All Activity

I don't understand the insistence of so many people for a player to play a game he is not suited for, and never will be. It's inarguable that Power needs to be more physical and responsible in the defensive zone. But he's not going to do that by knocking players on their derrieres. He's going to improve that aspect of his game with better positioning. Those who want to see him play like a gorilla and physically batter the players he is covering are going to be disappointed because it's not going to happen. That's not his makeup and that is not a style of play he is suited for. Assuming that Kesserling will be his partner (and maybe periodically Timmons) it should allow him to better accentuate his game which is skating and moving the puck out of the zone. There was a reason why he was the first pick in his draft year. That lofty draft position doesn't automatically make him a star but it is evident to me that he is going to be a very good player for us and eventually one of the better defensemen in the league. A side note: Dahlin, Byrum, Power, Kesserling, Timmons and Samuelsson seem to be a good group of talent. I expect a lot of our offense will be generated by the backside. The additions of Kesserling and Timmons should boost the unit.

I think this is correct, if I'm following you. I think Power will eventually be adequately physical as a d-man. But it's going to take some time (or has taken some time). I think he just needs to feel more like a man among men out there. Pronger was mean as hell.

Owen Power is a player the Sabres should watch very closely this year. Depending on how he plays, and I mean style of play, they should consider in June if they plan to move forward with him.

His physical contact has been mainly to turn his back on opponents near the boards and shield the puck, absorbing hits and shoves. A little more assertiveness will help him win more battles. His size and reach alone should mean he wins the majority of battles but wanting the puck more than your opponent is an intangible thing that can tilt a few battles. Once again, I am not asking for Pronger like snarl, just 10% more Power output.

I agree. Proof is in the pudding. But the news that he is working hard to get stronger is an indication that he is now taking his craft seriously. Hopefully that translates into being tougher to play against.

Happy Birthday

2 of which only want to play offense. By the way, I don’t want him to be Risto 2.0. I don’t need him running around hitting everyone, all I want is for him to be better defensively and incorporate some physicality into his game. I don’t think that is to much to ask.

His issue is confidence imo. Following that theory then it could

Off season fluff is all this is, you need to prove it on the ice for an ENTIRE season.

So you are playing both sides? Rooting for Ukraine while supporting Trump who is friends with Putin and gave him the opportunity by taking away sanctions that were working and allowing Putin to kill people with zero consequence... also helping Putin by trying to make Zelensky the enemy. Must be so hard to support someone who goes against everything you support.

Right. I’m saying that I hope he will play heavy and physical. It’s not semantics to distinguish playing physical and heavy from being “mean.”

I'm not disagreeing but it's funny how much people want him to basically be a better version of Risto. We have 3 top D men who all want to play offense. Nobody else has this. It's a problem.

The talk is the old "wants to win" talk and so he just doesn't want to stay there. He will play for less somewhere else. Wild are pretty much screwed.

Good for them. I hope European nations band together with Ukraine and fight. Every nation that borders Ukraine and held a realistic belief they might be next should have been in the fight from day one. Russian forces are depleted, there's never been a more opportune time to put an end to the Putin regime. I hope they seize it.

I hear it’s, like, 300 bucks in old Vegas.

On a side not but related....sometimes the networks take it too far. About 7 or 8 years ago the Indy500 was on TV and I was watching. Like it often happens, 2 cars were fighting for the lead with only a few laps left, swapping the lead ever 1/2 to lap. Some geniuses decided to not even do 'split screen', but to put 2 pictures on the broadcast....one in the upper corner, one in the lower corner. So what you ended up seeing was some empty space and each picture was only 1/3 the size of the screen. What was the split screen for? Well, if you wanted to watch the last couple laps, the cars fighting for the lead, it was now in the upper left corner of the screen, maybe taking up 30% of the screen. The other view? Close up of the faces of the wives, with their hands covering their mout looking nervous. Auto racing is famous for that. I don't remember if its worse on the Indycar broadcasts, Nascar, or F1, but on occasion they will show you the winner cross the line, and there are other cars still finishing the race, still fighting for position. But nope, the Camera cuts to the wife/girfriend of the winning drive so we can all see how happy SHE is. Doesn't matter if your favorite driver was in the middle of a pack fighting for a top 10 finish that may move them up or down in the standings. Gotta show everyone how happy the wife is 3 seconds after the winner crosses the line. I get it pre race or post race. I don't like it but I get it. But when a big race is on the last lap or finishing, no one is being 'drawn into' the broadcast at that moment for much other than to see who wins and how they do it.

No idea what this poll is about...so...while i like polls, I can't vote honestly.

Well?

That’s correct, not in college and not in the pros. Until he learns to actually use his size to his advantage in the D zone and that includes clearing the front of the net, knocking people off the puck etc, he is a waste. He is being paid top $ to be effective at both ends of the ice and really only does half the job. To justify his compensation for just his O output, he needs to be a 70 pts player and his O skills aren’t good enough for that either.

That doesn't make him better in his own zone. Just a partner to try and cover for his shortcomings.

There was a time when I went to all the prospects games. Now I look at the roster and don't even recognize 1/3 of the names. Being indifferent to your team sucks.

Now you're arguing semantics. Power has never NEVER played heavy or physical.

It's the same goal as the Olympics vignettes or the Indy 500 Delta Force theme intros. The human story can be as compelling as the sporting story.

Or, Kaprizov is willing to take a less to play for a franchise/location of his choice. This will be especially true with McDavid. If it's about the money, wait until UFA and tell Chicago "I'm thinking of a number, but it starts with twenty." Chicago realizes they're a few years away, but... why not? And it's up to Edmonton to match. But if it's about winning or location, McDavid can easily find a willing team near $14 that will still keep a core intact. Say... Tampa. Florida (if they can find a goalie for the post-Bob contract).