ZHERDEV:how good is he looking?

[helicecopter]

Which are your thoughts after his first 20-25 games in the league?

To help myself to understand which kind of consideration he has got in this first months in the NHL i ask you to answer this question:
If you were forced to make a prediction (which is the case now! ) you would say he will become:
1-a superstar, one fo the 2,3 best wingers in the league
2-a star, getting regular consideration for the all star game
3-a second liner
4-a third liner, complete player who plays a solid two-way game
5-an offensive player not good enough to play regularly on the first 2 lines
6-a fourth liner who lacks concistency and who plays on better lines only when hits his rare hot stretches
7-a BUST!

please take the chance only if you have been able to see him play in the NHL.

Click to read more...

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Seen him in person and several times on TV.

I'm going to take choice #2 -- a star with regular all-star consideration.

No training camp. Missed the first two months of the season. Was struggling in Russia, pulling 4th line duty and even being sent down at one point. He can't speak the language...

But, he's starting to find his stride. He and Nash have chemistry and are clicking on the PP. He's on a regular line with Sanderson and Marchant, which has been hot as of late.
Zherdev is a ridiculously skilled puck handler, with great vision and a great shot, not mention he's fast. He's better defensively than advertised (not saying he's great, but he's been better than expected).
He's been the teams best all-around player since the new year and salivate at watching him play for many, many years in Columbus.

 

[Slats432]

I saw the game between Edmonton and Columbus and bits and pieces of another couple games on NHL center ice.

Let me give you a comparison. If I was looking at drafting one of two players the way they are playing right now I would select Zherdev over Hemsky in a heartbeat.(Of course careers are long and this is a short snippit of a career.)

He seems to me like he can do those things at full speed that very few players can do. He seems to have a knack for getting scoring chances and just creating opportunities.

I would say #2 as well.

 

[punchy1]

At this point from the games I have seen him I would say that he is a solid second liner that has some nice moves. In yesterdays game I would call him a potential star. In todays game I think he has second line sniper (and a good one too) written all over him. He has no physical element to his game and while I have only watched 9 games of his, I have seen no effort with the exception of the odd back check for him to even try to work on his two way game. Of course, his example is a lad who is one of the top gifted scoring kids in the bus who is of the same cut when it comes to playing in his opponents end of the ice.

 

[JDog]

I've seen all the Blue Jacket home games this year and he's going to be a star. He's getting better every game. He makes something happen on virtually every shift. That being said #2.

 

[Peter25]

I think Zherdev could challenge for the Maurice Richard Trophy next year. I´m serious. He´s that good. He´s more talented than Nash. I think he could be the most talented young player in the league after Kovy. And he´s a 85 born player! Not bad.

 

[Jacob]

He takes very blatant dives, which annoy the crap out of me, but other than that he's pretty impressive.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

I think he's going to be an offensive winger who will have a few superstar-calibre seasons in his career, but will ultimately be a star player (so, #2). Maybe like a slightly-less-talented Peter Bondra.

 

[Plager05]

From the games I've seen Columbus play against Saint Louis he's been kind of inconsistent, but he turns it on at times. I think he'll definetly get better at making the most out of his ice time as he matures. It's not like he's lost out their he just takes it down a couple of gears sometimes. You don't really notice him on defense, but that means he's not making mistakes either.


I pick 2.

 

[Oilerboy40]

Isn't Zherdev 84 born?

 

[jacketracket*]

Guy's an awesome puck-handler---he brings you out of your seat.

Looking forward to seeing him and Nash in person, 41 times a year, for several years!!

 

[NyCoN]

He's pretty cute...




err wtf get off me! sicko!

haha

 

[HF_Rangers]

#2... his play has picked up considerably lately. He has a 4-game point scoring streak. (3G, 2A)

 

[helicecopter]

Thanks for all the answers!
Do you think guys he still has a chance to win the calder, even if small?

 

[puckslappper]

Thanks for all the answers!
Do you think guys he still has a chance to win the calder, even if small?

\

Very small... only if calder voters come to look at Rick Nash, but leave impressed with Zherdev. I'm not saying Zherdev won't have the numbers, he may or may not, but the people who vote for Calder would have to come to Columbus and see him. He isn't going to get any press on his own yet.

It would help if he didn't play in the city of Cowlumbus. I love my town, but we don't really stand out, accept maybe in our fields.

 

[kevinbelt]

zherdev is pretty good. he started his season too late to win the calder. my thoughts:

-he's inconsistent. he can score a goal every game, but at the same time, he can go a month without scoring, too. hopefully this is b/c he's young and in an unfamiliar environment, and will be corrected as he gets more experience.

-he tends to spend a lot of time hugging the stick side post. at least two or three of his goals (a significant percentage) have come from that area. he'll either need to spread it around a little or get a lot tougher once people catch on.

-he stickhandles way too much. he could spend an entire pp w/ the puck and never take a shot. he's so skilled in this area that he uses it to compensate for deficiencies or a lack of confidence in other areas. he needs to start taking more shots, and understand that w/ most of the guys cbj has, your shot doesn't need to be 100% accurate all the time. just put it towards the net, and somebody like nash will either redirect it or be there for the rebound.

-his defense is surprisingly good. i didn't expect a whole lot of defensive play out of him, but he's doing well. not very physical, but uses his body well, and has a knack of taking the puck right off the opponent's stick.

overall, i think it's too early to really pass a verdict. he still needs time to develop. if i had to make a judgment now, though, i'd say #2 - occasional all-star. superstars are rare, so he couldn't be #1, and he's already shown he's capable of the others - he's playing on the cbj's best line right now and producing.

 

[kacz]

zherdev is pretty good. he started his season too late to win the calder. my thoughts:

-he's inconsistent. he can score a goal every game, but at the same time, he can go a month without scoring, too. hopefully this is b/c he's young and in an unfamiliar environment, and will be corrected as he gets more experience.

-he tends to spend a lot of time hugging the stick side post. at least two or three of his goals (a significant percentage) have come from that area. he'll either need to spread it around a little or get a lot tougher once people catch on.

-he stickhandles way too much. he could spend an entire pp w/ the puck and never take a shot. he's so skilled in this area that he uses it to compensate for deficiencies or a lack of confidence in other areas. he needs to start taking more shots, and understand that w/ most of the guys cbj has, your shot doesn't need to be 100% accurate all the time. just put it towards the net, and somebody like nash will either redirect it or be there for the rebound.

-his defense is surprisingly good. i didn't expect a whole lot of defensive play out of him, but he's doing well. not very physical, but uses his body well, and has a knack of taking the puck right off the opponent's stick.

overall, i think it's too early to really pass a verdict. he still needs time to develop. if i had to make a judgment now, though, i'd say #2 - occasional all-star. superstars are rare, so he couldn't be #1, and he's already shown he's capable of the others - he's playing on the cbj's best line right now and producing.

As much as everybody hates inconsistancy it's a habit for players right out of the draft. Nikolai is inconsistant at times, but once he gets rollin' he'll never look back. The same could be said for MA Fleury as he showed signs of excellence at the start of the season but ever since he's been struggling.

 

[kevinbelt]

As much as everybody hates inconsistancy it's a habit for players right out of the draft. Nikolai is inconsistant at times, but once he gets rollin' he'll never look back. The same could be said for MA Fleury as he showed signs of excellence at the start of the season but ever since he's been struggling.

oh i totally agree. i'm just saying that's been a problem w/ his game so far, and that's why it's hard to form an opinion of him yet.

as for fleury, i think zherdev is much better. fleury is years away from playing consistent nhl hockey. zherdev should be there by the end of this season.

 

[Siberian]

As I said it already hundred times Zherdev made a big mistake coming to the league that early. He does have good puckhandling and some other elements but the way he started his career in NHL will hurt him quite a bit.

I would say he will be fading away in the next two years and either becomes solid third or even second liner on certain teams or he will be out of NHL at all.

 

[X-SHARKIE]

I love Zherdev. His skill level is just sick! not to mention his competivness is going to somthing we'll all admire for years. He was the guy I wanted to drop to San Jose in 2003 Entry draft. Staal might be the steadier of the two now and down the road. But players lilke Zherdev are rare, and thats a bad thing. I'll pay to see him! I enjoy seeing him over center ice.


Ps. He'll be better then Bondra.

 

[moosefan]

I have seen players play live before the NHL or prospects today such as Rick Nash, Jason Spezza, Tanguay, Ovechkin, Crosby, Staal, Lecavalier, Thornton...etc...etc the list goes on and on, but I would have to say the most exciting player I have seen play and this is just for excitment might have to have been Zherdev. This is the type of guy that brings fans into the game with his excitment level and highlight reel plays. I think Zherdev is going to be a real offensive gem down the road as he is impressing me right now in the NHL.

 

[CBJSlash]

As I said it already hundred times Zherdev made a big mistake coming to the league that early. He does have good puckhandling and some other elements but the way he started his career in NHL will hurt him quite a bit.

I would say he will be fading away in the next two years and either becomes solid third or even second liner on certain teams or he will be out of NHL at all.

 

[MephistoIV]

He is AMAZING. AMAZING puck control AMAZING stick handling. He is just awesome. And tell me WHAT 19 year old has good defensive hockey. Look at Gabby- He missed camp and 2 months and hes sucking. Zherdev missed training camp and 2 months(While hardly playing for CSKA) and is still great. Its his rookie year for christ sake. He will be a consistan 70-80 point scorer and a consistant maurice rocket richard contender. #2.

 

[MephistoIV]

As I said it already hundred times Zherdev made a big mistake coming to the league that early. He does have good puckhandling and some other elements but the way he started his career in NHL will hurt him quite a bit.

I would say he will be fading away in the next two years and either becomes solid third or even second liner on certain teams or he will be out of NHL at all.

Ignore siberian. Hes just bitter

 

[kacz]

As I said it already hundred times Zherdev made a big mistake coming to the league that early. He does have good puckhandling and some other elements but the way he started his career in NHL will hurt him quite a bit.

I would say he will be fading away in the next two years and either becomes solid third or even second liner on certain teams or he will be out of NHL at all.

No mistake.

Russia was treating Nikolai like crap, and came over and is treated like a king, and showing signs of brilliance. Early start? What are you talking about?? Look at Bergeron, Horton, Staal and MA Fleury all enjoying solid seasons as rookies right out of the draft...