Nathan Horton upside?

[PhoenixDog]

With Jokinen now gone it's no secret players like Horton will play more of a prominent role. How many points do you think he'll put up this yr? and what do you think his career upside is?

i don't get to watch many Panthers games, but know that entire '03 draft class is extremely talented and i've always liked Horton. thanks in advance.

[Beezer]

Originally Posted by The Dream Team

With Jokinen now gone it's no secret players like Horton will play more of a prominent role. How many points do you think he'll put up this yr? and what do you think his career upside is?

i don't get to watch many Panthers games, but know that entire '03 draft class is extremely talented and i've always liked Horton. thanks in advance.

He has gone over the 60 point mark the last two seasons playing on the second line and some of us here thought he was being rather lazy with his play. With Olli gone he should get 1st line minutes and new HC Deboer should get Horton out of his lazy habits. Both those changes should make him a better player who scores consistantly for us and hopefully reach Jokinen type numbers.

[pb1300]

If he played with anywhere near the intensity and commitment Booth gave us on a nightly basis, he would be a 40 goal scorer in this league. I see Dany Heatley written all over this guy if he ever decided to play with intensity and conviction.

[Danny Tanner*]

Originally Posted by The Dream Team

With Jokinen now gone it's no secret players like Horton will play more of a prominent role. How many points do you think he'll put up this yr? and what do you think his career upside is?

i don't get to watch many Panthers games, but know that entire '03 draft class is extremely talented and i've always liked Horton. thanks in advance.

Horton is a guy who has basically sleepwalked his way to 30 goals and 60 points a year. his efforts are erratic at best. he's the guy i'm hoping/counting on deboer's coaching style to help him develop into what he should be.

as for what his upside is...an absolutely dominating power forward. when he plays with snarl in his game he just takes over games. there was a handful last year where he wasn't even scoring but he just took over the game with his strength and hitting. he needs to play that way for 82 games and if he does, he'd probably be a lock for 40+ goals and 90+ points.

todd bertuzzi, when he was good, is probably his upside.

[Anod]

Horton is the one reason that i feel we will still can compete for a playoff. Horton has the potential to be a leading scorer in this league. Horton will benefit from the acquisition of Stillman as a setup man.

[Vagrant]

Horton has Iginla type upside, IMO. If he can get it together and start playing with more drive he'll be one heck of a player. With his natural skills and hard nosed play he should be able to hit 40 goals in the near future but he has to play like he wants it a little more. He is one of the few power forwards in the league that I would allow to take a wrist shot on a shootout attempt.

[Montsy14]

I think Horton is capable of great things. As for next season, I'm expecting somewhere between 30-35 goals and 35-40 assists.

[Panthers_Fan]

40g/40a is a realistic upside. If he fixed his work ethic and had a star playmaker on his line (lots of "if's") 90+ points would not be out of the question, but as of now I say his ceiling is at 80 points.

I expect he'll get around 70 points 35/35 next year.

[sinDer]

40 G 40 A

He has to potential to do so

if he doesn't...no playoffs, simple as that

[Markstrom Rules]

A lot of Panther fans have thought for the last couple years that Horton could score 40 goals if he played with consistency. He scored 27 last year while going through a horrible drought for over two months where he only scored 3 goals I believe. And he had 35 assists last year. I definitely think he's capable of putting up 40-40-80 next season, he just has to be the Hulk for 82 games instead of 8.

With his shot, goal scoring instincts, and skating ability, Horton can be a 50 goal scorer. He's also a great playmaker, and is capable of 50 assists down the road as well. So I'd say his upside is a 100+ point power forward.