What Exactly Went Wrong With Jonathan Drouin?

[Adrianopolous]

Out of all the players who did not pan out, I find JD to be the hardest to swallow... 0g, 17a in 32 games this year.. Hasn't played a full year since 18/19. What exactly happened to this kid?

When I saw this goal with Tampa, I was convinced he'd be a superstar:

 

[DamonDRW]

Out of all the players who did not pan out, I find JD to be the hardest to swallow... 0g, 17a in 32 games this year.. Hasn't played a full year since 18/19. What exactly happened to this kid?

When I saw this goal with Tampa, I was convinced he'd be a superstar:

Well, he basically turned the puck over here but got lucky Patrick Maroon could do the same thing.

Still I do understand what you imply. My guess it is will he is lacking or some personal issues hidden to public.

 

[OysterForever]

Rumours tell he is not 100% dialed in to be a professional athlete, you know

But not even close at a level of likes of A. Daigle though

 

[FinnLightning26]

I think the pressure of Montreal got to him. Didn't they also try to make him a center when he was clearly better on the wing and had basically no experience playing as a center?

I believe his career looks a lot different had he stayed with the Lightning. He looked great in his last season here.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Character issues, injuries, Montreal

He’s still got elite level vision and talent. He needs to get the hell out of Montreal, quickly.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

He was forced to play center his first year in Montreal because Bergevin was a f***ing idiot.

He did ok his 2nd year, and looked like it was something to build off for following years. His 3rd year, he started out ppg then took a brutal hit from Ovechkin that broke his wrist, and that was that.

Lots of injuries, and a mental health crisis over the next 3 years followed.

 

[Number 57]

Very low hockey IQ

 

[Jacob]

I think there were some red flags early on. He seemed bummed to have been drafted by a good team that had enough depth to send him back to juniors. He looked really pissed off at the 2014 WJCs (in a bad way) and kept trying to do everything on his own, but frequently failing.

 

[Demon Wolf]

In all my years of being a Habs fan, I can not recall a player that has received such unfair and mindless hate as Drouin.

Yes the talent is obvious and it is frustrating that he hasn't been able to live up to the player we thought we would get when we traded Sergachev for him - but much of the criticism directed his way is just hateful.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

In all my years of being a Habs fan, I can not recall a player that has received such unfair and mindless hate as Drouin.

Yes the talent is obvious and it is frustrating that he hasn't been able to live up to the player we thought we would get when we traded Sergachev for him - but much of the criticism directed his way is just hateful.

He sucks and doesn’t care at all, it’s not unwarranted in the slightest

 

[WeThreeKings]

The red flags were there from the start. Didn't want to report to Halifax even when he was too good for the league he was in, took awhile for him to go there.

You can ask around Halifax, I'm not going to say anything more than that, but his off-ice behavior is well documented out in these parts.

A lot of talent but low hockey IQ and ability to use it for good at the NHL level, a lot of entitlement, a lot of off-ice things.

Bergevin was too stupid to see the red flags or do any due diligence before getting destroyed in a trade by Tampa.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

People often mock and downplay "character or motivatation/effort issues" with a potential draftee.

Drouin is why they need to be seriously considered.

 

[BoltSTH]

His attitude got him traded from Tampa. He thought he was too good to be sent to the AHL to get top line minutes (like Kucherov, Point, Palat, Killorn et. al. had done) and learn to play NHL hockey; instead he ran off back home to mommy. He got us Sergachev to it worked well for the Bolts.

 

[ForsbergForever]

Thank God the Habs are free of him this summer, only two more months to limp through.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Drouin doesn't have character issues. By all accounts, he's a great guy.

Injuries + mental health problem has been the issues with Drouin

 

[WeThreeKings]

Drouin doesn't have character issues. By all accounts, he's a great guy.

Injuries + mental health problem has been the issues with Drouin

This is the exact opposite of what you'd hear around Halifax. It's definitely possible that he's matured through the mental health issues etc later on in his career.. but the character issues were very much there through his junior career and early NHL career, including his first few years with the Habs.

 

[A55P2]

He's having a rough year with all his injuries too. Not that it excuses entirely his lack of pace early on in the season, but he's getting to a more acceptable level of play lately. Even had a 3pts night recently.

Many Habs fans want to be done with him. I personally would offer him a 1M 1 year contract for next year. He's still better than Rem Pitlick this year for example. And who knows if he was 100% healthy he might bounce back a bit.

 

[Number8]

I don't know anything about Jonathan Drouin other than it appears his performance has not matched up to perceptions of his talent. But before I go further in thinking about that, I am reminded of Howie Long. For those who may not know him (he's an analyst on US NFL games) he is an NFL Hall of Famer who played for the, then, Oakland Raiders and before that in rough and scrabble Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Howie had a very rough upbringing and struggled in school badly. He also suffered from almost debilitating lack of self confidence in virtually all aspects of his life. So much so that he didn't want to play football (despite being a physical specimen almost custom designed to play the sport) and then when he did play, wanted to quit. All through his life and career he needed people to push him (sometimes as part of his family -- very hard and roughly).

You just never know. Immense talent does not always mesh up with mental strength and fortitude. It's why supreme athletes are paid so much. A rare breed.

Again, I have no idea what mental blocks (it appears) stand in Drouin's way. But it's not as easy as saying "hey Howie, relax, you're really good". It's just not. Who has mentored Jonathan Drouin? Is he even mentorable? I don't know but I'm sure it's somewhat more complex than one might think on surface.

 

[Anemia]

Amazing since pretty much everyone (except Flames fans) saw this coming. He had a career year, smart GMs don't overpay based on that.

 

[Andy]

He simply doesn't have the extra gear to complement his puck skills.

You need to play with a certain pace and urgency to be a top player. He doesn't have that pace. Rarely first on pucks, doesn't really give his all in one-on-one battles, and is too passive on the ice. He doesn't make the space to exploit his skill. He doesn't even put himself in space that his teammates create for him.

There is also a lack of focus. This is probably related to his desire to play the game. He clearly sees the plays happen in advance, but there isn't quick decision making.

Lastly, he has 0 shot left from the wrist injury. Even his puck handling abilities have diminished since. He used to rarely lose the puck while dangling. Now, he often out dangles himself.

 

[beowulf]

He was forced to play center his first year in Montreal because Bergevin was a f***ing idiot.

He did ok his 2nd year, and looked like it was something to build off for following years. His 3rd year, he started out ppg then took a brutal hit from Ovechkin that broke his wrist, and that was that.

Lots of injuries, and a mental health crisis over the next 3 years followed.

Pretty much this, he was just not mentally built for the pressure cooker of being a French quebecois playing in Montreal and expected to lead the team and produce like heroes of the past.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

so much talent but hes weak mentally and injuries didnt help

 

[Julien LG]

0.6 ppg 1st year in Montréal
0.65 ppg 2nd year
Injuries and mental health issues since than made him play 75 games in 4 years

Mind you, he's actually 0.55 ppg over that period. As soon as he started getting pts, he went down.

 

[Andy]

0.6 ppg 1st year in Montréal
0.65 ppg 2nd year
Injuries and mental health issues since than made him play 75 games in 4 years

Mind you, he's actually 0.55 ppg over that period. As soon as he started getting pts, he went down.

He puts up points, but his impact on the ice is very passive. if he didn't have a big name and draft pedigree, people would view those averages in a different light.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

He simply doesn't have the extra gear to complement his puck skills.

You need to play with a certain pace and urgency to be a top player. He doesn't have that pace. Rarely first on pucks, doesn't really give his all in one-on-one battles, and is too passive on the ice. He doesn't make the space to exploit his skill. He doesn't even put himself in space that his teammates create for him.

There is also a lack of focus. This is probably related to his desire to play the game. He clearly sees the plays happen in advance, but there isn't quick decision making.

Lastly, he has 0 shot left from the wrist injury. Even his puck handling abilities have diminished since. He used to rarely lose the puck while dangling. Now, he often out dangles himself.

This is pretty much it.

Drouin may be the perfect example of a "all the tools no toolbox" type player. You could see the raw talent clear as day prior to his injuries but he just couldn't put the whole package together at a NHL level. His lack of urgency, pace and determination always made him more of a passenger. Playing with kids, his talent alone could overcome those deficiencies but it got exposed in the NHL.

Then injuries happened which all but cooked his career. He may be able to foster something in a quiet market as a depth piece but he'll have to suck up starting in the AHL first.