Nils Hoglander | #21 | LW

[DeNiro]

3 minutes ago, Fred65 said:

Why I asked that question was simple do fans really appreciate Virtanen ie would a clone be considered a success. Every poster has offered a caveat to the comparison which suggests to me folks are not as high on Virtenen as they profess  I have no idea what Podkolzn is or will be but he is at the #10 spot supposed to be better than Virtanen at the #6 spot was/is  

Well I think people have higher expectations for Podkolzin because he was projected to go 3-5 in a lot of mock drafts throughout the year so people feel like we got a steal.

 

There’s a reason why people like Craig Button and the Hockey News are giving him so much hype. He plays an NHL level game already at 18. Only thing he needs to work on is his finish, which is tough against men at that age.

[Fred65]

12 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

Well I think people have higher expectations for Podkolzin because he was projected to go 3-5 in a lot of mock drafts throughout the year so people feel like we got a steal.

 

There’s a reason why people like Craig Button and the Hockey News are giving him so much hype. He plays an NHL level game already at 18. Only thing he needs to work on is his finish, which is tough against men at that age.

Sure people have that right, it was more a question of what fans anticipate rather than deal with reality I suppose. Fans always howl at the moon pre prospects arrival and then have to deal with reality after they arrive 

[aGENT]

21 hours ago, Fred65 said:

Why I asked that question was simple do fans really appreciate Virtanen ie would a clone be considered a success. Every poster has offered a caveat to the comparison which suggests to me folks are not as high on Virtenen as they profess  I have no idea what Podkolzn is or will be but he is at the #10 spot supposed to be better than Virtanen at the #6 spot was/is  

I get what you're saying but... A player drafted at 'x' slot in one draft has very little bearing on another player from another draft.

 

Drafts vary a lot in quality and depth from one year to the next. And individual players are just that. Individuals.

 

Besides, hopefully what we're seeing this year is the start of Virtanen actually starting to at least close in on living up to some people's draft expectations!

Edited December 23, 2019 by aGENT

[higgyfan]

21 hours ago, Fred65 said:

Why I asked that question was simple do fans really appreciate Virtanen ie would a clone be considered a success. Every poster has offered a caveat to the comparison which suggests to me folks are not as high on Virtenen as they profess  I have no idea what Podkolzn is or will be but he is at the #10 spot supposed to be better than Virtanen at the #6 spot was/is  

Virtanen seems to be progressing well of late, but it has been a long process.  I don't see Podz as a comparison, as they have very different skillsets.  The one thing that impresses me about Podz is his relentless motor and drive, which I don't really see in Virt.  This is something that can't be taught and can push a player to his highest ability.  I think he will develop a lot quicker than Jake.

[stawns]

3 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

Virtanen seems to be progressing well of late, but it has been a long process.  I don't see Podz as a comparison, as they have very different skillsets.  The one thing that impresses me about Podz is his relentless motor and drive, which I don't really see in Virt.  This is something that can't be taught and can push a player to his highest ability.  I think he will develop a lot quicker than Jake.

I don't think Podz has the offense that Jake has (that is now coming to the surface) though.

[higgyfan]

31 minutes ago, stawns said:

I don't think Podz has the offense that Jake has (that is now coming to the surface) though.

Podz will never have Jake's speed either.  If Jake continues to progress (beyond the 20 g mark) he will be a top 6 player.

 

Hopefully Podz will become the 20g power forward that we have been hoping for all these years. 

[Guest]

Podz is a better defensive forward then Virtanen. 
 

Jake’s got a better shot and more speed, better offensive game. 
 

We’ll see who’s got the size advantage  but they’re both going to be way above average. 

[theo5789]

2 hours ago, stawns said:

I don't think Podz has the offense that Jake has (that is now coming to the surface) though.

Jake was a PPG guy in junior as an 18 year old. Pod is 2 PPG (albeit in 2 games only) in his junior level as an 18 year old, so who knows what his numbers would be in Juniors (we won't know because he's playing against men already).

 

Pod is 0.5 PPG in their "AHL". Jake had 19 points in 65 games as a 20 year old in the AHL.

 

Pod may not have the numbers in the KHL yet, but he's been deemed good enough to see minutes there as an 18 year old. Jake did crack the NHL roster as an 19 year old, but it was NHL or back to juniors for him at that point. It's an unfortunate situation for his development because he was too good for junior but couldn't play in the AHL at that point.

 

Podkolzin's offense is underrated at this point because he's already committed and strong on the defensive side of the game on top of the fact the level of competition he's facing. This part of the game had to be developed with Jake while Pod will have this mindset already and have a running start to his NHL career with a couple of years against men already too.

[flickyoursedin]

3 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Podz is a better defensive forward then Virtanen. 
 

Jake’s got a better shot and more speed, better offensive game. 
 

We’ll see who’s got the size advantage  but they’re both going to be way above average. 

Podz is better offensively than Jake. Jake seemed to get his points in junior by bulldozing through players and speed. Podz can be a wizard with the puck and think the game much better than Virtanen can. 
 

 

[Noble 6]

40 minutes ago, flickyoursedin said:

Podz is better offensively than Jake. Jake seemed to get his points in junior by bulldozing through players and speed. Podz can be a wizard with the puck and think the game much better than Virtanen can. 
 

 

 

 

This is almost the exact same thing.

[theo5789]

9 minutes ago, Horvat is a Boss said:

 

 

This is almost the exact same thing.

Nice, but I would suggest that Pod did it against the best that USA could offer compared to a junior league where Virt regularly dominated players with his size alone. Also Pod did it while defending a 1 goal bronze medal game. A beautiful thing to have two players that can play a power game like this though.

[Derp...]

If you want to compare and contrast Podkolzin and Virtanen. 

Virtanen Wins:
Straight line speed
One timer Velocity
Snapshot Accuracy
Hitting

Podkolzin wins:
Lateral Mobility
Dekeing/Puck protection
Passing
Cycle Game
Defensive coverage
Overall creativity/deception
 

If I was to describe Podkolzin he reminds me of J.T. Miller. Expect a creative passer who is great along the walls, and in front of the net with a heavy shot, above average speed and hands. Great battle level in all 3 zones, can sometimes try to do too much or be too cute with the puck. Has the ability to be a game breaker at times, with a bit of tunnel vision to the net.

 

[higgyfan]

4 minutes ago, Derp... said:

If you want to compare and contrast Podkolzin and Virtanen. 

Virtanen Wins:
Straight line speed
One timer Velocity
Snapshot Accuracy
Hitting

Podkolzin wins:
Lateral Mobility
Dekeing/Puck protection
Passing
Cycle Game
Defensive coverage
Overall creativity/deception
 

If I was to describe Podkolzin he reminds me of J.T. Miller. Expect a creative passer who is great along the walls, and in front of the net with a heavy shot, above average speed and hands. Great battle level in all 3 zones, can sometimes try to do too much or be too cute with the puck. Has the ability to be a game breaker at times, with a bit of tunnel vision to the net.

 

I think you should add the physical compent; I've seen him lay some massive hits.  His tremendous drive and endless 'motor' are important in his assessment as well.  Having Jake and Podz in the lineup will make the team tougher  to play against.

[TGT68]

What thread do you guys think you are in?

[Derp...]

6 minutes ago, TGT68 said:

What thread do you guys think you are in?

Honestly didn't even look before posting. Assumed it was Podkolzin lol. My brain is in the World Juniors thread, which is all threads for players in the WJC.

[higgyfan]

25 minutes ago, TGT68 said:

What thread do you guys think you are in?

Hogs and Podz?

[Guest]

Hahaha this is reminding me of kids being caught red handed by the principle. 
 

Come on, smarten up, this is Hoglander thread! 

Edited December 24, 2019 by VancouverHabitant

[khay]

On 12/21/2019 at 12:25 PM, Fred65 said:

Will fans be happy if he follows the same track as Virtanen ?

But Pod seems like the opposite of Virt. Pod plays great away from the puck, forechecks hard, and plays the body already whereas Virt had skating and size but didn't understanding defensive positioning and play away from the puck in general.

 

For Pod, it sounds like the issue will be skating and doing things offensively at high speed. That's something he will need to work on in while he is in Russia. When he comes over, hopefully he will have already improved on his weaknesses.

 

It sounds like Pod is likely to be the next Burrows, scoring 40-60 points and compliment EP and Boeser on the 1st line.

 

[DontFockWithBrock]

Hog with a lacrosse goal against Finland in day 1 of the world juniors!! 

Edited December 26, 2019 by DontFockWithBrock
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[-Vintage Canuck-]