erickompositör72

He needs to stop trying to do too much with the puck, and just figure out how to get open and shoot. Oh, and hit the net, too. My clearest memories of him on the ice are missing the net on a one-timer and missing the net on his SO attempt. You can't be a sniper if you can't hit the net... although, I do have plenty of memories of Kotalik's shots going off the glass... Perhaps not all the decisions have been savant-level, but Pommer on line 1 was a stroke of genius. There may be something to this idea, even if they don't hit 100% of the time.

I agree. Don't "Risto" him

It looks like the news story updated saying the NCAA will allow her to accept the donations without forgoing eligibility. I don't think it's a difficult fix- this situation was clearly about survival in the face of blatant discrimination, vs an athletic trying to financially capitalize or brand-build off of the opportunities the NCAA has afforded them. One easy fix could be that the donations go directly to the collage, and are then appropriated for a scholarship that goes directly to her. There are many creative ways to get around this without going against NCAA policy. And if any people would be able to figure this out, it would be the Jesuits ? (the liberal/progressive wing of the Catholic Church)

I could see him being sold on this, if he trusts JBott. He loves playing with Eichel, and seems to love winning. If he knew he could keep doing both, maybe it's a deal

change all of our names to Simpsons characters? ?

Not for nothing- but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's going to take it upon himself to work on/improve something like that. I haven't given up on Risto yet- I have a soft spot for him as one of the only players who seemed worth anything during the tank years... but he just seems stubborn and difficult to coach

He's always described as "smooth-skating," "fluid," "effortless," etc... but is his speed elite for a defenseman, or is he faster than most forwards in the league? I get the sense that he's not as fast as an Eichel or a Skinner (or maybe even Sheary), but ahead of everyone else on our team. I don't feel we've really gotten a chance to see him blow by people with raw speed/acceleration, or maybe I've just missed it. Don't get me wrong- I definitely drool at his talent. I'm just wondering if "the Connor McDavid of defensemen" was misleading? Or just implied that he'll look like Connor McDavid if he's compared to all other Dmen?

If you offer up Kane's deal as a comp, Skinner is clearly the more effective player. He could use the Kane deal as leverage to get more.

This is just a random theory I'm throwing out, but maybe they still think TT is close to being on our roster permanently, and they worry sending him down to Rochester may be worse for his confidence they letting him sit until he takes full advantage of his opportunity on the big club's roster.

I think the fact that he was a key piece in the ROR deal is irrelevant. TT's utilization should not be predicated on "showing we got something out of the trade," etc. If we end up not needing/using TT at all, it is a good thing, not a bad thing. It shows we already have the pieces in place. I don't think we're there yet, and as mentioned, JBot seems to have a method to what he's doing. If JBot was obsessed with making it look like the ROR deal was a win for us, I'd be more worried.

Even if Skinner loses his legs down the road, he'll always be shifty and always have his hands/shot. It depends how an MBA would value a potential cup in 2-4 years vs a not-ideal cap situation in 6-8 years

I don't understand why it would even be plausible that TT was promised anything. JBott didn't negotiate the trade with TT himself, he negotiated it with the Blues' GM. I doubt the Blues GM cared where we played him, no?

Going to the game tonight! ?

Whether or not it's true, accusing Kane of questionable judgement is fair game here. If all of the accusations are true and just settled out of court (which we can't know), I lose much respect for Kane (who I've been a big fan of). If none of the accusations are true, it still calls into question his judgement and the people he chooses to associate with. Anyone can be the victim of an opportunist person, but to have it happen over and over again, even if all accusations are false... come on, dude, find better people to be around.

Here's an observation about Samson's goal scoring: He seemed to get most of his goals in junior by smart positioning/finding soft areas, and just shooting the puck at an out-of-position goaltender. He has really good hands, but has never had a great shot. I think if he wants to score more in this league, he has to realize that IQ/positioning alone is not going to get it done. You can't just get the puck in front of the net and shoot it at the goalie's pads. NHL goaltenders will make the save. Unless he works on his shot and figures out a way to beat NHL goaltenders with his shot when he's in tight and can't deke, I don't think he's going to score the goals that other types who know how to finish (Skinner, Vanek, etc) do. This would take a concerted effort on his part. Is he willing to work on this?

I was one of them, and in short, yes, I'm having second thoughts. 2yrs seems like the right move. However, it's still too early to tell. If he turns it on this season sooner than he did last, I think that's still a positive sign. When we lost Jack last year, something got into Samson and he actually was able to control play and take over when he was on the ice. Maybe it had a lot to do with line chemistry? I don't know. I just hope he figures out how to do that again. I'm hoping it just boils down to getting comfortable with his linemates.

I think it's also possible that Dahlin had made the decision to pass to KO before Eichel made the suggestion- he just did it while looking the other way to draw the defender. Either way, so nice to see the two of them on the same page!

Pominville stopped producing at his season-opening pace last year after he was taken off of Jack's line, correct? The line was scoring, but the other lines weren't, so Housley needed to change things up to try to get more secondary scoring (which obviously didn't work). So, I'd say it's hard to tell if his production had to do with his "losing his legs" or just utilization. Now, most NHL players would benefit from being on Eichel's line. I think Pommers doesn't get enough credit for his hockey sense, and I'd like to posit this: Jason has the skill-set and the sense to utilize being on Jack's line more than most. He knows how to let Skinner/Jack do the skating/decoy work, and he finds the soft spots, etc. He may be the perfect complement to them, and he may be able to do it for another couple of years. However, if we see that he does, indeed, lose his legs, and not be effective, we may see him on the 4th line/press box, making room for Nylander in early 2019. In that case, we'll say- "see ya later- thanks for everything, Jason!"

Sometimes you just don't realize what you got till it's gone ?

forgive me, it wasn't a shot at CoHo. I wish the dude the best

He did make a post-game interview comment, something like "[jokingly] I wouldn't say this to his face," "but there are only a few players in the NHL who could have made that play" (about his goal vs ANA) It's obvious he has a huge amount of awe/respect for Jacks' talent, which supports what you are saying. I have no reservations about saying it: watching him skate is a beautiful thing to behold

I don't think it's that, I think it's just about game style and resulting chemistry. When SJS plugged Kane into their system, it seemed like a far better fit. He seemed to click on his line immediately. Just like Skinner-Eichel-Pommer seemed to click. I hope they can keep it up, and other teams are unable to "figure them out"- I'm cautious in my optimism, as I remember a similar feeling of optimism when Vanek-Hodgson-Pommer seemed to click for a few games... we know how that turned out ?

That transition is reminiscent of the Drury/Briere days. How fitting that Pommers was on the ice during it.

post-game interview. I don't recognize Risto, because he's actually smiling

had to post: who says figure skating isn't useful in the NHL? ?