I am curious to know what Bolts fans are expecting from Victor Hedman, both next season as well as down the road. Especially his offensive game.
Yzerman locks him up until 2017 for 4M a year.
His PPG has gone up every season he has been in the show.
Thanks
More.
It's not as if he's bad... He looked GREAT coming back from his concussion, then he got injured again, and regressed. I want him to be more physical. For a guy so big, he barely ever hits. That was what made him good after his concussion.
We need a defenseman to play with him that can cover up when he wants to go on offense. Its oddly similar to how Suter covers up for Weber when Weber roams to play offense. Oddly enough, Suter is available.
In the future I think Hedman can be a 40 point dman that plays stellar defense against other teams top players. Im slightly concerned about his concussion history already though.
Would like to see how he would do with better team-mates in defense
This pretty much. The playoffs and this past season were good steps for Hedman. For periods of time this past year, it was glorious watching him. Like "**** yeah, this is what I'm talking about." and at other times, though they weren't as apparent after his injury oddly enough, his play was head-scratching worthy.
Hoping he puts it together consistently next year. Because we now know he can do it for more than just a single game, but rather games at a time.
Only reason people are questioning him is because he was the 2nd pick and hasn't become a star yet, and players like Karlson, Pietrangelo and OEL have passed him so far. His first couple of years he was getting used to the smaller ice and physical game, this past season he had some injuries. I think he's only gonna be getting better, his offensive game is getting better and he should signs of being tougher. He's also 6'6 and it takes longer for big D to get their skating fluid, I'd take him over Karlson cause he plays both ways and Karlson is a foward playing D. We also need to get him a better partner to Brewer, Brewer had a pretty bad season so made Hedman look bad too. I see him being an all star in 2 years.
Again, he was able to step into the lineup at 18, but his scouting report was always saying he wouldn't hit his stride until hes around 23-24. Big kid, has to fill out and get less awkward on his skates, and lose the "i'm a kid" mentality.
Defenseman usually play their best hockey after age 28. That gives Hedman 6 more years to pan out before I can say what I expected from him was not achieved. Anything before age 28 is goody for me.
I expect him to continue progressing at the pace he is. Other people who are fans of other teams that don't watch him play look at the stat line and wave him off as a "bust" (as far as a 2nd overall pick goes) which is frankly ludicrous.
Patience with this guy and he will be the keystone of the Defensive core for years to come.
We need a defenseman to play with him that can cover up when he wants to go on offense. Its oddly similar to how Suter covers up for Weber when Weber roams to play offense. Oddly enough, Suter is available.
In the future I think Hedman can be a 40 point dman that plays stellar defense against other teams top players. Im slightly concerned about his concussion history already though.
I'd say this.
Every season he's progressed and he had a lot on his plate this past season with the way our D played. I'll be happy if he continually plays great shutdown defense each night against the top lines. I'm not really too concerned about his points. Right now he's focusing about his defensive game. When he's grown enough where he feels good moving the puck up the ice and when he finally cements a spot on the pp his points will go up past 30.
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Only reason people are questioning him is because he was the 2nd pick and hasn't become a star yet, and players like Karlson, Pietrangelo and OEL have passed him so far. His first couple of years he was getting used to the smaller ice and physical game, this past season he had some injuries. I think he's only gonna be getting better, his offensive game is getting better and he should signs of being tougher. He's also 6'6 and it takes longer for big D to get their skating fluid, I'd take him over Karlson cause he plays both ways and Karlson is a foward playing D. We also need to get him a better partner to Brewer, Brewer had a pretty bad season so made Hedman look bad too. I see him being an all star in 2 years.
I completely disagree with the bolded statement. Brewer and Hedman are just fine together. The problem is that for long stretches they were the only 2 players on the team who could play any defense. It's hard to look anything but terrible when the rest of the team is failing around you and when the goalies are letting in softies. I think they might get split up though if possible, since they are both lefties.
Brewer has been a scapegoat for some people for the team's poor defensive play, but for the most part he was our best Dman this year. I do agree that once we get another top4 dman (or 2) Hedman (and Brewer) will look a lot better.
I think Hedman has a breakout year offensively next season. Long term I think he'll be considered one of the top 5-10 defensemen in the league.
I completely disagree with the bolded statement. Brewer and Hedman are just fine together. The problem is that for long stretches they were the only 2 players on the team who could play any defense. It's hard to look anything but terrible when the rest of the team is failing around you and when the goalies are letting in softies. I think they might get split up though if possible, since they are both lefties.
Brewer has been a scapegoat for some people for the team's poor defensive play, but for the most part he was our best Dman this year. I do agree that once we get another top4 dman (or 2) Hedman (and Brewer) will look a lot better.
I think Hedman has a breakout year offensively next season. Long term I think he'll be considered one of the top 5-10 defensemen in the league.
I think this post is spot on, I agree with everything you said in this one.
Hedman is 21 and playing upwards of 20 minutes a night every game, hell he logged a 29 minute game last season. Is that partly due to a lack of options, sure, but Boucher wouldn't give him that time without merit.
IMO long term he can be our number 1 dman, he needs a top pairing partner, or just someone that fits his style more. Hell if Gudas had top pairing potential he would be the perfect option and maybe gets a little more physicality out of Hedman. As while I like Brewer, on a good team he is a middle pairing dman who can spot on the top pairing.
He reminds me of Ranger back in the day in that respect, great player who does what is asked of him, but playing over his head. So when his minutes are limited he plays well, when you ask more he gets tired and plays stupid.
Hedman is 21 and playing upwards of 20 minutes a night every game, hell he logged a 29 minute game last season. Is that partly due to a lack of options, sure, but Boucher wouldn't give him that time without merit.
IMO long term he can be our number 1 dman, he needs a top pairing partner, or just someone that fits his style more. Hell if Gudas had top pairing potential he would be the perfect option and maybe gets a little more physicality out of Hedman. As while I like Brewer, on a good team he is a middle pairing dman who can spot on the top pairing.
He reminds me of Ranger back in the day in that respect, great player who does what is asked of him, but playing over his head. So when his minutes are limited he plays well, when you ask more he gets tired and plays stupid.
I think what most complaints about him are he's not physical, which is just, but he's been getting more physical each year. His offensive numbers aren't on par either with top pair D in the league but he doesn't get much PP time. If you look at the stats of most top D they get a fair share of their points on the PP. I'm hoping Boucher gives him more of a chance on PP cause he's got a big shot. When he came back late in the season he seemed to look the best he ever had, he jumped in offensively, his vision and passing were crisp, he seemed more comfortable than earlier in the season when he was more hesitant. I just hope he stays healthy all season cause his game is rounding out nicely.
Defenseman usually play their best hockey after age 28. That gives Hedman 6 more years to pan out before I can say what I expected from him was not achieved. Anything before age 28 is goody for me.
Is that your observation or some statistical stuff? (pretty much agreeing with you, btw)
I remember here being thread about Hedman where some guy had lot of video footage on him that basically showed that if he's got time and space, he'll make good decisions with the puck. If he doesn't, he might screw it up totally.
Maybe he hasn't adjusted to the faster pace of NA game yet?
I remember here being thread about Hedman where some guy had lot of video footage on him that basically showed that if he's got time and space, he'll make good decisions with the puck. If he doesn't, he might screw it up totally.
Maybe he hasn't adjusted to the faster pace of NA game yet?
Basically, and also hasn't understood his potential in regards to size and creating space for himself. When he learns that most people can't move him off the puck, he'll show more improvement.
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