LW Johnny Gaudreau (2011, 104th overall, Calgary) IV

[CraigsList]

Only seen bits and pieces of him and the Flames, period here, period there. How's he doing defensively? Sometimes those takeways/giveaway stats can be different building-to-building. Not doubting the stat just crious how he looks.

He and Backlund are our best two way forwards in the game. The fact that he has that great of a defensive game and that offensive ability, makes him a very valuable player. The NHL is where he belongs.

 

[stardefender*]

Here's another look at his game winning goal from last night. Aside from the low percentage angle, the way he fights off the check entering the zone was especially impressive:

 

[CraigsList]

^ For a small player, he is very strong with his stick and doesn't get knocked off the puck easily. It's really impressive.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

If you aren't rooting for this kid you aren't a true hockey fan. He is the closest thing to a human-highlight-reel I've ever seen. So fun to watch. The kind of player that's worth the price of admission.

 

[Orca Smash]

If you aren't rooting for this kid you aren't a true hockey fan. He is the closest thing to a human-highlight-reel I've ever seen. So fun to watch. The kind of player that's worth the price of admission.

Lets not over exaggerate, plenty of fantastic players in the nhl scoring highlight reel goals and some people even enjoy different styles of hockey. He has nice hands and scored a very nice goal tonight (although i think rinne would like that one back).

 

[Yosemite Sam]

If you aren't rooting for this kid you aren't a true hockey fan. He is the closest thing to a human-highlight-reel I've ever seen. So fun to watch. The kind of player that's worth the price of admission.

You don't have to root for him or his team, but it's hard not to appreciate the artistry.

 

[hersky77]

The kid is good no doubt about it. But the love affair is kind of sickening. Against the habs on Tuesday he had a good game but the announcers made it seem like he was a reincarnation of Jesus and Gretzky.

 

[theIceWookie]

Here's another look at his game winning goal from last night. Aside from the low percentage angle, the way he fights off the check entering the zone was especially impressive:

The shot was pure lucky, but like you said the impressive part of that play was him fighting off the stick check and keeping the puck while entering the zone.

 

[Nicko999]

If you aren't rooting for this kid you aren't a true hockey fan. He is the closest thing to a human-highlight-reel I've ever seen. So fun to watch. The kind of player that's worth the price of admission.

Have you watched Malkin, Kane, Crosby just to name a few?

 

[DayTripper]

What team is that? Germany? He won't be able to pull those kinds of moves agasint real NHL competition, especially if you think he will end up being a star and have to play against a team's best D.

I've seen enough hockey to know what happens when players Gaudreau's size try to pull that off against real NHL D.

And this is what happens:

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Have you watched Malkin, Kane, Crosby just to name a few?

Crosby's incredible, but he's not really a human highlight reel. Dangles aren't what put him above the rest of the NHL.

 

[TheCLAM]

The shot was pure lucky, but like you said the impressive part of that play was him fighting off the stick check and keeping the puck while entering the zone.

Rinne definitely should of had that puck from an angle like that. Gaudreau showed great effort to stay with the play, I'll give him that. It wasn't a pretty goal by any means though

 

[TheCLAM]

Have you watched Malkin, Kane, Crosby just to name a few?

Crosby isn't all that flashy, he just makes great plays at all ends of the rink.

Kane on the other hand IMO is one of the most exciting players in hockey

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

And this is what happens:

Haha well played . . .

 

[TheFactor]

Was at the game last night where Johnny made the crazy deke. The whole crowd was on it's feet for literally 15-20 seconds after the play. He's proving all the doubters wrong.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Haha well played . . .

And nbwingsfan was never seen again.

 

[tmurfin]

The shot was pure lucky, but like you said the impressive part of that play was him fighting off the stick check and keeping the puck while entering the zone.

Gaudreau literally tries that shot atleast once a game. Rinne was just the first guy he caught slipping.

 

[stardefender*]

The shot was pure lucky,

Yea you obviously haven't seen the kid play very much. He's scored many goals from angles like that in Boston College, and as mentioned above he tries it at least once a game in the bigs so far. It's a low percentage angle, but one he's made before.

It wasn't a pretty goal by any means though

Nice to see there's the same handful of wet blankets critiquing every goal posted for not being goal of the year material. Does every goal need to be pretty? It was the game winner.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Gaudreau literally tries that shot atleast once a game. Rinne was just the first guy he caught slipping.

Yeah he's been known to try to bank it off the goalie's head from an angle behind the net.

 

[theIceWookie]

Rinne definitely should of had that puck from an angle like that. Gaudreau showed great effort to stay with the play, I'll give him that. It wasn't a pretty goal by any means though

He got himself there though so gotta give him credit for that. Good players put themselves in positions to get lucky.

 

[theIceWookie]

Yea you obviously haven't seen the kid play very much. He's scored many goals from angles like that in Boston College, and as mentioned above he tries it at least once a game in the bigs so far. It's a low percentage angle, but one he's made before.

I have actually and I know he had a lot of shots from low angle areas go in. Trying it at least once a game doesn't change the fact that it's lucky. It still was. He just understands that a lot of goalies don't expect players to try that shot and he'll get it once every 3/4/5 times he tries it.

 

[stardefender*]

I have actually and I know he had a lot of shots from low angle areas go in. Trying it at least once a game doesn't change the fact that it's lucky. It still was. He just understands that a lot of goalies don't expect players to try that shot and he'll get it once every 3/4/5 times he tries it.

Sorry, when it's attempted so often and has met with past success, it's not luck. He knew exactly what he wanted to do when he shot from that angle, and put it in. As he's done before.

 

[theIceWookie]

He's a little pain in the butt. Because he's so quick, he sneaks up behind players and picks their pocket. He's also fairly good positioning wise, for some reason I don't think he'll have much success muscling people off the puck.

Just stealthy and shifty like Datsyuk. If he was 6'0", he would already be one of the top 10 players in the league. He might possibly get there anyway.

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be tongue in cheek or not lol. He'll clearly never outmuscle people but that's not a big deal. He'll play defense with his stick and proper positioning rather than pure strength

 

[stardefender*]

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be tongue in cheek or not lol. He'll clearly never outmuscle people but that's not a big deal. He'll play defense with his stick and proper positioning rather than pure strength

Smaller players are very much capable of out-muscling larger players from the puck using superior balance, strength on their stick and positioning. You'e wrong again.

 

[theIceWookie]

He did look tentative in his first five games, coming straight from college to the NHL - and at that size disadvantage - it's understandable he had to acclimatize to the speed and space in the NHL.

But since he sat out that game he's scoring at a point a game pace (6 points in 6 games) and now leads the league in take-aways with limited ice time. He's also tied for game winning goals with two in that span.

In his last two games, he's been absolutely lights out and the Flames best forward by a country mile. Every time he touches the puck something happens and he's gaining confidence with each game.

It might take a while, but this kid is going to be a star. He's absolutely electric to watch and enthrals the crowd. How anyone can dislike the kid or root against them because of their allegiances is ridiculous. That's a special brand of hockey and everyone should enjoy it when they see it.

His slow start was something some who have seen him a lot were expecting too. They mentioned he takes a bit to figure out the speed, get the trust of his coaches and then he starts to heat up. Looking like thats the case.