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Derek Stepan

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Joe11 said:
Yes, that would probably be a good season.

But I ask all you guys praising him, one question --- Have you seen him make a really good pass this season that set someone up for a goal? or even a good scoring chance?
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I'm just saying.. If he doesnt score goals but amasses a ton of assists, thats still a good season. He's not the one to put the puck into the net, thats what Gaborik, Nash, Richards and others are for.
 
Lundsanity30 said:
I'm just saying.. If he doesnt score goals but amasses a ton of assists, thats still a good season. He's not the one to put the puck into the net, thats what Gaborik, Nash, Richards and others are for.
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And besides Gabby, how many have the other two potted between them? Not good enough.

It's not entirely on Stepan, rather he is one of many not pulling their weight.
 
Trxjw said:
I've been watching Stepan for years now. He plays his best hockey when he has a guy with size on his line. He's not a fast skater, but he's agile. If he gets some open space, you can see the magic he can generate with his vision and hockey sense. He was excellent with Anisimov, played his best minutes of the season with guys like Boyle and Pyatt on his line and was stellar at the WC with Blake Wheeler on his wing. He's a very good player who can, and often does make the players around him better. However, if he had better wheels and a better shot, we wouldn't be griping about him as a #2C, because he'd be a #1 center.

I'm telling you, get this kid out there with someone who can create space -- whether that's Pyatt or someone else, and he, along with his linemates will benefit from it. Not all great players are guys who carry a line themselves. Sometimes you just need to give them the right situation to succeed.
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Do you play hockey? Serious question...
 
Stepan had his best season in his rookie season and best game in his debut game. His career will inevitably go down hill from here resulting in a career 4th line center bouncing around lines as the last forward.
 
Drewbackatu said:
Bingo; we have a winner! I've been saying exactly that all along about Stephanie. Oh by the way, to the genius who thinks he's better than Henrique, he returned tonite to the Devils and scored a goal!
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Good for him! Go become a Devils fan then. You constantly criticize Rangers players, good or bad, anyway. So it would be an easy transition for you. Seriously. Cool it with the Rangers hate. We get it. You hate Stepan, DZ, Staal last year, Gaborik, or really anyone else. I get that your trying to be objective, but honestly, you just end up sounding like a broken record. "Stepan sucks! Here's a list of 50,000 players who are better than her!"
"Staal sucks! Coming back from a concussion is no excuse to play poorly!"
"Rangers drafting sucks!" They should have drafted Parise, Getzlaf, Letang, Yandle, Giroux, Eberle, Zajac, Krejci, Lucic, and any one else who was never considered a GREAT prospect and was passed over by 29 other teams."

We're all fans of the same team. And it's OK to be critical of them when they're not playing well, but let's stop with the repeated hating of them or giving all of them girl names.
 
JCresty said:
Stepan had his best season in his rookie season and best game in his debut game. His career will inevitably go down hill from here resulting in a career 4th line center bouncing around lines as the last forward.
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This is not true. He improved in nearly all facets of the game his sophomore year and was the #1 center until January...

I think this will be a funny thread to bump in a few weeks, just my hunch.
 
Henriks Broadway Hat said:
I think your sarcasm meter is broken. :laugh:
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It's hard to tell around here sometimes.. I mean people (person?) seriously thought the organization was faking Kreider's injury so anything is possible!

I hope when Kreider comes back he can get a chance with Stepan again and maybe Nash. Two big guys, one who can create his own space and another who can hopefully do the same! I'm not worried about Stepan yet, he's not a very flashy player and tends to quietly put up points.
 
Henriks Broadway Hat said:
Good for him! Go become a Devils fan then. You constantly criticize Rangers players, good or bad, anyway. So it would be an easy transition for you. Seriously. Cool it with the Rangers hate. We get it. You hate Stepan, DZ, Staal last year, Gaborik, or really anyone else. I get that your trying to be objective, but honestly, you just end up sounding like a broken record. "Stepan sucks! Here's a list of 50,000 players who are better than her!"
"Staal sucks! Coming back from a concussion is no excuse to play poorly!"
"Rangers drafting sucks!" They should have drafted Parise, Getzlaf, Letang, Yandle, Giroux, Eberle, Zajac, Krejci, Lucic, and any one else who was never considered a GREAT prospect and was passed over by 29 other teams."

We're all fans of the same team. And it's OK to be critical of them when they're not playing well, but let's stop with the repeated hating of them or giving all of them girl names.
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Wow, that was more than a mouthful. Fifty + years of bull**** with this team will do that to you and
I'll stop giving them girlie names when they stop playing like a bunch of girls.

Really, the whole thing with this organization is both frustrating and infuriating. We really need a complete shakeup management wise, don't you think?

I can't help it that this organization is run like a horse's ass, that they draft poorly(historically) and that they do a lousy job developing players.

You must admit though that I haven't said boo about Gaborik or Staal lately.
 
Derek Stepan is the least of our problems... at least he's getting good looks at the net (and he's not even our "scorer"). If he buried one of his amazing chances he's had over the past couple of games then people wouldn't be saying anything... Derek Stepan is capable of making and receiving passes and that's more than we can say about the rest of the bottom 9.
 
Fanned On It said:
Derek Stepan is the least of our problems... at least he's getting good looks at the net (and he's not even our "scorer"). If he buried one of his amazing chances he's had over the past couple of games then people wouldn't be saying anything... Derek Stepan is capable of making and receiving passes and that's more than we can say about the rest of the bottom 9.
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not quite sure I follow your logic here. Yes, if he buried his chances people wouldn't be saying anything, but he hasn't been, that's the whole point. Coming into the season the Rangers would have been expecting Stepan to be one of our 'scorers'. He's one of many issues with the team at present, not sure how I'd rank them all though
 
I think he's really out of shape now.

So part of me thinks he'll look like he did last year around game 15 or so. But I do have this feeling that I'd rather have shipped him than Arty to CBJ if possible....
 
team high six shots-- great positioning on most if not all of them. golden opportunities that he just couldn't find the net on (a problem with his shot to a point, strength on their goaltending, slow reaction/release to another point). i thought this was another strong game, and i think you guys dogging on him for last night's performance are either crazy or just desperately looking for somewhere to direct the blame. regardless of how upset you are about him not getting goals, he was in the right position. this is another strong step in the right direction. i'm anxious to see if he continues the trend


mike14 said:
not quite sure I follow your logic here. Yes, if he buried his chances people wouldn't be saying anything, but he hasn't been, that's the whole point. Coming into the season the Rangers would have been expecting Stepan to be one of our 'scorers'. He's one of many issues with the team at present, not sure how I'd rank them all though
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i'm not sure i follow your logic here, has he not put up 4 points playing with so-so second liners?? is he not still is one of our top 'scorers' in terms of point production...? are you referencing the goals scored? cause i don't think anybody really considers him an elite goal scorer. he is a playmaker. he sets other guys up. nobody is where he looks to get a pass-- he needs to learn to protect the puck like nash when a play isn't available-- then he'd be elite.
 
mooskating said:
i'm not sure i follow your logic here, has he not put up 4 points playing with so-so second liners?? is he not still is one of our top 'scorers' in terms of point production...? are you referencing the goals scored? cause i don't think anybody really considers him an elite goal scorer. he is a playmaker. he sets other guys up. nobody is where he looks to get a pass-- he needs to learn to protect the puck like nash when a play isn't available-- then he'd be elite.
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you're agreeing with me. I'm saying he should be a scorer, as are you. The other guy was saying he's not a scorer
 
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This thread. WTF.

Kid is 22 years old, has 100 points in 171 games, half of them on the third line and is a +22.

So he's not fast and doesn't have a very good shot. He has proven his value even if he's struggling a bit now. The Stepan haters will be eating crow for sure.
 
You'll never hear me say this about young guys. I've criticized nearly every young player we've seen that goes through struggles, but i usually give them the benefit of the doubt/see potential.

I don't see it in Stepan. His two-way game has improved, but he's flat out bad. I personally believe he's digressed, and the things that made him successful in college just have flat out vanished.

It's not like he was the lackadaisical small guy in college. What made him a special prospect has flat out vanished. I'm baffled.

I've been pretty spot on with my view of prospects I've watched numerous times before they broke into the NHL, and I'm stunned at how off base I was at Derek. I didn't see fail in Steps, and call me negative (he is surely capable of having a productive season stats wise), but I'm extremely skeptical. If it weren't for a couple of odd-man rush passes to one of the most opportunistic/streaky scorers in the NHL, the general consensus would be that he has stagnated, big time.
 
SixGoalieSystem said:
This thread. WTF.

Kid is 22 years old, has 100 points in 171 games, half of them on the third line and is a +22.

So he's not fast and doesn't have a very good shot. He has proven his value even if he's struggling a bit now. The Stepan haters will be eating crow for sure.
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No, this has been the argument for Stepan for awhile now. He has played with an elite (albeit painfully streaky) player that has capitalized on chances that are unworthy of granting a player a point. His 4 points in 7 games are not at all indicative of his play. Nash on the other hand has created every game and has only 2 more points then Stepan.

I'll eat crow, but it's not happening. Derek Stepan is maxed out without 12 hour daily sessions from Barb Underhill.
 
This is a 48 game mini marathon and not a sprint. Stepan gets plenty of power play minutes while also centering a top 6 position. The points will come. He usually gets quiet points where they are not noticed. This seems to be his game. The odds are very good playing power minutes and on a line with a combination of great players such as Nash, Gaborik, Callahan and etc the points will be there at the end of the season.
 
ColonialsHockey10 said:
No, this has been the argument for Stepan for awhile now. He has played with an elite (albeit painfully streaky) player that has capitalized on chances that are unworthy of granting a player a point. His 4 points in 7 games are not at all indicative of his play. Nash on the other hand has created every game and has only 2 more points then Stepan.

I'll eat crow, but it's not happening. Derek Stepan is maxed out without 12 hour daily sessions from Barb Underhill.
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He has also played a large part of his game playing on the third line or with third line players. Half a season with Wolski and Zuccarello, some time in Anisimovs spot on the pack line (not third line players but altso not scorers giving Steps free points). He even played with Boyle, Frolov, Avery & Prust, not to mention Grachev and Boogard.

I get some of the critisism directed towards him, he needs to improve, but there's no way it's fair to say that his points came from playing with Gaborik.
 
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Stepan has been bad - scary bad to start the season. I never would expect him to ever be a speed demon out there, but everything else is slow about his game too - particularly his decision making with the puck. The top line is going to have off nights, and last night was a perfect example of whats going to continue to happen if Stepan doesnt step it up.

He and whoever his linemates are seem to become a black hole offensively, especially at even strength. He needs to play better, period.

And for anyone preparing the lame "Why just Stepan? Everyone needs to play better" line, I hold Stepan to a higher standard...he is a HUGE key to the season at that 2C spot.
 
Stepan needs to have a good game and score a goal.

That may lift his confidence level a bit. This is type of year without a camp where im going to try and reserve judgement until a little later in the year. I've already questioned Steps play, im not liking what im seeing (i dont know how anyone could) but im not about to throw in the towel.

Sometimes the right move, the right shot, a goal, or a seemingly insignificant event like a hit or the way a puck comes off your stick one night may be the difference from getting offensive confidence back, especially for a kid his age.

But some of the comments are dead on concerning his skating. Hes been bad.
 
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i would have traded Stepan over Anisimov or Dubinsky or first round in the Rick Nash deal..
 
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