Everyone who watched hockey and didnt just watch boxscores knew Helm was scoring in junior because of his crazy speed. He was always considered a Grabner type guy, and not a real "scoring" prospect. Pretty sure I remember people on here comparing him to Maltby as in hes going to be good, but not a scorer when he hits the league. It also showed up in his assist numbers. Offensive NHL players make plays in junior because play is facilitated through them, that never happened with Helm.
Kasper has to show scoring at the NHL level and so far he hasnt? Thats because hes barely got the chance, and in his first healthy preseason he is showing some offensive ability to go along with a lot of other good things in his game. Hes got 1 point in 2 games playing with very meh linemates and has created the most chances on the team at even strength most likely.
Helm and Kasper are a dumb comparison. You want to see more scoring? Thats totally fine and I wont argue too much with people who want him sent down to score more. But to make comparisons between his game and Helms is just really lazy.
Do you think Kasper will be better offensively than Joe Veleno after watching this preseason?
Darren would have put up 5+ goals per season if he ever figured out how to convert breakaways and odd man rushes. That's actually not a huge ask. Nobody said he's a top line center, but he was projecting to be a really good 3C even to the point that Babcock was praising him, and you know that's a rare event. Not to mention he even got PP time with Datsyuk for a while.
Joey has limited hockey IQ, Kasper is already a better passer..... but Joey's actually a good shooter at 11.9 career SH% and 14 last season. His career SH% is better than DBoss or Kane. He just reverts to playing a safe game and not trying to drive the play. We saw that last season. If Kasper could convert at the same rate, we wouldn't even be having a conversation, I'd be on the bandwagon too.
Lazy comparison is just naming elite players that you want Kasper to become. Right now, the way he played so far this preseason, Helm is a legit comparable. We'll see how he does with Kane/Tank tonight, and hope he has more.
