Were you expecting more from Galchenyuk in his first two seasons?

[Burke the Legend]

The Habs have higher defensive expectations than the Avs or Oilers so his weaknesses there limit his role.

That said, he just turned 20, so being a regular NHLer is an accomplishment already, he has shown lots of flashes of brilliance which gives confidence in his future, and his numbers now are pretty solid.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

I think you are confusing right way to play and styles of play. Galchenyuk will never play Gallagher's "crash the net" style, he's a playmaker. Doesn't mean he doesn't play with intensity.

He shouldn't play like Gallagher, but he should play a bit more like Gallagher.

What I mean is that he is too passive, doesn't want to make his presence felt.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

I agree wityh the posters who say yes, but not by a lot.

 

[Habaddict]

If Galchenyuk is not contributing more by this time next year, that would
not meet my expectations. But I am still not likely to bash either him, or
the coach.
And I'm reluctant to use points as a measure. So I guess having him
look more effective, and more consistent, is what I'm expecting.

 

[Adriatic]

Point production wise it's pretty much what I expected from Galchenyuk. The only thing I was a little disappointed with this year is that he didn't really seem to have added muscle or have gotten stronger physically. Maybe I'm wrong but he still gets knocked off the puck easy and loses most of his one-on-one battles in the corners. After seeing a guy like MaKinnon the other night, his lower body and balance seem miles ahead. But he's still young so I'm not too worried, not all bodies mature at the same pace but I'm definitely expecting him to get physically stronger next year. Maybe he needs to spend some time training with Crosby and get those legs to explode lol!

 

[Price is Wright]

Not sure about that. He'll play a couple games where you see him every shift. Then he'll play a game where he's mostly invisible.

If you watched him in Sarnia you'd know that's just Alex. Some games he can't find the net. The rest of the time he's the best player on the ice.

 

[Habaddict]

Point production wise it's pretty much what I expected from Galchenyuk. The only thing I was a little disappointed with this year is that he didn't really seem to have added muscle or have gotten stronger physically. Maybe I'm wrong but he still gets knocked off the puck easy and loses most of his one-on-one battles in the corners. After seeing a guy like MaKinnon the other night, his lower body and balance seem miles ahead. But he's still young so I'm not too worried, not all bodies mature at the same pace but I'm definitely expecting him to get physically stronger next year. Maybe he needs to spend some time training with Crosby and get those legs to explode lol!

Maybe it's just me, but his speed,and maybe acceleration as well, look
better than last year. And I think he uses his body a little more in puck battles.
Anyhow, I agree he doesn't look strong. Hopefully that will change a lot
over the next year or two.

 

[Pierre Dagenais]

Galchenyuk never saw a whole game as a center. And he never saw the PK unit. The coach has to increase his role somehow.

He played center last year on a line with Prust and Gallagher

 

[Habaddict]

He played center last year on a line with Prust and Gallagher

Yes. I was going to post this as well. But I don't recall how long that
line was used.

 

[Beige Van]

I voted yes, but like others I meant only slightly. He should be moved to center next season IMO. Move Eller to the wing and go with Plek-DD-Galy down the middle. Ideally, Galy would bump DD down to 3rd line center with his play sometime in the second half of next season.

 

[Smokey Thompson]

If you watched him in Sarnia you'd know that's just Alex. Some games he can't find the net. The rest of the time he's the best player on the ice.

I didn't watch him a whole lot in Sarnia, but that describes him pretty well.

 

[badfish]

I mean, he's our 5th leading scorer for forwards and played significantly less games than everyone ahead of him but Patches. He's only 6 points behind Gionta, who gets more PP time, better line mates, and has played in 14 more games than Galchenyuk. I hope next season we see Galchenyuk in a top 6 role.

 

[ZARTONK]

No, I'm glad we didn't pressure him too much, we have a bad history of rushing our prospects. Let him mature at his own rate, we all know he has the talent to be an amazing player, it's just a matter of time.

 

[Stripper]

McKinnon started off as a 3rd line RWer. Moved up and stayed in the top 6 because he wasn't a liability. When Chuckie moved up to Pleks line... he couldn't keep up defensively. People got to hold the player accountable at a certain point.

Roy also said he'd put him (MacK) in his natural position and that he'd give him all the opportunities he could get...

Montreal has too many centers... one will have to leave for Galchenyuk to move there.

 

[Monctonscout]

Roy also said he'd put him (MacK) in his natural position and that he'd give him all the opportunities he could get...

Montreal has too many centers... one will have to leave for Galchenyuk to move there.

MacKinnon has played mostly wing, he's played only about 20-25% of his time at center.

Playing a center on wing should not be an issue, the game is quite similar except an adjustment in the defensive zone and less responsibility. It's much easier for a center to play wing than a winger to play center.

 

[DJ Breadman]

I didn't expect anything out of him last year but I ended up being surprised. This year I had expectations for him that he has not lived up too, but in fairness he did break his hand

 

[Andrei79]

He's impressed me greatly.

I didn't expect this kind of maturity in his game and I didn't expect him to have elite offensive instincts like he does. His vision is downright dominant.

He's by far the most talented player on the squad, Vanek included. He'll be an elite no.1 C for years to come.

 

[habitue*]

If Bergevin would not have signed Briere, I think Galchenyuk might have had a chance to have more minutes and a more important role.

But he was injured for like 6 weeks which did not help his overall serason at all, too.

Next season, we can expect a way bigger role if Gionta, Bourque, Vanek (???), and perhaps Briere (???) are all gone. I would certainly try him at centre right from the start of the training camp and see how he is doing at that position.

Ryan Johanson who is playing tonight for Collumbus took 3-4 seasons to reach some production and maturity in his play. Galchenyuk is already ahead of him in his progression.

 

[Monctonscout]

I didn't expect anything out of him last year but I ended up being surprised. This year I had expectations for him that he has not lived up too, but in fairness he did break his hand

One thing that helped him last year and another hurt him this year.

Last year he had a head start on a lot of players because he was playing all 1st half while half the NHLers were not playing.

However, that being a 48 game season still left some adjustment for this year, he was basically still a rookie until mid December, then he got hurt.

Other than the 1% that are exceptional players, most young players are still in junior/college at 19 or playing small minutes. Comparing Galchenyuk to MacKinnon, Crosby or whoever isn't fair because that's the exception, not the rule.

 

[Aspirine]

Point production wise it's pretty much what I expected from Galchenyuk. The only thing I was a little disappointed with this year is that he didn't really seem to have added muscle or have gotten stronger physically. Maybe I'm wrong but he still gets knocked off the puck easy and loses most of his one-on-one battles in the corners. After seeing a guy like MaKinnon the other night, his lower body and balance seem miles ahead. But he's still young so I'm not too worried, not all bodies mature at the same pace but I'm definitely expecting him to get physically stronger next year. Maybe he needs to spend some time training with Crosby and get those legs to explode lol!

I think it's the first time I agree with you dude. Props.
But Galchenyuk's got plenty of time to get there. Imagine where he could be at 24!

 

[Dagistitsyn]

He's gotta work on taking one timers. He has been fed grade A scoring chances a lot lately and can never pull the trigger at the right time.

 

[vokiel]

No, he plays for the habs #1 and #2 he's a center. Even if he doesn't play his position, center rookies for the habs rarely produce more than what Galchenyuk did.

 

[No fan fiction]

Yes or No.

ps yes, he's young and he will still improve.

Maybe a little bit more, but I was also expecting some linemates around him, especially if he is the cornerstone 1st line, large-bodied, talented, multi-dimensional, offensively gifted centreman we have been waiting for since, um, well, Béliveau retired.

And he may be, but I also know that we have had several since 1971 and pretty much nitpicked the lot of them (Peter Mahovolich--mangeur de puck; Bobby Smith--disappears & can't score; Kirk Muller--not enough offensive imagination; Vincent Damphousse--really a winger; Pierre Turgeon--soft) or complained that we had nothing but small centremen (the Pierres, Koivu, Plekanec, etc) and panic-drafted stiffs (Wickenheiser, Chouinard, etc) or traded for them (Eller). Does that summarize it?

 

[Mrb1p]

At this point, if it means that Chucky gets regular C time, I'd be down with trading Eller.

We're going to freaking ruin the kid if this keeps on.

 

[ClasslessGuy]

No not in a system like that