Ah that thought didn't cross my mind..was Cullen also out for a lot of those kills? Could've been the reason he got bumped up as well.
Either way still nice to see him get bumped up like that.
He was, but the last three shifts Granlund was on the 2nd line, Cullen was on the 3rd and Brodziak was on the 4th... So it's not like Cullen was resting, he was just on a different line at the end. The 2nd line would change and Cullen came out with the 3rd.
I don't use Granlund as a scapegoat; because I never felt his hype was warranted. And I've seen NOTHING this season from him to change my opinion of that.
But all the Finnish Baby Jesus fanatics keep coming up with excuses for him, so they finally get their wish and plays major power play time, and is once again unimpressive, scared, and not productive. What excuse are people going to use now for him?
And as far as the Zucker goal that Granlund was on the ice for ..... take a look at the replay... pretty sure we got away with ANOTHER Granlund offsides. I've never seen a player offsides more than Granlund in my life. It is amazing.
Granlund was fine, and did his job both at even strength and brought some creativity to top PP.
No need to attack him after every single game. You don't like him, that's fine, but at least try to be a bit more objective. This wasn't his best game, no, but he was OK.
I don't use Granlund as a scapegoat; because I never felt his hype was warranted. And I've seen NOTHING this season from him to change my opinion of that.
i'm still waiting him to be himself, as he is been from game one totally different player than before. where's all those smart little plays he used to do? hope he starts to deliver them soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dampland
But all the Finnish Baby Jesus fanatics keep coming up with excuses for him, so they finally get their wish and plays major power play time, and is once again unimpressive, scared, and not productive. What excuse are people going to use now for him?
did look just fine, not phenomenal though.. remember it was their first game together
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dampland
And as far as the Zucker goal that Granlund was on the ice for ..... take a look at the replay... pretty sure we got away with ANOTHER Granlund offsides. I've never seen a player offsides more than Granlund in my life. It is amazing.
lets see.. yes you're right, really close to be offside, take a closer look MiG watches all the time to his right side when moving his left feet thats no offside thats perfect timing, and that move ends to being rush to the corner where he draws away three opponent players away from scoring area. that's no coincidence that's his game we have been waiting, just genius move and led to important goal. i'm fine with that replay.
Last edited by behemolari: 02-27-2013 at 02:08 AM.
I don't use Granlund as a scapegoat; because I never felt his hype was warranted. And I've seen NOTHING this season from him to change my opinion of that.
But all the Finnish Baby Jesus fanatics keep coming up with excuses for him, so they finally get their wish and plays major power play time, and is once again unimpressive, scared, and not productive. What excuse are people going to use now for him?
And as far as the Zucker goal that Granlund was on the ice for ..... take a look at the replay... pretty sure we got away with ANOTHER Granlund offsides. I've never seen a player offsides more than Granlund in my life. It is amazing.
That just means that you never saw him play before coming to the NHL.
I don't use Granlund as a scapegoat; because I never felt his hype was warranted. And I've seen NOTHING this season from him to change my opinion of that.
But all the Finnish Baby Jesus fanatics keep coming up with excuses for him, so they finally get their wish and plays major power play time, and is once again unimpressive, scared, and not productive. What excuse are people going to use now for him?
And as far as the Zucker goal that Granlund was on the ice for ..... take a look at the replay... pretty sure we got away with ANOTHER Granlund offsides. I've never seen a player offsides more than Granlund in my life. It is amazing.
Granlund will not fail because you for some odd reason seem to want him to. Nor will he succeed because I say he will. But saying he's brutal when he very clearly is not is just frustration talking.
Just get a grip and take a closer look. Or move further away, which ever works for you. Both of the 5 men PP units were actually functioning pretty good today. Much better than before. Moved the puck and took shots. True they didn't score, but they came very very close on several plays. And Granlund was good out there.
The offside crap you came up with is just utter bollocks. Shake that frustration. It does not look good on you.
That Granlund to Parise to Spurgeon situation on the powerplay was perfect. He skated with the puck towards the blue line and the Calgary PKers followed him and that created space for Parise to pass it to Spurgeon right on front of the net but freaking Spurgeon can´t lift the puck from the ice....
The PP looked better than before, they seemed to have more moves and more creativity. I'm sure it's not just because of Granlund, but for the most part he looked fine. He did a nice job overall. Sure, there were some mistakes but that was to be expected. Liked his and Koivu's little passes to each other, those could open up some serious space if they keep working on it. MiG and Parise also set up Spurgeon really nicely, but of course he missed on that one as well.
Not gonna make a guess on where he's going to be in the next game. Could be 4th line + PP1, 4th line + PP2 or the press box.
"He's an incredibly humble and motivated kid. For a guy who's had as much success as he's had, he's not coming here pointing fingers or making excuses or anything. He's just trying to get better. I've seen him make changes already in his own game that will lead to more success here."
Quote:
Still, Granlund was not expected to play on the fourth line. Asked if the Wild would ever consider sending him to Houston to regain confidence and a bigger role, Yeo said, "If we feel we get to a point where his game is not progressing or even regressing, then for sure.
"But even though his role hasn't been as important as people thought maybe it would be at the start of the year, he's helped us win. He's finding ways to be effective, and I've seen progress in his game."
Seems Yeo is smarter than i thought afterall. Sending Mikke back to Houston is an option only if he stops improving. He's been making progress and that's what we all need from him. I don't think Mikke can learn all that much in AHL, he is a star over there already. Now what he needs is experience in the big league. Gradually he will be given more responsibility as he makes strides to better his game.
The most important game to evaluate Granlund as an NHL player, will be the season opener next year. If he has bulked up, then he'll be just fine, if not, there is not much of a future for him in the league. Most small players are very strong for their size, while Granlund is just as weak as he looks. He wins about 1 in 20 battles along the boards, and if the opponent gets a slight deflection on the puck when MG is handling it, he is never strong enough to battle possesion back.
I thought he looked much much better than his first few games. He fought much harder along the boards and was very effective on the power play. The last few games have been the first reason I've had for any optimism about him and I think the points will start coming soon.
The most important game to evaluate Granlund as an NHL player, will be the season opener next year. If he has bulked up, then he'll be just fine, if not, there is not much of a future for him in the league. Most small players are very strong for their size, while Granlund is just as weak as he looks. He wins about 1 in 20 battles along the boards, and if the opponent gets a slight deflection on the puck when MG is handling it, he is never strong enough to battle possesion back.
I agree with this. Not only bulking up a bit, but also processing everything he learns this season and working on things in the offseason. I fully believe next year he will start living up to the hype.
Biggest improvement I noticed last night is Granlund didn't panic when he got back-pressure in the offensive zone. Before he would instantly cough up the puck or do an ill-time dump to somebody that would get intercepted.
Last night he actually calmed down a bit, stuck his butt into defenders, protected the puck, and made a good little pass or waited until the defender gave up.
Granlund looks weak, hesitant, and slow. Don't know if you can improve on the latter much, but the first two qualities can get better in the future. Nice hands, see no evidence of a shot at this point.
The contrast between Granlund and Brodin is striking. Having seen neither player much before this year I would've guessed that JoBro is the highly touted prospect and MG the "maybe" guy, when it fact it was the other way around.
Both players are still young. Barring injury, Brodin looks to be a near franchise player... Dare I say Salming?
I thought he looked EXCELLENT on the PP last night. He was in his natural spot on the right half wall and really slowed it down and controlled the play from there. Moved the puck well, moved his feet well, and took a few very good wrist shots. He does need to quicken that release and hit the net though, as does everyone else on our team pretty much. Big improvement IMO.
5-on-5, he didn't do much until he got to play with good players.
Seems Yeo is smarter than i thought afterall. Sending Mikke back to Houston is an option only if he stops improving. He's been making progress and that's what we all need from him. I don't think Mikke can learn all that much in AHL, he is a star over there already. Now what he needs is experience in the big league. Gradually he will be given more responsibility as he makes strides to better his game.
Maybe in the long run this will work out with him not going down to Houston. It is still weird he's the 4c a lot though...
I can't deny that Granlund has continued to improve almost every game he has played. This says so much about the kid, it's really cool.
Biggest improvement I noticed last night is Granlund didn't panic when he got back-pressure in the offensive zone. Before he would instantly cough up the puck or do an ill-time dump to somebody that would get intercepted.
Last night he actually calmed down a bit, stuck his butt into defenders, protected the puck, and made a good little pass or waited until the defender gave up.
I thought he looked EXCELLENT on the PP last night. He was in his natural spot on the right half wall and really slowed it down and controlled the play from there. Moved the puck well, moved his feet well, and took a few very good wrist shots. He does need to quicken that release and hit the net though, as does everyone else on our team pretty much. Big improvement IMO.
5-on-5, he didn't do much until he got to play with good players.
Still waiting for Yeo to do this. His game does not suit the 3rd/4th line. His game is perfect compliment to other skill players. Swap him and Coyle, and see how he looks.
To put things into perspective, if you adjust for ice time, Granlund's current pace offensively wouldn't surpass James Sheppard's rookie season at 19.
Oh man thank you for putting things into perspective. Plus, these are really comparable situations for the two of them...man I guess the conclusion I have to come to here is that Granlund isn't as good as Sheppard.
He definitely needs to stay on that first line PP unit. Ideally, I want him regularly on that second line, too. Maybe he is going there very soon since he was playing there for a bit last night. He needs surrounded by good players he will make better and they will make him better, allowing him to use the skill that he is so blessed with.
To put things into perspective, if you adjust for ice time, Granlund's current pace offensively wouldn't surpass James Sheppard's rookie season at 19.
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Originally Posted by Dee Oh Cee
Oh man thank you for putting things into perspective. Plus, these are really comparable situations for the two of them...man I guess the conclusion I have to come to here is that Granlund isn't as good as Sheppard.
