Vatanaen won the best defenseman award at the SM-liiga gala, he said he hopes and expect to play with Jyp next season.
while thats not bad.. i do hope murray and co can try to convince him to come and play in the AHL for 2011-12.. not like its a big deal but i'd rather have him start getting used to the NA style sooner rather than later haha
Wow, DSP sounds golden! What a steal he just might be.
I hope that isn't a racist joke.
In all seriousness, I would like to see what he can do at a pro level next season. He seems too physically mature to be playing junior hockey. Kid looks and plays like a beast out there.
In all seriousness, I would like to see what he can do at a pro level next season. He seems too physically mature to be playing junior hockey. Kid looks and plays like a beast out there.
It's too bad that it's either NHL or juniors for him. Hopefully he's good enough to make an impression out of camp and claim a roster spot.
In all seriousness, I would like to see what he can do at a pro level next season. He seems too physically mature to be playing junior hockey. Kid looks and plays like a beast out there.
I agree. He's playing like a much older player. I'll be excited to see him in the pre-season, but I think he'll have a tough time squeezing into the roster. We'll see.
Am I missing something here? DSP is having a good playoffs, but it isn't spectacular stats-wise. In the OHL playoffs he has 21 points in 20 games, for 4th in the scoring race. Pretty good. But last year Hall had 35 points in 19 games. In 09 Hall had 36 points in 20 games. 36, 31, and 47 points were the highs previously.
In the Mem Cup DSP is tied for 2nd with 6 points in 4 games. Now flash back to previous seasons, with 9 in 4 games, 9 in 4/6 games, and 11 in 5 games. In the regular season Smith-Pelly's 62 points is 46th in the league. So his numbers are among the best of this year, but not great relative to previous years.
Now I do like how he's improved, and he does look like a playoff performer. I am a lot more excited about him now than I was prior to this season. But to expect him to make the big club? Sbisa, Ryan, Getzlaf, Perry and our other 1st rounders were all kept in juniors until their 20 YO seasons. Yes Fowler played his 18 year old season, but that's not the norm.
My general rule is send a kid down to improve offense and strength/conditioning, keep him up for defense and hockey sense/systems play. DSP is said to have good defense. We could keep him up, but he might then get stunted as a checking line player. Why not send him down and see if he can improve his offensive skills? Maybe we'll get a 2nd or 1st liner.
Although the flip side is that his conditioning is very well developed, and he might get lazy because that aspect might enable him to dominate.
Last edited by snarktacular: 05-28-2011 at 10:32 PM.
Am I missing something here? DSP is having a good playoffs, but it isn't spectacular stats-wise. In the OHL playoffs he has 21 points in 20 games, for 4th in the scoring race. Pretty good. But last year Hall had 35 points in 19 games. In 09 Hall had 36 points in 20 games. 36, 31, and 47 points were the highs previously.
In the Mem Cup DSP is tied for 2nd with 6 points in 4 games. Now flash back to previous seasons, with 9 in 4 games, 9 in 4/6 games, and 11 in 5 games. In the regular season Smith-Pelly's 62 points is 46th in the league. So his numbers are among the best of this year, but not great relative to previous years.
Now I do like how he's improved, and he does look like a playoff performer. I am a lot more excited about him now than I was prior to this season. But to expect him to make the big club? Sbisa, Ryan, Getzlaf, Perry and our other 1st rounders were all kept in juniors until their 20 YO seasons. Yes Fowler played his 18 year old season, but that's not the norm.
My general rule is send a kid down to improve offense and strength/conditioning, keep him up for defense and hockey sense/systems play. DSP is said to have good defense. We could keep him up, but he might then get stunted as a checking line player. Why not send him down and see if he can improve his offensive skills? Maybe we'll get a 2nd or 1st liner.
Although the flip side is that his conditioning is very well developed, and he might get lazy because that aspect might enable him to dominate.
All good points. I don't think any of us are saying he has top-end talent like Hall does, but more like DSP has been quite the surprise just one year after being drafted. Not sure about anyone else but I didn't read anything up on him before the draft and was surprised at the pick because I knew so little about him.
I think he would have a better shot making the lineup quicker than Getzlaf, Perry, etc. is because of the role he would be playing. It wouldn't be your normal kid line playing mostly offensively and trying to get chemistry together. It would be more of a checking/shutdown type that can get some points here and there along with McMillan on the third line. That's where most of us see him excelling at and he might be able to squeeze in if he has a great training camp.
All good points. I don't think any of us are saying he has top-end talent like Hall does, but more like DSP has been quite the surprise just one year after being drafted. Not sure about anyone else but I didn't read anything up on him before the draft and was surprised at the pick because I knew so little about him.
I think he would have a better shot making the lineup quicker than Getzlaf, Perry, etc. is because of the role he would be playing. It wouldn't be your normal kid line playing mostly offensively and trying to get chemistry together. It would be more of a checking/shutdown type that can get some points here and there along with McMillan on the third line. That's where most of us see him excelling at and he might be able to squeeze in if he has a great training camp.
Yeah his pick was a little surprising to me too. I don't think I had read anything about him other than I was expecting late 2nd/3rd. And when I did read about him right after drafting him, I thought "well sounds interesting, but he'll just be a 3rd line player."
As to the bold parts, well yes I think he might do well at that role. And when I thought he'll just be a 3rd rounder that's fine. But then are we stunting him at that role in the future? With his clutch playoffs I'm now thinking possible 2nd liner. Don't want to screw that up. I have seen a lot of kids come up early when they're good defensively and never develop the offense.
