Player Discussion: Patrik Laine - MOD WARNING IN OP

[Kaako Kappo]

Like I said last summer......hopefully he works on his skating. Still the weakest part of his toolkit.

Also something that will not be fixed quickly. But yeah. He had a great season and pretty good playoffs. He was the best out of all our young forwards, while being youngest

 

[WickedPegJets]

He said he was healthy all season. So no battling with injury, just young man inconsistency. All in all good season for Laine. And now the beard will go so that's the positive!

His beard adds 2 lb to his overweight body.

 

[grieves]

Skate better Lanie, you fat slob! I bet all you do is eat ice cream with Rautala.

Kidding aside, good progression during the season all-in-all. We want to see an improved Laine for next season. If our bragging rights are not important to him then I don't know what is.

If you think early season and late season, the kid took steps forward. Defense is probably the biggest improvement from this season. I don't blame any teen+ for gassing after playing against Nashville and Vegas (very similar teams in terms of style) in the second and third round of the playoffs while having someone on your face constantly. I got exhausted just by watching it.

Next season we get to compare to Ovi's first season. Better be ready Pate or there will be some very mean things written on a message board!

 

[Halberdier]

It was already last summer his primary work to get explosive strength to the muscles that help exactly skate faster. And he focused also in stamina training. He just has so much work to do in those areas that one or maybe even two summers will not make immediate impact. I think we will see a good progress in those areas only in two or more of off seasons.

People are going to be again massively disappointed if they are expecting him to be already much better with his first steps and stamina already next season. More realistic after two good off seasons, or even more. It took Scheifele much longer than two off seasons to get where he is nowadays with his stamina, skating and leg strength. Why to expect Laine to get there much quicker?

Yup, though last summer one of those top priorities was still gaining more muscle mass and overall strength, which in turn works against quickness.

I hope they'll now shift the priorities even more on skating explosiveness and endurance, but I trust that they know what they are doing.

I'm just thinking Pate should skate and have stick handling and shooting practices as well during the summer, at least occasionally.


Laine is considered some sort of PP specialist, but nevertheless his 5-on-5 goal differential has been always TOP-2 for the Jets on all three "seasons": 2 regular seasons and 1 playoffs run. And for sure, he is TOP-1 on that particular stat since start of his rookie season with +32 (Scheifele is right behind him with +31, others not even close). I think that IS something. In large quantities goals are NOT random, no matter what those Corsi evangelists will tell you.

Also the TOI% QoC (and TOI% QoT) seems to be pretty much the same as other TOP-6 forwards, so if I understand the stat correctly, Laine is not effectively sheltered. Maurice has of course tried to shelter him, but in the same time the opposite team coach has tried to "tear his shelter off", which seems to have negated the effect pretty well.

Next season Laine needs more TOI. Not those stupid 20+ minutes, but those miserable 13 minute games needs to stop. Nobody has done a 40 goal season with lower TOI than Laine in recorded history.

And ELL shall never ever been reunited again. If that happens, I will book a flight to Winnipeg and slap Maurice around with a large trout.



I had intention to do a deeper statistical analysis of Laine's first playoffs and 2 first regular seasons, but I feel so tired now. I think I won't even play hockey anymore this season. See you next season!

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

He will, we were just discussing about this on whatsapp

Edit: He also said that he's going to have pizza because he doesn't drink.

If this kid can turn his skating into an asset... I wouldn’t doubt that he will win not only Rockets but a couple Hart’s as well... I don’t want to pipe him up too much but his shot, pass accuracy and overall game is just so good but his skating just can’t keep up(unless we are talking teenage point streak Laine, he was skating as good as anyone on the team at that point).

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

Even more he needs better stamina. Inside shifts first of all, but also the long season enduring stamina. And sure, he needs to make his first steps also better, but I still see the stamina issues as his biggest problem so far. When he gets those considerably better, he will already be a much better player.

His speed is very good(his long strides help with that), it’s his explosiveness(/acceleration), edgework and stamina which are keeping him from being a Top 10 player in the league, which is pretty much every skating aspect.

 

[almostawake]

Laine took a huge step forward this season. Even large than the numbers may indicate.

He still has a long way to go to being the players he can be, but that speaks more to his immense potential than his development to this point.

All we can hope is that he takes the lessons of this season to heart and comes back next season having made another big step in his evolution.

 

[Hokinaittii]

He started the season slow but as the season progressed he became better and better. In overall he was a lot better overall player than last season. Although he still isn't great defensively, he was still fairly reliable in his own zone and had much fewer giveaways which I felt was a big flaw in his rookie year. All in all, he played a lot more mature game which I think was his biggest improvement this year. Offensively I don't think we saw much improvement other than him being better near the boards (still not his strength) and him hardly giving any giveaways when he was at the offensive blueline.

I just hope he doesn't try to become as big as possible just so he could throw some hits here and there but instead I would like to see him pursue more leanier build which would improve his agility and would allow him to be more swift in the rink. It would also help his stamina when he is lighter.

 

[Farmboy Patty]

Well, that was a fantastic ride. The team finished second in the conference finals and Laine finished second in goals to his idol Ovie. This might be the last season Ovie holds that goalscoring title if Laine takes the next step during the summer and raises his game to the next level that I am sure he is fully capable of.
Losing to VGK sucked, but this has been an outstanding season for Patrik and the Jets!

 

[Saintb]

I love the way Laine is developing. I think most people will be happy as long as he shows marginal skating improvement next year. Question about stick length for our Finnish friends here...is Laine's stick too long for optimal puck handling when the puck is in his feet? Would shortening it a bit have a negative impact on his shot? I have often thought about this issue when watching him play. I love the kid though. He is a perfect fit for Winnipeg and for the Jets.

 

[Jets 31]

Has Laine finally left the Amish people he was living with all year and shaved that thing off his chin . Very good year for him but i really want him to go with Scheif to Gary Roberts skating school this summer , man if he gets a little better on his skates , look out next season .

 

[Ippenator]

I love the way Laine is developing. I think most people will be happy as long as he shows marginal skating improvement next year. Question about stick length for our Finnish friends here...is Laine's stick too long for optimal puck handling when the puck is in his feet? Would shortening it a bit have a negative impact on his shot? I have often thought about this issue when watching him play. I love the kid though. He is a perfect fit for Winnipeg and for the Jets.

I personally don’t think that a player whose shot is still his clearest strength should do anything that can risk his great shooting skills. A tall player like him can still have a longer stick. Heck, my other favorite player Sebastian Aho has a crazy long stick for his size, and he is pretty darn great with the puck. But he is also an excellent skater whom has very good agility and acceleration. I think Laine’s puck handling will be already a lot better when he gets his first steps and stamina better, which will make it easier for him to gain separation to the opponents when he has the puck. It will also help him have a fraction more of time than he has at the moment in most situations. I think it would be definitely the wrong choice for him to shorten his stick at all, as he would for sure lose some velocity and strength from his shot(s). Also his timing with his shots would suffer for sure, if he would start messing with his stick length.

 

[Jets 31]

I love the way Laine is developing. I think most people will be happy as long as he shows marginal skating improvement next year. Question about stick length for our Finnish friends here...is Laine's stick too long for optimal puck handling when the puck is in his feet? Would shortening it a bit have a negative impact on his shot? I have often thought about this issue when watching him play. I love the kid though. He is a perfect fit for Winnipeg and for the Jets.

Agreed , if changing his stick affected his shot in anyway , don't change .

 

[Ippenator]

Has Laine finally left the Amish people he was living with all year and shaved that thing off his chin . Very good year for him but i really want him to go with Scheif to Gary Roberts skating school this summer , man if he gets a little better on his skates , look out next season .

I think you dont really see it thoroughly here. Just saying in peace though, not trying to pick a fight with you. Scheifele didn’t get his results in just a season or two. It was a several year’s project until he was really physically close to what he is now. Mikko Rantanen, whom is training with the same trainer (Hannu Rautala) that Laine is training with, gained also great improvements to his skating, first steps and stamina only after training several years with Rautala. But he also didn’t get visible great results right away in a season or even two. I’m sure that Roberts is great, but so is Rautala. But neither of them will make Laine in a season or even two already physically what Scheifele is at the moment. Scheifele didn’t get there that quick with Roberts, so why do you think that Laine could?

 

[Ippenator]

Has Laine finally left the Amish people he was living with all year and shaved that thing off his chin . Very good year for him but i really want him to go with Scheif to Gary Roberts skating school this summer , man if he gets a little better on his skates , look out next season .

Still wanted to emphasize, that if Laine does see it better after all for him to train with Roberts, I won’t really question it. I just don’t believe that Rautala or Roberts are very different quality trainers. Both are absolute top class trainers whom have had great results with training a lot of very talented players. So if Laine chooses to continue still with Rautala, I think it is going to be a very good choice too. That way he also gets to spend some time outside the training in his home country and see his family and friends, which can be also a very important thing while he is getting his hard training done for the summer. I think that probably matters mentally quite much for a young player like him.

 

[Saintb]

I personally don’t think that a player whose shot is still his clearest strength should do anything that can risk his great shooting skills. A tall player like him can still have a longer stick. Heck, my other favorite player Sebastian Aho has a crazy long stick for his size, and he is pretty darn great with the puck. But he is also an excellent skater whom has very good agility and acceleration. I think Laine’s puck handling will be already a lot better when he gets his first steps and stamina better, which will make it easier for him to gain separation to the opponents when he has the puck. It will also help him have a fraction more of time than he has at the moment in most situations. I think it would be definitely the wrong choice for him to shorten his stick at all, as he would for sure lose some velocity and strength from his shot(s). Also his timing with his shots would suffer for sure, if he would start messing with his stick length.

Good answer. Thanks.

 

[Jets 31]

I think you dont really see it thoroughly here. Just saying in peace though, not trying to pick a fight with you. Scheifele didn’t get his results in just a season or two. It was a several year’s project until he was really physically close to what he is now. Mikko Rantanen, whom is training with the same trainer (Hannu Rautala) that Laine is training with, gained also great improvements to his skating, first steps and stamina only after training several years with Rautala. But he also didn’t get visible great results right away in a season or even two. I’m sure that Roberts is great, but so is Rautala. But neither of them will make Laine in a season or even two already physically what Scheifele is at the moment. Scheifele didn’t get there that quick with Roberts, so why do you think that Laine could?

Oh , no i agree it's going to take more than 1 off season , i just want him to work on that part of his game more than any other . He is a big guy already , if he gets just a little quicker and a little more balance , like i said , look out next season and every one after .

 

[Jets 31]

Still wanted to emphasize, that if Laine does see it better after all for him to train with Roberts, I won’t really question it. I just don’t believe that Rautala or Roberts are very different quality trainers. Both are absolute top class trainers whom have had great results with training a lot of very talented players. So if Laine chooses to continue still with Rautala, I think it is going to be a very good choice too. That way he also gets to spend some time outside the training in his home country and see his family and friends, which can be also a very important thing while he is getting his hard training done for the summer. I think that probably matters mentally quite much for a young player like him.

I only said Gary Roberts because of the huge difference it made with Scheif . I don't know enough about Rautala to say Laine should train with him . But i'm sure he is good too , just want Laine to do this training . Laine will be a beast eventually , this i'm very confident .

 

[PhilJets]

Laine is a man now
Not a teenager anymore.

So 55 goals ( 25pp 30 es)
45 assists

Sounds about right for next year
Less 10 goals and 20 assist if he is centered by Little again

 

[Deedog99]

Jets saved a lot of money after these playoffs. No way they're payingLaine anything over 7 after these last 3 rounds. He was awful.

 

[Halberdier]

Jets saved a lot of money after these playoffs. No way they're payingLaine anything over 7 after these last 3 rounds. He was awful.

He was best Jets winger 5-on-5. How is that awful?

He was great, but not that monster I believe he will be in couple of years from now.

 

[cbcwpg]

Jets saved a lot of money after these playoffs. No way they're payingLaine anything over 7 after these last 3 rounds. He was awful.

It will be an interesting negotiation when the time comes. It is Laine's agent's job to tell and show the Jets why they should pay him X... and it's Chevy's job to show Laine's camp why they shouldn't. The regular season is why he should get the money... the playoffs is why he shouldn't. So far...

I understand the whole but he's young argument, but are the Jets going to go full in on Laine or will they give him a shorter deal to see if Laine is the real deal in the playoffs?

 

[Deedog99]

It will be an interesting negotiation when the time comes. It is Laine's agent's job to tell and show the Jets why they should pay him X... and it's Chevy's job to show Laine's camp why they shouldn't. The regular season is why he should get the money... the playoffs is why he shouldn't. So far...

I understand the whole but he's young argument, but are the Jets going to go full in on Laine or will they give him a shorter deal to see if Laine is the real deal in the playoffs?

I could see a bridge deal. We need guys that perform in the playoffs. Regular season is not good enough anymore.

 

[Ippenator]

I could see a bridge deal. We need guys that perform in the playoffs. Regular season is not good enough anymore.

He should earn with his playoffs performance a couple of millions over Ehlers salary. No way he could settle for very close what Ehlers gets. Although I would be fine with him settling for about 7 millions. But I think it’s still more realistic that he will get 8.

 

[Duke749]

I could see a bridge deal. We need guys that perform in the playoffs. Regular season is not good enough anymore.

Why in the world would you risk bridging him?