Today’s Daily Cup of Joe does sort of the opposite taking current young Canes players and looking forward to what next step v2.0 might add.
Andrei Svechnikov
V1.0 of Andrei Svechnikov for 2018-19 is a skilled depth scorer whose game was still really raw in terms of two-way play and every shift consistency.
V2.0 of Andrei Svechnikov is arriving before our eyes right now. He leads the team in scoring with 27 points and a 92-point pace for 82 games. As significant as the raw numbers is how his game has expanded in only his second season in the NHL. In addition to finishing which was probably top of the list of his skill sets when drafted, he has shown an equal knack for playmaking in 2019-20. The physical element of his game also continues to grow.
So what might still be on the list of possible additions for a max v2.0 Svechnikov? Three things I think. First, elite scorers in the NHL must be able to score in numerous ways. Svechnikov’s ability to beat goalies cleanly from distance in 2019-20 is a huge step in that direction. The one area that stands out as still having upside is his ability to finish when in alone off the rush. Svechnikov has a good knack for finding breakaway chances but is still figuring out how to beat NHL goalies in this regard. Second, elite players do not just produce points. They have they ability to take over games. Svechnikov is just on the cusp in that regard. Finally, though he has made step-wise improvement, there is still room to improve his shift to shift consistency defensively maybe somewhat similar to Teuvo Teravainen whose improvement in this regard was profiled in yesterday’s article.
Martin Necas
V1.0 of Martin Necas that we are seeing right now is capable NHL depth scorer with enough skill to play on a scoring line and on the power play.
I think v2.0 of Necas will include a shift to center. I am fully on board with Necas move to wing to get him acclimated at the NHL level in a less demanding role. And I think it makes sense to stay the course for now in this regard rather than taking the risk of abandoning progress. But that said, I still land right where I started with Martin Necas which is to say that he has a perfect skill set to be a top 6 playmaking center and be part of making the Canes two deep with pretty equal scoring lines. When exactly that transition could occur is uncertain, but I really think part of v2.0 for Necas is a move to the center position.
His skating ability in terms of straight line speed but even more importantly his ability to ‘swoop’ at angles without giving up speed gives him the ability to carry the puck and create space to buy time and make passing lanes. In that regard, I think v2.0 of Necas sees his assists increase more than his goal scoring. And like Necas (and pretty much any young player), I think v2.0 for Necas includes adding a bit more strength and consistency defensively.
Lucas Wallmark
V1.0 of Lucas Wallmark from 2018-19 was a capable two-way center who could hold his own against the other team’s best but was somewhat limited offensively.
This has already been bandied around a couple times since Erik Haula exited the lineup with an injury and Wallmark stepped into the third line center slot, but I think v2.0 for Wallmark just needs to find a higher gear in terms of scoring production. The returns so far from a small sample size are favorable with three points in three games. My question is whether Wallmark has enough high-end of any kind in his game offensively to ever be more than a great fourth line center who can slot higher in the event of injuries. Rather than guessing, we are seeing Wallmark use his current opportunity to make a run at v2.0 right now.
What say you Canes fans?
1) What would be your short list of key additions for Andrei Svechnikov to reach a next level as a player?
2) What would be your short list of key additions for Martin Necas to reach a next level as a player?
3) Finally, what would be your short list of key additions for Lucas Wallmark to reach a next level as a player?
Go Canes!
I have to agree with all of these.
I think Svech v 3.0 may well prove to be the next Ovechkin, i.e., the next great Russian power forward. He and Dougie are our legitimate All-Stars this season – do the Canes get two of them?
I will say I am pleasantly surprised by Necas – I really anticipated he was going to have more trouble adjusting in his rookie season but he is doing so much better than I anticipated.
And this is really another opportunity for Wallmark – he got an opportunity when Staal went down last season and took full advantage of it. This is a different sort of opportunity requiring different skills and a different growth trajectory
As for Svetch, I think an equally interesting comp is Marian Hossa
Man, we have to say something about the Bill Peters fiasco, don’t we?
No way to condone comments like that if they are accurate. It should be pretty easy to confirm or deny from players that were in that room. Seeing that no one has denied it so far suggests it may well be true.
Aside from the actual news, I am not surprised that absolutely no one is coming to his defense. Sounds like folks are handing him cinder blocks instead of life preservers. When you treat people like dirt on the way up….
I actually tend to think Peters used the n- word but that he didn’t direct it at the player but at the music he was playing as in “Turn off that n- music”. I can readily see that being the case.
And did Peters really send a letter to the powers that be in the Blackhawks organization to send the player down to the ECHL?, or was that just speculation on the player’s part because he was sent down and he needed someone besides himself to blame (i.e., Commodore’s issue with Babcock – “boo hoo, he didn’t play me and it ended my career..boo hoo.”)?
Three sides to a story, right? In this case it’s coach, former player and the actual truth. If this happened as described then there are probably more folks to blame than just the coach, and why now? If this didn’t happen or was a misconception, then that says a lot about the generation we live in. Stern statements by the team and league breed fire to the player’s narrative by default, guilty before innocent, so this will play out until all facts are known.
If I were to guess, Peters words may have been locker room talk and/or taken out of context. Just as Babcock is not some ruthless terrible person…they are old school coach’s in today’s more sensitive/entitled society, and for whatever reason that makes them wrong. Millennials sometimes need to understand different is not wrong.
Why now? Because Aliu is out of hockey and can’t be retaliated against for not keeping it in the room. At the junior, college, and minor pro level coaches have immense power over players that aren’t high draft picks. Stepping out of line and going against the code can have huge consequences.
Here is a link to an article on an interview the player just did.
Two other players corroborated the story.
But the word was used in reference to the music and not the player.
And gangsta rap/hip-hop does throw the n-word a lot with x-rated references. Peters could have used better language but he sounded genuinely pizzazzed off so this had probably been building. An incident that could have been handled more tactfully.
https://www.tsn.ca/akim-aliu-speaks-publicly-on-allegations-against-calgary-flames-head-coach-bill-peters-1.1403974
I really see no difference just because he referred to the music. It may actually be worse as he was disparaging an entire group of people and not just one guy. This kind of old-school abuse isn’t OK. The culture of hockey and “keeping things in the room” has led to this. Commodore may have been over the top, but yes, Babcock is a horrible person. It’s not just being benched, it’s how he went about it. Benching Mike Modano for the rest of the season so he can’t get 1500 games. Benching Jason Spezza against his former team with family in the crowd. Just horrible human being things. Mind games are one thing, but just treating someone like dirt is another.
From reports around Raleigh Peters was similarly despised. From what I hear he has been fired. Peters earned this, now he can live with it.
My opinion is a work in progress – always is! LOL!
Jordan reports he and another player were physically abused by Peters during a game.
https://sports.yahoo.com/former-carolina-hurricanes-player-michal-jordan-alleges-bill-peters-physically-abused-him-205358441.html
Svech and Necas have high ceilings, so versions 3-4-5, etc. should be fun to watch.
Lucas Wallmark is the most interesting case. If he can aim to be anything over the next 2-3 years, it very well could be Staal’s replacement as a solid shutdown 3C. Otherwise he may just be our very own version of Jeff Daniels, key 4th line difference maker…that in itself is valuable.
I was never a fan of Peters but I’m also tired of the “guilty until proven innocent, and then even guilty still” process of social media execution.
And it’s a fact that the N word is used approx. once every 10 seconds in rap/hiphop songs (which otherwise are often funny and have interesting musical development, speaking as a musician I like some of it quite a bit).
If one race can use the word and is even using it regularly and incorporating it into their image, other races should be allowed to use the word as well.
Anything else is racism.
Anyways, that’s beyond this site and this community to discuss it and I don’t claim this to be anything other than my opinion (and as someone who came here at age 20 for university, I may still not understand the significant backstory).
So I ignore the Peters rumors quite honestly for now, I was not a fan of his as a coach but it doesn’t mean I don’t wish him well as a person and even as a coach (since he’s coaching in the western conference and his success won’t matter to the Canes unless it affects the winning of the ultimate prize).
Oh, wow. I wish I hadn’t brought this up. This is why hockey players and fans get a bad rap. I’m out.
Call it what you want but there is never an excuse for bad behavior, don’t care if you call it “old school”, “new school”, “some school”! For me it’s what RBA didn’t say and how the team performed under that garbage that tells me all I need to know. No need to apologize lessthanstable, need to be brought up.
Will write about the Bill Peters’ situation in some detail for tomorrow’s Daily Cup of Joe because I think it would be irresponsible not to.
But at a very basic level using the N word toward a young black player is racist and wrong in my book. Period. The only possible mitigating factor for me personally is that ideally it gets verified as accurate which it has been by two players. At that point, any context becomes mostly irrelevant, it’s just wrong. There are some things that in my opinion could fall under the description of “old school” or “tough coaching” that could be a gray area, but in my mind this is pretty cut and dry.
Will also comment on Michal Jordan’s comments and broader impacts on the organization when I write about it tonight.
Please don’t think my post is justifying it. In all actuality using the n word without any black people present is even more racist – or, as I like to say – “Boston racism”, where what is said in public is different than in private, and you don’t know who the racist are.
My comments are certainly not justifying BPs behavior, just the broader context of me not understanding some social norms. I’d never use the n words to anybody of any color, period, and if you use it that’s just pretty damn lame no matter who you are.
and I’ve never been high on him as a coach anyway.
Given what Mark Armstrong of the local ABc affiliate and Sara Civian have said this evening, there is a lot more bad stuff waiting to come out about Peters’s tenure here than Jordan’s statement of physical abuse (and the well-known riff on Lack), nevermind what what happened with the Blackhawks affiliate, and it will apparently taint Francis as well.