ZegrassyKnoll
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- Dec 2, 2016
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We have so little offense that we don’t have any “redundant” pieces.
Zegras only becomes easily expendable if Cutter AND Sennecke pan out, and that is years away.
RD David Jiricek (2022, 6th, CBJ; traded to MIN)
- Thread starter SCampo98
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Zegras only becomes easily expendable if Cutter AND Sennecke pan out, and that is years away.
Fatass
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- Apr 17, 2017
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That’s not how teams build a winning club. The Ducks have three good young centres. There are only so many minutes to carve up. Moving one to get a great young D makes the team stronger. IMO the one to move is Zegras.
ZegrassyKnoll
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Teams don’t build winning clubs by constantly trading proven players for unproven players.
Jiricek isn’t a “great young D.” He MIGHT BECOME one. And his current value, while still high, is probably lower than it is has ever been.
Teams have shown time and time again they'll pay for draft pedigree, they'll pay for size and they'll pay for right shot defenseman. But regardless, this is a 20 year old defenseman and the people ready to throw In the towel on him are out to lunch.
A year ago we had people on our board calling Johnson another Milano. Until the unfortunate injury he was playing amazing hockey and showing strong signs of a future star. It's like a lot can change quickly for a young guy if they go about it the right way
Czechboy
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- Apr 15, 2018
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He's 20. Name all the 20 year old dman killing it in NHL.
Where is the communication with the kid? He played in the A (55 games as he went to the world juniors) after he was drafted. Then spent more time in the NHL than AHL last season?
Team Is under new management and coaching this year, the feeling is a lot different. I'd imagine they wished they had been here sooner to get ahead of some of the circus but they are here now and I'd imagine had some plan laid out for Jiricek
Fans expect way too much from 20 year old dmen. It’s happening on our board and Korchinski. With rare exception, d+2/3 is far too early to throw in the towel. We’re all impatient, but that’s just the way it is.
Fatass
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Would Columbus trade Juricek once he’s proven to be a great young D? Of course not. And if they did the price would be a lot higher than just Zegras.
Didn’t love his game yesterday. He seems very clunky. But man he’s gotta be bigger than I thought - looked more like 6’5 or 6’6 than 6’3
He's listed at 6'4" these days, up an inch from his drafted height.
He's listed at 6'4 now.
The clunkiness is the issue. Part of that is the skating technique is still a couple years work away. The other part is that for a 6'4 kid he has to fill out a lot more. He's always been strong in the shoulders and we've always seen how he likes to play physical. But the core and the legs are not filled out yet. He has trouble self-correcting once he gets off balance. He has fantastic sense for making small area plays but the rate of execution is too low since he's getting off balance and not in full control of his body.
ZegrassyKnoll
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Go back and read my previous comments.
Him not being successful at 20 is not a slight to him at all. My point is that the ducks are probably not going to trade a CURRENT NHL player in Zegras for a FUTURE RD in Jiricek, as we already have a 20yo RD that we are playing that our management team really likes.
We would trade Zegras for a CURRENT RD or we would trade a prospect for Jiricek. And for the record I think Jiricek won’t get traded and will become a very good player for Columbus.
I agree completely, I’m just talking about the Ducks current, specific situation. We are chock full of potential players and we can’t afford to trade a realized player for another potential player.
Yeah I think he will be a problem when he is about 25. Classic case of big guys taking longer. Especially if he’s still growing
I think that might be the case. But I don't want to exaggerate the still growing part - he was about 6'3 at age 17 when the Czech U18 team played in the Frisco U18 championship in 2021.
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I think it's the opposite -- fans expect these teams to let these young D play, make mistakes, and learn without being overly punished or demoted. And this is fair in a hard cap league where teams need to rely on young, inexpensive talent earlier than expected. Personally, my problem is with teams like the Jackets yo-yo-ing and over-marinating kids like Jiricek and Mateychuk when they should be grinding their teeth in the NHL and taking their lumps without fear of being banished to the AHL.
A case in point is Erik Karlsson. Drafted as a riser and was 5-10 and a buck 60 soaking wet. He came over at 19 and scored a measly 26 points in 60gp as an "offensive defenseman" then followed up as a 20-year-old by only scoring 45 points in 75gp while ending up a -30!
But, to the Sens credit, they didn't demote him or punish him. They took the good with the bad and encouraged him to keep pushing forward without feeling like a disappointment. He ended up winning multiple Norris trophies with them and becoming one of the most potent offensive defensemen in NHL history.
I've always believed the way the Sens handled him was directly responsible for his success. If he played for a team (or coach) who benched him, demoted him, or yo-yo-d him every time he made a costly turnover, played lax D, or got caught up the ice, his confidence could have been shattered and he may never have blossomed into the gem that he is.
I don't think it's the fans at all who expect too much -- I think it's NHL teams like the Jackets who unrealistically expect kids like Jiricek and Mateychuk to be prime Pronger and Niedermayer in order to land a full-time gig in the NHL.
Let the kids play, let them make mistakes, and let them grow stronger because of it. You can't wrap them in bubble wrap forever and let them shrivel up in lesser leagues until they're "perfect."
45 points for a dman was a lot at that time. As a 20-year-old he was 17th in league scoring for defensemen.
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I get that. But he was also a -30 and made some of the worst decisions in his own end. I watched him closely... there were highlight-reel plays on both ends of the spectrum, lol.
And, Karlsson was strictly focused on offense, offense, offense at all costs during those early years. He took risks; he was a riverboat gambler. My point was in the way the Sens handled him... they didn't punish him, call him out, demote him, or put him in the box... they let him play and learn on the job.
The following year (age 21) he scored a whopping 78 points in 81 games! Some other teams who couldn't live with his mistakes may have wasted him and dumbed his game down long-term by insisting he "keep it safe."
I think Jiricek is just one of those kids who has his heart set on the NHL and it didn't help last season when he was told to find a place in Columbus. I think he's being mishandled by the team, not the fans. And Mateychuk... my goodness... what more can this kid do to show he belongs? He's torched the lower leagues and was the Jackets best player in camp and preseason.
Columbus isn't going for a Cup this year... play the darn kids and let them emerge.
The bloom is off from the rose that was Zegras now most teams wouldn't even want him.
Czechboy
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- Apr 15, 2018
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Well.. he did enough to get game 2. That's all I can ask. Do I think 3rd pair with Jack Johnson is good for him? Not really but it's another chance and they don't have a 7th guy so he should hit around 12 to 13 minutes. Johnson is a steady vet and he should have favorable matchups so maybe it is a golden opportunity to outscore or outperform his deployment (which I felt he did last time).
The saga continues... in the NHL... I'll take it
The saga continues... in the NHL... I'll take it
A glimpse of what he'll bring more of as he continues to fill out
