The Official 2011 Tank Nation thread

SeawaySensFan wrote:

NEELY wrote:I don't think Landeskog would lose any of his effectivness if moved to center in fact, his game might be more suited to play center from a defensive and positional stand point. Obviously not the play maker RNH or Strome is but his game will still be effective playing up the middle.

I don't think he will get put there right away but he may find himself there if a guy like Regin struggles who I think will get the first shot.

Landeskog looks like more of a digger and has the net presence of a LW in the Ryan "Smytey" Smyth. The Center usually stays a little higher than the wingers who tend to do the digging. Right?

Depends where, defensively the center should be doing a lot of digging.

marakh wrote:

NEELY wrote:No 18 year old can win faceoffs in The NHL. That's one of the hardest things to do as a young center... hell, it took Crosby 3 or 4 years before he became effective, it took Spezza closer to a decade.

But at least if you do take 60% of your team's faceoffs in Juniors it's an easier transition, right. Anyways, I have no idea how a winger going center would look like or the implications. Have never seen it before.

Either way Landeskog still does play center here and there and if that's what The Sens see him as they will eventually try and mold him into one. I have no idea how things will play out from this point on but I do believe Landeskog would be their prize.

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

Are you maybe selling Landekog a little short here?

SpezDispenser wrote:

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

How come you don't acknowledge Landeskog as a center? He's played C in the past and apparently is quite adept.

Taylor Hall has played Center too before, I am not acknowledging him as one either. HEck, Foligno has been a center all his junior career, He's make an awful job as one in hte nHL I think. Most top centers in the game now are good defensively. Spezza at 27 is starting too.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/12876/iss_top30_risers_and_fallers_march2011

Look at 11-14

Jensen, Saad, Armia, Zibanejad

all in the range of the Nashville pick.

marakh wrote:
Taylor Hall has played Center too before, I am not acknowledging him as one either. HEck, Foligno has been a center all his junior career, He's make an awful job as one in hte nHL I think. Most top centers in the game now are good defensively. Spezza at 27 is starting too.

Landeskog is the king of defensive minded hockey though - while not sacrificing his offensive instincts.

SpezDispenser wrote:http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/12876/iss_top30_risers_and_fallers_march2011

Look at 11-14

Jensen, Saad, Armia, Zibanejad

all in the range of the Nashville pick.

Jensen is my personal favorite out of that group. It's kind of a shame that he jumped so high!

marakh wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

How come you don't acknowledge Landeskog as a center? He's played C in the past and apparently is quite adept.

Taylor Hall has played Center too before, I am not acknowledging him as one either. HEck, Foligno has been a center all his junior career, He's make an awful job as one in hte nHL I think. Most top centers in the game now are good defensively. Spezza at 27 is starting too.

So Foligno being a Center his whole career and not being able to do it at the NHL lever proves that RNH is the perfect fit for being a Center at the NHL level?

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

Are you maybe selling Landekog a little short here?

Not selling him short, but he will not do a better job at center than the other 2 is my point. He's good everywhere but when it comes to vision, smarts and passing he's not on the same level than them, which is what a N1 center would need to have.

Here's my point: We need a center that will be better than Spezza, not one that will complement him. Building a stanley cup winner is still the goal and when having an opportunity to get one of the main ingredients of a cup winner (1-2 punch at center, great top 4 D and Good goalie) you do it.
OF course, if you don't agree with the main ingredients I pointed out, my argument is kinda useless. But Zetterberg, Toews and Malkin were the last COnn Smythe winers and they were all C.

marakh wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

Are you maybe selling Landekog a little short here?

Not selling him short, but he will not do a better job at center than the other 2 is my point. He's good everywhere but when it comes to vision, smarts and passing he's not on the same level than them, which is what a N1 center would need to have.

Here's my point: We need a center that will be better than Spezza, not one that will complement him. Building a stanley cup winner is still the goal and when having an opportunity to get one of the main ingredients of a cup winner (1-2 punch at center, great top 4 D and Good goalie) you do it.
OF course, if you don't agree with the main ingredients I pointed out, my argument is kinda useless.

I'm not convinced that NPH will be better than Spezza. Smaller maybe, but not better. In fact, he strikes me as a small Spezza, at best. Nothing more.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

marakh wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

How come you don't acknowledge Landeskog as a center? He's played C in the past and apparently is quite adept.

Taylor Hall has played Center too before, I am not acknowledging him as one either. HEck, Foligno has been a center all his junior career, He's make an awful job as one in hte nHL I think. Most top centers in the game now are good defensively. Spezza at 27 is starting too.

So Foligno being a Center his whole career and not being able to do it at the NHL lever proves that RNH is the perfect fit for being a Center at the NHL level?

No, my point is he has been converted in the last 3 years and it will be hard to convert him back to that position. Landeskog has been converted to wing, as been Hall and FOligno.

marakh wrote:
Not selling him short, but he will not do a better job at center than the other 2 is my point. He's good everywhere but when it comes to vision, smarts and passing he's not on the same level than them, which is what a N1 center would need to have.

Here's my point: We need a center that will be better than Spezza, not one that will complement him. Building a stanley cup winner is still the goal and when having an opportunity to get one of the main ingredients of a cup winner (1-2 punch at center, great top 4 D and Good goalie) you do it.
OF course, if you don't agree with the main ingredients I pointed out, my argument is kinda useless. But Zetterberg, Toews and Malkin were the last COnn Smythe winers and they were all C.

RNH for the win then?

SeawaySensFan wrote:

marakh wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

marakh wrote:One thing we have to remember, if your N1 center is injured and your 2nd line center is not a 60+ pts guy that can carry an offense a lil bit, you can pretty much forget about the season.
I'm starting to sound boring but I firmly believe we need one potential N1 center in the system and in this draft I don't see any except from RNH Strome, Couturier and Huberdeau, and it's safe to say we ain't getting more than one of them.

Are you maybe selling Landekog a little short here?

Not selling him short, but he will not do a better job at center than the other 2 is my point. He's good everywhere but when it comes to vision, smarts and passing he's not on the same level than them, which is what a N1 center would need to have.

Here's my point: We need a center that will be better than Spezza, not one that will complement him. Building a stanley cup winner is still the goal and when having an opportunity to get one of the main ingredients of a cup winner (1-2 punch at center, great top 4 D and Good goalie) you do it.
OF course, if you don't agree with the main ingredients I pointed out, my argument is kinda useless.

I'm not convinced that NPH will be better than Spezza. Smaller maybe, but not better. In fact, he strikes me as a small Spezza, at best. Nothing more.

Watch hiim more He's more physical, more defensively responsible (first forward on the backcheck), can one time the puck, one of the fastest wristers I've ever seen in junior and skating is already better. All of that with much room to grow.

I'd say the 'good' news is that the Sens won't win 1 game the rest of this month with the possible exception of the Panthers game. I doubt we rise up too much, I think we're looking at 2 or 3, which IMO will be either RNH or Landeskog - 2 guys that I like a lot and who would both equally help the organization.

marakh wrote:Watch hiim more He's more physical, more defensively responsible (first forward on the backcheck), can one time the puck, one of the fastest wristers I've ever seen in junior and skating is already better. All of that with much room to grow.

Precisely.

Wasn't young Mike Fisher a stud Center in Junior?

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Wasn't young Mike Fisher a stud Center in Junior?

So was The Locker.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

marakh wrote:Watch hiim more He's more physical, more defensively responsible (first forward on the backcheck), can one time the puck, one of the fastest wristers I've ever seen in junior and skating is already better. All of that with much room to grow.

Precisely.

Compared to all the NHL stars today when they were in junior.

The guy just had 5 goals 7 assists in 4 games... I've seen the 5 goals. There was a one timer close to the blue line on the PP (Malkin style), one break away, one driving to the net from the boards, and 2 wristers from the slot...
Again, all of this is from a fan posting on the internet and not a scout's opinion, but I am not afraid to say that if this guy adds muscle like Stamkos did, he'll be better than Tavares, Duchene and Hall.