Anyone caught any video of Lias offensive hit late in the game? Was pretty sick.
Lias had a good game. A nice shot at the end. He was off on a breakaway but long pass across the ice seemed to get air borne and bounce over his stick. He moves very well in the offensive zone, he is really smart.
Think Lias was much better than Elias Pettersson. Pettersson has amazing hands and ability to see the play develop and make it look easy, but the big difference between the SHL and international hockey are how much stronger the Ds are. Then there is another gigantic leap to the NHL. Petersson isn’t a Marner type who flies around all Ds. He plays mostly in traffic, taking a hit, slipping away, getting open. He has to grow big time before he is NHL ready. I remember Sedins rookie season in the NHL so well. They were big, 6’2, 200-210 lbs at least. They had pwned the SHL and he WCH the year before, I saw them live in that WCH in Russia, St Petersburgh, in 99’. They were sick. They came to the NHL and struggled mightly. Whenever they tried to circle and protect the puck the NHL Ds just hammered them so hard in the back and took the puck.
Henrik Sedins stats were:
D+2 29 pts in 82 games
D+3 36 pts in 82 games
D+4 39 pts in 78 games
D+5 42 pts in 76 games
Lockout
D+7 75 pts in 80 games
Dans a tad better. They were mega hyped when they left Sweden, but for many many years they were seen as BIG busts, by many, and a was a big joke.
I — think — Petersson will become a great player. He is a very special kid, super low key and so drawed back. But he just loves the game so much and his focus is just unbelieveable. I think he will push himself so hard, and eveually become like a top 3 scorer in the league. But it is — far — from a given. The league is very different now than when the Sedins entered the NHL and the refs just laughed when Chris Chelios broke two sticks by cross checking the Sedins in the back the same game (Dan caught him with an offensive hit the first hit, then CC destroyed them every shift a hole game). But I wouldn’t at all be surprised if for 2,3 even 4 years people are trashing Petersson, calling the SHL a joke since he could dominate it etc. Its not a given since Petersson is such a good shooter on the PP and might get some numbers of it early, but it’s not a lock either. AND, if the kid starts to get some injuries, he struggles in Vancouver, loses confidence etc — there is always a risk of things going south.
My point is just, we got to be patient with these things. I think our guys have a tendency to look for the right people more than anything, because even if there are ups and downs they should be able to push in the right directions. We must also be humble, it’s a heck of a journey these kids have infront of them.
Lias had a good game. A nice shot at the end. He was off on a breakaway but long pass across the ice seemed to get air borne and bounce over his stick. He moves very well in the offensive zone, he is really smart.
Think Lias was much better than Elias Pettersson. Pettersson has amazing hands and ability to see the play develop and make it look easy, but the big difference between the SHL and international hockey are how much stronger the Ds are. Then there is another gigantic leap to the NHL. Petersson isn’t a Marner type who flies around all Ds. He plays mostly in traffic, taking a hit, slipping away, getting open. He has to grow big time before he is NHL ready. I remember Sedins rookie season in the NHL so well. They were big, 6’2, 200-210 lbs at least. They had pwned the SHL and he WCH the year before, I saw them live in that WCH in Russia, St Petersburgh, in 99’. They were sick. They came to the NHL and struggled mightly. Whenever they tried to circle and protect the puck the NHL Ds just hammered them so hard in the back and took the puck.
Henrik Sedins stats were:
D+2 29 pts in 82 games
D+3 36 pts in 82 games
D+4 39 pts in 78 games
D+5 42 pts in 76 games
Lockout
D+7 75 pts in 80 games
Dans a tad better. They were mega hyped when they left Sweden, but for many many years they were seen as BIG busts, by many, and a was a big joke.
I — think — Petersson will become a great player. He is a very special kid, super low key and so drawed back. But he just loves the game so much and his focus is just unbelieveable. I think he will push himself so hard, and eveually become like a top 3 scorer in the league. But it is — far — from a given. The league is very different now than when the Sedins entered the NHL and the refs just laughed when Chris Chelios broke two sticks by cross checking the Sedins in the back the same game (Dan caught him with an offensive hit the first hit, then CC destroyed them every shift a hole game). But I wouldn’t at all be surprised if for 2,3 even 4 years people are trashing Petersson, calling the SHL a joke since he could dominate it etc. Its not a given since Petersson is such a good shooter on the PP and might get some numbers of it early, but it’s not a lock either. AND, if the kid starts to get some injuries, he struggles in Vancouver, loses confidence etc — there is always a risk of things going south.
My point is just, we got to be patient with these things. I think our guys have a tendency to look for the right people more than anything, because even if there are ups and downs they should be able to push in the right directions. We must also be humble, it’s a heck of a journey these kids have infront of them.
