Elias Pettersson | #40 | C

[alfstonker]

4 hours ago, Alflives said:

Listening to Leaf’s radio, and the hosts are all over Willy Nylander for being too soft. 

Does that make it true then Alf - I mean it must do, you heard it on the radio, just like we heard Jake was a bust or the Sedins were soft. I watched all the games and no he wasn't running about smacking everyone in site but he didn't shirk the challenges either. He played as hard as most of the forwards certainly as hard as Marner who I thought played well. If anyone looked "soft to me it was JVR. The guy is a monster and plays like half his size.

 

Most of the Leaf's "softness" came from their lack of real size and pushback in defence. 

[alfstonker]

3 hours ago, Odd. said:

Sorry if I seem like I'm going after you this morning, but how has Nylander not proved himself?

 

Back to back 60 point seasons and only 21 years old. He's a top line player. 

Put him in a Vancouver jersey and suddenly he would become a god. 

The irony is (and don't get me wrong I like him) how half of CDC wet themselves at anything good coming from Goldy but seem happy to call out Nylander.

 

Just another day in the Canuck parallel universe I suppose.

[alfstonker]

1 hour ago, Where's Wellwood said:

I think you misinterpreted my post. I'm not pissed at all. I thought he didnt know that the one who tossed the medal was also a high draft pick. I was letting him know. If anything, my post would indicate that I was defended Andersson as also a good player.

Fair enough, my apologies.

[250Integra]

Say what you want about Nylander, but he made more of an impact than the great Matthews.

[The_Rocket]

26 minutes ago, alfstonker said:

Put him in a Vancouver jersey and suddenly he would become a god. 

The irony is (and don't get me wrong I like him) how half of CDC wet themselves at anything good coming from Goldy but seem happy to call out Nylander.

 

Just another day in the Canuck parallel universe I suppose.

Put it this way. Laster year, in his draft+4 year, Bo horvat scored 20 goals and 50 points, being involved on ~30% percent of vancouvers goals for. In addition, he played a key role defensively and played about 18 minutes per night including the second most amount of SH time on ice amongst forwards. He was just over 50% in faceoffs was a key contributer even strength, penalty kill, and powerplay. 

 

This year, Nylander played in his D+4 year, scored 20 goals and 61 points and was in on ~22.5 % of torontos goals. He was a key member of their powerplay but not as prominent in his rookie year. He played close to 16:45  per night. He did not kill penalties but was solid 5 on 5

 

Which if those two players would you consider the better player and more valuable to their team? Personally i would say Bo but i guess i would understand if one were to say Nylander. 

 

 But Petterrsson? Hes projected to displace Bo horvat as the Canucks #1 centre. Obviously we wont know if he will untill he actually plays in the NHL, but there are legitimate reasons to believe pettersson is a more valuable player to have in your system than Nylander right now and the argument that Nylander has “proven himslef” is not only untrue, but ignores any potential either player has. 

[Alflives]

47 minutes ago, alfstonker said:

Put him in a Vancouver jersey and suddenly he would become a god. 

The irony is (and don't get me wrong I like him) how half of CDC wet themselves at anything good coming from Goldy but seem happy to call out Nylander.

 

Just another day in the Canuck parallel universe I suppose.

Well this is a Canuck's fan board, right?  Plus, even TO media and fans are saying Nylander is too soft.  They want to get rid of the guy.  Soft wingers, who do little outside the PP, who get 50 to 60 points are not overly valued.  Yet the Leaf's propaganda machine has made Nylander out to be a superstar, and (as a result) they are going to have to pay through the nose to sign him.  I'm glad of that, because the Leafs will wreck their Cap structure.

[Gaudette Celly]

3 hours ago, aGENT said:

We may very well go with Markstrom and Nilsson again. But it seemed pretty clear Green wasn't a huge fan of Nilsson as the year went on. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see us change things up there.

Been talk for a couple months that he's on the outs.  Doubtful we see him here come Fall; he'll be moved if even waived to Utica.

[cory40]

Grönborg told Dhaliwal. “I am really anxious to see what Elias can do. We are still waiting for NHL players as well.”

Anxious to see what he can do? He just spent six months carving Sweden’s best league. What more can he do?

Sweden was widely criticized for not bringing Pettersson to the Olympics. It seems unthinkable that Pettersson could get snubbed again, so it’s likely just coach speak.

But Gradin did point out things can be much more complicated in Sweden than you’d think.

“What happens sometimes, the guys who are drafted and are belonging to other situations, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation is not always promoting those guys,” Gradin said. “Because the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation wants the Swedish players to stay home and play.”

[JeremyCuddles]

Shame Swedish folks are gonna shaft Lias and Pettersson just cause they are kids with NHL dreams. You’d think that winning was all that matters. Oh well. More rest for him for next season.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Pettersson definitely not letting things get to him. He’s looking and sounding quite loose today:

 

Swedish interview but he basically says “I’m just gonna do what I’m good at” and that “it’s gonna be fun.”

[Canuck Surfer]

8 hours ago, Alflives said:

Listening to Leaf’s radio, and the hosts are all over Willy Nylander for being too soft. 

Nylander scored back to back 60 point NHL seasons. And he's 5'11''. On a high scoring team, like Toronto is developing, that would translate to 75 or 85 points when he;'s 24. He's just 21 now.  All of these numbers lead the Canucks the last few years.  They don't get produced by being soft.

 

You were expecting the next Tie Domi? 

 

Nor does it have to compare to Pettersson who is taller, has better puck control, checking & shooting skilsl from the same age comparable periods. Nylander some extra agility & speed. It has to play itself out. Nothing wrong with both being good players BTW.

 

Hopefully a great player, as is in his potential, in the case of Pettersson...

[coastal.view]

1 hour ago, cory40 said:

Grönborg told Dhaliwal. “I am really anxious to see what Elias can do. We are still waiting for NHL players as well.”

Anxious to see what he can do? He just spent six months carving Sweden’s best league. What more can he do?

Sweden was widely criticized for not bringing Pettersson to the Olympics. It seems unthinkable that Pettersson could get snubbed again, so it’s likely just coach speak.

But Gradin did point out things can be much more complicated in Sweden than you’d think.

“What happens sometimes, the guys who are drafted and are belonging to other situations, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation is not always promoting those guys,” Gradin said. “Because the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation wants the Swedish players to stay home and play.”

isn't this approach a bit risky for sweden

what if elias does in fact become as good as we all hope

and is the best player sweden has

 

but he then decides to give the swedish national team some payback

and decides to skip representing them for a tournament

(of course he'll say he has some sort of injury but most players always have something not quite right)

 

and really, who has this approach worked for?

did any top swedish player stay home and skip an nhl career

to keep the national team happy ?

 

Edited April 26, 2018 by coastal.view

[Canuck Surfer]

 

7 hours ago, Canadian Clay said:

Nylander is a very good player and i would be very happy to have him on the Canucks. That said, 60 points is not elite level production especially from a player where offense is his main attribute. He also has areas to work in his game including being more agressive alng the boards/infront of the net and keeping his feet moving when going after loose pucks. 

 

Has Nylander proved himself a very good nhl player and a balueable piece to the leafs future? Yes. Has he proven himself to be a star? No. But i see no reason to assume he wont become one. Just as i see no reason to assume Pettersson wont become one. If you want to point to players who have “proved it”, pastrnak, barzal, mcdavid, kucherov, mckinnon, eichel, matthews and laine have all proven they can be elite point producers and scoring leaders on their teams. Nylander is not in that group. A more fair thing to say is “nylander has a better chance of becoming a star than pettersson because he has shown that he at least can perform well in the NHL”. Although, this ignores the 2.5 year age difference between the two, and Pettersson has outperformed nylander at similar stages in their careers

This is a good comparison. And no 60 points is not ''elite.''

 

But its awfully useful! Filip Forsberg for example scored 64 points in the NHL at Nylanders age. Has not been able to crack that since? But is widely considered invaluable in his teams attack & a star. Not a star in the calibre of Crosby, but really that should not be anyone's expectation of Nylander. Even in Toronto.  

 

In a post just above I noted that might / should translate to top years of 75 or 85 points? And probably reasonably consistent 55 to 70 point seasons. I also agree with your comparison that Bo at 50 points, considering what he does is more valuable. But no one should discount the value of a player who can still produce at WN's level.  We'll be fortunate, quite actually, for example, if Dahlen achieves that? 

4 hours ago, Eastcoast meets Westcoast said:

Credit to the older player who has played well in the regular season in Nylander. 

 

What is lost on the Nylander fan boys is that he plays a perimeter game and he will drop off significantly as the games tighten up in the playoffs. Just like his dad. He will be a good secondary player for a play off team if there is a couple of studs ahead of him. Kinda like Kessel. 

 

Nylander is the weakest link in the top of the Leafs lineup and not worth what they are going to have to pony up to keep him next year.  This was the exact reason that many of the cdc didint want Nylander. 

 

You are fooling yourself. 1/2 of CDC is still crying over his loss. I'm not. But it does not mean he has to be diminished just because he is a Leaf?

 

(Well maybe he does, rivalries are fun as is trash talk. But my own preference is to respect good players. Even if they're not Canucks.)

 

Nylander looked great at last years world championships. Has scored on and off Matthews line. Played top line & 3rd line, and 2knd line. Has well above average puck control, slashing, passing and scoring skills. He has wicked speed & agility, a formidable weapon. Even if not the perfect well rounded superstar.

[Alflives]

22 minutes ago, Canuck Surfer said:

Nylander scored back to back 60 point NHL seasons. And he's 5'11''. On a high scoring team, like Toronto is developing, that would translate to 75 or 85 points when he;'s 24. He's just 21 now.  All of these numbers lead the Canucks the last few years.  They don't get produced by being soft.

 

You were expecting the next Tie Domi? 

 

Nor does it have to compare to Pettersson who is taller, has better puck control, checking & shooting skilsl from the same age comparable periods. Nylander some extra agility & speed. It has to play itself out. Nothing wrong with both being good players BTW.

 

Hopefully a great player, as is in his potential, in the case of Pettersson...

The guys were saying ?Nylander plays too soft for the physical playoffs.  Lots of guys go MIA in playoff hockey.  That’s why Vanek always returns so little at a 

TDL, even though he has decent regular seasons.  

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Canuck Surfer said:

 

This is a good comparison. And no 60 points is not ''elite.''

 

But its awfully useful! Filip Forsberg for example scored 64 points in the NHL at Nylanders age. Has not been able to crack that since? But is widely considered invaluable in his teams attack & a star. Not a star in the calibre of Crosby, but really that should not be anyone's expectation of Nylander. Even in Toronto.  

 

In a post just above I noted that might / should translate to top years of 75 or 85 points? And probably reasonably consistent 55 to 70 point seasons. I also agree with your comparison that Bo at 50 points, considering what he does is more valuable. But no one should discount the value of a player who can still produce at WN's level.  We'll be fortunate, quite actually, for example, if Dahlen achieves that? 

You are fooling yourself. 1/2 of CDC is still crying over his loss. I'm not. But it does not mean he has to be diminished just because he is a Leaf?

 

(Well maybe he does, rivalries are fun as is trash talk. But my own preference is to respect good players. Even if they're not Canucks.)

 

Nylander looked great at last years world championships. Has scored on and off Matthews line. Played top line & 3rd line, and 2knd line. Has well above average puck control, slashing, passing and scoring skills. He has wicked speed & agility, a formidable weapon. Even if not the perfect well rounded superstar.

Sounds like a lot of Leaf’s propaganda.  The Leafs can pay Willie, double flamingo, Nylandaer a huge Cap hit.  Great!  They will not win with that type of player, so that’s good news:)

[Canuck Surfer]

Just now, Alflives said:

The guys were saying ?Nylander plays too soft for the physical playoffs.  Lots of guys go MIA in playoff hockey.  That’s why Vanek always returns so little at a 

TDL, even though he has decent regular seasons.  

The Leafs as a whole are too soft maybe?  They just took Boston to 7 games. 

 

But really, they needed a much more formidable defence. And to slow Boston through the neutral zone & in zone entries. Boston flew up ice at will.  Where Toronto had touble clearing their zone.  Toronto needs to improve their defence.  

 

A scoring winger will not solve that.  Just sour grapes on the component of Toronto's fan base that whinges like much of Vancouvers fan base.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Canuck Surfer said:

The Leafs as a whole are too soft maybe?  They just took Boston to 7 games. 

 

But really, they needed a much more formidable defence. And to slow Boston through the neutral zone & in zone entries. Boston flew up ice at will.  Where Toronto had touble clearing their zone.  Toronto needs to improve their defence.  

 

A scoring winger will not solve that.  Just sour grapes on the component of Toronto's fan base that whinges like much of Vancouvers fan base.

It’s those soft wingers jobs to slow down the other team.  WN is soft on and off pucks, or that was what the radio guys on 1050 were saying.  DeBrusk was often up against WN, and he dominated.  I think they might be the same age.  WN puts up way more regular season points, but look at the difference in how each guy effects the playoff games.  I see Pettersson as sup hyper competitive.  He’s going to be a beauty for us.  

[Rick Blight]

2 minutes ago, Canuck Surfer said:

The Leafs as a whole are too soft maybe?  They just took Boston to 7 games. 

 

But really, they needed a much more formidable defence. And to slow Boston through the neutral zone & in zone entries. Boston flew up ice at will.  Where Toronto had touble clearing their zone.  Toronto needs to improve their defence.  

 

A scoring winger will not solve that.  Just sour grapes on the component of Toronto's fan base that whinges like much of Vancouvers fan base.

I think every d-man in the league, if on the Leafs, would be criticized as poor defensively given the style of play the Leafs employ. They play the highest risk/reward style of play of any team in the NHL. Their d-men are expected to pinch constantly at the opposing blue line and are constantly forced to try 90 foot passes as their forwards cheat by leaving their own end at the slightest chance that a d-man might get control of the puck. This style results in numerous turnovers and their d-men are hung out to dry.

[aGENT]

14 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

I think every d-man in the league, if on the Leafs, would be criticized as poor defensively given the style of play the Leafs employ. They play the highest risk/reward style of play of any team in the NHL. Their d-men are expected to pinch constantly at the opposing blue line and are constantly forced to try 90 foot passes as their forwards cheat by leaving their own end at the slightest chance that a d-man might get control of the puck. This style results in numerous turnovers and their d-men are hung out to dry.

Coaching to their personnel (skilled F's, offensive D).

[Rick Blight]

1 minute ago, aGENT said:

Coaching to their personnel (skilled F's, offensive D).

Agreed, Babcock knows that gives him the best chance to win with that group. They think they can outscore the opposition if they get into a track meet.