What does the future hold for Jimmy Vesey?
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| Jimmy Vesey with the New York Rangers. Credit: NHL.com |
I think a lot of people will agree when I say that the Hobey Baker award is one of the most hit and miss accolades in sports.
With similar collegiate trophies like the Heisman for
football, recipients mostly go on to have hall of fame careers, with a few
exceptions (Ty Detmer, Doug Flutie, etc.) With the Hobey Baker, this isn’t the
case. Collegiate hockey isn’t held in as high a calibre as the CHL in Canada,
meaning recipients of the awards are basically a crapshoot as to whether
they’ll succeed or not.
Johnny Gaudreau won the award in 2014 while playing for
Boston College, and despite being a 4th round pick, has become one
of the most exciting players in hockey. On the flipside, Robb Stauber won the
award in 1988, yet went on to play only 62 NHL games, mostly as a backup with
the LA Kings.
Then, we get to guys like Jimmy Vesey.
Players whose careers haven’t been or were never terrible,
but never amazing either. This is usually what happens to Hobey Baker winners,
with players like Scott Pellerin and Kip Miller always almost becoming stars,
before something got in the way. For Vesey, it’s simply been his struggle to
adapt to the NHL game, despite all the hype that was surrounding him in his
draft year.
Winning the award in 2016, Vesey posted great numbers in his 4 year career with Harvard University, while also possessing decent size, at 6’03 and almost 200 pounds. He had a good shot, good speed, and seemed to be on his way to NHL stardom. Taken in the 3rd round by the Nashville Predators in 2012, interest in him only increased once he decided to not sign with the team he was traded to by Nashville, the Buffalo Sabres, causing many teams to express interest.
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| Scott Pellerin was leading the expansion Minnesota Wild in scoring before being moved to Carolina at the trade deadline. Credit: NHL.com |
Winning the award in 2016, Vesey posted great numbers in his 4 year career with Harvard University, while also possessing decent size, at 6’03 and almost 200 pounds. He had a good shot, good speed, and seemed to be on his way to NHL stardom. Taken in the 3rd round by the Nashville Predators in 2012, interest in him only increased once he decided to not sign with the team he was traded to by Nashville, the Buffalo Sabres, causing many teams to express interest.
In the end, he wound up signing with the New York Rangers,
which seemed like a perfect fit to his playstyle, with guys like Michael
Grabner and Mika Zibanejad displaying similar attributes. However,
It hasn’t really worked out that way.
In his 3-year stint with the Rangers, Vesey put up 90 points
in 240 games, numbers which aren’t really that impressive in all honesty.
Despite putting up over 15 goals in each of these 3 years, a plus minus of -13
and -18, and -6 don’t help matters. He always just seemed lost on the ice,
being all over the place with his hot and cold play, reminiscent of Nolan
Patricks’ struggles with the Flyers recently.
While elements of his offensive abilities were visible, they
were always brief glimpses, fitting for a Rangers team that has struggled in
recent years. Now a Sabre once again after being traded to team for a 3rd
round pick, the question remains,
What does the future hold for Jimmy Vesey?
Well, it mainly comes down to whether he can finally adapt
to the NHL, and whether Buffalo uses him properly. A good player to compare
Vesey’ situation to, in regard to this, is Dylan Strome. A former 3rd
overall pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, Strome was hit with the comparison
bug pretty much as soon as he entered the league, as the players taken before
him (Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel) went on to become stars, while he slacked
behind.
While there were flashes of his skill, (recording 53 points
in 50 games with AHL Tuscon) 6 points in 20 games to start 2018-19 prompted the
Yotes to trade Strome to the Chicago Blackhawks with Brendan Perlini, in
exchange for Nick Schmaltz.
Upon arriving, Strome reconnected with his former OHL
linemate, Alex Debrincat, both on and off the ice, as he recorded 51 points in
58 games on a rather weak Chicago Blackhawks team, proving himself to be a true
first line player in the NHL. While it’s obvious Vesey isn’t of the same skill
level as Strome, I’d think it’d be in Buffalo’s best interest to play him in a
2nd or 1st line role.
As much as they try to correct it, the Buffalo Sabres are not a good hockey team. Despite a decent start to the 2018-19 season, a complete lack of performance from their players in the 2nd half caused them to miss the playoffs for the 8th straight season. At this point, there’s no negative to them taking a risk like this, as well, they have nothing to lose, there’s nowhere to go but up.
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| Dylan Strome enjoyed a career year with the Chicago Blackhawks. Credit: Chase Agnello/Getty Images |
As much as they try to correct it, the Buffalo Sabres are not a good hockey team. Despite a decent start to the 2018-19 season, a complete lack of performance from their players in the 2nd half caused them to miss the playoffs for the 8th straight season. At this point, there’s no negative to them taking a risk like this, as well, they have nothing to lose, there’s nowhere to go but up.
With players like Sam Reinhart, Jeff Skinner and Eichel
rounding out their top six, I think Vesey could enjoy a career year playing
alongside those 3. He’s got the skill, he just needs to use it. At the end of
the day, the Hobey Baker award is still a high calibre award, and even if some
careers didn’t work out, most winners were still very good hockey players.
At 26 years old, Vesey is still in the prime of his career,
and hasn’t quite settled into a role enough to be fixated in the bottom six. I
think he still has potential. It all comes down to whether Buffalo gives him
the chance. If they do, expect the unexpected, if they don’t, it’ll be another
lackluster year,
For this Harvard grad.
Find me on Twitter @9secondsot
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