What does a player need to make the NHL?

[North Buffalo]

Yes there seems to be a fair amount of nepotism in the NHL. But talent prevail. Need to have good skating ability not insane (with one caveat you need to have quick balance) ability to pivot well like a cornerback in football, great if you are a D. More than anything though you need two very important skills... vision like that in soccer or as an NFL qurterback, be able to read what is and is going to happen and then you need insane hand eye coordination like that in baseball or as a point guard in basketball.

 

 

The best ones have it in spades. Gretsky and Crosby have it, Datysuk had it and P Kane, Matthews and Eichel have it,.. Lately it Ivenoticed a lot of skilled D have it and PS Housley had it.

Edited May 30, 2017 by North Buffalo

[bcsaberks]

Yes there seems to be a fair amount of nepotism in the NHL. But talent prevail. Need to have good skating ability not insane (with one caveat you need to have quick balance) ability to pivot well like a cornerback in football, great if you are a D. More than anything though you need two very important skills... vision like that in soccer or as an NFL qurterback, be able to read what is and is going to happen and then you need insane hand eye coordination like that in baseball or as a point guard in basketball.

 

 

The best ones have it in spades. Gretsky and Crosby have it, Datysuk had it and P Kane, Matthews and Eichel have it,.. Lately it Ivenoticed a lot of skilled D have it and PS Housley had it.

Brian Flynn comes to mind here minus the insane hand/eye.  Undrafted, comes to AHL and stands out quickly - speedy and smart, sound defensively.  He made it.  Solid 3rd / 4th line player making a million a year.

[Doohickie]

Yep.  Flynn was a nice support piece that got away during the Tank.

[French Collection]

Skating is the #1 requirement in my opinion.

 

An intangible I like to call "fire in the belly" leads to never quitting, practicing hard, constantly improving and battling for every inch of ice.

 

Luck does play a part in health and getting noticed.

 

Connections help as well, we see many second generation players making it.

[Weave]

I just cracked this thread open for the first time (mmmmmm, new thread smell!) and I have to say that I see Ennis differently than a lot of other people here. 

 

Previously he made up for lack of size with speed and maneuverability.  He's a pretty good puck handler.  He has decent finish.  Since coming back from injury though, his skill set has dropped off a bit.  And dropping off a bit, especially when you're smaller than the NHL average, can be lethal to a career. 

 

Having said that, look at a player like Gionta- no giant himself- who played a significant role on the team last season (6th in goals, 6th in assists).  What's the difference?  Gionta was able to evolve his game to accommodate his skill set. 

 

I think Ennis worked to do that this past year, but didn't quite get there.  He seemed to improve in the corners after he came back.  He's small, but he's actually pretty strong.  He needs to learn how to use his leverage to get and maintain possession in the dirty areas.  He needs to learn how to position himself around the net so he can sneak in to finish.  The days of the end-to-end rush are over for him, but if he recognizes that and looks for the give-&-go, he should still be effective offensively.  He'll need to adjust his game to his current skillset.  If he can do that, he'll be productive.  If not..... ugh.

 

(Same goes for Moulson, btw, though with a different bag of skills.)

 

The Venn Diagram for those two has a lot of overlap; one may argue they are the same thing, i.e., knowing where to be and when to be there == creating passing/shooting lanes.

 

Has Gionta ever had a major injury to his knees or head?  That would be the biggest difference in the two.  Gio never lost his wheels.  Ala James Patrick or Teppo.  Or Mark Recchi.

[inkman]

Yep. Flynn was a nice support piece that got away during the Tank.

Brian Flynn... The one that got away. :unsure:

[Randall Flagg]

I think the "intangibles" can all be lumped under the term "passion". If you have a passion for the game, if you're ROR and not Leino in terms of how much you want to work and be there, if you love the game and not piano practice, all of the other "intangible" and "work ethic" things will naturally follow at the NHL level. 

[gilbert11]

Now the Sabres did have a player in Maxim Afinogenov who was a great skater and a great puck handler but his goal scoring and playmaking ability didn't seem to match. He could've been a star but wasn't. Yes, he had 3 seasons of 20+ goals, one season of 50+ assists and one season of 70+ points but with his main two excellent skills, it seemed like he should've produced more.

 

What prevented him from being a star?

[ubkev]

Now the Sabres did have a player in Maxim Afinogenov who was a great skater and a great puck handler but his goal scoring and playmaking ability didn't seem to match. He could've been a star but wasn't. Yes, he had 3 seasons of 20+ goals, one season of 50+ assists and one season of 70+ points but with his main two excellent skills, it seemed like he should've produced more.

 

What prevented him from being a star?

Exactly what you said. He was excellent at certain things. But not so excellent at others. Max rushed the play a lot,which meant he coughed up the puck a lot. Every now and then he'd get the puck and you'd hold your breath because he was blazing like Pavel Bure. Other times you'd hold your breath because he just gift wrapped a pass to the other team.

[inkman]

Now the Sabres did have a player in Maxim Afinogenov who was a great skater and a great puck handler but his goal scoring and playmaking ability didn't seem to match. He could've been a star but wasn't. Yes, he had 3 seasons of 20+ goals, one season of 50+ assists and one season of 70+ points but with his main two excellent skills, it seemed like he should've produced more.

 

What prevented him from being a star?

Hockey sense. He had none. My memory of him will always be skating by everyone only to end up in the corner coughing up the puck.

[TheAud]

Brian Flynn comes to mind here minus the insane hand/eye.  Undrafted, comes to AHL and stands out quickly - speedy and smart, sound defensively.  He made it.  Solid 3rd / 4th line player making a million a year.

Flynn is the definition of "replacement level player". I'm not losing sleep over his 11:30 if ice time and 0.2 pts per game contribution to the Habs at age 28-29.  Other than one being a center and one a winger, I'd argue there is no discernible difference between Flynn and Cal O'Reilly, for example. 

[bcsaberks]

Flynn is the definition of "replacement level player". I'm not losing sleep over his 11:30 if ice time and 0.2 pts per game contribution to the Habs at age 28-29.  Other than one being a center and one a winger, I'd argue there is no discernible difference between Flynn and Cal O'Reilly, for example. 

I don't know.  I don't think he's anything special, but Flynn has "made it" to full time NHL.  O'Reilly clearly has not.  It's a good example for this thread.  I think Flynn's speed is the single biggest difference.  Another example is TJ Brennan.  He, like O'Reilly, has also had opportunity, but has been unable to break through (slow foot speed?).  

 

This was one thing I loved about AHL/Amerks games when I had seasons years ago.  These guys are literally playing to earn a million (or millions of) dollars, and it's complicated.  The blue chips are at times less interesting to watch.  You already expect them to make it, so it's more of a story when the suck or under perform (ie: Nylander struggles this year).  But the undrafted/late rounders, or 4 year college players like Alex Biega, are on an uncertain journey with massive financial stakes.  I've always thought the Amerks would benefit from marketing that angle more...but then again, they aren't trying to sell tickets to people on a Sabres message board.

[LGR4GM]

There are two  interesting things when talking about skating that I think get confused. Speed and Quickness (agility). Speed is how fast can you skate? Jack Eichel has high end speed. He skates fast. Quickness is tied more to agility and footspeed. Tyler Ennis is quick.  

 

NHL players need quickness more than speed IMPO. A defender who has average speed but has quickness is better then the inverse. Jake McCabe has some quickness but he isn't fast. Ristolainen on the other hand is quick and fast. When you combine them both you get Risto and Eichel type players. 

 

Sam Reinhart has improved his quickness more than his speed. The reason it matters less is because quickness and speed or only 2 things NHL players need. Then you have vision, IQ, shot, toughness/battle, and some other things.  I bring up speed and quickness because when reading draft reports, I don't worry if I see a guy has average speed but I get concerned when guys have "average agility" which relates to quickness. This is more concerning on defenders. Franson when he gets going has average speed. The problem is he has below average agility (quickness). 

 

Reinhart btw is a player not to trade. There's so much untapped potential there and he did improve last year. His defensive game was better and his skating was better. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by LGR4GM

[Doohickie]

Brian Flynn... The one that got away. :unsure:

 

You can joke, but once you figure out how the top talent fits together you have to find the "glue" players that hold them in place.

Hockey sense. He had none. My memory of him will always be skating by everyone only to end up in the corner coughing up the puck.

 

Yep.  This.

Flynn is the definition of "replacement level player". I'm not losing sleep over his 11:30 if ice time and 0.2 pts per game contribution to the Habs at age 28-29.  Other than one being a center and one a winger, I'd argue there is no discernible difference between Flynn and Cal O'Reilly, for example. 

 

He's faster than Cal.  But your basic point is correct.  He's not a star, never will be.  Nevertheless, you need the right players to fill out a roster.  You can't put, say, Matt Moulson or Pat Kaleta on your fourth line and expect either one to do as well as Flynn.  It's a question of chemistry, of finding the right role on the team (or finding the right role player for what your team needs).

[bunomatic]

I'll mention a couple of the things its most important to avoid if a player needs to make the N.H.L. The first is love. I've seen a few who were good enough to get to juniors and possibly further and women were their downfall. The second is drugs/booze. If you can steer clear of those factors and have a single minded pursuit of your goal at the expense of all other factors that get thrown in front of you you might make it. Luck, determination, willpower, mental toughness, emotional maturity, a willingness to listen and learn, and skill.

[LikeEich]

A pair of skates

[nfreeman]

I think the "intangibles" can all be lumped under the term "passion". If you have a passion for the game, if you're ROR and not Leino in terms of how much you want to work and be there, if you love the game and not piano practice, all of the other "intangible" and "work ethic" things will naturally follow at the NHL level. 

 

It was hard for him.  He felt like he was in jail. 

[inkman]

A pair of skates

Very nice

It was hard for him. He felt like he was in jail.

That jail filled with Champagne, Caviar and supermodel BJs (or fat chicks as some have tried to sell us on) .

[DirtDart]

I disagree with the hands part. I think that is what separates the wannabe NHLer from the guy that makes it. Hands, and I am not limiting it tonscoring touch, but the ability to control the puck at NHL level speed and pace is the biggest difference between those that stick and those that don't.

Silky smooth hands, a beard, and a nice flowing salad.