Why is Olsen struggling so much?

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Fair enough, but I do disagree with you in that Cowen was a lot worse than Olsen. Not that it makes any difference.

 

[FytinSioux]

He wouldn't have been academically eligible. He's a kid who doesn't like the college part of college hockey.

If he didn't like school like maybe he could of went somewhere else, like I don't know, any of the major junior leagues in Canada. Originally I thought he just pulled an Okposo, so I overreacted, but still i'm not a fan of the kid, and apparently nobody else in Canada is either.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

I don't know the story, and it will come out, but what a pos for leaving Duluth early. You don't do that. I am a Chicago fan, but I hope he fails. Same way I feel about Okposo.

Then you are not a Chicago fan ,,,,,, Go cheer for the Red Wings if he disgusts you that much

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

What boggles my mind is Chicago signing him to an NHL Entry-Level Contract, in which he will report to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL effective immediately following this tournament...

Chicago, what the ******* are you thinking?

Hawks are probably thinking we have a young prospect with loads of talent and it is best for him to develop in our own system under our own coaches

If Olsen is struggling with his grades it works fine signing him to Rockford and letting him develop with our other young dmen

Leddy (2009 1st rounder)
Vishnevskiy (2006 1st rounder)
Lalonde (2008 3rd rounder)
Pepin (2006 2nd rounder)
Connelly (FA)
Stanton (FA)

 

[Ironslave]

What boggles my mind is Chicago signing him to an NHL Entry-Level Contract, in which he will report to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL effective immediately following this tournament...

Chicago, what the ******* are you thinking?

They're thinking he's their first round draft pick that just flunked out of school and can play in the minors? Geeze, they're not giving him a one way contract to play with the Blackhawks.

If he didn't like school like maybe he could of went somewhere else, like I don't know, any of the major junior leagues in Canada. Originally I thought he just pulled an Okposo, so I overreacted, but still i'm not a fan of the kid, and apparently nobody else in Canada is either.

He's having a horrible tournament, but I don't think you can say nobody is a fan of him. I seriously think it's an issue where he's made a few bonehead plays, his confidence is gone, and he's trying too hard which just snowballs the problem.... though I haven't seen him play before so I can't overly comment. I think he needs to ride the pine for the rest of the tournament though, he's not going to get his confidence back during it, and is a liability to make a bad play in a sport where one bad play can cost you everything.

 

[Klaus]

Which makes one wonder: why is Olsen still getting lots of ice time? The coaching staff last year clearly didn't have much trust in Cowan and sat his rear end down for most of the tournament. Olsen has made numerous mistakes and is still getting key ice time with Ellis. Maybe Cameron is more forgiving than Desjardins but Olsen is looking excessively bad out there, and especially with the medal round coming up you wonder how many chances he has left to redeem himself.

Exactly. This is just so frustrating. Honestly what the **** is wrong with this coaching staff? Olsen has been absolutely brutal in nearly every single game, he ****ing SCORES on his own team and they still let him play on the top pairing. We're entering elimination games now, we can't afford to have Olsen go out on the ice and be a liability.

 

[Garyboy]

He was also on during the last minute of regulation play today. Truly mind boggling.

 

[puck swami]

My sources are saying Olsen had academic issues at UMD that would have prohibited him from playing for the rest of the season, so he left school and signed.

I am sure Chicago would have preferred he stayed in school.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Did he really score on himself? I didn't catch it because it was a bit of a scrum with I believe at least one swede in there in front of Roy. What did he do to put it in his own net for those who saw it?

 

[Garyboy]

Did he really score on himself? I didn't catch it because it was a bit of a scrum in front of Roy. What did he do to put it in his own net for those who saw it?

Yeah, picked up the puck in his crease and slipped it by Roy. It was a nice snipe. He's like a Canadian Tomas Holmstrom.

Honestly feel bad for the guy. He's clearly out of his depth here.

 

[massivegoonery]

I am sure Chicago would have preferred he stayed in school.

I don't know, with Chicago pulling Pirri, Leddy and now Olsen out of school, it looks like they're trying to single-handedly eliminate college hockey.

 

[Bubba88]

Then you are not a Chicago fan ,,,,,, Go cheer for the Red Wings if he disgusts you that much

Seems like he is a Toews Fan, not Hawks




Olsen struggled, from what I've seen, but all in all, it may be good for him to play in Rockford.

He shouldn't get more than 12 Minutes a game in this tournament, too

 

[BHD]

Exactly. This is just so frustrating. Honestly what the **** is wrong with this coaching staff? Olsen has been absolutely brutal in nearly every single game, he ****ing SCORES on his own team and they still let him play on the top pairing. We're entering elimination games now, we can't afford to have Olsen go out on the ice and be a liability.

It might just be me, but it seems that the coaching staff has clear favourites, guys that will get time no matter how much they screw up. Then again, the whole team has been screwing up. So...

 

[FytinSioux]

Then you are not a Chicago fan ,,,,,, Go cheer for the Red Wings if he disgusts you that much

Been one my whole life, even through the Dollar Bill days. Not every team drafts perfectly and there is usually someone who doesn't live up to expectations in each team's draft, I just hope that card goes to Olsen. Hopefully someone steps up, but we can win without him, and so can Canada. I'm sure there is a player, or two, or maybe more that if they came to the Hawks, you would hope they fail, but hope the team wins the cup every year.

I'm not just a Hawks fan, I'm a NCAA fan, and it really makes me mad when teams/players are pulling out on the NCAA half way through the season. How hard is it to pass college as an undecided major freshmen?

Like I said before, if he didn't like school, he shouldn't have come to the NCAA. This leaving half way through the season shines bad light on the NCAA and screws his team over.

 

[Blind Gardien]

He was also on during the last minute of regulation play today. Truly mind boggling.

Truly truly. I get it that Cameron wants to stick with the partner he brought to the dance or whatever, wants guys to snap out of it and vindicate the choices. But at some point adjustments *really* need to be made. De Haan-Ellis, Barrie-Cowen, Gudbranson-Despres, whatever, there are combinations to put out there and Olsen is just too big a risk right now. On a last minute shift, even a temporary adjustment should be a lot easier to make. It's not conceivable to me that the team is unaware of Olsen's struggles, they are so painfully obvious.

Ah well. There were a few shifts after his own-goal where it almost looked like he realized he'd hit rock bottom and just said to hell with it and started playing without the gorilla on his back again. Not enough for me to want him back on the ice this tournament, but at least hopefully some reassurance for his overall prospect status.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Been one my whole life, even through the Dollar Bill days. Not every team drafts perfectly and there is usually someone who doesn't live up to expectations in each team's draft, I just hope that card goes to Olsen. Hopefully someone steps up, but we can win without him, and so can Canada. I'm sure there is a player, or two, or maybe more that if they came to the Hawks, you would hope they fail, but hope the team wins the cup every year.

I'm not just a Hawks fan, I'm a NCAA fan, and it really makes me mad when teams/players are pulling out on the NCAA half way through the season. How hard is it to pass college as an undecided major freshmen?

Like I said before, if he didn't like school, he shouldn't have come to the NCAA. This leaving half way through the season shines bad light on the NCAA and screws his team over.

Hoping one of our top prospects (a 1st rounder) fails is just idiotic

iWho says he didn't like school? You know it is possible that like millions of people he just isn't capable of continuing on in school ,,,,,, Not everyone can make it thru

 

[puckfan13]

Haven't read though the entire thread, but Dylan Olsen really struggles with school. IIRC, he was initially supposed to go to UND but couldn't qualify academically. (UND isn't exactly known for it's stringent academic standards.) While I am not close to the situation, the workload could have been affecting his development. I don't know if it was his parents that pressured him into the NCAA route.

At this point, if he reported to the Medicine Hat Tigers (who hold his WHL rights), he would only be playing half a season there since he is already 19, so perhaps the Blackhawks thought his development would be better served under their eye for the remaining 3 or 4 months. Chicago has every right to offer him this contract whenever they see fit; they hold his rights and are investing millions of dollars in him potentially. It his choice whether to accept the offer, but clearly the 'Hawks felt his development was better served outside the NCAA.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Haven't read though the entire thread, but Dylan Olsen really struggles with school. IIRC, he was initially supposed to go to UND but couldn't qualify academically. (UND isn't exactly known for it's stringent academic standards.) While I am not close to the situation, the workload could have been affecting his development. I don't know if it was his parents that pressured him into the NCAA route.

At this point, if he reported to the Medicine Hat Tigers (who hold his WHL rights), he would only be playing half a season there since he is already 19, so perhaps the Blackhawks thought his development would be better served under their eye for the remaining 3 or 4 months. Chicago has every right to offer him this contract whenever they see fit; they hold his rights and are investing millions of dollars in him potentially. It his choice whether to accept the offer, but clearly the 'Hawks felt his development was better served outside the NCAA.

It's more like the Hawks did the best they could with a bad situation (Olsen wasn't cutting it academically and would have been inelgible to play). As he's a tweener, the AHL is really the only place to go.

 

[Blind Gardien]

One could imagine that flunking out of school and having to ponder other options and having contract negotiations going on in the background could account for some of his apparent on-ice distraction too, I suppose.

Anyway, Medicine Hat isn't a terrible team or anything... Vey, Pitlick, and Etem are there, for example. Given the number of guys already in Rockford, I would want to seriously consider that option for him if I was in his camp or Chicago's.

 

[puckfan13]

It's more like the Hawks did the best they could with a bad situation (Olsen wasn't cutting it academically and would have been inelgible to play). As he's a tweener, the AHL is really the only place to go.

Ah yes, now that I read more about the situation I digress, it definitely forces their hand and they have already invested a first-round draft pick on him. Just read the blog post that he was actually ineligible academically; initially I had assumed he was just having troubles with schoolwork. I know school smarts can often not have a lot to do with hockey smarts, but the situation has to be at least a little concerning for the Blackhawks organization.

To the above poster, what would playing for Med Hat do? He doesn't know any of the systems, isn't familiar with any of his teammates, doesn't have any established chemistry with anybody. MH is a pretty good team but I wouldn't exactly call them a surefire contender this year. What good is 3 or 4 months on their team when he can be slowly broken into the pro game and know what is expected from him next fall.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Played a bit better against the swiss.

 

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Olsen can't skate, doesn't pass very well, makes bad decisions, can't clear the puck, falls down in key situations and looks like an old man trying to get up, and scores on himself.

Other than that, the guy is a hell of a hockey player.

 

[DuklaNation]

Olsen actually had his best game so far against Switzerland. Not that it means much at this point.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Olsen actually had his best game so far against Switzerland. Not that it means much at this point.

Did Canada get eliminated? That's kind of a weird comment. He couldn't have picked a better time to pick up his play.

Olsen can't skate, doesn't pass very well, makes bad decisions, can't clear the puck, falls down in key situations and looks like an old man trying to get up, and scores on himself.

Other than that, the guy is a hell of a hockey player.

You saw the game right? He was decent.

EDIT: Can someone post a YT of that own goal? I really want to see it again because he seems to really be getting it for that play. It didn't seem that bad to me.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

delete