Jared Cowen

[LuckyPierre]

I don't understand when fans like you think that mobility only means Karlsson-like skating. Cowen is massive and skates well. Most guys near his size are painfully slow.

And the argument that he can't get to pucks in corners against speedy forwards is about as valid as saying Karlsson can't defend against burlier players. Just like Karlsson can take a different approach and beat that player with his stick or speed, Cowen can outreach and out muscle the small forwards.

If Ottawa had a defenceman that was 7'0", 325 lbs, skated better than Karlsson and had the vision of Gretzky, fans here would find something like his skating stride to moan about being a weakness...

Reputations seem to stick in hockey. As a prospect, Cowen was deemed 'mobile'. Must have been relative to junior level competition.

As an NHL regular, he's been clumsy, displays poor jump, and his lack of lateral agility has been exposed many times.

When he gets going, he's fast, of course. But he has the acceleration of a double decker OC Transpo bus, so we don't see him get going often enough.

"But he's big" isn't a counter-argument for mediocre mobility, especially when the same people excusing his skating due to his size are the people that turn around and list 'mobility' as an attribute of his.

 

[HavlatMach9]

I know Ceci has helped to stabilise the defence, and our who team is playing better as well, but the improved play of Cowen is making us a much better team. I may be wrong but he could live up to the contract as early as by the end of this season.

 

[take a peek]

He has suffered setbacks form injury=lack of playing time in the NHL.

As he plays more he gets better. Makes better decisions, displays more confidence has a bigger positive effect on the game.

The question is where does he stop getting better...

-is this it?....if so he is still a pretty solid 3/4, with a little offense.

-even if he only improves for another year at a slight increase, he becomes a very valuable minute muncher type, big defensive guy.

-if he can continues improving consistently over the next 2/3/4 years the sky is the limit...

The problem is people are treating him like he is already the best he will be....when its clear this year alone he is substantially improved.

Why gamble on trading him him? The answer is, you don't, and Murray won't.

 

[The Fuhr*]

He's going to be phenominal in his prime
25 minutes a night... 10-15G 30-35Pts along with elite defense and being a huge physical monster.

He'll be rare in the NHL

 

[coladin]

He some very skilled passes yesterday, including a sweet back hand flip to the point on one of the goals.

I think he has the ability down the road to be a 40pt defenceman, maybe better.
I am still a fan of this guy who is going to be a beast as he matures.

 

[John Holmes*]

He some very skilled passes yesterday, including a sweet back hand flip to the point on one of the goals.

I think he has the ability down the road to be a 40pt defenceman, maybe better.
I am still a fan of this guy who is going to be a beast as he matures.

Yeah and he also flubs a 10 foot pass like clockwork.

 

[coladin]

Yeah and he also flubs a 10 foot pass like clockwork.

Well he wouldn't be the only one, and he ain't perfect. But yeah, he doesn make mistakes like others on this team.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

The Sens lost last night?

Trade Cowen, Spezza, Anderson, Neil, Greening and Phillips.

 

[LuckyPierre]

 

[Cat Dad Sixty Nine]

Cowen desperately needs games played. Putting him with Karlsson and forcing him against competition he's not ready for is too much though.

 

[LuckyPierre]

Cowen desperately needs games played. Putting him with Karlsson and forcing him against competition he's not ready for is too much though.

Wasn't desperate for games played when he ****ing held out as an RFA. What a joke; he gets zero benefit of the doubt after pulling that stunt only to drag the team down more than anyone else.

 

[Lehner]

Wtf did Cowen do?

He's been great last 10-15 games..

 

[FireMelnyk]

Cowen can't move the puck if there's any pressure on him at all. All he does is flip it 5 feet past our player to the other team.

He needs to take his game seriously this summer and work on his skills. He's had these issues for a while now and there doesn't seem to have been any improvement.

 

[StefanW]

Wtf did Cowen do?

He's been great last 10-15 games..

Yeah. Cowen criticism comes across to me as lazy as this point. He was awful at the start of the year, but he is playing much better now. He is like a bank account for the team, because we'll cash in down the road on all of these minutes he is playing now. 23 year old D almost never wonderful game in and game out, and even the fact that he has had a rough season should not be a huge surprise to anyone. It is all a part of the process of developing D that will be very good when they hit about 26-28.

 

[The Fuhr*]

I think Cowen has been great since the suspension... He's going to phenominal in a couple years

 

[HavlatMach9]

[/IMG]http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/500x/45224908.jpg[/IMG]

the image is not relevant anymore

 

[LuckyPierre]

Yeah. Cowen criticism comes across to me as lazy as this point. He was awful at the start of the year, but he is playing much better now.

See, I disagree with the 'much'. He has been breaking the puck out better, and picking his spots to be physical with a touch more sensibility, to be fair. But, he flubs neutral zone passes with consistency, he stops moving his feet and relies on his reach when being cycled around, and he doesn't pass to Karlsson nearly enough.

His point production, or lack thereof, is a direct indication of that. There's no reason that a guy projected to be a top pairing D playing with the best offensive defensman in the world should have a measly 10 points, but Cowen does. Let that sink in for a moment.

He is like a bank account for the team, because we'll cash in down the road on all of these minutes he is playing now. 23 year old D almost never wonderful game in and game out, and even the fact that he has had a rough season should not be a huge surprise to anyone. It is all a part of the process of developing D that will be very good when they hit about 26-28.

There's no guarantee Cowen makes a quantum leap, or has a 'eureka' moment, and realizes his draft potential, that of an all-round, physical, top pairing guy. He could simply get leaned on too heavily and stagnate like Luke Schenn did.

The bank account analogy assumes that he'll develop at a predictable pace much like an interest rate. If only there was such a thing in hockey. Cowen, in fact, has 'depreciated' offensively since his rookie year, especially given his increase in minutes, and his pairing with Karlsson. I'm willing to put it out there as my opinion that he's more inconsistent defensively this year as well.

 

[StefanW]

See, I disagree with the 'much'. He has been breaking the puck out better, and picking his spots to be physical with a touch more sensibility, to be fair. But, he flubs neutral zone passes with consistency, he stops moving his feet and relies on his reach when being cycled around, and he doesn't pass to Karlsson nearly enough.

His point production, or lack thereof, is a direct indication of that. There's no reason that a guy projected to be a top pairing D playing with the best offensive defensman in the world should have a measly 10 points, but Cowen does. Let that sink in for a moment.



There's no guarantee Cowen makes a quantum leap, or has a 'eureka' moment, and realizes his draft potential, that of an all-round, physical, top pairing guy. He could simply get leaned on too heavily and stagnate like Luke Schenn did.

The bank account analogy assumes that he'll develop at a predictable pace much like an interest rate. If only there was such a thing in hockey. Cowen, in fact, has 'depreciated' offensively since his rookie year, especially given his increase in minutes, and his pairing with Karlsson. I'm willing to put it out there as my opinion that he's more inconsistent defensively this year as well.

Use of the word "much" in relation to his improvement speaks as much to how poor he was playing at the start of the year as to how well he is playing now. I agree that he is still a work in progress, but he did not look good at all early on in the year.

As for the bank account analogy, you do realize that this is only two seasons past his rookie year, and that he missed almost all of last year due to injury right? He is basically having a sophomore slump right now. While I do not want to project him to be an all star or anything like that, he has the physical tools to develop into a very good top 4 D. That type of player is insanely expensive if you want to trade for one, so it is well worth the time and effort to grow and develop your own when you can. In any event, comparing this year to his rookie year tells us little about where he will go one way of the other. It is way too soon to kick him to the curb or to plan for a Norris trophy.

 

[LuckyPierre]

As for the bank account analogy, you do realize that this is only two seasons past his rookie year, and that he missed almost all of last year due to injury right? He is basically having a sophomore slump right now. While I do not want to project him to be an all star or anything like that, he has the physical tools to develop into a very good top 4 D. That type of player is insanely expensive if you want to trade for one, so it is well worth the time and effort to grow and develop your own when you can. In any event, comparing this year to his rookie year tells us little about where he will go one way of the other. It is way too soon to kick him to the curb or to plan for a Norris trophy.

His physical tools do not include the ability to skate well. That is my concern with Cowen. If he gets 20 minutes a game, he is a liability when matched up against against quick, agile forwards.

 

[take a peek]

All naysayers will be proven wrong....slowly over the next few years, but still wrong.

Evaluating him now like he is already fully developed is a huge mistake and lacks any sense of context or player evolution...not many giant young defense come in and are awesome right away...almost all take until mid 20's to become who they will be.

He may not get to elite level, but it is crazy to trade him or write him off now.

 

[LatteLarrys]

All naysayers will be proven wrong....slowly over the next few years, but still wrong.

Evaluating him now like he is already fully developed is a huge mistake and lacks any sense of context or player evolution...not many giant young defense come in and are awesome right away...almost all take until mid 20's to become who they will be.

He may not get to elite level, but it is crazy to trade him or write him off now.

True, he will only grow in value in years to come. I'm more worried about Philbert and Corvo (now that guy can be a slowpoke).

 

[Magix]

All naysayers will be proven wrong....slowly over the next few years, but still wrong.

Evaluating him now like he is already fully developed is a huge mistake and lacks any sense of context or player evolution...not many giant young defense come in and are awesome right away...almost all take until mid 20's to become who they will be.

He may not get to elite level, but it is crazy to trade him or write him off now.

I still remember the coburn/hartnell for michalek/cowen proposal people were willing to accept.

I never noticed how quickly this board turns on a player, granted this team was ageing for the better part of the last decade. But this year you had people giving up on kids in their early 20s.

 

[StefanW]

His physical tools do not include the ability to skate well. That is my concern with Cowen. If he gets 20 minutes a game, he is a liability when matched up against against quick, agile forwards.

It depends on how much he develops. A lot of really good D are slower than the quick forwards coming at them. It is all about learning positioning, which is going to be his greatest challenge. I think he we will ok with that, given time.

 

[Tundraman]

Cowen needs to avoid standing still when defending. Too many times whether he's just being indecisive or doesn't read plays fast enough he gets caught flat footed. There have been many plays where he misreads the speed of the puck carrier and he pauses for a second before reacting to being sidestepped and beaten wide. His long reach sometimes helps him recover but he needs to move his feet much more quickly and not always depend on his long reach to make defensive plays. Like most big players Cowen is not quick off the mark but once he gets moving his speed is not an issue. He just needs to react more quickly by anticipating how plays will develop but that should come with experience.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I've always been HUGE Cowen supporter. Went as far as saying he could win a Norris in his career.

Although the one thing I'm very disappointed in seeing... is his lack of intensity. When he first broke into the league, you could see the fire in his stomach to generate something on the ice to help the team. But this year he'll go from shutting down Ovechkin to getting out-muscled by Gerbe or whoever in crucial part of the game time and time again.

I have no worries it's just inexperience. He's trying to play excellent defensively while rounding up his game.

I've seen similar roadbumps in Turris last year. When Cowen reaches his comfort zone, we'll see a beast surface.