Which Player does Vanek Remind you of the most?

[inkman]

I listed the top 24 scoring wingers in the NHL, outside of Vanek, and listed them to see if we could come up with a player he resembles the most. I unfortunately don't get to watch many non-Sabre NHL games so any and all input is welcome.

[LabattBlue]

Of the players listed, I'd say Heatley. Neither player is overly physical and both have great goal scoring ability. I'm not sure how much of a difference playing with Spezza vs. Roy makes, but after last season ended, I had visions of Vanek putting up Heatley like numbers at some point in the near future(50 goals 90-100 points).

 

That being said, I'd be happy with 40 goal 80 point years for the next 6 years. :rolleyes:

 

PS If Lindy remains stubborn and "wastes" Vanek by playing him in front of the net on the PP, his assist totals will remain low.

[inkman]

PS If Lindy remains stubborn and "wastes" Vanek by playing him in front of the net on the PP, his assist totals will remain low.

As much as I bang on Vanek, that tip last night was friggin ridiculous. I'm torm as he does have a great shot but is about as adept at deflections as any player in the league.

[X. Benedict]

He reminds me of John Ogrodnick.

 

Shot, touch, seeming detachment, sometimes flimsy D, net play, time in doggy house......

[wjag]

He reminds me of Thomas Vanish... Except Thomas Vanek's tips go in and Thomas Vanish's tips go over the crossbar...

[Claude Balls]

I put Rolston, just because Rolston can be a great player when he is playing with the right guys. Take them away and try to make him the top guy is when he struggles more.

[Goodfella25]

His rookie season he was a copy of Miro Satan....or floaty McGee as I used to call him.

 

Now I'm not too sure....what player on that list is paid to score yet doesn't want to let the team down so he plays a more solid 2-way game and his numbers go down? Whoever that is.

[gregkash]

you guys are seriously he scored 36 goals in his THIRD YEAR IN THE NHL. and you're considering that a bad thing?

 

I know we're all feeling disjointed but it's a team game. The team played inconsistant, and every player on the team played inconsistant. You just have a spotlight on vanek cuz of the money which at we said at the beginning of the year wasn't a fair thing to do. That's what causes the un-needed pressure.

 

and i'm 24 now as is Vanek so I'm pretty sure that if i had the constant attention and belittling thrown at me that he does I would be wildly inconsistent too.

[slapshot1619]

Vanek could have easily had so many more goals this season... yeah could of, would of, should of, but during the times where he was really struggling he was hitting the goalpost often. I remember one game right before his breakout in February where he hit 4 posts(on separate shots) in 1 game.

 

As for my post I said Gaborik knowing where to be on the ice at the right time.

[wjag]

My official position is that 36 goals isn't too shabby... At the end of the year, he came close to honoring his contract exectations.. I just wish more of them were meaningful, ie, GWG, or backbreakers. My biggest concern going forward was how many games he went late into the game before getting a SOG.. I'd be perfectly happy if he'd finish games without goals with at least 4 or 5 SOGs... Many games that didn't happened. He needs to get more SOGs game-in, game-out to EARN his money.

[slapshot1619]

My official position is that 36 goals isn't too shabby... At the end of the year, he came close to honoring his contract exectations.. I just wish more of them were meaningful, ie, GWG, or backbreakers. My biggest concern going forward was how many games he went late into the game before getting a SOG.. I'd be perfectly happy if he'd finish games without goals with at least 4 or 5 SOGs... Many games that didn't happened. He needs to get more SOGs game-in, game-out to EARN his money.

 

He seems to suffer from Timmy-itis... makes an incredible move to get open then tries to make the pass first. He's got to realize he has an awesome shot and not always try to dish it away. you take the shot may be score a goal or two... or just get some good shots on net and let the other team start to focus on you... taking the focus off someone else and THEN change it up and try to make the pass.

[nfreeman]

Phil Esposito. Big, tough to move, great hands, scores almost all of his goals down low.

 

Dave Andreychuk is also not a bad comparison, although Vanek is a better skater and passer.

 

I don't think Vanek bears much resemblance to any of the current wingers listed in the poll, although there are some similarities with Holmstrom of the Wings.

 

At this point I think Vanek is a pretty good microcosm of the Sabres overall. Yes, he put up some numbers this year, and he rebounded somewhat from an atrocious first half. It's hard to criticize 36 goals at age 24 in a tumultuous season.

 

OTOH, he -- like the team as a whole -- didn't deliver when it counted, against quality opposition. In 49 games against playoff teams, Vanek had 16 goals. If you take out 5 goals against Boston (including 3 last night in a meaningless game), he had 11 goals in 41 games against playoff teams, including zero or one goal in 4 games each against NJ, Philly, Pittsburgh and Washington. Like the team, he fattened up his stats against crappy teams. (Of course, this isn't intentional, and it stands to reason that everyone is going to do better against the crappy teams). But I'm not willing to say that Vanek's a star, he had a great season, etc, just b/c he ended up the year with 36 goals.

 

Like all of our putative leaders -- Miller, Roy, Pominville, whoever the good defenseman are -- Vanek needs to deliver next year when it counts. Otherwise we will continue to be on the outside looking in.

[Bmwolf21]

His rookie season he was a copy of Miro Satan....or floaty McGee as I used to call him.

 

Now I'm not too sure....what player on that list is paid to score yet doesn't want to let the team down so he plays a more solid 2-way game and his numbers go down? Whoever that is.

Do you really think his numbers are down because he tried to play a more solid two-way game? I just don't see it. His +/- dropped 52 points from last year - from a +47 to a -5. That's a -5 from a guy who had 40 even-strength points.

 

There's a lot of reasons why his production fell but "focusing more on defense/two-way hockey" is way, way, way down on the list.

 

you guys are seriously he scored 36 goals in his THIRD YEAR IN THE NHL. and you're considering that a bad thing?

 

I know we're all feeling disjointed but it's a team game. The team played inconsistant, and every player on the team played inconsistant. You just have a spotlight on vanek cuz of the money which at we said at the beginning of the year wasn't a fair thing to do. That's what causes the un-needed pressure.

 

and i'm 24 now as is Vanek so I'm pretty sure that if i had the constant attention and belittling thrown at me that he does I would be wildly inconsistent too.

Where has anyone said that scoring 36 goals is a bad thing? The parts of Vanek's game that piss me off (and apparently, a few others) are his inconsistent effort (particularly in the defensive end) and his streaky scoring. A lot of us are looking at 36 goals and saying "jeez, what could he have done if his effort was there more often?" He even admitted he was streaky and inconsistent and has to learn how to be "the guy" with CD and DB gone.

[Bmwolf21]

Phil Esposito. Big, tough to move, great hands, scores almost all of his goals down low.

 

Dave Andreychuk is also not a bad comparison, although Vanek is a better skater and passer.

 

I don't think Vanek bears much resemblance to any of the current wingers listed in the poll, although there are some similarities with Holmstrom of the Wings.

 

At this point I think Vanek is a pretty good microcosm of the Sabres overall. Yes, he put up some numbers this year, and he rebounded somewhat from an atrocious first half. It's hard to criticize 36 goals at age 24 in a tumultuous season.

 

OTOH, he -- like the team as a whole -- didn't deliver when it counted, against quality opposition. In 49 games against playoff teams, Vanek had 16 goals. If you take out 5 goals against Boston (including 3 last night in a meaningless game), he had 11 goals in 41 games against playoff teams, including zero or one goal in 4 games each against NJ, Philly, Pittsburgh and Washington. Like the team, he fattened up his stats against crappy teams. (Of course, this isn't intentional, and it stands to reason that everyone is going to do better against the crappy teams). But I'm not willing to say that Vanek's a star, he had a great season, etc, just b/c he ended up the year with 36 goals.

 

Like all of our putative leaders -- Miller, Roy, Pominville, whoever the good defenseman are -- Vanek needs to deliver next year when it counts. Otherwise we will continue to be on the outside looking in.

Great post, especially the breakdown of goals vs. playoff teams.

[navybillsfan]

The real skinny guy on Nintendo Ice Hockey...

 

Fast as hell but cant score

[inkman]

you guys are seriously he scored 36 goals in his THIRD YEAR IN THE NHL. and you're considering that a bad thing?

 

I know we're all feeling disjointed but it's a team game. The team played inconsistant, and every player on the team played inconsistant. You just have a spotlight on vanek cuz of the money which at we said at the beginning of the year wasn't a fair thing to do. That's what causes the un-needed pressure.

 

and i'm 24 now as is Vanek so I'm pretty sure that if i had the constant attention and belittling thrown at me that he does I would be wildly inconsistent too.

So which player does he remind you of?

[BamBam]

Miko Makala with a scoring touch. J/K! :rolleyes:

 

Honestly, I think he has traits from several of those guys listed. Probably reminds me of Heatley.

[gregkash]

So which player does he remind you of?

 

Marian Gaborik.

 

They're not the fastest people in the world but they have excellent positioning, a nose for the puck, aren't afraid of the front of the net and a goal scorers touch.

[X. Benedict]

Marian Gaborik.

 

They're not the fastest people in the world but they have excellent positioning, a nose for the puck, aren't afraid of the front of the net and a goal scorers touch.

 

Are you sure you are thinking of Marian Gaborik? , he might be the fastest player in the league.

 

Maybe its Demitra you are thinking of?

[tom webster]

Are you sure you are thinking of Marian Gaborik? , he might be the fastest player in the league.

 

Maybe its Demitra you are thinking of?

 

Like my grandfather always said, give people enough rope and they will eventually hang themselves. I'm hoping he meant someone else as well.

[stenbaro]

Marian Gaborik.

 

They're not the fastest people in the world but they have excellent positioning, a nose for the puck, aren't afraid of the front of the net and a goal scorers touch.

Thats who I chose..

[tom webster]

I listed the top 24 scoring wingers in the NHL, outside of Vanek, and listed them to see if we could come up with a player he resembles the most. I unfortunately don't get to watch many non-Sabre NHL games so any and all input is welcome.

 

 

Off the list, I'm going with a Heatly/ Knuble combination although I voted for Heatley.

 

From the past, I'm going with a Charlie Simmer, Ray Shepard, Rick Vaive combo.

[gregkash]

Are you sure you are thinking of Marian Gaborik? , he might be the fastest player in the league.

 

Maybe its Demitra you are thinking of?

 

Gaborik is fast but he isn't blindingly fast. He's faster than Vanek. But he's not fast afinogenov.

[LabattBlue]

My biggest concern going forward was how many games he went late into the game before getting a SOG.. I'd be perfectly happy if he'd finish games without goals with at least 4 or 5 SOGs... Many games that didn't happened. He needs to get more SOGs game-in, game-out to EARN his money.

0 shots - 5 games

1 shot - 18 games

2 shots - 12 games

 

Almost have the games in a season where he had 2 shots or less. Consistency is definitely what Vanek has to work on the most.

[LabattBlue]

As much as I bang on Vanek, that tip last night was friggin ridiculous. I'm torm as he does have a great shot but is about as adept at deflections as any player in the league.

The tips are pretty when they work, but are a low percentage play. Put Vanek on the wing down low and I would guarantee that the PP will be much better off.