I'm maybe less optimistic about JEE. I see him as an above average 3C but below average 2C. Maybe he grows into an average 2C someday, but I don't think he can drive play the way a 2C should. So I guess I'd call him a 'tweener middle 6 center. That being said I think he's a very valuable player and the type of player you need to win a cup. Added bonus that the other players seem to love him.

I agree he will never drive play, but Koivu didn't either. I'm more with @wabit on this though.
Wild have a couple wings capable of driving a line so I don't think that the center has to drive the line necessarily.
Off point but I kinda see Donato as a guy who drives a line at times, he doesn't do it consistantly and he still does some bone head stuff, but every once in a while he makes you wonder how much better he might get.

Donato is so underrated. Scored 14 goals averaging 10:38 minutes per game (!!!). Hope he gets a shot in the top 6 but sadly I don't think it'll happen on the Wild.

We do seem to have an abundance of play-driving wings which is only a good thing for Ek. Maybe he can be propped up in that way but that's not exactly a good thing to say about your 2C...

Donato made the most in the role he was given as the 4th line scoring guy. His overall game is very weak though. Put him against better competition and he has a hard time because a mild breeze knocks him off the puck. I do think his game improved as the season went on, but he is a very weak players

JEE doesn't need to be a puck carrying center, he'll be one of the last guys out of the d-zone. It lets the wings and d-men carry the puck in transition. JEE is good on the forecheck and cycle, plus he finds more soft spots in the o-zone that people realize because he can't buy a goal.

True about Donato, which is why I don't understand the Wild not sending him to the AHL when they had the chance. His game looked a lot better towards the end of the season though he still was pretty soft with the puck, but better. He is really a player you can tell when his confidence is low or high.

The other problem with JEEKs offense is he is the first one to get dirty along the boards taking away his own shot opportunities but generating for others. So if he were on a line with guys who are better at putting the puck in the net then the Greenways, and Folignos of the world, he would be higher in the point totals.

This is why I'm really hoping for a Kaprizov/JEE/Kunin line for next year.

JEE and Kaprizov or Fiala. I Like your line though. Kunin is another one where I'm not sure what he is, he is reliable defensively and he is suppose to have a high offensive ceiling, but so far he kinda fits the 3rd liner mold. He isn't flashy, so I kinda think we have seen everything he has and like so many other guys he is a middle 6 forward.

Kunin is a Parise type of player, not flashy but always in the mix. He'll be a 20-30 goal a year top-6 wing. There is still a slim chance he can be a top-6 center, but I like him better at wing.

Donato made the most in the role he was given as the 4th line scoring guy. His overall game is very weak though. Put him against better competition and he has a hard time because a mild breeze knocks him off the puck. I do think his game improved as the season went on, but he is a very weak players

JEE doesn't need to be a puck carrying center, he'll be one of the last guys out of the d-zone. It lets the wings and d-men carry the puck in transition. JEE is good on the forecheck and cycle, plus he finds more soft spots in the o-zone that people realize because he can't buy a goal.

That's fair about Donato.

I never said JEE had to carry the puck, I just said having your wingers prop him up isn't a great thing to say about your 2C. I'd love to be wrong and see him blossom as a good 2C but from what I saw this year I wasn't convinced he's capable of that.

Im late to this conversation (thanks Wabit for telling me about these forums).
I’m on the opposite end of the optimistic spectrum from TanSor - i already think JEEK is a bonafide #2 center with a chance of developing into a low end #1. He played all year this (past) season with (current) 3rd line caliber players, no PP time, against the other team’s top line, and still averaged almost 1/2 a point per game. He a very underrated passer and put in the right situation with the right players (I’d play him between Fiala and Kaprizov) he could easily put up 60 points without even seeing the ice during power played.
I’ll even go this far about how i feel about his game: Unless Boeser can string a bunch of 80 game seasons together, the intelligent Wild fans will stop bemoaning the team taking JEEK over him.

I like this group of Wild fans a lot! I dont always agree with you all, but I definitely respect all of your opinions and perspectives.

Back to JEEK...

I’m putting the over/under of JEEK’s highest single season point total at 65. Place your bets.

I like this group of Wild fans a lot! I dont always agree with you all, but I definitely respect all of your opinions and perspectives.

Back to JEEK...

I’m putting the over/under of JEEK’s highest single season point total at 65. Place your bets.