My thoughts today are about Ryan Ellis, Alexander Semin, and the New York Islanders.
I know many of you know who Ryan Ellis is. Canadian born defenseman who played with the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL. He will now be in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals. He is expected to do BIG things for the Nashville Predators in upcoming seasons. Ellis has high trade value right now. And, there are rumors that the New York Islanders and the Predators are supposed to a trade before camp starts. Now, many of you people might disagree with my opinion, but here it is. I really DO NOT see Ryan Ellis ever being a official Nashville Predator. When I mean official, I mean playing with the team in the regular season for some games. The player I think that could help the Predators is LW Blake Comeau who scored 46 points in 77 games. So, here it is.
Ryan Ellis for Blake Comeau.
Now, there have been rumors that Alexander Semin will be in a Gold jersey. I think that we would have to trade a couple of prospects for him. I really hope that the Preds get him, but what will we have to pay for him? I don’t know if Poile is willing to trade a lot for him.
Back to Ryan Ellis.
Ellis’ stats are AMAZING, in the OHL. Ryan has broke many records in that league. To survive in the NHL as a defenseman, you have to be physical. Ryan Ellis is a scoring power-play player. I don’t know if he will work. Ryan Ellis is 5’10 172 lbs. Not very big. Ellis is also not very fast either, which is disappointing. The Nashville Predators have a lot of depth at the position right now, maybe not next year, but that is a whole different discussion I will write later. So, with that said, why not trade him for a top line scorer?
What do you think?
No on Semin. Period. He’s not a team player and he’s lazy. Whenever a new player comes in they are expected to play “Predators Hockey” and Semin just doesn’t fit that mold…at all. If anything, he could completely disrupt team chemistry. I’d prefer a trade with Buffalo, as they are in desperate need to get under the cap. They have plenty of options as far as players that could fit into our system as well.
Ryan Ellis works hard, has a very high drive, is a leader in word and deed, and trains with the best in the off season. He is a winner. Winners do what it takes to win no matter their obstacles. He was one of the more physical players in preseason, if you don’t remember and he laid down some open-ice hits on some guys much larger than him.
Matt Nichol, who runs a camp full of young studs and allstars in the offseason picked Ellis out of everyone as someone who you wouldn’t pick out of a lineup based on the way he looks, but said that he is among his very top participants in terms of strength and power.
If we trade Ellis, it will be a mistake. Especially for a guy like Comeau. Ellis will match those 46 points AS A DMEN a handful of times in his NHL career.
Packaging him as a piece in a deal for Semin is better, but I really don’t think Poile would get a guy like Semin who plays 75% some nights and 25% other nights – rarely if ever giving 100%.
Well, first off, thanks for checking out the site. It is fine if you dis-agree with me, that is what sports is all about, opinion. Now, my answer to you guys not wanting Semin is Sergei Kostisyn. Now, SK, you didn’t know what you were going to get from him with his troubled past. Everyone lives SK in Smashville now. Could Semin do the same? I think so. Nashville doesn’t have that heavy boulder on your back like most markets do. A player can just play here, and not get harassed for not playing well. And, Barry Trotz can turn some players around.
To answer Ryan Ellis, I love the kid. He plays well on the ice, in Juniors. For some reason I think that all this hype about him will put too much pressure on him, and he will be bust. I think Ekholm and Josi could do better than Ryan in the NHL.
Again, thanks for reading!