Development Camp Rosters

[Dabura 12,207]

4 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Yeah, I watched the whole game and Smith is who impressed me the most. He has improved his skating leaps and bounds over the past year. He was all over the ice and had no problem keeping up with Rasmussen and Zadina. Great at creating space for his linemates. Zadina seemed to be trying to do too much himself, which I guess is to be expected with those insanely high expectations on him. He made some great plays, but also got caught trying to go through 2-3 defenders a couple times. Veleno looked great. Rasmussen looked good. I was also very impressed with Berggren. He seems like a very smart player, great skater and passer. Threaded the needle on a couple cross ice passes, through a ton of traffic, right on the tape. Kivenmaki looked good too.

I was surprised and impressed by how much Smith has improved his skating. If he can move around the ice like prime-years Wayne Simmonds while being bigger and meaner than prime-years Simmonds, with a skill level that's at least in the same ballpark as prime-years Simmonds...that's something to be excited about. I'm still tempering my expectations, because throwback power forwards (very big, very mean, good for 25-30 goals) are just so hard to come by these days. But the potential does seem to be there.

Edited July 1, 2018 by Dabura

[krsmith17 7,191]

1 hour ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

I know Smith is projected to be a middle 6 winger, but I wonder if he wouldn't be a good fit on that line with Rass and Zadina? He could be the "mucker" on that line with Rass as the playmaker and Z2 as the scorer. I don't know that Smith would be out of place.

Yeah, I see Smith as an Abdelkader type player. Probably better suited in the bottom 6, but can play on a scoring line without looking too out of place.

1 hour ago, Dabura said:

I was surprised and impressed by how much Smith has improved his skating. If he can move around the ice like prime-years Wayne Simmonds while being bigger and meaner than prime-years Simmonds, with a skill level that's at least in the same ballpark as prime-years Simmonds...that's something to be excited about. I'm still tempering my expectations, because throwback power forwards (very big, very mean, good for 25-30 goals) are just so hard to come by these days. But the potential does seem to be there.

I don't think Smith will ever come close to 25-30 goals, but maybe 15-20 could be within reach if everything goes right. I'm really rooting for the kid. If he can be anything close to a Simmonds type player, I'll be ecstatic.

[Dabura 12,207]

6 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

Yeah, I see Smith as an Abdelkader type player. Probably better suited in the bottom 6, but can play on a scoring line without looking too out of place.

I don't think Smith will ever come close to 25-30 goals, but maybe 15-20 could be within reach if everything goes right. I'm really rooting for the kid. If he can be anything close to a Simmonds type player, I'll be ecstatic.

I'm definitely not expecting him to become a legit top-line scorer, but I'm starting to think he might have a future as a solid middle-six complementary winger. With the right centerman and maybe some PP skillz, 20+ goals a season might not be out of the question, even if he isn't A True Scorer. Like I said, I'm tempering my expectations with him, but Holmstrom and to a lesser extent Abby have done great things as piano pullers. If he ever becomes as effective as Abby circa Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abby, that's a win. If he gets anywhere close to Simmonds? Like you, I'll be ecstatic.