herman said:
I don't think Holmberg had anything gift wrapped for him; he was typecast as Kampf's understudy from the get go, aside from the the throwaway road games where he played with Bertuzzi a bit and Domi a bit. Otherwise it was a steady diet of pretend-he-is-Kampf. He did fine in that role, just no offensive ceiling in the NHL with those linemates. The coaching staff already knows what they have in Pontus.
Minten on the other hand was almost stitched to Knies hip, even when they start on different 5v5 lines, they got paired on PKs and PPs anyway because the coaching staff wanted an extended look after their development camp chemistry. Minten's offensive ceiling in the NHL is currently unknown, and a full season in the NHL might actually hamper its development. Do we want him to be a forever 3C, or should we find out if he can handle a 2C position? But nature abhors a vacuum and there is an opportunity to learn more in October.
Not taking anything away from Minten, as he absolutely earned those looks and the Opening Day start, but it rarely comes down to a singular prospect A > prospect B comparison when there are holistic roster and cap considerations.
Matthew Knies, though, deserves the accolades for blowing everyone else out of the water. There's a good chance he supplants Domi/Bertuzzi partway through this season, which makes it trickier because for all their offensive capabilities, those two LWs need more weight carried by their centres. Not a terrible problem to have.
I agree with you.
I started a response and got interrupted.
I would add that it was Nylander who was supposed to get an extended look at center that might be described as gift wrapped (in a different way since he's established). But as he tried to open the so-called gift ...
Statistically (over too short of a period of time), Minten came in and was .67 ppg, never minus in a game, delivered a hit per game, 2.67 shots per game & won 62% of his faceoffs (roughly). He had good zone time, won puck battles and demonstrated a defensive conscience. He blew away Holmberg (who Keefe loved positionally last year) statistically and otherwise. He flat out stole the job. I didn't hear a bad word about him except prior to camp where a number said he wasn't ready, etc.
One might say Deja Vu. A recent example could be Malgin. We've seen training camp wonders fizzle out a number of times before. That could still happen here. But I do feel differently some. Sometimes, not often, players come up from the AHL and take off. A common denominator seems to be how hockey smart they are. When they get with better players, it makes more sense to them and they feed off it. I don't know Minten well. But I'm suspicious that might be a part of what is going on here. I don't think it is all puck luck or circumstantial. Evidently, the Leafs are pinching themselves but feeling somewhat similarly.
If it works out, it would be significant. They would have a very good group of forwards.
