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On Laine, Schiefele, & the Millennial Massacre |
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One of the things that people are watching with the World Cup of Hockey is the various youth and prospects that their respective teams have. Or in the case of the Winnipeg Jets, Scheifele and Laine seeing as Trouba and Byfuglien seem to not get a lot of love or ice time. That’s a whole other topic, as is Blake Wheeler, but the one I think most Jets fans are curious about is alternate Captain Scheifele and soon to be rookie Laine.
Last night they faced each other and the results were rather scary in two ways. Scary how good the North American team is and scary how hard it is for the opposition to match them. Patrick Laine abnd team Finland was the latest casualty in the Millennial Massacre by the young but uber talented North Americans.
Sean Tierny tweeted this out last night- oof!
Look who is right at the top young Mark Scheifele and it probably doesn’t hurt that he is playing with the likes of McDavid and Mathews. The fact is Scheifele is helping to drive play, god knows how much criticism he would get if he wasn’t with those two line mates. That leads to Laine and the Finns getting massacred and some questions about the future Jets rookie.
Laine has been quite candid about his experience thus far and how he thinks the World Cup will help him as he comes to his first professional hockey camp in Winnipeg. That’s encouraging but are we learning anything about him in this ‘best on best’ tournament?
Gary Lawless of TSN had an interesting and relevant tweet about Laine. While not everyone agrees or enjoys Gary’s approach he does his job with consistency and isn’t afraid to evolve his thinking, this tweet affirms that position.
The point Gary makes is that Laine is not going to push the play himself, he’s not carrying a team on his back, nor is he able to decide games by himself. He’s not McDavid, he’s not MacKinnon, Gaudreau or others of that ilk. Is that what everyone sees?
Right now there is an argument that team NA is better than every team in the NHL and that might be true and man would it be fun to test that thought. However, is what we saw from Laine last night indicative of him or just the Finns, or that match-up? It’s a small sample size and against a team that has the die-hard hockey world observers salivating. Hot Takes are everywhere, and really deservedly so.
However, this is a simple tournament and like the Olympics and World Championships it’s not indicative of how professional hockey championships are determined. What would happen if this were a 7 game series? I’m still betting that team NA comes out ahead of the Finns but does that chart above from Tierny look the same in each game? I’m saying ‘no’, at least to that lopsided degree. And, does that point from Lawless still stand?
Laine needs to have the puck fed to him, he’s a sniper, and as some would say ‘of the Ovechkin-type’ but Ovie does more than shoot. He skates, and skates hard and that’s where Laine is going to be challenged especially when the 200 foot game becomes essential, one that most smart coaches require their players to play. The problem with analyzing Laine or Scheifele or anyone from that game is that the young guns on team NA are so talented and fast that what you are seeing is likely skewed. Their numbers, while very talented, are too good to be sustainable in any other situation and that likely means something is skewed when looking at the opposition.
The Finns are a good team, with good players who can likely have success but not as much as team NA, at least right now. Laine is not some scrub hanging on for dear life every game, hoping to get a shot off if he can get the puck. But… there’s something to learn here with him and Lawless pointed out the one thing that might be obvious but not talked about. Laine needs support within his game, at least right now and that should not be overlooked or over emphasized.
Scheifele needed it too but the biggest difference is the Jets with Laine have an interesting advantage over Scheifele’s development, they are seeing their top prospect play in a best on best before he enters the league. While some fans and critics may aske where the numbers from the World Championships are for Laine- others will ask what the vets on team Finland are doing too. It’s not all on the youth for that team and others. What’s skewing so many observers views is that the collection of youth on team NA is playing at a ridiculous level and it’s really hard to compare.
Laine is going to have his ups and downs as he endures his first season of professional hockey in North America. However the learning experience of this tournament is beneficial no matter what he does, for him and for the Jets. It’s how both sides adjust and learn as this tournament finishes and NHL training camps open. Laine has some work to do, but let’s not let that Millennial Massacre affect what should be a strong showing and hopefully stellar career for the Jets first round pick in 2016.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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