Congrats Johnny Gaudreau

[puckluck2]

Yep, the thing about elite passers is they dont aim for the player they're passing to, they aim for empty ice that only the player he wants can reach it. You saw it several times last night where Gaudreau would pass the puck in an area only a Flame could reach. I remember 2 cross ice passes that you barely see from a 10 year pro let alone a guy playing his first NHL game.

[Table 5]

Too bad Cammy is on his way out..he just might be the perfect sniper for Johnny to feed to. He always goes to those empty areas, just waiting to be set up.

[Rick M.]

How many goals will Monahan score next year with Johnny feeding him slick passes in front of the net? This could be great synergy just as Hakan Loob feeding Joe Niewendyk passes really led to great things (if the opposition cheated on Joe, Loob scored himself).

[BChockeyJunkie]

I know 80 is high but if he plays 82 games, i can't imagine he was less than 40 assists. so maybe 60 is a comfortable number, 80 as the ceiling.

[Cole436]

BChockeyjunkie, thanks for being a part of our community. We're so excited to have Johnny here.

It's a large request to any videographers (AC), but can we get a video of each of Johnny's shifts last night? It would be great to break down his ice time.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

SUSTAINABLE!

Actually, I don't even think Johnny moved his stick, which means he didn't actually "shoot" it. So he has one goal on zero shots, meaning his shooting % is undefined. Unstoppable!

That was the quietest tip-in I've ever seen. He doesn't whack at it, just let's it dribble off his blade. Petty calm for his first game!

[PeteMoss]

I hope he gets stronger this off-season. He looked good, but you're also holding your breath that he's going to get whalloped whenever he has the puck and I don't get similar feelings about other smaller guys like Byron/Cammy.

[sa226]

His skill set is undeniable.

But what surprised\encouraged me the most was how he won puck battles with a combination of quickness and body position.

The guy is 150 freakin pounds and he was in the corners fighting for the puck. Remember when Backlund\Boyd\Sven would all topple over with a breath of wind?

When you are that small you almost have to be scientific with picking your spots in battles, not just go into the corners without any thought.

I was supremely impressed with his puck battles last night.

[BChockeyJunkie]

Well I now have 2 teams, Flyers and Flames.... I've following the flames for 3 years now, so I've been a silent fan. But now that hes a offical part of the team - I am an offical fan of the flames. Can't wait for camp.

[sa226]

Double post

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I love your attitude, BC, but holy Hanna, 80 points? Are you sure hockey is the only thing you're a junkie for?

It's been mentioned before, but the only other players in the past fifteen years to begin their career within Gaudreau's NHLE were Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk. They registered rookie season outputs of 102 pts/81 GP, 72 pts/82 GP, 85 pts/78 GP, and 51 pts/65 GP respectively. The lowest average output from this elite group was 0.784 pts/game, so if Gaudreau fails to hit that mark next season, he will be the outlier. I know it is an extremely high expectation, and I understand the obstacles that will work against Gaudreau next year, but historically, 80 in 82 in his rookie season would seem to be within range. He IS a special player.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by sa226

Double post

His stick lifts were what impressed me. He's cheaper than the stick lifters on NHL14.

[Rick M.]

I can imagine him turbo-charging the Flames power play which should mean increased output from everyone.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by cole436

it's a large request to any videographers (ac), but can we get a video of each of johnny's shifts last night? It would be great to break down his ice time.

Yes please!

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by BChockeyJunkie

HELL YEA JOHNNY, I've been telling people from day 1 (draft day), this kid is set for greatness in the NHL, too much vision, too fast, too skilled. How does 80pts sound in his rookie year.... 25g 55a. The kid will boost the output of anyone on his line. His +/- for good to bad plays is the strenth of his game, the best play he has is a saucer pass cross ice on the tape to someone with a 10 ft radius of being open...... its all about vision and IQ.

80 points? Woa buddy... bring those expectations back down to earth I love JG as much as the next guy but we do have to be real here!

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It's been mentioned before, but the only other players in the past fifteen years to begin their career within Gaudreau's NHLE were Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk.

That's true. On the other hand, they were all younger than Gaudreau is now, and therefore could be expected to improve more from year to year. Also, it's not yet certain that Gaudreau will end up on the first line, which could make quite a difference to his stats.

I'd love to see him score 80 points and I'm not convinced it's impossible, but I think in this case, his NHLE stands a good chance of being fairly accurate. Mind you, a 60-point rookie year would be nothing to sneeze at.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It's been mentioned before, but the only other players in the past fifteen years to begin their career within Gaudreau's NHLE were Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk. They registered rookie season outputs of 102 pts/81 GP, 72 pts/82 GP, 85 pts/78 GP, and 51 pts/65 GP respectively. The lowest average output from this elite group was 0.784 pts/game, so if Gaudreau fails to hit that mark next season, he will be the outlier. I know it is an extremely high expectation, and I understand the obstacles that will work against Gaudreau next year, but historically, 80 in 82 in his rookie season would seem to be within range. He IS a special player.

What was the age of those players when they were given that ranking?

What is the difference, developmental wise, between a year of 17-18 or 18-19 and 20-21?

Serious questions because I am curious.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

80 points? Woa buddy... bring those expectations back down to earth I love JG as much as the next guy but we do have to be real here!

You know that Johnny's sister, right?

Speaking of which, thanks again BChockeyJunkie for breaking the news of the Gaudreau signing on CP a full 3 months before anyone else.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by gargamel

You know that Johnny's sister, right?

Speaking of which, thanks again BChockeyJunkie for breaking the news of the Gaudreau signing on CP a full 3 months before anyone else.

Actually, I know it isn't JG's sister.

[nixon45]

It's Kevin Hayes