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2012-13 General Bulldogs Discussion Thread


dlbalr

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We have bemoaned that we haven't enough fire power, but I think it is smart to wait and see how the CBA plays out. We should know shortly (within a week or two). From what I have read, Pulushaj should be back at the lastest the end of month (Jan.), Pateryn the middle of the month. When is Nattinen back?

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We have bemoaned that we haven't enough fire power, but I think it is smart to wait and see how the CBA plays out. We should know shortly (within a week or two). From what I have read, Pulushaj should be back at the lastest the end of month (Jan.), Pateryn the middle of the month. When is Nattinen back?

It looks like a couple of weeks for Nattinen according to early reports. If the lockout ends, Palushaj might not be back at all, he has to be recalled to Montreal (as do St. Denis/Desjardins) and he didn't do much of anything when he was healthy anyways. Lockout or no lockout, this team still needs at least one (I think a case could be made for needing as many as three) top six forward if they want to make a second half push.

Edit regarding Nattinen: We'll likely know something more concrete tomorrow regarding the severity of his injury.

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The guys you meantioned should all wind up back in Hamilton, however there are teams that will lose valuable players to their NHL counterparts. There should be jobs all of a sudden in Europe. The whole landscape could change.

Yes, teams will lose a lot of their top young guys while Hamilton's roster should, for the most part, remain intact. Is that enough in itself to give the Bulldogs the boost they need? It certainly will help but I highly doubt it's enough in itself. Bournival, Holland, and Quailer have shown they're not ready to play top-6 AHL minutes (and Leblanc/Blunden, who can play that role, have a chance to play in Montreal). Lockout or no lockout, this team needs scoring help. Sadly, I'm not sure how they're going to be able to find it. I'd be looking at ECHL players who aren't contracted to an AHL team and start bringing guys in on tryouts with the hopes of finding someone who can at least play top-9. It wouldn't solve much but it couldn't hurt.

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I can't disagree. There have to be guys out there like Darche where there isn't enough space on the major league roster. i would doubt that we would go after 3 guys as you have indicated we may need. I don't believe the Bulldogs need to be good this year but it would be nice to give the younger guys some playoff experience. It is also good that they have to struggle abit to understand that they can't be successful if they don't play as a team. Despite their record, I believe they are doing pretty good considering the depth in the league right now. I look for their record to improve dramatically in the second half barring major injury.

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I have to give kudos to the Bulldogs marketing folks as they have been able to put more folks in the seats this season with a team that's just as abysmal as last season. Of course, the game in Mtl and the School Kids game boosted the average attendance figures quite a bit. I've noticed though that there have been quite a few more minor hockey groups attending which is a positive. (The only negative is that sometimes kids don't know how to behave in a public place and sometimes the parents are just as bad re a lack of hockey etiquette-- not-waiting for whistles to run for another beer, etc.)

The Xmas promotion (Flex Pack of 10 seats for $99.00) is a bargain by any standard & I think the team realizes that Hamilton is not the wealthiest town and perhaps figures once you get them in the building, money can be made by souvenir and concessions sales.

There are still improvements that need to be made. The souvenir program, small and not updated, is laughable. Lack of on-line souvenir sales is troubling too-still under construction after five months?

And perhaps, lack of a storefront presence in the adjoining Jackson Square Mall is something that I wish could be corrected. Both the TiCats and Dogs used to have separate stores in the mall with ticket sales available along with a wide range of souvenirs.

I've always wondered too why players who aren't dressed but at the game aren't made available for autographs? Instead, they tend to hide upstairs in a section of the curtained off upper bowl..

Just some random thoughts................

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Hamilton has traded defenceman Brendon Nash to San Antonio in exchange for blueliner Jason DeSantis. DeSantis is a bit more of an offensive minded defenceman who hopefully can help boost the PP (he had 43 points last year). This does not affect the NHL affiliations, Nash is still property of the Habs while DeSantis remains with Florida.

http://www.habsworld.net/out.php?16072

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I think Nash was done at the end of year anyway. Any knowledge or prospective why San Antonio would make this deal?

From what I've read, DeSantis has dropped down the depth chart with the Rampage since the start of the year just like Nash has. I think it's the hope that a change of scenery for Nash will get him going, the same that Hamilton hopes for DeSantis. Florida might also want to get a closer look at Nash to see if he's worth trying to get in the offseason when the Habs let him go.

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I think Nash was done at the end of year anyway. Any knowledge or prospective why San Antonio would make this deal?

Nash has 30 points as a rookie and basically is just in his 2nd pro year, so a bit premature to totally write him off?

With the Habs youth and depth on d, sure he may need to be moved, but should get more than a DeSantis?

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Nash has 30 points as a rookie and basically is just in his 2nd pro year, so a bit premature to totally write him off?

With the Habs youth and depth on d, sure he may need to be moved, but should get more than a DeSantis?

a 25 years old rookie though...

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Nash has 30 points as a rookie and basically is just in his 2nd pro year, so a bit premature to totally write him off?

With the Habs youth and depth on d, sure he may need to be moved, but should get more than a DeSantis?

A 25 year old d-man who missed an entire year due to injury and had just one year of pro experience isn't going to garner much in value...especially when he's #6 on the depth chart of the AHL's worst team. DeSantis at least has a bit more of a track record but it's basically mediocre d-man for mediocre d-man.

And if the lockout ends and the Habs need Nash, they still have him available as this is an AHL-only trade.

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a 25 years old rookie though...

I know, and he has been just so shakey this year it seems? But he still only has played 100 pro games and d-men can take a while, like Big Hal Gill, who simply sucked for years with Bruins-Leafs, till he learned his limitations and strengths.

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I don't see anything in Nash that would make him a big loss to the Habs... not with all the young D we have in Hamilton, plus guys like Nygren, Bennett, Thrower and Dietz in the pipeline.

He was a project who didn't work out... oh well.

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I don't see anything in Nash that would make him a big loss to the Habs... not with all the young D we have in Hamilton, plus guys like Nygren, Bennett, Thrower and Dietz in the pipeline.

He was a project who didn't work out... oh well.

Yah i know, was just a free agent signing, but similar to Shawn Belle whom i thought had potential, till i saw he couldnt even stick with an Oiler team that was in desparate need for any d-man who could play.

St. Denis must also be cursing the lock-out, as his best chance at call up and to show his stuff would be this year and next year Tinordi-Beaulieu will both be that much closer to NHL ready. Still not even sure what plan was/is for Weber with Boullion/Diaz already being 6th-7th d-men?

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St. Denis must also be cursing the lock-out, as his best chance at call up and to show his stuff would be this year and next year Tinordi-Beaulieu will both be that much closer to NHL ready. Still not even sure what plan was/is for Weber with Boullion/Diaz already being 6th-7th d-men?

I figure their original plan would have been to keep Weber as the 23rd skater in case Markov had more injury woes early on. At this stage, I could see them even trying to run him through waivers if he can't be traded. St. Denis I suspect will clear while Tinordi/Beaulieu could cover a few games in a callup role if St. Denis isn't available. I suspect Weber's days with the Habs are nearing an end, season or not.

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Pateryn skated with the team today (albeit with a no-contact jersey). Palushaj also skated before practice and is believed to be a couple weeks away from returning. Daultan Leveille was skating in Fortier's spot on the 4th line, I wonder if he got hurt last game then?

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More injury notes (from the teams' weekly release):

- C Blake Geoffrion (depressed skull fracture, November 9th vs. Syracuse at Montreal) is out indefinitely.
- C Joonas Nattinen (upper-body injury Dec. 28 vs. St. John’s) is out indefinitely.
- D Greg Pateryn (fractured elbow, November 2nd at Rochester) is out seven to 10 days.
- RW Aaron Palushaj (shoulder, December 11th vs. Lake Erie) is out two to three weeks.

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I expect all parties are pretty busy right now. I wonder how long before they have time to look at berber contract and secondly do they do something with the Nash/ Disantis arrangement? I think it would be pretty difficult to bring Nash back to Montreal if there was a hypothetical need.

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I expect all parties are pretty busy right now. I wonder how long before they have time to look at berber contract and secondly do they do something with the Nash/ Disantis arrangement? I think it would be pretty difficult to bring Nash back to Montreal if there was a hypothetical need.

It would be nice to have the Berger situation resolved, that's more or less filing some paperwork. If they do plan to run him through $125 waivers (if they still exist), it wouldn't take a whole lot of planning/time. With Nash, there would have to be a lot of injuries for him to be considered. If the Habs ever needed him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind coming up and getting an NHL paycheque. If the intention was to swap NHL affiliations when the lockout ended, we'll see that deal made later this week I'd imagine.

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Bulldogs sign 29 year old centre Joey Tenute to a PTO. He last played for Klagenfurter in the Austrian league (last season). I remember him from his days with Barrie, a decent offensive player who had a rather unique routine before taking faceoffs. He last played in the AHL in 2007-08 where he had 21 goals and 28 assists.

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Unique routine?

It's been a while obviously since I've seen it (about 11 or 12 years or so) but it was something along the lines of he'd approach the circle like normal, then crouch as low to the ice as possible (consider that this is an already small player) while coasting to the dot. That was his positioning; he'd then spring up as the puck was coming down to take the faceoff. It worked well for him too, I remember him being pretty good on the draw. I'm sure that has since been fazed out of his game though.

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It's been a while obviously since I've seen it (about 11 or 12 years or so) but it was something along the lines of he'd approach the circle like normal, then crouch as low to the ice as possible (consider that this is an already small player) while coasting to the dot. That was his positioning; he'd then spring up as the puck was coming down to take the faceoff. It worked well for him too, I remember him being pretty good on the draw. I'm sure that has since been fazed out of his game though.

Maybe it just confused the opposition lol

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