Stepan played his best hockey with Gaborik and Anisimov last season. Stepan and Callahan never have clicked. Torts used Stepan with Callahan and Dubinsky but they never clicked. Stepan with Gaby. Richards with Nash. Of course,Richards,Gaby and Hagelin clicked at the end of last season. Where does Callahan go? Move Nash to the left with Richards and Callahan. Hagelin with Step and Gaby. Too bad Miller and McIlrath aren't ready.
The problem is that line is pillow soft. They would be manhandled by physical defensemen.
stepan needs a catalyst to play well. either nash or gaborik on his line or he's not going to be producing and not scoring goals. he's an outstanding playmaker, but that does him no good when he has nobody that can read plays/finish. richards is pretty useless without goal scorers as well, but richards as a great shot.
step is getting back into it. i thought he played fine against the flyers(not gamemaking, but not poorly). like i said in the rupp thread-- more people i'd worry about before him.
callahan specifically. he's got to be more consistent for anybody on the team to be consistent. that's his job as the captain-- getting everybody to buy in and right now he's not succeeding.
Im going to give him a little time to get his game together like most of the guys on this team, but i have my concerns as well.
I was a huge Stepan fan when he came in the league and I say was because his game has changed. For some reason he isnt physical as he was in the past and im very disappointed with the lack of skating improvement. I hear that each offseason hes working on his stride and quickness and while its a nice frame hes building for himself, I dont see any improvement there. Thats one area that if he improves would be a huge asset for him.
I dont want to jump on the guy just yet but i agree with the OP, the Rangers have put a lot more trust and responsibility on his shoulders by trading away Dubinsky and Anisimov, so hes got to put up. Hes definitely capable of it, but like some have mentioned he needs a dynamic player/skater with him to maximize his effectiveness.
We are all looking through foggy lenses right now with the crappy start this team has had so im hoping its just a slow start for him.
Obviously not playing up to his potential, along with the rest of the team. 22 years old. We all know he is a bit streaky. When he starts to turn it on, what will be considered a success? 1.5ppg?
Are we going to be having another conversation in a month when he is playing well but he somehow isn't racking up the points?
Very important thread. Stepan's role is crucial to the success of this team, this year and going forward. He impressed me his first season with his skill and tenacity. It's dropped off since then, and i've never seen that player that impressed initially show up again.
I'm not sure what his game is about, and I don't think he does either. He doesn't really excel at any area of the game. He's average in size and build and brings little to nothing to the table in terms of physicality.
The 2C role is huge for the long term success of this team, esp if we want to capitalize while our our SC window is open. Such a shame that J.Staal went to play with the wrong brother, cause he would be exactly what we need in a 2C.
Not sold on Stepan. I don't like his skillset. If he can prove me wrong and excel, great. I don't think he will and I would package him in a deal at some point, or look to bring in another top 6 C, at the deadline or FA.
Right on the money! Derek Stepan has basically maxed out his potential. He is the epitame of what's really wrong with this team and that's this; we are too small, too soft and too easy to play against.
We need bigger bodied players like Pyatt, who don't get knocked off the puck so easily and are not afraid to go into the dirty areas.
The loss of Prust(our best forechecker) has really hurt the team although it is really hard to justify paying a player 10 mil over 4 years to produce 5 or 6 goals a season.
I agree wholeheartedly with you and I would also consider moving Stepan in a package of some type.
It doesn't. However it does show that their effectiveness waned down the stretch of the season when it really mattered.
Or that they were tired from playing more minutes and games then they ever had in their lives. Oh yeah, Stepan took a vicious knee-on-knee from Orpik in one of the last games of the season. That shouldn't be taken into account.....
Obviously not playing up to his potential, along with the rest of the team. 22 years old. We all know he is a bit streaky. When he starts to turn it on, what will be considered a success? 1.5ppg?
Are we going to be having another conversation in a month when he is playing well but he somehow isn't racking up the points?
3 points in 4 games.
We all know he will produce in the long run given he plays with good finishers but the bigger issue is he is too small, too soft and never wins a lousy faceoff!
He should never be a 2C on any team especially one that is supposed to compete for a cup.
I'm not sold on the Gaborik-Richards-Nash line yet. They had a great game against Boston and were good last night. But a guy like Stepan needs a scorer to play with him.
2nd it keeps Gaborik in his natural and more comfortable position of RW.
3rd it puts a guy (Nash) that has the skillset and size needed to impose his will on a line with a skilled center and a tenacious winger.
Stepan playing with those two guys would look alot better right now as he wouldn't have to work with a guy playing his off position for the first time in years (Gabby on the LW)
Torts is trying to foce the Nash - Richards chemistry and I wouldn't have an issue with that during a full 82 game season. However, during this abbreviated season, that should not be attempted. Not so early.
We all know he will produce in the long run given he plays with good finishers but the bigger issue is he is too small, too soft and never wins a lousy faceoff!
He should never be a 2C on any team especially one that is supposed to compete for a cup.
He isn't small, he is 6'0 and he isn't soft.
He was the #2 center last year on the #1 team in the East. That puts a rather large hole in your logic. He is also above average defensively and a good PKer. I know, not important when it comes to evaluating a player.
2nd it keeps Gaborik in his natural and more comfortable position of RW.
3rd it puts a guy (Nash) that has the skillset and size needed to impose his will on a line with a skilled center and a tenacious winger.
Stepan playing with those two guys would look alot better right now as he wouldn't have to work with a guy playing his off position for the first time in years (Gabby on the LW)
Torts is trying to foce the Nash - Richards chemistry and I wouldn't have an issue with that during a full 82 game season. However, during this abbreviated season, that should not be attempted. Not so early.
While I like Stepan a lot, his skating makes me cringe every game. He has a horrible stride and stance when he's skating. Its a direct reason for his lack of speed, imo. He could be faster if he would get work on his stride.
It bears repeating but Stepan and Callahan do not, have not and probably will never look good together. Why they continue to be on the same line perplexes me. Hell they don't even PK well together. This is why our second line looks like ****. Step and Cally just do not compliment each other well.
Stepan as a rookie = 38.5%
Last year = 44.5%
This year = 44.8% (while playing the Pens and Bruins 3 of 4 games who are ALWAYS at the top of the league in face-off %)
That 16 games you're referring to isn't enough to override what I've seen in the previous 164 games.
Then you don't appreciate just how bad the Finnish league is every year. Eric Fehr started out 2ppg for some games and ended up 25p in 21gp. Stepan is looking like a lazy bum right now just like he did in Finland. And I guarantee both of those guys got the top line jobs both in PP and PK just like almost every foreign addon
