Is it Hoodlum's time to shine?

[tipetz22 0]

20-25 goals, come Bab's give the kid some minutes!!!!

[Spongewingredpants 75]

17 goals

13 assists

+12

PIM 128

7 fighting majors

[eva unit zero 271]

St Louis is good defensively and a great skater. Has more offensive skills then Hudler and has scored and will continue to score big goals. A better choice to compare would be Gionta, whos still young and has only gotten a shot the past couple of years.

Hudler has scored 15 goals in limited time. At that age St Louis had not even made the league, and was not as good defensively as Hudler.

[Opie 308]

Hey and I would be happy to have Brian Gionta on this team too, he is a very solid NHL player. He may not tear the league up but if Huds ends up being like Gionta I would be pleasantly surprised.

Now if he turns out to be like Martin St. Louis I would be ecstatic. Not every prospect can be Datsyuk or Zetterberg.

[Spongewingredpants 75]

Go huds!

[Guest micah]

he looks like a midget

He represents the lollypop guild.

I hope he has a good season. I hope it ends with him wearing another team's sweater.

[norrisnick 1]

Seriously now, how do you know it will happen? As much as I like Hudler and I'd like for such a scenario to happen, I think that's a wee bit lofty goals for him you've set as well.

How does anyone know anything before it happens? You look at all the variable factors. Try and reason towards a likely outcome. You write that outcome on a slip of paper along with 10 other random outcomes. You then toss the 11 outcomes in front of a fan and the one that flies furthest is the one that will hold true.

1. Hudler quite possibly has the best shot/release on the team.

2. Hudler has put up HUGE point totals everywhere he's ever played.

3. Apart from Z and Pavel we don't have anyone that is remotely as offensively skilled as Hudler. They may be bigger, stronger, faster, better defensively, all that, BUT they are not better offensively than Hudler.

4. He's being slated for an offensive role from the get go. No screwing around on the 4th line in alternating games. Had been in the spot Willy was from the beginning of the season last year he'd have scored 30 goals last season. He's that good.

As for the poster that mentioned defensive matchup, remember what Barry Trotz said after Jiri burned him in back to back games? It was something along the lines of "when you draw up your defensive assignments when facing Detroit, a guy like Hudler is not at the top of the list". League wide he's still an unknown entity (and for Wing fans apparently) and even if his line draws the attention, will the focus be on Z or on Jiri? And if the focus is on Jiri, that simply frees up Z. Win win.

So yeah, top 3 in goals top 5 in points. I"m confident. On another board a sucker bet against my thinking that Hudler would outscore Filppula. Our usernames are on the line for that one...

[egroen 384]

I have to agree with NorrisNick -- Hudler has consistently been undervalued: "Too small and too slow to compete at the Swedish Elite, AHL, NHL, etc. level" -- And every single year he has vastly exceeded expectations. Vastly.

This is not a flash in the pan player, he has consistently produced, and produced big. How long can you ignore that? I hope that finally gets through Babcock's canadian skull this year.

[Opie 308]

He has the best release on this team, and if you put him with Dats with that kind of playmaking ability and passing, or Zetterberg for that matter, he will easily put up 20 maybe even thirty.

I love Homer as much as the next guy, but how much growth did he experience because he was with Z and Dats.

They made him better, and he has worked hard to stay at a level where he can stay on their line. And remember one Scott Bowman once didn't have high hopes for Homer either.

[Spongewingredpants 75]

plus he is like 5 foot 2 and can skate between the d-mens legs

edit: chaged the 3 to a 2

Edited September 14, 2007 by Spongewingredpants

[rick zombo 3,739]

If Hudler plays a full season on either Datsyuk or Zetterberg's wing, he will ealsily score 30 goals.

[Opie 308]

I am not saying Dats and Z are the best to ever play the game, but they have a knack for making the people around them better without making those people change their game. The played very well as 2 kids and a goat feeding Hully in the slot, Homer didn't change his game at all and he is nothing like Hully and that was at one point in time last year THE BEST line in hockey.

From were I am sitting it looks like as long as you pay attention and keep your stick on the ready, these two can help anyone score 20-30. Of course you can't be a brick hands, it helps if you can hit the net.

Look at all of the grief Samuelsson gets and with Z on his line he is a 20 goal scorer, that says a lot for Dats and Z.

But you put a guy with a shot like Huds with him and if he is focused and works hard, he will reap the rewards of the skill of D and Z.

That is why I think Grigs will have a good year this year too, not because he will be a phenom, but because odds are he will end up on Dats wing. And that is not a bad place to be!!!

[zzz 0]

As for the poster that mentioned defensive matchup, remember what Barry Trotz said after Jiri burned him in back to back games? It was something along the lines of "when you draw up your defensive assignments when facing Detroit, a guy like Hudler is not at the top of the list". League wide he's still an unknown entity (and for Wing fans apparently) and even if his line draws the attention, will the focus be on Z or on Jiri? And if the focus is on Jiri, that simply frees up Z. Win win.

Perhaps. He's still untested in that regard. But even if the Prongers of the league will focus on Zetterberg in this scenario, there will still be a Beauchemin to handle Hudler as opposed to an O'Donnell. I think 40 points is a reasonable expectation for him at this point -- Holmstrom-like numbers.

[rick zombo 3,739]

Perhaps. He's still untested in that regard. But even if the Prongers of the league will focus on Zetterberg in this scenario, there will still be a Beauchemin to handle Hudler as opposed to an O'Donnell. I think 40 points is a reasonable expectation for him at this point -- Holmstrom-like numbers.

Holmstrom had 52 points last year: 30G 22A

That's what I expect from Hudler.

[tipetz22 0]

Free Press Article

"Filppula is a top six NHL forward," Babcock said Wednesday. "He wasn't on the team when we started last year. Tomas Kopecky, we signed him. We were unsure if we should even sign him last year. Jiri Hudler, to me, is going to score goals in the NHL. (Brett) Lebda (25) has become a player, (Niklas) Kronwall (26)... Datsyuk and Zetterberg took a huge step. (Brian) Rafalski's 33. Like, we're getting way too young around here."

Link

I hope Babcock backs up his comments with some ice time for Rex!!!!

[Guest LivingtheDream]

I think some day we will regret it when he is traded. Alas, there is something with him and Babs that isn't working out for the best for either.

[omnipotent_hudler 0]

I'm just here to say that Hudler is going to compete for the scoring championship this year. He'll also win the Selke, and when Babcock is forced to play him at defense midway through the season due to injury, he will perform so well that he will win the Norris as well.

I'm not being sarcastic at all.

seriously

[Guest Crymson]

I think Hudler definitely has the skills to become a good scorer, but is trying to develop him even worth it with his lack of size? He played well last year and Babcock benched him in the playoffs because he was getting knocked around too much by the Sharks and the Ducks. He's not going to get much bigger. He needs to find a way to play against the big, tough guys, or he'll always be a depth player for us.

Brian Gionta, Steve Sullivan and Martin St. Louis are all Hudler's size.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Brian Gionta, Steve Sullivan and Martin St. Louis are all Hudler's size.

And all all stars.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

And all all stars.

And what's your point. Hudler is better than any of those guys were at his age. Therefor one could assume his future would be just as bright as those "all stars". I don't see why you feel the need to constantly bash players like Hudler, Sammy and Kopecky. It's really getting old.

[eva unit zero 271]

And all all stars.

And yet the total combined NHL goal scoring for all three at Hudler's age:

103 GP, 22g.

Hudler's career stats:

92 GP, 16g.

Gionta, Sullivan, and St. Louis all saw 13-15 minutes per game in their early years; so let's add 30% to Hudler's statistics to reflect the ice time difference. That would make Hudler at 21; now adjust for games played and we project Hudler to 24. So Hudler is a better goal scorer than the other three were at the same point.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

I'm just here to say that Hudler is going to compete for the scoring championship this year. He'll also win the Selke, and when Babcock is forced to play him at defense midway through the season due to injury, he will perform so well that he will win the Norris as well.

I'm not being sarcastic at all.

seriously

I think that we'll all be fine with him just winning the Conn Smythe.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

And yet the total combined NHL goal scoring for all three at Hudler's age:

103 GP, 22g.

Hudler's career stats:

92 GP, 16g.

Gionta, Sullivan, and St. Louis all saw 13-15 minutes per game in their early years; so let's add 30% to Hudler's statistics to reflect the ice time difference. That would make Hudler at 21; now adjust for games played and we project Hudler to 24. So Hudler is a better goal scorer than the other three were at the same point.

One math nerd to another- you really should start using Q.E.D. at the end of your posts.

Holmstrom had 52 points last year: 30G 22A

That's what I expect from Hudler.

That'd make Hudler a bona fide first line talent. I'd be perfectly happy with that. God knows this team needs scoring wingers!

So yeah, top 3 in goals top 5 in points. I"m confident. On another board a sucker bet against my thinking that Hudler would outscore Filppula. Our usernames are on the line for that one...

I almost want you to lose so I can call you TinCan.

Nah, I'll sacrifice that to see Hudler play regular minutes.

[Aris 0]

I don't hear this figure thrown around much here so I'm not sure how well it's known: Hudler had the best goals to time on ice ratio in the NHL last year. Mathematically he would have won the goal scoring title if he played regular minutes. Obviously that does not mean it would have actually happened, as others have said as you get more minutes you go against tougher competition, but it's an impressive statistic any way you slice it. Especially for a kid.

[norrisnick 1]

I don't hear this figure thrown around much here so I'm not sure how well it's known: Hudler had the best goals to time on ice ratio in the NHL last year. Mathematically he would have won the goal scoring title if he played regular minutes. Obviously that does not mean it would have actually happened, as others have said as you get more minutes you go against tougher competition, but it's an impressive statistic any way you slice it. Especially for a kid.

That's not entirely accurate. No one in the NHL with equal or less icetime than Hudler put up more goals or points. There were more than a few people with greater icetime that had a better scoring rate.