LW Patrik Laine (2016, 2nd, WPG) XVI

[The Winter Soldier]

Matthews fans were told not overreact etc when Matthews was dominating Laine in points and goals etc because it was a small sample size but now that the tables have turned people are doing the same thing with Laine.

There has not been a player that has played in their first 14 games in the NHL, nevermind a 18 year old from across the ocean to score 2 hattricks this early on.

I don't know where the hyperbole is that you are claiming. Any player that achieved this with the profile of Laine that was just drafted would be talked about. If people want to get excited, and I know The Finnish fans and Jets fans are passionate ones. They should.

I also think some of us expected there to be bumps in the road. This happens to veterans as well as 18 year old rookies in the NHL. No one here is forecasting him to score 11 goals in 14 game segments for the entire year.

So I don't know where the overreaction is? People are excited and are reacting accordingly to a player in his own thread. If one does not want to participate, they do not have to enter this thread.

To me there is nothing about Laine that a hockey fan would not like. 11 goals to lead the NHL when most expected him to be still feeling out the NHL early on, 15 points to lead all rookies. Showing more physical play, starting to be more comfortable with his teammates. They are all reasonable reactions to a player that has been super impressive to start off his NHL career.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I agree that there's always a few, but the sample size keeps getting bigger. So lets see. Will be interesting to see how Laine keeps up with this pace. I'm not quite sure in what point Matthews dominated Laine in points, except for the first game. AM hasn't had huge nights after that 4 goal game. Everyone waited for him to continue like he did in Ottawa, but didn't really happen. And that's okay. I personally don't like comparing the two. Just because they play different and we should just appreciate the NHL has both of them. These are guys that light up a whole team.

Close to gpg is absolutely insane in todays NHL.

Even back in the day only Gretzky and Lemieux were able to do it.

 

[93LEAFS]

Even back in the day only Gretzky and Lemieux were able to do it.

Brett Hull was. 86 in 78 in 90-91, who while isn't a perfect comparison to Laine has a lot of commonalities.

 

[Gavy]

There has not been a player that has played in their first 14 games in the NHL, nevermind a 18 year old from across the ocean to score 2 hattricks this early on.

I don't know where the hyperbole is that you are claiming. Any player that achieved this with the profile of Laine that was just drafted would be talked about. If people want to get excited, and I know The Finnish fans and Jets fans are passionate ones. They should.

I also think some of us expected there to be bumps in the road. This happens to veterans as well as 18 year old rookies in the NHL. No one here is forecasting him to score 11 goals in 14 game segments for the entire year.

So I don't know where the overreaction is? People are excited and are reacting accordingly to a player in his own thread. If one does not want to participate, they do not have to enter this thread.

To me there is nothing about Laine that a hockey fan would not like. 11 goals to lead the NHL when most expected him to be still feeling out the NHL early on, 15 points to lead all rookies. Showing more physical play, starting to be more comfortable with his teammates. They are all reasonable reactions to a player that has been super impressive to start off his NHL career.

So you read every post in this thread and couldn't find any overreactions?

I never once said people couldn't get excited over him so chill out. I said there were overreactions, kind of like you're doing with my post. you're overreacting

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Even back in the day only Gretzky and Lemieux were able to do it.

As great as 99 and 66 were, or Hull, Bossy, or Kurri for that matter as a fan that all saw them play in their primes, hockey was far more open back then than the game is today. I can't emphasize how harder it is to score today.

If you can score 40 in a season in the NHL now, you are in select company. When you start reaching 50. You can count players on a couple of fingers. 60, then we are talking a whole new ball game here. In today's game, this would put you in a very select class.

 

[Whileee]

Brett Hull was. 86 in 78 in 90-91, who while isn't a perfect comparison to Laine has a lot of commonalities.

Other than "great shot", I don't see much resemblance at all between Laine and Hull. They play very different styles and have very different physical profiles and skillsets.

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

So you read every post in this thread and couldn't find any overreactions?

I never once said people couldn't get excited over him so chill out. I said there were overreactions, kind of like you're doing with my post. you're overreacting

Please, could someone show a single thread of these forums where are no overreactions. I prefer that at least Leafs/Matthews fans should start that search from their own threads, if seriously demanding such here.

Nobody in this thread praising Laine decorated he with Calder after his First NHL-game.

 

[93LEAFS]

Other than "great shot", I don't see much resemblance at all between Laine and Hull. They play very different styles and have very different physical profiles and skillsets.

Its in the shot, powerplay position and quick strike offence after arriving late on the scene. But I don't want to get into the argument of who he compares best with again. Lets just agree to disagree on this. Like most great players (and players in general) no players are really clones of each other, great players tend to have unique traits that make them special.

 

[Gavy]

Please, could someone show a single thread of these forums where are no overreactions. I prefer that at least Leafs/Matthews fans should start that search from their own threads, if seriously demanding such here.

Nobody in this thread praising Laine decorated he with Calder after his First NHL-game.

Can you quote me where I said there were no overreactions?
Why is everyone being so damn sensitive.

All I'm saying is that when Matthews was tearing it up and Matthews fans were gloating, they were told it's only a short sample size and not to overreact but a lot of the same fans are overreacting due to Laine tearing it up now.

That's all I'm saying.
"Nobody in this thread praising Laine decorated he with Calder after his First NHL-game"

I didn't either, but did Laine score 4 goals in his debut? Nice try.
I'm not saying fans can't get excited, I'm not ******** on Laine and I'm not saying there have never been overreactions.

Did I clear that up?

It's like I'm not allowed to be a fan of Laine just because I'm a leaf fan

 

[kelsier]

Laine has matched every bit of the expectations I've set on him and topped them over like trash. It's just insane and leaves you speachless. First in the FEL playoffs, then WHC and now in the NHL. We've come across the times of having to defend him against whatever mockeries as his actions speak loader than the words. This leaves the anti-Laine campaign little to nothing to run around with. A bit of relief there.

Been checking through some of the latest articles. Fun read:

“Can feel it in the crowd when he gets the puck from anywhere.†said head coach Paul Maurice. “You can feel it. The anticipation of the shot and everybody on our bench has that exact same anticipation when he’s shooting the puck. He might beat the guy from there.â€

http://globalnews.ca/news/3055901/h...ore-as-winnipeg-jets-waltz-over-dallas-stars/

"The general manager who drafted Ovechkin was in the building when Laine scored his seventh NHL goal. Former Capitals and current Las Vegas GM George McPhee saw shades of Mario Lemieux in Laine's game when he first watched him during the World Junior Championships in Finland."

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...iming-become-next-sidney-crosby-alex-ovechkin


Funny how you can still feel "threatened" here to mention Laine in the same sentence with Lemieux even today, when there are hockey professionals doing the same exact thing in the public.

Still at the end of the day Laine will be Laine. I rather have him carve up his own path and career instead of follow someone else's, no matter how flattering that may be. The reality is that there'll never be another Lemieux, Gretzky, Crosby or <insert a name>. When ex-hockey players/professionals find these similarities or certain youngster reminds them of some veteran player, that is just that, not resurrection nor incarnation. People need to realise this instead of getting emotional and if it feels insufferable then your in a wrong place.

Right now hockey is just so much fun. Waiting each Jets game like it was Xmas.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

These pages NEED to be recorded for posterity when Laine's production falls off. He's had a good run of late and suddenly we're back to the "best player in the draft", "Laine is Mario" and "76 goals is a possibility" posts that you all denied ever saying. When he comes back down to Earth, and he will, you have no one to blame but yourselves for the backlash.

 

[ijuka]

Other than "great shot", I don't see much resemblance at all between Laine and Hull. They play very different styles and have very different physical profiles and skillsets.

Yep. This comparison is thrown around a lot but I really hate it. They're nothing alike. "Both can shoot and pass" is the argument I've heard, which is ridiculous.

 

[Gavy]

These pages NEED to be recorded for posterity when Laine's production falls off. He's had a good run of late and suddenly we're back to the "best player in the draft", "Laine is Mario" and "76 goals is a possibility" posts that you all denied ever saying. When he comes back down to Earth, and he will, you have no one to blame but yourselves for the backlash.

This is what I'm saying to an extent and I said the same damn thong with Matthews.

People jn this threa, just like the Matthews one, are setting themselves up for dissapointment.

Im a fan of Laine, but just because I don't see 76 goals as realistic, doesn't mean I'm no a fan of him.

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

@Gavy: Just pointing out that it's damn easy to engage to "2-way dealings", you know.

Rhetorically. Not personally. Take easy and enjoy Laine's awesome performances.

 

[ItchyScratchy77]

Even back in the day only Gretzky and Lemieux were able to do it.

They both retired at just under 2 gpg. Ridiculous.

 

[Gavy]

People need to relax about the Lemieux stuff.
Most people aren't saying he will be Lemieux or as good as him, they are saying they see Lemieux qualities in laine.

Players can be compared to other players without expecting them to be as good as the player they are being compared too

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Other than "great shot", I don't see much resemblance at all between Laine and Hull. They play very different styles and have very different physical profiles and skillsets.

I actually do not see much resemblance in Hull's shot to Laine's either. Hull was the best player I ever saw that could one time a shot. It was one of his signature plays to find space on the off wing and await a pass. He also used a bomb of a slap shot that I have yet to see Laine use too often.

Laine already I can see has one of the most effective wrist or snap shots I have ever seen. The release, accuracy, and power behind it is elite. When he lets it go, and it is on target it is near impossible to stop. If you are a scorer, this is the ultimate weapon. Quickness of release, accuracy, and power. Hard to stop and best thing of all, it should be sustainable for his entire career.

 

[Gavy]

@Gavy: Just pointing out that it's damn easy to engage to "2-way dealings", you know.

Rhetorically. Not personally. Take easy and enjoy Laine's awesome performances.

I have been. I've payed close attentire to Dubois,Laine and Puljujarvi since the start of last year when I expected the leafs to pick one of them. Never expected to get Matthews with the luck the left have so I set my focus on Laine and Puljujarvi.

 

[SaekkiPaelli]

These pages NEED to be recorded for posterity when Laine's production falls off. He's had a good run of late and suddenly we're back to the "best player in the draft", "Laine is Mario" and "76 goals is a possibility" posts that you all denied ever saying. When he comes back down to Earth, and he will, you have no one to blame but yourselves for the backlash.

^this

Obviously I will have to eat crow as I thought he'd hit something around 20 goals, he has impressed on 5v5. But as Maurice also mentioned Scheifele is playing out of his mind, which also contributes to Laine's production. I still see him slowing down, but I think he'll hit 30 and maybe flirt around with 40, but there is no chance he gets 76, which he isn't even on pace for...The season is long and unpredictable, I'm a bit scared he might also hit a point where fatigue kicks in. But really happy that there will be AT LEAST a Finnish 30 goal scorer once again in the coming years, barring injuries. Haven't had a legit goal scorer since Selänne.

 

[Fishy]

This is what I'm saying to an extent and I said the same damn thong with Matthews.

People jn this threa, just like the Matthews one, are setting themselves up for dissapointment.

Im a fan of Laine, but just because I don't see 76 goals as realistic, doesn't mean I'm no a fan of him.

Well, Laine has already exceeded every expectation I had. Everything from here on out is just gravy!

 

[ItchyScratchy77]

These pages NEED to be recorded for posterity when Laine's production falls off. He's had a good run of late and suddenly we're back to the "best player in the draft", "Laine is Mario" and "76 goals is a possibility" posts that you all denied ever saying. When he comes back down to Earth, and he will, you have no one to blame but yourselves for the backlash.

There is the difference between Laine/Jets fans and Matthews/Leafs fans. We are not harassing the Matthews thread just because he hasn't done much besides his first game. You're openly admitting that there will be a backlash from Leafs fans in the Laine thread, should he slump

He is on earth btw. This is the player he is truly is. In fact he is improving and evolving at an unprecedented rate. Will he have slow patches? Obviously. Will he fall off the face of the earth for stretches? Not a chance. Generational. He and McDavid will be the new kings of the NHL.

 

[randomhockeyfan]

These pages NEED to be recorded for posterity when Laine's production falls off. He's had a good run of late and suddenly we're back to the "best player in the draft", "Laine is Mario" and "76 goals is a possibility" posts that you all denied ever saying. When he comes back down to Earth, and he will, you have no one to blame but yourselves for the backlash.

Yeah it's amazing how people go from one extrem to another. I'm scared to enter these boards when Laine slows down and Matthews lights it up. There's just constant back-and-forth bashing going on but I guess that's what you get when you have Leafs vs. Jets/Finns defending their player. Has the discussion ever been this heated between the #1OA and #2?

 

[psycho_dad*]

So you read every post in this thread and couldn't find any overreactions?

I never once said people couldn't get excited over him so chill out. I said there were overreactions, kind of like you're doing with my post. you're overreacting

I don't think this thread is really concerned about Leafs fans coming in and finding "overreactions". What is an overreaction to something nobody has done? 11 goals in first 14 games under 19 years old. Saying he might be better than the guy who was picked before him in the draft doesn't sound like overreaction to me. More like an opinion based on observation.

It's not like this is the first time Laine leads in scoring and points against Matthews in their young careers. It's always been that way since U-17. So this should be expected, it's still the way it has been. You don't have to like the facts but that's what the facts are. Argue them if you want but it would be pretty pointless.

Both are great players and Matthews has his own thread, if you want to read about things related to him I'd suggest that thread instead of this one. This one is about Laine.

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

Some tech-guru or Programming Wizard should program few bots to continue that lame eternal argumentation into a dedicated thread for them. That thread would be then dominated by those bots with heuristic algorithms, AIs and real time web-browsing protocols. Their thread would be locked and un-moderated.

Then we all would just take our seats and watch...

 

[Cueb]

Here you can compare Laine's and Matthews numbers in the events that they have both played. I put McDavids numbers there too so you can get a perspective how well they have both done so far. Laine's numbers have been better but the sample size is small and they are both developing still so anything can happen.