Player Discussion Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Part 10

[Mrb1p]

Dude the Canucks sucked ass in game 1, you won't find anyone disagreeing otherwise. Game 2 Quinn Hughes was good(you would be calling it an amazing performance if it was KK). He went Patty Kane mode for the rest of the series and made the Wild his bitch.

No, he "clearly" wasn't. He was good, but I thought Suzuki was better. To me he was on par with Byron and Danault for the 2nd best forward. It certainly wasn't obviously KK being the best forward.

The fact that you still say Boqvist is better than Hughes pretty much confirms you don't have any idea what you are talking about.

I didnt say Boqvist was better, but I wouldnt expect any more reading comprehension from you.

 

[The Great Weal]

I didnt say Boqvist was better, but I wouldnt expect any more reading comprehension from you.

Youre also dismissing better talents like Dahlin, Heiskanen and Boqvist

but I wouldnt expect any more reading comprehension from you.

Dude you literally failed at reading my post saying that Hughes will be one of if not the best dman in the league if he keeps it up. You shouldn't be the one talking about reading comprehension

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I just find it problematic that our LHD was just as bad if not worse than our centers at that time, and we didn't consider Hughes. I really don't care who or how many people wanted Hughes at 3, I'm tired of that excuse. Benning had Hughes at 3 so it's not crazy to think Hughes is an option at 3 even during draft time.

Our team just sucks so much at drafting centers that we were forced to take KK. The mere fact that we need KK to be a great #2 C AND have 2 of Romanov/Struble/Norlinder hit their ceilings would make it acceptable to pass on a Norris winner says a lot. It shouldn't require 2 more players to make up passing up on a better player.

I'm not saying it's necessarily an excuse but to retroactively say how bad a pick is when the majority of us we're happy with KK at the time DOES factor into rating the pick. I mean Shea Theodore was the right pick in 2013 but I saw MAYBE 2 people wanting him. You can't outright ignore general consensus when judging a pick even in hindsight.

But the point is if we can win a Cup or two and are more often than not in the mix as a contender with what we have now, how MASSIVE could that mistake be? All I'm really saying is we should probably wait a bit. I don't even have a problem saying Q. Hughes will DEFINITELY be the better player. That seems pretty likely at this point but again that's still a big difference than saying picking KK was a massive mistake 2 years after the draft when KK being a #1 is NOT out of the question.

 

[salbutera]

If you look throughout Habs history they’ve always managed to find goalies then Dman then Wingers but never Cs.

Koivu has been the best drafted & developed C by the org, yet since 1993 they were still able to draft Markov, Subban, and Sergachev with the putrid overall drafting results.

Should the progression trend hold, KK could possibly end up the best drafted & developed C in the orgs 100+ year history. Longways to go before starting that debate...

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Lol why can't ppl just be happy with what we have? KK gonna be a stud center, we should be happy about that

It's a worthwhile debate and I don't think KK's a sure thing 'stud center'. But he's tracking REALLY well imo. A lot of people hand wave the 'little things' but KK's doing a lot of them really well imo. I love that he's scoring dirty goals while he still has a freaking heavy shot that he hasn't even used yet. It's all the better that he's actually a playmaking C.

You could have a great utility guy who can also produce like a #1C. There's just a lot to like from him so far. We desperately need a big body guy in our top 6 who can use his size. He's looking a lot like that type of player and that's a big hole up front for us imo. Really high floor while still possibly having a high ceiling.

 

[Mrb1p]

Dude you literally failed at reading my post saying that Hughes will be one of if not the best dman in the league if he keeps it up. You shouldn't be the one talking about reading comprehension

You realise that me saying Boqvist is a better talent doesnt equate to him being better, right ?

 

[DAChampion]

Should the progression trend hold, KK could possibly end up the best drafted & developed C in the orgs 100+ year history.

How about that.

 

[Canucks LB]

Ive actually really enjoyed the discussions here, KK has been such a nice story and standout for the Canadians, and obviously hughes has been dominant for Vancouver.

I really hope both players continue to thrive, and become the best they can be.

Canucks fans and Habs Fans have always seemed to get along also, which is also a nice touch.

 

[Ozmodiar]

What was wrong ? At the time I said this, Hughes had two very average games for his ability and KK was coming off two goals in two games while dominating the opposition physically.

Youre also acting like KK wasnt the best forward in that series. He clearly was.

suzuki was.

 

[Mrb1p]

suzuki was.

Disagree by a lot. KK had more impact all over the ice, his line was the best line in the playins for the first three games, havent looked at the numbers after.

 

[Zub]

Disagree by a lot. KK had more impact all over the ice, his line was the best line in the playins for the first three games, havent looked at the numbers after.

This, also KK pretty much had the best Corsi and other stats on the entire team basically making plays all over the ice, Suzuki was great but KK was better imho.

 

[ForeverHabs97]

KK has all the tools to be a future elite center.
Great positioning and understanding of the game, playmaking, heavy shot, decently fast skater, physical.

Can he put it all together to become the real deal, that remains to be seen imo.

 

[Canadienna]

Kotkaniemi top 5 in the playoffs in hits with Sam Bennett and the Foligno bros

 

[EveryDay]

This, also KK pretty much had the best Corsi and other stats on the entire team basically making plays all over the ice, Suzuki was great but KK was better imho.

I disagree but it's my opinion.... Suzuki was asked to shut down Crosby 5on5 or Malkin while KK was up against the Pens 3rd Line. Who was also on the ice on the pk at 5on3 in the first game? Suzuki was MTL best forward in this series with Byron close 2nd imo.

 

[Saxon]

Arguing about which one of our young centres was better......... I've waited along time for this conversation!!

 

[SOLR]

I see Hughes as a Phil Housley type of defenseman. Incredible puck mover and great pp quarter back but will always lack a little size and strength to deal with some bigger forwards in his own end.

And he doesn't have Lidstrom's or Neid's positioning abilities, at least not yet.

 

[Archijerej]

The question now is what kind of winger would fit best with Kotkaniemi. Hopefully, Tatar - Suzuki - Gallagher line proves as effective as when Danault centered that line. There's little doubt Byron - Danault - Lehkonen is gonna work just fine. Now, I dread to think whom, or what people are gonna blame if Kotkaniemi's line doesn't work and gets 3rd line minutes behind Danault's.

 

[Adriatic]

And he doesn't have Lidstrom's or Neid's positioning abilities, at least not yet.

I don't think he will ever have the kinds of defensive abilities those two had.

 

[Ozmodiar]

Disagree by a lot. KK had more impact all over the ice, his line was the best line in the playins for the first three games, havent looked at the numbers after.

he didn’t get the minutes or have the matchups like Suzuki had, nor the PK duties.

most will disagree with you. Just check the 3 stars thread.

it’s not close, really.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Though Kotkaniemi looked better, but Suzuki was playing against Crosby so...

 

[behemolari]

Big, smart and skilled two way centres doesn't grow on trees, he is not ready yet but look out in a yea or two

 

[NotProkofievian]

The question now is what kind of winger would fit best with Kotkaniemi. Hopefully, Tatar - Suzuki - Gallagher line proves as effective as when Danault centered that line. There's little doubt Byron - Danault - Lehkonen is gonna work just fine. Now, I dread to think whom, or what people are gonna blame if Kotkaniemi's line doesn't work and gets 3rd line minutes behind Danault's.

I think this question is more important long term. Our winger depth is not very inspiring, and we just recently blew a gigantic opportunity to address it by eliminating an embarrassing Pittsburgh team. Right now, no one should care, these playoffs are meaningless.

Long term there could still be a few good options for us even though we shot ourselves in the foot. Gunler might still be available. Holloway. Both are a little more than a year younger than KK and pretty physically mature for their age and play simple, direct games so they could be ready sooner rather than later. Longer term there are guys like Jarvis, Peterka, Amirov. But I wouldn't expect these guys sooner than 3 years minimum.

My sleeper pick this year is Emil Heineman. I think he's going to have a big year in the SHL.

 

[Habs Icing]

it's both sad and funny that in the last 2 games he has 2 pts which means in 2 games he had 25% of his regular seasons entire production.

That said I didn't think he looked that good last night, skating still needs a good bit of work but I didn't expect him to fix his issues overnight since we had to deal with the injury before he could work on his skating. I'm not expecting a huge season from him next year but just hope to see him make good progress. In 2-3 years I'm hoping he turns into a beast though, will be very interesting to watch since we so badly need it to happen.

I mostly agree with you except I'm a little more pessimistic.

 

[Habs Icing]

I just don't see anything from this kid that makes me think he's going to be more than a 40 pts player. To be a top 6 player in the NHL, you need a combination of many skills. KK has very average hands, way below skating ability from speed, acceleration, balance, agility, an average shot (heavy shot but way too inaccurate and super slow release). His best attribute is his hockey sense and vision but I don't feel that'll be enough to make him a top 6 player even in 3-4 years when he bulks out. Reminds me a bit like Michal Handzus or Hanzal but smaller. Really hope I'm wrong but I think he'll be a 3rd line center (

That's what I see. A #3 center,

 

[BehindTheTimes]

If KK can score as many points in any season as Hughes did in his rookie season then that would be a big win.
If anyone actually watched him in the other play in series there’s no “let’s wait and see how Kotkaniemi develops”, Hughes is already an elite play driver as a defenseman and more impactful than KK will ever be.
If you don’t think so you’re in denial and have rose colored glasses on.
Just a massive mistake not taking Hughes at 3 IMO

Not sure what brought this post on, but I don’t think it offers anything all of us don’t already know and a few things nobody knows, including yourself. If this post is to say Hughes is better right now, thanks for the update. I still think JK Projects to be the top 3 pick we took.