One thing that’s been funny to me watching him these playoffs is how anytime Roope gets a breakaway at home the AAC goes nuts. Stars fans just know what’s coming next - laser of a shot to the back of the net. You’re right that the rest of the league is just catching on.
I knew he was a monster 2 years ago when he had a slow start and someone dropped him in my fantasy league. I grabbed him and he went off. To chirp everyone else who wanted him (but tried to pay less on waivers) I renamed my team to “Basically Hintz” as he carried my team for weeks.
No Dallas stars fan is surprised, Hintz has been our best player the past 2 seasons. The speed, the shot, the defensive skill Hintz has.. he’s finally getting the recognition he so longed deserved. Hintz is better than Robertson IMO
As a Blues fan Hintz caught my eye back in 2019. I was really caught off guard by him and then I realized he was a fucking rookie. Dude is insane. Really good on both sides.
Robertson is an amazing player, but from what I've seen he lacks Hintz's ability to create opportunities out of nowhere. Rob is a better regular season player, but in the playoffs where chances are scarce Hintz can shine brighter.
Hintz is an all around better player than Robertson for sure and Robertson has not looked great this playoffs. I'm hoping it's just nerves and he shakes it off against Vegas because him, Hintz, and Pavelski are unstoppable when they're all on their game.
As a Finnish/American who has lived in the DFW area his whole life, watching Miro and Roope this year has brought me so much hometown and heritage pride. Go Dallas!
@@pekkaleIt depends how far back the roots go, if either of your parents are Finnish, yeah fair enough, you could call yourself a Finnish-American but if they are further than that, you aren't Finnish anymore. I've seen too many Americans call themselves something American when both of their parents are born and raised in America. And that seems to be a mainly American thing
Roope Hintz is one of the many reasons why the Stars are my pick to win the cup. Heiskanen, Hintz, Oettinger, Robertson, Pavelski and more. The Stars have so much talent it’s insane. As a Flames fan, I saw a glimpse of this team’s potential last year, now we are seeing that potential fully realized.
I'd have to agree. They have even more depth this year, Robertson Breaking out, top six guys aren't ice cold, they're defense is incredible, and I've always liked Hintz but he seems to have found another level this year. I don't have my finger on the pulse in the west, I live in the east now and I can only handle so much mediocre and pain inducing hockey being a Sens fan and a Flames fan lol
@@father042 yeah those were the top guys I was referring to, I just couldn't remember Seguin lol Benn and uh... The other guy lol. I know they had trouble scoring for a couple seasons
Hintz has been Dallas' best kept secret for a few seasons now. But I'm glad he's finally getting the recognition he deserves. His speed is unbelievable, I'd wager he's the fastest, if not top 5 skaters in the league.
Respect to Seattle and Stars, teams very respectful of each other unlike the 1st round with Avs and Wild. Easy to cheer for both teams, hope this hockey friendship continues
If it wasn't for Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski and Jake Oettinger, we might not have beaten your Cracken. Y'all are a great up and coming and even scary team. I'm glad we made it out alive and yes, Roope (pronounced like Rope-A), has been our and the leagues MVP so far in the playoffs. Let's do this again next year ok? GO STARS
Kinda sucks seeing my guys on the butt end of these highlights, but this certainly helps me appreciate how it happened. Great insight and analysis that really helps a new hockey fan like me start to understand the deeper aspects of the game. Hats off to Dallas for playing great hockey with an incredibly talented team. Super proud of the boys for making it all the way to Round 2 Game 7. Super excited for the off-season, free agents gonna want to sign here now that we've shown we mean business!
Stars fan here, and the Kraken have nothing to be ashamed of. Ya'll played your hearts out and were a force to be reckoned with. I can't wait to see how ya'll grow next year!
In my book Heiskanen is the MVP for the Stars at this point. Over 30 min ice time in game 7, makes it look easy! Also got a pretty nasty wrister to the face, missed no game. Roope is hot but Miro is the big dog!
Heiskanen is not a sexy pick because he's toned down his offensive involvement a bit from the regular season. But league leading TOI and getting the toughest matchups, he's an actual dream.
100% agreed! I remember when the Blackhawks won in 2015 and Keith was getting about 30 minutes a game. That was a huge deal then. Miro’s been underrated, but I get why since Hintz has been a monster offensively.
i'm biased but he's quite possibly been the the most underrated player in this year's playoffs. Logging 30+ minutes on a nightly basis and consistently showcasing some of the best shutdown-defensive skills, breakout ability, and O-zone puck-movement that the league has to offer right now. Unfortunately those things get very little recognition since they aren't quite as sexy as goal-scoring, but he deserves so much more recognition imo
I get americans having a hard time understanding that since they dont have a long o sound in english but "haiskanen" really shouldve stopped by now. It's literally the same as "hey" its not that hard.
@@are3287 There's a guy playing defense for the Idaho Steelheads (which is the Dallas ECHL affiliate) named Cody Haiskanen. I doubt he'll ever make it to the NHL, but imagine how badly that would confuse people.
North Americans were clowning on Pierre when he was pronouncing "Rantanen" correctly with the rolling r-sound. So I wouldn't expect the majority to get it right like... ever.
The only downside of Hintz, is that I DIDN'T PICK HIM IN MY PLAYOFF POOL DAMMIT ! Dallas basically made me win my season pool, I don't know why wasn't sure about them in the playoff haha
because the National Media doesn't cover Stars hockey nearly as much as they cover other markets. The Canadian and East Coast bias is still very prevalent with the national media. Hence why Johnston was snubbed for the Calder this season.
hintz is a total monster, an absolute product of modern hockey... I remember him at the MSJ (2016) together with aho, pulju and laine, mikko, kapanen, he played 3 lines and he was great even then, it was so sick year,, I'm nothing like that with Canada he didn't see so much talent in the first three formations...
As a stars fan, I knew roope was special in 2019 when he had a filthy short side goal against Buffalo in the regular season. He was just a raw gifted hockey player, who has improved every year since his rookie season. I thought he became our best player two seasons ago. As long as he stays healthy, I believe he will become our captain after Jamie and continue to be our best player for years to come. He also plays with so much passion, you can see it in every goal he scores.
Dallas has so much going on for them that I hope they win against VGK. One thing that has barely gotten mentioned anywhere is the Lindell-Hakanpää pair. Close to the end of regular season they were easily the "best" defensive pair in the league. Their defensive stats were thourgh the roof.
This was a great video! I’m a fan of the Stars, so I watch often, but the details such as offensive systems and positioning are something I don’t pay attention to. I loved this.
I hope he can keep it going. We've never had a Finn win the Conn-Smythe and I really want to see him get it. Vegas will be the toughest team to do this against so far.
A key point here is the importance of the coach running a system that leverages their player's abilities, and a GM constructing a team to work for that system. If you only have a couple of fast players, it doesnt work. And if you add a couple fast players to a slow team running an aggressive forecheck, they won't excel like they would in a transition system. The teams that are left may not have the best talent but they have systems that are getting the most from the talent they have.
Thanks for making this video. Roope is so aesthetically pleasing to watch, even if he does literally nothing but skate. Also, respectfully, Miro's last name is pronounced Hey-skanen. Cheers!
Excellent video and analysis. In addition to what you mentionned, Hintz has an excellent balance and when you combine that with his size, speed and strength it is very difficult to get the puck away from him. He can quickly change the location from which he is taking the shot making him a menace for goalkeepers. Reminds me of Sergei Fedorov (Fjodorov) in the 90s who just blasted through defenders.
Ok I’m a kraken fan and had season tickets to every home game…the Dallas series was exciting..give the stars credit for playing well in game 7,,,especially after seattle thrashed them with 4 goals in 4 shots in game 6…hints, heiskanen and Pavelski very good players..Ottinger was exceptional always in the game,,,when he stunk the game before and had to be pulled…
Beautiful little bridge contract. I'm so glad Nill extended him early in the season, and for a really good price. His contract mirrors Heiskanen's. Having them both in Dallas for several years should be a big part of the core.
I've seen a lot of guys kill it during the regular and absolutely fail in the postseason. If it wasn't for Hintz we definitely don't win this series, we just didn't get much from Robertson or Benn really, we will definitely need them this series.
Lots of Finns going into that playoff performer and/or under-appreciated talent category. Quite happy about that. Hintz is the latest but of course for years Barkov was a monster who was largely unknown to the wider hockey public, and similar story with Aho. And playoff guys there was that Kiviranta hat trick (he hasn't repeated anything like that since of course) and Lehkonen is a known playoff guy. I think Hintz is one of the more underrated players at the moment but he is definitely getting his name out there more now and hopefully will break out as far as name recognition soon too, although I think mostly the players don't care about that much as long as they are winning.
Oh and as for winning the Conn Smythe, I mean if the stars win the cup yes. But thats a big if there. I think the list shown in no particular order of Eichel, Aho, Hintz, and Tkachuk is right (for now, with goalies always being open to steal the spot) at this given moment, and any one of those guys can/should win it if their team goes on to win the cup and they continue to perform. Just happy to have two Finns up there.
Hintz should get way more attention in the Selke voting. He doesn't kill penalties just because he's a shorthanded scoring threat. He's just an excellent all around player.
His style reminds me of Kuznetsov when he’s playing well (which isn’t often). It makes sense though that Dallas has built a system to utilize Roope but the capitals absolutely haven’t done that for Kuzy.
Me and my good friend were talking about the eventual Stanley Cup Finalists. Told my friend a Dallas fan, these guys will likely make SCF. He told me this is one of the players to watch out for. I didn’t believe him. Wow.
As a Stars seasons ticket holder I remember his rookie year and when we first saw him rushing up the left wing. I knew right then and there he was going to be a total stud. And now he is. 💪💪💪 Quite frankly, based on his OVERALL game (offense and defense) I am having a hard time thinking of another player in the NHL who is better than Roope right now. And yes, if the Stars skate the cup, #24 will more than likely scoop the Conn Smyth! 🔥🔥🔥
Unknown because people don't pay attention to the Stars but he's a great player. Heck you don't even know how to say his name. 😂 Oh lawd then you said Heiskanen wrong too.
I reckon Mr and Mrs Hintz had a lot more to do with the creation of a potential NHL playoff MVP than the Stars did, but what do I know about human reproduction. Seriously though, credit to Jim Nill for finally hiring a head coach that doesnt suck - for a change. Rick Boweness - forces the players to fit into a moulde of what Boweness thinks is the perfect image of a Defense Bot. Wants to win 1-0 games. Strangles the life out of his players. Career losing record as a head coach by a large margin, for a reason. Believes in defending 100% of the time. Pete DeBoer - analyzes players strengths and tailors plans to playstyles to maximise team success. Allows players offensive freedom while ensuring players accountability defensively. Believes the key to winning games is attacking 100% of the time. "If the opponent can't get out of their zone they can't score goals," I laughed my butt off when the Jets hired Boweness. I thought "Somebody in Winnipeg isn't very smart. They're going to suck when it comes crunch time." and the Jets fulfilled my prediction. Boweness is money in the bank when you're betting on epic failure..
Well, for the Stars it's either him, Pavelski or Heiskanen atleast. It all depends on how the last series pan out, and of course if we win, but it's one of those three for sure.
If you were farsighted enough and bet on Hintz, you should probably be hoping for injury to Heiskanen, since while Hintz has been carrying the points Heiskanen has been carrying the defense.
If the Stars win it Roope would be my pick. Miro Meiskanen would also be in the conversation. Without Miro, Stars probably aren't making a deep run. Let's also not forget about Pavelski, if he continues to put up numbers he has to be another contender as well.
how is it that everytime there is more than 1 minute conversation about underrated stars, they tend to come from Finland? Hintz, Barkov, Aho,,, even Rantanen for example
I think with both Heiskanen and Hintz, they're quiet people who do not self-promote. That probably doesn't help. Most of these guys on your list don't play in the Northeast, where there is more national media presence. Rantanen is the biggest reason the Avs had a good season overall. He was the glue for that team.
Robertson's subpar skating is definitely a big part of why he hasn't been as effective in the playoffs. Bet he makes an improvement on it in offseason.
H.P we're just making speculations at 12 games thing or 13 there's still another possible 13 games more to go we're halfway there Joe pavelski and the goalie Jake should be honourable mentions
