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UPL Named ECHL Goaltender of the Month


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7 minutes ago, miles said:

Nice. I can't wait for him to come to Boston for good. I hope he is everything I hope he is

So we're losing him to Boston already?  It figures.

7 minutes ago, dudacek said:

This is good news, even if it is kinda like being Sudbury Wal-Mart greeter of the month.

 

Well canadians is known for their friendliness.

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15 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Is he stuck in the ECHL for the year?

Stuck? No. He can be called up to Roch. 

This may be an unpopular opinion but I wouldn’t call him up to Buffalo until next season at the very least. Let him gain experience and confidence all season in the lower leagues. Next season he’s the full time starter for Roch. with a couple call ups to Buffalo. In 21-22, he backs up Ullmark. After that ... we’ll see where he’s at.

Edited by Zamboni
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39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

No. Just there on assignment. I would expect him to join Rochester at some point but they wanted him to get NA playing time and Rochester has 2 signed GT currently. 

I think injury is the only way he leaves the ECHL.  He needs the playing time no matter where he is and each team already has enough bodies.  The only real mystery on the depth chart was Johansson and he looks to have earned his spot up to this point.

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UPL is a stud who will see AHL time this year. The question is will it be under circumstances that allow him to shoulder one of the others aside?

Does UPL have a burning desire to rise to the AHL?

Has UPL’s presence elevated Johansen?

Have both of them kept Hammond on his toes?

Is the competition created by Botterill working?

These are the numbers of the Amerks duo:

4D6EC082-031C-44D4-85E5-2E837B8F26E6.thumb.png.f802bd4f487550eeecc4d5ec44e22c16.png

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1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Is he stuck in the ECHL for the year?

 

58 minutes ago, shrader said:

I think injury is the only way he leaves the ECHL.  He needs the playing time no matter where he is and each team already has enough bodies.  The only real mystery on the depth chart was Johansson and he looks to have earned his spot up to this point.

 

50 minutes ago, dudacek said:

UPL is a stud who will see AHL time this year. The question is will it be under circumstances that allow him to shoulder one of the others aside?

Does UPL have a burning desire to rise to the AHL?

Has UPL’s presence elevated Johansen?

Have both of them kept Hammond on his toes?

Is the competition created by Botterill working?

These are the numbers of the Amerks duo:

4D6EC082-031C-44D4-85E5-2E837B8F26E6.thumb.png.f802bd4f487550eeecc4d5ec44e22c16.png

This is more what I was getting at with my question.  Johansson and Hammond have been extremely solid for Roch.  Hammond’s NHL experience makes him the likely injury call up.     Johansson has done nothing to earn a demotion.  Therefore it seems to me that UPL is stuck in Cinn for the season unless something changes in Buffalo or Rochester.

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9 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Stuck? No. He can be called up to Roch. 

This may be an unpopular opinion but I wouldn’t call him up to Buffalo until next season at the very least. Let him gain experience and confidence all season in the lower leagues. Next season he’s the full time starter for Roch. with a couple call ups to Buffalo. In 21-22, he backs up Ullmark. After that ... we’ll see where he’s at.

He'd better not be in Buffalo this season.  Following the surgeries he's had, he shouldn't be rushed to begin with.

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19 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Stuck? No. He can be called up to Roch. 

This may be an unpopular opinion but I wouldn’t call him up to Buffalo until next season at the very least. Let him gain experience and confidence all season in the lower leagues. Next season he’s the full time starter for Roch. with a couple call ups to Buffalo. In 21-22, he backs up Ullmark. After that ... we’ll see where he’s at.

That is actually likely a very popular opinion.  There is little to nothing to be gained by rushing him up through the ranks too quickly.  (Though, if he's as good as we hope, there probably isn't that much to mess up either.)

I remember seeing Carey Price absolutely stone the Amerks a few years back right after being called up after his junior season ended.  He probably could've been in Moe-ray-all then, but there was really no reason to not let him spend some time in the A doing an AHL version of what Dryden had done for the Habs 1/3 of a century earlier.  His confidence and positioning were firmly established by the time he split time with Halak that next season and then made Halak expendable after that.  He's been that team's Hasek for a decade when healthy.

But wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get a chance in Ra-cha-cha later this year.  Especially if Cincy goes out earlier than the Amerks do.  Am expecting the Sabres would like to see him have some time getting real minutes in the A to see if they want to chance trading Hutton this off-season and run with Ullmark and Luukkonnen full time next year.  (Which would have the side effect of allowing them possibly to keep the same goaltending in Ra-cha-cha they have this year.)

Remember, when Hutton was signed, it was expected he received that 3rd year to be available to Seattle in the expansion draft.  It was also expected he'd be their pick as there was nothing worth having that the Sabres would have to expose.  Now, they need to keep Hammond or other former NHLer around through that draft to meet the requirements of exposing at least 1 goalie.

Edited by Taro T
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15 minutes ago, Taro T said:

That is actually likely a very popular opinion.  There is little to nothing to be gained by rushing him up through the ranks too quickly.  (Though, if he's as good as we hope, there probably isn't that much to mess up either.)

I remember seeing Carey Price absolutely stone the Amerks a few years back right after being called up after his junior season ended.  He probably could've been in Moe-ray-all then, but there was really no reason to not let him spend some time in the A doing an AHL version of what Dryden had done for the Habs 1/3 of a century earlier.  His confidence and positioning were firmly established by the time he split time with Halak that next season and then made Halak expendable after that.  He's been that team's Hasek for a decade when healthy.

But wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get a chance in Ra-cha-cha later this year.  Especially if Cincy goes out earlier than the Amerks do.  Am expecting the Sabres would like to see him have some time getting real minutes in the A to see if they want to chance trading Hutton this off-season and run with Ullmark and Luukkonnen full time next year.  (Which would have the side effect of allowing them possibly to keep the same goaltending in Ra-cha-cha they have this year.)

Remember, when Hutton was signed, it was expected he received that 3rd year to be available to Seattle in the expansion draft.  It was also expected he'd be their pick as there was nothing worth having that the Sabres would have to expose.  Now, they need to keep Hammond or other former NHLer around through that draft to meet the requirements of exposing at least 1 goalie.

Very popular. He had surgery and needs starts and development in a less demanding setting. I might not even call him up next year. He will turn 21 at seasons end so he has lots of time if needed. 

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7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Very popular. He had surgery and needs starts and development in a less demanding setting. I might not even call him up next year. He will turn 21 at seasons end so he has lots of time if needed. 

And that's what he's getting.

But really do expect him to be called up for a stretch at some point to help plan how to roll next year and to verify that he still seems on course for backup duty by '21-'22 in a worse case.  Because if he isn't ready for that by then, the true worst case has come to fruition.

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39 minutes ago, Amerks8796 said:

I think he’ll be in Rochester relatively soon. Sexton said they’d reevaluate around Christmas. With the way he’s playing, he’s ready to move up. Johansson has been decent, but he takes a back seat to UPL and Hammond. 

I think the longterm question on this one comes down to whether or not they think they can develop Johnsson enough up to the level of NHL backup.  He's still only 24, so he has a chance.  If they think he has that potential, he needs all the AHL time he can get right now.  I'm not sure if him splitting time evenly right now fits with that projection or not.  Luukkonen* is going to get his shot whether or not he spends the entire time this year in the ECHL.

*I'm officially starting to focus on that spelling now.  It's going to take time for that one to set in.

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12 minutes ago, shrader said:

I think the longterm question on this one comes down to whether or not they think they can develop Johnsson enough up to the level of NHL backup.  He's still only 24, so he has a chance.  If they think he has that potential, he needs all the AHL time he can get right now.  I'm not sure if him splitting time evenly right now fits with that projection or not.  Luukkonen* is going to get his shot whether or not he spends the entire time this year in the ECHL.

*I'm officially starting to focus on that spelling now.  It's going to take time for that one to set in.

Just call him 6K or UPL. 

spelling prob solved

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4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Just call him 6K or UPL. 

spelling prob solved

You'll find that I pretty much always refer to a player using their actual name.  Just a personal preference really.  I'll make exceptions for special cases like calling Phil Kessel "lefty".

Edited by shrader
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57 minutes ago, shrader said:

I think the longterm question on this one comes down to whether or not they think they can develop Johnsson enough up to the level of NHL backup.  He's still only 24, so he has a chance.  If they think he has that potential, he needs all the AHL time he can get right now.  I'm not sure if him splitting time evenly right now fits with that projection or not.  Luukkonen* is going to get his shot whether or not he spends the entire time this year in the ECHL.

*I'm officially starting to focus on that spelling now.  It's going to take time for that one to set in.

I think they’re aiming for UPL to hopefully be in Buffalo when Hutton leaves. I think they work him in Rochester in the second half of the season. Next season he’s the starter, and if things go well, has a good shot to make Buffalo the following year. 
 

Johansson can also get games in the ECHL. If he keeps playing well, he may get qualified and be UPL’s backup next year. 

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4 hours ago, Amerks8796 said:

I think they’re aiming for UPL to hopefully be in Buffalo when Hutton leaves. I think they work him in Rochester in the second half of the season. Next season he’s the starter, and if things go well, has a good shot to make Buffalo the following year. 
 

Johansson can also get games in the ECHL. If he keeps playing well, he may get qualified and be UPL’s backup next year. 

If he holds course, I can't see any reason why the team wouldn't qualify Johansson.  They need some bodies in the system, but they will also need a non-ELC goalie to expose in the expansion draft in 2021.  Unless they surprise us and add a veteran starter, he's that guy.

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