That changes nothing that I said. There's no context there. I'm asking him to actually get a look so we can actually SEE if he's trash on the PP. 30 second shifts tell us nothing. I think we've both expressed what we think on it and I doubt either of us is moving. Hahaha.
30 second shifts can't give us the story. It's just a terrible sample. Nothing much gets set up in 30 seconds, especially including zone entry in that time, and that's the meat of a powerplay.
God forbid one of our players improves their skills game.
Well with certain attributes I think it's just innate or it's not. I don't know how much you can really improve on learning how to shoot a puck a certain way when iou are not built for it. Like Rick Nash, he never had a good slapshot/one-timer, he just wasn't built for it genetically. It isn't a matter of not working hard in this instance.
This is just preposterous, first of all nothing is a guarantee. The games still have to be played. It's not a f***ing daycare, "okay Mika, okay artemi, now it's Alexis' turn to play with the Xbox." The team is trying to win, the players are trying to win and want to play and produce. You don't just give a worse player minutes over a better player to gain exp so they reach their medium elite potential.
Nash's stick was too big. It sounds dumb but it's true
That's not why Nash didn't have a good one-timer. Yeah he can improve to a degree but he's never going to be able to change his mechanics to all of a sudden become a real threat shooting off the pass.
IMO Nash's strength as a shooter was just that he was accurate and he wasn't always trying to snipe top corners all the time. I feel like he liked going low, just over the pad often blocker side a lot of the time
I agree Laf does have a pretty good snapper, when he does get it off it's heavy and has some velocity on it. But I'm talking specifically about one-timing the puck which is a different animal.
I think there is a balance to be had. Hahaha. We don't need to be extreme about it, alternating power play setups can very well be in the best interests of the team, both short and long term. Imagine if we had a second reliable game tested pp to put out there against NJ...
how else is he going to farm XP to level up?
it doesn't have to be subject to 'one-timer'. He could have definitely improved. His stick did play a big role in it imo. He had to slingshot/whip most of his shots into the goalies pads. Similar issue with a player like Zucc. They were just awkward shooting in general
In theory a longer stick should make it easier to shoot the puck harder/faster, but it makes stick handling more difficult. It's the same reason why golf club manufacturers are putting longer shafts in drivers. Go more far.
His shot isn't his problem. Getting to a place where he has a good shooting position is rare for him. I don't know if its skating, positioning, ability to to receive passes smoothly or what but if he figures it out his shot will be fine imo.
You are right about dirty goals but I feel we pass a lot because we don't create enough space to feel confident about our shooting chances. We are really lacking in speed and space. I'd be open to changing our top 6 and our defensemen as well because I don't enjoy our style. We have skills but they show up on the PP because they have space. We have very few guys that other teams fear one on one so they back up. We need guys that create space. Chytil does that a little. Mika a little. Bread does it a little but with shiftiness not speed.
And yet when Laf was knocking in dirty goals the narrative was "well ANYONE could score those..." hahaha.
A good team needs a combination of goals. We do not want all perimeter based goals nor all "dirty" goals. I'm happy Laf has scored some goals in close. That is great. That shows an inclination to stick his nose in the danger zone. With that said those type goals are not how he became the #1 overall pick. I'd like to see him improve his skating and puck handling to the point where we can see some of his junior type goals added back in to his arsenal of weapons.
You answered your own question on Laf. It's a lack of speed and creating space. That extends to not only creating his own shot, but also creating space necessary to exhibit playmaking skills which were billed as elite.
