has this season are growing pains he doesn't need to go through next season. He won't become a different player by going to juniors, all he needs to do is adjust to the NHL game and figure out this level.

Keep him up. At times he looks great, protecting the puck and making smart little plays. At times he looks behind the pace of play. Typical growing pains.

 

[SuperScript29]

He's not scoring, but from what I notice, he seems to be doing a good job on the screen. Not sure what sending him down is going to accomplish at this point, we're already crap, keep him up.

 

[newfy]

it's not games played but games on the NHL roster.

and yes, that's the more important limit. don't want to burn UFA year unless it's really best for ras' development. ELC year doesn't mean that much at this point. ras doesn't look completely out of place right now and if he even improves and looks good when the 40 game limit is closing keep him up. if not, send him to juniors. however, he hasn't stood out positively a lot but has improved a bit so i'd personally want to delay the decision on whether to send him down or not. not completely against sending him down though as wings locker room is not be the best player for young player to be in right now and he clearly has ways to go.

If thats the case I would just keep him up until around that point and get a better evaluation. Worst case he can be sent down at game 20 or 30 and it doesnt really do anything long term. It might actually save money on his next contract by burning a year right now of ELC. As long as hes playing at least 12-15 mins a game keep him up and then send him down before Christmas for the world juniors

 

[Debrincat93]

IMO he looks nervous, tentative, a little lost at times.
He should have gotten a few games last year to get the butterflies out of the system because he's got them this year and IMO he's not ready.
As much as I dont like him, Mickey had a few good points in the past few games regarding him and some things he's not done well from time to time. That being said, why burn a year when this is for sure a lost year. I dont think he can benefit from this type of atmosphere. Go back, gain 10-15 lbs, dominate like crazy and regain confidence. Next year's squad should be different.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Never thought he was ready to make an NHL team. He had a great playoffs, yeah, but his regular season wasn’t groundbreaking, and his preseason wasn’t super great either. It’s like I’ve been saying for months, this guy needs to develop an offensive game, otherwise he will probably become that Brian Boyle that the most negative of people had been saying since he was drafted.

I don’t think he’s looked out of place on the team, he has the size to be here, and he’s honestly extremely capable in front of the net, so I think he has a real chance to be a middle six, offensive contributor for this team, he just needs more time.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I'm not sure sending him down to slaughter 16 and 17 years olds is gonna do anything for him. Let him try out for the WJC team and if he makes it great, that should be a good environment for him. In the NHL his current goal should be to outplay Anthony Mantha. Shouldn't be that tough tbh, but let's start with baby steps.

 

[SirKillalot]

Put him in a top six role. Heck, put him with Larkin. Let the kids get chemistry and learn together. Can't overripe on talent anymore.

 

[redwings8831]

 

[InjuredChoker]

right call imo.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

This is a stupid move. He's not ready, and he's showing that on the ice. He's not ready in the same way Zadina isn't ready.

 

[Claypool]

...and he's on the 4th line at practice today. But please keep telling me how this is a solid move for the organization.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Perfect. Let's Ras "relax & breathe" in the hopes he'll start clicking, yet not get too comfy as there's no guarantee.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

 

[TheMule93]

Good. His development is more important than burning an ELC year which will hardly matter given our rebuilding situation. He's struggling to adapt to NHL speed and strength - going to juniors won't help him with that.

 

[lilidk]

Put him in a top six role. Heck, put him with Larkin. Let the kids get chemistry and learn together. Can't overripe on talent anymore.

honestly it is not a bad idea . Rus-Lark-Gus.

 

[Shadywing19]

This is a stupid move. He's not ready, and he's showing that on the ice. He's not ready in the same way Zadina isn't ready.

Actually, development wise they are similar, but their situations couldn't be more different.. I would put money on if ras was AHL eligible like zadina was deemed to be.. He would be on the Griffin's right now. Conversely if Zadina wasn't deemed eligible for the AHL. He'd be on the wings right now. Both have nothing left to learn from playing with kids in juniors.. They both need to learn how to adapt to the speed of the pro game. The need to learn how to play and create space playing against men. They won't get that development playing junior.

I also don't think ras has been bad.. Been all over the net. And has had a boat load of chances. If it weren't for bad puck luck this kid could have 5 or 6 goals by now. I think by Christmas a lot of opinions will have changed..

Imo.

 

[Shaman464]

Really wish he could go to GR and play with Zadina, this is a case of the CHL-NHL agreement being against a player’s best interest in my opinion.

Not sure playing big minutes in the WHL is the worst thing, but 1C in the AHL feels like the right fit.

What’s interesting is Veleno and Rasmussen could be competing for the same spot on Team Canada. Not sure both get picked, they really like to go with guys who have been there before for better or worse.

At this point I have a feeling they've committed to having him on the wing. It makes a ton of sense given his skill set as a big bodied guy.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

...and he's on the 4th line at practice today. But please keep telling me how this is a solid move for the organization.

Let's him develop his defensive game w/sheltered minutes & matchups. Even Datsyuk (among others) started on the 4th line at first, granted it was with better linemates and we were a powerhouse already.

 

[Ezekial]

He needs to adapt to the pro-style game, he doesn't do that in the W.

 

[SirloinUB]

Remember, Leon Draisaitl played 37 NHL games his rookie year and netted 9 points averaging 12 minutes a night to go along with a -17 rating and his development turned out fine.

 

[SCD]

He needs to adapt to the pro-style game, he doesn't do that in the W.

I would tend to agree with you. but Cholowski did alright learning as a 19yo in the WHL.

 

[Ezekial]

I would tend to agree with you. but Cholowski did alright learning as a 19yo in the WHL.

One was an underdeveloped late bloomer. One isn't.

 

[InjuredChoker]

they also play different positions. cholo had yet to dominate in the juniors either.

our 4th line plays about 10mins on ES(ras exactly 10min), 3rd line little less than couple of minutes more than that. ras also gets about 2 and half mins off pp time per game. if those numbers don't drop a lot (or even better go up), i think it's better to have him up than dominate against bunch og physically inferior kids in ways that won't work at the NHL level. and as long as he doesn't look completely out of place

 

[ThankGord]

I say keep him up. He's big/strong enough to hold his own battling behind and in front of the net, he just needs to get used to the pace of the NHL. I don't think pushing a bunch of kids around in the WHL will help him anymore.

Also I don't think the guy who wrote this article knows what he's talking about, "Few would have expected Rasmussen to earn a spot on the club out of camp..." That's just not true.

 

[Shadywing19]

Is there a certain amount of nhl games ras has to play to be eligible to go to the AHL? Or is the CHL agreement for the season regardless of how many NHL games a player plays?
Just curious