bp13
Registered User
I wouldn't exactly say he had 'much more production' than Koko. He had 11 more points in the exact same amount of games (137 games). Koko is also a year younger, and was drafted in the middle of the 2nd round, not 6th overall, so the expectations are much different.
People are worried because he has 139 games of experience in the NHL in addition to those 137 games in the AHL. In those 139 games, he only has 34 points. Sure, it may have been a 'numbers' game, but it's not as if he hasn't had quite a large sample size already. Meanwhile, Koko, by comparison, has only seen 4 NHL games.
Again, the jury is certainly still out on Connolly. He definitely has the skillset for it, which is why he was drafted so high. But will he ever be able to translate that to an NHL level? That remains to be seen. People are pessimistic, and rightfully so, due to his track record, but he certainly has the opportunity this year to prove any doubters wrong. We'll see what he does with it.
In my mind, they gave up two 2nd rounders for him and that should basically set his expectations. So what are reasonable expectations for two 2nd round picks? Don't most 2nd round picks never sniff the NHL?
I'm EXPECTING 15 goals, maybe 40-45 points. Decent all-around game, a little bit chippy, and fast enough to improve on our overall team speed of "Tortoise" level. Play well enough, along with guys like Beleskey and Hayes, to keep Chris Kelly away from the 3rd line. I think that's more than fair return for two 2nd rounders, especially considering his salary and his age. So frankly I'm surprised that people are either setting the bar higher or lacking any confidence he can hit that bar.
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