Man crushes for everyone! But seriously, I want hair like Mony's.
Lol, I'm sure Mony gets plenty of love from female admirers. Seriously, dude looks like a guy out of a teen rom com movie. I wish I had hair like him too.
- He is leading his draft class in goals
- He's on pace for a similar yr, points wise, as last yr and is heating up so he could still surpass those numbers
- He scored 20 and then 30 goals and is looking like 30 yr in and yr out is not out of the question
- He's young and better than a lot of players older than him, in the league, and playing down the middle
I feel like Flames fans should be ecstatic about having this kid along with Gaudreau, Bennett, Hamilton and Brodie to build around. These players are all high end and young.
If we can find/develop a good young goalie and right handed RW with the same skill level, drive and competitiveness as those other young pillars I won't have a single thing to complain about.
I think frustrations around Monahan are valid. He's a very smart, very young player, but he doesn't seem to be growing his game to be a #1 centre. I don't see any progress in his game from last year to now, and that worries me.
What he does well, he does better than most in the league. He has a deadly shot in tight and can finish plays with the best of the best. But I don't see a progression in the areas he's weak in, which is playing the body and possession of the puck. I've rarely seen him drive possession into the zone, or make a play off the rush. That seems to be exclusively Gaudreau's role on the line and that makes me worried about the progression of his game in the likely chance that him and Johnny won't be linemates forever, (or even in the near future if Bennett becomes the player we hope he'll be).
The larger red flag I see with Monahan is his lack of physicality on the puck and the boards. He has a very active stick and he plays hard, but he's a big kid and he should be outmuscling opponents and I've been pulling my hair out too many times watching him shrug off the contact and seeing the play go past him.
I really like Monahan and I think he'll be a big part of the Flames going forward, but their success is going to rely on how he addresses some important holes in his game.
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Last edited by Cole436; 12-17-2015 at 10:34 AM.
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I really like Monahan and I think he'll be a big part of the Flames going forward, but their success is going to rely on how he addresses very minimal gaping holes in his game.
If our fate rests on Monahan being the unarguably best center in the league vs. just one of the best in the league, we're in trouble.
He's top 15 right now. No guy ahead of him or behind him doesn't have gaping holes in their game. Even Crosby and Toews.
I really like Monahan and I think he'll be a big part of the Flames going forward, but their success is going to rely on how he addresses very minimal gaping holes in his game.
Which way do you want it? Gaping holes aren't minimal. Minimal holes don't gape. You can either claim that Monahan has huge holes in his game and the whole team stands or falls by his ability to correct them, or that the holes in his game are not very large. Not both.
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I think frustrations around Monahan are valid. He's a very smart, very young player, but he doesn't seem to be growing his game to be a #1 centre. I don't see any progress in his game from last year to now, and that worries me.
What he does well, he does better than most in the league. He has a deadly shot in tight and can finish plays with the best of the best. But I don't see a progression in the areas he's weak in, which is playing the body and possession of the puck. I've rarely seen him drive possession into the zone, or make a play off the rush. That seems to be exclusively Gaudreau's role on the line and that makes me worried about the progression of his game in the likely chance that him and Johnny won't be linemates forever, (or even in the near future if Bennett becomes the player we hope he'll be).
The larger red flag I see with Monahan is his lack of physicality on the puck and the boards. He has a very active stick and he plays hard, but he's a big kid and he should be outmuscling opponents and I've been pulling my hair out too many times watching him shrug off the contact and seeing the play go past him.
I really like Monahan and I think he'll be a big part of the Flames going forward, but their success is going to rely on how he addresses very minimal gaping holes in his game.
I disagree completely with the bolded. Smart, reliable defensively, kills penalties, can be used in all sorts of situations, and scores 30 goals/year on top of that. If that's not #1 centre material I don't know what is.
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I disagree completely with the bolded. Smart, reliable defensively, kills penalties, can be used in all sorts of situations, and scores 30 goals/year on top of that. If that's not #1 centre material I don't know what is.
This.
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I disagree completely with the bolded. Smart, reliable defensively, kills penalties, can be used in all sorts of situations, and scores 30 goals/year on top of that. If that's not #1 centre material I don't know what is.
No to mention, in the summer the universal consensus around here was that he already was a #1C, and if he wasn't already he was well on his way. Does 1/3 into the season suddenly change that? Christ, if we went by what most of CP thought about our team early this season, then that would mean Gio's contract is an anchor that should be traded ASAP, Russell is the worst D in the league, and Hartley should have been fired 10 games into this season. It's almost like we shouldn't judge a player based on how the entire team was playing poorly to start the season...
For the first 15 games of the season it was like he was having his sophomore slump a year later. But is it really a slump? He's pretty much on pace for what he had last season. I'd say the frustrations around Monahan are completely invalid. He's turned his season around the last ~15 games and is clicking again as the #1C. He's also only 21. Maybe it's a crazy thought, but most 2 way centers really hit their strides when they approach the ages of 23-24 and up. Their complete game starts to round together. Does he have things he needs to work on? Obviously. But fans need to sit back and be patient with the guy.
Last edited by Huntingwhale; 12-17-2015 at 09:13 AM.
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All this #1 centre talk - definitions are so contested.
Would you put Monahan in the top 30 in his position league wide - I would say yes.
Is he elite/top 5 - no.
Does he need to be elite/top 5 for the Flames to have a good player to build around - no
I see Monahan long term as a guy who gets 25-30 goals, 55-70 points, plays the tough matchups on a winning team. He is almost there already. That for me is a #1 centre.
What he is not is an elite/HOF player - I think we were spoiled with Iginla in that regard, as not every team will get a guy like that. The Flames best chance for a guy like that is Gaudreau - he is the straw that stirs the drink, the one who elevates teammates. Not taking anything away from Monahan, and by saying this, that does not mean there is no love for him. Different types of players, and both types are needed for a great team
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