Player Discussion Neal Pionk

[Matt Rentfree]

People listen to you because it's a hilarious. A parody. A black comedy if you will.

They shell out money to be entertained and tickled by death, disaster, and depression, like in Titus Andronicus.

And the award for "The ONLY time in history that Titus Andronicus has been mentioned twice in one month in a hockey forum" goes to...

 

[Inferno]

If I was a rookie defenseman and I had Alexander ovechkin battling at me I'd probably hide in the corner curled up in a ball weeping.

This kids been given a ton to handle and has handled it remarkably well.


I still see him as a 2nd pair defenseman at best. Probably best suited for the 3rd pair but who can jump up a pairing when the other pairs are struggling.

For an udfa that's a heck of a find.

I see deangelo with the much higher upside. 1st pair d if everything breaks right, 2nd pair is where he should slot in and 3rd pair at worst.

Ogara has surprised me the past few weeks. I could easily see him as a good 7th defenseman...whcih is shocking considering how much I was down on him

Sproul...meh

Skjei is worrisome...i do wonder if he's a #3 defenseman or a number 5...hes probably closer to a number 5 at this point tbh. But that could just be the sophomore slump.

If staal isnt gone next season via a trade..which wouldnt be ideal but whatever .. then you can slot the defenseman like this...


Staal - shattenkirk
Skjei-deangelo
?-pionk
Ogara

You could pencil in Gilmour to the open spot or have Smith.

Maybe a kid like hajek shocks and makes the team

 

[Inferno]

Funny thing is on that play...u could easily see orpik on a do over just blasting pionk into next Tuesday

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Funny thing is on that play...u could easily see orpik on a do over just blasting pionk into next Tuesday

It's interesting, @Inferno – I know you're an ADA guy, but I actually take the exact opposite view of that play.

There are like three different points during that rush where you can see him, while in full stride, assess the situation, and then abruptly make his decision to go – breaking in a different direction and changing gears. Super heady IMO.

Whereas for ADA, he'll just put his head down and go, go, go – and is thus much more likely to get blasted, or shut off, or simply lose the puck. Which is one of the reasons I am more down on him.

Hopefully Tony is watching these games, picking up on the differences, and learning from them.

 

[eco's bones]

That really is a hell of a play--he beats 3 separate guys on both sides of the ice in a several seconds time span to get in on their goaltender and get a great shot on net. That's an end to end rush---there's really not all that many players that can pull that off.

 

[kovazub94]

It's interesting, @Inferno – I know you're an ADA guy, but I actually take the exact opposite view of that play.

There are like three different points during that rush where you can see him, while in full stride, assess the situation, and then abruptly make his decision to go – breaking in a different direction and changing gears. Super heady IMO.

Whereas for ADA, he'll just put his head down and go, go, go – and is thus much more likely to get blasted, or shut off, or simply lose the puck. Which is one of the reasons I am more down on him.

Hopefully Tony is watching these games, picking up on the differences, and learning from them.

Same thinking here. I wouldn’t debate what plays ADA can pull off that Pionk couldn’t, but to me it’s obvious that Pionk knows much better what try / don’t try in any given situation and that he makes that assessment much quicker.

 

[Thirty One]

Wow. Your opinion is worth more because people pay to hear it?

You could not be more wrong.

Even if it were true, do people pay for his? I was able to listen to his podcast for free (still wanted a refund, but still).

 

[Levitate]

I think maybe a new season with a chance to get his head on straight will help Skjei. I've said it before but it feels like he trained with McDonagh and started wanting to play like McDonagh but he's not good enough to do that, and it has hurt his game as the season has gone on. You see him trying to do the same kind of stuff McDonagh used to do and get away with but Skjei gets burned on it. I've always thought he was more a #3 or maybe a guy who can be carried by a real #1, but he needs to reset a bit and get back to what made him successful in season 1

 

[Filthy Dangles]

But can he exit the defensive zone? @Machinehead

 

[Filthy Dangles]

At what point is it obvious he’s only here to try to drive listeners to his struggling podcast?

Link?

 

[Levitate]

But can he exit the defensive zone? @Machinehead

I mean, both of those were pretty lucky they weren't picked off...

 

[Ola]

Think we are making to big of a deal of this zone exit thing. Not even sure it’s bad, but let’s say that it his. Is there any reason whatsoever to not think he can learn to make that pass? The kid is so calm and collected and poised. Look how he moves the puck on the PP. He is tremendous of opening things up and beating a forechecker. The only thing that might be missing going for the right blade to hit and then hit it — more or less. A little timing.

At worst we are talking about a boxer that can throw every punch in the book like the best of them — except of his left hand jab that is terrible.

He has attributes on the break out that very few others have. He is great at them, poise under heavy fire, the ability to beat a forechecker. If something else is missing it will come.

 

[Ori]

Stoink helping us to lose 1 pts vs Caps, nothing to complain about.
Personally I think he is playing okey.

 

[Ola]

Stoink helping us to lose 1 pts vs Caps, nothing to complain about.
Personally I think he is playing okey.

Yeah exactly! Why are we thrashing the few that know what this is about, playing pretty but giving the pts away!

 

[Levitate]

He's young, a first year player, and being played over his head. There's plenty of reason to think he could get better at zone exists, not to mention it'd help of the Rangers ran a system that gave their D more support.

He has to actually DO it, but it's not like he's a finished product at this point

 

[Rempe73]

Yea, I criticized Pionk for not being good at zone exits, but I also said that I 100% believe he can improve. He's pretty damn good at everything else, and I don't see why he can't improve in this area of the game, especially with a better partner (hopefully) and better system next year. He can already skate and pass the puck well. It's just a matter of time before he'll learn from his mistakes.

 

[Pizza]

Pionk has some work to do. But I guess any young defenseman might have that same task at hand after what...24 games?? I'm really not sure what people expect, but it sure seems a bit much at this stage perhaps.

That sequence in the OT against Pitt with Letang on his ass really made me notice him. Just flat outskated one of the more highly regarded Dmen of this generation. Then made a nice outlet pass to Kreider that started the game-winning sequence.

Given where he came from, what we got him for, what he's had to handle and how he's handled it so far, I'm gonna cut this kid some slack. Maybe some of you guys should consider it.

 

[aufheben]

He's young, a first year player, and being played over his head. There's plenty of reason to think he could get better at zone exists, not to mention it'd help of the Rangers ran a system that gave their D more support.

He has to actually DO it, but it's not like he's a finished product at this point

He’s a kid being used as a #1D on a bad team, totally thrown to the wolves. I think people are really over analyzing him.

 

[Machinehead]

And the award for "The ONLY time in history that Titus Andronicus has been mentioned twice in one month in a hockey forum" goes to...

It's a great perspective on the morbid shit we entertain ourselves with. Rangers fans would know!

Willie Shakes knows what's up.

 

[Ail]

I was joking.

Hey Machinehead, I think you should just leave, you don't have 5 million paying listeners for **** hockey opinions and really bad jokes.

There’s actually some really good jokes too. Last show some guy called in and just started ordering chinese food, hilarious!

 

[Blais to Win]

There are like three different points during that rush where you can see him, while in full stride, assess the situation, and then abruptly make his decision to go – breaking in a different direction and changing gears. Super heady IMO.

This is probably a hockey skill that can't be taught. It's pretty amazing to see him think the game and approach from different angles; you can see it in his spinning and behind-the-back passes as well.

 

[will1066]

I think him and ADA can become fixtures. They still have a lot of work to do, but so does the whole team. Pionk needs to get stronger in dirty area play. Him and ADA both have raw workable talent. Maybe they both get better in a better system of play.

 

[Rempe73]

I think him and ADA can become fixtures. They still have a lot of work to do, but so does the whole team. Pionk needs to get stronger in dirty area play. Him and ADA both have raw workable talent. Maybe they both get better in a better system of play.

Completely agree. People write ADA off way too quickly. And I just love Pionk.

 

[Edge]

I’m not ready to dismiss ADA. But he’s got work to do.

And he’s going to have to learn at the NHL level next year, because he’ll need to clear waivers.

Not going to lie, the odds aren’t fantastic.

 

[egelband]

Neal Stionk

This is not a good take. (And I like your podcast, btw). Pionk is looking good. I think he’s a keeper. Not just due to his skills but also his attitude and smarts.