Comments on: 2008 Final Grade: Kyle Cumiskey

By: Mike @ MHH

Mike @ MHH — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:40:59 +0000

Kyle Cumiskey: Shooting like a breeze since 2007!

By: Bob in Boulder

Bob in Boulder — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:59:42 +0000

Yes, the kid certainly skates like the wind. Unfortunately, right now at least, he also shoots like the wind.

By: David Driscoll-Carignan

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:26:07 +0000

if Salei can learn the Wolski curl, certainly Cumiskey can.

By: Dario

Dario — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:51:07 +0000

In hockey they say you can’t teach size and you can’t teach speed. They are just something you’re born with or without. No matter how much time the Avs put in with Scott Parker, he will never be anything more than a mechanical skater. Cumiskey is probably the greatest Avalanche skater I’ve ever seen next to Bourque. You simply cannot teach a skater to do what Cumiskey does and as McNabb found out in an interview Cumiskey himself doesn’t know how he does it. To paraphrase the answer he gave, “I don’t know, I’ve just always been able to skate”. When you add to the fact he’s got good stick handling then you’ve got something really intriguing. I think he will get better with time. He needs to figure out what to do when he has blown by everyone and is all alone 1 v 1. His teammates need to recognize his rushes and not full sale line change on him when he’s rushing the zone. I think he also needs to talk to Von Wolski about the Von Wolski curl so his teammates can catch up to the play and contribute to his puck possession.

I think he’s in a perfect situation as a number 7 this year. He doesn’t have to leapfrog Skrastins, Finger nor Sauer to get ice time. His only problem is that his powerplay opportunities are limited while playing behind Liles, Clark, Salei and Leopold. If Cumiskey can show flashes then I think Clark and Leopold could become viable trade bait at the deadline due to the fact that the Avs defensive prospects have some depth going in to next year as well.

I couldn’t be happier with the Avalanche defense right now and Cumiskey is a big part of that.

By: Americanario

Americanario — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:27:53 +0000

He only has 47 games under his belt…he’s probably just getting over the nerves…As he gets more experience and playing time, he will hopefully learn how to pull the trigger more. Also with guys like Foote and Salei around now, Cuminsky should get some very excellent instruction in how to improve his game. He already is one of our better defense-man when it comes to clearing the puck (which he usually does by dancing his way out of the zone with the puck).

By: thedoctor

thedoctor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:25:50 +0000

i like Cumiskey a lot too, and I think he’s a good fit as a 5th or 6th D if he can get his play in the offensive zone in order. Although I’ve taken much grief for in the past, he’s still the fastest defenseman I’ve ever actually watched.

If he develops this year, he could make Leopold expendable. We’ll see how he does in the first Leopold injury.