Rookie games are just that . They are rookie games and it’s really easy to over interpret or judge players on what you see in a rookie game. Any NHL who’s ever played in a rookie game will tell you it’s nothing like the NHL.
To understand anything you need to understand it’s motivation. Rookie games can be free-for-alls with players who likely will never see an NHL game trying to do too much and players who are targeted for a chance to make the team trying to not make mistakes.
Also, anyone has ever played a sport knows that the higher level you play the more predictable it becomes.In hockey that’s especially true. Players will be in certain spots at the NHL level 90% at a time and you’ll have back up.
Last night was a good example . Robertson it was just picked up in. The trade was kind of impressed with his speed was also running all over the place and tripping over himself at times trying to do too much. It makes sense. He’s just traded to an organization and wants to show what he’s about.
Meanwhile, Alex Bump who everybody believes will be at NHL player look a bit tentative, he made some bad passes, but also was in great position to score a few times and the passes to him were a bit erratic.
Barkey, one of my favorite players in the lot, captain of a winning team, has impressed me a lot. He’s obviously not a giant player, but the IQ is there and you can tell he can raise his game.
We won’t know until we see him out on a line with NHL players. Is he just a guy who can dominate at the AHL level or more? We don’t know yet.
I think Gill on D has some serious potential but will require lots of marinating in my opinion.
On Carter Hart.
Really quickly, I’ll write more about this tomorrow, but The flyers have not been eliminated from his list at all. He wants to play in the state for sure. He would love to play for a contender. But name a contender that he could start for right now that’s not named Edmonton or Toronto?
My source is still put Hart back to philly at around 45% that’s less than half but 25% more than I’d put him anywhere else.
More tomorrow…
What rookie impressed you ?