I was watching Bulldogs Friday and I was looking at Balej , he play with assurance , made good passe and create good things on offensive , good speed and nicee shot , I think he will have a call of Bob Gainey if he continue to play like that .
Balej is good and has a big offensive talent, but he doesn't have much hockey smarts. He's very emotionnal and people will like that about him. I see a Berezin sort of career in him but with much better work ethic.
According to upside (and what I saw from each) I'd say that Kastsitsyn, Higgins and Perezhogin all have 1st line upside, while Hossa, Plekanec, Balej and Ryder probably 2nd line. The most likely to reach their upsides (again, from what I saw) are Higgins, Ryder and Plekanec.
I would like to see one of them get a callup later in the season. Higgins, Balej or Plekanec would be great to see one of them, but I think it would be better if they stayed down all season. The team is playing well, and could do some damage in the playoffs. Let them learn to win together, in a good atmosphere, over playing for a bad hockey team full of overpaid players.
But with a few spots that could open next year, it would make sense to get their feet wet this season, if we are out of the playoffs early. Balej has played well so far, but Plekanec would be my first callup. Plekanec is smarter, grittier and better in his own end. But I have been very impressed with Balej this year, as I though he would take a big step back after being one of the first cuts at camp this year.
After the new CBA is signed Balej will surprise many and start to push real hard for an NHL spot . With the players on the team right now it's almost impossible for him this year , but it will be a different story at the end of the year abd Balej will be an improved player . Remember Ryder had a great season last year and didn't had a chance until training camp so give time to Balej to play good th whole year in the 'A' .
Now if Balej makes the team he will get ice time on the first line ( we don't have 1st line winger anyways ) so he could turn into a 1st liner or in a superstar later in his carrer . I see an Hossa-Koivu-Balej line with the good chemistry of Hos and Bal with the hard work an creativity of Koivu it would be the best 1st line science Mark Recchi . There's no way we put limit to a pure offensive weapon with fast wheels like him he don't have any weakness that limit him to second line duty .
i love balej... but we should give him some time. Last season was a hard one for him, so hopefully he stays consistent this year and begins to use the size he has added since being drafted. (isn't he 6-1, 200lbs now?)
I think he'll make a great 1st/2nd line winger for years to come with 30-goal potential so long as he continues to shoot and skate.
After the new CBA is signed Balej will surprise many and start to push real hard for an NHL spot . With the players on the team right now it's almost impossible for him this year , but it will be a different story at the end of the year abd Balej will be an improved player . Remember Ryder had a great season last year and didn't had a chance until training camp so give time to Balej to play good th whole year in the 'A' .
Now if Balej makes the team he will get ice time on the first line ( we don't have 1st line winger anyways ) so he could turn into a 1st liner or in a superstar later in his carrer . I see an Hossa-Koivu-Balej line with the good chemistry of Hos and Bal with the hard work an creativity of Koivu it would be the best 1st line science Mark Recchi . There's no way we put limit to a pure offensive weapon with fast wheels like him he don't have any weakness that limit him to second line duty .
I hope you are correct, but really hard to take your post to a pure knowledge and not love about him.
For the longest time I was concerned about his development, and now he seems to finally have found himself after recovering from injury after injury. And while his scoring statistics have been wonderful to watch while they grow, it's more his plus/minus statistic which I think is the impressive one this year.
+5. And for a guy that was supposed to be all offence, that's a pretty darn impressive number. It tells me that he's been working on his defensive zone coverage and, combined with his point total, tells me he's figured out how to play a two-way game, at least at the AHL level, and that's a wonderful thing to see.
As for his upside, I think it's certainly up for debate. Certainly the second line doesn't seem out of the question but I look forward to seeing him with the big club one of these days and seeing how he really fares in the NHL.
Ward, for instance, was a scoring terror in junior, but anyone who thinks he's going to be anything other than a glorified 4th liner in the NHL is deluding themselves. Balej, however can skate, so that's a big plus in his column. Still, let's see how he performs when he finally gets up here. It's entirely possible that he'll be one of those busts who just can't make it at the NHL level. Of course, it's equally (if not more) possible that he could even make it as a first liner with the qualities he brings.
i love balej... but we should give him some time. Last season was a hard one for him, so hopefully he stays consistent this year and begins to use the size he has added since being drafted. (isn't he 6-1, 200lbs now?)
I think he'll make a great 1st/2nd line winger for years to come with 30-goal potential so long as he continues to shoot and skate.
