The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Let's stay calm, please. Yes, the team needs Domi in particular to start producing. Yes, the loss of Drouin is unfortunate. But lots of teams are streaking - either in the right direction (Islanders, Dallas) or the wrong direction (Leafs, Flames, Canucks) right now. I think part of what happens is teams ride a burst of early season energy and it starts to peter out right about now. Am I irked at the complete indolence of a GM who seems to think that sitting around with his thumb up his butt-hole is an acceptable strategy for the next three years, on the magical assumption that a bunch of good-not-great prospects are suddenly going to win the Stanley Cup around 2023? 100%. But right now they're a bubble team and are still above the playoff bar. The team just needs to bear down, trust the coaches, the system, the depth, and each other, and ride out this little slump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 19 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said: But scoring isn’t an issue in this team😯 it wasn’t... lately they are struggling a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 31 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Let's stay calm, please. Yes, the team needs Domi in particular to start producing. Yes, the loss of Drouin is unfortunate. But lots of teams are streaking - either in the right direction (Islanders, Dallas) or the wrong direction (Leafs, Flames, Canucks) right now. I think part of what happens is teams ride a burst of early season energy and it starts to peter out right about now. Agree 31 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Am I irked at the complete indolence of a GM who seems to think that sitting around with his thumb up his butt-hole is an acceptable strategy for the next three years, on the magical assumption that a bunch of good-not-great prospects are suddenly going to win the Stanley Cup around 2023? 100%. Disagree. He has re-stocked the prospect pool. We are at ground level of the construction of a contending team. The current prospects are not all going to be around in 2023, some very good one will be shipped out to fix holes in the team. 31 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: But right now they're a bubble team and are still above the playoff bar. The team just needs to bear down, trust the coaches, the system, the depth, and each other, and ride out this little slump. Agree, and that has nothing to do with the GM; the coaching and players have to deliver what Therrien's teams never could Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 I liked Hudon's game again, Mete is such a good D, he reminds me of Svoboda I am glad to see Kulak getting a bunch of games in a row. But he has not plat much better than Reilly. If Fleury continues to play like this, Folin or even Juulsen may be available for a trade. I agree with Commandant and others that Domi is not as good on the wing as he was last year at center. But is is not worse at wing than he was at center this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: The team just needs to bear down, trust the coaches, the system, the depth, and each other, and ride out this little slump. This. The current team (even excluding Drouin and Byron) has demonstrated that it can play better than it has in the last two games. It's not a huge gap to a point where we could have taken three or four points from these last two games. Even if they only fix some of these: A few fewer defensive miscues (Chiarot ...) A few fewer OT errors (Tatar, Suzuki ...) A bit better goaltending (Price, on Tuesday ...) A bit more driving to the net (Domi ...) A bit more confidence/assertiveness (Kotkaniemi ...) A bit more discipline in the last minute of each period (the entire team) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said: I liked Hudon's game again, Mete is such a good D, he reminds me of Svoboda Svoboda! Now that is a more pleasant memory than Metropolit or (shudder) Darche 😄 And it is an interesting parallel. Svoboda was not a huge point-producer and not a physical guy (although I used to call him "rubber man" because he would occasional absorb these catastrophic hits and bounce back seemingly unaffected). He was, however, a capable, useful puck-moving second-pairing defenceman. Maybe that's the right comparable for Meat. As for Kulak, I'm beginning to think we may have to accept that last season was an outlier and that he is indeed the borderline guy Calgary got rid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habber31 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Watching this game makes me think Tkachuk would have been the better choice over Kotkaniemi. Tkachuk is a gamer and he puts up points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 45 minutes ago, Habber31 said: Watching this game makes me think Tkachuk would have been the better choice over Kotkaniemi. Tkachuk is a gamer and he puts up points Many were hard on him here but I always wanted him. That being said, I also wanted Zadina and he has not done much. Let’s not be too hard on Kotkaniemi though. First off, he will be a fine player and secondly it wasn’t until we drafted him that our center depth began to look promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habber31 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 57 minutes ago, xXx..CK..xXx said: Many were hard on him here but I always wanted him. That being said, I also wanted Zadina and he has not done much. Let’s not be too hard on Kotkaniemi though. First off, he will be a fine player and secondly it wasn’t until we drafted him that our center depth began to look promising. Still so young. Hard to peg anyone as this point, but Tkachuk is a beast and he can also bury. Kotkaniemi will never have that edge to his game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Tkachuk 93gms 58pts, 3.3hits/gm Kotkaniemi 94gms 37pts 1.5hits/gm (hits is poorly kept stat i think, but significant diff) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 One thing to keep in mind is that Tkachuk is almost a year older than Kotkaniemi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, tomh009 said: One thing to keep in mind is that Tkachuk is almost a year older than Kotkaniemi. excuses, they both have almost 100 NHL games under belt Is 1 sided so far, but who knows how they compare in 2 or 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 1 hour ago, DON said: excuses, they both have almost 100 NHL games under belt Is 1 sided so far, but who knows how they compare in 2 or 3 years. I don't think it's an excuse: at 19, Kotkaniemi is simply not as far along the development curve. How much of the performance difference is because of that, I can't say. But a 19-year-old body is indeed still developing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Also id guess tkachuk is playing more minutes. Thanks to the depth (or lack thereof) of the sens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 11 hours ago, tomh009 said: I don't think it's an excuse: at 19, Kotkaniemi is simply not as far along the development curve. How much of the performance difference is because of that, I can't say. But a 19-year-old body is indeed still developing. OK, then compare Kotkaniemi this year to Tkachuk's production last year (same age). Any way you slice it is still one sided production-wise. Obviously Tkachuk gets more icetime at 16:01/17:52 vs 13:44/12:55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 19 hours ago, Habber31 said: Watching this game makes me think Tkachuk would have been the better choice over Kotkaniemi. Tkachuk is a gamer and he puts up points Brady Tkachuk is a winger, where Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a centre. I think that Kotka is being brought up differently in Julien's system: sheltering him in the 3rd line to improve his defensive game against lesser opposition while building his offensive game. I think that after his sophomore slump, KK will be fine Tkachuk has been allowed to "just play" and adjust his game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 We'll see. As I noted in another thread, KoKo could well evolve into a rangy Bobby Smith, but if he tops out as 50-point-ish useful C I would not fall out of my chair in shock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habber31 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Tkachuk just brings so much more to his game. The "intangibles". I agree with Chicoutimi, I think Kotkaniemi being a 50-55 point centre, is where he maxes out. Just my opinion though, I really hope he proves me wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 3 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said: Brady Tkachuk is a winger, where Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a centre. I think that Kotka is being brought up differently in Julien's system: sheltering him in the 3rd line to improve his defensive game against lesser opposition while building his offensive game. I think that after his sophomore slump, KK will be fine Tkachuk has been allowed to "just play" and adjust his game. And is having no sophomore slump, on pace for 48pts. Don't think better players have any sophomore slump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 On 11/21/2019 at 9:53 AM, alfredoh2009 said: I agree with Commandant and others that Domi is not as good on the wing as he was last year at center. But is is not worse at wing than he was at center this season. Domi going back to center , as of today's practice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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