Roster review: #82 Marcus Foligno

[dudacek]

The roster review continues:

 

 

#82 Marcus Foligno LW (one year left at $1.9 million per, age 23)

Buffalo 57/8/12/20/-5/50

 

Son of a Sabre legend, who scored 13 points in 14 games while recklessly sacrificing his body and refusing to take #### from anyone: After that rookie debut, is it any wonder fans have been less than satisfied in the years since with Marcus Foligno?

 

So many new players have cycled into the organization since Foligno made his debut in the fall of 2012 that it is surprising to realize he has only played 192 NHL games. Two injury-plagued seasons sandwiched around a disappointing 2014 campaign have clouded Foligno’s lustre, but he remains an enormous man who will hit and fight, is responsible defensively and can play centre in a pinch.

 

Most observers have come around to the reality that Foligno has never had the offensive tools to be the player he showed in that initial run, but what remains an open question is whether he is able to play a simple, physical game on enough of a consistent basis to be an important part of the team moving forward.

 

Links to the rest of the series:

Anders Lindback: http://forums.sabres...nders-lindback/

Pat Kaleta: http://forums.sabres...patrick-kaleta/

Johan Larsson: http://forums.sabres...-johan-larsson/

Matt Hackett: http://forums.sabres...1-matt-hackett/

Andrej Meszaros: http://forums.sabres...ndrej-meszaros/

Phil Varone, Zac Dalpe, Jerry D'Amigo: http://forums.sabres...e-dalpe-damigo/

Mikhail Grigorenko: http://forums.sabres...ail-grigorenko/

Tyson Strachan, Andre Benoit: http://forums.sabres...han-and-benoit/

Mark Pysyk: http://forums.sabres...w-3-mark-pysyk/

Tim Schaller: http://forums.sabres...9-tim-schaller/

Matt Ellis: http://forums.sabres...-37-matt-ellis/

Cody Hodgson: http://forums.sabres...9-cody-hodgson/

Tyler Ennis: http://forums.sabres...63-tyler-ennis/

Chad Johnson: http://forums.sabres...3-chad-johnson/

Nick Deslauriers: http://forums.sabres...ck-deslauriers/

Cody McCormick: http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/23505-roster-review-8-cody-mccormick/

Rasmus Ristolainen: http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/23511-roster-review-55-rasmus-ristolainen/

Josh Gorges: http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/23515-roster-review-4-josh-gorges/

Matta Moulson: http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/23526-roster-review-26-matt-moulson/

 

Edited July 22, 2015 by dudacek

[bob_sauve28]

He has to have a good year or he will be a victim of numbers on this team 

[darksabre]

I don't think he skates well enough to hold a place on an NHL team much longer. 

[dudacek]

I'm curious what the analytics say about Marcus, if they are even relevant to a player on a Ted Nolan team.

[Drunkard]

Foligno is a solid bottom 6 player. I don't think he has any place on the top 2 lines unless he's a temporary fill in for injuries or if one of our top 6 guys is "getting picked on" and he needs to be bumped up temporarily to shelter the guy getting picked on and he needs to give somebody the business.

 

I see him predominantly on either the 3rd or 4th line. He won't be out of place in the bottom 6 and he can chip in some points here and there as well. He's kind of a young Steve Ott right now with more size and less leadership at this point due to his age.

[Doohicksie]

Foligno is a solid bottom 6 player. I don't think he has any place on the top 2 lines unless he's a temporary fill in for injuries or if one of our top 6 guys is "getting picked on" and he needs to be bumped up temporarily to shelter the guy getting picked on and he needs to give somebody the business.

 

I see him predominantly on either the 3rd or 4th line. He won't be out of place in the bottom 6 and he can chip in some points here and there as well. He's kind of a young Steve Ott right now with more size and less leadership at this point due to his age.

 

That's about the most positive spin I can imagine assigning to Foligno.  I like the guy, but if he weren't a legacy I don't think he'd be here right now, or would be soon for the door.

[Weave]

I think he'll need to become a dependable penalty killer before we can label him as a good 3rd line forward.  Until then, he's potential that might never rise above a really good 4th liner.

[TrueBlueGED]

I'm curious what the analytics say about Marcus, if they are even relevant to a player on a Ted Nolan team.

 

Nothing that we probably couldn't have guessed at. In the lockout-shortened season when he was given offensive opportunities, he was great--far and away our best possession player. In the following years as those offensive chances diminished, so did his possession numbers. The past couple of seasons he's faced tough minutes overall (competition & zone starts) and basically held neutral on possession. I think he's a decent 3rd line player that you can do worse than, but I think you can probably do better as well. High-end 4th liner and average 3rd liner. For me, the biggest problem I had with him was stylistic...he seemed to buy into his own offense after that unsustainable start and kept trying to dangle and play finesse offensive hockey--he simply doesn't have the skillset to do that, and watching him try is maddening. But he's still an effective player in the right role.

[Johnny DangerFace]

I hate when he dangles...

[Drunkard]

That's about the most positive spin I can imagine assigning to Foligno.  I like the guy, but if he weren't a legacy I don't think he'd be here right now, or would be soon for the door.

I honestly didn't think it was all that positive but I guess compared to others, it is a somewhat positive spin. I agree that he's kind of a legacy here due to his old man, although I still think he has a place on the team as a 4th liner if nothing else. I just saw the poll options with the first one mentioning him as a middle 6 guy and it didn't seem right to me because he has no place even on the 2nd line as anything more than a temporary fill in for the reasons I stated above. He would make for a great 4th liner though.

[Trettioåtta]

For me, the biggest problem I had with him was stylistic...he seemed to buy into his own offense after that unsustainable start and kept trying to dangle and play finesse offensive hockey--he simply doesn't have the skillset to do that, and watching him try is maddening. But he's still an effective player in the right role.

Absolutely this. He wants to dangle around people rather than just plow through them. If plays the right game I think he could be a great third liner. He just seems to want to do too much

[tom webster]

I think Marcus Foligno actually suffers from reverse "legacy" discrimination. I hear over and over again how he is just here because of his name, he's an average third liner, etc. etc. 

 

In my mind he is another young player that was thrown to the wolves too early and thus people forget how young he still is. I have no way of knowing what he will turn into but I can tell you that the front office is still high on him and believe he has been among the most mis-used players on the team. Doesn't mean he is untouchable and could still be moved in a trade for a d-man but he won't be a throw in.

[Doohicksie]

I think Marcus Foligno actually suffers from reverse "legacy" discrimination. I hear over and over again how he is just here because of his name, he's an average third liner, etc. etc. 

 

In my mind he is another young player that was thrown to the wolves too early and thus people forget how young he still is. I have no way of knowing what he will turn into but I can tell you that the front office is still high on him and believe he has been among the most mis-used players on the team. Doesn't mean he is untouchable and could still be moved in a trade for a d-man but he won't be a throw in.

 

Maybe my reverse legacy sentiment comes from not wanting to get too attached to him.

[qwksndmonster]

I think Marcus played the best hockey of his career last season.  If he can bring that sort of consistency every year, he'll be a fixture on our third line.  I hope our forward depth is good enough to trot out a Foligno - Larsson - Zemgus 3rd line in the years to come.  I think that could be special.

[TrueBlueGED]

I think Marcus played the best hockey of his career last season. If he can bring that sort of consistency every year, he'll be a fixture on our third line. I hope our forward depth is good enough to trot out a Foligno - Larsson - Zemgus 3rd line in the years to come. I think that could be special.

Marcus Foligno will be fine?

[Doohicksie]

I hope so, I'm just not sure.

[qwksndmonster]

Marcus Foligno will be fine?

Let this meme die a cold, cruel death.

 

He'll be okay as long as he doesn't need a Nolans breathing down his neck to try hard every night.  I've been a somewhat harsh critic of Marcus in the past, but I think he'll be fine okay.

[Doohicksie]

Let this meme die a cold, cruel death.

I dunno, I kinda like it. Maybe because it's a genuine SS original.

 

 

I've been a somewhat harsh critic of Marcus in the past, but I think he'll be fine okay.

You want it to die, but then you paraphrase it?  :blink:

[dudacek]

 

In my mind he is another young player that was thrown to the wolves too early and thus people forget how young he still is. 

 

I'm inclined to agree with this take. Like I said above, he's only played 192 NHL games and most of those were on terrible teams.

I thought that once he came back from the shoulder surgery we started to the see the NHL player he will be — less dangling, more consistent, effective puck pressure.

I really like how he looked with Gionta and Grigorenko down the stretch and we could see that unit improve with Reinhart or Larsson in the middle

 

Notwithstanding his skating issues, Foligno is better-equipped than most to play the LA Kings game Murray favours.

I think he's finishing off his learning and will look better on a better team.

If Larsson is the emerging Hecht, Marcus could be our new Grier.

[Doohicksie]

If Larsson is the emerging Hecht, Marcus could be our new Grier.

 

I like that parallel, especially with Marcus being 2" taller.  I just checked, he's only 23.  He could still have significant upside, especially considering the awful teams he's played with.  I've mentioned my hope that the Sabres have a big jump in the standings this year and hope they contend for a playoff spot.  One of the reasons I think it's possible is that there are several players like Foligno that were part of the awful teams and played to the level of the team.  If the overall level of the team increases, I think several of the younger holdovers will follow the lead and perform at a level much higher than we've seen.

[Taro T]

I like that parallel, especially with Marcus being 2" taller.  I just checked, he's only 23.  He could still have significant upside, especially considering the awful teams he's played with.  I've mentioned my hope that the Sabres have a big jump in the standings this year and hope they contend for a playoff spot.  One of the reasons I think it's possible is that there are several players like Foligno that were part of the awful teams and played to the level of the team.  If the overall level of the team increases, I think several of the younger holdovers will follow the lead and perform at a level much higher than we've seen.

I wouldn't write him off too soon. His brother blossomed late. Doubt he ends up as good as dad or Nick, but expect solid 3rd liner to be where he ends up.

[Tom Backyard]

I think it's easy to forget how young he is, seeing that he Was only 20 when he made his debut for the Sabres. Coming into the draft, he was projected to be a third liner, mainly a forechecking physical player who puts in work along the walls, and I think that is where he's headed. He has to work on his consistency, but seeing that he was a fourth rounder who has been contributing at the NHL level for nearly four years at age 23, I think that can be seen as a positive.

 

Next Steps: It's time for him to have a ten goal season and start skating some big PK minutes, effectively.

[Weave]

Where was it posted that players typically hit their peak production around 24?  

 

Marcus is running out of time to show that he's anything more than a very good 4th liner / serviceable 3rd liner.

[JohnnyK]

I think Marcus will be a very good fourth liner and an ok third liner.  He has good size and will do well. 

He does need to be more consistent, if he could only play his brother's team every game!

I also agree he needs to be a good PK player to make him a more complete player

Go Sabres!!!

[WildCard]

I voted top 6 winger on a very poor team, but a solid 3rd line winger on a good team that can put up 20 goals and add a very solid physical element. Ideally, he would be Andrew Shaw with size, but it's hard to tell because Shaw has had the line-mates Foligno is only now getting.

 

I think Marcus will be a very good fourth liner and an ok third liner.  He has good size and will do well. 

He does need to be more consistent, if he could only play his brother's team every game!

I also agree he needs to be a good PK player to make him a more complete player

Go Sabres!!!

Consistency is huge for him, agreed.

 

Welcome to the board btw, and that is a sweet avatar.