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dudacek

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  3. Around the NHL: 2014-2015

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by dudacek

    Meh, at least Girgensons is doing well. Maybe Grigorenko is one of those guys who tears it up in Juniors but can't transition that production to the NHL. I'm not a Darcy fan but I don't blame Darcy for Grigorenko being invisible on the ice. I just don't get how on an offensively deficient team the kid doesn't make an impact or at least stand out more.

     

    I think the he's 20 years old argument is over considering three other players drafted after him are on the big club. Maybe it's not his age but a lack of capability and over hyped talent.

     

    Meh. He was picked 12th. He's 15th out of the 2012 picks in games played and 15th in points produced.

    Lots of time left, and he's apparently not as far behind as you might think.

  4. Current Carrion Hockey League Standings

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    I doubt losing Stafford and Stewart is going to mean a whole lot to us. Or, at least, not nearly as much as the sell-offs the Coyotes and Hurricanes might be prepping for.

     

    Those two mean more than you might think. The kids seem to look up to them.

    But the one I'm really thinking of is Enroth. Take the keys away from him and the tank will start crushing.

  7. Current Carrion Hockey League Standings

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    We will probably be in the race at the end. This season is really starting to mirror last season's:

    1) godawful start where we look like we couldn't win in the minor leagues.

    2) competitive middle where we lose more than we win, but at least look in the game most of the time.

    3) Lousy finish after the UFA sell-off leaves us with not enough horses.

    Strome or Marner or Zacha look like the most reasonable scenarios to me.

    Finishing outside the top 10 aint gonna happen.

    McEichel was always about winning the lottery anyway.

  8. 2015 IIHF World Juniors

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    I had to look him up; I thought he might have been Sabres property, too, but I guess I was thinking of the Larkin building. I like him.

     

    Larkin is the kid rumoured to be the Detroit kid Murray wants in a Myers deal.

    Also, my pet theory as the prospect Murray was willing to give up all three seconds for in last year's draft.

    Looks real good out there.

     

    Nice to see Compher getting more ice time this game, even some second-unit PP time.

    Got some praise from his coach for showing good leadership against the Finns, but he didn't play much.

  9. Around the NHL: 2014-2015

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    Hindsight is 20/20 and I have no idea what Devine thought of Forsberg back then.

    But they were very similarly ranked going in, Grigo was the big centre the team lacked and Devine spewed a lot of smokescreen BS about the Russian factor leading up to the draft. Mike was clearly their target.

  10. Trade speculation 2014-15

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by dudacek

    Latest Rumor out of Colorado. They are willing to trade Ryan O'Reilly for a Top 4 D-Man. Any interest?

     

    Problem with O'Reilly is he's a pure rental who will get hugely overpaid.

    I would look hard at taking a run at him as a UFA.

    But it's pretty hard to give up Myers, or Risto or Zads for what could easily be a horrible contract, or even worse a guy who plays a few months and is gone.

  11. Favourite all-time Sabre: playoffs

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by dudacek

    SCCCCCOOOOOOOOOORRRREEEESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Perreault wins it in triple overtime 23-24!

    (With an assist from Neo, I believe.)

     

    Thanks for playing!

     

    The all-time favourite Sabrespace top 10:

     

    1. Gilbert Perreault

    2. Dominik Hasek

    3. Rick Martin

    4. Rick Jeanneret

    5. Jim Schoenfeld

    6. Pat Lafontaine

    7. Rene Robert

    8. Danny Gare

    9. Mike Peca

    10. Mike Ramsey

  12. Trade speculation 2014-15

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by dudacek

    He seems very timid. Hopefully when that wears off he will play the way I think he is capable of playing. Time will tell but if we draft another center in the top 6 I see him being someone Murray packages in a Myers type trade.

     

    You aren't fond of read-and-react players who let the game come to them, are you? Not a shot, just an observation.

    Because, so far, I think you are mostly correct. Except I wouldn't call it timid, I would call it thinking too much.

     

    I'll preach patience because I think guys like Grigorenko and Reinhart are used to being smarter and more skilled than their opposition.

    They have had a lot of success waiting, then picking apart holes that other guys can't process and execute in as quickly as they can.

    In the NHL they lose that edge because the game is happening 20% faster. They are used to slowing the game down and it's hard because the holes are opening and closing for them far more quickly than they are used to.

     

    Their NHL success will depend on whether their thought process advantage can adjust to the speed and that will only happen with time and experience.

    You look at Reinhart at the WJC against his peers, the game just comes to him and he makes so many good decisions.

    Grigs certainly has a ways to go in the NHL, but his improvement in this area over last year is very noticeable to me. He is going to the right places now, and the puck is finding him more.

     

    Guys with this type of game can and do become first-liners.

    Look at Joe Thornton. Rarely the first guy on the puck, never beats a guy with speed. But he has dominated with his hands and his mind — finding space and creating separation for himself and his linemates. Henrik Sedin is another one. Neither of them immediately set the league on fire.

    May never happen for our guys (It certainly hasn't for Cody Hodgson, who was like this as a junior too) but you have to give them time.

  13. Buffalo Bills 2014

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by dudacek

    Hooray!!!

     

    Finally beat the Pats in Gilette. First winning season in ages.

    One of the best defences this team has ever had!

    New ownership, committed to Buffalo.

    Finally, this team is turning things around!!!

     

    One of the best end-of-season days all you voting against Perreault types can remember.

    Everyone has got to be feeling cheery today, right guys?

     

    ....guys?

     

     

    :ph34r:

  19. 2015 IIHF World Juniors

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by dudacek

    Watched both US and Canada games yesterday. My takeaways:

    • Eichel is freaking awesome. Far and away the best game of anyone I saw yesterday. Elite with his passing and his puck handling, but he's also big with an edge and such a smooth skater. Coaches rode him hard. He seemed to be on the ice every second shift and he always had the puck.
    • McDavid has a great burst and hustles. Looked good but didn't match the hype.
    • Hanifan skates really well, but was otherwise unremarkable. Not on the power play. Coaches seemed to prefer Werenski, but he wasn't exactly a standout either.
    • USA really seemed to stack its ice time and mix up the lines a lot; their top five or six guys played a ton. The bottom guys sporadically.
    • Compher was in the bottom half. Started as the fourth line centre and a second-unit PK guy. Only sporadically got ice time in the second period, and not at all in OT. Seemed to play a little more in the third with the game on the line. He skated hard and looked for contact, but didn't show any playmaking ability. To be honest, he reminded me of Torrey Mitchell.
    • Fasching was another story. One of the most noticeable American forwards. Caused a lot of turnovers and was a bull along the wall and in front of the net. He doesn't have elite skill, but he's big, faster than I thought and might have enough skill to play in the top six. He and Larkin played a regular shift together at even strength and were the number one PK unit.
    • Larkin was the second-best American player, IMO. There's some Zemgus in that kid.
    • The Reinhart line toyed with the Slovaks. Duclair and Domi looked very skilled on his wings. Nick Petan and Brayden Point (skilled little guys we could have had in the second round) flashed a lot of skill as well. I wonder if that will translate to tougher opposition.
    • Samson's vision and positioning at the this level is everything they say. First unit PP, first-unit PK, first line ice time. He's always going to leave the highlight reel guys wanting more, but coaches and people who appreciate the nuances of the game have to love this guy. His no-look pass out of his skates on the first Fabbri goal was a thing of subtle beauty.

  22. Armia to Make NHL Debut

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    I think the plan was always to give them lots of ice time in the AHL, call them up after the trade deadline sell-off for a taste of the big time, then send the, back to Rocheter for a playoff run.

    The terrible season in Rochster is throwing a wrench in that plan.

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