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Monday, November 17, 2008
Some Questions Already Being Answered
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coming into this season there were a few questions regarding some players on the Thrashers roster. What would their roles be? Would they bounce back from last season’s disappointments? Was obtaining a certain player worth it? And so on.
Some questions will take more time than 6 weeks and 17 games to figure out, however some results are already in. Here are six players with the questions that came with them and how they seem to have been answered.
Bryan Little: “Is he finally ready for the NHL on a full-time basis”?
Well, seeing that he has 9 goals and a team-leading 17 points, I’m gonna go way out on a limb here and say the answer is… “YES”!
Oh, and did I mention he leads the team with a +8?
Slava Kozlov: ”Was last season just an aberration”?…”Were his injuries the major contributions to his off year”…”Could he play this year more like the Slava of old”?
Well, I would venture to guess that the answers seem to be…”YES”, “YES” and, “YES”! His 10 goals tops the list for this team and he has 16 points overall. That puts him on a pace to almost double last year’s 41-point production.
Yes…the Slavinator is baaack!
Ron Hainsey: “Was this UFA signing worth what the Thrashers paid for him”?
Ummmm…I’ll take “Not Only YES, But…Oh HAY-yell YES” for a thousand, Alex!
What more could one ask of from this guy? He has been one of the most stabilizing forces to grace this blueline in many moons. He has contributed offensively with 3 goals and 6 assists, is a +1 with only 2 PIM. Not only is he NOT looking like one of the top five worst signings of 2008… there are even some out there who would consider Hainsey captain material.
Here’s a thought…think of wheeling this defense out there without him in the lineup. Uh-huh…yup, see what I mean?
Now I’ll take…”I’d Call That A Bargain” for four and a half mil a year, Alex.
Todd White: “Is he really up to being this teams #1 center…the man to anchor Kovy’s forward line”?
Well, the answer is “NO”. And, to be quite honest, I could not be happier with that seeing how he has fit in quite nicely with Kozzy and Little on the second line. White has finally found his role on this team and is wiping clean any memories of last season.
His 4 goals and team high 11 assists have help make the Kahlua line quite intoxicating to watch indeed.
Kari Lehtonen: “Could he go the entire season relatively injury-free”?
Alas, we didn’t have to go too deep into the schedule to get our answer here…”NO”. First we hear he isn’t feeling well…then it’s his back…then he’s good to go…then, whoops…his back again. Before going down, Lehtonen started 9 of Atlanta’s first 10 games…going 2-5-2 with a .903 SV% and 3.44 GAA.
Consider the fact that the team isn’t exactly missing him…going 5-2-0 in his absence… with the fact that young Ondrej Pavelec has played well when called upon… 2-0-0 record with a 2.57 GAA and .889 SV%…and one cannot help but arrive at the second major question in regards to Kari. It’s the one that asks…
“Will this season determine if Kari is starting keeper of the future for this organ-I-zation”?
While that question remains still unanswered, the truth of the matter is that Don Waddell’s decision to re-sign the Finnish goalie to only a one-year deal last summer looks wiser and wiser by the day.
Zach Bogosian: “Was he ready to play in the NHL at the tender young age of 18”?
Well, in the 8 games he played before his unfortunate injury…I really didn’t see anything that screamed out that he was in over his head. Now the question for Bogey is… how well will he respond once his leg has healed? The Thrashers shouldn’t, and I’m sure will not, rush his return by any means. He’s young and has many, many games ahead of him here.
But back to the original question…I still say, “YES”…once healthy, he should be playing in Atlanta.
Now, there are still some with question marks over their heads…Marty Reasoner…Mathieu Schneider…Erik Christensen…Jason Williams…just to name a few. But the answers regarding these players should reveal themselves as the next few weeks and months unfold.
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