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Player Discussion Neal Pionk: Part II

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When he went on that insane run of production last season I wrote it off as a lot of luck and not sustainable, but as this season progresses he’s shown no signs of slowing down. So many times he’s just invisible and I check the scoresheet and he’s somehow put up 3 points. I don’t see much skill when I watch him compared to someone like ADA who can’t buy a point and seems to be cursed by the hockey gods. I don’t believe in luck, and if it were real it definitely evens out at some point. I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that maybe Pionk is creating his own luck. He might just be not a bad player. My quest for the next Bozo continues...
 
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The offense has kind of dried up from both Pionk and DeAngelo for a while. Teams no doubt have scouted the Rangers enough by now where they think one way to disrupt the Rangers flow is to take space away from those two. DeAngelo's D though has improved a lot this year. He's at least between mediocre and so-so now which is about where Pionk is. But okay anyway--good enough to get by on most nights and it's real progress. I've been kind of pleased with both honestly but they're still learning the game at the level they're at and neither looks to me really like they'll be a legit 1st pairing d-man. That doesn't mean that they can't be good players though. Anyway it's up to them to figure their way out of the ruts they've been in. That's part of growing too.
 
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Machinehead said:
The other day we talked about players with horrendous analytics when they were young who became effective.

I said Josi as a defenseman, but a better example is Tom Wilson. He's gone from a drag in every aspect of the game to a driver in every aspect of the game.
Click to expand...

Josi just needed to get away from Weber.
 
Just saying, Bryan McCabe was a poor skater and a defensive calamity, but he had an otherworldly slapshot that terrified penalty killers and goalies. He and Tomas Kaberle were key to the Leafs defense prior to Toronto’s rebuild. In other words, for all his defensive shortcomings, physicality and a lethal slapshot made McCabe a force in the NHL. The NHL of today values speed (like Pionk’s) more than it values physicality (like McCabes), all this to show that a command of key physical attributes and a great shot go a long way, even if the player who possesses them isn’t the most defensively sound.

I could just as easily have used Sandis Ozolinsh (who wasn’t much of a hitter) instead of McCabe in my example — but you get the idea.
 
In any case, it's nice to see what a little tear Pionk kid has been on throughout his entire career, he's really upping his stock for that mid-round pick.

DeAngelo, on the other hand, is better. He's flashy. Never mind that offensive defenseman make their entire living on production, numbers aren't everything!
 
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BobMarleyNYR said:
In any case, it's nice to see what a little tear Pionk kid has been on throughout his entire career, he's really upping his stock for that mid-round pick.

DeAngelo, on the other hand, is better. He's flashy. Never mind that offensive defenseman make their entire living on production, numbers aren't everything!
Click to expand...

I know this is sarcasm, but still, what a stupid comment.
 
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BobMarleyNYR said:
In any case, it's nice to see what a little tear Pionk kid has been on throughout his entire career, he's really upping his stock for that mid-round pick.

DeAngelo, on the other hand, is better. He's flashy. Never mind that offensive defenseman make their entire living on production, numbers aren't everything!
Click to expand...
What? Huh? Youre trading Neal? Even if youre serious, i think hes more valuable to the Rangers than elsewhere. At least at this point in time.
 
True Blue said:
If this kid was a first round pick, most of the board would be gushing and coming up with excuses for the mental lapses that occur.
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It is usually about rationalization one way or another. In Neal's case, there really is no defending or anyone to blame. He just "fell" into our laps......which makes me wonder and ask......why can't we just be happy in what we have and hope he gets even better? Offensively, keeping it simple, fast and forward is great for him. Has a natural talent and knowhow to get the biscuit to the butter. Defensively, I am sure they are working on positioning and defensive maneuvers etc. Learn baby, learn. We have a great staff of teachers.
 
True Blue said:
If this kid was a first round pick, most of the board would be gushing and coming up with excuses for the mental lapses that occur.
Click to expand...

Maybe if he were 19 or 20.

Poink is 23. He’s a year older than Sanguinetti was when we traded him and the same age as ADA and Del Zotto was when he was dealt. He’s a only year younger than Skjei is now and McIlrath was when he was traded.

Like it or not by now patience for mental lapses would be pretty limited. Especially for a 1st rounder.
 
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McRanger said:
Maybe if he were 19 or 20.

Poink is 23. He’s a year older than ADA is now and Sanguinetti was when we traded him and the same age Del Zotto was when he was dealt. He’s a only year younger than Skjei is now and McIlrath was when he was traded.

Like it or not by now patience for mental lapses would be pretty limited. Especially for a 1st rounder.
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Pionk and Ada are the same age, 3 months apart. Both 1995 birthdays.
 
Pionk is fine. He isn't much different from other small, offensive D. Krug, Ghost, Dumba, Barrie, Ellis etc.. All of these guys have defensive liabilities.
I'm NOT stating that Pionk is currently better than any of these players, well, maybe Krug, but he isn't very far off.
 
McRanger said:
Maybe if he were 19 or 20.

Poink is 23. He’s a year older than Sanguinetti was when we traded him and the same age as ADA and Del Zotto was when he was dealt. He’s a only year younger than Skjei is now and McIlrath was when he was traded.

Like it or not by now patience for mental lapses would be pretty limited. Especially for a 1st rounder.
Click to expand...
Fair, but Pionk is also less than 70 games into his professional career. That cannot be overlooked and factors into the mental lapses. As he is still very early to his professional career, he defense can be coached. If this kid is a 45-50 point scorer who does not simply overpass on the perimeter when on the PP, he can and should be worked with.
 
True Blue said:
Fair, but Pionk is also less than 70 games into his professional career. That cannot be overlooked and factors into the mental lapses. As he is still very early to his professional career, he defense can be coached. If this kid is a 45-50 point scorer who does not simply overpass on the perimeter when on the PP, he can and should be worked with.
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Exactly. If not for the fact that he is (not unjustly) viewed as an either/or in regards to ADA, I’m convinced more people would be more pumped about him.
 
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I think a lot of the hate thrown towards him is a bit unreasonable. He’s a kid playing on the blue line. Mistakes are gonna happen. Not saying he’s going to be a certified stud one day, but I’m not sure why so many are assuming that this is who he’s going to be the rest of his career. Let it play out.

Then again, this is the same board where Andersson is a bust already to some.
 
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