How good is Jason Spezza?

The Sens have very high hopes on this kid so I want to know how good you think this guy will be. He has had his problems in the pros mostly with Jacques Martin not playing him because he is a defensive liability but offensively he is quite gifted.

He has been compared to Mario Lemieux by Don Cherry I think, could he be that good?

The Sens have very high hopes on this kid so I want to know how good you think this guy will be. He has had his problems in the pros mostly with Jacques Martin not playing him because he is a defensive liability but offensively he is quite gifted.

He has been compared to Mario Lemieux by Don Cherry I think, could he be that good?

Yes with hard work when he reaches his prime he could be every bit as good as Mario...assuming Mario is retired and has gained 50 lbs by then.

I love Spezza and all (and would kill to have him in LA alongside Frolov) but Lemieux is a bit of a stretch. (to put it nicely :))

I would expect him to be roughly equal dominance to Jason Allison in his prime. A top-5ish calibre centerman in the league.

Spezza has so much talent it's not even funny. I feel he is on par talent wise with player like Kovalchuk. Spezza and Allison is a good comparision, but I'm expecting more.

Similar talent to Vincent Lecavalier.

Tremendous player... too bad he's playing in Ottawa instead of Toronto.

Mike Milbury would be kicking himself for giving up the chance to draft him in lieu of Yashin's bloated contract, but he's too busy kicking himself over trading Chara, Luongo, Jokinen, etc.
That man should stick to beating Ranger fans with shoes

Jason Spezza is very talented player, he will be a 1st line center for a long time, he has all the tools but his defensive game needs a little more work, but I think that will come a long, and him and Hossa will be dynamite for a long time his playmaking ability with Hossa's goal scoring will get him a lot of points. If i were to comepare him to someone I would compare him to Doug Weight, the old doug Weight playing with Edmonton :D

Playing top two lines in Ottawa next year he's a ppg player.

I'm a big spezza fan, i think with the proper coach he can be great. He's a future 100 point guy to me.

I think Spezza will lead the league in pointscoring within 4 years. Hes got so much talent offensively its ridiculous, both putting the puck in the net and setting up. My prediction includes the continued success of either Hossa or Havlat on his line. Spezza alone though couldnt be a art ross winner but I think he will be a premier scorer in the NHL at a young age. Better than Lecavalier and will eventually pass Ilya Kovalchuk points wise but not goal scoring wise (comparison was from their draft year)

Spezza's style reminds me of Allison but I think Spezza will be far better than Allison. As skilled as Allison was, he could always be stopped by top defensemen. I think Spezza will be impossible to contain in a couple years.

Spezza's style reminds me of Allison but I think Spezza will be far better than Allison. As skilled as Allison was, he could always be stopped by top defensemen. I think Spezza will be impossible to contain in a couple years.

If allison's skating wasn't so horrible, few would have been able to stop him.

Thats why spezza wil be so deadly, his skating is so superb that you add strong skating to skill like that, results are going to be killer.

Mike Milbury would be kicking himself for giving up the chance to draft him in lieu of Yashin's bloated contract, but he's too busy kicking himself over trading Chara, Luongo, Jokinen, etc.
That man should stick to beating Ranger fans with shoes


Chara came over in the same deal that gave the sens the Spezza pick. Oh and Bill "no goals" Muckalt.

If allison's skating wasn't so horrible, few would have been able to stop him.

Thats why spezza wil be so deadly, his skating is so superb that you add strong skating to skill like that, results are going to be killer.

that can be argued. He has worked on his skating, but its far from superb. A couple more summers working out with Roberts, and he could be completely unstoppable.

Yes with hard work when he reaches his prime he could be every bit as good as Mario...assuming Mario is retired and has gained 50 lbs by then.
:D

Similar talent to Vincent Lecavalier.

Tremendous player... too bad he's playing in Ottawa instead of Toronto.

Actually it's probably the best place for the kid. He was allowed time to develop and as soon as he started playing he was playing with All-Star type of winger.

Actually it's probably the best place for the kid. He was allowed time to develop and as soon as he started playing he was playing with All-Star type of winger.
I'm sure if it was up to him he'd be playing elsewhere in Ontario......... :D

Bring him to Boston, and make him play the wing. Spezza-Thornton-Samsonov. :D

I'm sure if it was up to him he'd be playing elsewhere in Ontario......... :D

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight..........anyways, Spezza will be just fine where he is. I'm pretty sure that he will eventually be the face of the franchise for years to come. If there is ever a Stanley Cup to come to Ottawa, he'll be one of the main contributors to bringing the cup here. As for career potential, I'm going out on a limb and I'm going to say Joe Thornton minus the bad penalites. He might not be able to fight like Joe, but he won't need to.

I'm sure if it was up to him he'd be playing elsewhere in Ontario......... :D

How ridiculous. With absolutely nothing to do with the subject.

Moving on. I have had the opportunity to watch him quite a bit. He is super skilled, but I think now that the game is so good his decision making has to be much sharper. It was so easy for him before he could get away with bad decisions. Now he cant, hopefully he matures into that super star player we all want him to.

that can be argued. He has worked on his skating, but its far from superb. A couple more summers working out with Roberts, and he could be completely unstoppable.
Agreed, skating has never been Spezza's forte but he has at least worked on it to where now it's average for the nhl anyway.In juniors he was'nt a good skater at all,adequate but not really good.He's gotten better but he'll never skate like kovalchuk or someone like that but if he can improve it just a touch more it will give him the edge he needs to become a big time player in the nhl.The hands,creativity, and mind are all there..it's up to him.

His top end speed is deceptively fast, the first steps are pretty average.

oddly my favorite thread.

His top end speed is deceptively fast, the first steps are pretty average.
True,once he gets going he motors all right,he just needs those first half dozen to get it in gear.