Player Discussion Zemgus Girgensons

sabrebuild

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Apr 21, 2014
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Because Murray is likely to make significant moves and several players are either known quantities or prospects, Zemgus is one of the few core pieces that seems hard to project with any certainty.

With his meteoric rise from USHL star to legit top six nhler in 4 seasons I think he is obviously versatile but more interestingly could become anything from a pascal dupuis type fore checking beast that helps one of our centers get space and can finish some. Or he could be a Kesler clone, who can dominate both ways for segments of playoff games.

I think this year with the influx of talent and general hope for a building season, plus he is just hitting his physical peak, Zemgus could take another big jump in his impact on the league.

Personally I think Girgs getting supported by Kane and Eichel in the lineup in general, not necessarily playing on a line, will give him the opportunity. And I think he goes off this year. If he stays healthy he pushes 20-25 goals, 50 points and regularly plays against top lines.

Do others think he has come close to peaking offensively and is just going to round out his complete game? Am I under selling his potential at the high end? Or over selling?
 

Sansbacon

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Sep 26, 2006
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I believe there's some more untapped offensive potential in his game. He makes some moves at times where it seems like even he's surprised at what he did :laugh:

I agree that 20-25 is probably going to be his typical output, but I wouldn't be shocked if he had a couple 30-30 seasons once this team gets going.

I also believe that he's nowhere near physically peaked. He's only 21, and he's a gym rat. He may turn into a Brindamour kind of physical specimen.

Whatever numbers he ends up with this season and in the future, if he continues his relentless attack day in and day out, he'll be pulling on my heart strings for a long time.
 

RoofIt5hole

Ball Don't Lie
Jul 1, 2014
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Chicago
I believe there's some more untapped offensive potential in his game. He makes some moves at times where it seems like even he's surprised at what he did :laugh:

I agree that 20-25 is probably going to be his typical output, but I wouldn't be shocked if he had a couple 30-30 seasons once this team gets going.

I also believe that he's nowhere near physically peaked. He's only 21, and he's a gym rat. He may turn into a Brindamour kind of physical specimen.

Whatever numbers he ends up with this season and in the future, if he continues his relentless attack day in and day out, he'll be pulling on my heart strings for a long time.


I do love that Zemgus, Kane, & Eichel are all gym rats / workout warriors. That "keg" top line next year could be outstanding.
 

Zman5778

Moderator
Oct 4, 2005
24,555
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I've said it before, I'll say it again:

I see a whole lot of Dustin Brown in Zemgus, just minus all the cheap crap that Dustin has done in the past. IIRC, Brown bounced from center to wing early in his career before settling in at wing once Kopitar and Richards arrived (which is what I see Zemgus doing: playing center until Sam and Jack are ready, then he'll be one of their wingers).

I still contend that I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a Girgensons-Reinhart-Kane line

Either way, I think he'll be a consistent 20G scorer and wouldn't be shocked if he has a 30 goal campaign or two in him. He'll never be a high assist guy, given that he'll do the dirty work for his line.
 

sabrebuild

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Apr 21, 2014
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I believe there's some more untapped offensive potential in his game. He makes some moves at times where it seems like even he's surprised at what he did :laugh:

I agree that 20-25 is probably going to be his typical output, but I wouldn't be shocked if he had a couple 30-30 seasons once this team gets going.

I also believe that he's nowhere near physically peaked. He's only 21, and he's a gym rat. He may turn into a Brindamour kind of physical specimen.

Whatever numbers he ends up with this season and in the future, if he continues his relentless attack day in and day out, he'll be pulling on my heart strings for a long time.

I think he could definitely get bigger if he wants to go that route, but typically he is about the age to be at top athletic skill, speed agility quick twitch, etc. Perhaps the very beginning of the peak, but I'd be surprised if he gets significantly faster quicker and generally athletic over the next five years.
 

Matt Ress

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Aug 5, 2014
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Hopefully management can continually challenge him. He seems like the kind of guy that would step up to any task. Maybe in the future he can be a guy that can take over a game. A bit lofty but we can all agree we haven't seen his ceiling.
 

Paxon

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Jul 13, 2003
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It's interesting to think about. This year was something of a breakout year for him in my opinion because he held up relatively well as a #1 center much of the year, managing a good goal-scoring pace all things considered. I'm not sure what step forward he will take next year. I'm guessing that his true breakout might be a bit further off than that, because though he is a good two-way player for his age there's arguably as much or more room for growth on the defensive end as there is on the offensive end. Next season I don't necessarily expect much difference in production rate. It's going to depend a lot on the ice time and linemates he gets, as well as possible PP time which may not be forthcoming. I do expect him to break 20 goals like he would've (IIRC) this season. If, say, there's a Girgensons-Eichel-Ennis line, then I do expect him to "break out" offensively, but I think there's a bit of folly in looking at guys breaking out by just looking at production. No matter what, it's exciting to look forward to what he can do in his third NHL, fourth pro season.
 

sabrebuild

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Apr 21, 2014
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It's interesting to think about. This year was something of a breakout year for him in my opinion because he held up relatively well as a #1 center much of the year, managing a good goal-scoring pace all things considered. I'm not sure what step forward he will take next year. I'm guessing that his true breakout might be a bit further off than that, because though he is a good two-way player for his age there's arguably as much or more room for growth on the defensive end as there is on the offensive end. Next season I don't necessarily expect much difference in production rate. It's going to depend a lot on the ice time and linemates he gets, as well as possible PP time which may not be forthcoming. I do expect him to break 20 goals like he would've (IIRC) this season. If, say, there's a Girgensons-Eichel-Ennis line, then I do expect him to "break out" offensively, but I think there's a bit of folly in looking at guys breaking out by just looking at production. No matter what, it's exciting to look forward to what he can do in his third NHL, fourth pro season.

Yup. I find him to be one of our more interesting young guys. The pure production is less important as his consistent ability to control play. Last year was definitely a great sign of his ability to regularly play at an above average level, but at this point I'm beginning to think of him somewhere between Kesler and prime Mike Fisher.

With less pressure to carry the scoring next year I hope his overall game improves, including the scoring and defensive prowess.

I honestly think he might become the third most important player to this team's success behind Eichel and Risto. Reinhart certainly has the potential, but Girgs ga me seems tailor made for the post season.
 

AlsPug

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Nov 1, 2011
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Hopefully management can continually challenge him. He seems like the kind of guy that would step up to any task. Maybe in the future he can be a guy that can take over a game. A bit lofty but we can all agree we haven't seen his ceiling.

My exact thoughts. He was the best Sabres forward the previous season. Now that he'll get the likes of Kane, Eichel and maybe an FA signing to compete with, he might step up his game just because of the challenge to become the best. My only worry is that he'll get the usual latvian sickness - getting really great, getting a good contract after what falling into a deep deep hole (there's a lot of examples; Biedrins in the NBA being the most prominent one). But he seems to be unusual for a latvian athlete. He's really a badass at his working habits, and really confident.

Hyped about the future of Zemgus.
 

jBuds

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Apr 9, 2005
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The fact that most of his goals are on highlight reels instantaneously is indicative of someone who can score at a decent pace. In time. For now, that most other aspects of his game are NHL ready and NHL effective is what really ties you to the dude. Imminent improvement in scoring output is nice, too.
 

Heraldic

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Dec 12, 2013
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I think he will be a terrific winger for Eichel long-term. He does the dirty job, retrieves pucks like maniac and has high defensive acumen. He isn't either a player who thrives having the puck on his stick, but he is skilled and smart enough to produce offensively (like we have seen).

He can get the puck to Eichel fast (is it either takeaways or just simply transitioning during rush/cycle), and he can create space and maintain a cycle.

He will also provide insane depth on the center position, because you can just insert him as a top-6 center if Reinhart/Eichel injuries, and your bottom-6 centers can maintain where they are.
 

Jacob582

Registered User
Oct 16, 2012
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Regarding OP title:

I read buyout instead of breakout and had one of those moments
 

jamers

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Sep 17, 2011
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He will also provide insane depth on the center position, because you can just insert him as a top-6 center if Reinhart/Eichel injuries, and your bottom-6 centers can maintain where they are.

A very good point. He very much feels like he could be a valuable component of any of the top 3 lines at either wing or center, at least for next year. Kind of crazy how quickly he has jumped up leagues and lineups.
 

joshjull

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Aug 2, 2005
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Granted its very early but Bylsma's comments sounded like Girgs might be the #1 center to start the year. Those comments being roughly, while he's not someone you think of as #1 center he can protect others in the lineup.
 

Matt Ress

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Aug 5, 2014
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Granted its very early but Bylsma's comments sounded like Girgs might be the #1 center to start the year. Those comments being roughly, while he's not someone you think of as #1 center he can protect others in the lineup.

Makes sense. Currently he's probably the best veteran center.
 

SabreOil

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Jul 23, 2013
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Last year if Zemgus stayed healthy he would of had 20g-20a for 40 points. I think if he has at least one of Ennis, Eichel or Kane on his line consistently then I think he can hit 50 points this year.
 

NotABadPeriod

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Oct 28, 2006
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Granted its very early but Bylsma's comments sounded like Girgs might be the #1 center to start the year. Those comments being roughly, while he's not someone you think of as #1 center he can protect others in the lineup.

IMO you start the season with a Kane-Girgensons-Gionta line. Give them the tough assignments and defensive zone draws. All three of those guys can handle that pressure. Let Eichel, Reinhart, Grigorenko, etc. get acclimated to the NHL before throwing them to the wolves. Obviously that means one of those guys will have to start on wing, but eventually when someone is ready to assume the top line role Girgensons can slide to wing.

I used to think that Girgensons would be our version of Zetterberg. Center the second line, move up to the top line with Datsyuk when they needed a spark. With Reinhart and Eichel in the fold though our center depth means Girgensons probably won't get to center the second line long-term. Will be really interesting to see which center he ends up riding shotgun with--he has the game to be effective with anyone.
 

BUFSABES1981

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Apr 11, 2011
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Makes sense. Currently he's probably the best veteran center.

That's funny calling him a veteran considering he just turned 21 four months ago. But he has gotten a lot of time under his belt these last few years. It's pretty awesome and almost mind boggling he's just 21. He's only going to keep getting better.
 

Matt Ress

Don't sleep on me
Aug 5, 2014
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That's funny calling him a veteran considering he just turned 21 four months ago. But he has gotten a lot of time under his belt these last few years. It's pretty awesome and almost mind boggling he's just 21. He's only going to keep getting better.

I mean, it's not saying a lot but even as a 20 year old, Girgs had a solid round game where he produced offensively and played well defensively on the top line of an NHL club. That's all shallow even compared to his whole game. We've got a gamer on our hands folks.

As much as I was unimpressed with Larsson a year ago, he is a very important piece to a successful NHL team. It's obvious to me now.
 

CrookedCrook

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Jan 12, 2014
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Latvia
I think that he can hit 50 points next season only if the dman start to contribute to offense regularly. We saw some stretches of good offensive contribution by Risto and a bit of Zads by the end of season but I still don't see our dman capable of helping our offense in the way dman from other teams does yet.
Can't wait to stay awake till 4am again next season to see this team grow together. :popcorn:
 

HiddenInLight

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Sep 4, 2011
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I have liked him since the first time I saw him play. The guy is the kind of player buffalo fans love. Hard worker, physical, can put up points. Is the guy that will likely be wearing a C at some point in his career. This is why I bought his jersey. I hope to see a lot more Zemgus jerseys around the arena very soon.
 

SnuggaRUDE

Registered User
Apr 5, 2013
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Because Murray is likely to make significant moves and several players are either known quantities or prospects, Zemgus is one of the few core pieces that seems hard to project with any certainty.
If he stays healthy he pushes 20-25 goals, 50 points and regularly plays against top lines.

Do others think he has come close to peaking offensively and is just going to round out his complete game? Am I under selling his potential at the high end? Or over selling?

Why do we think this?

Regarding the rest of your post, yes a 50 point season would be very successful for the locomotive.
 

joshjull

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
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Hamburg,NY
Why do we think this?

Regarding the rest of your post, yes a 50 point season would be very successful for the locomotive.

Because Murray himself said he wants to. Doesn't mean it will happen obviously since it takes two to tango. But he has repeatedly said he will be aggressive this off season.
 

sabrebuild

Registered User
Apr 21, 2014
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Why do we think this?

Regarding the rest of your post, yes a 50 point season would be very successful for the locomotive.

Both what Josh said and because moves need to be made. D spots need to be filled. There is massive cap space and players on the market that would fit. It's not guaranteed to happen but for conservatively thinking about next year I would expect new vets coming in.
 

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