2008 Final Grade: B
2007 Grade: B
Links:
Wojtek Wolski (hockey-reference page)
2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Wolski game log
Season Stats: 77gp 18g 30a 48pt +10
Minutes: 1,226.50 (4th among forwards), EV 13:16, PP 2:03, PK :36, ATOI 15:56
1st Half: 41gp 13g 13a 26pt +3
2nd Half: 36gp 5g 17a 22pt +7
Playoffs: 7gp 2g 3a 5pt -1
Best Month: October (11g 4a 5pt +5)
Positions: LW (75), C (2)
Lines: 2nd (47), 1st (16), 3rd (8), 4th (6)
Linemates:
LW: Brunette (1), Parker (1)
C: Arnason (25), Stastny (19), Sakic (18), Hlinka (5), Hensick (4), Richardson (2), Guite (2)
RW: Brunette (30), Svatos (23), Hejduk (12), Laperriere (6), Jones (2), Hensick (1), Hlinka (1), McCormick (1),
Season: In his second year, Wolski set a career high in assists (30) and +/- (+10)
Report: I thought this might be a breakout year for Wolski (I even suggested he might outscore Paul Stastny), but it didn’t happen. Wolski had another good season, but he really should be better by this point. Wolski was scratched and shuffled around by Joel Quenneville in the 2nd half of the season and that creates a fun chicken versus egg argument. Were his struggles caused by Quenneville’s tinkering or was it the other way around? I felt it was a little of both. At times, Wolski seemed to be unfairly doghoused by our now ex-coach. And, at times, he seemed to be phoning it in. Wolski was first scratched in game 62. Going into that game, Wolski had (unofficially) 0 hits in his last 7 games and just 4 multi-hit games on the year. In the remaining 16 games Wolski dressed for, he had 8 multi-hit games and 26 total hits (vs 27 in the first 62). Wolski seems to play better after a scratch (3 points in 4 games following a scratch this year…and don’t forget his 4-point game after his first scratch last year) which tells me he’s not always bringing his A game. Wolski saw a slight increase in ice time this year, mostly due to a 20-game stint starting with game 41 as a penalty killer. Although he looked pretty good on the kill, that stint essentially ended when he started getting scratched. Wolski also spent some time as the point man on the powerplay; I like Wolski, but that’s just not the right place for him. Something else that might indicate that Wolski wasn’t as hampered by Quenneville’s changes as I had originally thought: Wolski essentially split his time on the wing with 3 different centers - Arnason, Sakic and Stastny. Wolski’s point totals with the three: 13, 12 and 12, respectively. My point? Getting moved around didn’t seemed to have much negative impact on his game. I have to admit I expected this page to be filled with all sorts of ex-Q-ses for Wolski’s play this year. After looking a little more closely, though, I think a lot of Wolski’s problems fall on his own shoulders. Again, he had a good season - hence the “B” - but I still think he’s capable of more.
Fast Fact: For a guy who has trouble bringing his lunch pail to every game, Wolski has been remarkably consistent in his monthly point totals. Going back to the beginning of last year (and excluding the short month of April), Wolski’s monthly point totals have been: 8, 8, 11, 9, 4, 4, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 8. The two months with the lower output were February and March of last year, when he struggled with a concussion.
2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $860,000 ($984,000)
2008-2009 Status: RFA
Outlook: I think we’ll learn a lot about Wojtek Wolski next season. With a new coach and, hopefully, a shiny new offensive system, Wolski could have that breakout year I thought we’d see this year. Or, he could simply maintain his current path and become a useful 3rd liner. The choice, it seems, is his.
I agree with the B rating. The shuffling probably hurt him some, and the injuries to other top players a lot more. More than half the year with either Marek “Wait, what’s passing again?” Svatos and Tyler “I can stickhandle through any 3 defenders, watch!” Arnason or both didn’t help him either, though that line did have a nice little stretch at one point.
I do think he’s a solid top 6-er, not a 3rd liner by any stretch. He still needs to get his head into the game, but I thought he improved a great deal in his physicality and effort from the last year. The consistency still wasn’t quite there, but I saw him trying. Despite some more NHL experience, he IS still 22 — younger than Stastny, Jones, Hensick, and Richardson — so I think he’ll continue to develop.
I think Wolski is suffering from the Joe Thornton effect (© pending). He is a big body so the coach wants him to play physical, but it’s just not his game, even though he can do it (As he showed on that bizarrely effective Arnason, Svatos, Wolski line earlier in the season).
Either way a B is probably about right for one of my favorite Avs
I was fairly satisfied with Wolly’s season from the standpoint that it was only his 2nd in the show. It was obvious that there were issues between him and the coaching staff, and since Granato may have been part of the problem, I’m not sure if we’ll see an improvement next year.
I do buy into the theory that Svats and Arny aren’t the best fit for him as linemates and that may have put a ceiling on his performance at times. I’ve always wondered why he was always being told to be more physical. Was that part of his game at the Jr level that he suddenly stopped playing in the NHL? Or was this another example of Q trying to force a square peg into a round hole? If he’s a dynamic, puckhandling, offensive threat, why try to turn him into a defensive, hit-first forechecking machine? If his natural game doesn’t fill a spot on the team or in the system, he should be dealt for someone who fills that spot. I’ve never understood coaches who try to force skill sets on players simply because they were the first one to make eye contact at the team meetings…
I’m not sure Mike. I’ve read Coach Q was bad with the younger players but Granato was much better with them. I’d post the link if I can find it.
But then again who knows what the personal relationship between Granato and Wolski was like and will be like next year. Saying Wolski will improve under Granato might be as easy as predicting lightning strikes.
I think his point totals could have been much higher had he played a little more with the Sakic or Stastny lines. I can’t remember how many times he set up a great scoring opportunity only to have Arnason flub it with a bad shot, poor stick use, or slow reflexes.
I also think he is in Statsny’s shadow a bit (justified or not) He was 4th in a very good rookie race last year to Stastny’s 2nd. That rookie class included Malkin, Kopitar, Penner, Staal, Carle, Clowe… He only had 2 fewer points this year (48 vs 50 last season) and had a much better +/-. One of the complaints against him last season was his lack of defense; this season he was often the only guy back on the fore check, or helping out his defense. If we didn’t have Stastny on the team would we be as critical of Wolski as we are, or would we cut him a little more slack for being the young rookie/sophomore he is?
I really should have mentioned his improved defense. And you make a terrific point about the Stastny shadow.
Just another blogger commenter with no accountability!
I agree with everything except the omission of his overall defensive improvement. Marek Svatos got way better at D, too, but we can definitely chalk that up to Q’s obsession with it as a role played by ALL players, not just the guys who are skilled at it.
You mentioned that Wolski’s numbers were similar when playing with the three main centers. I’d like to see his numbers when playing with different right wingers. What Wolski has is superb puck control and above-average skating ability. What he needs is a consistent finisher that is always ready for his passes. Did he and Svatos do really well together? What about he and Brunette or Hejduk? How many assists did Wolski provide those three?
I’m late to the party on this one.
I thought Wolski did great considering the dog house he lived in all year long.
Mike has it right, there’s really no understanding why Wolski is being targeted as a guy who needs to play like David Jones. Seriously, in juniors that was never part of his game. For some reason Wolski was the whipping boy when Arnason and Hejduk could play simular (and often times much worse) games with no problems.
The thing that really impressed me about Wolski this year was his ability to control the puck. His ability to hold the puck from defensemen with control is nothing to scoff at. It’s a damn hard thing to do against NHL defensemen. His ability this year to rush in to the zone and do the Gretskey curl was really refreshing this year because it brought a lot of the offense higher in the zone when the whole game was focused below the goal line. I’m sure Q would have preferred that Woslki dumped it in the corner and kicked it around for 30 seconds and maybe that’s part of why he got in the doghouse. I guess we will never know.
In any case, I think Wolski is getting a lot of confidence with his ability to hold and control the puck. I think it’s lead to his higher assist numbers and as his game matures I think we will see better assist numbers from him when he can see the plays develop. Many people are concerned with his progress (or maybe just coach Q, but a lot of fans seem to toe the company line that Wolski didn’t put in enough effort every shift) but I was encouraged. I think with Granato we could see more consistant line combos which could help him and really all of the forwards. I can certainly conclude that Wolski is a “B” in spite of Q, rather than because of him. TG can’t do worse in that department.