Roman Frickin Horak!

[Stampede2TheCup]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Very excited about Horak and very happy he is playing so well.

However, when I see 10 goals/1 assist I start getting a little worried. I think of guys like Kobasew or Moss that just never rounded out their game, and would pitch in that flat goal rate every year but couldn't contribute on any other level. Ultimately we know how they ended up. The fact that he has that many goals this early though keeps me optimistic and I am not trying to rain on the parade (10 goals in 9 games, WOW), just wondering if anyone else shares my concerns OR has some light to shed on areas of his game that are strong I am not aware of.

His goal-heavy stats are just from short-term variance this year. He was Howse's playmaker in junior. He's been touted for and made the Flames team out of camp last year largely because of his overall hockey sense and solid defensive play rounding out his game. It's exciting to see his scoring develop at the pro level, but he's not a one-trick pony relying only on goals to contribute.

[moon]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Very excited about Horak and very happy he is playing so well.

However, when I see 10 goals/1 assist I start getting a little worried. I think of guys like Kobasew or Moss that just never rounded out their game, and would pitch in that flat goal rate every year but couldn't contribute on any other level. Ultimately we know how they ended up. The fact that he has that many goals this early though keeps me optimistic and I am not trying to rain on the parade (10 goals in 9 games, WOW), just wondering if anyone else shares my concerns OR has some light to shed on areas of his game that are strong I am not aware of.

I haven't watched a ton of Heat games (and by that I mean I have watched one) but I think right now his hot pace is based largely on the small sample size. It is always better to be scoring than not scoring but it will be more interesting to see what is happening after, 30/40/50 games and if he is able to keep up a regular pace.

The good thing in his game now seems to be that he is putting himself in position to score these goals which may not translate into a direct relation to what he will do in the NHL but may be showing us something about his overall hockey sense which could be a good aspect to his NHL career even if it doesn't translate to goals.

[sworkhard]

Originally Posted by moon

I haven't watched a ton of Heat games (and by that I mean I have watched one) but I think right now his hot pace is based largely on the small sample size. It is always better to be scoring than not scoring but it will be more interesting to see what is happening after, 30/40/50 games and if he is able to keep up a regular pace.

The good thing in his game now seems to be that he is putting himself in position to score these goals which may not translate into a direct relation to what he will do in the NHL but may be showing us something about his overall hockey sense which could be a good aspect to his NHL career even if it doesn't translate to goals.

You are correct regarding the small sample size making him look better than he might otherwise look. His 29.4% shooting percentage is obviously impossible to maintain. On the other hand, he's shooting a lot more than he did last year, and is playing much more of a two way game instead of a defense only game as he was prone to do last year which bodes well for his ability to score going forward.

[MissTeeks]

Horak will be on the Fan this afternoon at 1pm:

Calgary Flames ‏@NHLFlames

#AHLHeat forward Roman Horak will be on The Big Show on @Sportsnet960 at 1:00 PM!