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Larsson


Daniel

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kids scared sh!tless that any mistake will cost him a bench. not going to do well under deboer, we should trade him for picks.

 

So wait, if the coach turns out to have been the team's issue and not Larsson, we would have dealt a potential top D-man because he just "didn't work out at the time"? Like, we could totally have a new coach by Thanksgiving... But you'd want to trade Larsson now?

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I don't think many people here figured in 2 and a half seasons Larsson would be a Lidstrom or Niedermayer level player, but he should have at least shown a hint of growth or improvement. There are times it looks like he has gone backwards with his development.

I agree, overall he has been a disappointment but anyone who says he's a "bust" at this point either means they thought he would be an all time great or they are extremely impatient.

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So wait, if the coach turns out to have been the team's issue and not Larsson, we would have dealt a potential top D-man because he just "didn't work out at the time"? Like, we could totally have a new coach by Thanksgiving... But you'd want to trade Larsson now?

This. Lou needs to figure out what's wrong with the team. If it's the players, PDB stays. If it's the coaching, save the players. And I can't tell with Larsson, because he hasn't ever played for anyone else, and I haven't been impressed with the way PDB has handled him, aside from during the Cup run, when he had him ready to jump in, even when he was sitting.

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Larsson I think can be a really good defenseman in time. Unfortunately it seems that the Devs coaches have gotten him thinking too much out there. He does look like someone looking over his shoulder and wondering if he'll be benched. His first year, plenty of mistakes but also lots of potential. They need to let him play and learn from his mistakes, work on those at practice and video sessions. They're taking his instincts out of the equation and that is never good. You want to add to the instincts not handcuff them.

I remember watching Nieds when he came to the team. He was really good but had to learn the game. He had the benefit of a great team defense around him to learn from and cover his ass. Larsson doesn't have that. Let him play every game and actually coach him and he'll be fine.

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He'd obviously have a Calder and a Norris to his name by now! 

Well, that's not quite what I was suggesting. But I do kind of feel like it is best to allow a player to really excel in their pre-draft league before entering the NHL. Playing with men as a defenseman at the age of 17, I'm not sure Larsson was able to do that. Lots of people said that bringing Hedman into the NHL so early stunted his development, too (then again, look how he has done in the last couple years). I could say the same thing about Jacob Josefson. Maybe his game would be at a much different level now if he had the few years in the SHL to build up some confidence against worse competition at better minutes. That seemed to work out for Jakob Silfverberg, at least. As things are now, we have no idea how good JJ will be.

 

Regardless, I still think Larsson was the right pick at #4. I don't buy the "physical freak" argument that suggests he held his own at a younger age because of his physical development; scouts take that into account, and physical development is analyzed at the combine, iirc. I don't think either Hamilton or Brodin will turn out to be a better player than him, either. Larsson has it in him, but it seems that something is holding it back. I'm not ready to say it's time for a new head coach, but I'm really not liking what I'm seeing from Stevens as a coach.

 

 

something like this would have been nice last night, by the way

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Well, that's not quite what I was suggesting. But I do kind of feel like it is best to allow a player to really excel in their pre-draft league before entering the NHL. Playing with men as a defenseman at the age of 17, I'm not sure Larsson was able to do that. Lots of people said that bringing Hedman into the NHL so early stunted his development, too (then again, look how he has done in the last couple years). I could say the same thing about Jacob Josefson. Maybe his game would be at a much different level now if he had the few years in the SHL to build up some confidence against worse competition at better minutes. That seemed to work out for Jakob Silfverberg, at least. As things are now, we have no idea how good JJ will be.

 

Regardless, I still think Larsson was the right pick at #4. I don't buy the "physical freak" argument that suggests he held his own at a younger age because of his physical development; scouts take that into account, and physical development is analyzed at the combine, iirc. I don't think either Hamilton or Brodin will turn out to be a better player than him, either. Larsson has it in him, but it seems that something is holding it back. I'm not ready to say it's time for a new head coach, but I'm really not liking what I'm seeing from Stevens as a coach.

 

 

Tough to argue with your main point (when has a prospect EVER suffered from waiting to join the NHL!?) but Larsson was handling SEL competition with no problem at all. But playing D in the SEL is obviously quite different from the NHL.

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Tough to argue with your main point (when has a prospect EVER suffered from waiting to join the NHL!?) but Larsson was handling SEL competition with no problem at all. But playing D in the SEL is obviously quite different from the NHL.

You can't ever know is the problem.  If they're good - well it was al that training in the AHL.  If they stink "well - they just couldn't hack the NHL"

 

You can't know because they are 2 different leagues with different values.  They are, and no one can convince me otherwise -- because there is no way of knowing when the damage is done - in either direction.

 

I'm of the opinion the longer you take to jump in the water the more likely it will be you never do.  Nothing to do with skill everything to do with mental state.

Edited by Pepperkorn
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I dont care about people saying Larsson is young and bla bla. When guys like Webber, Subban, Letang, Pietrangelo, doughty etc etc stepped in the league or were still in the AHL they were ALREADY fast, aggresive, battling, playing with passion, could skate, were producing already, all got PP time their first years. Matter of time before they'd be ready to step in the NHL mentally more than skill wize and some needed more experience or didnt have a spot yet. 

 

I've never seen the elite in Larsson other than good passes here and there, which lets be honest, any NHL players should do once in awhile but we want to see them so much that were simple trying to convince ourselves here. 

Edited by SterioDesign
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I can't belueve no one has brought up how Jacob Trouba was dominant in the game last night. Now that kid has upside. Did anyone watch his skating? Now think of Larsson's. It's not even in the same realm of skill. Also, could you imagine if it was Larsson and not Harrold that got destroyed by big Buff. Adam would have cried on the ice and would have had to Facetime Larry R. from the psych ward.

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I dont care about people saying Larsson is young and bla bla. When guys like Webber, Subban, Letang, Pietrangelo, doughty etc etc stepped in the league or were still in the AHL they were ALREADY fast, aggresive, battling, playing with passion, could skate, were producing already, all got PP time their first years. Matter of time before they'd be ready to step in the NHL mentally more than skill wize and some needed more experience or didnt have a spot yet. 

 

I've never seen the elite in Larsson other than good passes here and there, which lets be honest, any NHL players should do once in awhile but we want to see them so much that were simple trying to convince ourselves here. 

 

You're comparing him to players to don't match his style. Larsson was never a big point producer. It isn't really his game. This is not a fantasy hockey type player. He's much more of a Victor Hedman type, and he's pretty much developing like Hedman did. Larsson is clearly dealing with confidence issues. Playing with such a discombobulated team at the moment isn't helping. The good news is he's on the ice with Andy Greene who tends to be the most consistent defenseman. If the team starts playing better, it should help him a lot.

 

Larsson is not a flashy player. He may have a couple of years here or there with some good point totals, but it's not what he's going to be looked at for. In a few years if all goes well, he should be a very consistent, big minute player who can hopefully eat 25 mins a night in all situations.

 

There just needs to be patience. He played great in the AHL last year, and it's going to take time for his abilities to come out in the NHL. I hope people remain realistic when Gelinas or Merrill make the jump. They will also have growing pains.

 

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I can't belueve no one has brought up how Jacob Trouba was dominant in the game last night. Now that kid has upside. Did anyone watch his skating? Now think of Larsson's. It's not even in the same realm of skill. Also, could you imagine if it was Larsson and not Harrold that got destroyed by big Buff. Adam would have cried on the ice and would have had to Facetime Larry R. from the psych ward.

lol this is getting ridiculous. I won't argue that Trouba has some serious upside, especially offensively, but what's with all the talk of Larsson being a weak player? Sure he takes a lot of hits (definitely needs to start watching out for this more), but he rarely goes down on the ice for a while after taking one. The only one I can remember is the one where Subban leveled him. If anything, I'd argue that Larsson isn't afraid of getting hit, not the other way around.

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You're comparing him to players to don't match his style. Larsson was never a big point producer. It isn't really his game. This is not a fantasy hockey type player. He's much more of a Victor Hedman type, and he's pretty much developing like Hedman did. Larsson is clearly dealing with confidence issues. Playing with such a discombobulated team at the moment isn't helping. The good news is he's on the ice with Andy Greene who tends to be the most consistent defenseman. If the team starts playing better, it should help him a lot.

 

Larsson is not a flashy player. He may have a couple of years here or there with some good point totals, but it's not what he's going to be looked at for. In a few years if all goes well, he should be a very consistent, big minute player who can hopefully eat 25 mins a night in all situations.

 

There just needs to be patience. He played great in the AHL last year, and it's going to take time for his abilities to come out in the NHL. I hope people remain realistic when Gelinas or Merrill make the jump. They will also have growing pains.

 

 

That's a good point about Larsson - he was 19/20 last year in the AHL and put up point every other game numbers.  Probably some luck in there but that's still a good sign.

 

Larsson isn't likely to be as good as the Norris candidates.  He could very well still turn out to be a very solid all situations defenseman.

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