Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Wow. I don't think I have Poirier in my top 10 anymore.
Tkachuk
Gillies
Jankowski
Kylington
Shinkaruk
Hickey
Andersson
Mangiapane
Wotherspoon
Pribyl
Hathaway
Kulak
Poirier
Yeah...13th.
I have to ask what you're seeing that I'm missing. From what I saw he took a massive step back last year in the offensive game, and a minor step forward in his defensive game. When he got a couple games in the NHL he looked like a minor league player, which is how he looked the first time up as well.
I'm not sure Emile's going to make it unless he has a much, much better year this year.
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I get that.
I did my best to watch quite a few Stockton games last year. I thought he was working hard to bring responsibility and adjustments to his game to make him a better NHLer. Effectively, he was being the anti-Sven. I'm not too put off by the drop in offensive numbers in that learning a new facet of the game can impact other areas. I'm hoping he has committed last year's lessons to muscle memory and this year sees him leverage that to better focus on his strengths.
From what I've read by other posters, I clearly value observable adjustment and commitment to development disproportionately. This is also why I rated Jankowski highly yet I'm not as big on Andersson as others may be. If he can't wrap his head around the importance of conditioning and work at it over the last 12 months, I have serious concerns that he'll be able to dedicate himself and work hard to make the necessary adjustments to his game in the pros. What good is a high ceiling when you're too lazy to work your way up the ladder?
I do think this is a make-or-break year for Poirier and I understand the skepticism.