The curious case of Wojtek Wolski
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OverTheCap
Registered User
- Jan 3, 2009
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It's think it's somewhat similar to Prucha... he benefited from good linemates. His first few years in the league he played with Sakic and then later on with Hejduk. Svatos had a similar career trajectory playing with the Avs. But I recall the work ethic and consistency problems were always there with Wolski.
n8
WAAAAAAA!!!
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
Some guys look so skilled and you wonder how they're not lighting up the league. I never saw Wolski as that. Not as a Ranger, anyway. I think Zherdev applies more. Wolski never looked to me like he was underachieving, really. Honestly, I thought Erik Christensen had more "holy ****" moments of skill than Wolski ever did. And he never had a season like Wolski did in Colorado, so there's a real underachiever.
Prucha didn't have the skills Wolski had. Prucha hustled and took advantage of some blessed opportunities, but he never displayed a special skill that would have kept him in this league. Wolski imo, did. He had solid puck skills and good technique handling it. Good vision.
It's just one of those classic scenario's where the player has the tools but no toolbox. I don't think the NHL-grind is as easy as it looks, and I'm sure it can overwhelm certain types of personalities. You see it in every sport though. And every year.
offdacrossbar
misfit fanboy
good points here.
prucha played with jj. that helped. skill wise tho, he was just so-so.
wolski i really liked. had enormous skillset. in his draft year he was a bigtime talent. if you looked at him on a good night, you saw a player doing things with the puck most players could not do. if you saw him on a bad night, you had to look real hard to even notice him.
he was mr perimiter.
could you morph those 2 into say.... petek pruski- you would have a pretty decent top 6 forward.
now this ever lisin fella...i hear he was similar to wolski in many ways
eco's bones
Registered User
The thing with Prucha is he was willing to go to the dirty areas and did have enough skill to finish off the passes. Unfortunately for him it didn't take long for the pounding he got doing that to catch up with him. He was always getting plastered. I can remember the Rangers television crew commenting about how shocked his mom was at times from the hits he took. He was a small guy and he put himself into some vulnerable situations and he didn't always have his head up.
Hes very very very weak on his skates, is waiting on the perimeter instead of getting involved. There are times to be on the perimeter but when your in the corner you need to be able to protect the puck and not whip it away as he would do. Useless hockey player.
good points here.
prucha played with jj. that helped. skill wise tho, he was just so-so.
wolski i really liked. had enormous skillset. in his draft year he was a bigtime talent. if you looked at him on a good night, you saw a player doing things with the puck most players could not do. if you saw him on a bad night, you had to look real hard to even notice him.
he was mr perimiter.
could you morph those 2 into say.... petek pruski- you would have a pretty decent top 6 forward.
now this ever lisin fella...i hear he was similar to wolski in many ways
I cant believe no one talks about the horrific trade of Korpi for Lisin, WOW was that horrible!!
Crease
Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
- Jul 12, 2004
- 24,765
- 27,707
The Rangers ended up on the wrong side of that trade, but it was a calculated risk. The organization at the time had a surplus of solid two-way guys but a severe lack of pure offensive talent. Lisin was a compelling project to take on.
aemoreira1981
Registered User
This. When Wolski was here...I saw him as too soft. He needs to toughen up if he is going to remain a professional hockey player in any league.
BTW, I notice that Petr Prucha has come into this thread...I haven't looked on the Coyotes board, but Wolski ended up driving Prucha out of the league when they were both in Phoenix. It seems as though after being in Colorado, WW fell off a cliff.
When I watched Wolski dogging it and helping the Habs to score two goals in one single game against the Rangers by his sheer laziness, I wrote him off.
There was zero, nada, zilch from him offensively to counter it.
Okay, this thread concerns how he could have dropped from such lofty heights. I never paid much attention to him until he came to the Rangers. What a dud he was. A big, soft playing, non-backchecking dud.
There was zero, nada, zilch from him offensively to counter it.
Okay, this thread concerns how he could have dropped from such lofty heights. I never paid much attention to him until he came to the Rangers. What a dud he was. A big, soft playing, non-backchecking dud.
Hunter Gathers
The Crown
offdacrossbar
misfit fanboy
AlternateSideParking
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2005
- 21,591
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Wolski was like the guy you work with who earned multiple degrees and had a rich dad or a rich wife but spent most of his work day surfing the internet.
He doesnt really care about the job because it's not his priority. So he gets fired and moves to another job, just to say that he has a job, but has no real goals to work hard for.
Every job he goes to, he has clashes with his boss, so he stops giving a **** and waits to get fired.
He doesnt really care about the job because it's not his priority. So he gets fired and moves to another job, just to say that he has a job, but has no real goals to work hard for.
Every job he goes to, he has clashes with his boss, so he stops giving a **** and waits to get fired.
Still comes back to the question: how do you judge these kind of factors when you think about drafting someone?
And: if you have doubts about character, should you ignore them because of a players skillset?
And: should you ever trade for a player who has been an underachiever (not because of injuries)?
And: were trades and waiver picks ups for players such as Zhervdev, Wolski, and Christensen doomed from the get-go?
I'm not talking about players who may just need more developmental time but players who there were whispers about work ethic, dedication, etc.
And: if you have doubts about character, should you ignore them because of a players skillset?
And: should you ever trade for a player who has been an underachiever (not because of injuries)?
And: were trades and waiver picks ups for players such as Zhervdev, Wolski, and Christensen doomed from the get-go?
I'm not talking about players who may just need more developmental time but players who there were whispers about work ethic, dedication, etc.
And yet, here we are a few years later continuing to import bottom 6 players, trying to find answers.
Lisin may have been a compelling project, but he wound up being one of the dumbest hockey players I've ever had the displeasure of watching.
I feel the need to interject here, because some of the things people are saying in this thread are discrediting him the wrong way. As someone who has watched him almost his entire career in the NHL, I'll tell you exactly what the issue with Wolski is.
He can't create chances for himself. He's an average skater, and this doesn't just mean he isn't fast. He's not very good at staying on his skates when he's being pressured. He's easily knocked off the puck, easily stripped of the puck, and just generally bad at moving around other players. The reason for his success in Colorado should be... fairly obvious.
06-07, he emerges in the league with a 50 point season. A flashy forward who can find the net, and his teammates.
07-08, he slumps a little bit -- only by 2 points. Less goals this time.
08-09, he continues to slump down to 42 points now, and 4 less goals for only 14.
Now, let's follow the last few years in the career of the man who made Wolski look like more than he is -- Joe Sakic
06-07, Sakic has a typical year. 100 points in 82 games.
07-08, Sakic starts to succumb to injuries. He only plays 44 games, but still puts up 40 points.
08-09, Sakic's last year, only 15 games played.
The 09-10 year, Wolski bounces back -- but look at the Colorado team as a whole. That year was the ****ing miracle year for that team that was failing to reach the playoffs year after year. Stastny mustered up 79 points in 81 games -- when has he gotten close to that since then? Stewart had 64 points only to be traded for being a lackluster player who can't score the next year. Maybe you guys even remember Brandon Yip, who had 19 points in 32 games his rookie year in Colorado, and hasn't sniffed that point progression since then.
That season was a crazy anomaly. Everybody on that roster overperformed, including their goalie, Craig Anderson. The point is, Wolski is useless without players around him making the plays. He can't create offense for himself, and he's not going to be a difference maker on any team. He's the kind of player you pick up when you need a spare part to feed off the top tier playmakers you already have. The Rangers had no player like that to speak of while Wolski was here.
He can't create chances for himself. He's an average skater, and this doesn't just mean he isn't fast. He's not very good at staying on his skates when he's being pressured. He's easily knocked off the puck, easily stripped of the puck, and just generally bad at moving around other players. The reason for his success in Colorado should be... fairly obvious.
06-07, he emerges in the league with a 50 point season. A flashy forward who can find the net, and his teammates.
07-08, he slumps a little bit -- only by 2 points. Less goals this time.
08-09, he continues to slump down to 42 points now, and 4 less goals for only 14.
Now, let's follow the last few years in the career of the man who made Wolski look like more than he is -- Joe Sakic
06-07, Sakic has a typical year. 100 points in 82 games.
07-08, Sakic starts to succumb to injuries. He only plays 44 games, but still puts up 40 points.
08-09, Sakic's last year, only 15 games played.
The 09-10 year, Wolski bounces back -- but look at the Colorado team as a whole. That year was the ****ing miracle year for that team that was failing to reach the playoffs year after year. Stastny mustered up 79 points in 81 games -- when has he gotten close to that since then? Stewart had 64 points only to be traded for being a lackluster player who can't score the next year. Maybe you guys even remember Brandon Yip, who had 19 points in 32 games his rookie year in Colorado, and hasn't sniffed that point progression since then.
That season was a crazy anomaly. Everybody on that roster overperformed, including their goalie, Craig Anderson. The point is, Wolski is useless without players around him making the plays. He can't create offense for himself, and he's not going to be a difference maker on any team. He's the kind of player you pick up when you need a spare part to feed off the top tier playmakers you already have. The Rangers had no player like that to speak of while Wolski was here.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
I'd buy all of that except for one thing: he had players like that in Washington and still didn't produce. We aren't only talking about his failures here in NY. We're talking about the complete drop in his game everywhere he's gone, including the KHL it seems at this point.
Yeah, his time in Washington was confusing. Might be a simple case of broken confidence by now.
He spent most of the time there playing with Backstrom. I only watched him up to his Panther days, I didn't really see him play much last season.
AlternateSideParking
Registered User
- Dec 11, 2005
- 21,591
- 5,111
He's just lazy. He gets complacent.
Look at every team he's been on. He starts off great than bottoms out. He started his Panther career on fire then vanished.
Some guys just dont give a crap about the game. Talent can only take them so far.
Wolski is the classic case of a pro athlete who used his God-given talents to make a few bucks and not give two ***** while doing it.
Look at every team he's been on. He starts off great than bottoms out. He started his Panther career on fire then vanished.
Some guys just dont give a crap about the game. Talent can only take them so far.
Wolski is the classic case of a pro athlete who used his God-given talents to make a few bucks and not give two ***** while doing it.
As good as Korpi has become, I don't see the Lisin trade as terrible. Rangers needed top end talent and took a chance. Korpi was never really going to be much more then a depth guy.
Korpikoski would be this team's best bottom 6 forward right now.
Lisin was an idiot on skates.
It was a bad trade - no need to sugarcoat.
Hire Sather
He Is Our Star
Turned out to be bad but as others have said it wasn't a horrible risk to take.
With a full lineup I challenge that being true anyway.
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