Dang. Sure would be nice to finally have another player that could get the crowd going. Somebody needs to step up. Remember the days when you'd quickly move to the edge of your seat after Gabby got a hold of the puck? Memories.....
I'll be honest, when he leans in on someone going around the net, I automatically think there is going to be a goal. He is the most NHL ready because he can play wing (based on the small sample of games thus far, Phillips, Larsson, and Granlund have been playing center, and, as a result, have had more to learn systems wise), has size and strength, and can already cycle. I think he and Koivu could literally cycle back and forth all day (I find Koivu's wall work extremely underrated). If you could grab Bruno from 10 years ago, I would hate to be a defenseman going against that line. Since Parise works hard as hell and scores most of his goals around the net, a Parise-Koivu-Coyle line could be deadly in the cycle.
I have to laugh at some of the arguments being made for Baertschi in the Granlund vs Baertschi thread. Why they're bringing Granlund's recent injury into the argument I don't know and they actually think that 5 games in the NHL is a solid sample size and enough to declare Baertschi an NHLer.
Bussieres named a star of the week for the Q. Had 7pts and +6 in three games over the weekend. Looking good. Just noticed his team, Baie Comeau is 10-0-0-2 in their last 12, pretty decent lol
Bussieres named a star of the week for the Q. Had 7pts and +6 in three games over the weekend. Looking good. Just noticed his team, Baie Comeau is 10-0-0-2 in their last 12, pretty decent lol
Looks like Houston sucks defensively, pretty badly too.
Shame Bulmer can't go to juniors, I don't think managing one point and a -8 on the season is going to help his development. ECHL? I sent a tweet to @HeatherGalindo to see if there's anything going on.
And I think we can safely call Cuma a bust.
Euro leagues must have been on vacation this week.
Bussieres had some Nyquist explosions going on.
Dumba's stats just are not great this year. His team sucks though. Chicken or egg?
HOT
- Zucker (3-0=3 +2 in 3gp)
- Fontaine (2-2=4 +1 in 3gp)
- Genoway (0-3=3 +3 in 3gp)
- Haula (1-2=3 in 2gp)
- Graovac (2-1=3 -6 in 3gp)
- Bussieres (3-4=7 +6 in 3gp)
COLD
- Scandella (0-0=0 -4 in 1gp)
- Kampfer (0-0=0 -6 in 3gp
- Cuma (0-0=0 -8 in 7gp)
- Bulmer (0-1=1 -3 in 3gp)
- Hackett AND Kuemper
Zucker's just gone nuts on the score sheet. He's now cracked the top 20 in scoring with 12 points in 10 games and is 4th amongst rookies. Tied for 6th most goals in the league (tied for first amongst rookies). Now matches Coyle for goals on the team despite playing in 4 fewer games.
He's not putting up great numbers for a 7th overall pick.
Last year: 20-37=57 in 69 games.
This year's pace: 12-31=47 rounding up.
Not a high scoring team, but you want him to take a step forward, not back. I hope he gets traded (to a better junior team)...
Of course I can't see his defense from the stats, so hopefully he's just a beast back there.
The few reports I've seen on his defense have been universally commenting on how much better he is in that regard than the expectations. Is that a result of people expecting him to be bad and he's average, or is he really shining? I can't say.
The few reports I've seen on his defense have been universally commenting on how much better he is in that regard than the expectations. Is that a result of people expecting him to be bad and he's average, or is he really shining? I can't say.
I've also heard that his defense and decision making has improved. Sacrificing some offense for defense, but that isn't bad. Just as long as he knows when to pick his spots.
Renegade Stylings expects him to be traded to a better team, hopefully he takes off then.
Bulmer had a goal today. I still hope he is sent down to the ECHL, if possible. Or back to juniors. Kid looks bad. Slowly turning it on, though. Confidence seems shot, though.
I think Bulmer's having a problem with poorly defined roles. From comments we've heard through the past, the big club wants him to test out an offensive role. But in Houston he's being put on a line with McMillan, Palmieri, or other "checking line" type players. He's not showing up on the stat sheet, but several times the media people who cover Houston have listed him as the biggest impact player. It seems to me he keeps being put out there in a shutdown role, and on this team that's just a recipe for disaster insofar as +/- is concerned.
Statistically he's doing poorly, but I don't know if that's really reflective of his play. I know he's had a couple rough nights, but I haven't really heard any specific concerns about his play other than his stats.
When I went to OKC, he just disappeared. Since it was a 3 in 3 and had Granlund out, and Zucker the first game. He played with the top 2 lines some. He didn't see much time out there with the checking. That was a McIntyre/Foucault/Palmieri/Rau/Fontaine mix. They started both nights with the checking line, too.
Honestly, he looked lost out there. Took a stupid penalty trying to start something, when momentum didn't need to be shifted either way. The speed seems a little much for him right now. He was late putting any hits on, didn't protect the passing lanes or backcheck too hard. It was pretty bad. I had high hopes for Bulmer. If he regains a little confidence and has a defined role, he could open up. I was only able to catch the highlights today, but he had a shot from the point that was a bullet towards the high left, really surprised the goalie got to it. Just looked great, and I believe he got the rebound. Seems to be starting it up these last few games, though.
Phillips, I thought he would be the first to bust, out of any of the prospects. Wow, kid looked awesome out there. Dare I say it, a better stickhandler than Granlund. Kid showed some nice vision, too. Always seemed to be in great position, back checked hard, solid defensively. Brunette speed. And he protected the goalie, which I like to see. Plus, flow and beard. Incredible. NHL caliber hairalready.
When I went to OKC, he just disappeared. Since it was a 3 in 3 and had Granlund out, and Zucker the first game. He played with the top 2 lines some. He didn't see much time out there with the checking. That was a McIntyre/Foucault/Palmieri/Rau/Fontaine mix. They started both nights with the checking line, too.
Honestly, he looked lost out there. Took a stupid penalty trying to start something, when momentum didn't need to be shifted either way. The speed seems a little much for him right now. He was late putting any hits on, didn't protect the passing lanes or backcheck too hard. It was pretty bad. I had high hopes for Bulmer. If he regains a little confidence and has a defined role, he could open up. I was only able to catch the highlights today, but he had a shot from the point that was a bullet towards the high left, really surprised the goalie got to it. Just looked great, and I believe he got the rebound. Seems to be starting it up these last few games, though.
Phillips, I thought he would be the first to bust, out of any of the prospects. Wow, kid looked awesome out there. Dare I say it, a better stickhandler than Granlund. Kid showed some nice vision, too. Always seemed to be in great position, back checked hard, solid defensively. Brunette speed. And he protected the goalie, which I like to see. Plus, flow and beard. Incredible. NHL caliber hairalready.
This morning's game, Bulmer was a force for most of the game. Between his goal, chances he created offensively, penalties he drew as an agitator, and just his overall play, he was possibly the second most important Aeros player (behind Zucker of course). Phillips (who I'm a huge fan of) meanwhile had no positive impact the entire game. Couldn't do anything offensively and just didn't have any impact defensively.
I think Bulmer's further away from the NHL than some people (including myself) thought, but he's definitely an AHL caliber player. He's just not consistent yet. The last few games he's been on a big upswing.
This morning's game, Bulmer was a force for most of the game. Between his goal, chances he created offensively, penalties he drew as an agitator, and just his overall play, he was possibly the second most important Aeros player (behind Zucker of course). Phillips (who I'm a huge fan of) meanwhile had no positive impact the entire game. Couldn't do anything offensively and just didn't have any impact defensively.
I think Bulmer's further away from the NHL than some people (including myself) thought, but he's definitely an AHL caliber player. He's just not consistent yet. The last few games he's been on a big upswing.
That is good to hear. Bulmer is definitely a couple years away. I think I'd consider him as another Palmieri before thinking of him as a Gillies. Palmieri and Bulmer both had some skill to score goals, Gillies never did.
Bulmer will probably only make the NHL if he can be a strong defensive player. He just doesn't have the skill to be a top six guy on a good team. I think Colton Gillies is just the perfect comparable. They put up nearly identical stats and have nearly identical builds. Heather from the Aeros called him Gillies 2.0 when I asked about his play, and she's seen both of them more than this entire board put together.
For Bulmer, he needs to develop those offensive AND defensive skills and be as quick a learner as humanly possible. It will be an uphill battle for him.
