I picked Kaliyev myself here but let's not pretend he doesn't have faults. He has ABSURD production, especially with respect to his teammates as Nickster points out, and even Pronman said frequently he didn't look like much was happening then he'd check the box score at the end of the night and Kaliyev would have three points. BUT his skating is mediocre at best. He sucks absolute ass on his edges, he's not escaping anyone with either speed OR agility OR strength/persistence on the boards. You can argue he doesn't have to, but even juniors were catching him with little effort. His hockey sense, release, shot, ability to get open and make you pay in a split second is unreal, and he'll need someone to carry the play for him--but the reasons people question this translating to the next level is if he's on a shitty possession team--ahem--he might be an absolute liability and only a PP weapon. His ceiling is questionable, and will he outscore his issues (or develop on them) enough to make a difference?
Like I said, I think "yes," but he's got a lot more in common with Tyler Toffoli than anyone here wants to admit. Neither guy should skate the puck through the neutral zone. Both guys have great IQ (Kaliyev better) and know where to be with and without the puck (TT is actually a really heady defensive player in general). But can they get there and do anything about it? I'm gambling on his upside here and I think a chip on his shoulder will be nice.
Now here's the wild card I can never find more info on--the rumor is he was playing nearly 30 minutes a night as well at times. So that would make sense with respect to his conservative play, backchecking, skating, and so on. But I can't find stats or confirmation on that anywhere. That could change absolutely everything.
I trust our development team to work on his weaknesses. And he has some tools that would have made him the #3 pick if they weren't questions. That's phenomenal value. He could be a Kucherov. But he could also be a Yakupov. It's reasonable to not bet on him here.
Well, looks and results are two different things, but I understand your point. Kempe is terrible offensively actually generating results. In fact, he's tied for team worst among the forwards at even strength (team scoring when he is on the ice per 60 minutes played). And yes Petersen faced a barrage of shots on many nights, combined with some poor coverage. There was some inconsistency in his game at times too, where he just did not play well at all. He seemed to get a bit down on his play at times.
To be fair to Kempe and really
anyone coming up right now only a small handful of guys actually did well last year. Remember only Clifford and Iafallo actually
increased their production. Some guys who debuted did well, but they weren't thrust into roles like Kempe, who showed well the previous year before running out of gas. Don't get me wrong, he had issues last year particularly with consistency, but I have a hard time evaluating anyone in last year's context.
