Player Discussion Emil Heineman (Part 2) - Get well soon Edition

[JianYang]

I enjoyed Petrov's energy but there is no denying that his trademark was circling the offensive zone with the puck, usually resulting in nothing....just entertainmaent. Petrov did not forecheck like Newhook does and I wasn't necessarily asserting that he was afraid but he was definitely more comfortable on the perimeter.

If Petrov was better in traffic and went there consistently he would have put up some numbers as his speed was dazzling.

I don't think getting prime chances were ever his issue. He looked like a guy whose hands didn't keep up with his tempo.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

I don't think getting prime chances were ever his issue. He looked like a guy whose hands didn't keep up with his tempo.

That’s far better than “vise versa”! I’m really impressed with his game & continued improvement. With Evan’s we have 1/3 of our bottom 6.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I don't think getting prime chances were ever his issue. He looked like a guy whose hands didn't keep up with his tempo.

That is true as well as the fact that he was a terrible shooter. He was fun to watch while on a bad team but never had any business playing on a good team. He kept things fun during some dark years and I will always have fond memories of him because of that.

 

[MasterD]

Newhook has a much better shot than Petrov and he plays a much more aggressive game. Petrov was infamous for his ability to do laps in the offensive zone without creating much lol.

Newhook will be very valuable when he fully accepts that he is a third line energy player who should be able to chip in 20 goals every season and plays the game as a crash and bang type as opposed to trying to be a facilitator. He could be a smaller version of Anderson with better hands.

Doubt that very much. Very, very few 3rd liners score 20 goals in the NHL, and Newhook hasn't shown that he can score much even with top-6 icetime and PP time.

He also doesn't have the body for, nor shown the desire, to play crash-and-bang.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Doubt that very much. Very, very few 3rd liners score 20 goals in the NHL, and Newhook hasn't shown that he can score much even with top-6 icetime and PP time.

He also doesn't have the body for, nor shown the desire, to play crash-and-bang.

He has an extremely strong lower body and has been banging in the corners all season long. He plays on a terrible "2nd line" where Dach has been awful all season long and Laine has been utterly invisible at 5 vs 5. I have met Alex and he has legs like tree trunks as was also referenced by Hughes upon acquiring him.

He has elite speed and a very good shot. When he fully accepts his role and plays on a line that plays at his pace he will be a high end 3rd liner and should consistently hover around the 20 goal mark. He has never scored under 13 goals and would have easily hit 20 last season if he did not get hurt.

Blindly using stats is always a mistake and acting as though he has peaked as a player having just turned 24 is also an egregious mistake.

He is not the playmaking center that we envisioned but he can absolutely be very productive part of a middle six if he concentrates on his strengths which is pushing the pace, creating turnovers and getting open to use his shot.

There are not "very, very few" teams that have more than 6 forwards close to or above 20 goals. Most years there are multiple teams with eight 20 goal forwards and every year there are many teams that have 7 forwards with around 20 goals or more. It is exactly my point that Newhook can become one of those players who consistently is in and around that mark as he has all of the tools to do it. The number 20 needn't be sprinkled with fairy dust and anointed as a magical plateau. I would describe any player who comes close to that mark consistently as a 20 goal forward. People have no problem referring to players as 15 goal scorers or 10 goal scorers even if they don't exactly hit that mark. It is true that there are many teams that do not have more than five or six 20 goal forwards but presenting the prospect of a 20 goal forward on the 3rd line as rare statistical outlier is very false.

The hate for him around here is dumb which is not to say that he should not be criticized for his lack of creativity or execution that we expected upon trading for him. The fact is that he offers some very valuable tools and there is certainly a vision of him being a valuable piece moving forward if he accepts that he is more blue collar than white collar. Hopefully his critics will also fall in line instead of permanently etching their disdain for his inability to reach their original expectations in their narrative. Sports are born out of tribal bias so I know that these takes will always be there but can we at least try and be better.

I am not asserting that the last part necessarily applies to you as I am not aware of your entire body of work on this particular topic.

 

[JianYang]

That is true as well as the fact that he was a terrible shooter. He was fun to watch while on a bad team but never had any business playing on a good team. He kept things fun during some dark years and I will always have fond memories of him because of that.

Yeah, newhook certainly has more range with his shot. Petrov was never dangerous with his shot beyond a certain distance from his net.