Is Pock signed with the Avs or LEM?
Can anybody give me any info on his type of game? Obviously he is very good offensively looking at his stats but how about his D game, physical, positioning, skating, etc?
I was at the game today. Pickard was amazing. The PK was very good as well, which was necessary since it felt the Monsters were on it the whole game.
Also this Agozzino kid really impressed me for a guy I'd never even heard of before. Barrie was very physical out there which was good to see.
When it was 5 on 5 play was pretty even. But they have to be more disciplined.
I know its early, but the Monsters might have one of the top goaltending duos in the AHL. I won't be too surprised to see the Monsters do real well this year even though they aren't loaded with talent (on offense) and defense is weak outside of Barrie, Elliott and Gaunce. Goaltending can carry you a long ways in hockey, and the Monsters will get quality goaltending most nights.
Damn guys, seeing you beat another strong AHL club on the 3rd game of the 3 in 3 after playing 2 hard fought games against OKC makes me not feel as bad about not taking both games against you on Fri/Sat. Barrie with another goal? Another really good goaltending performance? Lake Erie is the real deal this year! They're 2-1-0 against the Western Conference finalists last year so far, that's one hell of an accomplishment.
EDIT-Holy crap, I just watched the goals, and I don't think that we'll see a nicer first 2 goals of the year than what we've seen from Barrie. That kid is extremely talented. Does he have the core strength to be a fixture in the NHL? We just drafted a kid named Joey Laleggia who is a similar size and also extremely talented, maybe one day we'll have 2 of the best smallish D in the league in the Northwest division?
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Last edited by Bryanbryoil: 10-14-2012 at 11:04 PM.
I know its early, but the Monsters might have one of the top goaltending duos in the AHL. I won't be too surprised to see the Monsters do real well this year even though they aren't loaded with talent (on offense) and defense is weak outside of Barrie, Elliott and Gaunce. Goaltending can carry you a long ways in hockey, and the Monsters will get quality goaltending most nights.
I know its good to keep expectations undercontrol but you have a teeter totter going on here. You are way up there on the goalies but are down on the rest? The monsters have a very very good top 4 on D. As for forwards. This is a team that even with injuries has guys like agozzino and heard possibly manning the 4th line. I know there may not be any "names" in the top 6, but just like the Avs...they have a deep and effective top 9
Just read this story now and I'm surprised no one else has commented on it yet.
Some quotes from the article:
Quote:
“He’s back home, still dealing with post-concussion symptoms,” Lake Erie coach Dean Chynoweth said on Friday. “He has felt better. He has skated. And he’s dealing with now, similar with Sidney [Crosby], where they’re working neck-related, to the head.”
Quote:
Chynoweth said Hishon has been skating on his own, and that he has remained in close contact with the Avalanche, who then pass updates along to the Monsters. Lake Erie will open its season at home on Friday, against the Oklahoma City Barons.
Chynoweth was asked, if Hishon were to return, how he would develop a player who had not played in 17 months.
“Slowly,” he said. “That’s all I can say. Hasn’t had a camp. Hasn’t played in a year. You have to take it one step at a time. And obviously, we’d formulate a plan with Colorado when and if that comes about.”
Bought all the LEM games, and thought I'd pass some tidbits (obviously opinion only) along about the players (I'll try and be as non-bias as possible).
I'd hoped all off season Elliott would be LEM's standout this year, but both Pock and Barrie have most certainly taken that mantle.
Pock has good puck control, and he can certainly pass a puck accurately. That's something I think the big team has lacked a lot of in recent years. He's most certainly got a shot on him.
Barrie in my opinion is starting to hold the games together for LEM somewhat how Shattenkirk is for The Blues. He's one of the better skaters I have seen, and is a bit of a beast on the Powerplay.
One player who has been outstanding for mine is Malone. He plays on almost Ryan O'Reilly type role for LEM. He's all over the ice, defensively tough, and chips in, in offense as well.
I also think Sgarbossa is starting to find his timing. The first two games had me worried for him, because I expected huge things from him, but I can see glimpses of him potentially settling down, and getting really productive. In fact, I almost reckon he'll end up leading the team in points.
Geoff Walker surprised me with his skating for a big man. He's actually pretty quick off the mark, like David Jones was before his run of injury.
Both goalies have been playing well. I certainly think either of them could step up and help out should Giguere / Varly get injured (I'm actually leaning toward Aitto). Aitto seem so cool, calm and collected on ice. Kind of reminds me of Rinne a bit.
Elliott has been "ok." I don't think he's too far away though. He's still jumping up in the play. I just think his forwards aren't clicking as well as the top line (from what I saw, Pock and Barrie were paired). A lot of Elliott's passes are "just" missing. Again, I really hope he gets his game together, because he's my favorite prospect.
Heard looks pretty passionate and determined. He seems to have a really solid work ethic.
All in all, LEM have been good. BUT, the exciting part for me is that there is still planrtyy of improvement in them. If Hishon can get healthy, look out. Should be a good year for the little team.
Is Pock signed with the Avs or LEM?
Can anybody give me any info on his type of game? Obviously he is very good offensively looking at his stats but how about his D game, physical, positioning, skating, etc?
I can't tell you much about his type of game because I need to see him more often first but he's signed with the Avs. It's a 1-year 2-way deal. $550,000 in the NHL, $125,000 in the AHL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deader
hi guys, just a short question,why is Connolly not playing
thx in advance
I'm not 100% sure but I think I read that he's injured. Happened in training camp if I recall it correctly.
I know its good to keep expectations undercontrol but you have a teeter totter going on here. You are way up there on the goalies but are down on the rest? The monsters have a very very good top 4 on D. As for forwards. This is a team that even with injuries has guys like agozzino and heard possibly manning the 4th line. I know there may not be any "names" in the top 6, but just like the Avs...they have a deep and effective top 9
Unfortunately yes LEM is a bit weak on offense (probably the weakest spot for the team) and defense is fine (you are right top 4 is pretty solid), but the backbone of the team is goaltending. We have 2 top quality goalies. If it wasn't for them the first 3 games we'd probably be 0-3 instead of 2-1.
You can't expect to win to many games getting outshot 2-1, and offensively speaking I'm a little worried because 2 of the 3 games we only produced 2 goals, which isn't going to win a ton of games. 3 of the 8 goals are by dmen, that means the fowards have only produced 5 goals in 3 games that has to improve. Hopefully at some point Connolly and Hishon will come back and have an impact on the forwards. But for the time being I have been throughly impressed by what I thought was going to be LEM strong point, the goalies, the defense has been tolerable, the forwards have been OK and need to step it up a bit.
Unfortunately yes LEM is a bit weak on offense (probably the weakest spot for the team) and defense is fine (you are right top 4 is pretty solid), but the backbone of the team is goaltending. We have 2 top quality goalies. If it wasn't for them the first 3 games we'd probably be 0-3 instead of 2-1.
You can't expect to win to many games getting outshot 2-1, and offensively speaking I'm a little worried because 2 of the 3 games we only produced 2 goals, which isn't going to win a ton of games. 3 of the 8 goals are by dmen, that means the fowards have only produced 5 goals in 3 games that has to improve. Hopefully at some point Connolly and Hishon will come back and have an impact on the forwards. But for the time being I have been throughly impressed by what I thought was going to be LEM strong point, the goalies, the defense has been tolerable, the forwards have been OK and need to step it up a bit.
I think this is strongly related to the huge amount of penalties the Monsters have taken so far. They are leading the league in PIMs. (They also have played the most games.) So, it's difficult to assess the quality of the forwards now imo.
Unfortunately yes LEM is a bit weak on offense (probably the weakest spot for the team) and defense is fine (you are right top 4 is pretty solid), but the backbone of the team is goaltending. We have 2 top quality goalies. If it wasn't for them the first 3 games we'd probably be 0-3 instead of 2-1.
You can't expect to win to many games getting outshot 2-1, and offensively speaking I'm a little worried because 2 of the 3 games we only produced 2 goals, which isn't going to win a ton of games. 3 of the 8 goals are by dmen, that means the fowards have only produced 5 goals in 3 games that has to improve. Hopefully at some point Connolly and Hishon will come back and have an impact on the forwards. But for the time being I have been throughly impressed by what I thought was going to be LEM strong point, the goalies, the defense has been tolerable, the forwards have been OK and need to step it up a bit.
As mentioned above, power plays will create a difference. The only time they were outshot a ton was in the 3rd game in 24 hours where they dealt with double digit powerplays. They had two preseason games and a very short training camp sothe forwards are just settling in. In 10 games, if they are still only scoring 2 goals a game, there will be worry. With the teams they had to play, its no wonder scoring was low and that a lot came from the defense.
Very pleased with what I've seen from both goaltenders as well the defense as a group. Barrie has definitely been the standout among our short term prospects and reminds me a lot of Shattenkirk. Elliot is still very raw and will need more time but I think will end up being just as good or better. Playing this whole season in the AHL will be good for him
Definitely good to see capable goaltenders with a future. We're used to retread/career AHLer types like Bacashihua, Weiman, Wall, Grahame, Desjardins type guys here. Cann just never seemed to reach that next level, though, in his defense, he was hurt quite often.
Took me a bit to catch up on this thread, but I saw that somebody asked about the coaching staff. Chynoweth seemed pretty soft-spoken in the pre-game interview with him on Friday that they showed on the Jumbotron. My fiancee said he looked like he should have been sitting at a desk in an accounting firm. As I said in my post from Friday night, I liked the gameplan he had with the forwards. He wants to utilize their speed and minimize their lack of size. A lot of chip and chase against OKC. Didn't see the other two games on the weekend, but I imagine the gameplan was the same for Saturday and probably Sunday as well. What will define his season is the goaltending rotation and keeping both guys focused. The mandate from Colorado should be to develop both guys. Hopefully, they push each other positively.
Jock Callander will be an interesting assistant. I think he'll command some respect from the forwards for his resume, especially at this "Triple-A" (to use a baseball term) level of hockey, since he was very successful with the Cleveland Lumberjacks. He's done some youth coaching in the area, so I imagine he's receptive to players of all ages. He's always been around the organization in a PR/color commentary role, so we'll see how he embraces this role.
Saw a post about the ice. From post-game skates and games I've reffed at the Q, the ice is horrible. When the Barons were here during my high school days and I actually talked to the players, the majority of them said it was the worst ice in the league. It's hilly. A lot of ups and downs. Hard to get a puck to lay flat. The corner boards are brutal too. There were a couple unlucky caroms in the attack twice zone on Friday night that nearly cost OKC a goal.
Saw a couple thoughts about Elliott's lack of physicality. You have to take the good with the bad. He's not going to play overly physical below the goal line. But he's great on the rush with his stick and uses his reach effectively. To me, in today's NHL, with a lot more speed and skill than muck and grind, I think it'll work in his favor. The biggest thing for a guy like him is to play smart. Don't get caught out of position. You can make up for not being physical by being responsible. Nick Lidstrom made a Hall of Fame career out of it. (No, I'm not comparing Elliott to Lidstrom)
What helps Pock is that he's played at so many different levels against a lot of different levels of talent. He should be the most poised player on the ice for the Monsters most nights because he is one of the oldest and most experienced. I think he's a great fit for the defense. That was a solid signing.
I actually saw somebody wearing Agozzino's Niagara Ice Dogs jersey out on the concourse on Friday night.
On the officiating, they always do this at the start of the AHL season. They stick tight to the mandates, calling every borderline obstruction. It wears off around late November/early December. Keep in mind too that with the lockout, some of these guys might be auditioning for NHL officiating brass that has nothing better to do than scout the AHL for officials.
Saw some Bordeleau chatter. Problem with him is that he has to hockey IQ of a fighter. He has a decent amount of skill and skating ability, but there are rolls of tape in the locker room with more hockey sense. He's constantly losing his man in the neutral and defensive zones. I don't know how many times I've seen his defenseman walk down into the high slot and get a quality scoring chance while he's off in no man's land. He's a liability. To be honest, I'm shocked that they keep bringing him back, especially because it seems like his number of fights has dwindled every year.
On Gaunce, yep, it was only one game. If it becomes a trend, that's when to be concerned.
I'll probably head to the game on the 27th, unless I've got games of my own to ref. Should have some thoughts after that one.
Definitely good to see capable goaltenders with a future. We're used to retread/career AHLer types like Bacashihua, Weiman, Wall, Grahame, Desjardins type guys here. Cann just never seemed to reach that next level, though, in his defense, he was hurt quite often.
Took me a bit to catch up on this thread, but I saw that somebody asked about the coaching staff. Chynoweth seemed pretty soft-spoken in the pre-game interview with him on Friday that they showed on the Jumbotron. My fiancee said he looked like he should have been sitting at a desk in an accounting firm. As I said in my post from Friday night, I liked the gameplan he had with the forwards. He wants to utilize their speed and minimize their lack of size. A lot of chip and chase against OKC. Didn't see the other two games on the weekend, but I imagine the gameplan was the same for Saturday and probably Sunday as well. What will define his season is the goaltending rotation and keeping both guys focused. The mandate from Colorado should be to develop both guys. Hopefully, they push each other positively.
Jock Callander will be an interesting assistant. I think he'll command some respect from the forwards for his resume, especially at this "Triple-A" (to use a baseball term) level of hockey, since he was very successful with the Cleveland Lumberjacks. He's done some youth coaching in the area, so I imagine he's receptive to players of all ages. He's always been around the organization in a PR/color commentary role, so we'll see how he embraces this role.
Saw a post about the ice. From post-game skates and games I've reffed at the Q, the ice is horrible. When the Barons were here during my high school days and I actually talked to the players, the majority of them said it was the worst ice in the league. It's hilly. A lot of ups and downs. Hard to get a puck to lay flat. The corner boards are brutal too. There were a couple unlucky caroms in the attack twice zone on Friday night that nearly cost OKC a goal.
Saw a couple thoughts about Elliott's lack of physicality. You have to take the good with the bad. He's not going to play overly physical below the goal line. But he's great on the rush with his stick and uses his reach effectively. To me, in today's NHL, with a lot more speed and skill than muck and grind, I think it'll work in his favor. The biggest thing for a guy like him is to play smart. Don't get caught out of position. You can make up for not being physical by being responsible. Nick Lidstrom made a Hall of Fame career out of it. (No, I'm not comparing Elliott to Lidstrom)
What helps Pock is that he's played at so many different levels against a lot of different levels of talent. He should be the most poised player on the ice for the Monsters most nights because he is one of the oldest and most experienced. I think he's a great fit for the defense. That was a solid signing.
I actually saw somebody wearing Agozzino's Niagara Ice Dogs jersey out on the concourse on Friday night.
On the officiating, they always do this at the start of the AHL season. They stick tight to the mandates, calling every borderline obstruction. It wears off around late November/early December. Keep in mind too that with the lockout, some of these guys might be auditioning for NHL officiating brass that has nothing better to do than scout the AHL for officials.
Saw some Bordeleau chatter. Problem with him is that he has to hockey IQ of a fighter. He has a decent amount of skill and skating ability, but there are rolls of tape in the locker room with more hockey sense. He's constantly losing his man in the neutral and defensive zones. I don't know how many times I've seen his defenseman walk down into the high slot and get a quality scoring chance while he's off in no man's land. He's a liability. To be honest, I'm shocked that they keep bringing him back, especially because it seems like his number of fights has dwindled every year.
On Gaunce, yep, it was only one game. If it becomes a trend, that's when to be concerned.
I'll probably head to the game on the 27th, unless I've got games of my own to ref. Should have some thoughts after that one.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
A few things. In regards to Elliott and his more passive approach to defense. It's encouraging to hear he's been using his stick well to break up rushes. I haven't seen how he has improved this year, but from what I saw last year he's got a fair amount of room for improvement in both that and his general defensive zone coverage and positioning. There's an adjustment going from junior to pro in the AHL for defenseman, but there's an equal or even bigger difference going from the AHL to the NHL for a defenseman. We've seen a good amount of offensive defenseman in the Avs system that have looked good in junior, and the AHL but couldn't take the next step in adjusting from what worked in junior and the minors, to learning what works to contain forwards in the NHL. It will be interesting to see how much both he and Barrie have learned the next time they get a chance on the Avs, and I think it's a blessing for them knowing they would start with LEM and could focus on their game, than letting any expectations of possibly making the Avs distract them.
As for the coaching. I always got the sense the Avs were not very concerned with implementing a coaching strategy with LEM that results in team wins, but more with developing each individual player. Developing the offense of offensive forwards and the defense of the defenseman. This may or may not have something to do with Chynoweth's gameplan.
Finally, as for Bordeleau, hockey IQ, and specifically the ability to play a checkers role, and defend is what will make or break it for him as an enforcer in the NHL. You can't be a pure enforcer in the NHL anymore. You have to contribute in other ways the way Hendricks, McLeod and McCormick learned to do. It doesn't look good if he can't learn to do that with LEM.
In regards to Elliott and his more passive approach to defense. It's encouraging to hear he's been using his stick well to break up rushes. I haven't seen how he has improved this year, but from what I saw last year he's got a fair amount of room for improvement in both that and his general defensive zone coverage and positioning. There's an adjustment going from junior to pro in the AHL for defenseman, but there's an equal or even bigger difference going from the AHL to the NHL for a defenseman. We've seen a good amount of offensive defenseman in the Avs system that have looked good in junior, and the AHL but couldn't take the next step in adjusting from what worked in junior and the minors, to learning what works to contain forwards in the NHL. It will be interesting to see how much both he and Barrie have learned the next time they get a chance on the Avs, and I think it's a blessing for them knowing they would start with LEM and could focus on their game, than letting any expectations of possibly making the Avs distract them.
To me, it would probably be an issue of confidence with Elliott, and likely Barrie as well. At the AHL level, they have sustained success when here. They dictate the game, quarterback the powerplay, and play in all situations. They play with a different edge. More of an ego. The 1-on-1's that they're getting at this level are vastly different than the ones they're seeing at the NHL level, like you alluded to.
The speed of the NHL game is so much different. Eberle took Elliott wide a couple of times and had the edge, but Elliott recovered and either angled him off by using his stick to force Eberle wider to protect the puck or stayed side-by-side just long enough to force Eberle behind the net or into the corner.
It can't be easy to go from doing what you want in an AHL game to having so much less time and space at the next level. That's part of the learning curve that all young players deal with. Since Elliott's not a big, physical, imposing player, it's harder to have a presence/identity on NHL ice. That's something I think he'll deal with for a while. The lockout should help him, playing against NHL caliber talent at a level he's more comfortable playing in.
Well, I'm going to OKC for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that's on 10/22/12, which is a Monday (I know, weird night for a concert?)
But I figured since I had to take Monday off for the concert, and also Tuesday off for the drive back, and I normally have Sat/Sun off, that I would go to the OKC vs Lake Erie game that's on Saturday night.
It may be my only chance to watch any semblence of Avalanche hockey this year...and I'm actually really excited to see some of our youngsters in action.
I'm particularly excited about seeing the following: (hopefully) Aitto, Barrie, Elliott, Gaunce, Sgarbossa and Heard.
I have no doubt that I'll have a good time either way, and apparently after the game there's some sort of "Meet the Players" promotion? I haven't been able to find any info on that (though obviously it's meet the OKC players, since it's a home game).
Anyways, scouting isn't something I'm strong at, and when I'm at a game, I tend to get sucked into the action and maybe neglect looking at plays objectively, but I'd be happy to provide my thoughts afterwards...
