Larsson

[Devil Dan 56]

IMO Devils are victims of their own success to some degree. Larsson might be slightly better than Greene some day, but Greene was undrafted. So was Rafa. Fayne we picked up in the 5th round. Even Martin was a second rounder. Since we've had such success with late picks, and since Nieds was so good when we used a top 5 pick on a dman, we have this idea that when we commit to a d-man with the number 4 pick, he's gonna be a superstar, when really, there aren't many superstars in any draft. We got a player who will probably be a reliable, boring (in a good way, mostly) pro for a long time, assuming we don't butcher his development. That's not bad.

 

This is a great way of summing it up. I think people need to step back and realize there are many levels between "elite" and "bust".

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

This is a great way of summing it up. I think people need to step back and realize there are many levels between "elite" and "bust".

 

You'll hear the B-word thrown around for a while...but if he turns into a solid defenseman with a strong (but not necessarily highlight material) skillset, fans will start to appreciate him for what he is.  I think the fact that he was being considered as a potential #1 has a lot of people blowing up expectations and dreaming big.  Once people hear "Top 5 Pick", the first thing many of them expect is pretty scoresheet numbers (especially on offense).  Larsson is not very likely to be that kind of guy. 

[Daniel]

This is a great way of summing it up. I think people need to step back and realize there are many levels between "elite" and "bust".

 

"Bust" is a relative term.  If Reece Scarlett never makes it into the NHL, no one will think of him as a "bust".  Meanwhile, Erik Johnson will have a fairly nice NHL career, but he'll get that label.

 

It all has to do with where someone was drafted.  If Eric Gelinas turns into a solid NHL defenseman for the Devils, that's a success.  If that's what Larsson amounts to, I can live with it, but it's a disappointment.  It doesn't have much to do with value we've gotten from other low drafted/undrafted defesemen.  

 

In the same way, if we somehow won the Connor McDavid sweepstakes next year, and all he turns out to be is Travis Zajac,it would be enormously deflating to say the least, even though we would have still ended up with a good player.  It doesn't have anything to do with drafting a guy like Elias in the second round way back when.   

Edited October 18, 2013 by Daniel

[Derlique]

"Bust" is a relative term.  If Reece Scarlett never makes it into the NHL, no one will think of him as a "bust".  Meanwhile, Erik Johnson will have a fairly nice NHL career, but he'll get that label.

 

It all has to do with where someone was drafted.  If Eric Gelinas turns into a solid NHL defenseman for the Devils, that's a success.  If that's what Larsson amounts to, I can live with it, but it's a disappointment.  It doesn't have much to do with value we've gotten from other low drafted/undrafted defesemen.  

 

In the same way, if we somehow won the Connor McDavid sweepstakes next year, and all he turns out to be is Travis Zajac,it would be enormously deflating to say the least, even though we would have still ended up with a good player.  It doesn't have anything to do with drafting a guy like Elias in the second round way back when.   

I think the best way to look at it is by having 3 clear, concise categories: Success, Disappointment and Bust

 

Success- Players who meet or even surpass their Pre-draft projections

 

Crosby, Ovechkin, Tavares, E Kane

 

Disappointment- Players who still have nice NHL careers, but ultimately fall short of what they were expected to do

 

E Johnson, Olesz, Viktor Kozlov, Benoit Pouliot

 

Bust- Total failure, barely played NHL games or in some cases, none at all

 

Filatov, Picard, Jessiman

[nessus]

Larsson might be slightly better than Greene some day? Before anyone goes ahead and accepts this, I'd like to remind you all about Alex Pietrangelo, the 4th overall pick from 2008 (a year that had a few really good D prospects ranked in the top 10), a defenseman everyone hopes Larsson will be as good as in the future. He's essentially 3 years ahead of Larsson, but has only played 3 full seasons.

 

At Larsson's age, Pietrangelo was starting his first NHL season that would last him more than 10 games. As we know, Larsson already has two of those. I'm sure Blues fans didn't give up on Alex when he couldn't make it in the NHL 2 years after being drafted, but was still able to put up really great numbers in the OHL. We should not be writing off Larsson as a bust or as a player whose ceiling is a slightly upgraded Andy Greene. And Larsson was even able to put up some good numbers in the AHL during the lockout.

 

P.K. Subban is another player who took three years before playing a full NHL season.

 

Unless you're someone like Drew Doughty, I don't think it's fair to judge a defenseman's ceiling at the age of 20.

[Triumph]

yeah for the love of god let's calm things down.

 

What I mean in my view, short term and long-term of Larsson's development is that IMO he's lacking some "stock" abilities / skills that are in most cases "in you". 

 

By "stock" abilities / skills let me break down them by how I see it:

 

Speed / Skating: I honestly think speed is something you have or you don't. That's not saying you can become a faster skater but I don't think that a slow / average skater can become a really fast / strong skater with time. I do think skating can improve drastically though but again, some guy have it in them, they are just gifted fast skaters.

 

Grit / Heart / Leadership: Thats something you can't teach, it's something you have in you. It can rub on others and give them small boost but it's still another "stock" skill IMO that you have or you don't.

 

Hockey IQ / Vision: Thats something that obviously you develop with experience and that CAN improve. But again some players have it stock it's simply in them, again they are gifted. 

 

Stickwork: I'll just throw this all in one basket as i think its similar and to save some typing... Stick handling, Shot accuracy, passing, heavy shot, getting shot through traffic etc etc. Thats a skill that you definitely need to put lots of work and time in but that you can improv. Again some are simply gifted with it.

 

So bottom line i guess what i'm trying to say, MOST great players we're"gifted" with a certain skill who made them a step above others. Either it was one of a few elite level skill that was compensate from lack of other average aspects of their game. Or it was a mix of many above average skills making a player that great. Those skills we're mostly already visible on draft day.

 

So what i'm getting at with Larsson is that so far I don't see an already established elite skill who could compensate his lack of skills who may or probably never come or don't improve greatly. That's what my concern is. I KNOW he's young, his positioning, hockey IQ, vision will get better with time. But it's still really up in the air if he'll improve in other area (area that most guys his age already have like speed, grit, heart etc etc again IMO you have it or not), so we're all waiting for him to take the next step, but we're waiting to see what exactly? is it seeing him making less mistakes or him getting better at other areas of his game?

 

So if i can just now explain my Subban example, i was not comparing him to Larsson, all i was saying is that since his junior days, we could SEE his speed, grit, shot, determination etc etc it was already there when he stepped in the league, it's not something that we had to wait years of development to see. He had to work on other areas where you can indeed improve which is mostly between your ears, which was HIS problem.

 

We know already what Gelinas, Severson and Merril can bring in term of speed, offensive production, grit etc etc in the long run. what made them the kind of player they are is already established. It's more a matter of will it translate to the NHL. It's not as much "up in the air" as Larsson. Obviously seeing the kid step in the league at 18 is a damn good indicator and seeing he can play lots of minutes already. Thats putting him above Gelinas, Severson, Merril of course. 

 

I really hope this is more clear cause i'm really tired of even trying to explain myself. 

 

Guys who aren't particularly gifted in one area can still be really effective defensemen.  Someone like Teppo Numminen put up a ton of great seasons. He was top 10 in D scoring a few years so I think he's better than Larsson, but I am seeing glimmers of what Larsson will be in 3-4 years these last few games.  

 

I don't agree about speed - yeah, players don't go from slow to fast.  But players develop that extra gear - it happened with Parise and Elias.  One training camp they showed up and they were just way better than the year before.  They were faster to pucks, they were able to generate more shots, etc.  Larsson is figuring out how to read the play - his indecision at the point is because he's still not acclimated to the league.  In a few years he will have an idea what he wants to do with the puck before he gets it, and that's when he'll be a positive contributor offensively.  It's early but he is generating more shots this year.

[SterioDesign]

Guys who aren't particularly gifted in one area can still be really effective defensemen.  Someone like Teppo Numminen put up a ton of great seasons. He was top 10 in D scoring a few years so I think he's better than Larsson, but I am seeing glimmers of what Larsson will be in 3-4 years these last few games.  

 

I don't agree about speed - yeah, players don't go from slow to fast.  But players develop that extra gear - it happened with Parise and Elias.  One training camp they showed up and they were just way better than the year before.  They were faster to pucks, they were able to generate more shots, etc.  Larsson is figuring out how to read the play - his indecision at the point is because he's still not acclimated to the league.  In a few years he will have an idea what he wants to do with the puck before he gets it, and that's when he'll be a positive contributor offensively.  It's early but he is generating more shots this year.

 

True but can you agree that what i said made in most part sense? Like someone pointed it out its all about expectations really if Larsson would have been drafted in the 3rd round i couldnt care about where he is now.

 

But in the situation the team is now and looking at where all our first round picks of the last 10 years are now... it's not unfair as a fan to fvcking hope Larsson turns out to be the franchise Dman he was said to be when he got drafted. 

[ATLL765]

True but can you agree that what i said made in most part sense? Like someone pointed it out its all about expectations really if Larsson would have been drafted in the 3rd round i couldnt care about where he is now.

 

But in the situation the team is now and looking at where all our first round picks of the last 10 years are now... it's not unfair as a fan to fvcking hope Larsson turns out to be the franchise Dman he was said to be when he got drafted. 

Not really, so long as he manages to become a top 4 d-man.

[Anhkheg]

IMO, the problem here is not Larsson, its PDB.

[Triumph]

True but can you agree that what i said made in most part sense? Like someone pointed it out its all about expectations really if Larsson would have been drafted in the 3rd round i couldnt care about where he is now.

 

But in the situation the team is now and looking at where all our first round picks of the last 10 years are now... it's not unfair as a fan to fvcking hope Larsson turns out to be the franchise Dman he was said to be when he got drafted. 

 

If he was drafted in the 3rd round you'd be doing backflips.  This is his Y+3 draft year and he's already played 100 NHL games at a decent level?  It's not unfair to hope that, it is unfair to expect that, or to be massively disappointed if he's not what you think he should be.

[maxpower]

Per TG, he's scratched tomorrow because... well, I'm not sure why he's scratched.    They just need to realize they've lost Fayne at this point, short of a coaching change and him playing 100% of the games he's available for.

[coldply123]

Per TG, he's scratched tomorrow because... well, I'm not sure why he's scratched. They just need to realize they've lost Fayne at this point, short of a coaching change and him playing 100% of the games he's available for.

Unbelievable.

[DJ Eco]

I just..... don't know............ why Harrold's still in? Am I losing my mind? Has he done something I missed? I've watched every second of every game.

Edited October 18, 2013 by DJ Eco

[Devilsfan118]

PDB is really just doing his best to piss the fans off, at this point.  

Well, the fans, and his younger players.

[maxpower]

I think honestly he's trying to pull a balancing act with him and Fayne.    But playing Fayne 20 times this season + injury games isn't going to keep him happy.  So, why even bother?   Obviously no one else is coming out of the lineup.  

 

The explanation for this scratch must have been epic.   "Well, there's some things you could have done better out there."   "Like what, stop some shots?"

Edited October 18, 2013 by maxpower

[third man in]

I just..... don't know............ why Harrold's still in? Am I losing my mind? Has he done something I missed? I've watched every second of every game.

 

I really can't figure it out anymore.  We're doing the same thing over and over again and thinking the results will be different, the definition of insanity. 

 

I'm not a Harrold fan, but I thought he was okay in the beginning of the year...not so much the past few games though.

[MadDog2020]

This is out of the fvcking park ridiculous now. I mean flat out idiocy. Why? I'm sick of this sh!t, is the coach accountable for anything that this idiocy is allowed to continue? So those fvcking morons Volchenkov and Harrold can stay in? WHY? WHAT IN THE GREEN fvck AM I MISSING?!!!!

[gsnts725]

PDB's loyalty to his veterans is so annoying. Reminiscent of keeping Moose in net for all those fvcking games. Let the kid play and develop FFS.

[jagknife]

I'm done with DeBoer, absolutely done with him.

 

Peter Harrold is an abysmal hockey player who would barely start in the AHL, let alone any NHL roster other than ours.

 

Anton Volchenkov is an immense liability on defense and is approaching Ken Klee levels of uselessness.

 

Yeah, keep them playing over Larsson. Makes complete sense.

[SterioDesign]

If he was drafted in the 3rd round you'd be doing backflips.  This is his Y+3 draft year and he's already played 100 NHL games at a decent level?  It's not unfair to hope that, it is unfair to expect that, or to be massively disappointed if he's not what you think he should be.

 

i've never being massively disappointed of Larsson he's still young. All my comments are mostly pointing out that he may not come as good as some people here are saying he will.

[DJ Eco]

What bugs me about Harrold is seeing him in the freaking power play. We went from having Parises and Kovalchuks and Clarksons working the PP to Peter Harrold, who was a veteran regular in the AHL just a season ago. And his play has noticeably dropped off in the past two weeks compared to the first.

[third man in]

What bugs me about Harrold is seeing him in the freaking power play. We went from having Parises and Kovalchuks and Clarksons working the PP to Peter Harrold, who was a veteran regular in the AHL just a season ago. And his play has noticeably dropped off in the past two weeks compared to the first.

 

I had the exact same thought last night watching our 2nd PP unit out there.  "Oh look, Peter Harrold and Steve Bernier out there, watch out NHL!"

 

And I'm a big Steve Bernier fan, but it just goes to show how much our talent has dropped off.

[Triumph]

What bugs me about Harrold is seeing him in the freaking power play. We went from having Parises and Kovalchuks and Clarksons working the PP to Peter Harrold, who was a veteran regular in the AHL just a season ago. And his play has noticeably dropped off in the past two weeks compared to the first.

 

I love how Clarkson gets in here, Clarkson who was barely part of the power play in 2010-11.  Yeah, I don't really think Clarkson to Bernier is that huge of a dropoff.

[sundstrom]

larsson has been better since his scratch a few games ago. fayne should be back, but not for larsson. harrold hasn't been awful but he has not been good enough to be the reason fayne doesn't play.

 

and as for anton, the fact that he's LH and the #1PK defenseman is keeping him in the lineup more than the "veteran" tag.

[ATLL765]

larsson has been better since his scratch a few games ago. fayne should be back, but not for larsson. harrold hasn't been awful but he has not been good enough to be the reason fayne doesn't play.

 

and as for anton, the fact that he's LH and the #1PK defenseman is keeping him in the lineup more than the "veteran" tag.

Yeah, I actually haven't been screaming at the TV because of him, at least not THAT much, lol. Rather see Harrold taken out for Fayne at this point, though I'd be happy just to see Fayne get in over a lesser d-man, be it Harrold, Sal or Volch.

Edited October 18, 2013 by ATLL765