Prospect Info: 2024 - #50 OA - LW Nikita Artamonov

[bleedgreen]

ehh man it's really not personal or a battle and I guess it's more of a reaction to the takes (there are not many but they are out there, not just here but outside of HF too) that we should trade Nikishin than people who want us to keep him but are just tempering expectations. It's a hockey message board and we talk hockey and players, prospect, etc. I have pretty strong opinions about Nikishin so I share them. Maybe I wind up wrong, that happens more often than not lol and everyone is free to disagree. I don't think I've mocked anyone.

But rarely have I held opinions this strong. And I am very adamantly against trading him in any realistic trade out there -- there are very few players I'd consider him in a trade for and all of those players are basically untouchable (yeah yeah if Gretzky was traded any player can be, but it would be incredibly rare and requires very unique circumstances for those types of players to come available). Other than that I think it's fair for anyone to have lower expectations than me and I'm not trying to convince anyone not to. Honestly I won't even be upset or shocked if he does come over and his game doesn't translate as well as we hope and he winds up going back to Russia or however it plays out. But I do think his potential and odds of reaching that potential are both high enough that he is a player to be incredibly excited about and to not consider in any realistic trades, that's all.

Just for the record I’ve never said, and will never say we SHOULD or that I want to trade Nikishin. My reaction was purely that it’s possible when you said you didn’t think it was possible. Im not a proponent of doing it at all. If the right guy became available then I wouldn’t hesitate to do it, which was the only point I had. If we can get the right kind of forward then I’m fine with it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yeah but prospects fail all the time. We aren't heavily questioning the ability of Canadian prospects because someone like Nugent-Hopkins didn't become the superstar that he was projected to be, and yet every time a top Euro isn't a superstar it's treated as some referendum on non-NA talent.

I damned sure question the ability of NA prospects all the time. Drury was the most recent one where I remember pushing back on speculation that he might become the solution for our developing hole at 2C. Ironically he did become that stopgap, but not the way we would like.

Anyone who lived through the era of McBain and Boychuk and Bowman and Samson and Welsh and Hoffman and Murphy and Carrick has battle scars from arguments over hyped young North Americans who turned out to be absolute trash at the NHL level. An -ov at the end of their names wouldn’t have made a difference, it was about the roller coaster ride of seeing them dominate a minor/junior league and then crash into reality against the top players in the world.

I think everyone here agrees that Nikishin will be a fixture in the NHL. The question is whether he’s a fixture in the sense of being a star, or in the sense of occupying a middle-range roster spot and giving us a few hundred solid games. The trade arguments are about the value of a “might be” potential star at the beginning of his career versus an “already is” first line talent a few years older.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I damned sure question the ability of NA prospects all the time. Drury was the most recent one where I remember pushing back on speculation that he might become the solution for our developing hole at 2C. Ironically he did become that stopgap, but not the way we would like.

Anyone who lived through the era of McBain and Boychuk and Bowman and Samson and Welsh and Hoffman and Murphy and Carrick has battle scars from arguments over hyped young North Americans who turned out to be absolute trash at the NHL level. An -ov at the end of their names wouldn’t have made a difference, it was about the roller coaster ride of seeing them dominate a minor/junior league and then crash into reality against the top players in the world.

I think everyone here agrees that Nikishin will be a fixture in the NHL. The question is whether he’s a fixture in the sense of being a star, or in the sense of occupying a middle-range roster spot and giving us a few hundred solid games. The trade arguments are about the value of a “might be” potential star at the beginning of his career versus an “already is” first line talent a few years older.

Forward vs. D, too, which is a general statement on positional value in the NHL (you’d rather have the star forward all things being equal).

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Anyone who lived through the era of McBain and Boychuk and Bowman and Samson and Welsh and Hoffman and Murphy and Carrick has battle scars from arguments over hyped young North Americans who turned out to be absolute trash at the NHL level. An -ov at the end of their names wouldn’t have made a difference, it was about the roller coaster ride of seeing them dominate a minor/junior league and then crash into reality against the top players in the world.

I'm guilty of hyping myself over the moon for Bowman. Between his "already NHL ready shot" and winning (and breaking) the Memorial Cup I was convinced we had a star goal scoring winger on our hands.

Then a couple years later I was all in on taking Zach Budish in 2009. He was the power forward we needed to take the next step. He barely sniffed the AHL, then played in Sweden for a few years before retiring.

It was about that time I realized that I know exactly jack and shit about prospects I've never seen play, and will defer to the people who actually have some knowledge of what they're talking about.

 

[Unsustainable]

Not sure about knowing 100% xyz player will be a NHL player or not, you can like a pick and believe in them to be that next level player.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If Rod were coaching a team of 12 Martinook clones as forwards, I bet they take at least half of the games played against the current team.

You underestimate.

 

[tomdundo]

Would you all rather fight 3 Martinook sized ducks or 15 duck sized Martinooks?

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

If Rod were coaching a team of 12 Martinook clones as forwards, I bet they take at least half of the games played against the current team.

The team chemistry would be unreal

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

The team chemistry would be unreal

Depending on whose sleeping with whose wife. Could get tricky.

 

[Stickpucker]

Depending on whose sleeping with whose wife. Could get tricky.

I don't think she's getting cloned in this hypothetical.

 

[bleedgreen]

The team chemistry would be unreal

So much “playing the right way”.