I'm sorry, but with 40 secs left in a 1 goal game, Ennis is NOT the center I want out there.
Nor in a PK situation unless we are trailing and need an extra attacker SH goal to send it to OT.
Based on the ice time given to Hodgson last year and the arrival of Ott I'd say many of those tough defensive situations are going to go to those two, especially if ruff decides to use his head and play Pominville and or Vanek primarily with Hodgson anyways
While I agree that Hodgson should probably get that sexy top line gig along with Pominville and Vanek, I like the fact that we are putting this in the hands of our younger guys. You know Ennis at the top won't last forever anyways, especially if he struggles.
As sweet as it would be to coddle Ennis his entire career because we go out and get players to put ahead of him in the lineup, I'm curious to see if he thrives as a top 6 center. Maybe an offseason/camp/whatever of focusing on playing center and the skills needed for it will surprise people.
The success of the forwards could (hopefully) still boil down to having three balanced lines where any one of them could see the easy match-up based on what the other coach does. If Ruff has to stack Vanek and Pominville on a line together then teams can match up more easily. Three lines makes it harder, and where exactly Ennis fits in the mix doesn't really change any of that.
While I agree that Hodgson should probably get that sexy top line gig along with Pominville and Vanek, I like the fact that we are putting this in the hands of our younger guys.
As sweet as it would be to coddle Ennis his entire career because we go out and get players to put ahead of him in the lineup, I'm curious to see if he thrives as a top 6 center. Maybe an offseason/camp/whatever of focusing on playing center and the skills needed for it will surprise people.
I def think that ennis and hodgson both have what it takes to eventually be top 6 players for years to come however this team would have benefited greatly from the pressence of a guy like Goose(not saying him exactly or that I wouldnt do that deal all over again and again), but they need someone to ease them into tough/defensive roles and mentor them...
the gamble of handing roy;s role to ennis is stupid. that's the .... it should so clearly go to Hodgson/Pommer line if someone else doesn't get brought in.
seriously... Ennis + Defensive Zone draws/shifts is ****ing idiotic.
Ennis is the worst defensive zone player on the entire team (ok, john scott is probably worse... probably )
Not to mention the kid was just starting to scratch the surface of success at center.... so i think it's double to try and change that role so soon.
lindy is an idiot... everything about his decisions regarding lineups over the years makes this annoying, but by no means surprising
You can't score if you don't have the puck. That's why Ennis doesn't need to be a good defensive player. That line constantly had teams pinned in there own end. Puck possession is a form of defense in itself, and Ennis is the best we have at that.
Most people have Ennis line set and Vanek with Hodgson.
After that its fill in the blanks. I think It will be like that most of the year.
Yes, right now it's:
Vanek-Hodgson-X or X-Hodgson-Vanek
Leino-Y-Pominville
Foligno-Ennis-Stafford
Gerbe-Z-Kaleta
xEllis, Scott
Where X or Y is Ott or an acquisition/signing and Z is McCormick or an acquisition/signing. X could be Tropp, but that's potentially a lot of minutes for someone still relatively unproven.
Honestly, we're not talking about many more minutes if any compared to the run his line went on. It all comes down to whether or not there is a viable third scoring line in the mix. As to who draws defensive match-ups, that is up to the enemy generals.
The most practical thing I took away from this is that they currently have Ennis above Hodgson on the depth chart, the rest is conjecture for the time being. Further, that to me indicates not much more than the level of trust they have in each players, and understandably they have more in the guy they've had for two full seasons and change versus the guy who has only even been in the organization for a few months.
Put Hodgson between Pominville and Vanek, that will draw the first defense pairing who they can adequately compete against. That leaves FES to draw the weaker pairings whom they can feast on. I don't see the problem here.
I def think that ennis and hodgson both have what it takes to eventually be top 6 players for years to come however this team would have benefited greatly from the pressence of a guy like Goose(not saying him exactly or that I wouldnt do that deal all over again and again), but they need someone to ease them into tough/defensive roles and mentor them...
Well, Hodgson wanted the tough minutes coming from Vancouver. He's a natural center. I'm not too worried about him. Ennis is the gamble but that said he did a good job ending last year with Foligno and Stafford. You'd be a fool to not at least want to see how long that lasts.
You can't score if you don't have the puck. That's why Ennis doesn't need to be a good defensive player. That line constantly had teams pinned in there own end. Puck possession is a form of defense in itself, and Ennis is the best we have at that.
Part of that is his higher number of offensive zone starts though. Saying he pins them in their own end constantly is a bit of a stretch since he ends less shifts in the offensive zone than he starts. I don't mean this is completely dismiss that line's possession capabilities but I think you're overblowing it as you do with most things related to Ennis.
Honestly, we're not talking about many more minutes if any compared to the run his line went on. It all comes down to whether or not there is a viable third scoring line in the mix. As to who draws defensive match-ups, that is up to the enemy generals.
The most practical thing I took away from this is that they currently have Ennis above Hodgson on the depth chart, the rest is conjecture for the time being. Further, that to me indicates not much more than the level of trust they have in each players, and understandably they have more in the guy they've had for two full seasons and change versus the guy who has only even been in the organization for a few months.
Well said and a nice injection of rational thought into the thread.
I don't see a huge deal with this beyond, as you pointed out, they see Ennis ahead of Hodgson on the depth chart.
I also think Ruff mentioning having his lines built like the Foligno/Ennis/Stafford line gives us a bit of a clue as to how they may move forward. It makes me think for example a line of Vanek/Hodgson/Pommer is not something they are looking to do. Since Ruff stated he wants a Foligno element on each line and none of them bring that.
Part of that is his higher number of offensive zone starts though. Saying he pins them in their own end constantly is a bit of a stretch since he ends less shifts in the offensive zone than he starts. I don't mean this is completely dismiss that line's possession capabilities but I think you're overblowing it as you do with most things related to Ennis.
I think these comments by Ruff show that the organization is closer to my line of thinking towards Ennis than it is to the consensus around here.
I think these comments by Ruff show that the organization is closer to my line of thinking towards Ennis than it is to the consensus around here.
From Ruff's interview it sounded more like he was giving Foligno the credit for changing things up and getting Ennis going by giving him the space he needs rather than Ennis individually. He certainly believes highly in Ennis which I can't blame him for. I'm going to wait for games to judge; until them we have no idea how he's actually going to manage the Ennis and Hodgson lines.
I'm excited for ennis and hodgson. I still want another move, though. This roster is very raw. There's some good talent, but the stars will have to align for a good playoff run.
From Ruff's interview it sounded more like he was giving Foligno the credit for changing things up and getting Ennis going by giving him the space he needs rather than Ennis individually. He certainly believes highly in Ennis which I can't blame him for.
Foligno is undersold by some in his impact on that line. As you pointed out, Ruff felt he was a very big reason for that line's success by opening things up for Ennis and Stafford.
Quote:
I'm going to wait for games to judge; until them we have no idea how he's actually going to manage the Ennis and Hodgson lines.
I think we have a rough idea. The last 14gms is pretty much what I expect with the 3 line setup with each line getting roughly equal mintues and 4th line getting minimal minutes.
I would expect Ott, Tropp, a potential trade acquisition and possibly even Girgensons as options for the xxxx spots. It would give an edge player to each line as Lindy mentioned he felt was a winning formula.
.... it should so clearly go to Hodgson/Pommer line if someone else doesn't get brought in.
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