He's playing his first Professional Season of Hockey, coming out of College. What would you expect. Would you expect his game to not be lacking at some points? He showed that he's trying to be an all aroound player and play both sides of the puck ,a dn be responsible defenseivly.
- MJL

we agree however, that he was rushed and should have spent at least a half season in the A.

Bill Meltzer: Powe resigned
- bmeltzer

Not unexpected, Powe is a solid, hardworking player with good speed and limited ability.

we agree however, that he was rushed and should have spent at least a half season in the A.
- isaiah520

I think it's hard to say either way. I sorta like that he's coming off playing an entire NHL regular season's worth and entire playoff's worth of hockey.

Giroux's play was lacking during the regular season a lot of the time too, remember. I can't count how many times I watched him try to Forsberg his way to the net and put one (or more) too many moves on and end up turning the puck over. He had just as many uninspiring moments as his linemates.
- BulliesPhan87

i agree with that if you're referring to the regular season, but my boi was money in the playoffs

Banned for calling someone a girl. Are we really that sensitive?
- nastyflyergirl

Like i said the other day, the gestapo is shadowing EVERYBODY.

Also, try not to use words that have double letters like in the word i just bolded. Might result in a 15 minute hiatus...

we agree however, that he was rushed and should have spent at least a half season in the A.
- isaiah520

You know where I stand on that!

we agree however, that he was rushed and should have spent at least a half season in the A.
- isaiah520

With the way he started last season, it would have been very hard to put him in the A. However, by christmas, i think he should have spent some time. I think at around 25 games into the season he was 3rd on the team in points and 1st in points among rookies.

Edit: Through his first 21 games he had 19 points (6 goals 13 assists) and then managed only 1 point in his next 15 games.

He followed that up with 11 points in 14 games, then went cold the rest of the season

He's playing his first Professional Season of Hockey, coming out of College. What would you expect. Would you expect his game to not be lacking at some points? He showed that he's trying to be an all aroound player and play both sides of the puck ,a dn be responsible defenseivly.
- MJL

the lacking part was in response to someone inferring that he was better than giroux which i think is 100% false. i root like hell for jvr and i believe he will be a great player in this league. i just didn't want people to act like he was great cuz after the first month or so of the regular season he forgot how to score it seemed. please don't take this as me knockin jimmy, just don't want to be too easy of a critic

the lacking part was in response to someone inferring that he was better than giroux which i think is 100% false. i root like hell for jvr and i believe he will be a great player in this league. i just didn't want people to act like he was great cuz after the first month or so of the regular season he forgot how to score it seemed. please don't take this as me knockin jimmy, just don't want to be too easy of a critic
- flyerscup2011

If someone inferred that JVR was better than Giroux, I missed it. Because I didn't read that.

I think it's hard to say either way. I sorta like that he's coming off playing an entire NHL regular season's worth and entire playoff's worth of hockey.
- eayost

Honestly, there wasn't much that JVR could have gained by playing on that dismal Phantoms team of last season. He was better off in the NHL, gaining experience. At least historically, the majority (there are, of course, exceptions) of forwards who eventually become impact NHL players do so with little or no time in the AHL. Giroux, too, would have bypassed the AHL but he had such an awful training camp and preseason his first year that the club had little choice but to send him down -- that was not the original plan. The AHL is a somewhat more helpful developmental step for defensemen and an important one for goaltenders.

Honestly, there wasn't much that JVR could have gained by playing on that dismal Phantoms team of last season. He was better off in the NHL, gaining experience. At least historically, the majority of forwards who eventually become impact NHL players do so with little or no time in the AHL. The AHL is a somewhat more helpful developmental step for defensemen and an important one for goaltenders.
- bmeltzer

Bill, normally I agree, but I think forwards (especially "power" forwards) coming from the NCAA ranks could use a little American Hockey League seasoning prior to joining the NHL.

Okposo is the first one that comes to mind.

(edit: Mike Knuble and Bill Guerin, too)

the lacking part was in response to someone inferring that he was better than giroux which i think is 100% false. i root like hell for jvr and i believe he will be a great player in this league. i just didn't want people to act like he was great cuz after the first month or so of the regular season he forgot how to score it seemed. please don't take this as me knockin jimmy, just don't want to be too easy of a critic
- flyerscup2011

I think he has a ton more potential then Giroux, plus has damn good size. With the amount of young talent on the team, it is easy for him to be not so hyped. I think he is gonna have a very good season this upcoming year.

He had 3 good months last season, and 4 bad months.. in the good months he averaged nearly a ppg scoring 30 points in 35 games... in the bad months is was the complete opposite, scoring a mere 5 points in 43 games... I chalk alot of that up to the fact that he wasnt prepared for a long season.

Bill, normally I agree, but I think forwards (especially "power" forwards) coming from the NCAA ranks could use a little American Hockey League seasoning prior to joining the NHL.

Okposo is the first one that comes to mind.
- marooninja

The AHL can't hurt, and there are fine young forward prospects who need a half to a full season in the American League. One he's there two full seasons, he'd better get moving in his development and if he's there three full seasons without cracking the NHL roster, he's not long for the organization.

Honestly, there wasn't much that JVR could have gained by playing on that dismal Phantoms team of last season. He was better off in the NHL, gaining experience. At least historically, the majority (there are, of course, exceptions) of forwards who eventually become impact NHL players do so with little or no time in the AHL. Giroux, too, would have bypassed the AHL but he had such an awful training camp and preseason his first year that the club had little choice but to send him down -- that was not the original plan. The AHL is a somewhat more helpful developmental step for defensemen and an important one for goaltenders.
- bmeltzer

I agree for the most part. If a player is going to be an impact player in the NHL he more then likely will make the jump right away, occasionally guys will take a month or two in the A before making their appearances, any longer, and it becomes less and less likely that they will be serious impact NHL players.

In that train of thought, Bill, do you know what happened to Kyle Turris? Does it look like he will ever become a solid NHL top line guy?

I think he has a ton more potential then Giroux, plus has damn good size. With the amount of young talent on the team, it is easy for him to be not so hyped. I think he is gonna have a very good season this upcoming year.

He had 3 good months last season, and 4 bad months.. in the good months he averaged nearly a ppg scoring 30 points in 35 games... in the bad months is was the complete opposite, scoring a mere 5 points in 43 games... I chalk alot of that up to the fact that he wasnt prepared for a long season.
- jak521

idk about the "a ton more potential than giroux" cuz let's face claude can handle the puck with the best of them, and that goal against montreal when he went around the broken skated gorges and flipped one quickly on halak was de-skusting. the point you make about jvr not being prepared for the long season is in my opinion 100% fact, he did seem to run out of gas. and you're right if you're making the point that it's very hard to go from playing 20-25 games in a season to 107

I think he has a ton more potential then Giroux, plus has damn good size. With the amount of young talent on the team, it is easy for him to be not so hyped. I think he is gonna have a very good season this upcoming year.

He had 3 good months last season, and 4 bad months.. in the good months he averaged nearly a ppg scoring 30 points in 35 games... in the bad months is was the complete opposite, scoring a mere 5 points in 43 games... I chalk alot of that up to the fact that he wasnt prepared for a long season.
- jak521

Good points. I agree with of it, although I think it's debatable whether he has more potential than Giroux. Giroux has already shown a level in the playoffs that JVR never touched even in his pre-pro career (he did have a dominant second WJC, especially early on in the tourney). Giroux has a level of natural anticipation that can't be taught, that I have not seen from JVR. JVR has tremendous tools and still largely untapped physical capabilities that go beyond Giroux's, but he's just a different type of player than Giroux. Hard to compare their potential in an apples-to-apples way.

You know where I stand on that!
- MJL

You stand on the right side of the fence...Just because a guy can play at a NHL level, no need to rush him.

Honestly, there wasn't much that JVR could have gained by playing on that dismal Phantoms team of last season. He was better off in the NHL, gaining experience. At least historically, the majority (there are, of course, exceptions) of forwards who eventually become impact NHL players do so with little or no time in the AHL. Giroux, too, would have bypassed the AHL but he had such an awful training camp and preseason his first year that the club had little choice but to send him down -- that was not the original plan. The AHL is a somewhat more helpful developmental step for defensemen and an important one for goaltenders.
- bmeltzer

Outside of the normal things rookies need to improve on (adjusting to the quickness of the game, decision making, etc.) I think JVRs biggest hurdle is a lack of confidence, and I don't know that gaining confidence in the AHL would translate to the NHL if he popped into the Flyers lineup midseason. With all the NHL games he's played now, some great ones, some not so great, I think he'll go to camp with a lot of confidence this year and it'll show in his play. For the most part his skills and vision at times all seem there.

Bill, normally I agree, but I think forwards (especially "power" forwards) coming from the NCAA ranks could use a little American Hockey League seasoning prior to joining the NHL.

Okposo is the first one that comes to mind.
- marooninja

For budding stars, time in the AHL is more about gaining confidence as a pro more than anything, and I'm not sure that JvR was every lacking in confidence during his rookie season. His endurance hit a wall, but he never seemed intimidated or overwhelmed.

hey sorry to be way off the subject, but i'm new to hockey buzz and i can't figure out how to put an avatar on my profile. can someone help me out with that? also suggest where i can get a cool flyers related pic, that'd be sweet. thanx fellow flyers fans.

Honestly, there wasn't much that JVR could have gained by playing on that dismal Phantoms team of last season. He was better off in the NHL, gaining experience. At least historically, the majority (there are, of course, exceptions) of forwards who eventually become impact NHL players do so with little or no time in the AHL. Giroux, too, would have bypassed the AHL but he had such an awful training camp and preseason his first year that the club had little choice but to send him down -- that was not the original plan. The AHL is a somewhat more helpful developmental step for defensemen and an important one for goaltenders.
- bmeltzer

I think it's an organizational issue. Is the lack of success of picks after the first round due more to poor drafting or poor handling of those drafted?

Andreas Nodl is a prime example of a guy that probably could have benefited from additional AHL time, but he was buried here and yo-yo'd and now seems to have found his niche, and has no spot.

JvR had never played as many games in a season as he did last year. For that reason alone, I think he should have been an AHLer, at least to start.

Honestly, there wasn't much that JVR could have gained by playing on that dismal Phantoms team of last season. He was better off in the NHL, gaining experience. At least historically, the majority (there are, of course, exceptions) of forwards who eventually become impact NHL players do so with little or no time in the AHL. Giroux, too, would have bypassed the AHL but he had such an awful training camp and preseason his first year that the club had little choice but to send him down -- that was not the original plan. The AHL is a somewhat more helpful developmental step for defensemen and an important one for goaltenders.
- bmeltzer

Interesting point about last year's Phantoms team. From following Tim McManus' work, it appeared that that team also had some locker room issues this past season.

The only question I have is, do we give a player like Patrick Maroon the benefit of the doubt because of the way the season went for the Phantoms last year and the relative dearth of offensive talent there? Just wonderin'.....

For budding stars, time in the AHL is more about gaining confidence as a pro more than anything, and I'm not sure that JvR was every lacking in confidence during his rookie season. His endurance hit a wall, but he never seemed intimidated or overwhelmed.
- Tomahawk

Haha, guess we see the confidence thing differently (funny this post is right after mine). I do agree that conditioning hit a wall at some point, but I thought there were games that he seemed very tentative

I agree for the most part. If a player is going to be an impact player in the NHL he more then likely will make the jump right away, occasionally guys will take a month or two in the A before making their appearances, any longer, and it becomes less and less likely that they will be serious impact NHL players.

In that train of thought, Bill, do you know what happened to Kyle Turris? Does it look like he will ever become a solid NHL top line guy?
- jak521

IMO, Turris left college hockey too soon. His sole reason for playing Junior A rather than the WHL was to go to college in the US and play NCAA hockey on a scholarship. Without even a full collegiate season, next thing you know, he's a pro. The extremely steep jump up in competition level has thus far been tough to handle.

In a similar vein, I am convinced to this day that Dainius Zubrus would have been a much more productive offensive player at the NHL level had the Flyers not rushed him from Junior A hockey in Ontario (he had been in a dispute with the QMJHL team that held his rights) directly to the NHL at age 18.

I am all for most teenage players (with rare exceptions) continuing their development in junior hockey or Europe, playing in the WJC and turning pro at age 20 or 21.

Interesting point about last year's Phantoms team. From following Tim McManus' work, it appeared that that team also had some locker room issues this past season.

The only question I have is, do we give a player like Patrick Maroon the benefit of the doubt because of the way the season went for the Phantoms last year and the relative dearth of offensive talent there? Just wonderin'.....
- johndewar

I think the lack of talent around him contributed to his poor season, as did injury, but he doesn't get a total pass. Apart from stats, he was not a significantly better player in his second full AHL season than he was in his first, and the organization was disappointed by that more than the drop in goals.