Prospect Info: Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)/Maine Mariners (ECHL) Thread: Part XIII

[Oscar Lindberg]

I still think Hajek can be a good player potentially but woof at the team scouting and targeting him and Howden

 

[Osminator]

I still Hajek can be a good player potentially but woof at the team scouting and targeting him and Howden

A classic Rangers whiff on both...

 

[Leetch3]

Beyond all that, I don’t think that’s the Rangers MO. They don’t seem to like manufacturing results. They’ve been “let the chips fall where they may”. The only way they would send down a player for an AHL playoff run is if they think it would help the player development-wise.

the rangers wouldn't be doing it to win a calder cup. they would be doing it if they felt that it was best for development of their young players. I don't think any of our kids have played playoff hockey as pros (at least in NA). so you can definitely make the argument for some of them that they would benefit greatly from an ahl playoff run. kakko & fox weren't likely to play at the WHC, then i'd argue they would benefit from going down (assume you don't feel that had already played too many games).

 

[Mandar]

Horrible Pack goaltending tonight. Newell looked good as did Rykov. Keane got the 3rd star.

 

[LeetchisGod]

I still think Hajek can be a good player potentially but woof at the team scouting and targeting him and Howden

Both players are very young but the early returns are rather poor.

 

[nyr2k2]

Hajek just turned 22, he still has a couple years to figure it out. He may get buried in our organizational depth chart, but he's far from a finished product.

 

[chosen]

Hajek just turned 22, he still has a couple years to figure it out. He may get buried in our organizational depth chart, but he's far from a finished product.

He might be finished.

Looks like a classic #7 defenseman to me.

 

[nyr2k2]

He might be finished.

Looks like a classic #7 defenseman to me.

Players, particularly defensemen, are rarely done developing at his age. But yeah, he could be.

 

[chosen]

Players, particularly defensemen, are rarely done developing at his age. But yeah, he could be.

I just don't see any particular attribute where he excels. He doesn't look like he'll ever be a good offensive dman. He's not physical and seems to be unable to avoid or withstand the physical punishment. He can improve, but I don't see how he ever rises past a 3rd pairing, and those guys are easy to replace.

 

[kovazub94]

the rangers wouldn't be doing it to win a calder cup. they would be doing it if they felt that it was best for development of their young players. I don't think any of our kids have played playoff hockey as pros (at least in NA). so you can definitely make the argument for some of them that they would benefit greatly from an ahl playoff run. kakko & fox weren't likely to play at the WHC, then i'd argue they would benefit from going down (assume you don't feel that had already played too many games).

This! All rookies should go to Hartford unless they have international commitments for their national teams.

 

[egelband]

This! All rookies should go to Hartford unless they have international commitments for their national teams.

I feel the opposite way. I’d want these guys resting up and starting off season workouts. Kakko is obviously worn out and Fox has never been through an 82 game schedule. Igor should also be done with Hartford. Lindgren too.
Unless, of course, any of them volunteer for it. But I see more downside than upside. Let alone the potential for a tired player to get injured.

 

[egelband]

As for Di Giuseppe I think he has been terrific. If - and it’s a big ‘if’ - he continues to solidify a role with the parent club, I think it would be fine *not* to send him back down.

 

[nyr2k2]

I feel the opposite way. I’d want these guys resting up and starting off season workouts. Kakko is obviously worn out and Fox has never been through an 82 game schedule. Igor should also be done with Hartford. Lindgren too.
Unless, of course, any of them volunteer for it. But I see more downside than upside. Let alone the potential for a tired player to get injured.

I agree with all of this, except Shesterkin. He has always played in a timeshare, so as far as I'm concerned, we should feed him all the starts we can this year. He's up to 31--if we can double that between the rest of the NHL season and the AHL playoffs, I think that would be really helpful moving forward. I think the most games he has started in a year is around 50 or so.

 

[eco's bones]

Hajek has size and moves well. He has very good puck skills. He needs to get stronger--needs to react faster and he needs to play with a bit more grit. That was one of his issues with the Rangers earlier in the year. He'd get rattled by a hit. I think his two way game hasn't caught up with his skill level since turning pro so he has a lot to work on. The smaller Lindgren is a lot more feisty than he is. I might say I like Lindgren a lot--he's not going to put up tons of points but he's good defensively and he's an asshole to play against. He comes to play. I think Hajek's going to be an NHL player but I also think he's a movable piece.

 

[kovazub94]

I feel the opposite way. I’d want these guys resting up and starting off season workouts. Kakko is obviously worn out and Fox has never been through an 82 game schedule. Igor should also be done with Hartford. Lindgren too.
Unless, of course, any of them volunteer for it. But I see more downside than upside. Let alone the potential for a tired player to get injured.

If the Rangers were to make playoffs (hypothetically), these guys would be playing so I don’t see how playing in the AHL playoffs would be any different.

 

[romba]

I know offense isn’t everything but he has 26 points in 43 games so far this year at the age of 20. If he finishes the season with 45-50 points as a rookie in the AHL, I can’t imagine him playing another full year in the AHL next season. Maybe a half season but something will need to give.

This reads as: I know numbers aren't everything.....but numbers are everything.

 

[NYROrtsFan]

Yeah, I see why Rangers scouts liked Hajek. There's upside with him because of the size and the skating ability. I honestly think he'll be more of the slower developing defenseman compared to some of the mutants we've seen like Fox.

Really don't know what they liked about Howden though.

 

[romba]

Chytil, Kakko, and Shesterkin should not see an ounce of AHL time the rest of the way, playoffs or no playoffs.

Nothing annoys me more here than seeing ppl clamoring to send down guys who are past the AHL in their development in order to dominate weaker teams in a weaker league. Ef that. Let them train, relax, refresh their minds and work on improving weaknesses in practice and in the weight room over the summer rather than get fat playing weaker teams/leagues with sexy stats. Same for TC. We'll probably have ppl asking if we can send Fox, Chytil, and Lingren next year to TC (if they're eligible) just so we can kick ass.

 

[effen]

I still think Hajek can be a good player potentially but woof at the team scouting and targeting him and Howden

I can only assume you mean woof @ the Lightning who drafted them in the first place.

 

[Edge]

Chytil, Kakko, and Shesterkin should not see an ounce of AHL time the rest of the way, playoffs or no playoffs.

Nothing annoys me more here than seeing ppl clamoring to send down guys who are past the AHL in their development in order to dominate weaker teams in a weaker league. Ef that. Let them train, relax, refresh their minds and work on improving weaknesses in practice and in the weight room over the summer rather than get fat playing weaker teams/leagues with sexy stats. Same for TC. We'll probably have ppl asking if we can send Fox, Chytil, and Lingren next year to TC (if they're eligible) just so we can kick ass.

I think there's a lot of truth here.

Fans really like to see gaudy numbers. Whether it's many European leagues, or college programs, or teenagers in the AHL, fans sometimes struggle to put those numbers into perspective.

Personally, so long as the kids aren't drowning, I'm perfectly fine letting them have struggle and grow against NHL competition.

 

[romba]

I think there's a lot of truth here.

Fans really like to see gaudy numbers. Whether it's many European leagues, or college programs, or teenagers in the AHL, fans sometimes struggle to put those numbers into perspective.

Personally, so long as the kids aren't drowning, I'm perfectly fine letting them have struggle and grow against NHL competition.

Absolutely- a little overcome adversity goes a long way to making a man from boys.

 

[Levitate]

Hajek has size and moves well. He has very good puck skills. He needs to get stronger--needs to react faster and he needs to play with a bit more grit. That was one of his issues with the Rangers earlier in the year. He'd get rattled by a hit. I think his two way game hasn't caught up with his skill level since turning pro so he has a lot to work on. The smaller Lindgren is a lot more feisty than he is. I might say I like Lindgren a lot--he's not going to put up tons of points but he's good defensively and he's an ******* to play against. He comes to play. I think Hajek's going to be an NHL player but I also think he's a movable piece.

Agreed. I think he's a very smooth skater who can move the puck well, but yeah he's gotta figure out a bit how to use his skills and to play at the "NHL pace" as the coaches like to say now.

Really don't know what they liked about Howden though.

Skates pretty well, supposed to play a pretty north south game and some decent skills, but man his mental game is just not clicking at the NHL speed right now. So many of his passes and dump in and all that kind of stuff are just off...just not fast enough. He'll look up and see a guy and then his pass will be wildly off the mark, or too late, or whatever. His dump ins are bad and he usually looks like he has no idea what to do with the puck once gaining the zone and usually justs loses it. Even his assist last night to McKegg looked like he was actually trying to pass to the player in front of the net and just badly missed him and it was lucky it came to McKegg

Unless his brain can catch up he's a 4th liner at best.

 

[cwede]

Just my own contradicting opinion, but this rush to judgement re Howden and Hajek seems over the top and premature. These kids are just turning 22 mid/late in this season, 18 months ago they were Junior players.
Yes its become more common that some kids early 20's become fully productive NHLers right away, but not every one.
And on a deeper or contending team, these 2 guys would not have been rushed into so much NHL duty so soon.

I see no compelling evidence that either wont become core regulars for the primes of their NHL careers.
Virtually none of us were as fully effective professionally, or in life, at 22, as we were at 25.

And btw these guys were not acquired for what they'd be at 22. The team is taking a longer view. So should some of us

 

[Levitate]

Just my own contradicting opinion, but this rush to judgement re Howden and Hajek seems over the top and premature. These kids are just turning 22 mid/late in this season, 18 months ago they were Junior players.
Yes its become more common that some kids early 20's become fully productive NHLers right away, but not every one.
And on a deeper or contending team, these 2 guys would not have been rushed into so much NHL duty so soon.

I see no compelling evidence that either wont become core regulars for the primes of their NHL careers.
Virtually none of us were as fully effective professionally, or in life, at 22, as we were at 25.

And btw these guys were not acquired for what they'd be at 22. The team is taking a longer view. So should some of us

I don't mind Hajek spending more time in the AHL and I think he looked better than Howden in his NHL stints.

I have a big problem with how the team has handled Howden and not wanted to send him down and has overlooked his many flaws for some odd reason. maybe he can be better but right now he isn't showing it and doesn't really look like a NHL player 90% of the time

 

[cwede]

..I have a big problem with how the team has handled Howden and not wanted to send him down ...

Agree w this. His ice during first 50 games shoulda been shared w Lias, Gettinger, PdG, whoever, Howden might really benefit from a few months playing all situations, bigger minutes, under coach KK.