C/LW Jonathan Drouin (2013, 3rd, TBL) III

[Roz]

Ironically, fans from small Quebec markets think the same thing about Halifax!

I've even seen some posts on the Q french board mentioning how Drouin faked being hurt. (not that I believe it as well). It just shows you how different perspectives can be.

This is a fair point.

I remember Drouin throwing a dangerous hit on Ranger in Game 1 vs. Baie-Comeau that should have gotten him more than a checking from behind minor. It wasn't as bad as Erne's hit, but it probably should've gotten him a 10 minute or game misconduct. Drakkar fans were howling that the league did nothing just because he's Drouin and he's their baby. The league's response to Erne's hit should clear up that notion once and for all.

However, it's entirely the fault of Bolduc/the Q that these conspiracy theories have legs. The inconsistent discipline is confusing, and the lack of transparency means that people have to come to their own conclusions about how decisions get made. When Sorensen gets no penalty for doing something that got Ashley 4 playoff games, it's not exactly a leap to think that something fishy's going on. For a Mooseheads fan, you add that to the playoff suspensions to guys like Lewis, Critchlow, Shelley, and Abeltshauser, and it's easy to build a case. A Mooseheads fan isn't going to be following the discipline meted out to other teams and vice versa. Where there's no transparency, it becomes easy to see corruption where there is only incompetence.

If the Q actually made a video or released a statement explaining why Sorensen's cross-check doesn't meet Ashley's precedent, or explaining why Erne's hit didn't reach the level of supplemental discipline it would be harder for the conspiracy theories to flourish.

 

[MyNameIsNobody*]

If people are allowed to post Erne showed no remorse then I'm allowed to post that he did. And yes he said some stupid stuff right after an emotion filled game. After he calmed down and realized he was wrong he contacted Drouin.

Buddy he was told to say what you said he said

Don't you understand ????!!!

What he said right after the game came from him, anything after that was public relations influenced by outsiders

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

If people are allowed to post Erne showed no remorse then I'm allowed to post that he did. And yes he said some stupid stuff right after an emotion filled game. After he calmed down and realized he was wrong he contacted Drouin.

After the comments made after the game, I'm reasonably certain it took someone else in the background to realize that Erne was wrong and force him to reach out with some kind of apology to improve the optics of the situation. Not even a phone call to someone he actually knows quite well, mind you. Quick little text message... As genuine as it gets, really.

 

[BobDobolina]

I'm sure none of you have ever said some stupid things when you were emotional, especially not at the of 18. Get a grip.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

[mod]

And all we're saying is that someone forced him to reluctantly send a text message after everything he said publicly immediately after the game, but you can also believe what you want.

 

[Stammer Time*]

[mod]

Not really. I care about the Lightning way more than US Hockey. I would take a good tournament for Drouin, Vasilevski and Erne over a US Gold. I could care less about what country anybody is from. To be honest I always found it a little sad and scary to see grown adults care so much about a tournament for teenagers but that's for a different thread. Once again all I am saying is Erne did show remorse, anybody can speculate on if it was genuine or not but it did happen.

 

[Stammer Time*]

And all we're saying is that someone forced him to reluctantly send a text message after everything he said publicly immediately after the game, but you can also believe what you want.

Cool, we'll never know who's right and we'll leave it at that.

 

[MyNameIsNobody*]

And all we're saying is that someone forced him to reluctantly send a text message after everything he said publicly immediately after the game, but you can also believe what you want.

People don't understand the obvious.

Anyways I really hope drouin is ok. Concussions are serious. Good news is that this was not a serious concussion. There are 3 grades if concussions. Grade 1 is mild, grade 2 and grade 3.

Concussions are not good overall but grade 1 is the least severe which from my understanding is what drouin has

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

MOD

At the end of the day, Drouin is a young man who could have been seriously hurt. The hit could have ruined his career. It could have ruined his life. But, as long as Erne can play at the WJR's and it helps the U.S.'s chances, for some, that risk, and Drouin's health, is a small price to pay.

Just be glad you're not like that.

 

[bigdirty]

Coming from a longtime Mooseheads fan, and a huge Drouin supporter, I have to say I think the whole thing is getting overblown.
Was it a bad hit? Absolutely.
Should Erne have been suspended? I think so.
But the fact is none of us would be talking about this if Erne had his someone like Darcy Ashley. We probably wouldn't even be talking too much about it if the World Juniors weren't right around the corner. As I said, it was a bad hit, definitely illegal, and I think Erne deserved some time off, but it's not like Drouin got the Marc Savard treatment. Sadly, we've seen much much worse than this hit. Erne making dumb comments afterwards just proves that he isn't lying about his age.

I seriously doubt this will create any problems between the two when they both move on to Tampa Bay, but it will definitely make their next meeting on January 30th a lot more interesting. Quebec and Halifax already have a good rivalry and this is just going to bring it up a level. I might even have to consider a road trip for that one.

 

[SergeConstantin]

If people are allowed to post Erne showed no remorse then I'm allowed to post that he did. And yes he said some stupid stuff right after an emotion filled game. After he calmed down and realized he was wrong he contacted Drouin.

With his bad comments, he also said he didn't know if Drouin had a concussion. He might have felt bad after he heard he had one.

 

[The Sweetness]

MOD

At the end of the day, Drouin is a young man who could have been seriously hurt. The hit could have ruined his career. It could have ruined his life. But, as long as Erne can play at the WJR's and it helps the U.S.'s chances, for some, that risk, and Drouin's health, is a small price to pay.

Just be glad you're not like that.

While it was a bad hit and deserves a suspension imo I don't think the hit was career or certainly life-threatening. He was pretty upright and close to the boards and really I don't see how the hit could have been career threatening.

Also, do you have any quotes from people saying they they feel it is worth risking Drouin's career and life to improve the US's chances at the WJC?

Really, reading some of this thread is pathetic in regards to the victim mentality displayed. The hit was bad but you'd think reading this that Canadians have never made any borderline players on players of other nationalities.

 

[Woodhouse]

Folks, this is the Drouin thread, please keep your posts on-topic (e.g., updates and projections). If you want to continue to discuss QMJHL rulings or Darcy Ashley, there's always the QMJHL forum.

 

[ijk]

Are Tampa fans and Canadians content with Drouin's play in the WJC in general, as well as with the game against Finland (in which he did score Canada's only goal)?

The skill-level is evidently sky high, but at least against the Finns he seemed to try too much by himself, seldom if at all using his linemates.

Thoughts?

 

[Chelios]

I was really disappointed with Drouin in this tournament. He definitely tried to do way too much, didn't use his teammates well at all, and seemed to have unravelled mentally as the tournament went on. I would hope that it was just a product of him putting too much pressure on himself to carry this team, and that none of this will be an issue at the next level, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. The speed and skill is definitely there, he just needs to use his teammates more and stay composed.

 

[LeMAD]

And his game won't translate well to the NHL. He's not fast enough and he will get pushed around. He'll still be a good player, but not a star.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

Are Tampa fans and Canadians content with Drouin's play in the WJC in general, as well as with the game against Finland (in which he did score Canada's only goal)?

The skill-level is evidently sky high, but at least against the Finns he seemed to try too much by himself, seldom if at all using his linemates.

Thoughts?

Honestly, I'm fine with his play. He's been getting too much of a bad rep because he has the puck on his stick more than anyone else, but he's had some very successful zone entries this tournament which evidently is what we need in Tampa for our powerplay.

He's been fairly successful at winning faceoffs, which is a major step up from where he was at the the beginning of the season.

The turnovers are a sign that he should no longer be a junior player, and that he's ready to learn the pro game. It's too bad he couldn't play in the AHL this season, as he would have learned how to adjust and get rid of those "junior habits". Jon Cooper and Rob Zettler have done an excellent job of polishing Lightning prospects into NHL players, so he'll be in good hands.

Also, I don't understand the people who say he won't translate into a star based on what they've seen? He's become much faster, and has added a much better top speed to his already great agility and skating arsenal. He is excellent at stripping the puck and created a large amount of turnovers this tournament. The vision, puck handling, and passing ability is there at a high level, as many of you already know. As for the issue of being knocked off the puck, Drouin is already a workhorse in the offseason and he'll soon be exposed to the likes of Steven Stamkos and Gary Roberts. He'll be very hard to knock off the puck in his prime.

 

[IdealisticSniper]

And his game won't translate well to the NHL. He's not fast enough and he will get pushed around. He'll still be a good player, but not a star.

Blah blah. At St Louis is too short he will never make it. Tavares can't skate well enough he won't be very good. Etc etc.

He may never be a 100 point player but he most certainly will do just fine.

 

[WolfgangAmadeusEller*]

He's holding the puck way too much, but can't really blame him. His teammates are useless and Fucale doesn't play wing.

 

[Chelios]

He's holding the puck way too much, but can't really blame him. His teammates are useless and Fucale doesn't play wing.

Its one thing to hold on to the puck a bit too much, its quite another to consistently try to stickhandle through 3 players at the opponents blueline. Drouin had a poor tournament. It doesn't mean he is a horrible player, but it certainly raises a few questions that maybe weren't there before. Like I said, I hope it can all just be chalked up to him putting too much pressure on himself to carry this team, but we will have to wait to see if the concerning aspects of his tournament (not using his teammates, easily getting frustrated etc...) continue to be a problem or are just a blip on the radar.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Every single player on that team played bad against Finland, Drouin included. It was not his finest moment but I don't think anybody should be drawing conclusions about these kids futures based off of what is most likely a lot of those kids worst game. Like I said that game was on every player on that bench.

 

[The Sweetness]

Definitely disappointed with Drouin in this tourney. His play reminded me a bit of Yakupov last year as I think they both put too much pressure on themselves to dominate and as a consequence tried to do too much by themselves.

I'm sure he will still be a brilliant player in the NHL. He just needs to settle down and trust his teammates a bit more. He also reminds me of Sid a bit in that he is far less effective if you can get him running around instead of focusing on hurting teams with his offense.

 

[YNWA14]

I was really disappointed with Drouin in this tournament. He definitely tried to do way too much, didn't use his teammates well at all, and seemed to have unravelled mentally as the tournament went on. I would hope that it was just a product of him putting too much pressure on himself to carry this team, and that none of this will be an issue at the next level, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. The speed and skill is definitely there, he just needs to use his teammates more and stay composed.

Felt the same way. He looked like a completely different player to the one that has played on Halifax the last two years. Very childish, selfish and impossibly frustrating. Hopefully as he matures he will work it out or all that talent will be wasted (somewhat, anyway).

 

[member 147413]

I was really disappointed with Drouin in this tournament. He definitely tried to do way too much, didn't use his teammates well at all, and seemed to have unravelled mentally as the tournament went on. I would hope that it was just a product of him putting too much pressure on himself to carry this team, and that none of this will be an issue at the next level, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. The speed and skill is definitely there, he just needs to use his teammates more and stay composed.

Yup, in short he seems like a selfish child.

 

[daver]

Yup, in short he seems like a selfish child.

Hardly, it was a player who was trying too to do too much.