Season Stats: 76 GP, 22 G, 28 A, 50 Pt, +2 165 shots
Minutes: 1170 total (6th among forwards), EV 12:37, PP 2:33, SH 0:14, ATOI 15:24
Splits:
1st Half: 40 GP, 14 G 15 A, 29 Pt, +5 87 shots
2nd Half: 36 GP, 8 G, 13 A, 21 Pt, -3 78 shots
Linemates: Center: Sakic (47 GP), Stastny (28), Arnason (1). RW: Brunette (40), Hejduk (20), Svatos (10), Rycroft (3), Laperriere (3). Spent the most games on the left wing with Sakic and Brunette (40 games).
Career: This was Wolski’s first season in the NHL.
Report: Overall, a good rookie season for Wolski…Ranked 4th among rookie scorers with 50 points…Started season with Paul Stastny, and scored 11 points in his first 21 games before getting scratched…Scored 5 points in his first two games after the scratch…After three more games, moved up to the Sakic line and notched 17 points in 21 games…Received a concussion on a “clean” cheap shot from Craig Conroy on February 17th…Wasn’t quite the same player the rest of the way, with just 10 points (and one healthy scratch) in the 20 games after his return…Shot totals fluctuated wildly from month to month, ranging from 1.7 per game to 2.5 per game…While offense dropped off in 2nd half, his defensive play improved dramatically over the course of the season…Is more physical than people think he is, although I doubt he will ever be known for his muscle…Has a tendency to stand and watch the play too much when he doesn’t have a puck…Not particularly fast, but handles the puck well, and does a solid job at putting himself in a position to score in the offensive zone…Doesn’t take stupid penalties, a plus for a rookie.
Fast Fact: One of 5 former 1st round draft picks to play with the Avalanche last year. The other four are Joe Sakic, Pierre Turgeon, Scott Parker and Brad May.
Midseason Grade: B-
Final Grade: B
2007-2007 Salary: $860,000
2007-2008 Status: signed ($860,000)
Outlook: Wolski has all the tools to be a solid NHL winger. A little better effort in all three zones should help him improve his point total…and keep him out of the press box.
It’s hard to judge rookies, it really is. Wolski never seemed to create a lot of scoring chances but took advantage of scoring chances created by others.
I really like Wolski’s length and his ability to fore-check and create turnovers with that long reach. Wolski hit a niche in his play at one point where he did that Gretzky curl along the side boards during a rush. He fed his teammates and created a lot of havoc with his move in the second third of the season.
I’d like to see Wolski more active on the boards with higher assist assist totals especially if he’s playing with Sakic. His defensive game was impressive during the winning streak. Even with his healthy point totals I think Wolski has room to grow and frankly I think he has the mental stubborness to improve where others would stay satisfied.
You know he started off so strong! But it seemed that he kind of started to die down around Christmas time, but he did do pretty well. I think the true test will be this coming season cause you cant judge a rookie to hard. Lets just hope he starts off strong and stays strong!
I agree with Dario. As long as he can stay healthy and away from the Lindros Killersâ„¢ (see also: repeated concussions), he should continue to develop into what Andrew Brunette has become: a solid winger. Only faster. And younger.
Hopefully he avoids the Svatos slump and has a sophomore year like Alex Tanguay did—20 more points and a Stanley Cup ring.