Article: Liam Ohgren Stands At A Crossroads Next Season

[Robert Brent]

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[Pablo]

He should be able to take NOJO’s lineup spot and get into the top 6. He is young and needs to be on NHL ice.

[Will D. Ness]

I saw a pretty good step forward for him last season, just in attitude and confidence.  I think Iowa did him good, and the brief call up towards the end of the season was optimistic.

[MNCountryLife]

I don't see why he wouldn't make the team if he has a good summer.  He almost made the team last year.  

[Citizen Strife]

That's the thing.  He needs to show sticking power.  Even in his second stint, I didn't see a guy that tilted the ice.  He was "a guy."

[Mateo3xm]

5 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

That's the thing.  He needs to show sticking power.  Even in his second stint, I didn't see a guy that tilted the ice.  He was "a guy."

He was a guy playing his first games in the nhl. Almost nobody makes it right away. Rossi’s first year in the nhl wasn’t super impressive but that’s because it takes time for players to get confidence and experience. He deserves patience just like everyone else. I realize we need production right now but that’s isn’t his fault. I really think he’s got potential to be a 20-25 goal scorer who could potentially score 45-65 points a season at his peak but we will see. The way he played in Iowa was extremely encouraging.

[Need4speed99]

10 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

That's the thing.  He needs to show sticking power.  Even in his second stint, I didn't see a guy that tilted the ice.  He was "a guy."

But Jojo and Freddy were better and deserving of 2nd line time...

[Fezig]

NoJo showed up in the playoffs. Is that why BG rushed to re-sign him because I'm doubting there were a lot of suitors knocking on the door. 

[Citizen Strife]

4 hours ago, Need4speed99 said:

But Jojo and Freddy were better and deserving of 2nd line time...

I didn't see Ohgren scoring 30-40 pts last year, or getting clutch goals to win games or change momentum, or bowl people over like Foligno does.

But sure.  Tell me again how people like Ohgren deserve 2nd line minutes too.  Marat Khusnutdinov, Adam Beckman, and Sammy Walker sure were being held down, weren't they?  How's CalenAdroson doing these days?

I want Ohgren to succeed too, but sometimes you have to look at people for what they are, not what their draft stock says they could be.  Go ahead and say he was drafted higher, he should have more rope.  Don't care.  Produce or play the game in a way that other aspects are too impossible to ignore.

If Ohgren plays way better, give him a shot.  Right now, he's "too good to be AHL, too meh for NHL.". That doesn't scream 2nd line.  Guerin has to find anyone willing to be those guys (Peterka, Ehlers, keep Rossi, etc.). That is why Mojo or Freddy got those minutes: lack of talent either above or below them.

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 11:24 AM by Citizen Strife

[Citizen Strife]

Calen Addison*

God my phone is terrible sometimes 

[Pewterschmidt]

11 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

He was a guy playing his first games in the nhl. Almost nobody makes it right away. Rossi’s first year in the nhl wasn’t super impressive but that’s because it takes time for players to get confidence and experience. He deserves patience just like everyone else. I realize we need production right now but that’s isn’t his fault. I really think he’s got potential to be a 20-25 goal scorer who could potentially score 45-65 points a season at his peak but we will see. The way he played in Iowa was extremely encouraging.

Agree 100%.  Looking for Ogz to take a stair step in his development this season.  Needs to earn a middle six role (beat out league minimum Nojo or a 46 yr old Zuccy)  and be more decisive and confident this season.  Training wheels are off kid.  Time for you to nut-up or shut-up.  If he becomes Nino Light in his second season I'd be happy with that progress.  Show us your not destined to be a bottom 6 journeyman.

[Pewterschmidt]

3 hours ago, Fezig said:

NoJo showed up in the playoffs. Is that why BG rushed to re-sign him because I'm doubting there were a lot of suitors knocking on the door. 

the fact he signed for $800k is our proof there was no interest around the league.  But P-Tingles, he wanted to not have to move his family.  He likes it here and he likes us.  For $1M he'd leave his family here and take more airplane rides if another team was willing to pay.

[mnfaninnc]

I'm still not seeing any anchors on Johansson on Puckpedia. I do miss the timeliness of Capfriendly!

As for OgZ, what I noticed 1st and foremost was his desire to defer. This speaks to confidence that he really wasn't sure if he belonged. The 2nd thing was he seemed to be more of a slot hockey player. Perhaps Heinzy gave him the instructions of "go out and play, but don't f up?" He played scared to make a mistake.

Robert is correct in his draft assessment, and I didn't see that in the eye test while he was here. OgZ's personality might be one that has anxiety, so he really needs to relax and just go play. But, what needs to change?

Physicality, this is a strong bull who needs to start taking the body like a Foligno does. I saw him with some bumps and that's not what working the dirty areas is about. He needs defenders to fear the finished bodycheck and cough pucks up early to avoid them. This was missing in both stints.

Stick work, his stick was slow and he was very easily poke checked. OgZ simply didn't have an NHL ready stick and he needs to improve that quickness. As I recall, even the blue line was able to poke check him. 

Drive the net. This was missing in consistency in both stints. This is where he needs to get that nose for the net and cancel out players on the boards. OgZ does not button hook well, so he simply needs to learn to drive the net and get hungry for rebounds, tips, and screens. 

Our patience-OgZ is a 2022 draft pick. To get here in year 3 would be 2 years ahead of schedule. His body is NHL ready, his mind and stick need to catch up. He has had a taste of this level, now he needs to seize the day. I know he's weight training since he's a gym rat. My hope is that he is doing a lot of stick training to speed up the handling and shot generation. Too much was poke checked and blocked. And the last thing on the list is get rid of deferring. 

Personally, I think training with Ek would be a huge benefit for him, as Ek had to do the same things. Taking a young guy under your wing like that is exactly what is needed so he can gain confidence. I also think this guy will be a Nino type player, perhaps a 20/20 guy. Scoring numbers will not be his calling card as he will be the guy doing the dirty work on his line.

[Scalptrash]

It's sad but the Wild's typical MO. Another top prospect wilting away in Iowa while the big club remains a bubble team. If the Wild know they aren't going to win the cup and their only goal is to make the playoffs, why not give him a legitimate chance? If the idea is to put butt's in seats, I'm sure the fans would be thrilled to see him on the second line over Johansson. What's the worst thing that happens, he outscores him? Keep drafting Ferrari's and only letting them out in rush hour traffic. The Wild have only had one prospect make this team since Billy became the GM. Anyone care to guess who that is? He won't be here for much longer.

[NoJoSux]

6 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Agree 100%.  Looking for Ogz to take a stair step in his development this season.  Needs to earn a middle six role (beat out league minimum Nojo or a 46 yr old Zuccy)  and be more decisive and confident this season.  Training wheels are off kid.  Time for you to nut-up or shut-up.  If he becomes Nino Light in his second season I'd be happy with that progress.  Show us your not destined to be a bottom 6 journeyman.

100%. 

Video Team: Send Ogie all the tape on Niederietter and have him study. He is very similar, good shot, size is pretty good. Need him to just elevate the power and confidence. 

There were plays last season while he was up with the Wild that looked really good offensively. It seems that the defensive side against guys like Stone, Tkachuk, or Perry is the stuff coaches wanna see. 

It's a complete contradiction but that's why they don't value Rossi highly enough despite playing NoJo 14mins every game last season.