If you expected anything clever then my title skills are finally improving! What is this segment you might ask? Well, there won’t be many prospect reports. This will be a random piece of vagaries from myself on hockey. I've been bursting with weird things to say that I haven’t been able to fit into a narrative, so this seems like a nice little piece that I can construe the insanity that is my mind. I don’t expect this to be very popular, but it’ll be here nonetheless…until I’m removed from HB.
1. Louis Eriksson isn't bad
Please stop this hate train on Louis Eriksson. Non-stop he is a doormat for people to point how Seguin is an elite player and he isn't. Was he supposed to be? The Bruins traded for a two-way 1st/2nd line winger. They got…shocker, a two-way 2nd line winger. I’m SHOCKED. He was supposed to be Seguin right? Well that’s what it seems like online. He has been one the best producers for the Bruins this season. No though. He’s not Seguin so he sucks. It reminds me of when Kessel was dealt; he apparently “sucked… because Seguin was such a prime prospect. The value and play of a player doesn’t impact the talent or play of another. You can look at the deal with a bit of those terms if you were to look at it as a 1 for 1. However the deal entered into was not a 1 for 1. It was clearly crafted to get the Bruins some cap leeway and some “top… prospects. Eriksson is currently third on the Bruins in points and third in goals. He was nearly destroyed by his concussion problems, yet is back with a solid season where everything went wrong for the Bruins. Chara sucked to start the year and went out. Seidenberg came back and wasn't as good as before. Boychuk was better than originally thought. Rask struggled to start the year. Krejci has been hurt most of the season. Lucic was an idiot 70% of the year. The Bruins successes this year to me have been the resilience, Pastrnak and Eriksson finding his form again. So quit harping on him for not being a PPG 23 year old superstar…he’s not and never was and never will be one.
2. The Oilers and Drafting
Over and over I hear this garbage “The Oilers drafted too many of the same players.… GARBAGE. Bullcrap even. I can’t begin to understand this statement. It is the most blatant misuse of facts since The Mask claimed Zoot Suits were cool. Eberle, Paajarvi, Hall, RNH, Yakupov, Draisaitl…these aren't similar players no matter how much it fits your narrative.
Eberle was a longshot high end skill player with moves to burn and little focus in his own end. His size was countered by his excellent awareness on the ice in the offensive zone. He was drafted to be a scorer and at 22 was about as great a Hail Mary as you could throw outside of maybe Giroux.
Paajarvi was widely considered the beginning of the rebuild, then retconned as that mistake before Hall. Paajarvi was a very solid pick at the time. His size and speed were a mixture scouts go crazy over. The worry over whether he could get to the hard areas was something shoved aside by most every team. I mean…he’s 6’3…he can do anything. It’s not like shorter players of similar skill and speed matter right scouts? Nah. Regardless of the gripes, he was the ultimate perimeter player with size and you would be kidding yourself if you’re a GM and you don’t think you can take that frame and skillset and turn him into what James van Riemsdyk ultimately has become.
We come to Hall, the most confusing of the bunch when people use the blanket statement of “they drafted the same type of player over and over.… Hall is a unique player. He isn't pretty and he isn’t conventional. He is one of the highest skilled wingers in the game, while being one of the more complex. He’s physical…and he’s not. He’s a bulldozer…and he’s not. He’s slightly inconsistent in his games tone, yet what he has never shied away from, is pure unadulterated attack on the offensive zone. He hits it with speed and determination like few others. He might be 6’0, but he doesn't play small, he goes after players. The fact that people say he is a similar player to Eberle or RNH makes me question their sanity.
RNH, hey he’s slight of build! Another SMALL forward right? Ugh. When he was drafted it was known that he was a centre that was smart, he played smart, and he made players around him better and was smart in his own zone. Yes, he was slight and needed more time to develop his frame, but he was 6’1. It’s not like he was 5’8. He hasn't hit the heights expected of him, but none of the brood has during this roller-coaster of a year. He isn't playing small this year though and people should note this. The laughs about him being hit into oblivion are fading, simply because he is getting older and in better NHL shape. He’s a smart playmaking centre…how is he similar to the guys I’ve described before?
Yakupov…oh Nail. My black hole that fits in the left centre chest cavity of my body feels for him. It really does. Though it might be the unflappable hunger of the void. I can’t decide. Yakupov was a reckless winger…and you know what? He was the only guy comparable to another player. That player was Taylor Hall. Both were reckless wingers. Hall is still a reckless winger, Yakupov is a reckless winger that has been castrated and put into Theon Greyjoy re-identification training. I don’t know if it was the double concussion in his draft year…or Dallas Eakins…or karma for having one of the most hilarious names possible for a tanking moniker, but Yakupov hasn’t been the Yakupov of junior. He’s coming around a bit, but I don’t know if we’ll ever see the 5’10 Yakupov rush three players and knock one down to make a beautiful pass and snow the goalie. That happened on the Sting, not so much now. Yet again, the question comes back to if he resembles the others…when drafted, not so much.
Lastly we tackled Zee German. Draisaitl is a big powerful centre. He’s 6’2 and hard to move off the puck. If you’re reading this far you've realized why he isn't exactly like the others other than having an (F) beside his name.
Why do I mention this? Simply because I can’t stand this blanketed argument pertaining to what they will do next. Eichel? Hanifin? Who will they take at number two?????? Eichel. Of course. He’s a powerful centre setting NCAA records that go as far back as Paul Kariya. While getting a higher quality defense is nice, you go with the best player available. That’s Eichel. He is a forward. So the obvious idiots will come out again bleating about how they are picking the same kind of player. This isn't true. Eichel has much in common with RNH’s as Eberle has with Hall. They are all different players. This doesn't even mention that Nurse is a thing. Does anybody else feel me? Seriously, Pittsburgh drafted Malkin, Crosby, Staal and...Esposito. All four are forwards, all four are so drastically different in play style. It's a simple concept.
I’m miffed. Next time we will discuss why real tanking is far less fun than accidental tanking.
Thanks for reading.
As per this new bollocks I'll be posting a new Eurotrash song which I enjoy. Everybody seems to be posting Rush and other things, so here's me.