The Underrated Player Thread

[Frosty415]

Pavelski.

Just because no one mentions him when the 2003 draft comes up

 

[48g90a138pts]

Adam Larsson & Cam Talbot

For the majority who don't watch the Oilers they think this year has been all about Connor McDavid. It really isn't, Larsson and Talbot both deserve the same amount of credit as 97 does.

 

[Esko6]

Someone from the Stars. Not someone from the most popular teams on HFBoards.

 

[FinnishCoyote]

Tobias Rieder

 

[Maximus]

Just read thru the thread and I'm totally shocked that both Craig Anderson and Rickard Rakell haven't been mentioned not even once!!!.

Anderson is the most solid goalie in the league that no one talks about. This year despite what has to be brutally difficult mentally due the fact his wife has cancer and the fact he missed two months of the season so he can be with her, he has put up terrific stats once again. If you combine what Anderson has done when he has played and what Condon has done, they'd be in the top 3 overall in wins and top 10 in Save % and GAA.

Had Andy not missed so much time, I'd bet he'd be ranked one of the top 5-10 goalies this year with the system Boucher has implemented. Next year if he's given a full season, I have no doubt Andy will be one of the top 10 goalies in the league as Bouchers system lends itself to that type of elite performance from their goaltender. Boucher's system has made the Sens defense one of the most improved in the league from my observations of them. Anderson has been severly underrated not just this year but over his career. He has had some injuries over the years which has hindered him.

Rakell is another guy no one talks about or mentions when peeps talk about the best players in the league. I'd bet more than 50% maybe even more peeps in here don't realize he's on pace for 30+ goals this season. I have no doubt about this. Rakell is on pace for 32 goals but had he not missed the first 9 games of the year, he might even have flirted with possibly 37 to 40 goals potentially. Rakell, and it's maybe because he plays on the west coast with the Ducks is a guy if he played for my Rangers for instance, would not a doubt be given the hype of an Austin Matthews trust me and would be alot more publicized. The boy has mad skills for sure.

So Andy and Rakell are my two players who are not discussed enough nor thought of as one of the best at their positions and are underrated severely IMO and should be given their just due!

 

[PrinceOfPucks]

Horvat. It's amazing the strides this guy has taken since his London Days. He looks like a Ryan Oreily clone out there . Get him in your pools now because he is on pace for 55 pts without any PP1 time. Once the Twins retire or take a backseat and he actually gets pp1 time and more ozone starts then I see him becoming a 30g 40A player. His linemates this year have included Burrows and Jason Megna.

From other team : I was really impressed w. Can Atkinson. Who gets no love around the league.

 

[Bobblebee]

Trocheck.

From my perspective as well Trocheck for sure. He was an all star but really doesn't get talked about at all.

 

[Bronson]

Arvidsson, Trocheck, Granlund.

 

[Mathew Barzal]

Jakob Silfverberg. Wish I still had my OG username, the kid is blossoming.

Wennberg.

 

[mrjiggyfly]

Tobias Rieder

Yes!

 

[BDizzle*]

It's obviously Jack Eichel (j/k)

Alex Steen and Nik Backstrom are worthy in my mind.

 

[Aceboogie]

Cam Talbot has been one of the best goalies in the league this year

But today, thanks to shot location data you can get from NHL game sheets, we can also factor in shot quality in every situation, and use that to determine how many goals a netminder has prevented in comparison with what an average goalie would have stopped facing the same workload in terms of both volume and difficulty. That is synthesized into one stat: Corsica’s “goals saved above average.”

And when you look at GSAA, a slightly different picture of who has been the best goaltender in the league starts to emerge. Of the 37 goaltenders to play at least 1,000 minutes at 5-on-5 this season (goalies we can safely say are starters, in 1a/1b tandems, or working through injury situations), one goalie has a not-insignificant lead on the competition, and it’s not one of the three Vezina candidates discussed above.

It’s actually Cam Talbot.

For one thing, Cam Talbot leads the league in GSAA, which I guess shouldn’t be that much of a surprise given that he’s .920 (no one talks about this, either) on a team with a, shall we say, patchwork defensive group. The only situations in which he’s given up more goals than an average goalie are 4-on-4 and 3-on-5, which are both pretty rare game states in the first place. And regardless, the impact there has been minor.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/what-we-learned-getting-a-better-look-at-the-best-goalies-in-the-nhl-145629487.html

 

[Marshall]

Anders Lee. Love his game.

 

[Gurilla]

Bryan Little. 30pts in 35 games this year.

 

[PuckInTheNards]

Adam Larsson & Cam Talbot

For the majority who don't watch the Oilers they think this year has been all about Connor McDavid. It really isn't, Larsson and Talbot both deserve the same amount of credit as 97 does.

I agree that Larsson (not sure about Talbot) is underrated - but to suggest they have as much to do with Oilers' success as McDavid is pretty silly. They're good and have contributed but McDavid is driving that train.

 

[kirby11]

Sam Reinhart is gonna be in this type of thread for another season, maybe 2 depending on how long it takes for his body to catch up to his brain.

 

[kirby11]

Josh Manson is another guy IMO who doesn't receive enough love

Kid's wheels are absurd

 

[illpucks]

Oshie

 

[Russian Factor]

Josh Manson, Anders Lee, Rickard Rakell are all good picks.

Nino Niederirerter (don't feel like looking it up) finally getting some love this season but he's been a stats darling for a while.

From the Pens I'm going Kessel. Quietly tied for 9th in the league in scoring while playing with Bonino and Hagelin on the 3rd line a lot of nights.

 

[olli]

Toews might be on these boards.

 

[SAK11]

Josh Manson, Anders Lee, Rickard Rakell are all good picks.

Nino Niederirerter (don't feel like looking it up) finally getting some love this season but he's been a stats darling for a while.

From the Pens I'm going Kessel. Quietly tied for 9th in the league in scoring while playing with Bonino and Hagelin on the 3rd line a lot of nights.

Guess that explains his lack of even strength production, gets most of his work done with Sid and Malkin on the PP.

I'd go with JT Miller, don't hear a ton about him yet he leads the Rangers in scoring and does it without a ton of PP time.

 

[Conduit]

Derek Stepan.

 

[Conduit]

Also, over the previous seven seasons, Sidney Crosby's 5v5 goals for/against per 60 minutes with & without Chris Kunitz.

With Kunitz:

GF: 3.86
GA: 1.91

Without Kunitz:
GF: 3.34
GA: 3.07

 

[Boud]

Zack Smith
Craig Anderson

 

[suitup17]

Vlasic