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Everything posted by Ihatetomatoes
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Datsyuk and Zetterberg are actually physical beasts. The rest of those guys played in a different era, sports science and training were no where near the level they are at now and the average size and strength of players is much greater now then it was before. The problem with being slight of frame and playing center in the NHL these days isn't offensively, it's on the defensive side of the puck and winning faceoffs. Hopefully Pettersson will be able to get strong enough eventually like H. Sedin did or Kyle Turris has done but right now everywhere he plays he is put on the wing and it might not change when he gets to the NHL Also Toews and Crosby are 200lbs, Bergeron is a c hair under 200lbs and Reinhardt mostly plays the wing now, probably because he is to slight of frame to handle playing center. Henrick is really the only good comparison as he has had to overcome his small frame to be succesfull as a center in the NHL, it took quite a few years to gain the strength to do it but it does show that it's possible
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Good game by Juolevi, Comes as advertised. Solid with the puck whether he is back being forechecked, making breakout passes, small passes in the neutral zone or making plays in the O zone or on the PP. You can notice how he has learned to use his size by getting body position on the boards and winning board battles, a few times he completely eliminated a forward on the boards allowing his teammates to grab the puck and go up the ice. Definitely NHL level defensive plays. One thing I would nitpick about his game that may limit his effectiveness as an NHL player is his footspeed. He doesn't seem to have a great first few steps. I noticed a few times how much slower he was when racing for a puck or that one time he almost got beat wide. He just doesn't really have quick feet, he's excellent at reading the play and getting to where he needs to be by using his elite hockey sense and smooth skating but when faced with scrambly play or needing to make quick movements he is a little slow. People like to compare him to Tanev but Tanev has much quicker feet and can get to where he needs to be a lot quicker. Liked his game though, just a solid overall game and if he has one weakness in my eyes in slightly slow feet.
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Geez bud. I like reading your contributions on this forum but you're kinda being an ass right now and mega condisending. The point you were trying to make was that some guys play pro style games and will surprise when they make the NHL because they will be better players than expected when looking at their Junior careers if they didn't put up great numbers or didn't look that great because they don't excel in disorganized junior situations. Like Juolevi not being used as a top pairing defender because he plays a pro style game. Boeser was basically breaking records for a freshman and was hyped as $&!#. He was the best player in his team. Sure he had a less than Steller sophomore season compared to his junior season but he was an absolute top prospect with high expectations that put up Steller junior numbers.
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Not sure why you think I'm annoyed. Thought we were having a reasonable discussion. I think Juolevi is a great prospect with great potential but I just disagree about him having the potential to be more valuable to the team than Boeser when he hasn't been used as a top pairing guy anywhere he's been in the last 2 years. Add to the reports from Salo that he still has major steps to make on the defensive side of the game to be an effective NHL defender. Also Boeser had 27 goals in 42 games in his freshman year, don't think he's the best example of a guy who's scoring more in the NHL than he did in Juniors.
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Ya I get that just stat watching doesn't tell the whole story. I think how a coach uses his players is quite telling of how valuable that guy is to the team. It reminds me of Virtanens draft +1 year, he was on the 2nd line and everyone started blaming the coach and how it was a toxic situation and such. Turns out Jake just wasn't as good as poeple thought looking back on it. Juolevi does a lot of thing incredibly well but to say he's going to be more valuable then Boeser is breaking all expected reasonable expectations of Juolevi. Take a look at what Heiskenen is doing in the same league as Juolevi and a year younger, 24min a game 60% Corsi for, the coach plays him and trusts him in all situations. That's a guy who tracking to be an elite defender. Maybe this guy sees something special in Juolevi but I'd say he's an outlier and is breaking most reasonable expectations of Juolevi at this point Also Boeser isn't scoring as much as he was in the NCAA. He was over 1.5ppg there.
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This guy is taking some crazy pills. Juolevi is tracking well to be a solid top 4 guy but he doesn't put up elite offensive numbers and he has his defensive issues to work on. No doubt he'll be great but he's going to have to be an elite #1 defenseman to be more valuable than Boeser. Juolevi hasn't even been on the top pairing of his Junior team, his pro team nor his WJC team for the past 2 years. Hard to believe he's going to be a top pairing guy in the NHL.
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I think Juolevi has an awkward first few steps when skating forward, obviously going backward and laterally he is excelling but I noticed that play you were talking about as well, got caught on a pinch and busted his ass to get back to make sure it wasn't a 2 on one, he def can skate fast once he's going but his acceleration isn't really anything special.
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If Lind can keep up this ppg he has a really good chance of being a top 6 forward in the NHL based on numbers alone anyway. Most successful top 6 players coming out of the WHL have averaged in that 1.5 - 2.0 ppg.
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Nice getting these honest updates out of Salo. He knows what it takes to play in the NHL and sounds like he's really helping Juolevi make the right steps.
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Agreed. Kole seems to have what it takes mentally to be an NHL player. From the little I've seen of him he just needs to work on his competitiveness without the puck. Right now he kinda plays a little like Goldobin where he waits for the puck to come to him vs being a puck hound and working to get it back. Seems like he's got what it takes mentally to want to be the best player he can be and will have to work ethic and want to get better in the weak areas of his game.
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That guy looks so unimpressed in the background
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Good post. For the most part guys will always put on 15 to 20lbs from draft. It just becomes a question on whether they are either strong enough or skilled enough to make up for their lack of size. There are a plethora of guys out there that were drafted small and never either got strong enough or were never quite fast or skilled enough to make up for their lack of size. With Pettersson I don't think there is a question that he doesn't have the skill to be a great NHL player it's just whether he ends up being strong enough to play center. He may end up being an elite winger in the end which isn't the worst floor imaginable. Most likely he follows a Sedin or Turris like development curve that is a bit longer than most due to their lack of strength.
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Is Pettersson even playing? I haven't seen a #40 yet
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RW is stacked! I don't see Lind making the team if Suzuki and Tippet aren't even on the roster. I'll be happy enough though if Dipietro and Gadjovich make the team
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Nice shot Dad
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Ya I found it...I'm now in on the joke...I felt so left out
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Maybe he was Rapping the Rain
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Raping in the rain? What am I missing out on here?
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True.But there is also a small mountain of players that never translate their play from success in the minor leagues in north america as well to the NHL. A prospect is a prospect, I really don't see the league they play in to have much effect on their eventual success in the NHL. More often teams get great value out of draft picks that come from the Euro leagues because teams underestimate them.
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Sure, that's an arguement for sure. A weak one IMO because Heiskenan hasn't had a chance to play here yet and I'm sure it will be erased as soon as he does get a chance. I don't think the NA market is so vastly different like you suggest for young prospects coming over to play
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It's good to hear someone has that much faith in Juolevi but it's hard not to feel like he's a bit out to lunch when Heiskanen is playing 24 minutes a night over there and getting rave reports of his defensive and offensive play while Juolevi is playing 16 minutes a night and reports are that he still has some holes in his defensive game that he needs to work on. And all this while being a year younger Not trying to $&!# on Juolevi but to believe he is the better prospect right now is pretty out there. Heiskanen is trending towards being a true #1 all situations guy while Juolevi is trending towards a decent top pairing guy or excellent top 4 guy.
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That's perfect! Thanks
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What's a good website for checking player stats for SM Liiga? specifically TOI. I can find stats for goals/assists and points but nothing that has TOI
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Holy $&!#...