Neech Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Is what we see what we get with Brolieu, or does he have another level? It's important to remember that he's only turning 24. He can be frustrating, however, and I guess I expected more from him by now. What will he be worth on his next contract? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 I've always seen his ceiling as a second pair guy (I was never really impressed with his offensive numbers at any level), but for whatever reason he doesn't seem to be progressing. If he could improve defensively I think he could still be second pair material. How to get him to improve? I have no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Seems many still think he has more upside and maybe he does; but, I have my doubts. He is tough enough, but dosent hit. He can really skate well, but dosent do much with that. He is also good handling puck, but cant shot a puck well (I think he breaks 1 stick every 2 slapshots he takes). He is quick enough in own end, but is often out of position or defending thin air. He can make a nice pass from time to time but often air-mails pucks. He sometimes (often) seems baffled in own end and makes weak plays with puck up the boards and just lacks 'hockey IQ' for lack of a better term. dlbalr wrote a piece on Beaulieu and that Bergevin needs to soon make call on extending him or not and I think it would be a Emelin signing all over again, but I was never a big Beaulieu fan so am bit biased. Does anyone see him as a future 'core' top 4 guy; especially with likes of Sergachev (LH), Juulsen(RH) and to lesser extent Mete(LH), Bourque(LH) in the system? Or even Barberio (LH) who is only 3 yrs older than Nate the Great; plus Barberio had 10pts in 30gms for the Habs last year, while Beaulieu had 9pts in 64gms and with a bigger chuck of icetime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meller93 Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 It's a great question. I've always just liked Beaulieu for a couple reasons. first, he isn't afraid to stick up for his teammates. Beaulieu was never part of the "not tough" problem everyone talked about. He has grit, even if he doesn't hit often. Second, that upside is real, he has a great skill set, it's like he just hasn't put it together completely. But like you ask, will he ever? Looking at Beaulieu, he has the talent to be a very good top 4 defenseman. Hes almost like a defenseman version of Eller. It's there but never all together. And in all honesty I have no hunch which way Beaulieu will go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 39 minutes ago, Meller93 said: It's a great question. I've always just liked Beaulieu for a couple reasons. first, he isn't afraid to stick up for his teammates. Beaulieu was never part of the "not tough" problem everyone talked about. He has grit, even if he doesn't hit often. Second, that upside is real, he has a great skill set, it's like he just hasn't put it together completely. But like you ask, will he ever? Looking at Beaulieu, he has the talent to be a very good top 4 defenseman. Hes almost like a defenseman version of Eller. It's there but never all together. And in all honesty I have no hunch which way Beaulieu will go. Love the Eller comparison, hadn't thought of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott462 Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Honestly at the beginning of the season I was one of the people saying he was going to have a break out year playing with Weber. It's still early but so far he hasn't shown me he has what it takes. I'm sure the fact that he is playing next to Pateryn who has been even worse than him hasn't helped. I hope I'm wrong and put it all together down the road and I get he is still relatively young but sooner or later a decision needs to be made on whether he is going to work out in Montreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoRP Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 I think Don summed it up very well, and like Scott, I was thinking this would be the year for him, especially playing with Weber. We saw a bit of that pairing last night from coach, maybe that is what's gonna help Bergevin decide? Sergachev will take his spot next year for sure...well, maybe;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 I'm going to echo what others have said in that I was one of those expecting Beaulieu to have his breakout season this year. I'm going to be a little more stubborn though in that I honestly do think 17 games into the season is still too early to come to a conclusion. I liked what I saw from Beaulieu last year even more than what I've seen so far this year but to me all that means is that it's still there. In order for him to be a legitimate top 2 or 3, he needs to improve his offense. If his offense doesn't improve then his ceiling isn't very high. On another note, I saw an interview with him the other day and the first picture is not really representative of Beaulieu as a person. He said all the right things in the interview in terms of how you'd like a true team player to respond and seemed pretty mature. I don't think the public perception of him as an individual is accurate. Now to answer the question, if you really look at it closely, I think Beaulieu is progressing to be one of the better number 3s in the league (and should be paid accordingly). That's just my opinion. Prior to the season, I would have said top 2 so I guess this small sample size of a season has had some sort of effect on my thoughts. The truth is that alongside Weber, Beaulieu could be a competent #2 but not every team has the luxury of having Weber, who even helps make Emelin look alright as a number 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 5 hours ago, xXx..CK..xXx said: I'm going to echo what others have said in that I was one of those expecting Beaulieu to have his breakout season this year. I'm going to be a little more stubborn though in that I honestly do think 17 games into the season is still too early to come to a conclusion. I liked what I saw from Beaulieu last year even more than what I've seen so far this year but to me all that means is that it's still there. In order for him to be a legitimate top 2 or 3, he needs to improve his offense. If his offense doesn't improve then his ceiling isn't very high. On another note, I saw an interview with him the other day and the first picture is not really representative of Beaulieu as a person. He said all the right things in the interview in terms of how you'd like a true team player to respond and seemed pretty mature. I don't think the public perception of him as an individual is accurate. Now to answer the question, if you really look at it closely, I think Beaulieu is progressing to be one of the better number 3s in the league (and should be paid accordingly). That's just my opinion. Prior to the season, I would have said top 2 so I guess this small sample size of a season has had some sort of effect on my thoughts. The truth is that alongside Weber, Beaulieu could be a competent #2 but not every team has the luxury of having Weber, who even helps make Emelin look alright as a number 2. My thought is, if he can't look good playing with Weber, then how good can he be, really? As you say, even Emelin looks damned good paired with #6. It's reminiscent of what Markov did for that slug Komisarek. I remember Nate's first training camp, years ago...the buzz, including from some players, was that with more seasoning the kid would be a star. I like his gumption, but you do have to wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Like Don, I notice a deficit in hockey sense, which is really a deal-breaker for a defenseman in the playoffs. I like the Eller comparison as well, he has all the tools but can't put them together... at least so far. Defensemen take longer to develop. But we're nearing the point where we'll have to make a definitive call on him. Can't keep expecting the breakout to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illWill Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 In last night's game when he got pasted into the boards from behind, rather than lay there like most do whether they are hurt or not, he got right back up and dropped the gloves against a bigger Matt Martin. That's the mentality of a guy I want on my team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 46 minutes ago, illWill said: In last night's game when he got pasted into the boards from behind, rather than lay there like most do whether they are hurt or not, he got right back up and dropped the gloves against a bigger Matt Martin. That's the mentality of a guy I want on my team Amen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 15 minutes ago, Stogey24 said: Amen Not sure why that didn't draw 5 minute major penalty? I think Martin initiated the fight (he knew he was being penalized and wanted to sucker Beaulieu into one as well, which he did)so Beaulieu didn't really have a choice; but, yes was good on Beaulieu to not play up the hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott462 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 1 hour ago, illWill said: In last night's game when he got pasted into the boards from behind, rather than lay there like most do whether they are hurt or not, he got right back up and dropped the gloves against a bigger Matt Martin. That's the mentality of a guy I want on my team Yeah that was a dirty hit too. Glad Nate was ok and the fact that he was right up in Martins face was awesome. I really want him to succeed, the ability is there just needs to get it together mentally. Also leave it to Martin to go after Beaulieu, you will never see him try that on Weber, that little weasel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 27 minutes ago, Scott462 said: Yeah that was a dirty hit too. Glad Nate was ok and the fact that he was right up in Martins face was awesome. I really want him to succeed, the ability is there just needs to get it together mentally. Also leave it to Martin to go after Beaulieu, you will never see him try that on Weber, that little weasel! Ummm, Martin is 6'3" 220lb and likely would run Weber and drop the gloves with him if had the chance (would be a great deal to remove Habs best d-man for 5 minutes with a guy that has virtually no offense). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 2 hours ago, DON said: Not sure why that didn't draw 5 minute major penalty? I think Martin initiated the fight (he knew he was being penalized and wanted to sucker Beaulieu into one as well, which he did)so Beaulieu didn't really have a choice; but, yes was good on Beaulieu to not play up the hit. Martin is a dirt bag. Fought Vancouver's rookie, jumped McCarron, and then nailed Beaulieu from behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 3 hours ago, DON said: Not sure why that didn't draw 5 minute major penalty? I think Martin initiated the fight (he knew he was being penalized and wanted to sucker Beaulieu into one as well, which he did)so Beaulieu didn't really have a choice; but, yes was good on Beaulieu to not play up the hit. If there's only a punch or two thrown, they'll often just give them two each for roughing on top of whatever the original call was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott462 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 3 hours ago, DON said: Ummm, Martin is 6'3" 220lb and likely would run Weber and drop the gloves with him if had the chance (would be a great deal to remove Habs best d-man for 5 minutes with a guy that has virtually no offense). Sure that would be a good move but then again people know Weber isn't afraid to drop the gloves and from I have seen from Martin he only goes after guys that are smaller than him like Stogey pointed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 4 hours ago, illWill said: In last night's game when he got pasted into the boards from behind, rather than lay there like most do whether they are hurt or not, he got right back up and dropped the gloves against a bigger Matt Martin. That's the mentality of a guy I want on my team I admire the toughness and courage, but if he's not smart about it that's often a good exchange for the opposing team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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