When it comes to the Calder Trophy, don't sleep on Logan Couture's chances

TEEEETH!!

I think you meant to say “take over Wallin’s role…” ;)

Just like us A’s fans hated seeing Chris Carter at bat this year-just as underwhelming and seemingly undeserving of the hype while playing with the big club.Next year he’ll have a very real chance of winning the AL Rookie of the year.Hopefully Couture can develop sooner than later and make Mayers worth less than he already is.

No concussion symptoms from that hit. I think this is just a precaution.

He will get no hype or coverage whatsoever because he is automatically ZOMGCHOKERZ!

Carlson is going to be a huge addition to the Caps, and I expect him to have a great year, but I don’t see a Calder in his future. It’s tough for D to get it, and he won’t get the PPTOI that he’ll need to pad his point totals because Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin play the point on the Caps PP. It’s unlikely that just being solid is enough for him to win the Calder without impressive point totals. I’m also cautious with Carlson; he’s been on such a rapid rise that it’s easy to think he’ll continue to improve and impress, but at some point he has to cool off and come back to earth. Right?

I think the MON media is going to hype the shit out of Subban and he may get enough PPTOI with Markov injured and few other options at the point. I don’t think he’ll be the best, or that he’ll win, just that he’ll be hyped to hell.

I think you all need to realize that the other teams know about Logan, and just because the Canada-centric/Eastern-centric media focuses on other players, it doesn’t mean that any coaches/players aren’t going to be very aware of the Sharks’ third line.

I completely agree with this. It’s not like he was some undrafted schlub from Omaha, Nebraska who came flying in out of nowhere— Couture was drafted ninth overall by the Sharks, heavily promoted during his Junior career, and made the NHL All-Star team last year. He’s on the radar.

If he scores 20-25 goals and is a +10 on the third line, he won’t have a chance for the Calder, but the Sharks wil likely be getting home ice…. and that’s what’s important.

Of course that’s what’s important. Not disagreeing with you.

But if he scores 25 goals and adds 25 assists in there, I disagree… he’s going to have a shot.

Weiiiiiiiiiiird.

Butterface, but i’d still hit it.

"What’s even better for the Sharks is that their depth in goal and on defense with their logjam of 6th and 7th Dmen in the system fuck them royally…. are better than their depth at forward and leave the Sharks with not many options to upgrade the top three…

Yeah i agree. Without a lot of PP time i can’t see Couture winning the Calder while playing on the 3rd line.

It’s my guess that Pavelski will find himself there again. Therefore Couture, like Malhotra, will center the second unit. I think he’ll get enough PPTOI, it’s just about cashing in on opportunities.

Taylor Hall, like John Tavares, will be given the opportunity to be “The Guy” in Edmonton. He’ll be on the top line, the top PP unit, and top minutes. Tyler Seguin is going to be battling it out for a top 6 spot and a place on Boston’s second PP unit. But Hall and Seguin will likely be getting more PP minutes than Couture, especially with Savard out with post concussion syndrome. And neither will be stuck in a 3rd line role.

However, it is interesting that the last two no. 1 overall picks have not won the Calder, despite playing on some pretty piss poor teams.

The defensive stuff you can teach, easily, with good coaching. That’s mostly positional play and effort. Effort can be taught.

I’m going to have to disagree with you here. Defensive bad habits are learned early and are usually the hardest to shake. Players who are good defensively HAVE a work ethic.They also have incredible vision and hockey sense. That generally can’t be taught. It’s one thing to playmake because you have good ice vision like Joe Thornton. To backwards translate that when you’re on D is not nearly as easy, and I can’t think of too many instances where it’s been taught.

Flashy playmakers rarely learn good defense. Semin, Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, even Heatley. These guys are not stellar defensive players, nor are they ever going to be. They are at varying stages of their careers, and I don’t think there’s any evidence among this small sample that defense and effort can be taught. This is the first sample set that comes to mind. If you have a different one to support your side, I’d be glad to hear it.

we have no variety in our prospects

I’d hardly think we have no variety. Unless Benn Ferriero, Logan Couture, Frazer McLaren and Cameron Macintyer are all the same type of player. Were Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, Ryane Clowe and Jamie McGinn the same type of player? Were Torrey Mitchell, Milan Michalek, Steve Bernier and Jonathan Cheechoo?

One of your big concerns seems that we do not have a pure goal scorer in the system. Someone in the mold of Patrick Kane, Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Semin or the Sedins. Well, these are once in a generation players snagged with very high draft picks. No draft class will have more than one or two of these guys, and they’ll generally go in the top 3 picks. I can’t remember the last time we had a pick that high. Funny enough, we have 3 players on our roster who were in those draft positions, and they currently comprise our top line.

I hear the argument a lot that we were missing something in terms of playoff scoring. And it’s true. If you don’t score more than 2 goals a game in the postseason, winning is hard. But more flash was hardly going to get us those goals. What we were missing was dirty goals. Chicago owned the front of their net. Anaheim did the same the season before. Dallas did the season before that. So did Detroit and Edmonton. You can deke all you want. If there’s no net to shoot at, you won’t be able to score those pretty goals. The level of the competition in the postseason is just too high.

Dany Heatley is a phenomenal goal scorer, and he occasionally has a highlight reel goal, but to quote Jamie Baker, “The thing I was most impressed with was how many ugly goals he scores.” Heater, when he’s healthy, cleans up garbage in front of the net. If you want to score in the post season, you need muckers, grinders, playmakers, puck diggers and the like who are responsible in their own end and dig in at the other end to win the battles, create the breaks and score the ugly goals.

I find it far more likely a more polished and complete player like Couture will get those goals than some stick handling wizard.

He’s not adding the missing ingredient. Paajarvi would have. Semin would have.

Alexander Semin has traditionally gone missing in the post-season. Badly. And Logan was actually a fantastic missing ingredient this past post-season. Our biggest problem against Chicago was that he was not given any ice time. But that’s a coaching issue. If his performances against Colorado and Detroit didn’t win him ice time, particularly in a series in which we started with home ice, that’s not his fault, nor is it Doug Wilson’s fault for drafting him. That’s squarely on the shoulders of Todd McLellan and his lack of a game plan against Chicago.

So Paajarvi, who had 29 points in 49 game in 2009-2010. And 17 points in 50 games in 2008-2009. Much better chance of success.

Although you seem to think you are a fantastic scout and judge of player potential, you’re a sucker for flash. That’s all you ever talk about. That’s fine. But what you fail to understand is that it’s not all about flash, there’s alot that goes into making a good hockey player.

Like Elvis said, you are crazy when you say that Semin “would have helped” in scoring. He had two points in seven games last postseason. And Paajarvi hasn’t even played an NHL game yet, and you’re ready to anoint him the next great NHL player.

Couture showed last year that he’s capable of scoring points, he’s capable of playing an all around game, and he’s capable of being a star on this team. There’s games and evidence to back up his promise. Why can’t you just enjoy watching a young player blossom?

I know the point you’re trying to make, as well with Espositio. But based on your criteria, if you were GM, you are basically saying that you would have selected Esposito over Couture. Smart move, GM.