For all in the hockey state.
Who clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with casey at the bat...
well.
casey, mighty casey, at the nhl bat has thus far produced exactly:
2010 GP 7 G 0 A 0 PT 0.
so.
at the moment.
the maddened thousands.
may reconsider where they are putting their money.
He shouldn't be up here. He should be in Houston on the top line getting top minutes. Fletcher didn't want to "hurt" Gillies' development by putting him on the fourth line, but Wellman is wasting away up here.
He was the best skater on the third line last night though, single-handedly getting the puck out of the zone while two guys who are looking like HUGE free agency busts were screwing around (Madden, Nystrom).
Date TOI
Nov 11 13:26
Nov 06 12:00
Nov 05 11:20
Nov 02 6:07
Oct 30 11:07
Oct 28 11:12
Oct 08 6:43
Now those aren't Boogeyman TOI numbers, but they're pretty small. It's tough to fault him too much for those numbers. Yeah, he probably should have one or two points with that amount of ice time, but really he should be in the AHL playing real minutes. Some guys come back from injuries and I expect he'll be on the next flight to Houston.
Don't you think thats a slight overexaggeration? I know we aren't happy with him still being up here but those two mention above were total disasters on the management's part. I say wait a bit more before calling similarities.
I still think #FireToddRichards, but i made the choice to stop banging that drum because I'm sure you guys are sick of reading my rants. Hence, <insert#FireToddRichardsrant> here tags.
Even when we were on the amazing 3 game winning streak, I had things to complain about him sitting in the queue...
Ah, another case of not enough skill to be a viable NHL player. I agree.
Wellman is not skilled enough for a good top-6 but not hulking enough for the bottom-6. Limbo.
Its not his skill. He has the speed, shot, and hands to make the NHL. He needs to gain more muscle and slow the game down for himself. He will be a solid second liner for this team if he was sent him down to houston and left for the remainder of the year.
He played pretty well last night, had a lot of chances. Still needs to be in Houston this year. It should be Earl and Gillies getting all the callups. They've already maxed out their potential as fourth liners.
Wellman isn't scoring, but he isn't the only one. Over the last 7 games, of which we've won 5, we've scored an average of 2 goals per game. That should be an indication of how well our D and G have been over that stretch, but also, how lackluster our forwards have been.
That said, Wellman is different than Gillies or Shep. He's 23 and despite his lack of statistics (He's been robbed a few times), he's shown that he can play at this level ie... he doesn't look lost. He may not be physical, but he's pesky and he's got a nose for the puck.
I would prefer his development take place in Houston right now, but who has done a better job? The AHL is about development, the NHL is about wins. Right now the NHL team is winning, and Wellman is factoring into those wins.
Wellman is not ready for the speed on the NHL. Yeah, he's quick, but the defense closes too fast for him.
Like I said in the other thread, use guys like Earl and even Kalus until Lats and Kobasew are healthy. Those two have maxed out. Gillies and Wellman should be getting 18 minutes a night in Houston.
