Riddle me this ....why doesnt wheeler play 2C ? Always wondered ....seems like a natural fit when looking at the roster

Hey Jets fans why do people say Vesalainen is a bust?

He has and can, it just puts a toll on his body.

He is also dominant as a winger, whereas he a a good 2c when he plays c. So in essence, hes more effective at winger.

However, its mainly about managing his workload. He isn’t in his prime anymore so he can’t play as much as he could before. You can tell how much of a toll the 2c position takes on his body and I don’t think he can do it for a whole year. For example, this year when wheeler was put back with Connor and scheifele, he wasn’t a huge piece of that line for once because he was worn out from playing c for half the season

I don't think he's a bust. He had an unreal year 2 years ago in Finland but when he transitioned to North America it didn't go as smooth. I expect him to play top mins in the AHL next season and to break out a bit. He will be in a Jets uniform full time the year after in my opinion. He might not be a TOP prospect, but I project him at 3LW.

I don’t know, maybe because he hasn’t immediate produced in the ahl, but people don’t look at his linemates when they say that. He was playing near pt/gm when he was playing with a future nhler in gustavsson rather than smaller ahlers who don’t fit his style and aren’t really great. Most of his bad production can be attributed to an abysmal forward core on the moose. After they lost harkins, they couldn’t score.

Vesalainen does have some consistency issues. He’s a strong pp presence, but his even strength game still needs a little more development. It doesn’t help him develop his power forward game though if he doesn’t have any big linemates. Should be better now that he has gustavsson. I would say, wait until after the expansion draft to see him in the nhl. At that point, I think he has a similar trajectory to vrana (1 season then break out) or maybe burakovsky (2 seasons then breakout). However, I see him as a future top 6 forward regardless. He has the size, strength, skills, and hockey sense to be that. He just needs some consistency which is an issue for all young players.

Anyways, jest fans will not say that since they understand the situation. Most fans in general who take the time to look beyond stats will too. But the people who only look up Stats on say hockey dB and think they have it figured out are the people who do. Even .5 pt/gm for a 20 yr tho is good so I really still don’t understand the “bust” label

Do you see him becoming a middle 6 PP specialist? A bit like Sam Gagner was like in CBJ in 16-17? Like a guy who normally scores 15-20 goals with 2/3 of them coming on the PP?

I think for the jets, he could be a Kaspari kapanen type (a little better maybe) or a Brett Connolly type. Puts up 40-50 pts on the 3rd line/2pp but is capable for more. However he can’t get more cause of the players in front of him. Though, If wheeler declines out of the top 6 in the next 3 years, I see him replacing wheeler in the top 6. In that case I think the sky is the limit.

The problem with him is, we haven’t seen his full talent showcased in NA. We saw it in his first month in the khl and we saw it in his draft + 1 season. He has potential to be a dominant power forward. Now if he doesn’t get the opportunity that could be different. I think his floor though is 3rd line special teams specialist (30-40 pts) since his a great pker as well

Finally it’s hard to project goal scoring but I would say that as a 3rd liner his goal and assist projection will be the same (ie 15-20 if he becomes a 3rd liner/special teams specialist)

Fair... a 3rd line of Vesalainen-Copp-Roslo
Could be deadly (it could literally do everything AKA swiss army knife) although Roslo will prob get picked up by Seattle

I think roslovic gets protected unless we get a 2c that we have to protect. But I agree would be deadly.

If he does get picked up a 3rd line of copp-gustavsson-vesalainen would also be deadly.

Anthony Mantha was thought to be a bust at one point. If he gets you around 20+ goals and 40+ points in a few years be fine with it. Make his next contract a bargain