| 27 July 2011
Bobby (Hopefully not Bobby Lalonde) writes...
Nikita Filatov is clearly no bottom-six player. However, what's done if he's outperformed in camp by Foligno? (Any player in hockey can be outplayed in camp by Nick Foligno, with the sole exception of maybe Brandon Bochenski) Let's say that Paul Mabcock is willing to keep up with the Clouston-esque desire to juggle every conceivable fucking position, except for slotting Foligno down the middle on the second or third line. So with Foligno sticking to his unnatural left wing position, what's done with Filatov?
It's hard to fathom putting Michalek on the third line. Does Filatov have a realistic chance of ending up in Bingo?
I'm inclined to think that he's going to end up on the top two lines, even if he spends most of training camp partying like it's 2007, but I'm curious to hear what you guys think.
Ah training camp - a fantastic time of year when even the most even tempered of fans can get pretty jacked up since it means that the hockey season is just around the corner. It's also a time unabashed optimism when even the stories of journeymen AHL veterans pull at the heartstrings. Some fans will relish in the growth of the organization's depth - pencilling what they envision the line combinations to be one, two or three years down the line. Others will savor the opportunity to watch Ottawa's new young prospects for the first time. And then there are those who get way too caught up in the performance(s) of (insert player name here) because they put up some points in a meaningless game against an opposition that features an inordinate amount of minor league talent.
(Deep breath.)
So what’s to be done if Filatov is outperformed in camp by Foligno?
Hopefully nothing.
If you’ll remember, Foligno’s Bochenski’esque level of production through the first few preseason games did two things:
- The naive/eternal optimist sect of the fan base assumed that he was ready for a top six role.
- It prompted fans and the media alike to wonder when we would see more from Peter Regin, a similarly aged player who excelled in the quarter-finals series against the Penguins the season before.
So when Regin’s unproductive preseason ended, it was Foligno who was given ample opportunity to play on Ottawa’s top two lines and he never made the most of it.
Now, if you’ve been a reader of this website, you’ve inevitably come across my opinion that like Mike Fisher before him, Foligno is another very good third line player whose abilities fans tend to overrate. As a player, he's a tease who fools fans into believing that he can be a top six guy. Sure, his work ethic and compete level are exemplary but his offensive contributions leave something to be desired. And therein lies the problem. If his offensive production has never been consistent or good enough to warrant playing time with Ottawa’s most skilled players, he shouldn't have the first opportunity to play on one of Ottawa's top two lines.
Undoubtedly, Nikita Filatov is going to be heavily scrutinized during camp because of his pedigree, skill set and the manner in which Columbus gave up on him as a prospect. And thanks to his Russian birthright and the failed Alexei Kovalev experiment, there’s also the risk that the media/fans will lazily paint him with that xenophobic broad brush if his compete level isn’t where people think it should be.
Listening to Filatov speak with reporters during development camp, he attributed his struggles to confidence and ice-time. If Ottawa can insulate him as a young player, put him in a position to succeed and help quell any self doubts that he may have, hopefully he can develop into the offensive threat that was expected of him.
For a team that doesn’t carry lofty expectations heading into the season, he should be afforded every opportunity to succeed without having to worry about the weight of expectations or seeing his ice-time diminish because of physical mistakes.So does Filatov have a realistic chance of ending up in Bingo?
Not a snowball’s chance in hell.
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