Why is Höglander so good? And can he win some hardware?

[Ballisticsports.]

2 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Early in his career, Theo Fleury was such a feisty lil'bast*rd you had to admire it. There's much more to his story, but(although I hated the Lames) in the 90's, I really admired this guy's skill & tenacity.

 

Starting to think NH can become such a player - & quickly too. He's so much fun to watch..my word, the drafting lately!

I read back 1/2 of your post first about Lames in 90's 

I thought you were going to say Hakan Loob 

[PetterssonOrPeterson]

Hoglander is one of those guys that have so much heart and is fearless.

It's fitting he chose 36 as his number, although I think skill-wise he can develop into a better player than Hansen was.

[Toyotasfan]

I can see Pius Suter in Chicago winning it, he’s on their top line with Kane who’s having a pretty good season. Hoglander could be right there til the end. He’s built like a tank for a short guy.

[xereau]

He plays the game like Theoren Fleury. He was small, but he was a  hell of a player in his prime.

 

Brendan Gallagher x 10.

[xereau]

55 minutes ago, PetterssonOrPeterson said:

Hoglander is one of those guys that have so much heart and is fearless.

It's fitting he chose 36 as his number, although I think skill-wise he can develop into a better player than Hansen was.

Already is better.

[GhostsOf1994]

1 hour ago, IBatch said:

Ty Smith is probably going to win it if things keep up....

Gonna be real hard with the devils having to play 10 more games at this point left in the season vs most of the other teams. 

 

Surprised at him tbh

 

 

[cuporbust]

Tied for 2nd in rookie scorring , and by far the best overall game of the bunch IMO. One point away from being tied for first. Calder watch is officially on . 

Edited February 19, 2021 by cuporbust

[Provost]

I don't think he will necessarily win the Calder, but I think he is a really good chance to be a finalist... which is crazy.

I don't believe any team in modern history has had 4 consecutive Calder finalists... I think when I last looked there were a couple of teams that had 3... 

I originally thought he had a good chance to make the roster (mostly for cap reasons honestly.. but I also suggested it would be smart because it gives him a year of experience before Podkolzin comes, and a Hoglander-Horvat-Podkolzin lines seems to have the right mix on paper to complement each other... and it isn't likely they would want two rookies on the same line), but I ended up buying into the fact he would need another year of prep.

[cuporbust]

1 hour ago, 24K PureCool said:

Calder is Kaprizov to lose. What is important is point per game and Nils is a bit behind on that. Can see a top 3 finish though. 

7 games in hand is a pretty wide margin in a short year I agree. 

[kloubek]

Hoglander would not be the same player if he had less of either effort or skill. But he has both. He is also a rare example where you can't write off a smaller guy.

Put another way: If all our players had his drive, we would probably win the cup. That's high praise.

[Junkyard Dog]

19 minutes ago, Provost said:

I don't think he will necessarily win the Calder, but I think he is a really good chance to be a finalist... which is crazy.

I don't believe any team in modern history has had 4 consecutive Calder finalists... I think when I last looked there were a couple of teams that had 3... 

I originally thought he had a good chance to make the roster (mostly for cap reasons honestly.. but I also suggested it would be smart because it gives him a year of experience before Podkolzin comes, and a Hoglander-Horvat-Podkolzin lines seems to have the right mix on paper to complement each other... and it isn't likely they would want two rookies on the same line), but I ended up buying into the fact he would need another year of prep.

I think Pod may have a Horvat developmental path. He may start in the bottom 6. 
 

IDK if Pod will be a finalist next year but he’ll age like a fine wine. 
 

We’ve seen youngsters have their ups and downs from years 1-3 like Boeser last year with his shot, this year Hughes with his D play and Petey with his confidence. At some point within the next 3 years we could likely see Hog go through struggles.

 

Perhaps re-signing a guy like Pearson would help short term since he brings stability with how consistent he is and he will serve as a stop gap for a young guy like Pod to take over that top 6 spot. If a guy is good enough to  push him down to the 3rd line then we probably have a good top 9. 
 

It all depends on the cap though and how bad Pearson wants to stay here. I’d we can’t clear cap IDK if we can give Pearson a fair contract. 
 

If we struggled this year we could end up trading him though which could also spell the end of his time in Vancouver.  Don’t really see traded UFAs re-sign with the team that traded them much.
 

A lot of variables to consider.  If we do trade Pearson hopefully we can get a bargain top 9 player that can play up and down the lineup.

[Nave]

I think we have another Calder finalist on our hands.

Hoglander has an amazing combination of skill and tenacity. He's become even more confident the past few games, and I think he'll start scoring at a higher clip as that line is starting to gel.

 

I'm also really excited with Ty Smith. The Devils are my second favourite team, and he's been amazing. 

 

This Calder race is more wide open than it's been in years. Kaprizov, Lankinen, Kurashev, and Suter have been really good as well. It's kinda crazy the last 3 are all on the Blackhawks. Maybe we'll have a renewed rivalry with Chicago in a few years.  

[Father Ryan]

6 hours ago, Devron44 said:

Also his power is all of those things but the reason he’s in the NHL and so good at his age is Effort. Lots of guys have a similar talent but can’t make an NHL roster at his age 

His drive to excel, in every game, is damn near off the charts. In this season of doubtful playoffs for Vancouver, Nils is a delight to watch. If Virt had this drive...he'd be freakin' scary!

[-DLC-]

1.  We deserve him

2.  Yes

[WHL rocks]

6 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Not just drafting. You have to be the right type of player. Some players like Hoagy play bigger than his size. The fact he has no fear and goes into traffic, and is the one that skates out with the puck. That alone is enough to make anyone a fan. But back that up with some skill. Total sleeper 

Canucks had him ranked in the 1st round. They were so happy to get him in the 2nd.

 

That made giving up the 1st for Miller easier. JB talked about it back then. Canucks were very high on him. 

 

Great pick. 

[WHL rocks]

1 hour ago, Father Ryan said:

His drive to excel, in every game, is damn near off the charts. In this season of doubtful playoffs for Vancouver, Nils is a delight to watch. If Virt had this drive...he'd be freakin' scary!

And we have Podz coming in next season. His motor revs even higher and he has size.

 

Great drafting last few years.

[MattJVD]

I would be surprised if Nils wins the Calder, but it's a possibility. He's been really impressive so far and has exceeded my expectations. I wasn't sure he was going to be an NHL regular this year

[The Lock]

5 minutes ago, MattJVD said:

I would be surprised if Nils wins the Calder, but it's a possibility. He's been really impressive so far and has exceeded my expectations. I wasn't sure he was going to be an NHL regular this year

Yeah. Honestly, I'm happy he's just in this discussion to begin with at this point in time.

[ShawnAntoski]

3 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said:

I think Pod may have a Horvat developmental path. He may start in the bottom 6. 
 

IDK if Pod will be a finalist next year but he’ll age like a fine wine. 
 

We’ve seen youngsters have their ups and downs from years 1-3 like Boeser last year with his shot, this year Hughes with his D play and Petey with his confidence. At some point within the next 3 years we could likely see Hog go through struggles.

 

Perhaps re-signing a guy like Pearson would help short term since he brings stability with how consistent he is and he will serve as a stop gap for a young guy like Pod to take over that top 6 spot. If a guy is good enough to  push him down to the 3rd line then we probably have a good top 9. 
 

It all depends on the cap though and how bad Pearson wants to stay here. I’d we can’t clear cap IDK if we can give Pearson a fair contract. 
 

If we struggled this year we could end up trading him though which could also spell the end of his time in Vancouver.  Don’t really see traded UFAs re-sign with the team that traded them much.
 

A lot of variables to consider.  If we do trade Pearson hopefully we can get a bargain top 9 player that can play up and down the lineup.

Great points but (imo) the ED will be a factor when it comes to signing him or other FA as well.

Edited February 19, 2021 by ShawnAntoski

[Laheys Liquor]

The guy gets better every single game. Incredible to watch. And we are truly blessed to see 3 straight calder finalists, and now it's looking like 4. 

My prediction he finishes somewhere in the top 3 in scoring, and top 3 in Calder voting. 

Will we keep this Calder nomination/win streak going with Podkolzin next year?