Former Flame Ruzicka eyeing NHL comeback

[Monahammer]

I think we should give Rosie a chance too. Tons of NHLers enjoy nose beers, most of them don't post in on instagram of course. I hope that experience allowed him to get the help he needed to set himself back on track. However, I highly doubt that the KHL is heavy on substance abuse mitigation...

26 and had 1 ppg in the KHL playoffs after a good season with 26 goals. 37th overall in points in the KHL last season, 12th overall in goals.
Does anyone know if the KHL awards second assists? They didn't used to but may have started.

[Monahammer]

Former flame Josh Leivo is the KHL's top goalscorer, in case anyone was wondering lol

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

I mean, if his substance abuse is behind him and his GAF meter is now where it needs to be, he certainly has the talent.

Personally I think the GAF-meter is one of the hardest things to change in someone. Some can eventually find other things to motivate them (ie. the money), but personally I think it's always a big red flag...especially for someone who isn't elite. You can be a bit lazy if you have Mogilny/Hull levels of skill, but not if you're someone easily replaceable.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I think the Flames exhausted their patience since this player, hence the waivers.

Then there's the unanswered questions regarding his NHL eligibility. He had 60 days to appeal his contract termination by the Coyotes and it does not appear that he excercised it. The NHLPA most certainly filed a grievance citing the circumstances.

Just seems there's some loose ends to this story.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Personally I think the GAF-meter is one of the hardest things to change in someone. Some can eventually find other things to motivate them (ie. the money), but personally I think it's always a big red flag...especially for someone who isn't elite. You can be a bit lazy if you have Mogilny/Hull levels of skill, but not if you're someone easily replaceable.

I agree. I would rather give more of the young players already in the system the opportunity, rather than this chump.

There were moments where he looked like something. But there were more moments where he didn't.

[Ba'alzamon]

For me it's mostly that there are a lot of left-shot forwards in the organization, and one of them (Honzek) is literally a younger, better version of what Ruzicka is.

I do still think there's a player in Ruzicka, though.

[Tron_fdc]

If the guy was singing Line ol Ritchie at a pro level it probably had a factor i his day on/day off performance.

Not sure I'd put him back into the same environment where he has had past access to it though. I mean, if you want it you can find it but I'd maybe put him in a market like Salt Lake where you can just get addicted to opiods.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

rather than this chump.

Chump might he an ol timey word but this is the exact same thing you got upset with Bettuzzied about recently.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

If the guy was singing Line ol Ritchie at a pro level it probably had a factor i his day on/day off performance.

Not sure I'd put him back into the same environment where he has had past access to it though. I mean, if you want it you can find it but I'd maybe put him in a market like Salt Lake where you can just get addicted to opiods.

Cocaine is everywhere in North America. Young people are drinking less but using more substances than we did (assuming you are Gen X/Late Millennial). There is no safe place to go, if you have a problem.

Ruzicka got busted being an idiot and sending out an instagram story, that was meant for friends, to the public. He may have never actually had an addiction, in the sense he was using every day. It may have been a combo of a player who didn't work hard, was putting up bad numbers, and was partying way too much.

Arizona saw his talent, claimed him off waivers, and then saw that he wasn't really trying after getting him into the organization. They took the excuse to get out of contract. Did Ruzicka ever even enter the Substance Abuse Program?

A lot of people in here might be pretty shocked to know just how many players are engaging in the types of activities that Ruzicka did. Cocaine is a favorite among people who get drug tested, as its out of your system very quickly. For non-heavy users, you're probably looking at a clean test 2-3 days post usage. Unlike, for example, marijuana which can show up weeks later.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I think we should give Rosie a chance too. Tons of NHLers enjoy nose beers, most of them don't post in on instagram of course. I hope that experience allowed him to get the help he needed to set himself back on track. However, I highly doubt that the KHL is heavy on substance abuse mitigation...

26 and had 1 ppg in the KHL playoffs after a good season with 26 goals. 37th overall in points in the KHL last season, 12th overall in goals.
Does anyone know if the KHL awards second assists? They didn't used to but may have started.

I think that door has long closed, If Conroy thought he could somehow straighten the ship with him - he'd probably go that route before putting him on waivers.

[Eric Vail]

Given that he is 26, I think his window as a prospect has closed. Maybe someone will offer him a two-way deal for depth in case of injuries.

I don't think he will ever be a regular NHL player.

If he was 22, I'd still see potential.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Given that he is 26, I think his window as a prospect has closed. Maybe someone will offer him a two-way deal for depth in case of injuries.

I don't think he will ever be a regular NHL player.

If he was 22, I'd still see potential.

He's putting up good numbers in the KHL and is definitely good enough to get a PTO somewhere. If he showed up at camp and hustled, I think he could get a contract.

A lot of posters are talking about how people never change. Anecdotally, I know a lot of people who were partyers who never put in work. Then made sudden changes in their mid twenties and developed into mild mannered and hard working people. So it is possible to change. Missing out on the chance to play in the NHL could be the motivation for that change he needs.

Honestly, even before the whole drug debacle, he was never consistently good. He is a big body with adequate skating and release, but not really capable of much more. People are talking about him like he has crazy playmaking or stickhandling skills. He doesn't. The NHL is always littered with big players, who feasted on smaller guys outside of the NHL, but don't quite have the skills to make it consistently in the big show.

[Bonded]

Could see a cap strapped team giving him a PTO as a trial. Don’t see the need or fit on the current version of the Flames. I think most people who want to bring him back are just remembering the flashes and not the rest of the games where he might as well have been invisible.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by blankall

Honestly, even before the whole drug debacle, he was never consistently good. He is a big body with adequate skating and release, but not really capable of much more. People are talking about him like he has crazy playmaking or stickhandling skills. He doesn't. The NHL is always littered with big players, who feasted on smaller guys outside of the NHL, but don't quite have the skills to make it consistently in the big show.

Yeah, I don’t care about the drug thing at all. The only red flag there is that he was dumb enough to make it public. Take that away and he was still just an okay 4th rounder that went on a 20 game heater and otherwise looked like a 10-20 point 4th line center with inconsistent effort and below average faceoff numbers. The one season where he looked like maybe he could do something he went and finished pointless in 19 games and then followed it up with another replacement level season in Arizona.

Would be cool to see him actually turn into something and figure it all out, but ideally it’s another team burning a roster spot on the off chance that happens.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Yeah, I don’t care about the drug thing at all. The only red flag there is that he was dumb enough to make it public. Take that away and he was still just an okay 4th rounder that went on a 20 game heater and otherwise looked like a 10-20 point 4th line center with inconsistent effort and below average faceoff numbers. The one season where he looked like maybe he could do something he went and finished pointless in 19 games and then followed it up with another replacement level season in Arizona.

Would be cool to see him actually turn into something and figure it all out, but ideally it’s another team burning a roster spot on the off chance that happens.

I don't care about it from a moral point of view if someone wants to use cocaine. My main issue with it was that he seemed to be promoting it. If people want to dabble in it, that's fine, but keep it on the down low and in moderation. While I don't have an issue with it, it's not a healthy thing to do and I wouldn't want a player around who promotes it as a lifestyle choice. The video he posted suggests that he wasn't moderating his use and that he wanted to promote it as glamorous. Sitting in a room alone using drugs is a seriously warning sign that the person isn't just a moderate social user, but that they might have a bigger problem.

Granted, I think the video was quite possibly just him peacocking and showing off to friends and maybe not a glimpse of him falling into addiction. That also doesn't sit well with me either just like how Evander Kane posting images showing off his stacks of cash in Vegas didn't. It's just low class.

Having said that, I agree with others that people can change. Sometimes it's not even a matter of changing because often people just do something stupid stuff outside of their normal character.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by blankall

Cocaine is everywhere in North America. Young people are drinking less but using more substances than we did (assuming you are Gen X/Late Millennial). There is no safe place to go, if you have a problem.

Ruzicka got busted being an idiot and sending out an instagram story, that was meant for friends, to the public. He may have never actually had an addiction, in the sense he was using every day. It may have been a combo of a player who didn't work hard, was putting up bad numbers, and was partying way too much.

Arizona saw his talent, claimed him off waivers, and then saw that he wasn't really trying after getting him into the organization. They took the excuse to get out of contract. Did Ruzicka ever even enter the Substance Abuse Program?

A lot of people in here might be pretty shocked to know just how many players are engaging in the types of activities that Ruzicka did. Cocaine is a favorite among people who get drug tested, as its out of your system very quickly. For non-heavy users, you're probably looking at a clean test 2-3 days post usage. Unlike, for example, marijuana which can show up weeks later.

Oh yeah, it's minimum 4 players or so per NHL team from what I've anecdotally heard. With some teams just full on partying together on it. Especially the Flames in that '06 - '10 range. They were absolutely unhinged at times.