krsmith17

I'm honestly not sure if you're serious, or just f***ing around... Do you actually think Lafreniere played wing in junior because he wasn't good enough to play center? Do you think the coach tried all of Lafreniere, Huntington, Pare and Bolduc at center, and Lafreniere wasn't as good as the other three at the position, so he moved him to wing? That's not at all how it works... The Rangers have some very solid wingers in Panarin, Kakko, Kreider, Buchnevich, and Kravtsov, and not much at all at center behind Zibanejad. Again, I'm not saying that Lafreniere will play center at the NHL level, because I don't think he will, but he absolutely could. Any player that thinks the game at an elite level, and has the elite skill that Lafreniere possesses, can play all three forward positions.

As far as I can tell, he's never worn the number 39. That number could mean anything at all, or nothing at all to Dylan. Maybe it's something as dumb as someone else already using the name #dylanlarkin, and @dylanlarkin39 was the first suggested name that came up, and he was too lazy to pick a different one... Either way, I wouldn't read too much into his Twitter handle...

I personally hate when top players change their jersey number, especially after 3-5 years. I have a Larkin 71 jersey and Mantha 39 jersey, so I hope they both stick. But when the hell was Larkin ever 39? He was 19 with the Wolverines and 25 with the Griffins... I actually love that Namestnikov took 92. Great looking number. 54 has to be one of the ugliest numbers for a player...

Yeah, they'll likely end up around $3.75M. I just hope they get it settled before arbitration, to get around 4-5 years, rather than 1-2...

Lafreniere may be one of the rare forwards that didn't play much center growing up. Maybe he just prefers playing the wing. You can't seriously think that Lafreniere wasn't "good enough" to play center in the Q?...

Staal wearing 18 for this season, until Raymond is ready to take it over next season...

I've already "admitted" that Lafreniere likely won't ever play center at the NHL level. My point was that elite players with high hockey IQ can transition from wing to center. Not that they necessarily will... No, it's not controversial. I've never argued this point. I've even explained why this is often the case. Most elite forwards grow up playing center at some point in their career. Once they league up to junior, and eventually pro, a lot of these centers will have to transition to the wing, simply because there's not enough room for them all to continue playing center... That's why *most* elite NHL forwards are centers. I'm the snarky douchebag? LOL

Yeah if Yzerman can get Bertuzzi locked up under $4M, and Mantha under $6M, those would be great contracts. Something in the neighborhood of 4×4 and 6×6...

I'm not sure. It looked like the hand or wrist. I'm not sure if it's broken or fractured or what... He took a hit from behind. I'm not sure if he was injured from the hit into the boards, or from the fall to the ice... Seider vs Raymond / Niederbach / Soderblom today at 1:00 EST. Veleno also playing same time. Berggren's game is being postponed...

Yeah, I don't disagree. Even more disappointing that we don't have a single player in the top 15. Like any list though, you need to take it with a grain of salt. Give it another year and we should have 5-6 players on this list. We're definitely not through the rebuild yet, but I do think we're at the point where we should start to see some significant improvement over the next couple seasons.

https://theathletic.com/2132927/2020/10/22/ranking-the-best-nhl-players-under-23-corey-pronmans-top-155/ 17. Lucas Raymond, LW, Detroit March 28, 2002 | 5-foot-10 | 170 pounds Tier: Elite/high-end bubble Skating: 55 Puck Skills: 70 Physical Game: 35 Hockey Sense: 65 Raymond has incredible talent and hockey sense. With the puck on his stick he’s incredibly dangerous. His hands are elite and his ability to beat defenders one-on-one clean in ways unlike other players can create a lot of highlight reel moments. He will be a true PP1 quarterback in the NHL because of the unique plays he can make. He has a unique way of navigating with the puck in the offensive zone, showing the patience and vision of a top NHL playmaker in how he picks apart defenses and find seams. Raymond isn’t the biggest guy and isn’t a guy you will tab to kill penalties, but he competes well and gets to the net. While he’s more of a passer, he does have a good shot when he looks to shoot. My one concern is his just average foot speed, particularly as a 5-foot-10 forward. He has good edgework and a powerful first step, with a wide stance he employs when trying to protect pucks, but lacks an NHL caliber separation gear. 38. Moritz Seider, D, Detroit April 6, 2001 | 6-foot-4 | 207 pounds Tier: High-end NHL player Skating: 55 Puck Skills: 55 Physical Game: 70 Hockey Sense: 55 Seider isn’t a flashy player but he’s very well-rounded. He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who is highly mobile for his size, can move the puck well and is a top-end defender. His wingspan, great mobility and elite physicality allow him to make so many stops and project as a tough minutes defenseman in the NHL. Seider can move the puck, although I don’t ever see him as a big offensive player, as there will be stretches he can be quite bland with the puck. There are stretches he makes a very nice outlet pass with pace, as well. 61. Filip Hronek, D, Detroit Nov. 2, 1997 | six-foot | 170 pounds Tier: High-end/very good bubble Skating: 55 Puck Skills: 55 Physical Game: 50 Hockey Sense: 60 Hronek has been very impressive the last two seasons, as a 40-point-pace, big-minutes defenseman in the NHL. His skill set doesn’t jump off the page as a six-foot, quick but not amazingly quick defenseman, which is partly why he went 53rd in the 2016 draft. But he’s a very smart and competitive player. Hronek makes a ton of great passes from both ends in terms of making the right decisions and showing a high level of creativity. He has enough quickness to play at an NHL pace and jump into attacks. He defends very well due to his IQ, feet and physicality. On a contending team he may not be playing more than 25 minutes a game, but he wouldn’t be far off. 71. Filip Zadina, RW, Detroit Nov. 27, 1999 | six-foot | 196 pounds Tier: High-end/very good bubble Skating: 55 Puck Skills: 65 Physical Game: 45 Hockey Sense: 60 Shot: 60 Zadina is a tough evaluation case, as I’ve seen the highs and lows of his game over the last five years. He’s extremely skilled and has the ability to beat pro defenders clean with his puckhandling. Zadina is known as a goal-scorer, possessing a high-end wrist and slap shot to beat goalies from range. He’s also a very good passer, though, and makes creative feeds often. He’s a good, not great skater, but can make very skilled plays on the move. In his first pro season I thought he was a very perimeter player, and while I still wouldn’t call him hard-nosed, he wasn’t as perimeter I felt last season. I do feel he is quite inconsistent though, from watching him over the years. I still think he’ll be a top-six NHL forward and I still see top-line talent if he maxes out.

Any forward can play center, and most have played center at some point in their young career. Very few NHL wingers have never played center at some point in their career. These guys grow up as the best players on their respective teams right through minor hockey to junior, and most play center at some point. That's why we see more players transitioning from center to wing, and not as many transitioning from wing to center. It has nothing to do with center being a harder position to play. These are elite athletes, especially in the case of Lafreniere. If he wanted to, or if a coach wanted him to, I'm sure he could successfully transition from wing to center. The same applies to Berggren. I don't doubt for a second that he could transition to center, but the same as Fabbri, I think he may be better suited on the wing. Either way, Berggren hasn't played any center *yet* this season, and likely won't make the switch. In what world is wing a "more desirable position" than center?

This kid can't catch a break...

The SHL is not "junior", it's pro. In regards to "age", Berggren is 20, and has played wing his entire career. You said that it was dumb to think that Lafreniere, who has also played his entire career at wing, was 18 at the time, actually playing junior hockey, couldn't successfully transition to center... This post is peak kipwinger though. You assume because I only watched ONE game of the NINE he's played, that I haven't been paying attention to the other EIGHT games he's played... I have, and I just double checked. According to all 9 of the opening lineup sheets, he has played on Wingerli's wing...

I watched a Skelleftea game last week, and that entire game Berggren played on the top line wing, with (ironically) Andreas Wingerli as his center. I could be wrong, but I don't think he's played much, if any center at all this season. I do find it kind of funny though, that you of all people, not only brought this up, but are "overjoyed" by Berggren potentially playing center. Berggren was drafted as a winger. How is it possible that a winger can transition to center? That can't happen... Can it?

How would you? You're new here... And yeah, the biggest f***ing loser...

Some f***ing loser. He thought Zadina was pretty meh as well. What a dummy.

There used to be another user on here with similarly bad takes...

LOL settle down there guy... Veleno debuted in the AHL at 19. He played 3 1/2 months as a 19 year old, 2 months as a 20 year old. And he absolutely did jump to the AHL early. If you want to pretend he didn't just because some other European's have jumped earlier, that's on you... Zadina was drafted 6th overall. Veleno was drafted 30th overall. Big difference. Veleno is still ahead of guys like Dellandrea and Foudy offensively, who were both drafted ahead of him. I'm not saying that Veleno is an elite offensive dynamo. I'm saying that his offensive deficiencies are being vastly overstated. You said "Good to see his skill game coming along". The skill game has always been there. He demonstrated that in his D+1 season, and once he's adapted to playing against men, he will show it in the AHL, and eventually NHL.

Veleno has always been a year ahead in his development, compared to his peers. He was drafted into the QMJHL a year early, and 4 years later made the jump to the AHL a year early. He should have never been in the AHL last season, only for the exceptional status. He still put up nearly half a point per game as a 19/20 year old rookie, playing against men. I don't see any reason to be skeptical of Veleno's offensive upside. I still think he'll be a legit 2C capable of putting up 50+ points.

Yup.

Had to leave with three minutes left in the game. Missed the goal... Just caught the highlight though. For anyone that didn't catch the game...

Veleno with his first point in his third game. Really nice assist.

LOL it looked like a bottle of vodka or something to me, unless it was a very fancy bottle of water.