Mach_9 Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Sophomores this year: Vanek Crosby Ovechkin Miller Ward Svatos I'm sure there's more. Vanek has had an incredible sophomore year. He's playing so much better than he did last season and really seems to have added everything that he needed to take it to the next level. Crosby has impressed me to no end this season. I've completely re-evaluated my opinion of Sid this season. While he's still not quite my type of player I give him way more credit than in the past and am thoroughly enjoying watching this kid play. Ovechkin had a slow start, but lately, he's been showing up big time. Twelve goals now (9 assists) and looking strong. There was a second where I was almost nervous that he wasn't going to show up this year, but I realized immediately how foolish that was. Ovie is here and playing just as well as I expected him to. And it's a good thing too because I'm going to see him play the Islanders Thanksgiving weekend. Miller's been good this year but I think he's over rated. I love the guy, and I don't think he's bad at all, but I don't think he's as godly as everyone else seems to. He's winning and he's playing big, but he's still no Brodeur, Kipper, Hasek, Roy, or anything else of the sort. Maybe some day. Ward's over rated too, but I think he's a better goalie than Miller. He's been the difference in so many of Carolina's games. I truly feel that Carolina is on par with Pittsburgh without Cam Ward in net. Svatos has been quiet this year, as near as I can tell. He's got 12 points in 16 games, which isn't bad at all, but I wouldn't say he's having the kind of sophomore year any of these guys have been enjoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lafountain Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Sophomores this year:Vanek Crosby Ovechkin Miller Ward Svatos I'm sure there's more. Vanek has had an incredible sophomore year. He's playing so much better than he did last season and really seems to have added everything that he needed to take it to the next level. Crosby has impressed me to no end this season. I've completely re-evaluated my opinion of Sid this season. While he's still not quite my type of player I give him way more credit than in the past and am thoroughly enjoying watching this kid play. Ovechkin had a slow start, but lately, he's been showing up big time. Twelve goals now (9 assists) and looking strong. There was a second where I was almost nervous that he wasn't going to show up this year, but I realized immediately how foolish that was. Ovie is here and playing just as well as I expected him to. And it's a good thing too because I'm going to see him play the Islanders Thanksgiving weekend. Miller's been good this year but I think he's over rated. I love the guy, and I don't think he's bad at all, but I don't think he's as godly as everyone else seems to. He's winning and he's playing big, but he's still no Brodeur, Kipper, Hasek, Roy, or anything else of the sort. Maybe some day. Ward's over rated too, but I think he's a better goalie than Miller. He's been the difference in so many of Carolina's games. I truly feel that Carolina is on par with Pittsburgh without Cam Ward in net. Svatos has been quiet this year, as near as I can tell. He's got 12 points in 16 games, which isn't bad at all, but I wouldn't say he's having the kind of sophomore year any of these guys have been enjoying. Last seasons rookies were definitely one of the better rookie classes in recent memory. Most of them are going to go on and have very solid careers though of course there are some that will disappear into obscurity. I disagree on your opinions on Miller, he is good, but you are right about the fact that he isn't as good as many make him out to be. I think he is better than Ward (not being a homer here) and will have a better career. I don't think either one is overrated though. Lehtonen though is the best of the sophomore goaltenders in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach_9 Posted November 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 I forgot to mention Lehtonen as a sophomore. I'm sure I forgot others as well. Lehtonen certainly deserves great praise thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lafountain Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 I forgot to mention Lehtonen as a sophomore. I'm sure I forgot others as well. Lehtonen certainly deserves great praise thus far. Not sure what it was about him but I started looking stuff up about his playing in Finland the day he got drafted and have been a fan ever since. He is going to be one of the main reasons that Atlanta makes their first playoff appearance this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach_9 Posted November 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 I agree and I liked Lehtonen early on as well, though I didn't take such an interest as to call myself a fan, owing to the fact that I had greater interests in other players. I've been looking for Lehtonen to shine since his draft day though, and am glad to see him, and the Thrashers, finally moving in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant! Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Henrik Lundqvist. It's still early but he seems to have some trouble in certain games and hasn't been as consistent as he was last year. He really needs to have a good year too because he's the key for the Rangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach_9 Posted November 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I saw the Sabres beat the Rangers at MSG a couple of weeks ago and was dissapointed to see Weekes in net. I like Lundqvist and was looking forward to seeing him play. Fortunately, Weekes looked shaky (HUGE save not withstanding) and we were able to squeak out an OT win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant! Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 It's funny you say that because I thought Weekes actually played a very strong game. I was at that game too actually. The goal in OT was crappy but his D really let him down on the third Buffalo goal. I've been very happy with what Weekes has done so far this year. It helps to A. take the pressure off of Lundqvist and B. maybe light a fire under Lundqvist to step up his game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach_9 Posted November 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I don't think Weekes is a poor backup for Lundqvist overall and I don't think the goals he allowed were very bad (the Pominville one might have been dissapointing, but Briere does that all the time and Pommers has about 3-4 goals that way this year, so it couldn't have really been Weekes' fault if it works so consistantly). I didn't Weekes looked... weak on the goals scored though. I thought he just looked rattled in the third, because he mishandled a few shots and seemed to have trouble tracking the puck late in the game. None of the situations I'm talking about turned into goals (fortunately for him), so it makes them hard to identify so long after the game, but I was sitting behind the net that the Sabres shot on twice (+ OT) so I had a good view on Weekes the whole night and seemed to be dropping pucks or losing them in his pads a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant! Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 Weekes has a little bit of a problem with getting flustered. There are very few instances where the tougher the pressure, the better he gets. Most of the time, the more the other team gets to him, the softer the goals become. That being said, I still think he's a great back-up for Henke because of his experience and because of the way he's capable of playing. He still has the ability to win games and that's very rare in a lot of backups nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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