Zuccarello, if he had maintained the same pace over a full season, would have managed 11. Stepan and Zuccarello are not comparisons as players in general, let alone their respective future potential.
So Stepan has potential 30-40 ability and MZA has potential 20-30 ability...does that mean Zucc isn't useful? I agree Stepan has higher potential, but MZA has plenty too. And you are discounting his growth potential too much. He's young enough to improve, plus he has to adapt to the NHL style. But Stepan had to do the same coming from college. Reality is both have room to grow and both put up a 40+ pt pace in their first NHL seasons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyr2k2
I think we saw last year that it will certainly translate into points. Even if he's just a 20-20 guy that contributes nothing else, there will always be a demand for him. IMO.
Agreed! And he really needs to be given a shot. Even if he tops out as a 15-35 guy that's fine. You need passers and playmakers in order to score goals. Besides, are we really in a position to be turning down skilled wingers who have 50 pt upside...how many 50+ pt wingers do we have right now? 3??
I think people are just cynical with the euro style and biased against skill guys. Look at Montreal a team we have a lot of trouble with...how many of their guys are speedy midgets? lol
Agreed with you to a 100%
Hope I`m not guilty in hyping him to much. When the heck is "aftenposten debatt" be back and running again?
All the cool kids are hangin around in the hockeymagasinet.no forums, so I don't care anymore And we don't have all of Politisk_ukorrekts' derails there either.
To all of our Norwegian friends: do not let others make you feel unwelcome. HF Rangers is glad to have you on board. And discuss Zuccarello as much as you'd like.
"Mats Zuccarello, too, is looking for a permanent spot on the team after the Norwegian split his first season in North American between the Rangers and Connecticut (AHL).
“I thought it was a tremendous year for him and I liked the way he handled himself, coming over here and playing in the big rinks,” Tortorella said. “Really I thought he was a little bit overwhelmed early on. He knew. He didn’t put up a fight. He self-assessed the proper way and went down. Really he had an impact as far as us getting in (the playoffs) in some of the things he did, especially the shootout. The second year comes along, he understands us better, we understand him better and you’re always looking for consistency. He knows where he’s at. He knows where he’s fighting to get a job and he knows he’s in a fight.”
"Mats Zuccarello, too, is looking for a permanent spot on the team after the Norwegian split his first season in North American between the Rangers and Connecticut (AHL).
“I thought it was a tremendous year for him and I liked the way he handled himself, coming over here and playing in the big rinks,” Tortorella said. “Really I thought he was a little bit overwhelmed early on. He knew. He didn’t put up a fight. He self-assessed the proper way and went down. Really he had an impact as far as us getting in (the playoffs) in some of the things he did, especially the shootout. The second year comes along, he understands us better, we understand him better and you’re always looking for consistency. He knows where he’s at. He knows where he’s fighting to get a job and he knows he’s in a fight.”
Don't tell Tort that the rinks are even bigger in Europe. Inspirational for Zuccarello though. As (another) Norwegian I would like to thank the welcoming of Norwegians to express or admiration for him. I don't want him to succeed JUST because he is Norwegian like another guy said he did, but mainly because he is a very very sympathetic guy, and a very entertaining hockey player. Many Norwegian athletes I couldn't care less what happend to, including some hockey pros, but he is special.
And I am pretty sure he will succeed, and hope it will be with Rangers.
Don't tell Tort that the rinks are even bigger in Europe. Inspirational for Zuccarello though. As (another) Norwegian I would like to thank the welcoming of Norwegians to express or admiration for him. I don't want him to succeed JUST because he is Norwegian like another guy said he did, but mainly because he is a very very sympathetic guy, and a very entertaining hockey player. Many Norwegian athletes I couldn't care less what happend to, including some hockey pros, but he is special.
And I am pretty sure he will succeed, and hope it will be with Rangers.
I agree. The few times i've seen MZA coming out of the Garden when I was waiting for autos, he was very personable and incredibly nice, much more receptive to fans than many other players in the league. Seems like a very nice guy.
I'm also high on his skills as a hockey player, too, as an American.
To all of our Norwegian friends: do not let others make you feel unwelcome. HF Rangers is glad to have you on board. And discuss Zuccarello as much as you'd like.
Thank you very much. It`s nice to read post like this.
Also Zucca has recruted me ass a Rangers fan. I`m still gonna root for them,with or without him.The more I follow Rangers,and getting to "know" all of their players,the more I love the Rangers.
To all of our Norwegian friends: do not let others make you feel unwelcome. HF Rangers is glad to have you on board. And discuss Zuccarello as much as you'd like.
Agreed. You're always welcome as far as I'm concerned (and this is coming from someone who lived in Sweden for two years).
The fact that Zucc plays for the rangers, is just a big bonus for me. The first time i really opened my eyes for the ranger, was in february 2009. I was in the big apple on vacation and went to a rangers game (witch they lost against florida panthers) and was hooked. MSG is the one of the greates arenas ive ever seen in my life.
But to the point; I think zucs going to have to impress alot in camp to earn a spot on the roster. Im afraid he will start in the ahl, but probably going to fight his way back on the team when we get some injuries on our offensive lines.
The fact that Zucc plays for the rangers, is just a big bonus for me. The first time i really opened my eyes for the ranger, was in february 2009. I was in the big apple on vacation and went to a rangers game (witch they lost against florida panthers) and was hooked. MSG is the one of the greates arenas ive ever seen in my life.
But to the point; I think zucs going to have to impress alot in camp to earn a spot on the roster. Im afraid he will start in the ahl, but probably going to fight his way back on the team when we get some injuries on our offensive lines.
I must say that I'm not confident about MZA's long-term value on the smaller ice surface, but I do welcome the interest and enthusiasm from Norwegian fans. Scandinavians in general are good folks in my book.
Hey guys,
I'm just wondering if anyone would be interested in updating the Rangers line combinations on a new website I've created over the course of the season?
Anyone can do it as long as you're registered.
I apologize if anyone is offended and feels this isn't the place to ask - but I definitely didn't want to start a new thread.
Just so you know, I'm not making any money on the site and don't even have any advertising. My goal is to create a completely free site for users with the most up-to-date information. I watch a ton of hockey but in all honesty I rarely catch the Rangers so I'm not the best person to post the line combos as the season progresses.
I know this is a discussion board the lines are so much in the air that anything can happen at this point. Miller looked pretty good in the only period i watched last night. I didnt see to much of Hagelin who i was looking out for nor did i see much of Erixon, however i did notice Hagelin looked somewhat smaller than he did in the prospects tourney which is a bit of a negative. But im hoping to see these 3 again on Fri and also Zucc who i have confiedence in to be a strong contributor not on the 1st line as he does not suit with Gabby and Richards but more on a line with other kinda of guys or forwards. Id actually like a line of Miller, Zucc and Hagelin in a preseason or possibly with Avery.
BTW, I think it's quite clear that Zuccarello is the player for the job -- I like Hagelin, but he doesn't look to be NHL ready.
Based on those line combos though he's slotted next to Rupp and Stepan. I'd rather Avery if that lines getting 8 minutes a night. I guess Zuc could get some power play time as well I just hope he's not getting less than 10 minutes a night if he's up here.
Awesome, and I always thought it was that way. Everybody saying we need to keep a spot open for a kid should see why that's a bad thought process after seeing how no kids are ready for the NHL. Hope MZA impresses, we could use his talent in a big way.
surpised i haven't seen these posted elsewhere about MZA (very possible i missed it)
AGrossRecord Andrew Gross @
@danilo1717 At this point, Zuccarello might have to play himself off, not onto, the team.
16 hours ago
@AGrossRecord Andrew Gross
Very good sign for Mats Zuccarello that he's heavily involved with #NYR PP practice. On a unit with Boyle and Stepan.
the writing is on the wall, its his spot to lose
Yeah I think this was pretty obvious as soon as those practice groups came out yesterday.
Because honestly, who is competing for that spot with Zuke? Avery? We all know how Torts feels about him and if it comes down to Sean vs. 24 year old with offensive upside is there really a question who is going to win out for Torts?
My only issue with it is Zuke being used on the 4th line makes no sense to me. It would make more sense if Renney was coaching this team or we had someone who was committed to rolling 4 lines, but that's not usually the case with Torts. Obviously him being used on the PP makes a ton of sense and depending on how much ice he gets there makes it a better decision.
At this point Avery is looking like the 13th forward/Hartford callup and will get random games when Torts thinks that Zuke or someone else is slacking (or injuries) and he thinks this team needs an infusion of energy.
I like Zucc a lot but I don't think he can last an entire season.
I still strongly feel that the Rangers need to add more size to the entire organization.
They have the size on defense but our forwards throughout the system are small.
IF they could move Zucc for a Bryan Bickel type guy, I think it would benefit the Rangers more than having Step, Zucc, possibly Hagelin or Bourque all on the 3rd and 4th lines.
And we don't have all of Politisk_ukorrekts' derails there either.
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