Vanek

[bottlecap]

We'll never know. The kid has loads of talent.

I for one think he got the raw end of the stick.

He's got to pretty disgruntled by this sort of

treatment.

 

Bottom line with this team, we need more big dogs.

[Kristian]

What treatment would that be?

 

He tried to coast through the playoffs, and got benched for it. If he needs to be disgruntled with someone, all he needs to do is take a look in the mirror.

[LabattBlue]

Lindy gave Vanek all the opportunities in the world to be a move responsible two way player. Instead Vanek continued to float especially when needed for back checking or defensive zone play. He has no one to blame but himself.

[Knightrider]

I'd he got more than his share of opportunities to show he belonged on the ice. At this point of his career, he didn't. Pyatt deserved to be there and did pretty well.

 

Vanek is still young. He'll need a little seasoning, like Pyatt, Connelly, and Campbell did. I'd say they are turning out ok though.

[bottlecap]

Vanek is kinda like a raw Satan. He's a genius at putting the puck in the net but unless

he's inspired, he floats. I would have liked to have seen him on that power play, which shot blanks. Maybe Ruff was having bad flashbacks to Satan, but Vanek is a gamebreaker and that is what we needed.

[Kristian]

Vanek was on the PP on several occasions, didn't seem to help much.

[Corp000085]

Vanek would not have helped us this playoffs... With some coaching and personal growth, he'll develop into a superstar, just not this year. We all saw flashes of his talent this year, however we also saw a young kid who did not understand the NHL game. Playing for the NHL is about talent, but its also about grit, heart, and dedication. Vanek has the talent, i'm sure he has the grit and heart locked away somewhere, like all atheletes do, but with some dedication he'll become a complete player. Maybe next year, maybe the year after that, maybe with a different club, but eventually vanek will develop.

[Taro T]

While I think Vanek could turn into a Satan-type player if he had that sort of a mentor on the team (which he doesn't), I am not terribly worried about that happening.

 

The kid had a very respectable 1st season, ending with 25 goals in the RS after going the 1st 14 games with no goals and a lot of people questioning whether he could get it done at the NHL level. Ironically enough, his "breakout" game came against Carolina in Cole's double penalty shot game. I don't recall a whole lot of Miro-esque goals out of his 25 (empty nets, hat tricks in blow outs, goals coming when the Sabres are already down by 3 late in the 3rd, etc.) He even had 4 game winners, which is pretty good for a rook.

 

He ended the regular season with only 2 goals in his last 18 games, so he definitely did disappear down the stretch. But a lot of rookies do end up tiring down the stretch. That worries me a little, but not terribly.

 

In the playoffs, the kid was definitely overwhelmed. Many have said he was floating, I don't think he was. I think he realized the magnitude of what was going on around him and spent too much time thinking about what he should be doing, rather than just moving himself to where he should be and then reacting. (Kind of the way Rory looked during large portions of the regular season.) Because he isn't the fastest guy on the team, spending time figuring out where he should be rather than just being there, made him look very ordinary (read bad) at times. This guy has scored huge goals at lower levels in crunch time, so I find it hard to believe that his play was due to not wanting to sieze the moment; I think he just had too much new going on around him for it all to click right now. He's not the 1st rookie and won't be the last to be in that situation.

 

With guys like Drury and Grier (yes, I think he will be re-signed) on this team, I don't think that Vanek will be given the opportunity to become a floater. The beauty part is, if I am right, the Sabres have another natural goal scorer (possibly even a star) that isn't breaking the bank. (Kotalik at times shows he's a natural, but turned up missing quite a bit. I wonder if people suggesting he was injured sometime around the Olympics aren't correct.) If I'm wrong, I am certain that there is at least one GM / coach combo that believes they can turn Vanek into something special and will give up a pretty good player for him.

 

Either way, having gone out and drafted a stud wth the top pick (rather than following the criminal's mantra of drafting the best 2-way player available) should pay dividends.

 

Thomas has 2-3 years to show he can figure it out. He also has a history of starting out overwhelmed but then figuring out what to do and also of scoring big goals in big games. 2 traits that make me believe he will figure it out.

[PASabreFan]

Thanks Dave for your typical thoughtful analysis. You are the antidote for those who just reach for the easiest explanation for why a talented playing isn't scoring -- lack of "heart" and/or "character." It really is a complicated game, and you did a good job of breaking down what might have been Vanek's problem. At this level, I don't think desire enters into it. This reminds me to scold Paul Hamilton for continuing to obsess about seeing Vanek yawn in practice. I say give Dave B. Paul's job!

[DR HOLLIDAY]

While I think Vanek could turn into a Satan-type player if he had that sort of a mentor on the team (which he doesn't), I am not terribly worried about that happening.

 

The kid had a very respectable 1st season, ending with 25 goals in the RS after going the 1st 14 games with no goals and a lot of people questioning whether he could get it done at the NHL level. Ironically enough, his "breakout" game came against Carolina in Cole's double penalty shot game. I don't recall a whole lot of Miro-esque goals out of his 25 (empty nets, hat tricks in blow outs, goals coming when the Sabres are already down by 3 late in the 3rd, etc.) He even had 4 game winners, which is pretty good for a rook.

 

He ended the regular season with only 2 goals in his last 18 games, so he definitely did disappear down the stretch. But a lot of rookies do end up tiring down the stretch. That worries me a little, but not terribly.

 

In the playoffs, the kid was definitely overwhelmed. Many have said he was floating, I don't think he was. I think he realized the magnitude of what was going on around him and spent too much time thinking about what he should be doing, rather than just moving himself to where he should be and then reacting. (Kind of the way Rory looked during large portions of the regular season.) Because he isn't the fastest guy on the team, spending time figuring out where he should be rather than just being there, made him look very ordinary (read bad) at times. This guy has scored huge goals at lower levels in crunch time, so I find it hard to believe that his play was due to not wanting to sieze the moment; I think he just had too much new going on around him for it all to click right now. He's not the 1st rookie and won't be the last to be in that situation.

 

With guys like Drury and Grier (yes, I think he will be re-signed) on this team, I don't think that Vanek will be given the opportunity to become a floater. The beauty part is, if I am right, the Sabres have another natural goal scorer (possibly even a star) that isn't breaking the bank. (Kotalik at times shows he's a natural, but turned up missing quite a bit. I wonder if people suggesting he was injured sometime around the Olympics aren't correct.) If I'm wrong, I am certain that there is at least one GM / coach combo that believes they can turn Vanek into something special and will give up a pretty good player for him.

 

Either way, having gone out and drafted a stud wth the top pick (rather than following the criminal's mantra of drafting the best 2-way player available) should pay dividends.

 

Thomas has 2-3 years to show he can figure it out. He also has a history of starting out overwhelmed but then figuring out what to do and also of scoring big goals in big games. 2 traits that make me believe he will figure it out.

 

Great post, Sir........... B-)

[Bmwolf21]

Couple things I noticed in looking at Vanek's stats - first, he was much more effective at home than on the road - home 41GP, 17-12-29, +6, 4 GWG; pn the road (excluding the Rochester game) 40GP, 8-11-19, -17, 0 GWG - which is usually indicative of a young player - he needs to learn how to play through adversity, through the opponents' best matchups, etc. (Vanek's Stats at Yahoo Sports)

 

He also had just one EN goal, so he didn't pad his stats at the end of the game (but he usually wasn't on the ice at that time anyway.) FWIW, the Sabres leader in EN goals was Max and Drury with two apiece. (Vanek's Stats at NHL.com)

 

FWIW, 11 of his goals came on the PP, so I think he found a way to be effective even as he was still figuring out the league...

 

Bottom line is I think anyone rushing to judgement and saying get rid of him, he shouldn't be back, etc., is getting ahead of themselves, we gave Pyatt, Connolly, Max and others quite a while to find their stride and game, so we need to be patient with him. Stick Vanek's locker right in the middle of the veterans, let them work with him every day, and we'll watch him blossom into a clutch scorer and leader, something Miro was never able to do. At the very worst we might have a younger PP specialist, a la Andreychuk, who might add 30+ goals a year while getting better in his own end each season...