Jargon
Registered User
His playing with Celebrini has turned him into a totally different player than he was at the start of the season.
Speculation: Player Discussion: Will Smith
- Thread starter Shark Finn
- Start date
His playing with Celebrini has turned him into a totally different player than he was at the start of the season.
timorous me
Gristled Veteran
- Apr 14, 2010
- 2,326
- 3,878
Also, he played for much of the season on a line that couldn't generate any offense, so the minuses piled up. It's no offense to Goodrow and Kunin but that just wasn't a good fit for Smith and many of us were complaining that it was an experiment going on for too long.
Now he's on the wing, so he can focus more on offense, and has a capable attacking player out there with him. It's just made a world of difference. I'm not opposed to Smith going back to center soon, but as much as I appreciate guys like Kunin and Goodrow helping him to learn to play a certain style of game, it's important to remember that this kid's #1 quality is his offensive skill and even in his development I think you need to respect that and make sure he's not being neutered out there.
hohosaregood
Banned
- Sep 1, 2011
- 33,109
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I have really enjoyed watching Smith's development in general. I don't think I've watched a player so much that I've been able to key in on how he's improved over the years. It's just oddly apparent when he improves on something from week to week. And I just can't see any argument for Smith to have stayed in college at this point. If the current version of Smith went back to college, he'd be absolutely dominant.
Hodge
Registered User
- Apr 27, 2021
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And people were saying we should loan him to the f***ing World Juniors 
Looks the part with Celebrini. He has had excellent linemates for years before this. It really amplifies his play when he can lean on them, just like it did in college. Hopefully they keep them together for the foreseeable future because it's fun seeing their creativity together. He needs a lot more time but I think this is probably the best spot for him right now.
Hot take: Wario is doing great behind the bench. The team being so much more structured and competitive compared to last season has given us truly watchable hockey again. On top of that, being able to see noticeable improvement with our youth, seemingly each week. I honestly believe we have ourselves a real gem.
This is a fair assessment. I actually think, strangely, Wario himself has improved week to week. Early in the year, I think he was doing quite a poor job. Not just the losses, but poor player choices, poor line combos, poor line matching, poor overall. However, as the year has progressed, I think he's started figuring out how to coach and how to manage his lines and players better.
he reunited the Lund line, which should never have been broken up, and that has made a HUGE difference in the play. hat line has been scoring nearly every game, sometimes multiple goals (like Ek's two). He's also learning how to handle the kids and set them up to succeed, pairing them on the PP, and creating chemistry together. I still dont like goodie on their wing, and I think they should try grundstrom or even Gushkin as the third there. A true kid line. Still, I think the line combo's are improving...
I do not like that he has thompson on the bench though. Ruuta, Thrun, and Ferraro have, to me, performed worse than thompson, and I think the sharks could use more pop from the D and thompson is a very possible future member of the D corps as opposed to ruuta or even ferraro whose time is limited.
However, all in all, the team buy in is clear. The chemistry building is clear. The mistakes are plentiful still, but the belief is there and you gotta credit Wario for it. He is definitely getting better and better too...
weastern bias
worst team in the league
Shark Finn
∀dministrator
karltonian
Registered User
- Jan 1, 2023
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The greatest thing about getting Celebrini is that they stopped trying to force the fresh prince to be a thing.
speaking of the +/- list, how the heck is zetterlund +7 when all his linemates are minuses?
Jargon
Registered User
Yeah, same here. I feel like, despite watching and playing hockey a lot of my life, I’m learning new things just by seeing how Smith improves and it truly seems like he’s figured out something every week.
It’s like a video game - Smith got enough experience points to give himself a +1 in board battles!
hotcabbagesoup
"I'm going to get what I deserve" -RutgerMcgroarty
Remember when Zetterlund was paired with Wennberg and Gushchin and their line scored three even strength goals in three games together and then were split up the fourth game. I remember, I even made a rare thread about it. That's +3 right there though.
