Which player has surprised you the most this year Good and bad!

JohnnyDrama said:
For Buffalo, there's only a minor surprise in the production of Pominville/Vanek. I expected offense out of the two but maybe not quite this much.

Bad surprise? The whole freakin' team. Roy, Gerbe (hurt), Ennis (hurt), Stafford, Goose. You name it, they've been disappointing.
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Where does Ehrhoff rank ?
 
Versteeg has been a HUGE surprise. The guy has been a monster in Florida after falling flat on his face in TO and Philly

As for a disappointment, I have to agree with Ernie. Getzlaf has been atrocious. The guy looks like he's bored out there. Doughty has been a disappointment as well
 
Good
Derek Mackenzie
Vinny Prospal
Mark Letestu after coming to Columbus
Nikita Nikitin after coming to Columbus
Nugent Hopkins
Tom Gilbert

Bad
the rest of the Blue Jackets, including coaching and management
Ryan Whitney although he was coming off a injury from last year and had a lot of months off from not playing any sort of hockey.
 
plubers said:
Where does Ehrhoff rank ?
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Near the top of the "disappointing" category. I went from "angry" to "confused". The guy just doesn't look confident. I get the team, he included, has struggled mightily this year but he just doesn't look like he feels good doing anything. He makes bad decisions, gets a ton of shots blocked, and gets pushed off the puck.

Maybe this injury is a good thing. Give him some time to rest and get his head straight.
 
I mainly watch Vancouver and I can comment on them. Although everyone here has been accurate. These are players who are playing above or below their pay grade.

Good: Hansen, Higgins, and Edler.
Bad: Malholtra and Kesler.

Kesler needs to start scoring again. He is still grinding it out though.

Honorable Mention: Hodgson - unable to get a lot of ice time, yet, still doing well.
 
notoriousrob101 said:
I mainly watch Vancouver and I can comment on them. Although everyone here has been accurate. These are players who are playing above or below their pay grade.

Good: Hansen, Higgins, and Edler.
Bad: Malholtra and Kesler.

Kesler needs to start scoring again. He is still grinding it out though.

Honorable Mention: Hodgson - unable to get a lot of ice time, yet, still doing well.
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I'm curious about your mentioning Kesler as a disappointment. While it's true that his goal percentage has dropped, his assist percentage has risen. Last year he averaged .89 points per game. This year he has averaged .81 points per game, and considering the injury that he's come back from I'd say he's played quite well.
 
a few people have mentioned doughty and yes up to this point missing camp has a had a major negative impact on this years stats, but since sutter has arrived doughty has looked MUCH better(including the OT winner last night) so at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. more than happy with the play of mike richards this season, honestly wasnt sure what to expect since i didnt catch a whole lot of philly game last few years.
 
canucksfreak19 said:
I'm curious about your mentioning Kesler as a disappointment. While it's true that his goal percentage has dropped, his assist percentage has risen. Last year he averaged .89 points per game. This year he has averaged .81 points per game, and considering the injury that he's come back from I'd say he's played quite well.
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Kesler took a step back this season from last, partly due to hip surgery in the off-season, and partly due to the fact he had a career season last year. Watching him and comparing to last year, you can't help but think he's a little disappointing this year. Take everything into consideration (surgery, new linemates who keep getting injured) and he's actually playing above reasonable expectation. Mix it together and he's probably right where he should be.

Another thing I'll say about Kesler is he looks a little better each game. Even though he's not scoring he's taking care of his end defensively, playing the PK great and racking up some assists. As the season goes, he does a little more each game. I'm looking for him to peak going into the playoffs. Same goes for Raymond.

Malholtra is a special case too, what with the eye. He isn't nearly as visible as he was last year, but he's been moved to the 4th line in an almost entirely checking role with not much ice time. He's another I suspect will be a little more fun to watch come playoffs.

As a whole, the Canucks look like they're going through the motions until they hit the playoffs. Barring a MAJOR breakdown, they'll make the playoffs. Last year, they put everything they had into their wonderful season and came up short in the end. This year it seems they're gliding somewhat, just waiting for the playoffs to start. Almost every player is getting better as the season goes.

I'm already excited for playoffs.
 
for the Rangers and someone else who has angered me this year lol:

Good

Carl Hagelin - already has 7 goals in 20 games this year, half of that time was on the 3rd/4th line with Boyle and John Mitchell. lightning fast but has a really nice shot

the whole Rangers defense, in particular:

Michael Del Zotto - 23 points in 38 games this year, and i think he has like 17 points in the last 19 games or something ridiculous like that. also has a +25....plus he looks a lot better on the ice compared to last year and his rookie year even. knows when to jump up, doesn't make mistakes.

Ryan McDonagh - eating up 25 minutes on a top line with Girardi, also has 16 points. has made a mistake here and there, but did not expect him to be this good already. no sophomore slump for him

Bad

would say Duber for the Rangers, but he has been buried on the 3rd/4th lines for most of the games, so not too much of a shock to me that he only has 4 goals. but now he's getting time with Cally and Richards, and he has really turned his game around compared to earlier in the season, so he'll be better.

Chris Stewart - only 16 points i think this year? liked him a lot better on the Avs, seemed more of like a integral part of the team. have only watched a few Blues games this year, but to me it seems like the Blues have a lot of depth and they just don't need him really, still a top team without him in the lineup. i don't even think i heard his name when they played the Rangers and won 4-1. hopefully he'll start to turn things around, but he had 15 goals in 26 games last year with the Blues, only 9 so far this year.
 
Wickabee said:
Kesler took a step back this season from last, partly due to hip surgery in the off-season, and partly due to the fact he had a career season last year. Watching him and comparing to last year, you can't help but think he's a little disappointing this year. Take everything into consideration (surgery, new linemates who keep getting injured) and he's actually playing above reasonable expectation. Mix it together and he's probably right where he should be.

Another thing I'll say about Kesler is he looks a little better each game. Even though he's not scoring he's taking care of his end defensively, playing the PK great and racking up some assists. As the season goes, he does a little more each game. I'm looking for him to peak going into the playoffs. Same goes for Raymond.

Malholtra is a special case too, what with the eye. He isn't nearly as visible as he was last year, but he's been moved to the 4th line in an almost entirely checking role with not much ice time. He's another I suspect will be a little more fun to watch come playoffs.

As a whole, the Canucks look like they're going through the motions until they hit the playoffs. Barring a MAJOR breakdown, they'll make the playoffs. Last year, they put everything they had into their wonderful season and came up short in the end. This year it seems they're gliding somewhat, just waiting for the playoffs to start. Almost every player is getting better as the season goes.

I'm already excited for playoffs.
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Kesler is doing well given the fact he had hip surgery but he's not putting them in the back of the net. Raymond had a major injury and is playing better than ever. Anyways, big game in the morning :canucks::canucks::canucks:
 
punkoholic said:
Good
Nikita Nikitin after coming to Columbus
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As much as that trade hurt me (losing Kris Russell and all), I cannot agree more. He has been our most solid defenseman night in and night out and he was just riding the bench in St. Louis. I don't know if that shows our depth or just what a change of scenery did for him. I can't imagine how bad our back end might be if he wasn't there most of the year.
 
Ray Emery would have topped my list.

Benoit Pouliot has 4 game winners and is a plus player in Boston.

On the flipside, the entire Blue jackets roster. I figured they would maybe finish 10th or 11th in their conference after being in the mix for most of the season but the whole team has been disappointing. 1/2 the players are playing like they don't want to be there.
 


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