krsmith17

Is this f***ing guy seriously asking if people have ever played competitive hockey? What a f***ing loser. I guarentee I have played more "competitive hockey" than kipf***ingwinger. What does that have to do with anything though? This guy doesn't even watch hockey, let alone "play at a high level"...

And why do you think that is? Maybe because Mantha is a better all around player, and a better goal scorer... Do you think Athanasiou would have over double the number of goals this season, given 2.5 more minutes per game and better line mates? I don't.

Oh yeah, I forgot that Mantha played his whole career with Larkin and Bertuzzi... Are you seriously STILL arguing that Athanasiou is a better goal scorer than Mantha? Of course you are. You ARE that dumb.

Consistently: in every case or on every occasion: invariably. Yes I do think Athanasiou would score more with Larkin and Bertuzzi. As much as Mantha? No, because Mantha is a better goal scorer.

He also has no idea what the word "consistently" means... Mantha - 12 goals in 27 games (508 minutes) this season. Athanasiou - 5 goals in 31 games (502 minutes) this season. kipwinger: "Athanasiou has consistently scored more goals...

LOL I always wonder if you're this big a tool in real life, or if this is your online persona... Honestly, save yourself some time because I don't give a s*** about why you think Hughes is dominating, or why you think Zadina won't.

Typical kip... Always pick out one part of a post and completely ignore the rest... Try harder? Zadina rules. Hughes drools.

^ Stating opinion as fact... Tyler Myers stepped into the league and dominated right away as well. He won the Calder Trophy with 48 points, and has since been a 25-35 point average defenseman... Nikita Kucherov wasn't even in the NHL at this point. He finally made the NHL in his third year after being drafted, and put up 18 points in 52 games, only to explode the following season... No, I'm not comparing Hughes to Myers or Zadina to Kucherov. My point is, all players develop at difference rates. That's also something I "constantly say all the time"... To state that Hughes is going to be better than Zadina as fact is dumb. I would agree that it's likely Hughes will be for the reasons you pointed out, but "I also wouldn't be shocked if Zadina ends up the better player"... I know how much that bothers you...

DeKeyser is a key piece to this team and defensive core. Hopefully surgery goes well, he can have a good offseason training, and be good to go next season.

Most everything we talk about on here is opinion. At least I state mine as such, and don't try to pass it off as fact. Or even worse, attack everyone else's opinions, without having one yourself... If Hughes becomes a better player than Zadina, I will have to "own it"? LOL. Maybe I should refrain from having opinions, so I don't have to "own it" later... It's a scary thought of all those "told ya so's" coming my way...

I'm not straddling any fence. I'm firmly on the side of Zadina will become a legit top six winger. "Put my money where my mouth is"? LOL You want me to make a bet that Zadina will be better than Hughes? For what purpose? Yes. I think Zadina will be better than Hughes. Enough to make a bet on it? No, not really...

Yeah, I can totally see why you think there's zero chance a (just turned) 20 year old winger with 7 points in 10 games can become a top line winger... Especially one with all his "flaws"... If you polled Zadina vs Hughes, I'm sure the results would be a lot more skewed in Hughes favor. However, I wouldn't be too surprised if Zadina is the better player in a couple years.

Zadina is playing very well (7 points in last 7 games). Zadina will be a very good top 6 winger. = "full throated homer"... Zadina sucks. Bust. = "objective"... For every "flaw" you see in Zadina, there are 5 "strengths".

CRL: ZaDiNa Is So LuCkY...

Fabbri has played all 18 games in the top six. Zadina started out in the bottom six with scrubs, worked his way up, and has been one of the best Wings the past few games. Zadina is better than Fabbri right f***ing now. Deal with it.

Very objective way of looking at it... Maybe we can get mackel's opinion on this as well... Zadina is as good or better right now, and he WILL be the better player going forward.

Zadina. Fortunately we don't have to pick just one though... Zadina just played his 10th game, bringing him one year closer to restricted free agency. Fabbri will be one of our top RFA priorities this summer. Both will be here long term. Zadina is / will be the better player though.

Imagine being as dumb as that guy...

Perlini healthy scratched over Erne and Nielsen... smh But hey, at least we have 2 and a half decent lines. All the right players in the top six, but I can't say I love the way they're set up... baby steps I guess...

Unless you really, really hate to be wrong. Your eyes are going to see what you want them to see... "ZaDiNa SuCkS"...

Zadina has 6 points in last 5 games... Everyone: "That's really good"... CRL and mackel: "What a bust"...

Zadina has been one of our best forwards the past few games, despite getting limited time with top six caliber players. If he hasn't been meeting your expectations, how high are your expectations? What are you really expecting from him at this point in his career? Small sample size, but he currently has a better points per game than Kotkaniemi and Tkachuk. He's been really good, and he will only continue to get better.

I'm suggesting that goalies are voodoo, and that they're way too hard to predict. I believe that Askarov's bust potential is MUCH higher than anyone else I'd rank in the top 10. That's why I personally wouldn't draft him with a top 5 pick. Like I said, I wouldn't take a goalie in the top half of the 1st round. I'm not suggesting we should take a player of need, the way you are with Byfield. If anything it's the opposite. I acknowledge that goaltending is a major need, but would rather acquire one later in the draft, or via trade / free agency... Nope, there's nothing at all to suggest that Lafreniere is anything more than your average top of the draft player... Nothing at all... Why are you hung up on Dahlin? He's almost a point per game defenseman as a 19 year old. We shouldn't be looking at how good players are on draft day, but how good they will be in their prime, but a defensemen playing his sophomore season, is what he is apparently... Maybe people did overhype Dahlin, but also... maybe they didn't. He still could be a generational defenseman, and better than Makar and Hughes and any other defenseman in the league in a couple years. I think in a few years we'll be looking back on the 2020 draft, and Lafreniere will be by far the best player of the draft. He'll be the top winger in the league, and it won't be close. I can't say I think Byfield will be the top center in the league. Maybe not even top 10. Even if that were to be the case in 2023, you'd probably say, "well a top 15 center in the league, is more valuable than the top winger in the league"... And that's where I think our biggest difference in opinion comes from. Elite wingers are no less important than centers. They can do everything centers can do on the ice, except take draws, and even the best faceoffs guys in the league are basically a 50/50 toss up on any draw. Wingers can drive play, shut down top players, be setup guys or trigger men. This gets back to why I believe Lafreniere could, if he wanted to, convert to center. Not saying he will or should, but he most definitely could. Not getting into that again though...

Not at all. I just don't agree with taking a goalie in the top half of the first round. We NEED a goalie. It's arguably our biggest weakness right now. He's said to be a top 5 pick, but I personally wouldn't take him. A lot of scouts and GM's share that same philosophy, which is why I think he'll slip. Maybe not past 10, but I doubt he goes top 5. Very different situations. I didn't say Dahlin wasn't being hyped. Hughes was being hyped last year too. It's different with Lafreniere though. He's on a completely different level in my opinion.

Two players drafted 20 years ago? Hockey in Germany, and scouting in general has come a LONG way since then. Hell, we just drafted a player out of the DEL last year and despite what any of us thought, he's looking like he *could* be a top 5 pick out of that draft class. It's still a men's league and one that has gotten a lot more competitive since Goc and Hecht started there as teenagers.