Half way through the season: Player Grades

[Karl]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Hiller and Raymond I'll give you. But Bollig, what did you expect? Last season, he played 62 games, scored 5 points and took a bunch of penalties. This season, he's on to play 62 games, score 4 points and take a bunch of penalties. For me, he's performing as I expected.

If you're giving him a failing grade, then for me you are expecting too much from him.

To be a bit better at actually playing hockey than McGrattan, Westgarth & Jackman (not just as good as Grats & Westgarth and worse than Jackman) if not be close to the talent level of Tom Kostopolous.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Karl

To be a bit better at actually playing hockey than McGrattan, Westgarth & Jackman (not just as good as Grats & Westgarth and worse than Jackman) if not be close to the talent level of Tom Kostopolous.

Yes. He was still fairly young when we acquired him, so I was hoping that he would turn into a Kostopolous-type player as well. Kostopolous was as consistent as it gets for a 4th liner. He scored 20-22 points 5 times in a 7 year period. The other 2 years were due to AHL time and a major injury.

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by FBI

Well we've officially reached the half way point of not such a great season here. Time to get out my frustrations and hand out some player grades.

Gaudreau: A+
On pace for: 82gp, 36-48=84
Not much to say here. No sophomore slump, he's the catalyst for our offense. Exceptional season.

Brodie: A
On pace for: 73gp, 9-41=50
Basically our #1 D this year. Our defense solidified big time when he came back. Check out those assist totals even missing 9 games.

Bennett: B-
On pace for: 81gp, 12-18=30
Points haven't been coming but is definitely playing the right way and might explode soon.

Frolik: B-
On pace for: 71gp, 16-21=37
Pretty much as expected, decent player for us so far.

Jones: C+
On pace for: 82gp, 16-10=26
Gets the plus for scoring some goals early. Super streaky though and I imagine he'll be gone pretty soon.

Ramo: C+
Stats: 2.61 GAA, 0.910 SV%
Horrendous start, but redeeming himself.

Monahan: C
On pace for: 82 gp, 26-30=56
Not quite as solid as last year, hoping he picks it up more.

Hamilton: C
On pace for: 82gp, 12-18=30
Horrendous start but looking pretty good now and am excited about his potential.

Giordano: C
On pace for: 82gp, 20-30=50
Rough start after the injury like most of the team. Picking it up lately and still getting a good chunk of points.

Ferland: C
On pace for: 74gp, 4-13=17
Pretty slow going to start and certainly not like last years playoffs but is definitely picking it up lately and I still think we have a big time player here in the future.

Russell: C-
On pace for: 79gp, 4-20=24
Still doing well on blocking shots and seems to be helping stabilize Hamilton.

Granlund: C-
On pace for: 61gp, 9-3=12
Meh, see my other thread on him heh..

Stajan: C-
On pace for: 82gp, 8-10=18
Pretty invisible most of the season but playing ok defensively I guess. Scoring some goals lately.

Smid: D+
Hasn't done anything great but nothing bad either. I'm just glad he's able to play again.

Engelland: D+
On pace for: 76gp, 0-4=4
Same as Smid, can't really blame him for our suckiness.

Backlund: D
On pace for: 82gp, 10-26=36
Pretty underwhelming season so far. Was hoping for more.

Hudler: D
On pace for: 76gp, 10-32=42
Maybe a bit harsh if the injury was bugging him the whole season, but what a brutal season in a contract year.

Colborne: D
On pace for: 77gp, 10-21=31
Was expecting more from this guy in the same way I was expecting more from Backlund.

Hartley: D
Doesn't seem to be adjusting too well to teams figuring the flames out. Powerplay and penalty killing are unfathomably the worst in the league. Gets the D instead of the F for the 11 game home winning streak. Honorable mention to Gelinas F for special teams.

Wideman: D-
On pace for: 82gp, 4-34=38
Such an off year. 2 goals?? And Blah defensively.

Jooris: D-
On pace for: 68gp, 7-7=14
Pretty disappointed especially compared to last year.

Raymond: F
On pace for: 66gp, 7-2=9
Please get off the team.

Bollig: F
On pace for: 62gp, 2-2=4
Please get off the team.

Hiller: F
Stats: 3.76 GAA 0.862 SV%
Good luck in the future but it won't be with us.

Ortio: F
Kid never got a chance and sucked in his tiny opportunity and now is playing poor in Stockton

Bouma: N/A
Incomplete due to injury. Trending towards not so good though. Hope he picks it up soon.

I'm interested in everyone else's grades, if I seem too harsh or too nice.

It's almost on par grading.

I'd put Ferland up at C+ or even a B- and give Bennett a C+ just for his pretty boy face.

[JJ1532]

Originally Posted by Karl

To be a bit better at actually playing hockey than McGrattan, Westgarth & Jackman (not just as good as Grats & Westgarth and worse than Jackman) if not be close to the talent level of Tom Kostopolous.

Why? When did he ever give you the idea that he was capable of that?

[DoubleF]

You have a pulse, you get an F.
- Bollig
- Raymond
- Smid
- Engelland
- Russell
- Wideman


Jokes of course, but I feel like that's how a few fans think. I don't like your contract... you fail regardless. But IMO, contract should have nothing to do with the grading expectation. It should be a realistic expectation to who they are vs what they achieved.


Personally, I think:

Met/Exceeded
- Gaudreau (No slump)
- Brodie (injury didn't slow him down)
- Bennett (Dev going well)
- Ferland (adding facets to game)

Expectations met... +/- ish (Just because they're here doesn't mean I think they're a core player going forward or am against replacing them. It just means, they are as advertised and performed as what I expected)
- Smid (He's a 5/6 playing 5/6)
- Engelland (He's a 5/6 playing 5/6)
- Jooris
- Stajan
- Jones
- Frolik (As advertised)
- Hamilton (Still catching up but looks a lot better now, overhyped him to Brodie 2.0 part of the issue)
- Monahan (not next step yet, but same old for now)
- Ramo (didn't do 3 headed monster well, has a hot streak which Hiller doesn't have yet. Bonus points for his new pads)
- Raymond (couldn't figure out if he even had a spot on this roster. Waived. If anything, exceeded expectations. I can say that and still feel bad for the guy)
- Backlund
- Wideman (didn't expect him to repeat last year... seems like Wideman of old)
- Colborne
- Bollig

Below
- Bouma (Injuries kept him from playing. Just unfortunate I think)
- Gio (injuries holding him back, but improving. He has lots of ground to make up, but things are looking good)
- Hiller (Illness, injury, etc. not meeting performance targets. Might not get a chance to redeem himself before being shipped out)
- Ortio (Dunno what happened. 3 headed monster messed him up?)
- Russell (better when he stays at home/passes. Redeemable? I would say met, but I feel like he has made some tweaks to his game that aren't working out. Same boat as Gio)
- Hudler (Is injuries the only explanation? Didn't expect him to repeat last year, but not this bad either.)

Even if I say meet expectations. It doesn't mean I actually expected anything from them or necessarily prefer them on the roster, it just means it wasn't worse than I had hoped.

[GioforPM]

If we are basing grades on expectations (which is really all you can do - how can you grade a Bollig otherwise), I agree with FF's concepts and most of his grades. I put Bennett a little lower, because I expected a lot out of him, rightly or wrongly, and I am not sure all the effort has been well-directed. Ferland has met expectations but only recently.

I do think Hamilton is going to be in the first group soon - his grade is very much hampered by his start.

[Strange Brew]

The OP's grades reflect my thinking very closely. The Flames are 26th overall and only 6 points from last. Yes the are still rebuilding but that is a disappointment based on my expectations, the personnel additions from last year and the fact they are basically a max cap team. So to me, the team overall grades out at a C- so far.

When assigning grades, I think it makes sense to assign the grade relative to the players cap hit. That is the most objective measure of expectations IMO.

On that basis, Monahan and Bennett could be pushed a little higher.

[FBI]

So much for Bennett on pace for 12 goals!

[Parallex]

I'm going to assign grades on a near equal number of letters (So an near equal number of A-F's).

"A" Players: Gaudreau, Brodie, Frolik, Giordano
"B" Players: Backlund, Bennett, Monahan, Hamilton, Ferland
"C" Players: Jones, Stajan, Ramo, Jooris, Hudler
"D" Players: Granlund, Colborne, Russell, Engelland
"F" Players: Bollig, Raymond, Hiller, Wideman, Smid

*No I didn't forget Bouma... he get's a "Incomplete" on account of only playing 11 games (Put Ortio and Grant into that category too).

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Parallex

I'm going to assign grades on a near equal number of letters (So an near equal number of A-F's).

"A" Players: Gaudreau, Brodie, Frolik, Giordano
"B" Players: Backlund, Bennett, Monahan, Hamilton, Ferland
"C" Players: Jones, Stajan, Ramo, Jooris, Hudler
"D" Players: Granlund, Colborne, Russell, Engelland
"F" Players: Bollig, Raymond, Hiller, Wideman, Smid

*No I didn't forget Bouma... he get's a "Incomplete" on account of only playing 11 games (Put Ortio and Grant into that category too).

Backlund has been that much better than Wideman? Wideman hasn't been good this season, especially not recently, but he hasn't been F bad.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Wideman hasn't been good this season, especially not recently, but he hasn't been F bad.

I was on the fence about Wideman. Is there someone that you'd swap him for that I listed as a "D"?

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by Parallex

I'm going to assign grades on a near equal number of letters (So an near equal number of A-F's).

"A" Players: Gaudreau, Brodie
"B" Players: Ramo, Bennett, Monahan, Hamilton, Ferland, Frolik, Giordano
"C" Players: Backlund, Jones, Stajan, Russell
"D" Players: Granlund, Colborne, Engelland, Jooris, Hudler, Smid, Wideman
"F" Players: Bollig, Raymond, Hiller

*No I didn't forget Bouma... he get's a "Incomplete" on account of only playing 11 games (Put Ortio and Grant into that category too).

Fixed your grades. Ignoring the pre-Bordie games (everyone except Gaudreau gets a F for those games).

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Parallex

I was on the fence about Wideman. Is there someone that you'd swap him for that I listed as a "D"?

I guess in terms of swapping, not really.