Alex Nylander

[bwana63]

Nylander seems to be OK. He is trending somewhat in general, the arrow is in the right direction. A bust? Too early to say - and a bust relative to what standard? A bust so far for a number 8 pick... yeah, relative to that draft position, one could say he is a bust. Relative to what we gave up to get him? Probably not a good trade so far. Joki is better at what he does than is Nylander at this point. That may - or may not - change with time. All that said, irrespective of where he was drafted and who we traded to get him - just analyzing him as a 22-year old asset on the team, as long as he is ultimately cheap, he is a perfectly fine member of the team - not a central cog, but a potentially solid contributor. So long as he ultimately is cheap, there is really nothing, overly, worth complaining about (or, for that matter, getting overly excited about either).

Good analysis. Other bits to factor in:
- Hawks probably felt Mitchell was a better prospect
- forwards are easier to protect (and much easier for the Hawks, given Keith's and Seab's NMCs)

 

[DesperateBeliever]

Thought this was an interesting take, and possibly indicative of Nylander showing improvement.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Rasmus Ristolainen has not developed that well. He is pretty bad defensively.

He's been fine, not great defensively, but that's not really his game.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Well one of them must be wrong? Dunno.

Easy to see which one is wrong, Nylander has not played with Toews and Kane for 24% of the season.
I don't know anyone that uses Frozen Tools for anything.

 

[crazyhawk]

Nice to see Nylander getting a little bit of love.
I feel he is one to hold onto for at least one more year if not two to see what we actually have.
The bloodlines are there .. the talent is there .. the size is there .. soon the results will be there too.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Nice to see Nylander getting a little bit of love.
I feel he is one to hold onto for at least one more year if not two to see what we actually have.
The bloodlines are there .. the talent is there .. the size is there .. soon the results will be there too.

I don't think we have much of a choice there, considering who we traded to get him. Hope for the best.

 

[crazyhawk]

I don't think we have much of a choice there, considering who we traded to get him. Hope for the best.

Indeed. Unless of course some other GM covets him and is willing to pay a good price.
I think he's going to end up being a good to very good top six forward. Probably not on his brother's level .. but a man can dream!

 

[BK]

He's been fine, not great defensively, but that's not really his game.

He is really bad defensively and they have not developed that portion of his game.

 

[Hawkaholic]

He is really bad defensively and they have not developed that portion of his game.

He has been much better this year. He is still a legit successful NHLer that is pretty good. That's the point.

 

[BK]

He has been much better this year. He is still a legit successful NHLer that is pretty good. That's the point.

And my point along with the point of the conversation is that the Sabres don't develop players very well.

Risto is still not close to being an average D man in his own end.

 

[Hawkaholic]

And my point along with the point of the conversation is that the Sabres don't develop players very well.

Risto is still not close to being an average D man in his own end.

But again, that's not his game. Not every player becomes a good defensive player and it's not always the teams fault. And I'd say those players have developed pretty well. They are all top 6 forwards (what we want nylander to be) or top 4 Dmen.

But I also agree, they aren't that great, but it's not like the Hawks have been that great of late either.

 

[BK]

But again, that's not his game. Not every player becomes a good defensive player and it's not always the teams fault. And I'd say those players have developed pretty well. They are all top 6 forwards (what we want nylander to be) or top 4 Dmen.

But I also agree, they aren't that great, but it's not like the Hawks have been that great of late either.

That is fine that it is not his game but he should have been developed far more in his end that he has.

Eichel and Dahlin are studs on their own. The Sabres have very little to do with their development.

VO and SR have developed well.

The Hawks are FAR better than the Sabres.

 

[Hawkaholic]

That is fine that it is not his game but he should have been developed far more in his end that he has.

The Hawks are FAR better than the Sabres.

They are better, but not far, they have struggled to produce depth players from within the farm system. They aren't great, average at best.

 

[BK]

They are better, but not far, they have struggled to produce depth players from within the farm system. They aren't great, average at best.

The Sabres have picked top 10 for a long time. The Hawks have done so for the past 2 years (and again this year). They have developed Boqvist and Dach very well. Mitchell and Beaudin, etc are TDB.

 

[Hawkaholic]

The Sabres have picked top 10 for a long time. The Hawks have done so for the past 2 years (and again this year). They have developed Boqvist and Dach very well. Mitchell and Beaudin, etc are TDB.

Right, and the Sabres developed Dahlin and Eichel fairly well, along with Oloffsson. I'm talking more recently, like last 5 years.

 

[BK]

Right, and the Sabres developed Dahlin and Eichel fairly well, along with Oloffsson. I'm talking more recently, like last 5 years.

They haven't develop Eichel and Dahlin at all imo. I am giving the player most of the credit there.

 

[Hawkaholic]

They haven't develop Eichel and Dahlin at all imo. I am giving the player most of the credit there.

OK, then I give Dach and Boqvist most of the credit.

 

[BK]

OK, then I give Dach and Boqvist most of the credit.

Boqvist? Bullshit. They place him in London. They then had Campbell personally mentor him. THe have been HUGE in his development.

Dach the only credit I give to the Hawks is that they kept him in Chicago because it was right move for him.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Boqvist? Bullshit.

Dach the only credit I give to the Hawks is that they kept him in Chicago because it was right move for him.

Just silly to give all credit to the player, Sabres could have sent Dahlin back since 18year old Dmen don't typically do well in the NHL. Meanwhile he put up 44pts.

Both teams haven't been great in the last 4-5 years. Hawks have been better, but lack of depth forwards and Dmen coming up have been a major problem for Chicago.

 

[BK]

Just silly to give all credit to the player, Sabres could have sent Dahlin back since 18year old Dmen don't typically do well in the NHL. Meanwhile he put up 44pts.

Both teams haven't been great in the last 4-5 years. Hawks have been better, but lack of depth forwards and Dmen coming up have been a major problem for Chicago.

No not really.

It is laughable to think they would have sent Dahlin back to Europe.

 

[Hawkaholic]

No not really.

It is laughable to think they would have sent Dahlin back to Europe.

I mean, if they were terrible at developing they could have.

 

[BK]

I mean, if they were terrible at developing they could have.

No. Dahlin was NHL ready and everyone knew it.

 

[Hawkaholic]

No. Dahlin was NHL ready and everyone knew it.

A lot of players seem NHL ready but then fail to get better over the season, so its not an outlandish idea for a team to send an 18 year old rookie Dman down to develop a bit more regardless of how ready he is.

 

[BK]

A lot of players seem NHL ready but then fail to get better over the season, so its not an outlandish idea for a team to send an 18 year old rookie Dman down to develop a bit more regardless of how ready he is.

A lot of players are not Dahlin.

 

[Hawkaholic]

A lot of players are not Dahlin.

I agree. They made the right move with him, and a few others and they have developed into pretty good NHLers. But they are few and far between, and I agreed that they aren't great.