Lets just be happy that Zooks has played well. Almost all of them came around and started supporting Zooks. Nobody here has to eat any crow.
When Zooks heard Richards comparison to Marty St.Louis he laughed and said he didn't want that on him while mentioning Marty just led the NHL in points. Zooks seems like one of the most well liked teammates. I think the rest of the guys like joking with him.
Zucc has played well, not more not less.
I was possibly one of the posters who was the most down on Zucc when he signed here. But I do think he has done a great job in the very tough situations he has been given.
I think its legit to compare him with MSL from one point of view, Zucc has kept developing more or less on a yearly basis for his entire career. Zucc in his 1st SEL season was definitely compareable to Zucc this year in the NHL, IE a player who is behind and in over his head in some areas, but still does a good job. That Zucc isn't remotely close to being a NHL player. That's what, 3-4 years ago. Now he is a NHL player.
I've several times muttered by myself here in Sweden over Zucc's bad luck when it comes to getting lucky pts. I think he was robbed of an assist a couple of games ago (only one A was rewarded on a goal where Zucc touched the puck before a D touched it and gave it away). He has been around atleast a handful of goals without picking up a secondary assist. I don't care much about pts, but people pay attention to it and if you have scored a point per game for 5 games it will be talked about alot.
And I would love to see Zucc playing with that kind of confidence.
Cause if he can keep taking small steps, I don't see why he couldn't keep developing. I mean, he is making some amazing plays on the ice wtih the puck. He must have nerves of steel because he can step on a PP being cold and pressured on with his job on the line, and not once mishandle the puck or make a bad decision or what not.
On the crow-eating, if there is one thing that annoys me its the often heard conclusion when someone does not make it, that the player just didn't have it. When I follow kids and prospects nowadays, I am constantly struck by how extremely small the marginals are and how extremely important it seems to be for a kid to have a ton of circumstances they don't controll themselves go their way. So I don't at all buy the "Hagelin made it = of course he did, he got 'it'", while "Zucc didn't make it = he didn't have 'it'". Hagelin was healthy for like three straight years. He was good, not spectacular, in the AHL. We had a opening in the NHL. He got a chance, played well for a handful of games but then was a tad off for quite some time, but we lost another player and Hagelin kept playing -- alot due to the team winning a ton of games -- and Hagelin kept growing into the role and so forth. Now he is a regular. Lets say he was a RW instead, with Gabby, Cally and Prust infront of him, he does not play a single game last season on a top 3 line. Not a single game. Add a injury or two to that, and you
never know what you get.
