I would say that Kennedy possesses above average hockey sense, an average shot, average passing ability, but has impressive speed and hustle. If he continues to play with the same hustle that he has shown in the past season+, and he works on his shot and passing a little, he could be one of the best third line wingers in the league, or a very serviceable top 6 winger. I don't see his potential as being much better than that, but he has an excellent chance of realizing it.
Just wondering what you guys think of Tyler Kennedy? Is he over-achieving or is he actually going to be something for you guys?
I think he has a chance to be a decent top 6 forward in a few years. He seems to adjust real well to each level. For example he scored 41 points in 41 games for WBS in his only season there. He played great for a 21 year old rookie last season and has seemed to raise his game to another level this year. I would not be surprised if Kennedy puts up near Sykora type numbers in his prime. 50-60 point range with 20-25 goals. Time will tell but you have to like his play at this time for a 22 year old playing on the 3rd line and getting very little PP time if any and putting up his #'s so far is more than impressive.
Kennedy plays hockey the way it should be played. Hard, gritty, Fast and decent skill is his game. He always sticks up for his teammate, his work along the boards is one of the best ive ever seen and while getting punished with checks n hits, he always gets back up and doesnt hesitate to do the same next shift. 100%, balls out every shift. I hope him n Talbot are penguins for life.
Top end is an excellent third liner. If he's on the second line, it's only because the team will be lousy. Too small for that role.
Too small? Since when did size dictate how good you are going to be. If we used your logic on who should be on the top lines, that means Sid, Sykora, and Talbot would not be on the top 2 lines. And that's just our team. Take a look around the league at top 6 players and you will find 1 or 2 that are the sme size as Kennedy on almost every team.
Kennedy might not be a top 6 players. He could very much be a Dupuis where he could effectively do spot duty, but is out of place.
The one thing with Kennedy is that his game is universal and will never go out of style. Hard work, feistiness, speed, with some goal scoring ability, and solid 2 way abillity. The type of player every team needs.
If you need me to break it down, I basically just said that skillfull players can play in a top 6 regardless of size..... examples are St.Louis and Briere....
Too small? Since when did size dictate how good you are going to be. If we used your logic on who should be on the top lines, that means Sid, Sykora, and Talbot would not be on the top 2 lines. And that's just our team. Take a look around the league at top 6 players and you will find 1 or 2 that are the sme size as Kennedy on almost every team.
Sykora is 6' 190. Kennedy is lucky if he's 175, which can easily be verified by merely looking at him in street clothes in the players' parking lot. You will also see immediately that he is not 5' 11", merely by judging him against your own height.
And Max shouldn't be on the top line.
Players as small as Kennedy on the top two lines of a good team (and not some Minor Bantam team from Oakville) are few and far between. You can mention Daniel Briere, but surely you are not saying that TK is his equal. He's not Martin St. Louis, either; both of these players are much, much more highly skilled than Kennedy, by a wide margin, even if they are on the decline.
I think Kennedy can be a very effective player for the Pens, but only on the third line.
Sykora is 6' 190. Kennedy is lucky if he's 175, which can easily be verified by merely looking at him in street clothes in the players' parking lot. You will also see immediately that he is not 5' 11", merely by judging him against your own height.
And Max shouldn't be on the top line.
Players as small as Kennedy on the top two lines of a good team (and not some Minor Bantam team from Oakville) are few and far between. You can mention Daniel Briere, but surely you are not saying that TK is his equal. He's not Martin St. Louis, either; both of these players are much, much more highly skilled than Kennedy, by a wide margin, even if they are on the decline.
I think Kennedy can be a very effective player for the Pens, but only on the third line.
I could potentially agree with you there to an extent because of skill. Not because of size. And I wasn't comparing Briere to Kennedy. But to say Kennedy couldn't play on the second line for a team because he is small is completely wrong.
Top end is an excellent third liner. If he's on the second line, it's only because the team will be lousy. Too small for that role.
I can't say either way at this point and neither should any of you. The kid just turned 22 years old. This is only his 2nd year in the NHL and many guys don't even break into the league this young. To say he will never be more than a 3rd liner is way to premature. I here the same crap about Staal and he is only 20. These players still have several years to improve their skills, size, and strength. To say they are what they are like some on this board is crazy. Lets see how our young players develop. Some players will not develop more and some can develop a ton. No person can know this not even the pro scouts.
The bottom line is Kennedy is doing great for his age and his playing time and line he is on. He has 11 points in 17 games playing less than 14 minutes a game. In 3 years when he is 25 and given more ice time he could become a second line winger. I don't know how anyone could say he has no chance to do this. This might be a moot point because in a few years I don't think we will have a 3rd line. We have two 1st lines now and I would love to see Staal and Kennedy develop over the years and even though they will be our 3rd line they can put up points like a 2nd line. Honestly they are doing this right now so lets see if they can keep it up. Kennedy is on pace for 24 goals and 53 points and Staal is on pace for 34 goals and 53 points. It will be interesting if they can keep that pace. They are both not near their prime with Kennedy about 3 years away and Staal 5 years away so to say either can't become top 6 players is way to premature. Maybe they stop developing that could happen and maybe they are going to be much better than they are now or somewhere in between lets wait and see.
I am extremely pleased with Kennedy, without question. I think he is a very important member of the team, and he's been very effective. He is a perfect third liner, and he matches up very well with Staal.
Kennedy might not be a top 6 players. He could very much be a Dupuis where he could effectively do spot duty, but is out of place.
The one thing with Kennedy is that his game is universal and will never go out of style. Hard work, feistiness, speed, with some goal scoring ability, and solid 2 way abillity. The type of player every team needs.
I agree that Kennedy might never be a bigtime scorer and that he's a "glue player", but it's not fair to compare him to Dupuis. He's only 22 and is much more skilled already than Dupuis is.
Just wondering what you guys think of Tyler Kennedy? Is he over-achieving or is he actually going to be something for you guys?
I think Kennedy is best fit as a third line guy who plays 12-16 minutes a game. He is versatile however, he played a bit of fourth line center before the Pens picked up Zigomanis and did not look too out of place. He can be put on the first or second line for a few games if a winger goes down but his scrappy type of game is better suited for a third line.
Only Keneedy and Crosby go 100% on every shift. It's a big reason why I vastly enjoy watching him play.
I think Kennedy has a tonne of potential! Only Crosby rivals him in work ethic, Kennedy has tonnes of speed and has an underestimated play-making and hockey smarts. I think he watches Crosby a lot, because when Crosby starts finding something new that works, soon after you'll see Kennedy try it and pull it off too.
Kennedy may well become a life-long checker, but the man is only 21, and I think has the potential to be a 30-goal, 70-point player at his peak, especially if he's getting major ice-time with Crosby or Malkin, or if Staal really picks it up.
St. Louis, Briere, and many others say hello.......
If anything hockey is one of the sports in which size is practically irrelevent.
Yeah, Hart winner Martin St. Louis is the perfect guy to compare Tyler Kennedy to. That wasn't disingenuous at all. Also, Eric Godard is a lot like Jordan Staal.
And saying that size is even 'practically' irrelevant in hockey is a laugh and a half. St. Louis, Briere, Sullivan... those small guys had to be supremely talented just to survive playing in the NHL, they didn't struggle for the first half of their careers because they weren't talented, it was because they couldn't physically handle the league. And it's the same reason why Jordan Staal could do it from age 18 despite being way behind the actual skill play going on.
On their draft day, do you know what the major difference between Luc Bourdon (10th overall) and Kris Letang (61st overall) was? Bourdon was 6'3.
