its obvious the team we ice this year will have a hard time scoring goals. especially if DSP dosnt come back.
Kuptsov, Schoenmakers, Syrette, Corrente had good games while Cramarossa, Diodati, Cord all had very off nights
and its vital that we stay out of the box, i think we took 10 penalties and in return got scored on.
mind you this is without the majority of our NHL drafted/signed players so it was not entirely an accurate showcase but we will see.
Peterborough Saturday!!!
Agree with everything you said. Last night was my first time watching this year's team as well. Concerned that Boyd lost the bench a bit in the third. Too many vets taking stupid penalties going after Bertuzzi. He should have been penalized but wasn't...the guys need to be smarter.
Impressed with some of the new players. Liked the flashes I saw from Hickey...thought Carrick and Duhaime looked good and liked what I saw from Kuptsov and Teskey (hope the injury isn't too serious). Think that both Syrette and Harvey bring some size on the wing and looked ok. I'll reserve judgement for now on Diodati. Also, thought Edwards played Ok...was surprised how small he is.
Looking for a good effort against the Petes tomorrow...
Well...guess its true what they say. You have to play a full 60 minutes to win a game, and the Majors imploded in the 3rd. Numerous trips to the box...3 fights...the team came unglued. With such a young D-corps, that many penalties and a change of momentum means you aren't going to hold a one goal lead.
Though 40, things looked good. The new / young players played in all situations and a few players were having good games. Thought Foy, Hickey and Harvey looked good. Kuptsov again showed flashes that he's got loads of potential. Three of the new D looked shaky today though. Carrick, Duhaime, and Diodati all struggled, losing battles along the boards, in front of the net and had difficulty moving the puck. My take...all three show potential, but its obvious they're a step behind, set back by last year's Cup run by a team loaded with vets. Give them a few months and they'll settle in...They were forced to play with each other today very often...put them on the ice matched with Percy, Demelo and Corrente and they should come along nicely.
Martin didn't have a lot of work through two. Five goals in the third is not his fault...let in a few suspect ones, but the team as a whole needs to be better / smarter in the third period.
Also...sort of tacky seeing Roger Lajoie at the rink wearing a TORONTO St. Michael's Majors' jacket.
So how did the team fair this pre season..what are your opinions about this upcoming year?
Our record wasn't pretty, 1-3-2.
I feel some of the older guys didn't play up to par in the preseason. The youth we have brought in isn't young enough to make us a terrible team but isn't good enough to fill in for players that left after last season. I'm impressed with both Martin and Teskey and hope they have a good rookie seasons.
The line of Brace - Mayer - Kuptsov played really well in the last 2 preseason games and may be a line come friday. Im also praying to god we get DSP back as our offence could realy use a boost.
Finally, we brought in a couple of 94's who played a year in Jr. A or other leagues last year (Carrick, Foy, Duhaime, Hickey i think) and it will be fun to see how they stack up against other draft eligible players this year.
Will defiantly be different than last year but that only makes winning more fun.....right?
Rogers TV is giving away tickets to the Majors season opener on the 30th (Friday) btw, enter here and it closes on Sep 26th so be quick, they have a hundred tickets to giveaway:
I feel some of the older guys didn't play up to par in the preseason. The youth we have brought in isn't young enough to make us a terrible team but isn't good enough to fill in for players that left after last season. I'm impressed with both Martin and Teskey and hope they have a good rookie seasons.
The line of Brace - Mayer - Kuptsov played really well in the last 2 preseason games and may be a line come friday. Im also praying to god we get DSP back as our offence could realy use a boost.
Finally, we brought in a couple of 94's who played a year in Jr. A or other leagues last year (Carrick, Foy, Duhaime, Hickey i think) and it will be fun to see how they stack up against other draft eligible players this year.
Will defiantly be different than last year but that only makes winning more fun.....right?
Go Majors
Anyone know why Martin didn't play in the first game against Sudbury?
Edwards will either be a scratch all the time and be used in emergency if JP gets called up or goes to world junior camp or most likely go play with the London Nationals
But the way it stands Martin is the backup in my opinion
Edwards will either be a scratch all the time and be used in emergency if JP gets called up or goes to world junior camp or most likely go play with the London Nationals
But the way it stands Martin is the backup in my opinion
unless, boyd swaps them in game in game out
By the looks of it, it seems as if mississauga will roll 3 goalies for the next little while. If martin is not the full time back up why not send him down to junior a to get some playing time. Bring him back if jp is called up or suffers an injury during the season.
By the looks of it, it seems as if mississauga will roll 3 goalies for the next little while. If martin is not the full time back up why not send him down to junior a to get some playing time. Bring him back if jp is called up or suffers an injury during the season.
Someone that knows more about this will correct me, but would it not depend on the type of card each player is on? Some players are signed to full cards, some are on affiliate cards and some are on who knows what kind of card.
For example, last year, the team picked up Audette, who proved to be not so great. But the team could not recall Edwards (because of the card he was on) unless one of the other two goaltenders was injured or recalled to the NHL. I highly doubt Martin would sign an affiliate card. As a #1 pick, he expects to play.
Again, I don't know for sure, but perhaps they cannot option Edwards back to JrB without waiving him or releasing him...
Riley Brace looked like a man possessed yesterday. Very good game for the young man with the hat trick last night. His speed has definitely improved. Majors forechecking was very well done, giving Niagara no time or space. Visentin very shaky at the start letting some weak ones in but settled in as the game progressed. Good start for the Majors 3-0.
Got to go to the home opener tonight thanks to some free tickets from Rogers. Majors should do more giveaways cos of the usual empty seats but nice to see a pretty big crowd tonight.
The refereeing was terrible though and borderline bias (I'm not one of those fans that uses that but a bit lopsided tonight). I thought initially it was just the Majors being a young team and they're undisciplined but it wasn't just that, the refs were calling Majors penalties from light checks where the OS players were just falling off balance. OS also instigated I think one of the two fights but never got called on it. My problem isn't that OS didn't get called though, it was how many 5 on 3s they were given for pretty much no reason. Lost track after a bit but I'm pretty sure two or three of the OS goals were on a 5 on 3.
Anyways, Percy and Brace were pretty good tonight. So was one of the rookies I think, #4 Carrick, he seems strong. Percy seems like he grew, there was one play where he was just standing straight and casually poke checked the puck away and then I think he used one hand to drag it behind the net and clear the zone. He's also going down deep in the offensive zone more and it's nice to see the dmen pinching, he had a goal and empty-netter. So Majors aren't likely to win anything this year but at least they're a lot more fun to watch than Dave Cameron.
Also, I don't like to say this type of thing but several Owen Sound fans have a bit of superiority complex to Mississauga....some of them are not very nice.
Reffing was horrible in the home opener,bad calls for both teams but it seemed most of the hate was coming the majors way
Anyways, Majors played well and I hope they keep this strong pace up. I liked how every player played pretty much. Diodati didn't get much ice time though.
Reffing was horrible in the home opener,bad calls for both teams but it seemed most of the hate was coming the majors way
Anyways, Majors played well and I hope they keep this strong pace up. I liked how every player played pretty much. Diodati didn't get much ice time though.
Kingston on sunday!
Noticed that too. There were several occasions where rookies were getting time on the PP. Up 4-0, Boyd was giving Foy, Kuptsov, Teskey, Carrick and at times Diodati time on the PP with the only one vet on the ice (Corrente). Awesome that everyone is contributing and getting good amounts of ice time.
Oh, and re: earlier posts regarding the three goalie situation. Edwards has been sent back to the London Nationals...played in a game the other night.
how is that brace was not drafted.
is this simply a fluke that he is off to a start like this.
can he play defense.
on the small side.
another kid mcnaughton also not drafted is off to a good start.
how is that brace was not drafted.
is this simply a fluke that he is off to a start like this.
can he play defense.
on the small side.
another kid mcnaughton also not drafted is off to a good start.
There are many reasons to explain why Riley Brace was not drafted and also to explain why he seems to be having a breakout offensive season...at least to start.
Re: not drafted - Brace is not a large player, listed at 5'11 and 178lbs. This is as a 19 yr old. Having a smaller stature, Brace has not put up the offensive numbers needed to be considered for NHL team to draft him. His best offensive season was 2009-10 when he posted 17 goals and 36 points and although he played stretches of time on the top line with Cizikas and DSP, he never really translated that into offensive success. 36 points is not enough to get him interest in the NHL. That said, he was primarily asked to play a defensive role, especially last year on a team with more offensive weapons...and PP time was certainly limited.
So...why the breakout. Well, it is not unusual for a player to "bust out" in their third or fourth season. The previous tenants at Hershey Centre had a few examples of this...notable Luca Caputi, who in his first two seasons scored 6 and then 3 points before exploding to 65 and then 111 points. Another example could be Stefan Legein, who put up 8 and 16 points before posting 43 goals and 75 points in his third year. Brace is now playing with skilled linemates, Mayer and Schoenmakers, both of whom are also showing more offensive instincts this year. More PP time, better linemates, a more offensive style by Coach Boyd and three seasons of experience to draw on all contribute to his offensive improvement. He also plays with truculence and has strong fundamentals and a good work ethic.
Now...that said, he has been opportunistic and cashing in on his SH chances. I'm not going to say he's going to end up potting 60 or more goals or post 100 points, but it wouldn't be the first time a player entering his third or fourth season in the league exploded offensively, so he could very easily have a 40+ goal year and posting 80+ points.
There are many reasons to explain why Riley Brace was not drafted and also to explain why he seems to be having a breakout offensive season...at least to start.
Re: not drafted - Brace is not a large player, listed at 5'11 and 178lbs. This is as a 19 yr old. Having a smaller stature, Brace has not put up the offensive numbers needed to be considered for NHL team to draft him. His best offensive season was 2009-10 when he posted 17 goals and 36 points and although he played stretches of time on the top line with Cizikas and DSP, he never really translated that into offensive success. 36 points is not enough to get him interest in the NHL. That said, he was primarily asked to play a defensive role, especially last year on a team with more offensive weapons...and PP time was certainly limited.
So...why the breakout. Well, it is not unusual for a player to "bust out" in their third or fourth season. The previous tenants at Hershey Centre had a few examples of this...notable Luca Caputi, who in his first two seasons scored 6 and then 3 points before exploding to 65 and then 111 points. Another example could be Stefan Legein, who put up 8 and 16 points before posting 43 goals and 75 points in his third year. Brace is now playing with skilled linemates, Mayer and Schoenmakers, both of whom are also showing more offensive instincts this year. More PP time, better linemates, a more offensive style by Coach Boyd and three seasons of experience to draw on all contribute to his offensive improvement. He also plays with truculence and has strong fundamentals and a good work ethic.
Now...that said, he has been opportunistic and cashing in on his SH chances. I'm not going to say he's going to end up potting 60 or more goals or post 100 points, but it wouldn't be the first time a player entering his third or fourth season in the league exploded offensively, so he could very easily have a 40+ goal year and posting 80+ points.
Brace is thriving under Boyd's new system. Although they are still a defensive minded team Boyd allows them to use their creativity in the offensive zone more than Cameron did.
