Toggle sidebar

Derek Stepan

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
Status
Not open for further replies.
He will go down our best offensively developed home grown player in a long, LONG time. Somehow the rangers have/are developing their first line center. It's quite a sight to see.
 
Stepan and Nash have been our best two forwards this season.

Who would've thought that going into the season?
 
its funny the beginning of this year everyone wanted ROR and was willing to give MDZ, whos arguably been one of our best dmans.. and people thought RoR is better..its funny how people hated on him.. yeah he wasnt consistent but the guy's attitude is the best part about him.. he always wants to get better and improve.. never content and satisfied with his play.. guy was a captain at WJC, won big national games and captain for the badgers.. guy is a complete stud and has the same attitude as callahan which is what this team needs.. maybe he gets coached up by messier? haha glad he's doing well... hopefully brass can be a special player and show top center ability and we'll have a nice 1-2 punch with both of them..instead of UFA spending etc..

future assistant captain for sure..
 
So what do you think his ceiling is? Can he become a guy that has a few 70+ point seasons? He's on pace for almost that and that's with a poor start. Can he be a smaller Bergeron type of guy?
 
I Eat Crow said:
Any chance he makes the Olympic team next year? At this rate I say yes
Click to expand...

If he is consistent till the end of the year I think he'll get an invite. Then it's up to him. He has to do what hes doing this year next year again. To another level. If he does that, I think he can do it.
 
SnowblindNYR said:
So what do you think his ceiling is? Can he become a guy that has a few 70+ point seasons? He's on pace for almost that and that's with a poor start. Can he be a smaller Bergeron type of guy?
Click to expand...

I think he could eclipse PPG numbers. What I expect, though, is consistent 60-70 point seasons. With what he provides defensively, that is fantastic production and makes him a 1C in this league.
 
gotta love HF. at the beginning of the season half of you wanted to trade step for a 3rd round pick because he already reached his ceiling and was a mediocre player with terrible skating ability and now hes gonna be PPG player in the league.
 
Zenith said:
I think he could eclipse PPG numbers. What I expect, though, is consistent 60-70 point seasons. With what he provides defensively, that is fantastic production and makes him a 1C in this league.
Click to expand...

I think to be a franchise 1C he needs to bring at least 70 points.

At 60 points he's the best 2C in the league. Perhaps a good 1C but I want to see more than 60 points from our first line center, no matter what else he brings.

edit- To keep rambling for a bit, I'm talking more theoretically, not just actually producing 60-70 points. When I think of a 70+ point player I think of a dynamic player who makes things happen out of nothing. When I think of a 60 point player I think of a guy who's great but who's not good enough to be a franchise player.
 
BlueshirtBlitz said:
I think to be a franchise 1C he needs to bring at least 70 points.

At 60 points he's the best 2C in the league. Perhaps a good 1C but I want to see more than 60 points from our first line center, no matter what else he brings.

edit- To keep rambling for a bit, I'm talking more theoretically, not just actually producing 60-70 points. When I think of a 70+ point player I think of a dynamic player who makes things happen out of nothing. When I think of a 60 point player I think of a guy who's great but who's not good enough to be a franchise player.
Click to expand...

you have great points.. but Boston didn;t win the cup with a true number 1c putting 70+ points..

berg and krej put up between 50-65pts on average in there careers. i think if you have at least 2 centers like that and both play 2way like they do.. you'll get the same success.. i dont want to ramble either, but depth is key and by having 3 lines that contribute your good to go!

helps having step richards and brass now.. solid center depth..
 
There are 30 first line centers in the league. Let's divide them into the top 10, average 10 and bottom 10.

In 2011-12, the #10 center had 67 points; #20 had 60 points.

In 2010-11, the #10 center had 70 points; #20 had 62 points.

I would say that getting over 70 points makes one an elite center, while scoring 60-70 points makes you a solid, middle-of-the-road first line center.

Nobody is claiming that Step will turn into an elite player, but he can become a middle of the road first line center. That's certainly within his potential. It will also save a ton of money because we won't have to give $7-8 to an aging UFA center (Richards or whoever else), instead signing Step to maybe $3-$3.5 next year and no more than $5 the next contract.
 
dethomas07 said:
you have great points.. but Boston didn;t win the cup with a true number 1c putting 70+ points..

berg and krej put up between 50-65pts on average in there careers. i think if you have at least 2 centers like that and both play 2way like they do.. you'll get the same success.. i dont want to ramble either, but depth is key and by having 3 lines that contribute your good to go!

helps having step richards and brass now.. solid center depth..
Click to expand...

True, and center depth can't be underrated every for success, but Pat B. put up a PPG in the playoffs (I think? Maybe like 2-3 points off) the year the Broons won the Cup. In the regular season he was under 60 points, but I don't know if they win if Bergeron doesn't step up like he did for the playoffs.

Either way, Stepan is fantastic and be it as a franchise 1st liner or an elite 2nd liner i'm glad we have a player of his caliber on the team for the foreseeable future. :yo:
 
BlueshirtBlitz said:
True, and center depth can't be underrated every for success, but Pat B. put up a PPG in the playoffs (I think? Maybe like 2-3 points off) the year the Broons won the Cup. In the regular season he was under 60 points, but I don't know if they win if Bergeron doesn't step up like he did for the playoffs.

Either way, Stepan is fantastic and be it as a franchise 1st liner or an elite 2nd liner i'm glad we have a player of his caliber on the team for the foreseeable future. :yo:
Click to expand...

Who's to say Stepan can't put up close to PPG in the playoffs? He hasn't been great so far but has really improved leaps and bounds this year.
 
BlueshirtBlitz said:
True, and center depth can't be underrated every for success, but Pat B. put up a PPG in the playoffs (I think? Maybe like 2-3 points off) the year the Broons won the Cup. In the regular season he was under 60 points, but I don't know if they win if Bergeron doesn't step up like he did for the playoffs.

Either way, Stepan is fantastic and be it as a franchise 1st liner or an elite 2nd liner i'm glad we have a player of his caliber on the team for the foreseeable future. :yo:
Click to expand...

great points.. we're lucky to have him.. i like the new direction of the team.. bc missing dubi and AA i knew we we're going to miss them and I am glad we made the changes at the deadline to address all our losses.. time will tell..but no more drastic moves let this team grow..
 
BTW, given that Richards plays like he's been playing lately and not like he has most of the season is it fair to say the upgrade of Stepan from last year to this year more than made up the downgrade in Richards and our top 2 centers are better this year than last? Maybe even top 3 with Brassard playing well. I thought the trades were awful, but it seems like we have now replenished depth and now have more talent than last year. Also a lot of the grit returned. Seems like a better version of last year's team.
 
He has surprised me...not that I have a problem with that as it is better for our team . Stepan had a bad start...but is gearing for a great finish . :nod:
 
The real important thing here is to get all 3 of our centers playing well.

Stepans been excellent, but Richards is starting to heat up, and Brassard has looked quite good in his short stint here (if Boyle had any finish at all, Brassard would have 2-3 more points).

strength down the middle is huge.
 
BlueshirtBlitz said:
I think to be a franchise 1C he needs to bring at least 70 points.

At 60 points he's the best 2C in the league. Perhaps a good 1C but I want to see more than 60 points from our first line center, no matter what else he brings.

edit- To keep rambling for a bit, I'm talking more theoretically, not just actually producing 60-70 points. When I think of a 70+ point player I think of a dynamic player who makes things happen out of nothing. When I think of a 60 point player I think of a guy who's great but who's not good enough to be a franchise player.
Click to expand...

Gotta disagree with you there. Even if he puts up 60 points, he's a 1st line center, IMO, with all of the other elements he brings. It's a moot point, though, to me, because I think Stepan is going to eclipse 70 with relative ease in a full season, especially if he sticks with Nash. They're a great combo, I hope Torts keeps them together as long as possible; hopefully for several years, even!

Getting away from the topic of points - it really is amazing what Stepan brings to the team, in each zone, each and every night. To truly understand just how effective he is, just watch him when he doesn't have the puck. He keeps himself in a good position, and he gets behind the defense, a lot like Gaborik would. He's also become a tenacious forechecker and is starting to get very evasive with the puck behind the net. He's become the second best penalty killer on the team. He produces on the PP.

I just don't think some people understand just how good Stepan has been this season. He's been, IMO, the most effective forward on the roster, night in and night out. There really isn't a weakness in his game. Even at the beginning of the year, when everyone was piling on him, I did not think he was struggling nearly as badly as some people suggested. He was still getting chances and generating offense. He simply wasn't finishing. Now that he's starting to finish, it's making him look 10x better, and everyone is singing his praises.

Looking forward to watching him develop even further. It's amazing he's still only 22 years old.
 
I know it's easy to look at stats and all, but Stepan's defensive prowess is VERY important and goes a long way to making him a legit 1st liner. He can get to 55 points consistently and if he is great defensively, the team will be better for it. Let the wingers rack up the points.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom