Why is Connor Brown penciled into the top 9?

[supermann_98]

Possibly the most versatile forward we have, plays hard and can score 20+ if given the opportunity?

Versatile? How exactly is he versatile?
Does he skate well? No
Does he excel at face offs? No
Does he provide a physical presence? No
Does he score a lot of goals? No
Does he pile up assists? No
Does he have chemistry with any of the top 3 centres? No
Does he have a good shot? No
Does he kills penalties? Yes
Does he forecheck? Yes
Is he a black hole once the puck is passed to him? Yes

Gifting a guy a top 9 spot because he kills penalties and forechecks is wrong. Trust me I like the guy as he’s come a long way as a Toronto boy who was a long shot late round pick, but to me the results on the scoresheet reflect what I’m watching on the ice .... he’s invisible

 

[Mr Hockey]

Versatile? How exactly is he versatile?
Does he skate well? No
Does he excel at face offs? No
Does he provide a physical presence? No
Does he score a lot of goals? No
Does he pile up assists? No
Does he have chemistry with any of the top 3 centres? No
Does he have a good shot? No
Does he kills penalties? Yes
Does he forecheck? Yes
Is he a black hole once the puck is passed to him? Yes

Gifting a guy a top 9 spot because he kills penalties and forechecks is wrong. Trust me I like the guy as he’s come a long way as a Toronto boy who was a long shot late round pick, but to me the results on the scoresheet reflect what I’m watching on the ice .... he’s invisible

"How exactly is he versatile?" .... He can play any situation, offensively, defensively, on the top line, on the 4th line, blocks shots, shutdown role, PP, PK.

 

[supermann_98]

"How exactly is he versatile?" .... He can play any situation, offensively, defensively, on the top line, on the 4th line, blocks shots, shutdown role, PP, PK.

Sure he can play in any role, but it doesn’t mean he plays all of those roles really well. Offensively especially he’s very limited

 

[TheProspector]

He definitely shouldn't be playing higher up than Ennis.

 

[therealkoho]

Huh? This post is confusing.

He played with Marleau and has back-to-back 30 goal seasons. "Wait till you see"? It already happened.

not talking about last year or the year before, we are talking about this pre-season, I am pointing out that Leivo has been horribad on his LW and adding nothing to the line, i hope you be less confuse now

 

[therealkoho]

how is Kapanen ahead of Brown?

and yes serious question

 

[pcruz]

how is Kapanen ahead of Brown?

and yes serious question

He can skate better!

 

[Mr Hockey]

how is Kapanen ahead of Brown?

and yes serious question

Kappy plays a few shifts like an NHL'er followed by a few shifts like an AHL'er and so on ...

 

[Morgs]

He's Babs' third favourite toy. Like a good puppy he tries hard and does what he's told to do.

As much as I'd like to see him put on the 4th line or traded (while his value is still probably high around the league), it's not the worst thing in the world him being on the 3rd line.

 

[pcruz]

NHL.com - Stats

Quite honestly, a player averaging 17 goals, 15 assists and 32 points while playing on the 4th line is quite good.
When you compare that to the guy immediately ahead of him on team scoring over the last 2 full seasons, we notice that he has scored a total of 4 points less in those 2 years while playing almost 90 seconds per game less. Let's also not forget that one plays on the 4th line with some limited power play time on the 2nd unit while the other plays on the 1st line with 2 scrubs - Matthews and Nylander.

This is also a guy who can kill penalties and is often on the ice at the end of close games and/or periods.

Seems like a decent player to me.

 

[sxvnert]

Because Kappy and Johnsson are purposely being put on the fourth line to earn their ice time otherwise a line of Johnsson-Kadri-Kappy would be incredible.

 

[Menzinger]

Because Kappy and Johnsson are purposely being put on the fourth line to earn their ice time otherwise a line of Johnsson-Kadri-Kappy would be incredible.

It’ll be like that by 1/2 way through the season

 

[hector morrison]

Versatile? How exactly is he versatile?
Does he skate well? No
Does he excel at face offs? No
Does he provide a physical presence? No
Does he score a lot of goals? No
Does he pile up assists? No
Does he have chemistry with any of the top 3 centres? No
Does he have a good shot? No
Does he kills penalties? Yes
Does he forecheck? Yes
Is he a black hole once the puck is passed to him? Yes

Gifting a guy a top 9 spot because he kills penalties and forechecks is wrong. Trust me I like the guy as he’s come a long way as a Toronto boy who was a long shot late round pick, but to me the results on the scoresheet reflect what I’m watching on the ice .... he’s invisible

Sounds like Hyman...swap the skating for talent!

 

[Boutette]

Because Kappy and Johnsson are purposely being put on the fourth line to earn their ice time otherwise a line of Johnsson-Kadri-Kappy would be incredible.

Playing against the #4th line level opposition they played against last year, sure. Playing against other team's #1 lines in a shutdown role (that Kadri plays against), as Johnsson and Kapanen have shown so far, not so much, not yet.

 

[TMLeafer]

He had a strange year last year. But he's actually scored 20 goals without riding shotgun on our best player's wing every single shift. Says something.

He just seemed a little lost last season, IMO. I think he'll rebound.

 

[Beaninfritz]

"Why is Connor Brown penciled into the top 9?"

Because he's better at hockey than you.

 

[skacore]

Wow you guys aren't the brightest eh. Brown's not new or shiny but he's one of the hardest workers we have. He wins 90% of puck battles, ALWAYS makes the safe/reliable play and keeps the tempo of the game up. He PK's well, chips in offensively on any line and he does in fact drive the play. You don't win without guys like Brown scattered through your line up... can't all be superstars...

 

[TDotMassive]

He had a strange year last year. But he's actually scored 20 goals without riding shotgun on our best player's wing every single shift. Says something.

He just seemed a little lost last season, IMO. I think he'll rebound.

Ya... well, a majority of the season he was either on the 4th line, or covering for defensive lapses by Bozak and JVR. Who wouldn't be lost? LOL

 

[ottomaddox]

Versatile? How exactly is he versatile?
Does he skate well? No
Does he excel at face offs? No
Does he provide a physical presence? No
Does he score a lot of goals? No
Does he pile up assists? No
Does he have chemistry with any of the top 3 centres? No
Does he have a good shot? No
Does he kills penalties? Yes
Does he forecheck? Yes
Is he a black hole once the puck is passed to him? Yes

Gifting a guy a top 9 spot because he kills penalties and forechecks is wrong. Trust me I like the guy as he’s come a long way as a Toronto boy who was a long shot late round pick, but to me the results on the scoresheet reflect what I’m watching on the ice .... he’s invisible

You've asked and answered all in one stroke. There's no room for any of us to comment.

This is a rant.

I can't discuss self gratifying posts.

 

[ottomaddox]

Because Kappy and Johnsson are purposely being put on the fourth line to earn their ice time otherwise a line of Johnsson-Kadri-Kappy would be incredible.

I disagree. I think it would be ugly.

 

[Beyonder91]

Because they signed him to a multi year contract already after his fluky rookie season.

 

[pheasant]

Because they signed him to a multi year contract already after his fluky rookie season.

Was his recent season so different that the one before is a "fluke"? I don't think so. Hes a 15-20 goal, spark-plug type player.

Josh Anderson, Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Sven Baertchi. There's literally one of these guys on every team, all around the 2 million mark.

 

[Stephen]

"How exactly is he versatile?" .... He can play any situation, offensively, defensively, on the top line, on the 4th line, blocks shots, shutdown role, PP, PK.

I think a guy like Danton Heinen is someone who is "versatile." Brown is more like a low event place holder.

 

[rent free]

Was his recent season so different that the one before is a "fluke"? I don't think so. Hes a 15-20 goal, spark-plug type player.

Josh Anderson, Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Sven Baertchi. There's literally one of these guys on every team, all around the 2 million mark.

josh anderson is a special breed. not every team has him, the leafs being one of those teams

 

[Beyonder91]

Was his recent season so different that the one before is a "fluke"? I don't think so. Hes a 15-20 goal, spark-plug type player.

Josh Anderson, Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Sven Baertchi. There's literally one of these guys on every team, all around the 2 million mark.

How is he a spark plug type player? He isn't fast or physical.
Yes, I still believe 20 goals for him was a fluke. Every player you mentioned is better than Brown IMO.