Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!
I agree that it would be pointless to play the kid in a checking role but when you see his line mates chucking water bottles and shaking their heads it makes you wonder. If you can't see his limitations then you're just not looking. How long does the team wait?
Comparing him to Grimaldi is silly, their games are night and day different.
As far as your opinion on Condon, while I don't agree with letting your line mates effect your play I'm pretty sure there are a number of gophs who would prefer not to play with Cammy. Do you honestly believe he's a good fit where he is now? Fasching and Rau want to work down low and grind, their skill sets allow them to be very good in traffic and along the wall, these are qualities Taylor is lacking. I think Taylor possesses a skill set unlike any kid I've watched, time will tell if it translates into a quality college player.
I don't think it would be pointless at all to place Cammarata in a position where he can learn to develop agility, physicality and speed as a more complete D1 hockey player. He's an underdeveloped kid who needs to add some key components to his game to support his small size and IMO he's a definite liability on the first line with Rau and Fasching. In his present situation, he's being afforded special treatment as a top 6 forward entirely based upon the laurels of his prior hockey experience not his extraordinary scoring efforts for the Gophers this year. In my opinion, Cammarata showed a little bit more aggressiveness at times over the past couple games and put a few more SOG, but not enough to warrant the attention and accolades he's been given. By the way, the lone goal in the outdoor game credited to him should have gone to Rau as Cammarata's stick wasn't even on the ice. Looking at the replay, Rau shot the puck from the circle, hustled all the way around the net and poked at it in the crease, while Cammarata looked like he was lost on the play with his stick in the air.
I agree, the Grimaldi comparison is night and day, especially in the area of speed and agility. Cammarata is NOT a fast skater, nor is he agile. What strikes NHL scouts most about Rocco Grimaldi that's uncharacteristic of Cammarata's game is his quickness in close quarters that separates him from the pack. For those smaller players like Grimaldi, speed, acceleration and agility are not just assets, they're a means of survival. And Grimaldi hasn't just mastered the art of elusion, he uses it to exploit bigger, but slower skaters. Cammarata doesn't come close to that at this level, and if he doesn't learn it now he won't go anywhere IF he ever even gets a cup of coffee in the next. I played in the "goon show", the ECHL where normally we would dress only 10 forwards and roll only three lines. So you pull your weight and do your job at all costs or you best get the fk off the ice. Kids like Cammarata who cherry pick and refuse to get physical on the walls and in corners to assist teammates are inevitably put on their backs by opponents and/or have the **** kicked out of them in the lockerroom by the teammates who work their collective azzes off and put themselves in harms way every game for the team.
That's where I'm comin' from and I'm fed up with hearing about Cammarata's primadonna "skill set". It may have been effective against more unskilled, and younger kids in the past, but unless he starts showing a more complete effort to broaden his abilities to support his teammates on the ice, his present "skill set" is worthless at this level and sooner or later it will negatively affect Fasching and Rau's game as well.
