While Jake has obviously made some progress over the last year. In my opinion it is still best if he plays at least another year in the AHL. He had a pretty good preseason but you have to take it with a grain of salt as definitely not playing against everyday NHL competition.
Pretty much what I have noticed since he got to Vancouver. The guy has all the skill in the world but seems disinterested at times which I think leads to him looking slow out there and chasing the puck most of the time. While I dont hold out high hopes that he sticks with Utica, I would love to see him develop his game down there this year and try again with the big club next season.
True... Its as if all those players already have 5 years in the NHL under their belt.. Hard to say that we passed on better players when only a few have made the NHL and have 1 year of experience..
but, but, but... Tkachuk ;P
I do admit that I overestimate in some cases but definitely not as a slight against the player themselves more to temper expectations. I really dont want to see anyone rushed in just to fill a spot at the expense of development.
Patience is not a virtue for a lot of posters....
I would still take OJ at 5 and think it was one of our best picks as a franchise despite all those jumping on MT's d^*k because he played in the NHL last season.
Hell definitely get a shot this camp but he is still young and Dmen take a while to develop so I wouldnt be surprised to see at least 2-3 more years in the AHL before he cracks the nucks full time.
That said, most have already written him off as by then MT should probably have at least 3 first ballot all star selections plus a couple Conn Smythe trophies.
Can definitely see Dahlen as a solid prospect for us in the future but I think it will be after a couple more years in Sweden then a few years in the AHL developing his NA game.
Because he is playing in Sweden next year and there is probably at least one player selected in the draft behind him that will play a few shifts or more in NHL next year, can we label him a bust yet? I mean thats how it worked for OJ.
Couple of more years marinating in the AHL and learning to be a pro and hopefully Jake can turn it around as he has started down the right track i think. He is still young so lots of time to develop before he gets labelled a complete bust.
Tanev needs to stay as a core piece to mentor the young dmen coming up along with Edler.
That or trade him for his value which will be far far less (probably around a low first to high 2nd rd pick) than some of the wild fantasies on CDC.
Not surprising... other than being a cheap contract he really brings nothing but a warm body to the table. Wouldnt be surprised if he flounders around Utica for a while until he is finally released or used as a small add-on to a trade package. Of course this is my own personal opinion but I think he is overrated by many.
I could definitely see Loui increasing production after the off year. I think he is good for a solid 15 goals and around the same # of assists. He will be determined to show better this season.
I think it best serves Jake if he does another year in Utica. it is great to see the progress so far with his conditioning but I think another full year in the AHL would be very valuable in the long run.