Why hasn?t Vilardi been sent down to the AHL?

Greg33

Greg33

3rd Line Winger
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Well? Why scratch him? Send him down, call up (insert name here) to play center

does he have poor attitude or something? Also why play this player on the fourth line? Send him to the A to figure it out.

some head scratching choices being made around here
 
Greg33 said:
Well? Why scratch him? Send him down, call up (insert name here) to play center

does he have poor attitude or something? Also why play this player on the fourth line? Send him to the A to figure it out.

some head scratching choices being made around here
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can he just be sent down?
 
Actually he might have to go on waivers because of his age. Not really clear on this.

I had only been looking at his number of NHL games (or lack there of)
 
Helvetica said:
can he just be sent down?
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I'm fairly sure he can. I'm guessing they want him to feel like he's still a key part of this team and don't want to **** up his confidence any more than it is already. Just a guess, though.
 
santiclaws said:
I'm fairly sure he can. I'm guessing they want him to feel like he's still a key part of this team and don't want to **** up his confidence any more than it is already. Just a guess, though.
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for sure. I dont really see a reason to send him down, but im also sort of surprised that they could.
 
I want to be patient with Vilardi - he’s missed more than a year of key development right?

if he was a second or third rounder, you wouldn’t have thought twice about sending him down to develop his game = part of the process

it’s also easy to argue that an AHL reassignment could boost his confidence and let him find his game again, IOW develop.

What makes this concerning is McLellan’s use/decisions with him. There seems to be an attitude and I’m not sure if it’s coach or player?

edit: has played a grand total 47 NHL games. That’s it. Send him down, work on a few things. Forget what you know, this is how we do it, Gabe.
 
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Part of The Athletic article addresses this very question.

https://theathletic.com/2502333/202...proach-the-trade-deadline/?source=weeklyemail

[h=3]How do you handle Project Vilardi?[/h]The short answer: Carefully.
With a struggling young center who hasn’t scored in 16 games despite second-line minutes and time on PP2, there are plenty of options.
Door No. 1: Put him on the wing.
Door No. 2: Make him a healthy scratch.
Door No. 3: Send him back to the American Hockey League.
With Gabriel Vilardi, the Kings have tried the first door and seem poised to open the second one Wednesday. As always, things can change but it appears as though Vilardi will be a healthy scratch against the Arizona Coyotes.
It makes far more sense to go this route rather than taking a more drastic step by sending him to the minors. Vilardi has played 79 professional games – AHL and NHL combined – in the past two seasons and this is his first full season with the Kings.
Given that, the chance for a quick reset might be exactly what Vilardi needs in what has been an especially hectic and condensed NHL season.
He is 91st among NHL centers in shots on goal and has been a defensive liability at times. With all young players, a good dose of patience is advised, especially since there have been enough flashes of the skillset that led the Kings to draft him No. 11 overall in 2017.
 
Greg33 said:
Well? Why scratch him? Send him down, call up (insert name here) to play center

does he have poor attitude or something? Also why play this player on the fourth line? Send him to the A to figure it out.

some head scratching choices being made around here
Click to expand...

As fans, we only see what happens with him during games, or with the coach's decision to make him a healthy scratch. It could be that he is doing well in practices, and this is just a "reset" for him.
 
Can he play goal?

A playmaking goalie would be a great addition to the team.
 
Oh he can be sent back down to the AHL alright
 
It just might be the best thing for him.

Especially if they put him in at RW.

The Kings have no sizeable RWers with skill, other than the aging Brown.

In fact, they are short of wingers with size in general (Kempe excepted).

IMO, if Gabe could pot a few, win board battles with his reach/strength/skill,
and make some nice setups (as he is so capable of doing), he could help the Kings more at RW than at C.

Hopefully, he can get that started in Ontario, and continue it in LA.

When he does come back up (maybe in a month or so?), I'd like to see him put
on Kupari's line, with Athanasiou on LW, or possibly Kaliyev.
 
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Hard to argue with this decision. I do worry he becomes one of those guys that bottoms out here and succeeds somewhere else, but this was the only choice right now as far as I can see. Hoping Wrobo gets something out of him.
 
triplcrown said:
IMO, if Gabe could... win board battles with his reach/strength/skill...
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to me that's the issue. He's not utilizing his size and presumed strength. He's not fighting for pucks and playing as hard as he needs to hold his spot. It's the flip side to Lizotte. Guy is never going to impress with his shot and playmaking, but he "plays the right way". He skates hard. He makes good reads. And he wins battles he shouldnt be winning at his size. He drives possession, and provides momentum. All from the 4th line. He's dependable.

It was an issue last season. It's an issue this season. Vilardi isn't providing the consistent level of effort that he needs to provide to make it in this league. I dont even care if he tears it up offensively while he's down in Ontario (although he definitely should). I think the team is going to evaluate him purely from an effort standpoint. Can this guy take his fundamentals to the next level? Can he make that mental switch from being a guy that likely got by on skill in lower leagues, to a guy that can find a way to win in the corners. And for ****s sake man... please work on your faceoffs. Vilardi has been the opposite of dependable, with an atrocious FO% and lackluster work in the trenches. And despite not being sexy skills to have, those things win games. If you concede the puck on the drop, and lack the effort to win it back, you're going to lose. He's not a fast skater, so winning battles and faceoffs are even more important for his line. He's got a lot of work ahead.
 
Helvetica said:
to me that's the issue. He's not utilizing his size and presumed strength. He's not fighting for pucks and playing as hard as he needs to hold his spot. It's the flip side to Lizotte. Guy is never going to impress with his shot and playmaking, but he "plays the right way". He skates hard. He makes good reads. And he wins battles he shouldnt be winning at his size. He drives possession, and provides momentum. All from the 4th line. He's dependable.

It was an issue last season. It's an issue this season. Vilardi isn't providing the consistent level of effort that he needs to provide to make it in this league. I dont even care if he tears it up offensively while he's down in Ontario (although he definitely should). I think the team is going to evaluate him purely from an effort standpoint. Can this guy take his fundamentals to the next level? Can he make that mental switch from being a guy that likely got by on skill in lower leagues, to a guy that can find a way to win in the corners. And for ****s sake man... please work on your faceoffs. Vilardi has been the opposite of dependable, with an atrocious FO% and lackluster work in the trenches. And despite not being sexy skills to have, those things win games. If you concede the puck on the drop, and lack the effort to win it back, you're going to lose. He's not a fast skater, so winning battles and faceoffs are even more important for his line. He's got a lot of work ahead.
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I agree with every word you wrote.

At one point last season the guy was my favorite King. But the lack of 100% effort is puzzling. As I wrote earlier, he needs to take a hard look in the mirror and ask himself if he wants to be an NHL player.

If he puts in the work, the sky is the limit. Otherwise he may need to find something else to do for a living.
 
Reg or Rog? said:
I agree with every word you wrote.

At one point last season the guy was my favorite King. But the lack of 100% effort is puzzling. As I wrote earlier, he needs to take a hard look in the mirror and ask himself if he wants to be an NHL player.

If he puts in the work, the sky is the limit. Otherwise he may need to find something else to do for a living.
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for some reason this discussion reminds me of Dustin Penner and what Lombardi said about him while he was struggling with the Kings.

It's really hard to make any assumptions here. It would be easy to suggest that he probably got by in the lower leagues just on skill alone, and now that he had to do real work, maybe he cant make that adjustment. Considering that this seems to be a recurring issue, i think that's the easiest conclusion to jump to. The flip side is that he definitely did work hard to get back into a place where he even had a chance after issues with his back, so it's nice to be able to look there and say, yeah, i think he can work through this. Alternatively, this might just be his path on the way to the NHL. The NHL is riddled with players that didn't succeed with their first team, and the Kings have the luxury to be in a position to both continue his development properly, while still progressing as a team towards making the playoffs. Time will tell. If there's one thing for certain, everyone wants him to succeed.
 
Helvetica said:
for some reason this discussion reminds me of Dustin Penner and what Lombardi said about him while he was struggling with the Kings.

It's really hard to make any assumptions here. It would be easy to suggest that he probably got by in the lower leagues just on skill alone, and now that he had to do real work, maybe he cant make that adjustment. Considering that this seems to be a recurring issue, i think that's the easiest conclusion to jump to. The flip side is that he definitely did work hard to get back into a place where he even had a chance after issues with his back, so it's nice to be able to look there and say, yeah, i think he can work through this. Alternatively, this might just be his path on the way to the NHL. The NHL is riddled with players that didn't succeed with their first team, and the Kings have the luxury to be in a position to both continue his development properly, while still progressing as a team towards making the playoffs. Time will tell. If there's one thing for certain, everyone wants him to succeed.
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Once again, I agree with everything you wrote, 100%.

There are no set, linear pathways to success in any field, especially sports. Maybe this is the best thing for Gabe. As you wrote, time will tell. Obviously overcoming those back issues prove he is indeed capable of handling adversity. I'm sure it was a long hard road back, and it required patience, dedication and hard work.

But the next step, cementing his place on an NHL team, means continuing to work hard and sacrifice.

As for making assumptions, will, we all know what assume spells out. No one knows Gabe better than Gabe. If he wants to be successful in the NHL, it's there for the taking. It's up to him to take the next step. From a pure physical standpoint, he obviously has the skill set. Now he needs to get it together mentally, and wrap his mind around what it's going to take to step up to the next level.

And I agree that everyone wants him to succeed. It will be interesting to see where he winds up at the end of this season....
 
I think a lot of you confuse effort with playing the right way. He's essentially a kid playing against the best players in the world and while I would like to see him be far more aggressive and playing the whole ice hard, he just looks lost a lot. I think his confidence has been affected. The mental side of the game is so underrated. Kopitar succeeded when he was young because of tremendous skill and the guy is just unflappable. He is calm at all times and exudes confidence. Drew does as well, but in a different way - heart on his sleeve. My hope is Wrobo helps him find his confidence again and hope that TM can build on it. I know a lot of us have blamed his confidence issues on TM, but he did give him the opportunity to succeed. He can't make him perform. I think the over-rated Tkachev was part of the problem because that's a guy who looks to me like he's not willing to do the work (and maybe not, maybe he was just struggling to adapt also.) I could be totally wrong, but it just seemed like a bad pairing, whereas I wonder where Vilardi would be had he been playing with hard working guys like Iafallo, Danault etc. If it was up to me, when he comes back, he'd slot right into that right wing role with those two. Good luck not playing hard at both ends on that line.
 
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