The Microcosm of Hemsky

SK13

non torsii subligarium
Jul 23, 2007
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Edmonton
Its downright laffable for a guy who should be EASILY leading this team in scoring.

He should easily lead a team that has two players inside the top-30 in NHL scoring?

Ales Hemsky doesn't have Jordan Eberle's toolkit nor Hall's ability to drive his own bus. As gifted as he is, he is not the most skilled player on this team, in that skill isn't all about a combination of hands and speed.
 

Everest

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Apr 19, 2005
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He should easily lead a team that has two players inside the top-30 in NHL scoring?

Ales Hemsky doesn't have Jordan Eberle's toolkit nor Hall's ability to drive his own bus. As gifted as he is, he is not the most skilled player on this team, in that skill isn't all about a combination of hands and speed.

Actually your wrong. Hemsky is the most skilled player on the team. There ARE others in that conversation but I'm insisting Hemsky would be the "most skilled" if you had to pick just one.

And lets not BS each other...he is vastly more experienced than almost all other "relevant" forwards on the team...which...in the real world...is supposed to count for something.

Oh...and then there is that little bit about the huge money he is making, too.
 

SK13

non torsii subligarium
Jul 23, 2007
32,758
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Edmonton
Actually your wrong. Hemsky is the most skilled player on the team. There ARE others in that conversation but I'm insisting Hemsky would be the "most skilled" if you had to pick just one.

The only way this would be true is if your subjective (or meaningless, as it doesn't translate into usefulness in actual NHL games) is the combination of speed and hands. He's outshot by five players on this team, out-cycled by four players, out-passed by two and out-smarted by all of them except Hall and Yakupov - who out-skate, out-drive him, out-shoot him and out-cycle him.
 

Everest

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Apr 19, 2005
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The only way this would be true is if your subjective (or meaningless, as it doesn't translate into usefulness in actual NHL games) is the combination of speed and hands. He's outshot by five players on this team, out-cycled by four players, out-passed by two and out-smarted by all of them except Hall and Yakupov - who out-skate, out-drive him, out-shoot him and out-cycle him.

Hall is faster than Hemsky. He doesn't "out-skate" him. They skate differently. Both styles are effective. Hemsky is the more agile skater. And the more comortable skater when carrying the puck.

Im apt to say more of the same comparing Yakupov<>Hemsky...but...really whats the point?

Cycling...isn't a skill...it's a tactic. Sorta the same thing with "net drive".

Passing...we can debate all day...but the "skill aspect" of passing is going to be very close between any player(s) were comparing. Effectiveness...is a whole other ball game and the timing/reasoning/thought put into each pass is probably more important.

Gagner and Hall are around "point per game players". Im surprised by this in Gagner's case. Its great for Hall to be producing at this level as well.

But...the bottom line here...Hemsky is nowhere near a point per game. Nowhere near productive enough. Nowhere near justifying the new contract.
 

Zguy370

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Dec 25, 2007
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Another stupid thread about Hemsky., he deserves though.
Our C that leads by example, shows accountability, doesn't deflect criticism and is the highest paid buffoon on the team
 

KlimasLoveChild

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Feb 25, 2012
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Actually your wrong. Hemsky is the most skilled player on the team. There ARE others in that conversation but I'm insisting Hemsky would be the "most skilled" if you had to pick just one.

And lets not BS each other...he is vastly more experienced than almost all other "relevant" forwards on the team...which...in the real world...is supposed to count for something.

Oh...and then there is that little bit about the huge money he is making, too.

I'd agree that he may be the most skilled puck carrier on the team. Unfortunately there is a lot more to the game then being able to dance in the open ice.
 

McArthur

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May 26, 2010
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Hall is faster than Hemsky. He doesn't "out-skate" him. They skate differently. Both styles are effective. Hemsky is the more agile skater. And the more comortable skater when carrying the puck.

Im apt to say more of the same comparing Yakupov<>Hemsky...but...really whats the point?

Cycling...isn't a skill...it's a tactic. Sorta the same thing with "net drive".

Passing...we can debate all day...but the "skill aspect" of passing is going to be very close between any player(s) were comparing. Effectiveness...is a whole other ball game and the timing/reasoning/thought put into each pass is probably more important.

Gagner and Hall are around "point per game players". Im surprised by this in Gagner's case. Its great for Hall to be producing at this level as well.

But...the bottom line here...Hemsky is nowhere near a point per game. Nowhere near productive enough. Nowhere near justifying the new contract.

If the guy can stay healthy, get him to the playoffs in the copper and blue.

You want to cycle the puck or drive the net with a bunch of little guys? Be my guest. Ales Hemsky has scored/assisted on some of the biggest oiler plays in the last 22 years. He does things you just can't coach and as long as he wants to be an oiler, let him play. If you don't have the skill to play, don't criticize, cheer.

As long as we are not up against the cap, the contracts are not the problem. I miss the days when we cheered when we were losing. Granted we have lost a lot. My pride as an oiler fan come with being in good company. We cheered on terrible teams and watched players play beyond their limits. Imagine if that would happen with Hall, Eberle, RNH, Yakupov, Gagner, Schultz, Petry, Whitney, Brown, Fistric, MPS, Jones, Smid, and yes Hemsky.

I wouldn't mind a 2-3 line rental though. And we are abundant in prospects and picks
 

YEGJuniorFan

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Dec 3, 2009
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Edmonton
Right after making a nice defensive play and intercepting a cross ice pass. Just needed to move up the ice quicker.

That's Hemsky in a nutshell though. Great plays followed by boneheaded plays. Personally I am a fan but if we could have Clifford or Clarkson instead I would be all for it.
 

Zguy370

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Dec 25, 2007
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Ales Hemsky has scored/assisted on some of the biggest oiler plays in the last 22 years. He does things you just can't coach and as long as he wants to be an oiler, let him play. If you don't have the skill to play, don't criticize, cheer.

Amen to that
 

KlimasLoveChild

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Feb 25, 2012
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If the guy can stay healthy, get him to the playoffs in the copper and blue.

You want to cycle the puck or drive the net with a bunch of little guys? Be my guest. Ales Hemsky has scored/assisted on some of the biggest oiler plays in the last 22 years. He does things you just can't coach and as long as he wants to be an oiler, let him play. If you don't have the skill to play, don't criticize, cheer.

As long as we are not up against the cap, the contracts are not the problem. I miss the days when we cheered when we were losing. Granted we have lost a lot. My pride as an oiler fan come with being in good company. We cheered on terrible teams and watched players play beyond their limits. Imagine if that would happen with Hall, Eberle, RNH, Yakupov, Gagner, Schultz, Petry, Whitney, Brown, Fistric, MPS, Jones, Smid, and yes Hemsky.

I wouldn't mind a 2-3 line rental though. And we are abundant in prospects and picks


He also doesn't do lots of things that are very coachable so what does that tell you? Also they took this tact with Ryan Smyth and look where that got them. We now have an Ahl caliber sloth with a 2mil cap hit for next year:shakehead
 

AM

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Nov 22, 2004
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Hemsky is a damn fine player. Don't tell the wife, but Im a fan.

I just hope he starts really giving a **** and comes out and brings us to the promise land.
 

Towmater14

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Sep 17, 2005
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OIL COUNTRY
He also doesn't do lots of things that are very coachable so what does that tell you? Also they took this tact with Ryan Smyth and look where that got them. We now have an Ahl caliber sloth with a 2mil cap hit for next year:shakehead
He doesn't do lots of things that are coachable? What does that even mean?
And are you honestly comparing Hemsky to Smyth? Lol too funny. How many games this year has Hemsky been out best player while everyone else sucked. Not as leader my ass.
 

CROTT

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Aug 25, 2007
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Hemsky had a good stretch at the beginning of the year, but he's still a shell of what he used to be (although healthy finally).
He's on pace for 47 points in an 82 game season. That's not very good for him.

You do realize that he's not playing the minutes he used to prior to the rebuild? He's getting second line minutes and almost half the PP time he used too. I'm not saying that Hemsky would be leading the Oilers in scoring if he got more minutes, just that his production would be higher.
 

fuswald

I'd Be Fired
Dec 10, 2008
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Ales Hemsky is a first line winger who's talents are being wasted playing for the Oilers. He should be beside an elite centre.

Is not a checking forward and that is how he is being used. Horcoff can fit as a plugger but not Hemmer.

I would love to have him on the first line but it isn't going to happen in Edmonton and I not sure the Nuge is the centre for him anyway.

Move him somewhere where he can use his massive offensive talent for his sake. AND TRADE HIM WHILE HE IS NOT BROKEN! Imagine what he could do on the wing of Stamkos or Getzlaf or even Tavares.

Actually now I think of it the Islanders might be a good trade partner for a deal with Hemsky. If we do end up with a trade pick as well as a player the pick would be reasonably high.
 

KlimasLoveChild

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Feb 25, 2012
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:whaaa?: I thought I kept it pretty short and to the point. Apparently didn't dumb it down enough. There seems to be something missing there between the reading and the comprehension? :teach: Anyways, the first part is what is stated. Hemsky has a real problem doing the little things which a coach can usually help drill into you or motivate you to do. Things such as back checking, finishing a check, winning a puck battle, making proper decisions with the puck, etc... . These really come down to effort at this point. :deadhorse

Secondly, I was replying to someone who said it was a good idea to let Hemsky play here in edmonton as long as he wanted to stay. I wasn't comparing them as hockey players at the moment. I said that probably wasn't a great idea considering how well it has worked for Smutty. :thumbu:
 

fuswald

I'd Be Fired
Dec 10, 2008
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Edmonton
:whaaa?: I thought I kept it pretty short and to the point. Apparently didn't dumb it down enough. There seems to be something missing there between the reading and the comprehension? :teach: Anyways, the first part is what is stated. Hemsky has a real problem doing the little things which a coach can usually help drill into you or motivate you to do. Things such as back checking, finishing a check, winning a puck battle, making proper decisions with the puck, etc... . These really come down to effort at this point. :deadhorse

Secondly, I was replying to someone who said it was a good idea to let Hemsky play here in edmonton as long as he wanted to stay. I wasn't comparing them as hockey players at the moment. I said that probably wasn't a great idea considering how well it has worked for Smutty. :thumbu:

Don't think you can compare to Smyth. Hemsky is only 29 years old and has a ton of skill and his speed is fine. As I stated he is being counted on to play safer hockey than he is skilled for on the third line. He does make glaring errors but he is getting decent in our end which he was bad before. Also his effort is at an all time high and seems to have no no broken / pulled / strained / bruised / twisted parts right now.

Ales can be at his career best for a few years if put in the right spot. He has shown how good he is when playing with Hall, imagine if there was a good centre as well.

Again, no spot for him here.
 

Jamin

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Aug 25, 2009
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Its downright laffable for a guy who should be EASILY leading this team in scoring.

Wrong thread buddy. This is the Hemsky thread not the Eberle thread.

People are always so eager to trade any player over the age of 23. Maybe just maybe the oilers are doing it right by having Eberle and Hemksy take on the tougher minutes so Yakupov can be brought in slowly and not thrown to the wolves as a 19 year old. Its how every team in the NHL except the oilers develop players so I can see why it seems weird to not have Yakupov playing 20 minutes a night. You keep Hemsky until Yak has proven to be better or a big body who can play top 6 takes his spot. No reason to trade him just for the sake of making a trade imo
 

The Nuge

Some say…
Jan 26, 2011
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Wrong thread buddy. This is the Hemsky thread not the Eberle thread.

People are always so eager to trade any player over the age of 23. Maybe just maybe the oilers are doing it right by having Eberle and Hemksy take on the tougher minutes so Yakupov can be brought in slowly and not thrown to the wolves as a 19 year old. Its how every team in the NHL except the oilers develop players so I can see why it seems weird to not have Yakupov playing 20 minutes a night. You keep Hemsky until Yak has proven to be better or a big body who can play top 6 takes his spot. No reason to trade him just for the sake of making a trade imo

Ya, we've had such a terrible team for so long that we've gotten used to seeing young guys being thrown to the wolves. It's nice to see that finally changing. I like Yak playing ~15 minutes against weaker competition right now. It lets him adjust to the pro game and do all the little things, like throwing more hits
 

Tarus

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Jun 22, 2006
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You do realize that he's not playing the minutes he used to prior to the rebuild? He's getting second line minutes and almost half the PP time he used too. I'm not saying that Hemsky would be leading the Oilers in scoring if he got more minutes, just that his production would be higher.

His career high for TOI/g is 18:41. He's never progressed as a player to the point that a coach would ever want to use him as a primary forward in all situations, so it's not like he's ever been a big minute player - and at this point, he never will be. It's also not surprising his PP ice-time is cut either, if there is one thing that has been conclusively proven over the last decade - despite all talent he has, Hemsky led powerplays are terrible.

So they've got a one dimensional big ticket player, injury prone, soft(puck battles/corner work), mediocre defensively, not really that productive for the talent level, and not one of the top forward options for the powerplay. Then you add in the fact that he's redundant on a team full of highly skilled, smaller wingers, it ultimately doesn't matter if he'd produce more if he played more - he's simply no longer a fit going forward on a team desperate for some added dimension .
 

Zguy370

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Dec 25, 2007
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His career high for TOI/g is 18:41. He's never progressed as a player to the point that a coach would ever want to use him as a primary forward in all situations, so it's not like he's ever been a big minute player - and at this point, he never will be. It's also not surprising his PP ice-time is cut either, if there is one thing that has been conclusively proven over the last decade - despite all talent he has, Hemsky led powerplays are terrible.

So they've got a one dimensional big ticket player, injury prone, soft(puck battles/corner work), mediocre defensively, not really that productive for the talent level, and not one of the top forward options for the powerplay. Then you add in the fact that he's redundant on a team full of highly skilled, smaller wingers, it ultimately doesn't matter if he'd produce more if he played more - he's simply no longer a fit going forward on a team desperate for some added dimension .

So what other options did we have over the last "decade" with the PP?? Horcoff and Smyth were also there, tied to Hemsky's biblical cord. Not exactly the best talent in the league to gel with., hence we see how these two have evolved over time.

BTW hemmer's ice time is cut because we eventually need to start feeding our future kids with that some of that PP time. As long as Hemsky wants to be an Oiler there is still a fit for him here, until the kids develop., (we don't want to discourage them with all plugs on the team, do we?)
 

Everest

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Apr 19, 2005
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Wrong thread buddy. This is the Hemsky thread not the Eberle thread.

People are always so eager to trade any player over the age of 23. Maybe just maybe the oilers are doing it right by having Eberle and Hemksy take on the tougher minutes so Yakupov can be brought in slowly and not thrown to the wolves as a 19 year old. Its how every team in the NHL except the oilers develop players so I can see why it seems weird to not have Yakupov playing 20 minutes a night. You keep Hemsky until Yak has proven to be better or a big body who can play top 6 takes his spot. No reason to trade him just for the sake of making a trade imo

Huh?

Its not my intent to provide reasons for Hemsky to be traded. Pretty sure I have made zero references to anything about trading him.

Im just saying he's the guy who should have rolled in here at the start of the season & taken the bull by the horns.

I'd like to see more from Eberle, too. We all would. But Eberle is still fairly green around the ears and this is the first time in his pro career he's been "off" for an extended period...and ya...for anyone wanting to disagree and say his play has been better than his production...fine...whatever.

Hemsky's legacy here...is pretty much cemented at this point. People have (rightfully so) expected & needed more.

Granted...there have been times he didn't have a whole lot to work with...but...this year thats just not the case.

You can make a decent argument this is the most "Hemmer-Friendly" roster we've had. We KNOW he is (finally) healthy, he's got no worries outside the rink...because his contract was nicely taken care of last spring..he's got no tangible excuse for wandering around "average".

He should be tearing it up this year. It was all right there for him to seize.

But nope. Here we are..again...bantering about the latest/newest excuse(s) for him.

Its a ****** & frustrating cycle.
 

Zguy370

Registered User
Dec 25, 2007
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Huh?

Its not my intent to provide reasons for Hemsky to be traded. Pretty sure I have made zero references to anything about trading him.

Im just saying he's the guy who should have rolled in here at the start of the season & taken the bull by the horns.

I'd like to see more from Eberle, too. We all would. But Eberle is still fairly green around the ears and this is the first time in his pro career he's been "off" for an extended period...and ya...for anyone wanting to disagree and say his play has been better than his production...fine...whatever.

Hemsky's legacy here...is pretty much cemented at this point. People have (rightfully so) expected & needed more.

Granted...there have been times he didn't have a whole lot to work with...but...this year thats just not the case.

You can make a decent argument this is the most "Hemmer-Friendly" roster we've had. We KNOW he is (finally) healthy, he's got no worries outside the rink...because his contract was nicely taken care of last spring..he's got no tangible excuse for wandering around "average".

He should be tearing it up this year. It was all right there for him to seize.

But nope. Here we are..again...bantering about the latest/newest excuse(s) for him.

Its a ****** & frustrating cycle.

So this is Hemsky's team? He's the captain, the best lucrative contract on the team?
 

Tarus

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Jun 22, 2006
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So what other options did we have over the last "decade" with the PP?? Horcoff and Smyth were also there, tied to Hemsky's biblical cord. Not exactly the best talent in the league to gel with., hence we see how these two have evolved over time.

BTW hemmer's ice time is cut because we eventually need to start feeding our future kids with that some of that PP time. As long as Hemsky wants to be an Oiler there is still a fit for him here, until the kids develop., (we don't want to discourage them with all plugs on the team, do we?)

Ah yes, everyone else's fault but Hemsky's.

And no, Hemsky's PP time was cut because Hall/Eberle/RNH were superior players in that role compared to Hemmer from the very first year they stepped on NHL ice. It is not a coincidence that the Oiler's PP went from perennially one of the worst in the NHL, to consistently one of the best the very year Hemsky's role gets drastically cut back.

He was part of the problem, just as much as the "plugs".
 

Everest

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Apr 19, 2005
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So this is Hemsky's team? He's the captain, the best lucrative contract on the team?

Horcoff is the Captain.

Clearly, Hemsky's contract is nowhere near the best lucrative deal on the team and as far as whose team it is...Im no fool...I understand its a shared responsiblity.

However...Its a sad day when a kid like RNH is getting a lot of bad press and fingers pointed at him. Same thing for Eberle. Its damn sure not supposed to be a team being carried by either of them or even the two of them together.

Hemsky should be our offensive leader. He should be right around a point per game + drawing PIMS, playing tough minutes and navigating confident PP minutes as well.

Not for any other reason other than thats what he is capable of. And as fan...thats all I ask of any given player. Just bring everything you've got every game & fill your role on the team right up to the brim.

A couple guys are pulling there weight. One or two others don't really fit here at this time. A few more are just all kinds of useless to this team or any other team. And a few are simply not delivering on what is ordered from them.

Hemmer is in that last group. Thats all there is to it, really.
 

Zguy370

Registered User
Dec 25, 2007
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Ah yes, everyone else's fault but Hemsky's.

And no, Hemsky's PP time was cut because Hall/Eberle/RNH were superior players in that role compared to Hemmer from the very first year they stepped on NHL ice. It is not a coincidence that the Oiler's PP went from perennially one of the worst in the NHL, to consistently one of the best the very year Hemsky's role gets drastically cut back.

He was part of the problem, just as much as the "plugs".

That's a big inaccurate statement there., you truly believe those 3 are ready for Prime time on their own, seriously!
 

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