Judging by the press and some of the reviews, I'm worried that they will be giving Fowler a long look at staying past 9 games. Our defense is pretty nonmobile and bad at breaking out, so Fowler could contribute in that area. And his skating and puck-moving does look as advertised.
But I'm really worried whether he is physically ready to handle an NHL schedule with NHL forwards. Even Scott Niedermayer, who many compare Fowler to and who was drafted 3rd overall, returned for another year of juniors. I also think Philadelphia stalled Sbisa's development a bit by keeping him up in 2009 and not playing him enough. Not to mention the years lost of RFA.
edit: so they only had 2 teams? They've had 4 teams in the past. I wonder why they're cutting it down.
I agree but Niedermayer didn't get paired up with a veteran stay-at-home like Fowler does with Andy Sutton. We'll see though. If Sutton can be Fowler's mentor throughout the season and cover up for his rookie mistakes, I think Fowler just might steal a spot on that defense.
Worried? Fowler was one of better players on the ice yesterday, and may have been our best defenseman. I will be shocked if he doesn't stick with the team this year and I say this with a sigh of relief because I was worried about our D (duh).
My worries with Fowler are less about him being able to handle the NHL for short periods such as training camp or a tryout and more about him being physically developed enough to handle an entire NHL season.
Sbisa actually looked pretty good through his first 9 games in 08-09. I saw like 2 or 3 of those games. Then he really hit a slump.
I agree but Niedermayer didn't get paired up with a veteran stay-at-home like Fowler does with Andy Sutton. We'll see though. If Sutton can be Fowler's mentor throughout the season and cover up for his rookie mistakes, I think Fowler just might steal a spot on that defense.
I wasn't really watching hockey back then, so I have no idea who Niedermayer was paired up with. But looking at NJ's roster in 92-93 I see Scott Stevens and Ken Danyko. There's also Kasatanov and Fetisov, who were on the down swing of their careers.
How would Fowler be paired up with Sutton for the long run? Does that mean Sutton or Sbisa would be on the third pairing? Because Fowler should not be in the NHL unless he's clearly better than Sbisa and in line for a top-4 slot. Otherwise when he slumps he'll be benched (as opposed to playing on the 3rd line), which is good for no one.
My worries with Fowler are less about him being able to handle the NHL for short periods such as training camp or a tryout and more about him being physically developed enough to handle an entire NHL season.
Sbisa actually looked pretty good through his first 9 games in 08-09. I saw like 2 or 3 of those games. Then he really hit a slump.
I share the same concerns with Snark.
Add the pressures of NHL expectations, media attention and relentless travel, and things become much more difficult for an 18 year old. It's easier to recover mentally from a couple of blown junior club games than fighting an unfair bust label or team skategoat (fans) in the NHL spotlight.
To each his own. I personally did not like his posts in the Official Boards because this is a Message Boards and it's main purpose is in-depth discussion, not fanboy-ism and acting like a cheerleader.
I'd rather have someone "acting like a cheerleader" than being rude because someone has a different position on the team. You can just put him on ignore instead of telling him his posts are worthless.
Anyone else notice the logo change on the Ducks helmets?
Yes and it's unfortunate they've left the word mark on the jersey until last apparently. I liked the word mark on the helmet.
Went today and spent the time watching team White.
-Fowler from what I saw today is mentally almost there but got pushed around by Getzlaf especially. Needs to get bigger
-Bonino looked a bit hesitant out there.
-Carter has peaked
-Is Mara a bit of a rover? I noticed on one play he pinched quite a bit
-Jason Blake looked the most tired at the end skating drill.
Nobody really stood out either way for me today. Of course I didn't see much of team black.
A brief reprieve from my anti-message board stance but I feel compelled to share my insight after attending Day 2. My thoughts:
Not as much jump in the step as was reported from the first day (I was not there yesterday). The coaching staff really stressed high tempo. The players tried but they looked a little tired. Same drills as always. Players who looked good in drills were Blake, Sutton, Vishnovsky, Spisa, Ryan, Selanne and Bodie. Getzlaf kept losing a one-on-one skating drill with Sutton and it was amusing seeing them jaw with each other. Fowler was real good at this drill.
Igor Bobkov is a giant, Peilmeier gets beat high often and Hiller's mask looks stupid.
Stephane Veilleux is a little *****. Everyone seems to be very pleased with his energy and effort but he taking runs at guys who aren't his teammates and they weren't happy about it. Today he laid a big hit on Etem during the first half of the scrimmage (clean hit if this were a real game) and drew the ire of Belesky and others in the vicinity. I get the feeling he isn't liked. I don't like him. Other than throwing his weight around he didn't do much else. I don't expect a contract for this idiot.
Darks won 4-1 in the scrimmage with goals by Selanne, Belesky, Bodie and someone else. I believe Chipchura got the lone white goal. Fowler was paired with Mara and Sutton and looked good. He moves so well with the puck and doesn't panic. He doesn't play physical and he probably never will. He relies on positioning and stickwork. Being paired with Mara and Sutton allows him not have to be so physical. He has a pretty underrated shot too.
Ryan Carter has no business being on this team. He seems to have gotten worse since being waived.
Teemu, Blake and Koivu had a lot of jump in their steps. Really encouraged by their effort right now. The player I felt who looked the sharpest out of everybody was Bobby Ryan. He was hustling and dangling like crazy. He seems very driven right now.
As for rookies Etem looked pretty good. Skates like the wind even though he looks stupid doing it. You can tell he needs to get the timing down but skating wise he's legit. Smith-Pelley is awesome. The kid works hard and never gives up on a play. With his size and energy he will make this team in a couple of years. Palmieri looked ok. Holland was solid. He has great instincts and sweet hands. Liking his game right now. Newton has a fan club following him but he was unimpressive. Valentine surprised me a bit. Mitera had his moments but you can tell he needs a big year in the A to boost his confidence. He doesn't look comfortable out there.
As for the new guys I like what I'm seeing out of Sutton and Mara. Sutton skates a lot better than I was expecting and Mara moves the puck bette than I thought. Sutton through a big hit on Sbisa during the scrimmage. Mara has a good shot. Voros skates hard and has pretty good size. I'm anxious to see him in preseason games because I couldn't get a good read on him in practice.
The other vets looked good. They've all been through this before and know what they're doing. Sexton had a lot of jump today. You can tell he's itching to stick around.
Today was the only day I was going to attend and I'm going to resume my anti-message board stance. Oh and Dave Taylor was there scouting. My gut says he was looking at that ****** bag Veilleux. Really nice guy.
Stephane Veilleux is a little *****. Everyone seems to be very pleased with his energy and effort but he taking runs at guys who aren't his teammates and they weren't happy about it. Today he laid a big hit on Etem during the first half of the scrimmage (clean hit if this were a real game) and drew the ire of Belesky and others in the vicinity. I get the feeling he isn't liked. I don't like him. Other than throwing his weight around he didn't do much else. I don't expect a contract for this idiot.
I was wondering who did that. I was taking notes of either goalie equipment or jersey tucks for NHL11 and I hear this big thud. Marchant was not pleased at all.
as long as he stays on the right side of insipiring.. pissing your teammates off is not good.
This guy is fighting for a roster spot, he is going to do what it takes to try to make the team. Maybe some of the team needs to get pissy and fight back. This team needs to get their edge back, they have been too passive the last couple of years.
Veilleux sounds awesome. Im glad he's pissing people off, we need some passion after last year's uninspired effort.
Totally agree. This is hockey, not softball and the Ducks were emotionless a lot of the time last year. If the players don't like it, they're more than welcome to knock him on his ass.
These aren't Veilleux's teammates, so he has no hangups there. He's fighting for a job, and he doesn't care if it's with the Ducks or another team (they might see him during an exhibition game).
It's actually more of a surprise that we don't have more guys hitting like that considering we have some young guys also fighting for a roster spot.
But if the guys aren't happy about it it may hurt his chance at a spot with the Ducks.
Go Veilleux! this is NHL preseason camp and not some soft "street hockey" with happy faces...it should be physical and as long as he hits clean that's fine.
For example from Hurricanes camp Zach Boychuk said Tim Gleason hit him with the biggest hit he has ever faced. "It's crazy. This is war field" he said.
this is NHL preseason camp and not some soft "street hockey" with happy faces...it should be physical and as long as he hits clean that's fine.
