[Pope] Richardson on Reichel: “We might not be happy with and totally convinced with his total camp, but I think tonight was his best showing. That’s what we asked of him. So we’ve got to be happy with that, and we’ll see where that leads us on Monday and Tuesday.”
by GoldWhale
6 Comments
I just wish we knew what the hell is preventing him from taking the next step. He has all the tools and ability to become a productive and balanced player, but something intangible is his anchor. The confidence we saw 2 seasons ago, at the end, when he came up from Rockford, was so exciting. Then we drafted Bedard, told him to go center, and it all devolved. He worked on speed this off season, and so far he is still lacking the confidence to carry the puck, shoot on net, and play inside the dots. Last game he kept fucking skating towards the outside walls, button-hooking, and then lose the puck or pass to no one. Every possession of his ends up becoming that exact play, and it’s always “one and done” every shift. Because once he makes that “weak” play, the other team hems us in our zone and his shift expires. I want him to succeed because we need him to be secondary offense outside of Bedard, but fuck man is this frustrating.
There is the possibility that his earlier success was the outlier and this is the player he is. He was 17OA, not a top 5 or even 10. Sometimes these guys just can’t find “it”. I think we all give him some grace with last year, but at this point it’s time to start being a pro.
All the tools, no toolbox.
Reichel has tremendous skill but lacks the competitive edge necessary to take the next steps. I think it’s just who he is.
Is this quickly turning into a change of scenery may do him some good? What kind of return could be had? I’d suspect not much?
What if he’s just not as good as we thought? That’s ok. Not every first round pick makes it at the NHL level.