Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Agreed, but with the rather notable caveat that his NHL success was attributed almost entirely to his incredible straight-ahead foot-speed. Lombardi tantalised fans with how many odd-man opportunities he would generate or become part of, simply because he skated faster than everyone else on the ice. However, his problem was a frustrating lack of finish.
I will say this again: Lombardi is an very, VERY poor comparable player from which to project expectations for Poirier. Poirier has similar skating abilities, but he is bigger, stronger, handles the puck better, is a better shooter and passer, and thinks the game at a higher level. Poirier is better in practically every respect than Lombardi was, and it's not even that close.
I don't share macrov's projection of Poirier as a franchise winger. My point in posting was to show how utterly horrible your comparison was between Poirier and Lombardi. If Poirier turns out to be not much better than Lombardi, then we should consider this pick something of a bust. The good news is that he has everything going for him to suggest that he will be a top-six winger.
Just a terrible, terrible comparison.
I disagree. Based on his skill set and his development curve to date, we should expect Poirier to be a top six winger, with the potential to be a top-line—perhaps even elite—winger. We should not expect less than this, and if he tops out on the third line, people should be disappointed.
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I feel this is suggesting Lombardi was not a top six player. During his prime years of 2008-2010, he was definitely a top six player for both us and the 'Yotes. Heck, it could be argued our top six never recovered in 08-09 when we traded him for Jokinen. He put up 46 points in 69 games that year, and the 53 in 78 the next year. Unfortunately concussions killed the potential he was beginning to show.
First round picks (especially outside the top ten) are not guarantees, and I may not be as old as most of you, but I remember the hype we had around Lombo when he put up 120 points in the Q in 01-02.
My point is we need to temper expectations on our prospects. And if Poirier turns into a more consistent Matt Lombardi with more grit and better hands, we'll have a great player on our hands.