Player Discussion Tom Wilson - Part 1

[tycoonheart]

General thoughts on Chris Brown's NHL future? Anyone?

I like the guy and think he belongs. Far more than O'Brien or Beagle.

I think its about what he can provide right now over OBrien or Beagle. He might have more upside but LOB has worked his butt off and pitched in nicely in a few games. Brown's kind of been invisible.

 

[ChibiPooky]

I like Chris Brown, but he hasn't done much this year to warrant keeping a fourth line spot with the big club instead of getting developmental minutes. I don't think this is the last we'll see of him this season in any case.

Interesting line combos from practice.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Trotz said in his post-practice media availability this morning that his original plan for this season (pre-injury) was to put Wilson on the top line with Backstrom and Ovechkin.

 

[searle]

Trotz said in his post-practice media availability this morning that his original plan for this season (pre-injury) was to put Wilson on the top line with Backstrom and Ovechkin.

That made me very excited, he could be the new Knuble and have the advantage of not being a hundred years old.

Lines could end up being

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Johansson-Burracuda-Brouwer
Chimera-Fehr-Ward
O'Brien-Kuznetsov-Latta/Beagle

That's a pretty good looking lineup

 

[ChibiPooky]

That made me very excited, he could be the new Knuble and have the advantage of not being a hundred years old.

Lines could end up being

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Johansson-Burracuda-Brouwer
Chimera-Fehr-Ward
O'Brien-Kuznetsov-Latta/Beagle

That's a pretty good looking lineup

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Wilson
Johansson - Burakovsky - Brouwer
Chimera - Kuznetsov - Ward
Laich - Latta - Fehr

 

[MW6]

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Wilson
Johansson - Burakovsky - Brouwer
Chimera - Kuznetsov - Ward
Laich - Latta - Fehr

I'd switch Latta and Kuzy, have 2nd - 4th line play pretty even minutes with 25-46-42 taking more defensive zone starts then the others.

 

[Blades of Steel]

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Wilson
Johansson - Burakovsky - Brouwer
Chimera - Kuznetsov - Ward
Laich - Latta - Fehr

Now that my friends is a deep line up. And to have beagle/LOB as back ups is pretty darn nice.

 

[tycoonheart]

Maybe Wilson will move to top line by Tampa Bay game. Really intrigued by how he would look there.

 

[BobRouse]

Trotz REALLY likes Wilson then. So does BMac since I'm sure they were on the same page here.

Why not! I'd like to see Ovechkin and Wilson demolishing the other team if nothing else.

I did not expect them to mean 1st line duties but this is good to hear.

 

[ChibiPooky]

From what I understand, Wilson's stamina isn't at all where it needs to be yet (he said himself he hit a wall around the end of the second period of his first game in Hershey). I doubt he gets put on the top line until he's at least able to skate a full game. Don't see Trotz wanting to deliberately juggle chemistry mid-game.

 

[Stewie G]

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Wilson
Johansson - Burakovsky - Brouwer
Chimera - Kuznetsov - Ward
Laich - Latta - Fehr

I like the looks of that.

Since cap space doesn't appear to be a huge issue right now, I won't even harp on the $4.5M Man on the 4th line. Having a number of guys on ELCs or otherwise cheap deals give them the flexibility to absorb that right now. It's definitely not a good position moving forward though, especially with the potential anchor contract for Orpik as well.

One thing at a time though. Chicago took advantage of a similar cap situation. Hopefully the Caps can do the same.

 

[ChibiPooky]

I like the looks of that.

Since cap space doesn't appear to be a huge issue right now, I won't even harp on the $4.5M Man on the 4th line. Having a number of guys on ELCs or otherwise cheap deals give them the flexibility to absorb that right now. It's definitely not a good position moving forward though, especially with the potential anchor contract for Orpik as well.

One thing at a time though. Chicago took advantage of a similar cap situation. Hopefully the Caps can do the same.

Thing is that during the season, your lineup pretty much is what it is. There's a little bit of trading that goes on, but really not much movement and certainly not much in the way of "hockey trades" where immediate value is going both ways.

So while having someone making $4.5M on your fourth line isn't ideal, it's not something you worry about during the season. You put the guys in the spots they play themselves into and let the cap issues get sorted out during the offseason with a shot to do something at the deadline.

 

[Stewie G]

Thing is that during the season, your lineup pretty much is what it is. There's a little bit of trading that goes on, but really not much movement and certainly not much in the way of "hockey trades" where immediate value is going both ways.

So while having someone making $4.5M on your fourth line isn't ideal, it's not something you worry about during the season. You put the guys in the spots they play themselves into and let the cap issues get sorted out during the offseason with a shot to do something at the deadline.

That's almost exactly what I thought I was saying. When I said "moving forward", I meant this offseason and beyond. Two more years of Brooks #1 and 4 more years of Brooks #2, coupled with impending raises for a number of contributing players is going to be tricky to accomodate, even with the anticipated cap increases.

 

[BobRouse]

Perhaps Willie isn't putting up the points.

But...I feel (and I think everyone will agree with me) that he is an IMPACT player despite this.

I was thinking the other day about what makes him unique...

Sure there is the whole size, hitting, fighting with some scoring upside that hasn't been realized to date. Sure he is defensively responsible and what not. Also he draws penalties etc

The biggest thing?

He is the best TROLL ever!

When I look back in history I've seen alot of good TROLLS. Hunter, Dino, Kaminski, Cooke, Burrows, Marchand, Upshall, Garbut, Kesler etc

I'm HARD PRESSED to recall ever seeing a troll who is a legit heavy weight who can also play.

I think this is what makes Wilson truly unique. He is rambunctious like Clutterbuck or Matt Martin. He can stand toe to toe with anyone in the league. He can play on any line and not look out of place. Biggest thing is he can REALLY backup his trolling.

Other teams fans have learned to instantly HATE him. They also say he sucks but he's pretty much in every trade proposal too.

Most trolls are little pests who don't answer the bell. Some like Hunter did but he wasn't the biggest guy.

Wilson is straight up a physical beast, one of the best hitters in the game and can throw down. He can troll you and you can't do much about it or he'll beat you up.

 

[tycoonheart]

The role he plays in this team right now is a necessary role, but it doesn't allow him to get much points.

I've seen improvements in his game though, and I still think he can be a top 6 guy. He is only 20 and there is lots he can do to take his game to the next level.

I've been impressed with everything he has done this year.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

The role he plays in this team right now is a necessary role, but it doesn't allow him to get much points.

I've seen improvements in his game though, and I still think he can be a top 6 guy. He is only 20 and there is lots he can do to take his game to the next level.

I've been impressed with everything he has done this year.

I hope he can become an impact forward before his brain turns into a puddle.

It bears repeating that he is the best fit at 1RW right now and every game he doesn't play there is a major headscratcher for me.

 

[g00n]

Brash + Avery = Wilson

 

[Ajax1995]

At this point I will go on record saying Wilson will never get to 40 points in a single season in his career.

And I couldn't disagree more about him being the best fit on the top line. He basically has no puck skills whatsoever. Sure he is fun to watch running around trying to truck people but that is pretty much all he brings to the table, plus the fighting of course, and I don't see that ever changing too much.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Brash + Avery = Wilson

He's got a little Barnaby in him as well.

 

[BobRouse]

Brash + Avery = Wilson

Close I'd say. Its a rare combo he has.

He can REALLY get under the oppositions skin and is so big and tough that they can't deter him like they could with a guy like Avery.

I remember Erskine doing a good job of putting an end to Avery's shenanigans. It is much harder to do that to someone who is as physically intimidating as Wilson.

He's also only 21 and is still going to put on lbs and get stronger.

At this point I will go on record saying Wilson will never get to 40 points in a single season in his career.

And I couldn't disagree more about him being the best fit on the top line. He basically has no puck skills whatsoever. Sure he is fun to watch running around trying to truck people but that is pretty much all he brings to the table, plus the fighting of course, and I don't see that ever changing too much.

I wouldn't say that. Sure he can't curl and drag it or anything...but could Knuble?

Wilson can snap it. His shot doesn't suck and he goes to the net. He has offensive instincts and is responsible defensively. He is 21 also.

 

[g00n]

He's got a little Barnaby in him as well.

Thought of him, too. I would add prime Kasparaitis to the mix in terms of the chaos he could create.

 

[g00n]

Close I'd say. Its a rare combo he has.

He can REALLY get under the oppositions skin and is so big and tough that they can't deter him like they could with a guy like Avery.

I remember Erskine doing a good job of putting an end to Avery's shenanigans. It is much harder to do that to someone who is as physically intimidating as Wilson.

He's also only 21 and is still going to put on lbs and get stronger.

All of that plus Avery was underrated as a player. He finished top 60 in Selke voting 4 or 5 years in a row while putting up goals in the teens. I think an Avery with punch a la Brash is what you want from Wilson.

 

[BobRouse]

All of that plus Avery was underrated as a player. He finished top 60 in Selke voting 4 or 5 years in a row while putting up goals in the teens. I think an Avery with punch a la Brash is what you want from Wilson.

Yeah that would be fine with me. One difference is that everyone loves Wilson in the locker room.

You'd be hard pressed to find too many that could do more than tolerate Avery.

So Wilson has that advantage already and I could definitely see Avery like upside skilwise.

 

[g00n]

Yeah that would be fine with me. One difference is that everyone loves Wilson in the locker room.

You'd be hard pressed to find too many that could do more than tolerate Avery.

So Wilson has that advantage already and I could definitely see Avery like upside skilwise.

Well we don't have to take THAT part of Avery. We can take the locker room presence from Brash instead. Probably one of the reasons people hated Avery so much was that he ran his mouth BUT never backed it up himself. Not so with Wilson or Brash.

 

[Ajax1995]

I wouldn't say that. Sure he can't curl and drag it or anything...but could Knuble?

Young Mike Knuble's skills far outweigh what Wilson has shown to this point IMO.

The depressing thing to me is that he has more or less not shown any level of improvement in that area despite getting a decent amount more ice time, some of it with the best guys on the team.

The development of Wilson, or lack there of I should say, by this franchise at this point is a traveshamockery...