Player Discussion: Neal Pionk Part 2

[Jet]

It's interesting that the vet making the money (and probably wanting more) might need Samberg to pro him up - shouldn't it be the other way around?

Maybe, but it could also be just finding the right partner that helps minimize his weaknesses and let him do what he does best.

Enstrom did that a lot for Buff (not that Toby was his junior)

 

[WolfHouse]

It appears that advanced stats were right about the samberg-pionk pairing last year...

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

It appears that advanced stats were right about the samberg-pionk pairing last year...

And now, a Counterpoint from @Buffdog...

 

[Buffdog]

And now, a Counterpoint from @Buffdog...

View attachment 932741

Like I've said 1000 times, advanced stats are a useful tool when used correctly

That said, when Pionk fails the eye test, he does so in spectacular fashion (much moreso last season and the season before than this one). He can be playing not too badly and then all of a sudden he has a massive brain fart that always seems to end up in the back of the net

 

[WolfHouse]

And now, a Counterpoint from @Buffdog...

View attachment 932741

Thanks to this... we will destroy Florida. The force is in balance once again.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

It's a fair opinion. I think there are a lot of areas that you can look at the Jets and say they are imperfectly built. Smaller defense, smaller wingers, no true elite centre. Lack of scoring from centres.

A lot of things had to go right to get the start the Jets had.

When you look at the future, I think people are excited about Salomonsson with good reason. But there's as much uncertainty that Salomonsson is going to be ready for 20 minutes a night shutdown defense next season as anything else on this team. Does Pionk's success depend on Dylan Samberg? For sure. Does Samberg need a puck mover to have success, I think that's also likely true? Jet would be a qualified commentator on how much good defense relies on chemistry, knowing how your d-partner likes to plays, and complementing it. Spacing is so important in defense, to be successful. Can't be separated from good forward work either, centers who play in the right areas of the ice, forward who backcheck to negate speed and odd man rushes. Can anyone say that Samberg and Salomonsson would be good in their spacing, as two players who don't really know each other's game? They had one preseason game, and it could have been rust but I did notice that they had trouble with clean breakouts.

I will watch how it plays out. There's so many potential changes looming on this team, my inclination is the Jets would like to have a relatively consistent top 4 to go into next season.
And Pionk has been more consistent as the article and our coach suggest.

I thought the article was good because it talks about how many d-men from the draft class he was passed over have played as many NHL games as him. Mental strength being mentioned by former coaches as one of Pionk's strengths is maybe an insight into the player, more than the analytics of playing a lot of d-zone starts.

Over his time in Wpg Pionk has been anything but consistent. Does being consistent through 19 games erase all of the previous inconsistency?

What article are you referring to?

I really hope Pionk's success depends on Dylan Samberg because that can be arranged. The alternative is that it depends on a contract year because last contract year was the last time he was consistently good. Even better would be that he just didn't work well with Dillon because avoiding that can also be arranged.

If he keeps up his play from the first 19 games for another 19, I expect Chevy to extend him by the midway point in the season. And he will get paid.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The point is why can't we just celebrate a really strong start for one of our players without someone coming in to shit on it?

I happen to like Pionk and I would hope being on a Jets forum would be a place where I can enjoy that.

I'm really enjoying Pionk's play so far this season. I am concerned about his next contract though.

If he was playing like the last couple of years we wouldn't be 16-3 and I'd be talking about trading Pionk.

Him keeping up this level of play could be vital to Jets having a great season.

 

[voyageur]

Over his time in Wpg Pionk has been anything but consistent. Does being consistent through 19 games erase all of the previous inconsistency?

What article are you referring to?

I really hope Pionk's success depends on Dylan Samberg because that can be arranged. The alternative is that it depends on a contract year because last contract year was the last time he was consistently good. Even better would be that he just didn't work well with Dillon because avoiding that can also be arranged.

If he keeps up his play from the first 19 games for another 19, I expect Chevy to extend him by the midway point in the season. And he will get paid.

The article I posted from NHL.com. So much hate on this guy, he was still positive goal differential last year, including with Dillon. One of those guys who was a victim of the xGoals crusade. He's played top 6 matchups every year he has been here, and everyone of them but 1 has produced a playoff appearance, his worst year as Jet. Twice led the defense in scoring. In 5 years. Season 6, maybe it's Samberg, maybe it's the contract. Maybe it's the coaching? Still lots of season to go. So don't get too high, don't get too low.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

The point is why can't we just celebrate a really strong start for one of our players without someone coming in to shit on it?

I happen to like Pionk and I would hope being on a Jets forum would be a place where I can enjoy that.

Just for fun - I went back to 2014 draft, Pionk's year. Comparing his gms played, G, A, Pts totals he is a pretty good compare with Brandon Montour. Not exact match of course. Montour has a few more games and more goals, but overall pretty close. That is just offense, no consideration of D play.

Montour was drafted 55th. He is 16th in pts among that draft class.

Interesting perspective.