Will this be a breakout year for... Noah Hanifin? - Page 3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Enoch Root · 01-31-2021, 11:18 AM

I thought last night was Hanifin's best game yet this year. His confidence is growing.

dammage79 · 01-31-2021, 11:21 AM

Since Gios Norris year I've noticed he is the literal worst at telegraphing his plays or shots. Its horrendous. I believe its one reason why they've made a concerted effort to draw back his usage.

GioforPM · 01-31-2021, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dammage79

Since Gios Norris year I've noticed he is the literal worst at telegraphing his plays or shots. Its horrendous. I believe its one reason why they've made a concerted effort to draw back his usage.

37 years old. I think he’s been overdue for a decline. No pms this year either which may not be that great a sign.

Erick Estrada · 01-31-2021, 01:58 PM

Happy to see Hanafin progress. I've never been down on him like some as he's been solid but unspectacular but given where he was drafted you hope for more. So far to open up the season he looks like he's stepped things up and showing potential to be that top pairing guy.

1qqaaz · 01-31-2021, 02:00 PM

It looks like this may very well be a breakout year defensively. He could be be a top paring defenseman, which is exactly what the Flames need from him.

I doubt he ever breaks out offensively (basically no defensemen break out offensively after the age of 24). But that doesn't mean he can't be a top pairing guy. Plus, if he's good defensively, it allows his partner to be the more offensively active guy in the pair.

N-E-B · 01-31-2021, 02:05 PM

Hanifin has definitely stepped his game up. Tanev works really well with him.

bubbsy · 01-31-2021, 02:11 PM

He has looked fantastic. Tanev is soo much better at the new age defensive dman than hamonic, it's pretty sad actually.

That being said, I think Hanafin has been way better, as an individual, and deserves a ton of credit. Hope he keeps pushing, he's looked tremendous.

Classic_Sniper · 01-31-2021, 02:13 PM

I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised with Hanifin’s game this year. His defensive game has grown and his decision making has been better. Obviously a small sample size, but at the very least, boneheaded stuff has been less pronounced. I’m still not 100% sold on his offensive game or his cap hit, but I would like the team to start utilizing him more on special teams, especially on the PK. Valimaki is made of glass and the shots he’s been taking scare me a bit.

But I don’t think we can talk about Hanifin’s growth this season without mentioning Chris Tanev impact though. I think some here may remember I was a big fan of the signing, but wow has he been even better than advertised. I remember thinking that there was some slight overpayment, but if he can continue this even strength excellence, then heck, he’s a bargain.

Classic_Sniper · 01-31-2021, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbsy

He has looked fantastic. Tanev is soo much better at the new age defensive dman than hamonic, it's pretty sad actually.

That being said, I think Hanafin has been way better, as an individual, and deserves a ton of credit. Hope he keeps pushing, he's looked tremendous.

Harmonic wasn’t even an option for me. His was always pretty overrated. Brodie vs Tanev though, that was an interesting decision. Glad the Flames went with Tanev though.

I think his leadership qualities and assertiveness on defense compliments this team more. The cap savings are nice too. As crazy as it might be to think, I think he’s a better puck mover than Brodie too. Maybe not in the plays he can make necessarily, but less shouting at my TV screen that’s for sure.

schteve_d · 01-31-2021, 02:24 PM

I love present Hanifin and I have high hopes for his future here. I feel like Flames fans have taken him somewhat for granted. I'm constantly amazed at how many trade proposals he comes up in on this board.

He still has lots of time to improve and if we can hang on to him I think he'll be a solid core player here for a long time.

TheScorpion · 01-31-2021, 02:28 PM

Yeah, I've become a big fan of Hanifin. Looks like a top-pairing guy this year.

bubbsy · 01-31-2021, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schteve_d

I love present Hanifin and I have high hopes for his future here. I feel like Flames fans have taken him somewhat for granted. I'm constantly amazed at how many trade proposals he comes up in on this board.

He still has lots of time to improve and if we can hang on to him I think he'll be a solid core player here for a long time.

To be fair, he's been more noticeable, in a good way, in the last 7 games, than any such stretch over the last 2 years.

I don't think that this is a case of underrating, but a maturation of a player and perhaps finally being slotted with a partner who allows him to succeed. I suppose that this shouldn't be such a surprise, he looked better almost as soon as hamonic was removed from the pairing last season also.

Classic_Sniper · 01-31-2021, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schteve_d

I love present Hanifin and I have high hopes for his future here. I feel like Flames fans have taken him somewhat for granted. I'm constantly amazed at how many trade proposals he comes up in on this board.

He still has lots of time to improve and if we can hang on to him I think he'll be a solid core player here for a long time.

Well to be fair, up until this season, his offensive game and defensive game left a lot to be desired. He doesn’t play a lot of special teams either and at his high price tag in a flat cap (like, he makes more money than Elias Lindholm!), I think the criticism was more than fair. But to his credit, his defensive game has taken a leap forward and his partnership with Tanev has been a revelation.

schteve_d · 01-31-2021, 03:30 PM

Fair enough. Up until this season he was a 22 and 23 year old defenseman!

GioforPM · 01-31-2021, 05:04 PM

The notion of pairing Hanifin with a more defensive guy always made sense. It’s just the Hamonic didn’t have the wheels or hockey IQ to match him well. Tanev has more mobility and I think his hockey IQ is way up there.

marsplasticeraser · 01-31-2021, 06:11 PM

It’s crazy how bad hamonic was with every single of his d partners.

He has to be one of the biggest misses in a trade for flames ever. Not only was he mediocre, but he consistently made his partners so much worse.

marsplasticeraser · 01-31-2021, 06:13 PM

It’s crazy how bad hamonic was with every single of his d partners.

He has to be one of the biggest misses in a trade for flames ever. Not only was he mediocre, but he consistently made his partners so much worse.

robertsfanatic · 01-31-2021, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I doubt he ever breaks out offensively (basically no defensemen break out offensively after the age of 24).

our captain's best offensive seasons were after age 24

1qqaaz · 02-01-2021, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertsfanatic

our captain's best offensive seasons were after age 24

The stat is that only 2 defensemen in the league who were first round picks had their first 40 point seasons after the age of 24 (Trouba and McDonaugh, both only put up good numbers for two years or so before regressing again).

For non-first round picks, it happens relatively regularly (Chara, Giordano, Spurgeon, Gustafsson).

But Hanafin isn't that far off. He has hit the 30-point plateau twice without ever having that much powerplay time.
He's good enough offensively. I just doubt he'll ever be a juggernaut of any sort.

Vinny01 · 02-01-2021, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

The stat is that only 2 defensemen in the league who were first round picks had their first 40 point seasons after the age of 24 (Trouba and McDonaugh, both only put up good numbers for two years or so before regressing again).

Where did you get this stat from?

Just a quick glance at hockeydb and I would add John Carlson to this list.