Player Discussion Jiri "Cakes" Sekac

[The Midnight Burrito]

I don't agree, there's too many to choose from

Yeah, everyone's feeling the lash right now. Sekac is getting backlash from the ridiculous hype though.

 

[alcolol]

I don't get it, Sekac can be hyped to the moon and it's fine but if he's crticised he's suddenly a whipping boy being unfairly targeted apparently.

Those, including to lesser degree myself, who "hyped [him] to the moon" are guilty of overestimating his capabilities. There's no denying that.

Having said that, Sekac is much less central to the success of our team than the likes of the top-6 (given our assumed top-6 going into the season of Maroon - Getzlaf - Perry, Hagelin - Kesler - Silfverberg) and hence it was wrong to expect production from him on par with those players, especially the wingers. So why is he still criticized as someone from whom we expect top-6 production? If anything, the differential between what our expectations of him should be and what he should produce over the course of a season, assuming our team can score goals at a normal pace, is less than the differential for everyone in our top-6.

Additionally, it has been unambiguously agreed upon that our team currently lacks creativity. Sekac's strengths, which in my opinion are his shiftiness, puck distribution, and two-way play, help in addressing this weakness. Expecting him to succeed along the boards and in the dirty areas of the rink is a lost cause, moreso when the players whose job that is --most notably Maroon and Stewart-- are playing some of the worst hockey of their careers.

 

[mightyquack]

Those, including to lesser degree myself, who "hyped [him] to the moon" are guilty of overestimating his capabilities. There's no denying that.

Having said that, Sekac is much less central to the success of our team than the likes of the top-6 (given our assumed top-6 going into the season of Maroon - Getzlaf - Perry, Hagelin - Kesler - Silfverberg) and hence it was wrong to expect production from him on par with those players, especially the wingers. So why is he still criticized as someone from whom we expect top-6 production? If anything, the differential between what our expectations of him should be and what he should produce over the course of a season, assuming our team can score goals at a normal pace, is less than the differential for everyone in our top-6.

Additionally, it has been unambiguously agreed upon that our team currently lacks creativity. Sekac's strengths, which in my opinion are his shiftiness, puck distribution, and two-way play, help in addressing this weakness. Expecting him to succeed along the boards and in the dirty areas of the rink is a lost cause, moreso when the players whose job that is --most notably Maroon and Stewart-- are playing some of the worst hockey of their careers.

Yes, Sekac hasn't been as bad as our top players on the basis him not producing much is to be expected.....good for him I suppose.

I'm not seeing criticism because he isn't putting up top 6 numbers, I'm seeing criticism as he isn't adding a lot to the team right now really (like a number of players). He seems the classic type of player who looks like he's doing a lot but achieving very little.

I'm not expecting Sekac to be some sort of superstar at holding the puck along the boards, but if he's going to take the puck to the boards so many times a game I don't think it's too much to ask for to not turn it over every time. Hell, an improvement would just be dumping it back down below the goalline instead.

 

[Ducks DVM]

He's getting the Etem/Vatanen treatment. He has some folks who (loudly) vastly overrated him and there are a lot of folks who are pointing out every single flaw in his game (and many who are pretending he has no redeeming qualities at all) as a reflexive action.

 

[PuqTalk]

Jiri Sekac is the best player on the team and one of the most dominant players in the NHL

 

[alcolol]

He's getting the Etem/Vatanen treatment. He has some folks who (loudly) vastly overrated him and there are a lot of folks who are pointing out every single flaw in his game (and many who are pretending he has no redeeming qualities at all) as a reflexive action.

Exactly this.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I'll repeat what I said last year. We traded a player who was disappointing even with an expected ceiling of a bottom six grinder, for a guy who was disappointing with a supposed top 6 scorer ceiling. Now how in the world could a deal like that not turn out well for us? Well, maybe, just maybe, some people in Montreal actually know a little bit about this game called hockey? Naaa.

I'm beginning to think some of our HF posters are actually Ducks' pro scouts.

 

[alcolol]

Yes, Sekac hasn't been as bad as our top players on the basis him not producing much is to be expected.....good for him I suppose.

I'm not seeing criticism because he isn't putting up top 6 numbers, I'm seeing criticism as he isn't adding a lot to the team right now really (like a number of players). He seems the classic type of player who looks like he's doing a lot but achieving very little.

I'm not expecting Sekac to be some sort of superstar at holding the puck along the boards, but if he's going to take the puck to the boards so many times a game I don't think it's too much to ask for to not turn it over every time. Hell, an improvement would just be dumping it back down below the goalline instead.

What would you say he is supposed to add to the team?

 

[Ducks DVM]

I'll repeat what I said last year. We traded a player who was disappointing even with an expected ceiling of a bottom six grinder, for a guy who was disappointing with a supposed top 6 scorer ceiling. Now how in the world could a deal like that not turn out well for us? Well, maybe, just maybe, some people in Montreal actually know a little bit about this game called hockey? Naaa.

I'm beginning to think some of our HF posters are actually Ducks' pro scouts.

DSP has one assist and is playing the least amount of ice time for Montreal his year. It's not like he could actually be counted on to bring anything that the team needs right now (hitting, heart, reliable play). Sekac at least is tied for the team lead in goals here.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

DSP has one assist and is playing the least amount of ice time for Montreal his year. It's not like he could actually be counted on to bring anything that the team needs right now (hitting, heart, reliable play). Sekac at least is tied for the team lead in goals here.

Ducks DVM Nation.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Ducks DVM Nation.

Hah, I just see him as a good complementary piece on a team that plays a possession game on a 2B/3A line. He doesn't belong on our top line, and the LW on our second line needs to be a good forechecker, which isn't him. Not being used properly doesn't make him a bad player. He'd be fine with Rakell and someone who can actually score as 3rd line (assuming that the scoring wing can also take faceoffs for Rakell).

Wait, problem solved! We just need to trade for Benn and we will solve every problem we have with the Rakell line!

 

[Paul4587]

Jiri Sekac is the best player on the team and one of the most dominant players in the NHL

?

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Hah, I just see him as a good complementary piece on a team that plays a possession game on a 2B/3A line. He doesn't belong on our top line, and the LW on our second line needs to be a good forechecker, which isn't him. Not being used properly doesn't make him a bad player. He'd be fine with Rakell and someone who can actually score as 3rd line (assuming that the scoring wing can also take faceoffs for Rakell).

Wait, problem solved! We just need to trade for Benn and we will solve every problem we have with the Rakell line!

Well, the trade itself wasn't bothersome to me. Two guys who needed a new start. No problem there. It's just the reaction that we somehow dumped some hot garbage for a guy who was going to be a top six winger for years to come. To some, we had just pulled the greatest heist since the Yankees bought some pitcher/outfielder named Babe Ruth from the Red Sox. I was berated for challenging the "he has great hands" line. Why? Because of course he would look good in a skills competition, not because he actually contributed anything to offensive production. Kind of like saying Parros had great hands because he could win a shooting accuracy competition.

The problem is that he wasn't brought here to be used as a third line guy to maybe score a few goals. He was brought here by our GM/scouts who believed a lot like some posters that we had a top 6 guy. We didn't and we don't. He's certainly NOT what's wrong with the team. But neither was he ever the answer to anything. He was another BM longshot that didn't catch lightning in a bottle. Obla-di, obla-da.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Well, the trade itself wasn't bothersome to me. Two guys who needed a new start. No problem there. It's just the reaction that we somehow dumped some hot garbage for a guy who was going to be a top six winger for years to come. To some, we had just pulled the greatest heist since the Yankees bought some pitcher/outfielder named Babe Ruth from the Red Sox. I was berated for challenging the "he has great hands" line. Why? Because of course he would look good in a skills competition, not because he actually contributed anything to offensive production. Kind of like saying Parros had great hands because he could win a shooting accuracy competition.

The problem is that he wasn't brought here to be used as a third line guy to maybe score a few goals. He was brought here by our GM/scouts who believed a lot like some posters that we had a top 6 guy. We didn't and we don't. He's certainly NOT what's wrong with the team. But neither was he ever the answer to anything. He was another BM longshot that didn't catch lightning in a bottle. Obla-di, obla-da.

I'm willing to give him time. It's only the start of his second season, and the team is hot garbage right now. Not the savior though, no.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I'm willing to give him time. It's only the start of his second season, and the team is hot garbage right now. Not the savior though, no.

Yeah, it's hard to really point a finger at any one thing right now. But I do think we have made small changes the last couple of years that have been backwards moves rather than forward. Those fall on the GM. And if this coach isn't the right guy for the team the GM is assembling, then that's on the GM as well. Chemistry is hard to pinpoint. There's two kinds IMO. One is a locker room thing, where guys really bond and it elevates everybody's game. And obviously playing on a line with certain guys can be a chemistry thing. But, IMO, the first is more important than the second. At least on this team. Guys get moved all over the lineup here and the team has always won. So I'm more of the belief that the two main problems are that our best guys are not playing like it, and we have downgrading our supporting cast to the point that they cannot help like they have in the past. Combine them and you have our current state of discombobulation.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Yeah, it's hard to really point a finger at any one thing right now. But I do think we have made small changes the last couple of years that have been backwards moves rather than forward. Those fall on the GM. And if this coach isn't the right guy for the team the GM is assembling, then that's on the GM as well. Chemistry is hard to pinpoint. There's two kinds IMO. One is a locker room thing, where guys really bond and it elevates everybody's game. And obviously playing on a line with certain guys can be a chemistry thing. But, IMO, the first is more important than the second. At least on this team. Guys get moved all over the lineup here and the team has always won. So I'm more of the belief that the two main problems are that our best guys are not playing like it, and we have downgrading our supporting cast to the point that they cannot help like they have in the past. Combine them and you have our current state of discombobulation.

Agreed. I'm wondering if Getzlaf and/or Perry are sandbagging it and management is sending a message that they're not going to be allowed to pick their coach by not firing BB immediately. Not seriously, but wondering. The team refusing to finish checks is...odd.

Mainly I think that BM has just assembled a group that represents 2/3 of a good power team, 2/3 of a good grinding team, 2/3 of a good speed team, and 0/3 of a coherent roster.

 

[mightyquack]

What would you say he is supposed to add to the team?

He adds speed, forechecking and decent hands who can pull off an occasional wow move so to speak. He's a decent bottom 6 player at this stage, nothing more nothing less.

That doesn't mean his work along the boards isn't **** mind you.

 

[SmokeyDuck]

I like him, he seems like on of our more skilled players. Always seems like hes so close to putting it together.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I'm just having fun on the account of the insane hype he received, it's not even comparable to hype Vatanen received, and also Vatanen had far greater body of work. There is a poster who said he reminds him of Kopitar, I kid you not.

Those, including to lesser degree myself, who "hyped [him] to the moon" are guilty of overestimating his capabilities. There's no denying that.

Having said that, Sekac is much less central to the success of our team than the likes of the top-6 (given our assumed top-6 going into the season of Maroon - Getzlaf - Perry, Hagelin - Kesler - Silfverberg) and hence it was wrong to expect production from him on par with those players, especially the wingers. So why is he still criticized as someone from whom we expect top-6 production? If anything, the differential between what our expectations of him should be and what he should produce over the course of a season, assuming our team can score goals at a normal pace, is less than the differential for everyone in our top-6.

Additionally, it has been unambiguously agreed upon that our team currently lacks creativity. Sekac's strengths, which in my opinion are his shiftiness, puck distribution, and two-way play, help in addressing this weakness. Expecting him to succeed along the boards and in the dirty areas of the rink is a lost cause, moreso when the players whose job that is --most notably Maroon and Stewart-- are playing some of the worst hockey of their careers.

Here's the thing with the bolded part. When you add players that are less central to team succes and they're ineffective in their respective roles it actually adds up to become (almost) central to (lack of) teams success. Naturally that is not Sekac' fault.

 

[Sojourn]

Vatanen actually lived up to it a bit more too. He's not as good as he was hyped, but he's still a pretty solid contributor and definitely good at what he's good at. Sekac is, well, he is talented, but he really seems to struggle to contribute in meaningful ways. And his ability to finish is pretty poor.

He's not a bad player. It's just tough to find where he fits. He isn't a top six guy, and he doesn't seem like a typical energy/grinder player. I really wish he had more finishing ability, because he would make more sense as a complementary top sixer.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Vatanen actually lived up to it a bit more too. He's not as good as he was hyped, but he's still a pretty solid contributor and definitely good at what he's good at. Sekac is, well, he is talented, but he really seems to struggle to contribute in meaningful ways. And his ability to finish is pretty poor.

Without a doubt.

He's not a bad player. It's just tough to find where he fits. He isn't a top six guy, and he doesn't seem like a typical energy/grinder player. I really wish he had more finishing ability, because he would make more sense as a complementary top sixer.

It's easy to find where he fits. KHL.

 

[salsa man]

It's easy to find where he fits. KHL.

No need for the sarcasm smiley, you're right.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I still don't get why people are worrying about our depth players, when getzlaf perry silfverberg kesler maroon and haglin have a combined 0 goals.

 

[Kalv]

I still don't get why people are worrying about our depth players, when getzlaf perry silfverberg kesler maroon and haglin have a combined 0 goals.

And that is over 31M from our already small budget

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

How many of our other useless third liners have 14 page threads pumping their tires? How many have been compared favorably to Kopitar and Hossa?

The focus is on Sekac because that's where his fans want it.