41 replies to this topic

[mouse]

I think Henrique is a good player and will be a very good player in the next year or so. He just won't be nearly as good as Parise I can't imagine Henrique ever putting up 48 goals in a season and I don't believe he'll turn out to be a consistent 35+ goal scorer, especially when he might not consistently be on the same line as more dynamic players such as Kovy.

Do you see Parise doing that again, though? That was an amazing year, but a crappy team on which Zach and Patty pretty much had to play offense by themselves (Langs had a career year, but he's not exactly a superstar). On this balanced team, Zach won't put up those kind of numbers, and I'm not sure that Henrique wouldn't be able to in a couple years if put into a similar situation. Either way, if Henrique comes close to replicating Zach's productivity, we'll survive losing Zach or be scary good (at forward) keeping him.

[ATLL765]

Do you see Parise doing that again, though? That was an amazing year, but a crappy team on which Zach and Patty pretty much had to play offense by themselves (Langs had a career year, but he's not exactly a superstar). On this balanced team, Zach won't put up those kind of numbers, and I'm not sure that Henrique wouldn't be able to in a couple years if put into a similar situation. Either way, if Henrique comes close to replicating Zach's productivity, we'll survive losing Zach or be scary good (at forward) keeping him.

Maybe not 48, but I could see him hitting 40 again, maybe not much more, but I can imagine Parise next year getting something like 35-42 goals. I think he took a small step back after losing all of last year, he's scored far less deflection goals and goals via dekes than he had in the past two full seasons he played or at least in my eyes he has. I think he's found his game more in the 2nd half and if he can play a bit better next year, he could def hit 35-40 goals, maybe even a couple more.

[Jerseydevils0324]

A comparison that I would like to shine light upon is comparing Larsson to himself... his first full year in the SEL to his first NHL season.

09-10 Skelleftea GP:49 G:4 A:13 Pts:17 PIM:18 +/-:-7
11-12 NJ GP:48 G:2 A:14 Pts:16 PIM:18 +/-:-6

Almost match perfectly... If Larss plays one more game and registers a point and a minus(not that it's good), these numbers would be exactly the same. And this is Larsson transitioning to the N.A. game... maybe he benefits more from the smaller surface? I mean his speed doesn't blow you away.

Cheers to a positive transition year Adam... now get healthy!

Edited by Jerseydevils0324, 20 February 2012 - 12:09 PM.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

Bump inspired by a post today. Who has been better in their careers through 21. Who will be better moving forward.

[Daniel]

Bump inspired by a post today. Who has been better in their careers through 21. Who will be better moving forward.

It's just too early to tell. Kevin Todd (top ten ugliest hockey players of all-time) had 63 points in his rookie year. Granted though, he was a year or two older than Henrique was in his rookie year.

[msweet]

henrique's PP time is almost strictly the 2nd unit which hasn't scored very much. he has an inordinate amount of SH points which will be tough to repeat. I do think he's a very good player and if the top line next year is henrique-zajac-kovalchuk, i think they'd be successful.

this

Interesting to note is that Lou and DeBoer missed on him at the start of the year

[sundstrom]

this

Interesting to note is that Lou and DeBoer missed on him at the start of the year

i don't think they missed. he did not have a good camp. just like he didn't last year.

they also had palmieri who pdb acknowledged was given a spot to lose, which he did and sykora who blew everyone away with his tryout.

[Mitico12]

Henrique played an exceptional game in the last game of the season against Boston last year. Maybe him going to the minors was "meant to be" to make him a little more humble and a little more hungry!

[Triumph]

It's just too early to tell. Kevin Todd (top ten ugliest hockey players of all-time) had 63 points in his rookie year. Granted though, he was a year or two older than Henrique was in his rookie year.

Different NHL.

I'm now a little more convinced that Henrique can become 90% of Mike Richards, but it will take several years to find that out. He's obviously got a great shot, we knew that, but I'm still not convinced of his on-ice vision/decision making.

[MoKovy]

Interesting comparison I do think Henrique is a a solid replacement possibly if Parise does decide to part. Henrique should be almost an "apprentice" to Parise but at times ,especially during these playoffs, it looked like Parise should be taking some notes from Henrique =P . None the less Love this kid so happy ton have him on the team


Plus he has mastered the art of harnessing Stash Power!

Edited by MoKovy, 07 June 2012 - 10:35 AM.

[Daniel]

Different NHL.

I'm now a little more convinced that Henrique can become 90% of Mike Richards, but it will take several years to find that out. He's obviously got a great shot, we knew that, but I'm still not convinced of his on-ice vision/decision making.

A somewhat lazy comparison, but maybe more like Brad Richards. Both Richards and Henrique were linemates in junior of much more heralded prospects, LeCalvalier and Taylor Hall, respectively. Both third round draft picks. Appear to play a similar game.

Like I said though, lazy comparison.

Edited by Daniel, 07 June 2012 - 10:48 AM.

[Triumph]

A somewhat lazy comparison, but maybe more like Brad Richards. Both Richards and Henrique were linemates in junior of much more heralded prospects, LeCalvalier and Taylor Hall, respectively. Both third round draft picks. Appear to play a similar game.

Like I said though, lazy comparison.

Yeah, Henrique actually plays defense, so the comparison ends right there.

[DaneykoIsGod]

Bump inspired by a post today. Who has been better in their careers through 21. Who will be better moving forward.

Something tells me it was my post in the Henrique thread?

Anyway, I stand by saying that I believe Henrique -- when all is said and done -- will go down as a better player than Parise. It's very early in his career and anything can happen, but what we've seen so far is encouraging.

Parise has never been one to get by on raw skill. That's a description more fit for someone like Kovalchuk. Zach's never been the fastest skater, the hardest or most accurate shooter, the most creative stickhandler, or a particularly visionary passing playmaker. He's good-to-very-good in those departments, but not elite. He is elite when it comes to deflecting shots. Other than that, he's just a ridiculously hard worker, and that's made him elite when it comes to picking up "garbage goals". That work ethic cancels out the higher skill level of some opponents and fools some fans into thinking he's a more skilled player than he is.

Henrique has a damn solid work ethic as well. Just like Parise, he's relentless on the boards, excellent defensively, and has that quality where the puck always seems to find him. He isn't anywhere near the shot deflector Zach is, and isn't quite as adept to picking up those "garbage goals" (though the clincher vs. the Rags shows he's certainly capable). Where he really shows an edge over Zach is with his shot and stickhandling. Henrique seems to be better at getting the puck around defenders, particularly in desperate situations or tight quarters. At times, his creativity with the puck looks to be only a step or two behind Elias. His shot is leaps and bounds better than Zach's. Considering how many hours Parise has logged with the "Shot Club" before/after practices (I forget which), it makes me wonder if Zach will ever really improve in that department and so he can start scoring from more than 10 feet out.

Henrique might also be a tad bit faster, but that can be tough to gauge and could also be due to being younger. He also seems to stay on his feet a little better, but that also is a bit circumstantial and tough to really judge.

Overall, he looked a lot more like a veteran this season than Zach did as a rookie, and Henrique's postseason has been about as clutch as it gets. In almost 40 fewer postseason games, Henrique has already matched Zach's career total for game-winning goals.

It's extremely early in his career, but remember that feeling we all got in the first couple seasons with Zach that he was this team's future captain? I'm already getting that feeling with Henrique.

[Pepperkorn]

Henrique has a bravado Parise has stifled.

Stifled should never EVER be an adjective easily applied to a professional hockey player -- ever.
Stifled and disciplined are separated by a very fine line.
Zach needs to air out and let his light shine - it's his major flaw and has the potential to hold back an entire team.
I always blame this on Langenbrunner. I'm happy to have Henrique because he can potentially break the team out of that mindset. DeBoer is a huge help with that too.
lemaire seemed too much like he was sending mixed messages I suspect.

[Triumph]

Something tells me it was my post in the Henrique thread?

Anyway, I stand by saying that I believe Henrique -- when all is said and done -- will go down as a better player than Parise. It's very early in his career and anything can happen, but what we've seen so far is encouraging.

Parise has never been one to get by on raw skill. That's a description more fit for someone like Kovalchuk. Zach's never been the fastest skater, the hardest or most accurate shooter, the most creative stickhandler, or a particularly visionary passing playmaker. He's good-to-very-good in those departments, but not elite. He is elite when it comes to deflecting shots. Other than that, he's just a ridiculously hard worker, and that's made him elite when it comes to picking up "garbage goals". That work ethic cancels out the higher skill level of some opponents and fools some fans into thinking he's a more skilled player than he is.

Henrique has a damn solid work ethic as well. Just like Parise, he's relentless on the boards, excellent defensively, and has that quality where the puck always seems to find him. He isn't anywhere near the shot deflector Zach is, and isn't quite as adept to picking up those "garbage goals" (though the clincher vs. the Rags shows he's certainly capable). Where he really shows an edge over Zach is with his shot and stickhandling. Henrique seems to be better at getting the puck around defenders, particularly in desperate situations or tight quarters. At times, his creativity with the puck looks to be only a step or two behind Elias. His shot is leaps and bounds better than Zach's. Considering how many hours Parise has logged with the "Shot Club" before/after practices (I forget which), it makes me wonder if Zach will ever really improve in that department and so he can start scoring from more than 10 feet out.

Henrique might also be a tad bit faster, but that can be tough to gauge and could also be due to being younger. He also seems to stay on his feet a little better, but that also is a bit circumstantial and tough to really judge.

Overall, he looked a lot more like a veteran this season than Zach did as a rookie, and Henrique's postseason has been about as clutch as it gets. In almost 40 fewer postseason games, Henrique has already matched Zach's career total for game-winning goals.

It's extremely early in his career, but remember that feeling we all got in the first couple seasons with Zach that he was this team's future captain? I'm already getting that feeling with Henrique.

I like Henrique a lot, but tons will have to go right in his pro career for him to be close to Parise. Parise's rookie year was a very bad one all things considered - players who turn out to be as good as him don't typically have rookie years that bad. You look at the guys in Parise's class around the league and their age 21 season, it's usually quite good. Henrique's age 21 season is pretty good, certainly better than Parise's, but he will have to get a heck of a lot better to be in Parise's class.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

I like when people say Parise is the most skilled 4th liner in the NHL because it's true. He achieves what he does based on effort and hard work. This is another reason I'm scared to sign him long term without a home town discount, he could Drury his way into the sunset.

[Pepperkorn]

I like when people say Parise is the most skilled 4th liner in the NHL because it's true. He achieves what he does based on effort and hard work. This is another reason I'm scared to sign him long term without a home town discount, he could Drury his way into the sunset.

This perception of hard work alone got him where he is today -- that's all well and good, but I think it's limiting him.

I feel like he's sort of bought into that - he needs to find his mojo. It's just such waste if he doesn't. He IS more. I'm not just saying he could find a way to be more. No, he IS more. He needs to release and let the elite Zach free. He needs to move beyond that title not embrace it and stagnate. I feel he's got a great shot at that with the Devils. I don't think many other organizations have that level of intellect.

It's thin film covering his potential. He needs someone to just say -- Great Zach -- now, take off the bubble "Huh?" "That hard work bubble you have protecting you - step out of it, you're ready now. You won't fail"

There comes a time you have to let yourself get into the zone. Zach never really has just enjoyed his skills come game time. It's not this organization holding him back, it's him.

What's so annoying is YOU KNOW all his life he's had that little voice in the back of his head while taking all this advise from vets -- it was saying "Yeah -- but I'm better than you" There just comes a time you surrender to that voice -- you have to hear all of your mentors preaching hard work and discipline and how it got them to where they are and ... you have to now say... "100% correct advice -- and now, it's time for you to see -- I'm better than you. It is what it is and here it is!! WHOOHOOO!" and I'm not thinking of his Dad at all here (JP fell back on CRAZY to elevate him above mere hardworking guy).... I don't know who it is -- who's got him to control himself... he just has to bust out of it. He skates like he's trying not to offend -- it's like he'll swat the puck with his hand sure hardworking -- but he COULD have showboated that fvcker in 5 minutes before.

Maybe the Finals isn't the time for that -- I don't want this not to happen. and DeBoer can make it happen I feel pretty confident. I don't want Parise to allow younger guys to steam roll him just because he's captain. He needs to take care of himself. I don't see a home for him anywhere else so I can't say this provides him motivation to leave....

Edited by Pepperkorn, 07 June 2012 - 02:50 PM.

[Devils731]

It's hard for me to compare Henrique and Parise, in possible career arcs, right now because this years version of Parise is too fresh in my mind. I think next year he'll have another gear to his skating, with his knee fully back, and he'll be a more effective player. There were way too many instances this year where Parise had to pull up instead of taking the puck to the net because he is missing a step.

[ilzz89]

Gionta scored 48 goals, Parise's best year was 45.

[EdgeControl]

I'm a bit surprised that his shot is being called great, I'm not seeing that. decent, yes, great is a stretch imo. he gets its off quick and doesnt need to look at it good accuracy, but he's hardly a sniper. what is he a 11% shooter?

I could be wrong?