Confirmed with Link: Gabriel Vilardi signs 3-year ELC

Frolov 6'3

Unregistered User
Jun 7, 2003
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Vilardi looks slow like Kopi does and he needs to get stronger but that will come .......
Perhaps it will improve a bit but we just need to accept this....he is just an average skater. Kopitar is a good example, perhaps worse.

Without that, I doubt we even had a chance to pick him at that spot in the draft. With or after Pettersson, he is the most skilled one.
 
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Statto

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I would be furious if they rush him. Let the kid demonstrate he can play, manage his body for the rest of the season in the A. Get back up to speed, hit training camp hard and let's turn the page on this franchise. Usher in the new gaurd.
I completely agree that he shouldn’t be rushed. However we have no idea what ‘rushed’ means, every time frame we’ve mentioned is based on no diagnosis and no actual understanding of what recovering from said diagnosis will entail. They could play him in a Kings jersey next week and not be rushing his recovery. Equally they could play him in March and be pushing way too hard. They could also do it absolutely perfectly and fate will dictate he gets reinjured.

Let’s face it we’ve all to varying degrees been talking out of our rear ends when we’ve each ( and I include myself) offered a view on how his recovery should be handled. I look at it this way, Blake has dealt with this perfectly so far and he’s been really patient, putting no pressure on the kid. Why would that change? We are obviously happy with a lottery pick again this summer, so the Kings performance on ice isn’t a factor.

There is no reason at all to rush him, why would they? There is zero pressure to do so from anyone. The only reason to call him up this season would be because he’s ready physically, that’s it. I think it’s far more likely they are over cautious and give him extra time in the AHL because they don’t want to rush him, and are being paranoid. I’m completely confident that when he comes up it will be because he’s as ready as he can be.
 

stppnmd

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Oct 3, 2019
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Man, do I root for Vilardi to become an impact player in NHL. Players of such potential should be in highlight reels for years.
 

regulate

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Aug 19, 2007
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I would be furious if they rush him. Let the kid demonstrate he can play, manage his body for the rest of the season in the A. Get back up to speed, hit training camp hard and let's turn the page on this franchise. Usher in the new gaurd.
I wouldn't worry about that too much right now. I do think the Kings will give him a taste after the trade deadline so the NHL pace is not foreign to him next season. I've seen Vilardi play every AHL game his been a part of sans the 9-2 loss on Friday night (a fortunate miss for me attending my wife's employers Christmas party). He was even for the game despite the lopsided score.

As written by Zach Dooley from last nights game:

On feeling more confident in the defensive zone
Yeah, there’s still some stuff. Like I’ve said before, I’ve really just got to keep my legs moving, and it’s tough when you get tired. I haven’t played much hockey in the past couple of years, so it’s pretty normal to get tired, I don’t want to say faster, but pretty fast. I’ve got to keep my legs moving, that’s the biggest thing, and they stop me when I get in trouble. Stutts and Mods, (Modry) they’ve shown me a few clips and it’s just stuff that I’ve got to keep on doing and keep my legs going. Once I stop moving, I lose my guy and we play a lot of man-to-man in the d-zone, that’s kind of tough, especially if you’re out there for long shifts.

This has been pretty common for Gabe so far, whether it's the coverage scheme and switching with his teammates on the fly, getting caught on the wrong side of the player as the opposition enter the Reign's zone (common) or not anticipating the speed of the opposition and he gets caught puck watching (Kupari would be in prison if that was a crime, he's a multiple repeat offender and a defensive liability right now). His compete is pretty high in the offensive zone, but you definitely notice a lack of energy on D many times. It's not that he isn't capable of being a strong defender, especially hockey IQ wise with his size and reach, it's just that his body and mind need to wrap itself into the mindset that you cannot play a one-dimensional game at the pro level, you have to give it your all on both sides. Not an uncommon trait among first year pros. So it's going to take a few months to get his conditioning up to speed, and the more he can work on both sides of his game, the better off he will be. He would be shredded in the NHL defensively right now in my opinion if he was called up soon. As fans, the sooner we come to grips that Vilardi will have some quickness and skating shortcomings, the better the reality of expectations as we have a talented player with size and vision that has a toolbox that is 80% full. It's how he learns to overcome some of those shortcomings with compete and IQ when we'll get the whole story. Will he be a really good player, a star player or an elite player? Time will tell. So happy he is doing well.

PS. He's really strong on face-offs too, right out of the box.
 
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Statto

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I wouldn't worry about that too much right now. I do think the Kings will give him a taste after the trade deadline so the NHL pace is not foreign to him next season. I've seen Vilardi play every AHL game his been a part of sans the 9-2 loss on Friday night (a fortunate miss for me attending my wife's employers Christmas party). He was even for the game despite the lopsided score.

As written by Zach Dooley from last nights game:

On feeling more confident in the defensive zone
Yeah, there’s still some stuff. Like I’ve said before, I’ve really just got to keep my legs moving, and it’s tough when you get tired. I haven’t played much hockey in the past couple of years, so it’s pretty normal to get tired, I don’t want to say faster, but pretty fast. I’ve got to keep my legs moving, that’s the biggest thing, and they stop me when I get in trouble. Stutts and Mods, (Modry) they’ve shown me a few clips and it’s just stuff that I’ve got to keep on doing and keep my legs going. Once I stop moving, I lose my guy and we play a lot of man-to-man in the d-zone, that’s kind of tough, especially if you’re out there for long shifts.

This has been pretty common for Gabe so far, whether it's the coverage scheme and switching with his teammates on the fly, getting caught on the wrong side of the player as the opposition enter the Reign's zone (common) or not anticipating the speed of the opposition and he gets caught puck watching (Kupari would be in prison if that was a crime, he's a multiple repeat offender and a defensively liability right now). His compete is pretty high in the offensive zone, but you definitely notice a lack of energy on D many times. It's not that he isn't capable of being a strong defender, especially hockey IQ wise with his size and reach, it's just that his body and mind need to wrap itself into the mindset that you cannot play a one-dimensional game at the pro level, you have to give it your all on both sides. Not an uncommon trait among first year pros. So it's going to take a few months to get his conditioning up to speed, and the more he can work on both sides of his game, the better off he will be. He would be shredded in the NHL defensively right now in my opinion if he was called up soon. As fans, the sooner we come to grips that Vilardi will have some quickness and skating shortcomings, the better the reality of expectations as we have a talented player with size and vision that has a toolbox that is 80% full. It's how he learns to overcome some of those shortcomings with compete and IQ when we'll get the whole story. Will he be a really good player, a star player or an elite player? Time will tell. So happy he is doing well.

PS. He's really strong on face-offs too, right out of the box.
Thanks, that’s valuable insight.
 

Bandit

Registered User
Jul 23, 2005
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I wouldn't worry about that too much right now. I do think the Kings will give him a taste after the trade deadline so the NHL pace is not foreign to him next season. I've seen Vilardi play every AHL game his been a part of sans the 9-2 loss on Friday night (a fortunate miss for me attending my wife's employers Christmas party). He was even for the game despite the lopsided score.

As written by Zach Dooley from last nights game:

On feeling more confident in the defensive zone
Yeah, there’s still some stuff. Like I’ve said before, I’ve really just got to keep my legs moving, and it’s tough when you get tired. I haven’t played much hockey in the past couple of years, so it’s pretty normal to get tired, I don’t want to say faster, but pretty fast. I’ve got to keep my legs moving, that’s the biggest thing, and they stop me when I get in trouble. Stutts and Mods, (Modry) they’ve shown me a few clips and it’s just stuff that I’ve got to keep on doing and keep my legs going. Once I stop moving, I lose my guy and we play a lot of man-to-man in the d-zone, that’s kind of tough, especially if you’re out there for long shifts.

This has been pretty common for Gabe so far, whether it's the coverage scheme and switching with his teammates on the fly, getting caught on the wrong side of the player as the opposition enter the Reign's zone (common) or not anticipating the speed of the opposition and he gets caught puck watching (Kupari would be in prison if that was a crime, he's a multiple repeat offender and a defensively liability right now). His compete is pretty high in the offensive zone, but you definitely notice a lack of energy on D many times. It's not that he isn't capable of being a strong defender, especially hockey IQ wise with his size and reach, it's just that his body and mind need to wrap itself into the mindset that you cannot play a one-dimensional game at the pro level, you have to give it your all on both sides. Not an uncommon trait among first year pros. So it's going to take a few months to get his conditioning up to speed, and the more he can work on both sides of his game, the better off he will be. He would be shredded in the NHL defensively right now in my opinion if he was called up soon. As fans, the sooner we come to grips that Vilardi will have some quickness and skating shortcomings, the better the reality of expectations as we have a talented player with size and vision that has a toolbox that is 80% full. It's how he learns to overcome some of those shortcomings with compete and IQ when we'll get the whole story. Will he be a really good player, a star player or an elite player? Time will tell. So happy he is doing well.

PS. He's really strong on face-offs too, right out of the box.
I’d like this if I could, but thanks to some delicate souls on the main board that won’t be possible until the offseason it seams. LOL. Thanks for the updates, hope he continues to progress to a cup of coffee after the TDL and makes a strong push in camp next year.
 

YP44

Registered User
Jan 30, 2012
27,351
7,687
Calgary, AB
I would be furious if they rush him. Let the kid demonstrate he can play, manage his body for the rest of the season in the A. Get back up to speed, hit training camp hard and let's turn the page on this franchise. Usher in the new gaurd.

fully agree. Maybe call him up in the last two weeks of the season so he can get a feel for the NHL game before his off-season work outs.
 

KingsFan7824

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Dec 4, 2003
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I am terribly thrilled he is back. I cant deny I had given up on him.

Allisson, Palffy, Deadmarsh, Barney did that to me.

Suddenly we have a bonafide #1 center in the system again.

That hasn't changed since 2017. Until he plays game after game, week after week, month after month, it's still a question though. Played in 6 of 8 games since getting back on the ice. Actually played in a back to back. Now he has to keep doing that. Then he can't stiffen up over the summer or anything. Then he has to start next year playing games, be it with the Kings or Reign. Finally getting the ball moving though, so that's good.
 
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Frolov 6'3

Unregistered User
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That hasn't changed since 2017. Until he plays game after game, week after week, month after month, it's still a question though. Played in 6 of 8 games since getting back on the ice. Actually played in a back to back. Now he has to keep doing that. Then he can't stiffen up over the summer or anything. Then he has to start next year playing games, be it with the Kings or Reign. Finally getting the ball moving though, so that's good.
Call me an idoit but I think the difference between being out for months and a career in jeopardy and playing again, is more than “getting the ball moved”.
 

Mats26

Vet Movement - What's the Maatta?
Sep 16, 2005
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3,800
I understand the health concerns but I think he is in better hands now. He's fully understanding what is needed of him and his commitment to his health. Said it plenty of times in his interviews he feels good. So unless we actually know what he is(was) suffering from, we take what we know and hope he progresses. I feel his health concerns will follow him around like a dark cloud even into the NHL. If he can deal with it and work on his development, he will be an important part of this turnaround.
 

DAkings20

Kings can't score
Dec 26, 2008
13,512
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Los Angeles, CA


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