Which Teams & Players Pass/Fail Eye Test For You Despite Reputation

[Paperbagofglory]

I know one player that never passed the eye test, Mike Ricci

Yuck.

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

Fail -
Trouba - A lot of hype, but for me doesnt pass the eye test
Coyle - People push this player hard, i just dont see him as a high end top 6 player
Nylander - High skill but crumbles under pressure (jury is out)
Lehkonen - Pushed as high end prospect, but really hasnt proven anything (jury is out)
Maatta - weak in the dzone
J.Staal - Doesnt bring enough offensively and doesnt fit todays NHL
Vesey - Complete flop seeing as he went on the Tavares showcase a couple years ago
W.Karlsson - excellent season but i cant see it being sustainable
Backlund - Doesnt match the hype for me
RNH - see above
Horvat - see above
OEL - considered one of the best in the league but for me lacks significantly in the D zone

Pass
Gourde - Underrated scorer
Kadri - often overlooked, but extremely valuable 2 way player
Tatar - i see offensive upside, but seems to be a castaway at this point
Girardi - always liked his defensive game, but may not have been worth the contract
Palmieri - probably forgotten about since being on the shore. But a hard working skill guy
Pulock - may not be on peoples radar but soon to be norris candidate
Spooner - like the skill and speed, his style suits the Rangers pace and not the Bruins
Manson - went from possible expansion trade to teams arguable best guy
D.Brown - big ticket, but in the right position a very valuable power forward
S. Bennett - his game needs to be developed. but like the combo of grit and skill
Klefbom - had a down year, but do see this player being a high end guy
J.Markstrom - doesnt seem to get a lot of attention, but posses tools of a #1G
Raanta - had a good finish last year. Proved me wrong about shorter goalies

 

[tsujimoto74]

I've never been overly impressed watching Karlsson in the defensive zone either. Especially in a physical game.

It's funny. Karlsson gets credited with about the same number of hits per season as Kronwall used to (similar career highs, too -- 122 for Karlsson and 133 for Kronwall). Yet the former is seen as soft and the latter was always viewed as a high-end physical presence. I don't get it.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Brady Skjei.

 

[Fear]

Fail:
Athanasiou - great highlights but looks completely lost on the ice 90% of the time.

Pass:
Orlov - One of the smoothest players in the league, given the opportunity and green light I could see him put up 50+

 

[KingsHockey24]

Fail:

Burns and Karlsson.

 

[Machinehead]

By all metrics, Derek Stepan is an extremely effective player, but watching him makes me wanna kill penguins in front of children.

He's "horrendous" for 2 months and then you look up and he has 19 points in 20 games and opponents have like 3 goals with him on the ice and you're like

 

[bobc222]

Jacob Slavin seems invisible, but he’s talked about on here as if he’s a superstar. Does he have elite advanced stats or something?

He seems invisible because the way he plays helps to shut down scoring chances before they happen. He doesn't have to scramble to make flashy diving blocks or struggle to get back because his positioning, hand-eye coordination and cornering mean that the chances don't develop in the first place. Combine that with well over 50% possession metrics (corsi and fenwick) against the league's elite players (McDavid, Crosby, Kucherov, Ovehckin) and its easy to understand why he gets so much praise.

 

[Russian Factor]

almost every single time I watch the Lightning I forget Stamkos is even playing. just invisible. Occasionally he pots one from the circle and I'm reminded he exists. he is the player Ovechkin was unfairly pigeonholed as for years

 

[al secord]

Get your eyes checked.

 

[TheGoldenGod]

Tarasenko is beloved by the rest of the NHL but people who consistently watch the Blues might say Jaden Schwartz is their best and most consistent forward and a huge factor to why Vladdy has been able to put up high goal totals. Tarasenko is very dangerous and you can't fall asleep on him but he can be extremely frustrating to watch when he isn't locked in.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I know one player that never passed the eye test, Mike Ricci

Yuck.

Dean Lombardi would vehemently disagree with you. Ricci was his perfect player. He would give Mike Richar...Ricci, Mike Ricci...he would give Mike Ricci $21m a year just to spite you having that opinion.

 

[maacoshark]

It's funny. Karlsson gets credited with about the same number of hits per season as Kronwall used to (similar career highs, too -- 122 for Karlsson and 133 for Kronwall). Yet the former is seen as soft and the latter was always viewed as a high-end physical presence. I don't get it.

Lmao are you. really comparing Karlsson with Kronwall. Kronwall destroys guys with his hits. A 13 year old girl hits harder than Karlsson. He is far from physical.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Scheifele has more to prove, but Matthews doesn't?

Matthews was ppg in his second year took scheif a lot longer to get there. Matthews is the better talent then both, seeing as Matthews is 1c over JT in Toronto.

 

[MNRube]

Tarasenko and Stamkos are good ones. If they don't have a good scoring chance, you will never notice them. Feels like Laine is trending this way too.

On flip side, Jaden Schwartz is just a nuisance out there. Skill, heart, tenacity. Complete player and fun to watch.

Mikael Granlund is a player who always passes the eye test for me. Guy could easily be a PPG player IMO but he plays great two-way hockey and never cheats. Definitely one of the better overall wingers in the game.

Byfuglien also has a huge overall impact on the game. If you watch, he is like an elite CB in the NFL...teams just tend to avoid him. Great player.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Lmao are you. really comparing Karlsson with Kronwall. Kronwall destroys guys with his hits. A 13 year old girl hits harder than Karlsson. He is far from physical.

Look at that little girl go!

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Steven Stam

 

[Panthaz89]

Tavarres is usually more impressive than his stats would suggest...

 

[Panthaz89]

Look at that little girl go!

Nobody is scared of either of those players that he hit...lets be real. Beaulieu is just plain idiotic when it comes to knowing how to play hockey anyway probably did the other team a favor by having him not pass the puck to the opposing team.

 

[stampedingviking]

Fail -
Trouba - A lot of hype, but for me doesnt pass the eye test
Coyle - People push this player hard, i just dont see him as a high end top 6 player
Nylander - High skill but crumbles under pressure (jury is out)
Lehkonen - Pushed as high end prospect, but really hasnt proven anything (jury is out)
Maatta - weak in the dzone
J.Staal - Doesnt bring enough offensively and doesnt fit todays NHL
Vesey - Complete flop seeing as he went on the Tavares showcase a couple years ago
W.Karlsson - excellent season but i cant see it being sustainable
Backlund - Doesnt match the hype for me
RNH - see above
Horvat - see above
OEL - considered one of the best in the league but for me lacks significantly in the D zone

Pass
Gourde - Underrated scorer
Kadri - often overlooked, but extremely valuable 2 way player
Tatar - i see offensive upside, but seems to be a castaway at this point
Girardi - always liked his defensive game, but may not have been worth the contract
Palmieri - probably forgotten about since being on the shore. But a hard working skill guy
Pulock - may not be on peoples radar but soon to be norris candidate
Spooner - like the skill and speed, his style suits the Rangers pace and not the Bruins
Manson - went from possible expansion trade to teams arguable best guy
D.Brown - big ticket, but in the right position a very valuable power forward
S. Bennett - his game needs to be developed. but like the combo of grit and skill
Klefbom - had a down year, but do see this player being a high end guy
J.Markstrom - doesnt seem to get a lot of attention, but posses tools of a #1G
Raanta - had a good finish last year. Proved me wrong about shorter goalies

Swap Horvat and Markstrom and you'd be on the right lines.

 

[Fixxer]

Lmao are you. really comparing Karlsson with Kronwall. Kronwall destroys guys with his hits. A 13 year old girl hits harder than Karlsson. He is far from physical.

if only that worked every time...

 

[BlueDream]

Tarasenko and Stamkos are good ones. If they don't have a good scoring chance, you will never notice them. Feels like Laine is trending this way too.

On flip side, Jaden Schwartz is just a nuisance out there. Skill, heart, tenacity. Complete player and fun to watch.

Mikael Granlund is a player who always passes the eye test for me. Guy could easily be a PPG player IMO but he plays great two-way hockey and never cheats. Definitely one of the better overall wingers in the game.

Byfuglien also has a huge overall impact on the game. If you watch, he is like an elite CB in the NFL...teams just tend to avoid him. Great player.

Yep. People who don't watch the Blues might be surprised to hear this but I'd say Schwartz is right up there with Pietrangelo and Tarasenko as "MVP" of the team. He's that good because he does literally everything. Tarasenko just scores goals.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Slavin definitely has my respect. He was the only guy who could shut down McDavid last year.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Pass: Dimitry Orlov, Kris Russell (actually a decent defenseman, very consistent and gives it his all every night).

Fail: Stamkos, Trouba.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Which teams and players that are considered good, fail the eye test for you and you don’t understand the appeal of when you see them play? And which that are considered bad, impress you when you see them play?

Fail

Teams:
Carolina Hurricanes every year people say this is the year they make the playoffs and how good their defense is, blah blah blah. They look absolutely god awful every time I’ve seen them play. They have no offense to speak of, and have so many defensive lapses and are the easiest team I’ve ever seen to score on. I don’t know if Rangers (who I’m a fan of) have just dominated them as of late but they have looked awful for years whenever I’ve seen them

Players:
Chris Tanev maybe he gets overrated because he’s on such a bad team but every time I watch him he seems like a bottom pairing defenseman on a decent team. He’s painfully average in every category and I don’t understand why he’s so highly regarded
JT Miller he puts up 2nd line winger numbers so many think he’s a decent player but whenever I’ve seen him he looks like one of the dumbest players in the league. He causes turnovers every shift, he takes bozo penalties, stops skating and stares off into space, and is all in all a horrible hockey player
John Tavares I read people considering him a top 10 center in the league, but whenever I see him play he looks like a slug.
Jacob Slavin seems invisible, but he’s talked about on here as if he’s a superstar. Does he have elite advanced stats or something?


I’ll add more and the ones that pass

Lol @ the JT Miller description.