Quite often I and others too evaluate players in the here and now. And at some point most players plateau and just are what they are until they go in the other direction with age. But especially with the NHL becoming younger by the year, many players become regulars at such a young age that they still have significant room for growth.
Today’s Daily Cup of Joe compares the version 2.0 of a few Canes players to an older 1.0 version.
Teuvo Teravainen
Teuvo Teravainen was actually the genesis for this subject. The current version of Teravainen is dramatically different and better than the original 21-year old version of Teravainen obtained by the Hurricanes in the trade with Chicago some years ago. The skill and offensive capability was there with Teravainen from the very beginning, but I think Teravainen is worlds better in two regards. First, v1.0 of Teravainen was streaky at a level that was high even for a typical NHL scorer. He had outbursts of multi-point games but then also stretches of multiple games with nothing on the score sheet. In addition, he was prone to lapses defensively such that we was capable when focused but too often not. Fast forward to today and the 25-year old version of Teravainen, and he is a much more consistent and well-rounded player. Even the lesser night version of Teravainen is not a liability because he has grown to be a solid two-way forward even on nights when the offense does not come. In addition, Teravainen shows much better knack for chipping in more even during slower stretches. I think at the most basic level, Teravainen matured in terms of maintaining focus and intensity level on a game by game basis over a long season. That nets points here and there on the nights it is not easy, and it also keeps Teravainen on top of his game defensively even during offensive lulls that are inevitable over a long 82-game season.
Brock McGinn
Version 1.0 of Brock McGinn was true to his brand as a physical forechecker. He ran and hit everyone he could get to. The result was a consistent effort in terms of finishing checks, but the unrefined version often lacked judgment for when/how to be positionally sound and make good situational decisions. The result was a v1.0 version that too regularly was out of position and because of it on the ice for too many goals against. Fast forward to today and the physical forechecking element is still part of McGinn’s game, but he has become better in terms of positional play and decision-making versus just being a heat seeking missile regardless of situation. The result is that he is now an option for a checking wing playing against other teams’ best like he did on Staal’s line versus the Panthers versus only being limited to a limited fourth line role.
Brett Pesce
I touched on this recently in another article, but it fits well here too. V1.0 of Brett Pesce was mature well beyond his years at defending without the puck. That core is what helped Pesce stick at the NHL level with limited professional experience and also what makes him a tremendous defensive defenseman. But v1.0 of Pesce was somewhat limited skill-wise and maybe just more so comfort-level safe in terms of handling the puck. He worked well with veteran John-Michael Liles who was incredibly good at offering puck support and outlet for a young defenseman. The result was Pesce being proficient at making simple, low-risk plays with the puck on his stick such that he was largely a non-factor offensively but also not prone to costly mistakes. Fast forward to today, and Brett Pesce has made significant strides in terms of his ability receiving and moving the puck. He is much more patient and comfortable with the puck on his stick and assertive moving the puck forward versus safer lateral plays that defer sideways to his partner.
What say you Canes fans?
1) Do you agree with my v1.0 and v2.0 assessments of Teuvo Teravainen, Brock McGinn and Brett Pesce?
2) Who has v1.0 and v2.0 assessments for other current Canes players?
Go Canes!
This may sound a little crazy, but I think that TT is maybe the most under-appreciated player on our entire roster. He’s been remarkably consistent over the past ~125 games and has progressed on both sides of the puck. When we were discussing our management team, one of my Board members always liked to say that “some people are bricks and some are mortar.” TT is mortar. Every team needs mortar.
This is going to sound even crazier: he should start to be mentioned in the Selke conversation. His metrics are off-the-charts good.
Not crazy at all. The Canes would not be the team they are without the growth and experience of Turbo, McGinn and Pesce.
Teravainen’s defensive efforts have improved greatly. He still isn’t a monster on the boards, so I think a Selke is a bit much. I think a lot of his offensive improvement has a lot to do with the caliber of players around him. He actually plays with people who can bury a puck as opposed to Canes teams of the past.
McGinn and Pesce are examples of what you hope happens to players as they gain confidence and experience. Both are rock solid players of the kind you need to win championships. I think McGinn fits well on the Staal line. The Staal line is not a scoring line. It’s a checking line. The second scoring line is the Necas line. Necas has been driving the secondary offense for some time now. Whether it’s Wallmark or Huala at center, Necas is the offensive force on that “#2” scoring line.
Aho v`1.0 – Cross the blueline into the o-zone and buttonhook to the top of the circle to look for a passing lane to a follower.
Aho v 2.0 – Cross the blue line and keep going north-south.
Hamilton v 1.0 – Plays with banged-up finger and gets accused of yet another slow start.
Hamilton v 2.0 – Finger fine; hang onto your beers.
Gardiner v 1.0 – Allow puck to leak past him over the blue line.
Gardiner v 2.0 – Keeps puck in o-zone and fires shots off fellow Canes players.
Wallmark v 1.0 – Plays with checking forwards and becomes a checking center with limited offensive production.
Wallmark v 2.0 – Plays with offensive-minded wings and scores goals and gathers up assists.
Fleury v 1.0 – Afraid to make mistakes so as to avoid ire of the coach and end up in the press box. Ends up making mistakes and sits on the bench with limited TOI.
Fleury v 2.0 – Comes into the season with fire in his belly, moves to his offside at the start of the season and helps propel the team to a 5-0 start and gets his long-awaited first goal.
Fleury v 3.0 – Sits in the press box.
Classic, and actually truth!
Wish they would play Fleury more, maybe his v4.0 would improve Gardiner’s v3.0?
raleightj1.0: Intelligent opinions about Canes hockey.
raleightj2.0: Intelligent and funny wise ass opinions about Canes hockey.
We all need to grow and develop.
Ha! Well-played! And thank you! 😀
Lol, the Gardner/Fleury commentary was nothing short of brilliant! (true too)
Not much to add here, oter than it’s really fun to see the team grow (or most of it at least)
I was in a mood this morning! LOL!
Teravainen is one of the most underrated stars in the entire league. dynamic offensively. excellent defensively. he’s learned to win puck battles along the boards even with a pretty small frame. he’s always in the right position to pick somebody’s pocket and start a transition the other way. and i absolutely LOVE watching him work the half-wall on the powerplay. he never gets sped up. he can stickhandle in a phone booth if guys are closing in on him, he’ll patiently hold it, find a passing lane, and get it to dougie at the point or aho down low. he’s so crafty, so smart… just an incredible hockey player. probably right there for team MVP along with svech and dougie so far. and that top line… i hope it stays together, because by season’s end it’ll be recognized as one of the best in hockey. maybe not quite on par with Boston’s ridiculous trio, but right there behind it alongside MacKinnon-Rantanen, and Landeskog (obviously when those guys are healthy), or Huberdeau-Barkov-Dadonov, or Ovi-Kuznetsov-Backstrom (or Wilson or whoever washington is lining up there these days).