Today’s Daily Cup of Joe has a small collection of quick hitter individual player notes.
Martin Necas
I am on record as thinking that Martin Necas might benefit from some time in the AHL. His skating and vision just have not translated to the NHL level yet, so I think he development is better served mastering the AHL, building confidence and rounding out his all-around game.
Aside from what is best for Necas, his situation also represents a significant challenge for Brind’Amour. More than any other player on the roster right now, he is challenging Brind’Amour’s ‘earn your ice time’ mantra. Despite his lack of production and in process two-way play, Necas has stayed in the lineup while a few other players have bumped in and out of the lineup.
Lucas Wallmark
It is not clear to me whether Wallmark’s ceiling will be more than a fourth line/depth center, but he continues to look pretty capable in that role. As a player who scored a bunch in the AHL in 2017-18, the potential is also there for things to suddenly click offensively. Regardless, I think Wallmark is gradually carving out a regular role as a depth forward. Ideally, the team becomes deep enough that it can push Wallmark down the fourth line regardless of what is built around him.
Jordan Staal
Despite Sebastian Aho’s higher scoring, Staal also has a strong claim to being the team’s best center early into the 2018-19 season. Staal continues to excel in terms of winning and maintaining puck possession. On top of that, a fortuitous burst of scoring with six points in six games has Staal contributing more like a prototypical top 6 forward.
Sebastian Aho
After a relatively quiet preseason, one had to wonder how Aho would fair in his first season as a center. The answer is mostly just fine but with room for improvement primarily on the defensive side of the puck. In Sunday’s win, Aho picked up a point, but at the same time he went 1 for 10 the face-off circle. On the offensive side of the puck, Aho continues to grow as a player and projects to be exactly the top line scoring center that the Hurricanes need to balance out Staal’s defense-leaning line.
Netting it out
Based on the 2018-19 season thus far, the center position is three for four in my book. Though he is still learning in some areas, Aho looks to be exactly the scoring leader desired for a true top scoring line. As long as Aho’s line produces, Jordan Staal fits nicely in a second line slot even if his scoring is a little bit light. Finally, I see Wallmark now as a viable fourth-line center. That leaves Necas. He still projects to be a second scoring line center, but the time line is not clear and right now I am on record as preferring to send him to Charlotte.
What say you Canes fans?
1) Are you pleasantly surprised with the current level of play for the centers?
2) What are your thoughts on each of the individual centers?
Go Canes!
Meh, I’d like to start with Staal who has been a HORSE, AND THEN SOME! If he didn’t score, the rest of his game would still be enough, but the scoring is a BONUS!
Aho has been good, but will be great, if and when he gets better on the draws.
Wallmark has been ok, and we don’t have any other centers who appear to be an upgrade.
Necas has a lot of tools but he needs to put them to better use, and I think that a stint in Charlotte, to work on it would be a smart move.
Rask, when he returns, doesn’t seem like a very good replacement, so I hope that the GMssss (all eight of them) -grinn- come up with a better idea. My guess is that they are unlikely to acquire another C, (but I wish they would) maybe we could see a Checker brought up to fill the position?
Agree with all of this. Based on how the lines are working, shouldn’t we consider the Necas line as the 4th line? Shouldn’t they be getting the fewest minutes?
I’d give Necas a couple more games to see if it suddenly clicks, but he definitely should spend time in Charlotte soon. Would guess that KK or Roy would be next up.
Seems like we’re still likely months away from Rask’s return, but I’d feel pretty good at this point about Aho-Staal-Rask-Wallmark.
Aho- has been better than expected in all phases.
Defensively he has challenged many guys and able to make plays with his stick.
Offensively he has a point in every game so far, to include carrying the team in the 3rd period and OT in Minnesota.
Faceoffs- he is a top 20-25 guy. Pretty impressive.
Well on his way to being a 1C in the league
Staal has been the workhorse when HCRB shrinks the bench to 2, maybe 3, lines. I hope he doesn’t get burnt out as we have 4 days off between strings of 3 games in 4 nights.
Necas- not should go down, needs to go down. Great player just not ready to be a center at 19. That isn’t a dig at him either.
Wallmark has done well in all three phases. He is a strong faceoff guy too. He should be a very solid 3rd line or 4th line center, depending on his wingers. Capable of making plays for goal scoring wingers but can win faceoffs and play sound positioning as a 4th liner.
Question is who is the other center for the squad? McKegg? Trade candidate? We still have 5 weeks until we typically see trades.
Necas is competing for ice time – not competing with someone else for ice time but competing for time on the ice. Other players getting moved in and out of the lineup are doing so because there are other players on the team who can fill in. There really is no other competition for center spot – not in Raleigh, unless you want to jimmy the other lines, which are producing, around. And I still think O/M/C is still focussed on keeping him here – although that could easily change based on RBA’s ongoing assessment.
But I really don’t know if there is anyone in Charlotte at this time who can step up and play center on NHL ice.
Necas may be giving up opportunities on ice but he is not making plays that directly yield opposing goals. If he starts giving up goals the time for reckoning will be sooner rather than later.
I’ve been quite critical of Necas, but I do want to give him some credit. Early in the game was the best I’ve seen Necas play 5 on 5. A big part of that was Zykov. He played his best game to date yesterday. The first shift for the Necas line Zykov controlled the puck on the boards, created room for Necas who fed McGinn for a one timer in the high slot. Perfect! As rough as it’s been for Necas I could see he needs some help from linemates, too. Someone has to make room for him. Zykov flashed last night, but still needs to do more.
Wallmark is an upgrade from Rask. Both are solid defensively at their best, but Wallmark’s offensive vision is much better than Rask’s. Rask does have a nice shot, but shows little else in the offensive zone, IMO. To date Wallmark has been pretty consistent. Rask’s history is of inconsistency. When Rask returns I think he might be help for Necas on his line.
Aho and Staal are performing beyond expectations so far. Both will probably cool off. Staal definitely will. Pucks aren’t going to keep bouncing off his body into the net every other game. Hopefully Brind’Amour will get Aho’s faceoff game where it needs to be. Not sure what’s going on but all the Canes are getting tossed from the circle at a high rate.
I’m not surprised by the play of any of our centers so far this season, good or not as good.
Aho: well on his way to being a 1C.
Staal: a horse every shift. I think his scoring can rise over previous seasons if other lines continue to put pressure on the opposing teams.
Wallmark: he’s a gamer and is making his line a real force. Their chemistry is just as good as the Aho/Staal lines.
Necas: needs more time. He isn’t costing us games and will figure it out. I think that line needs a more experienced player who can drag them forward. In the meantime, he’s our best option so let him grow and let us keep accumulating points.
Yes, I was impressed with Necas game yesterday, especially early.
I still think he’d be better served with some seasoning in Charlotte, but it´s nice to see flashes of what he can, and probably will, turn out to be.
I still wish the Canes could just go shopping for Nylander, give him some money on a short to medium term deal and take another step forward, but there’s plenty of fun on this ride as is.
I was absolutely dead cerain the Canes would not hold out yesterday, yu could just see last year’s panic mentality and breakdowns creep in with 5 minutes to go. But this is the Canes playing one of the best teams, rested, on the road, so I don’t mind it. I’d say the Canes would win this game at least 7 out of every 10 times.
1) Not surprised. Center is actually a future (maybe as soon as later this year) strength of the Canes.
2) Aho was one of the best 3 players at the recent World Championship. He is an elite center. What we have seen the past 6 games will continue–and likely get better. Staal is a beast all over the ice and with Foegele and a newly-energized Williams has a chance for 55+ points. Wallmark is playing well and I expect he will start having more of an impact on the scoresheet. He is living up to “the most NHL-ready player in the AHL” title that he received last season. I would like to see Necas hone his game in Charlotte. I think I mentioned that a Saarela/Necas/Pu line would likely be the fastest in the AHL and would help Necas develop.
If Necas goes down, I would like to see Bishop brought up. I think Kuokkanen is going to be an above-average playmaker and Roy is going to be a disruptive C or RW. However, with his skating and tenacity, I think Bishop could make a more immediate impact on a secondary disruption line and on the penalty kill.