A positive in that the team's drafting has improved and a negative in that he is now another team's asset.
Ott was placed on the IR - has Gagnon developed/improved on an agitating style or is his recall more coincidental as opposed to being a "replacement" for Ott?
never watching a college hockey game again for a Coyotes prospect, not after I got burnt by the driver of a certain yellow miata.
I started watching college hockey because of that puke! In the end I got to watch some of the other guys drafted that year in Porter and Kolarik who ended up making it worth while. I've seen some good players come through College like Johnson, Toews, Parise, Kessel, Okposo, the list goes on and on. It's something I do enjoy watching when NHL hockey isn't on.
Saw Tim Billingsley again last night against Niagara...
I think Billingsley is really starting to come around again. This is the third time I've seen him this season and he's gotten better each time. I think the background of my disappointment with Billingsley is that I remember how promising he looked in his first two years in the league, as a somewhat hard-nosed two way rearguard. Last year was a huge step backward for him, but he seems to be slowly putting it back together. I think the key for him is keeping things simple with the puck, like he did tonight. He's not a blessed puck mover so as long as he can make smart decisions with the puck and not rush movement up ice, he can limit his turnovers. Last night he actually laid a few nice hits too, which is an element that has been absent in Billingsley's game of recent times. He needs to play that way in order to be successful defensively. I think Dave Cameron has to be happy with Billingsley's progression this year too since he actually received some powerplay time tonight and didn't look out of place either.
Thoughts on Jared Staal from today's game against Brampton...
Staal is kind of frustrating to watch in all honesty. He has potential, but his skating still holds him back. He really does look like he's skating in molasses out there and his lack of speed burst prevents him from using his size on the way to the net. It also prevents him from being heavily involved on the forecheck. I just know that if he were a better and more explosive skater, he'd be such a quality player. This is because he is solid on the boards and in front of the net. He has good offensive instincts and does tend to make the most of his opportunities...when he gets them. On McFarland's point shot goal, he did all the work to gain possession of the puck along the boards and made a nice pass to McFarland. With the way the NHL game has evolved, I do think he could have a tough time keeping up with the pace enough to be a scoring line forward. But because of his hockey sense and board play, he could develop into a solid role player. He finished with an assist.
Billingsley is a later round pick so really anything Phoenix can get from him is great. I hope he continues to play well and maybe he could be a little sleeper for the Coyotes. Staal is really frustrating because of the expectations people have for him but hopefully something changes where he gets better.
Billingsley is a later round pick so really anything Phoenix can get from him is great. I hope he continues to play well and maybe he could be a little sleeper for the Coyotes. Staal is really frustrating because of the expectations people have for him but hopefully something changes where he gets better.
hopefully peoples expectations change.
How many 6'3 220 lb. forwards are there in the league (drafted after the 1st round) whose skating is great and explosive?
I guess Hanzal is dissappointing everyone because of his skating.
People should be disappointed in players like Mueller (High draft pick) who isn't a great skater, rarely gets opportunities to score, doesn't capitalize when he does, and doesn't provide anything else to the team.
Jared Staal shouldn't be criticized as long as he produces and more importantly shows improvement...something he has done fairly consistently since he was drafted.
Thoughts on Jared Staal from today's game against Brampton...
Staal is kind of frustrating to watch in all honesty. He has potential, but his skating still holds him back. He really does look like he's skating in molasses out there and his lack of speed burst prevents him from using his size on the way to the net. It also prevents him from being heavily involved on the forecheck. I just know that if he were a better and more explosive skater, he'd be such a quality player. This is because he is solid on the boards and in front of the net. He has good offensive instincts and does tend to make the most of his opportunities...when he gets them. On McFarland's point shot goal, he did all the work to gain possession of the puck along the boards and made a nice pass to McFarland. With the way the NHL game has evolved, I do think he could have a tough time keeping up with the pace enough to be a scoring line forward. But because of his hockey sense and board play, he could develop into a solid role player. He finished with an assist.
I agree with a lot of what you are saying but the one thing I don't entirily agree with you about is that Staal's speed is what holds him back. Sure there is some truth to this but I believe the most important factor is his conditioning level. The first 3 Staal's are ripped and were ripped at Jared's age. Jared however is in very poor physical shape which at times affects his play on the ice making him look slow and lazy. He had the highest body fat % of all the players in the combine. His hockey sense however I believe is one of the best if not the best among his brothers with Marc a litttle bit behind (the two redheads, and Eric and Jordan slightly behind). All 4 have excellent hockey sense anyways. Although he may not be blessed with the complete set of skills as his brother if he can get himself into descent shape he should make the NHL in some role.
He has 66 PIM now in 11 games Leading the league in PIMs
Complete goon.
It's kind of funny but it's certainly not encouraging. Maybe I'll PM our friend the Leksands fan, who dropped by with some scouting reports and such after we drafted OEL. The kid is a twig, so I know all these PIMs aren't from him gooning it up. We all know that. Which is why it's funny, and also why it's a bit of a concern. For a guy who's supposed to be positionally sound, very smart, and extremely fast, he shouldn't need to take a whole lot of minor penalties. The the scouting reports, I was kind of expecting a Zbynek Michalek type but with Keith Yandle offensive abilities.
...it's encouraging watching these youtube clips that the fans in Leksand seem to love him so much. There are a couple of videos in which the entire arena is doing that awesome OLIVER EKMAN-LARSSON chant. What are the odds we could ever get a cool chant like that going at jobing.com? HAHA! Maybe some day...
I watched some highlights on Leksands website, too. The kid really moves the puck well, along the blueline, in the offensive zone. Seems like he loves to walk east and west. Hopefully between OEL's movement and Goncharov's shot, we'll have a decent powerplay some day.
He was in a fight in the last game. 5 major + 20 game misconduct. Hes a +8 already which is 4th in the league. also, 40 sog, is high on his team.
I noticed he led the league in that stat, last season. He also won the "TV-Pucken" Best Defenseman award, whatever that is. It seems his father and grandfather were also professional hockey players in Sweden, by the way. I didn't know that. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
I'm completely encouraged, I was worried on him being a turris clone, tall, skinny, and a body to grow in to, but hes obviously doing something right, if hes fighting, and shooting the puck, and being being defensively solid. Sounds like his team likes him, the fans love him, and he does everything from the back end.
He is gooning it up, loosely speaking, as a twig, in a mens league. I love it. Its just completely unexpected.
Well, it looks like 50 of the 66 PIMs are from 2 fights. Im assuming the 20 min is automatic with a fight, but not positive. A few roughing calls too. Take out the 50, and 16 seems reasonable.
...it's encouraging watching these youtube clips that the fans in Leksand seem to love him so much. There are a couple of videos in which the entire arena is doing that awesome OLIVER EKMAN-LARSSON chant. What are the odds we could ever get a cool chant like that going at jobing.com? HAHA! Maybe some day...
I watched some highlights on Leksands website, too. The kid really moves the puck well, along the blueline, in the offensive zone. Seems like he loves to walk east and west. Hopefully between OEL's movement and Goncharov's shot, we'll have a decent powerplay some day.
lol...that chant is awesome! At first I couldn't pick it out but then it finally clicked:
<one side of arena> All-lee-ver
<other side of arena> Eeehhkk-manLar-sewn
Haven't seen an update for Michael Stone lately. He really impressed me in camp. A big 6-4 smooth skating dman that has tremendous offensive upside. He's my dark horse Yandle type prospect to watch.
5-6-11 in 13 games played, lloks like he's somewhat keeping pace from last year.
He was part of a seasoned top 4 last year with Postma, Seabrook and Plante while this year he's the man as the others have graduated. There's strong offensive potential there ideally the amount of icetime he eats up will allow him to continue to develop his defensive game.
Has been underwhelming on the stat sheet so far this season (as it was expected he'd be an offensive leader for the Spirit this season). But I thought he played a really good game and was probably Saginaw's best forward with Ivan Telegin. I was a big fan of his for the draft last year and admit he's a bit of an enigma. When he's on...like he was tonight...his speed and energy in the offensive zone leads to offensive opportunities. Not a big guy, but he's elusive on the ice and seems to find the scoring areas really well. As an example, scored a side of the net goal on a beautiful slap pass from T.J. Brodie. He got himself in good position and was wide open for the redirect/tap in. Like any developing energy player, he needs to remember that in order for him produce offensively, he's got to play his game every shift. He finished with a goal and an assist.
Leading the league in PIMs
