conundrumed Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 Finally graduating another prospect. I don't see how he loses his seat now. He's had an impact on the bottom 6. I really wanted to see a 4th line of him, Looch and Lewis. Glad Sutter went with it. I know some didn't really like him as a player due to the ever-present on-off switch, but it seems he's overcome that. Plus, my Sarnia friends and fam saying, "Is that Adam Ruzicka? Wondered what happened to him" is pretty special too. Jr fans tend to cheer for teams that have their guys. He's waiver-exempt scares me a bit, but that's a solid 4th line imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 2 minutes ago, conundrumed said: Finally graduating another prospect. I don't see how he loses his seat now. He's had an impact on the bottom 6. I really wanted to see a 4th line of him, Looch and Lewis. Glad Sutter went with it. I know some didn't really like him as a player due to the ever-present on-off switch, but it seems he's overcome that. Plus, my Sarnia friends and fam saying, "Is that Adam Ruzicka? Wondered what happened to him" is pretty special too. Jr fans tend to cheer for teams that have their guys. He's waiver-exempt scares me a bit, but that's a solid 4th line imo. judging by his seasons, it sounds like he’s been working on it since coming to Canada/NA. The knock just seems to have stuck with him. He has improved every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted February 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 5 minutes ago, robrob74 said: judging by his seasons, it sounds like he’s been working on it since coming to Canada/NA. The knock just seems to have stuck with him. He has improved every year. It's been like turning a freighter in a canal, to be clear.lol In jr and International, he'd almost get frozen to commit one way or the other and he'd turn altogether useless. Don't let stats fool you. He's got really good skills for a 6'3" guy, great coordination, but he needed to badly work on his purpose every shift. Looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 13 minutes ago, conundrumed said: It's been like turning a freighter in a canal, to be clear.lol In jr and International, he'd almost get frozen to commit one way or the other and he'd turn altogether useless. Don't let stats fool you. He's got really good skills for a 6'3" guy, great coordination, but he needed to badly work on his purpose every shift. Looking good. that could be due to coaching. I mean, it sounds like he would have been fighting his urge to do one thing but then remembering what the coach wants and having to rethink doing that instead. Sounds like he was re-shifting his instincts. It’s why practice is so important. I hope he continues this… To me it looks like Hanifin hasn’t transitioned from that. I liken it to a pop fly in baseball. Take one step in and realize it’s going deep and having to switch gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 I will admit that I was one of his biggest critics in junior and even watching some of his games in the AHL, I wasn't sure he would be able to crack the NHL. There is little doubt that he has the size and the skills, it's always can he put it all together. He still has work to do, but he is trending in the right direction. He still needs a lot refining, needs to use his size more effectively and needs to work on his game away from the puck. The next step will be to show that he isn't just another Mark Jankowski or Joe Colborne, big guys with skill, but that he can push passed that and be effective every shift on the ice, or at least most shifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 I'm with conundrumed on this one, Ruzicka has everything you want and need he just needs to bring is on a consistent basis. He's just like Ferland for me, this isn't a question of skill, it isn't a question of coaching, it's more can the player buy in to what it takes to be good on a nightly basis and not just be content with a good night here and there. I'm a believer that no coach can do that it has to come from the player. That's what Ruzicka has always needed and so far so good but let's see it continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted February 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 34 minutes ago, JTech780 said: I will admit that I was one of his biggest critics in junior and even watching some of his games in the AHL, I wasn't sure he would be able to crack the NHL. There is little doubt that he has the size and the skills, it's always can he put it all together. He still has work to do, but he is trending in the right direction. He still needs a lot refining, needs to use his size more effectively and needs to work on his game away from the puck. The next step will be to show that he isn't just another Mark Jankowski or Joe Colborne, big guys with skill, but that he can push passed that and be effective every shift on the ice, or at least most shifts. Yeah I know you were, nothing wrong with that. How many times I'd watch him thinking, jesus man, snap out of it. He's been getting more consistent with the Flames so good to see. Sutter said it's up to him to understand the details, but having Sutter teach him the details is a big deal. I always thought it was coaching. When he was bad, he was bad. But I always thought he looked lost in uncertainty more than no good. Couldn't make a decision, then when he did it would bite him and he'd get even more tentative. He's looking like a nice add right now though. **edit I should say likely Lewis and Richardson as much as Sutter. Always thought those 2 were good adds as player/coaches. Richardson doesn't have to be in the lineup to be a good coach. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTech780 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 1 minute ago, conundrumed said: Yeah I know you were, nothing wrong with that. How many times I'd watch him thinking, jesus man, snap out of it. He's been getting more consistent with the Flames so good to see. Sutter said it's up to him to understand the details, but having Sutter teach him the details is a big deal. I always thought it was coaching. When he was bad, he was bad. But I always thought he looked lost in uncertainty more than no good. Couldn't make a decision, then when he did it would bite him and he'd get even more tentative. He's looking like a nice add right now though. Oh for sure, I am cheering for him to succeed and I want to see him stay in the lineup, because he has earned it. He has certainly come a very long way. Look forward to seeing him keep building and improving. Like you I really liked seeing him play with two vets in Lucic and Lewis as they will help him a lot with his board work, as they might be two of the best along the boards on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted February 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 15 minutes ago, cross16 said: I'm with conundrumed on this one, Ruzicka has everything you want and need he just needs to bring is on a consistent basis. He's just like Ferland for me, this isn't a question of skill, it isn't a question of coaching, it's more can the player buy in to what it takes to be good on a nightly basis and not just be content with a good night here and there. I'm a believer that no coach can do that it has to come from the player. That's what Ruzicka has always needed and so far so good but let's see it continue. It's also that old adage of, "let the play come to you". If you aren't elite in this league you aren't forcing play. I'd point at all of our dmen outside of Gudbranson. When they try to force play is when they make mistakes. Not saying never take a risk, but they can really try to force things that just aren't there. Gudbranson near always plays it safe and that's his success here imo. Rozie will always get chances, turnovers and all of that but he won't really be able to force them. Capitalize on the other team's mistakes, don't let them capitalize on yours by forcing it or trying to do too much. Only Johnny's allowed to do that. I want this to work out for purely selfish reasons.lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 36 minutes ago, conundrumed said: Yeah I know you were, nothing wrong with that. How many times I'd watch him thinking, jesus man, snap out of it. He's been getting more consistent with the Flames so good to see. Sutter said it's up to him to understand the details, but having Sutter teach him the details is a big deal. I always thought it was coaching. When he was bad, he was bad. But I always thought he looked lost in uncertainty more than no good. Couldn't make a decision, then when he did it would bite him and he'd get even more tentative. He's looking like a nice add right now though. **edit I should say likely Lewis and Richardson as much as Sutter. Always thought those 2 were good adds as player/coaches. Richardson doesn't have to be in the lineup to be a good coach. this was why I was saying it sounds like too many messages coming at once. I haven’t seen him play before being in a Flames NHL uniform, so I can’t speak to what it looks like, just from what you described… I remember going up to bat and the coach would tell me a bunch of things and then something different every time. I started getting confused. Not saying he’s had bad coaching, but maybe getting a lot of messaging and not being a born English speaker… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted February 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 1 minute ago, robrob74 said: this was why I was saying it sounds like too many messages coming at once. I haven’t seen him play before being in a Flames NHL uniform, so I can’t speak to what it looks like, just from what you described… I remember going up to bat and the coach would tell me a bunch of things and then something different every time. I started getting confused. Not saying he’s had bad coaching, but maybe getting a lot of messaging and not being a born English speaker… His international efforts were the same. His English is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 I am liking what he is bringing to the game. He doesn't look like a deer in headlights. The skill is there just below the surface and you can see it bubbling up. The goal he started and finished previously. The play on the Lewis goal. He's got wheels to get chances on the rush. I know it's early, but I think he is showing what is expected of him to stay in the roster. He has another gear (I expect) once he gets confidence in his ability to play at this level. Coaching will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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