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Confirmed with Link: Libor Hajek recalled

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Levitate said:
No, ManUtdTobbe is saying he was Hartford's worst regular D going off advanced stats. I know some people like to crap on those but I think they are a useful way to evaluate players. Looking half decent but not doing well with your underlying stats isn't something to brush off
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I had no idea anyone was even tracking the advanced stats in the AHL
 
ManUtdTobbe said:
For the record, i like Hajek as a prospect and he has the tools to be good but he hasn’t had a good first pro season... that happens...
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Went looking for his average icetime and can't even find that with AHL stats...blah. Not looking too hard for it.

If he's coming in as a rookie to an AHL team that really doesn't have a great foundation and structure and he's expected to be the start of that foundation and get legitimate minutes then I'm not really surprised he had his struggles. That's a tall ask for a player who's not a top tier prospect.
I dunno how his game was today but that's why I wonder if a better structure and more sheltered minutes can help him
 
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ManUtdTobbe said:
Chris Bigras xG% with Libor Hajek: 42%
Without Libor Hajek: 51%

Hajek has definitely struggled for Hartford this season
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There's reasons why stats work out a certain way. This is particularly true with advanced stats. Scoring is scoring is scoring, so if a kid is top-5 in his league in scoring, not much you can say about his ability to do that. Advanced stats can be skewed for a multitude of reasons. For instance, Hajek's struggles defensively were limited to certain types of plays, but that one thing that caused it is fixable and was progressively and significantly improved as the season went on. Having small, fixable issues in your game is not a big deal, but can change advanced stats a bunch.

Also, stats in general need to be tracked to see the curve. Geo started awfully in Hartford last year, but was among the best goalies in the AHL towards the end of the season. End-year overall stats did not reflect that. Conversely, Zborovskiy ran up offensive stats early in the ECHL season to make it look like he's too good for that level, only to collapse quickly because it was obviously just luck that he ran up those points. End of the year stats had him as 'ok' stat-wise, but it hid the curve he was on. Whatever Hajek's stats are, he was certainly a much better defensive player in February than October because his flaw is easily fixable.
 
I actually think Hajeks play in February was worse then his play in October, i don’t have the numbers for that, purely based on watching the games. His flaw(s) may be easily fixable but they’re not fixed yet.

And your view on ”advanced stats” is really ignorant
 
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While it's nice that he didn't look totally out of place the sample size thus far has been pretty minuscule. I'm really curious to see how his career plays out ... imo he's squarely behind guys like Miller and Lundkvist on the depth chart and probably will be competing directly against the likes of Rykov, Keane, and Reunanen for a spot next season. He's going to have to find a way to stand out among those guys
 
Skjei, Staal, Hajek, Rykov, Lindgren, OG, Craw and Day are 8 LDs. At least one LD NHL spot is wide open.
 
He REALLY reminds me of Stralman. Similar skating style, size and playing style. He uses his skating to escape a forecheck and make a good first pass out of the zone. He's got some things to work on, for sure, but his ability to remain calm and beat that first forechecker is going to lead to him being a NHL defenseman for a long time.
 
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NYR Viper said:
He REALLY reminds me of Stralman. Similar skating style, size and playing style. He uses his skating to escape a forecheck and make a good first pass out of the zone. He's got some things to work on, for sure, but his ability to remain calm and beat that first forechecker is going to lead to him being a NHL defenseman for a long time.
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Yeah stralman was who he immediately felt like...and honestly a bit of Wade redden when redden was good?
 
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Beacon said:
Hajek didnt struggle in Hartford. He's the type to do better at higher levels. Usually flashy players have a harder time transitioning because they face tougher opposition, but players who do small things well do better at higher levels because those plays get ruined by the crappy minor leaguers anyway.

For ex, you go into the corner and under pressure from 2 opponents quickly flip the puck to where your teammate should be. Great play if your teammate is an NHLer who understands where he should go to receive your pick, but when your teammate is 3 days away from the ECHL, your flip pass is probably going into empty space or your teammate gets there late and turns over the puck or Gilmour grabs the puck and tries to pretend he's Leetch, only to badly turnover the puck on his own blue line, so you saving the puck in the corner doesnt matter because the other team wound up with it within 4 seconds anyway.

Players like that usually do better at higher levels, while players who can abuse children in the Juniors because of a size advantage or because they can out-skill someone who will be working as a junior car mechanic in 2 years, those prospects get all the hype before landing in the ECHL.
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Stop making so much sense it hurts the "ignorant" brains :laugh:
 
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ManUtdTobbe said:
I actually think Hajeks play in February was worse then his play in October, i don’t have the numbers for that, purely based on watching the games. His flaw(s) may be easily fixable but they’re not fixed yet.

And your view on ”advanced stats” is really ignorant
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I agree that he seemed to be struggling before his call up. Earlier in the year I said he was doing fine, looking like a rookie but otherwise doing well. I thought his play deteriorated and he lost confidence recently.
 
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hartford is the place you go where your game not only doesnt develop but its regresses.

sending any of our prized prospects there is counter productive.

kravtsov and shestyorkin want no part of that place.

with good reason.

at some point this organization will need to address that situation.
 
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hes been good so far but its hard to ignore the level of bad he was in hartford.

im thinking hes another one whos got a shot at a 2/3 pair career.

and im ok with his simple, efficient game. play defense. theres always room for a kid here that can just do that one thing.
 
offdacrossbar said:
hartford is the place you go where your game not only doesnt develop but its regresses.

sending any of our prized prospects there is counter productive.

kravtsov and shestyorkin want no part of that place.

with good reason.

at some point this organization will need to address that situation.
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I don't really think this is at all true. I've discussed this a bit recently. Take it back to 2000, and our "good" prospects all passed through there and did just fine. The guys with real talent, they haven't been held back by Hartford. It's the lower-tier guys that haven't developed. It's why we always have to sign third and fourth line guys, because we can't develop those lesser players.

Seriously. Name some higher-end guys (say, second line potential/second pair potential or above) that went to Hartford and stagnated or regressed. I can't think of any. I've watched a lot of Hartford over the years and I can't think of any good prospects that spent time in Hartford to negative effect.
 
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nyr2k2 said:
I don't really think this is at all true. I've discussed this a bit recently. Take it back to 2000, and our "good" prospects all passed through there and did just fine. The guys with real talent, they haven't been held back by Hartford. It's the lower-tier guys that haven't developed. It's why we always have to sign third and fourth line guys, because we can't develop those lesser players.

Seriously. Name some higher-end guys (say, second line potential/second pair potential or above) that went to Hartford and stagnated or regressed. I can't think of any. I've watched a lot of Hartford over the years and I can't think of any good prospects that spent time in Hartford to negative effect.
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lias andersson

i was expecting him to stand out in the A.

he didnt
 
nyr2k2 said:
I am a huge Lias Andersson fan and I place his struggles squarely on him. He did not handle his demotion well, at all.

Anyone else from the last two decades?
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me too. big fan also.

wait, you said name some one. i did

i didnt know this was a test and i didnt get to study.... :sarcasm:
 
NYR Viper said:
He REALLY reminds me of Stralman. Similar skating style, size and playing style. He uses his skating to escape a forecheck and make a good first pass out of the zone. He's got some things to work on, for sure, but his ability to remain calm and beat that first forechecker is going to lead to him being a NHL defenseman for a long time.
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Great comparison, frankly. They play a very, very similar game.
 
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