Will Nick “Nature Boy” Suzuki become a true 1C?

[Samsquanch]

Question is simple. For me a true 1C is a C who you can lean on in every situation and can matchup head to head with the elite Cs in the league. Legitimately a top 20 C in hockey.

If thats the criteria, then absolutely not imo. He will be a 1b/2a kinda guy imo, like Kyle Turris at his peak, somewhere comfortably in the 30-40 range.

But I do think that he will be Montreals #1C for at time at least. I think hes going to do better than Koktanemie.

 

[CanadienShark]

Yes i've never seen a rookie wearing the habs logo ease himself so easily into NHL hockey and become an impactful top 6 player so soon . The game comes naturally to him because god knows its not us doing anything to make this happen . No but honnestly Montreal have always been tough on rookies and this dude just cant make the coaching staff not play him hes so good.
I think he's the real deal .

He's got some special quality about him. Not sure how to pin it down exactly. I'm glad that Vegas doesn't have him and Montreal does. His two way game is what surprises me the most.

 

[Stive Morgan]

I assume this is a joke?

He plays a similar style (crafty with great defense) is what I assume he meant by that, but yeah he's got a long way to go to be Pavel Datsyuk

 

[Filthy Dangles]

He plays a similar style (crafty with great defense) is what I assume he meant by that, but yeah he's got a long way to go to be Pavel Datsyuk

I don’t see it. Suzuki is more about speed and hard work to me. He’s obviously has high end skill but he plays a more hard working game.

 

[Merrrlin]

I could see him having a career similar to David Krecji.

You could argue on a team with weak Cs, he was 1C calibre.

 

[bert]

If thats the criteria, then absolutely not imo. He will be a 1b/2a kinda guy imo, like Kyle Turris at his peak, somewhere comfortably in the 30-40 range.

But I do think that he will be Montreals #1C for at time at least. I think hes going to do better than Koktanemie.

He is already as good as Turris was in his prime.

He plays a similar style (crafty with great defense) is what I assume he meant by that, but yeah he's got a long way to go to be Pavel Datsyuk

Mote cerebral less pure skill, he isnt on Datsyuks level. He is more similar to a Giroux or Recchi.

 

[Holymakinaw]

Question is simple. For me a true 1C is a C who you can lean on in every situation and can matchup head to head with the elite Cs in the league. Legitimately a top 20 C in hockey.

Here we go again. A kid has a few good periods of hockey and now we're asking if he'll be a "true 1C" or not. LOL.

No, he won't.

He could become a decent 2C, tho. He's fast & shifty & has some good hands. Calm down about the "true 1C" stuff.

 

[DaPhazz]

If thats the criteria, then absolutely not imo. He will be a 1b/2a kinda guy imo, like Kyle Turris at his peak, somewhere comfortably in the 30-40 range.

But I do think that he will be Montreals #1C for at time at least. I think hes going to do better than Koktanemie.

Turris ugh, that'll be underwhelming. Like one poster said, he's already better / less beige.

 

[Samsquanch]

He is already as good as Turris was in his prime.

Thats simply not true though.....When Suzuki scores 60+ points as the #1C and highest scoring forward on his team, you let me know ok?

I think some people need to pump the brakes a little. Its not an insult for him to be compared to Kyle Turris, at all. This 10 game sample from the playoffs is not enough to declare him a future star #1C centerman (top 20 in the league as per the OP).

Maybe it could happen, but I swear to god half the people in here are acting likes hes already got there or something lol.....

 

[bert]

Thats simply not true though.....When Suzuki scores 60+ points as the #1C and highest scoring forward on his team, you let me know ok?

I think some people need to pump the brakes a little. Its not an insult for him to be compared to Kyle Turris, at all. This 10 game sample from the playoffs is not enough to declare him a future star #1C centerman (top 20 in the league as per the OP).

He scored at a 60 point pace this year in the second half when he started to get real pp and top 6 icetime as a rookie and was better than Turris has ever been in the playoffs this season. He is always on the right side of puck, goes to all the right places and is already elite defensivly. I am a sens fan I hate the habs, but it was clear as day how good he is. Hockey sense like Mark Stone except he is two years ahead of where Stone was at the same age.

 

[bert]

Here we go again. A kid has a few good periods of hockey and now we're asking if he'll be a "true 1C" or not. LOL.

No, he won't.

He could become a decent 2C, tho. He's fast & shifty & has some good hands. Calm down about the "true 1C" stuff.

Id imagine it would be pretty hard for you to not only identify how good he is but the fact he doesnt play for the leafs and plays for the habs instead would be downright impossible

 

[abo9]

Thats simply not true though.....When Suzuki scores 60+ points as the #1C and highest scoring forward on his team, you let me know ok?

I think some people need to pump the brakes a little. Its not an insult for him to be compared to Kyle Turris, at all. This 10 game sample from the playoffs is not enough to declare him a future star #1C centerman (top 20 in the league as per the OP).

I think it's fair to argue that Suzuki could very well be at the level/better than prime Turris this coming year (he put 41 points in his first season and was heavily relied upon in all situations already). We'll wait and see if he can perform consistently over the next season, with Montreal out of the playoffs, he'll have another couple months to improve his physical shape and I really hope the Montreal's development staff keep a close eye on him, they don't have the luxury of screwing him up.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Secret way to try to start a new nickname

 

[Holymakinaw]

Id imagine it would be pretty hard for you to not only identify how good he is but the fact he doesnt play for the leafs and plays for the habs instead would be downright impossible

But I DID identify how good he is. I said he's fast & shifty and has good hands & has 2C potential. Isn't that so nice of me, to say to my Habitant friends?

 

[HyPnOtiK]

He looked great in the playoffs, but i think KK and Suzuki end up being a lower level version of Bergeron and Krejci, both high end 2C that can slot in at 1C, IMO a better mix than a true #1 and decent #2. They'll create match up problems for a long time.

 

[malcb33]

Here we go again. A kid has a few good periods of hockey and now we're asking if he'll be a "true 1C" or not. LOL.

No, he won't.

He's had much more than "a few good periods of hockey", so what your saying is either disingenuous or naive.

Sure, he's not the goal-scoring threat Mattews is or has McDavid speed, but that doesn't mean he can't become a "true #1C" in the future (True #1C is stupid term anyway IMO). He does all the little things right, is good defensively, great shot and is a very intelligent player. Those things don't jump out to you on highlights often, but they've been enough to earn the trust of a historically very hard coach on rookies (remember Seguin in Boston).

He hasn't even really had stable linemates this year. I think he's still got a lot of room to develop yet and he is very capable of becoming one of the better 1C's in the league in the future.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Secret way to try to start a new nickname

You caught me

 

[Samsquanch]

He scored at a 60 point pace this year in the second half when he started to get real pp and top 6 icetime as a rookie and was better than Turris has ever been in the playoffs this season....

......

Kyle Turris in the 2012-2013 playoffs

10gp-6g-3a-9pts

Im guessing you also forget that some of those goals were pretty big ones for us too eh.....?

I think it's fair to argue that Suzuki could very well be at the level/better than prime Turris this coming year (he put 41 points in his first season and was heavily relied upon in all situations already). We'll wait and see if he can perform consistently over the next season, with Montreal out of the playoffs, he'll have another couple months to improve his physical shape and I really hope the Montreal's development staff keep a close eye on him, they don't have the luxury of screwing him up.

For sure you could make a case for it. Hes started off better than Turris did in Arizona, that much is true.

Bert (the guy I quoted) isnt saying that though. Not at all.... He seems to think Suzuki is already an upper echelon #1C, without him actually ever having played the role for a full season...

People need to stop acting like its such a huge insult to be compared with peak Kyle Turris. Once the nature boy starts getting all of the extra attention from the opposing teams as the Habs #1C, and then he still continues to produce at a peak Turris level or greater, then we can start the discussion on whether or not hes eclipsed a peak Kyle Turris.......

In 2014-2015 Turris was playing a sound defensive game, and produced like a #1C. And imo its laughable to suggest that its already a foregone conclusion that Suzuki will pass Turris's peak. While its totally possible, its anything but a given.


Here is the #1C for every team in the league during Kyle's peak season in 2014-2015 (and also their #2C if he had better stats than Turris).

RANK	PLAYER	GP	G	A	PTS
1	John Tavares	82	38	48	86
2	Sidney Crosby	77	28	56	84
3	Nicklas Backstrom	82	18	60	78
4	Tyler Seguin	71	37	40	77
5	Claude Giroux	81	25	48	73
6	Henrik Sedin	82	18	55	73
7	Steven Stamkos	82	43	29	72
8	Tyler Johnson	77	29	43	72
9	Ryan Johansen	82	26	45	71
10	Evgeni Malkin	69	28	42	70
11	Ryan Getzlaf	77	25	45	70
12	Joe Pavelski	82	37	33	70
13	Logan Couture	82	27	40	67
14	Henrik Zetterberg	77	17	49	66
15	Jonathan Toews	81	28	38	66
16	Pavel Datsyuk	63	26	39	65
17	Joe Thornton	78	16	49	65
18	Kyle Turris	82	24	40	64
19	Anze Kopitar	79	16	48	64
20	Jason Spezza	82	17	45	62
21	Jeff Carter	82	28	34	62
22	Derick Brassard	80	19	41	60
23	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	76	24	32	56
24	Patrice Bergeron	81	23	32	55
25	Matt Duchene	82	21	34	55
26	Ryan O'Reilly	82	17	38	55
27	Eric Staal	77	23	31	54
28	Bryan Little	70	24	28	52
29	Tyler Bozak	82	23	26	49
30	Mikko Koivu	80	14	34	48
31	Paul Stastny	74	16	30	46
32	Nick Bjugstad	72	24	19	43
33	Adam Henrique	75	16	27	43
34	Sam Gagner	81	15	26	41
35	Zemgus Girgensons	61	15	15	30

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[goforit]

no only because he's best at wing

That is high level trolling!

 

[goforit]

I assume this is a joke?

I also think he plays a lot like Datsyuk. Doesn't mean he is as good.

 

[abo9]

For sure you could make a case for it. Hes started off better than Turris did in Arizona, that much is true.

Bert (the guy I quoted) isnt saying that though. Not at all.... He seems to think Suzuki is already an upper echelon #1C, without him actually ever having played the role for a full season...

People need to stop acting like its such a huge insult to be compared with peak Kyle Turris. Once the nature boy starts getting all of the extra attention from the opposing teams as the Habs #1C, and then he still continues to produce at a peak Turris level or greater, then we can say that hes safely eclipsed a peak Kyle Turris...

In 2014-2015 Turris was playing a sound defensive game, and produced like a #1C. And imo its laughable to suggest that its already a foregone conclusion that Suzuki will pass Turris's peak. While its totally possible, its anything but a given.


Here is the #1C for every team in the league during at Kyle's peak (and their #2C if he was better than Turris).

RANK	PLAYER	GP	G	A	PTS
1	John Tavares	82	38	48	86
2	Sidney Crosby	77	28	56	84
3	Nicklas Backstrom	82	18	60	78
4	Tyler Seguin	71	37	40	77
5	Claude Giroux	81	25	48	73
6	Henrik Sedin	82	18	55	73
7	Steven Stamkos	82	43	29	72
8	Tyler Johnson	77	29	43	72
9	Ryan Johansen	82	26	45	71
10	Evgeni Malkin	69	28	42	70
11	Ryan Getzlaf	77	25	45	70
12	Joe Pavelski	82	37	33	70
13	Logan Couture	82	27	40	67
14	Henrik Zetterberg	77	17	49	66
15	Jonathan Toews	81	28	38	66
16	Pavel Datsyuk	63	26	39	65
17	Joe Thornton	78	16	49	65
18	Kyle Turris	82	24	40	64
19	Anze Kopitar	79	16	48	64
20	Jason Spezza	82	17	45	62
21	Jeff Carter	82	28	34	62
22	Derick Brassard	80	19	41	60
23	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	76	24	32	56
24	Patrice Bergeron	81	23	32	55
25	Matt Duchene	82	21	34	55
26	Ryan O'Reilly	82	17	38	55
27	Eric Staal	77	23	31	54
28	Bryan Little	70	24	28	52
29	Tyler Bozak	82	23	26	49
30	Mikko Koivu	80	14	34	48
31	Paul Stastny	74	16	30	46
32	Nick Bjugstad	72	24	19	43
33	Adam Henrique	75	16	27	43
34	Sam Gagner	81	15	26	41
35	Zemgus Girgensons	61	15	15	30

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Thanks for the numbers, it does put his 64 points season in perspective and seems like the result of a lower scoring era. And for sure, it's ridiculous to argue that Suzuki is already an elite 1C. If he ever achieves the feat, I think it will take a couple more seasons. His progression to date (which is relatively recent - junior numbers + 1 NHL season) do suggest that such a level is attainable. However, I've seen it in Montreal (and in the league in general) where prospects stall at a certain level or don't become that much better than their first few years (Galchenyuk, Keller, Domi, Drouin are all examples that come to mind really fast). Tyler Johnson might also be an example that's on a successful team.

On the other hand, you've got guys like Barkov, Bergeron, Wheeler, Mackinnon that have started with relatively average numbers and exploded in 1 year or two. I think that (understandably) Montreal fans are looking at those exceptions and hoping that our prospects follow a similar curve. To me, signs are positive, our prospects (especially KK and Suzuki since I've watched them at the NHL level) seem to have a great attitude, compete level and the willingness to improve on areas of weakness. They are also rapidly improving which is another very good sign to date.

But once again, they're still far from that level of greatness that everyone pegs them for. Apparently they already make the best 2-C punch Montreal has had in a while, but imo they have the potential to become the best - they have not been for a full season. We have not had a lot to celebrate lately, with Lehkonen/Gallagher/Galchenyuk/Mete being our only good prospects under Marc Bergevin, so it's been a while since we've been excited for multiple prospects at once.

 

[Samsquanch]

However, I've seen it in Montreal (and in the league in general) where prospects stall at a certain level or don't become that much better than their first few years (Galchenyuk, Keller, Domi, Drouin are all examples that come to mind really fast). Tyler Johnson might also be an example that's on a successful team.

Good post all in all but I really like this one point of yours.

There are countless examples of players plateauing after their first couple of seasons and then settle into a lesser role as their career matures. Its not a given whatsoever that a 40pt rookie turns into a 70-80pt guy in his prime.

And while I dont think this will be the case for Suzuki at all (plateauing I mean), and that he is going to continue to evolve his game and grow as a player, I think its pretty damn bold to say that hes a surefire top 20 #1C in the making based on this one season of his. I dont see it personally.

And quite frankly if he ends up with a better career than Kyle Turris that will be a HUGE accomplishment for him. Suzuki is not in a different tier of players than peak Turris. If anything, he is in one tier below him until proven otherwise. #Truth.

 

[goforit]

I don’t see it. Suzuki is more about speed and hard work to me. He’s obviously has high end skill but he plays a more hard working game.

He doesn't play at a high speed nor is he playing a power game at all. His game is all about anticipation and he wins his puck battle with smarts, not power. I suggest you watch him play because the player you are describing isn't Nick Suzuki.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

He doesn't play at a high speed nor is he playing a power game at all. His game is all about anticipation and he wins his puck battle with smarts, not power. I suggest you watch him play because the player you are describing isn't Nick Suzuki.

ok.

 

[goforit]

ok.

Wow, that was an easy one.