That would make more sense imo. Geez, this is huge for Lee. He better run with it.
I'll call it right now in case it happens. I think you get the most out of Lee if you pair him with Gonchar. I doubt Brian Lee can sleep at night right now, someone's gotta find that paper boy lookalike some green.
One thing I noticed... Cowen looks huge next to some fairly big NHL players.
Ya some day he's gonna be 6'5-6'6 245, and relatively mobile with a decent pair of hands, and a bigger shot. That's if our city doesn't break him down because the big man hasn't developed fast enough.
I just want him to be Karlsson's Brent Seabrook someday, he can be that and even more as long as we and the organization let him. I still think that starts with another year in junior to make up for the 1 (or even 2) years he lost. It's up to him in the coming weeks to prove me wrong about that one, I think he's capable of it...but it's unfair to expect him to with what he's dealt with in his early pro development. Longer we wait, the more complete of a package he'll be when he's hear to stay, and personally I think it can be a big difference maker because I think he's got the tools. He's just hasn't had the time to use his tools offensively.
Hey, read Don Brennan's article today and he said something like "Cowen thinks his camp has been ok, while others would state it was a notch below" has he looked poor this training camp or is this the Ottawa Sun again??
To be fair, shut down defensemen aren't normally flashy. However I have not watched much of Cowen at all this year.
Thats the thing, I found he had trouble shutting down people. Its not that I expected him to be amazing, but the only reason I could tell he was on the ice was because he's so big.
I don't think Cowen will be a bad defencemen or what not. I could easily see him top 4 in a few years. I just heard all this excitement and crazy amazing talk of Cowen, and Cowen has never been that stand out player I heard he was.
anybody know how bashkirov finished the rookie tournament? Did he have a good showing at least?
He didn't get an invite to the tourney. He's a write off - someone in the org. (maybe Murray IIRC) basically said he'll be a good KHL player (along with Zubov).
Thats the thing, I found he had trouble shutting down people. Its not that I expected him to be amazing, but the only reason I could tell he was on the ice was because he's so big.
I don't think Cowen will be a bad defencemen or what not. I could easily see him top 4 in a few years. I just heard all this excitement and crazy amazing talk of Cowen, and Cowen has never been that stand out player I heard he was.
Remember last year when 98% of this board tought Karlsson wasn't even a NHL player? A few months later he's almost a Star in the NHL...
It will be the same story with Cowen, just a little different. He doesn't look spectacular or anything to the average fan but the Sens brass are impressed because they see his potential and that "potential" is currently knocking at the door. He will need an adjustement period but he will make an impact on the game in not so long.
Of course people will whine that he is not ready, that he could have "round out his game" playing with kids 7 inches and 40 pounds smaller or that we are gonna waste 1 year on his ELC (entry-level-contract), but in the end, who cares about what they say? Let the reality happen!
Conclusion : let the experts do their thing, armchair GMs do not know much, myself included (and I don't pretend to be an armchair GM, just a hockey fanatic).
Remember last year when 98% of this board tought Karlsson wasn't even a NHL player? A few months later he's almost a Star in the NHL...
It will be the same story with Cowen, just a little different. He doesn't look spectacular or anything to the average fan but the Sens brass are impressed because they see his potential and that "potential" is currently knocking at the door. He will need an adjustement period but he will make an impact on the game in not so long.
Of course people will whine that he is not ready, that he could have "round out his game" playing with kids 7 inches and 40 pounds smaller or that we are gonna waste 1 year on his ELC (entry-level-contract), but in the end, who cares about what they say? Let the reality happen!
Conclusion : let the experts do their thing, armchair GMs do not know much, myself included (and I don't pretend to be an armchair GM, just a hockey fanatic).
I still think that he's not ready this year. Of course I think I could be proven wrong, and I wouldn't mind seeing Cowen up for a few games while Kuba is out. But I don't think he's gonna play this whole year. I'd like to see what he does in bingo this year, and he can get better. And be a total force to be reckoned with in a year or two.
However I have not watched much of Cowen at all this year.
