GDT: #1 - Todays the Day! Hockey is Back! Columbus @ Minnesota - 8PM EST

[ClevelandJacketFan]

So...is Christensen legit? His advanced metrics look great, and when I see him on the ice, I'm often never disappointed.

Did we randomly develop a good top 6/decent top 4 defenseman out of nowhere?

 

[Cujorulesdtown9]

It was a solid game aside some errors.
Biggest complaint is still the amount of odd man rushes and penalties.

I dont know what was injected into Kent Johnson in the offseason, but if the fire and intensity we saw out of that kid tonight persists he could net 50.

Seeing the defense actually bail out a goalie a couple times is very weird.
Only one weak-ish goal out of elvis but a good outing for him.
Christiensen is also a nice surprise.

 

[OldGoaltender]

We might not have got the W but this team played like an NHL team last night. They played with hustle and unity. I love how they have the defense pinch it makes it difficult for the opponents. I still can’t believe they overturned that goal, pure crap but this team is only going to get better.

 

[Cheddarcheese]

KJ, Fantilli, Werenski, Chinakhov all had a decent game

add Elvis to that list he looks good!

JJ needs to sit next game, costed us the game.

We might not have got the W but this team played like an NHL team last night. They played with hustle and unity. I love how they have the defense pinch it makes it difficult for the opponents. I still can’t believe they overturned that goal, pure crap but this team is only going to get better.

yeah i thought it was a good goal, didn't look like he was in the paint IMO ( he was in and out before contact )

 

[KJ Dangler]

KJ is so much faster than he used to be it’s actually wild.

Honestly I think a good bit of that is confidence .. he’s put on a bit of strength , probably got a little quicker … I think we are seeing with Fantilli and KJ why Krill Kaprisov blossomed into a star under Evason. You saw under Evason right away putting KJ on the powerplay, even the Pk in camp. They make a mistake , they aren’t benched … last night you had Fantilli flub a clear trying to exit into a possible rush , ended up costing us … he was out there the next shift and almost scored … That right there is night and day difference between Evason and the culture he’s already instilled , contrasted to PV from last year .

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I think we'll do well if we avoid any pairing drawn from Johnson, Jiricek, and Gudbranson.

Yes please no more than one of them on the ice - and preferably in the lineup - at once.

 

[Doggy]

I think most of my thoughts on this game have been expressed here already but a couple thoughts...

1) I am not sure we should be so surprised Christiansen played well last night. I believe he was well sought after coming out of Juniors so he had established himself as a kid with real potential. He has played quite well in Cleveland the last three seasons and did not look out of place last year when he was called up and got into the lineup. Then he had a solid training camp. This is a kid who is simply progressing year after year the way other teams develop players. He's 25, this is when we expect a defenseman to really start hitting their stride. He belongs.

2) My one concern with KJ91 is will he be the same player mid-season that he is right now. We know in the past he has struggled to put on good weight. Now that he has added it I wonder if he will be able to maintain it throughout the season. I think many players lose weight throughout the season...there is so much less time to stay diligent in the weight room. Fingers crossed. Maybe he is best suited to the middle six where his minutes can be better managed this year while building towards future seasons.

3) I had few issues with Elvis last night but there is no doubt he will always be a polarizing player in this forum.Love him or hate him, he is likely our 1A goalie and complaining about him isn't productive or cathartic. Just accept it and cheer for him to be the best player and teammate he can be.

4) Like Z said in his post-game interview, if they play like this all season they are going to win a lot of games. Amazed at what a difference coaching makes. From 5v5 to power play, this team looks incredibly more competent from what we saw the last three years.

 

[majormajor]

I think most of my thoughts on this game have been expressed here already but a couple thoughts...

1) I am not sure we should be so surprised Christiansen played well last night. I believe he was well sought after coming out of Juniors so he had established himself as a kid with real potential. He has played quite well in Cleveland the last three seasons and did not look out of place last year when he was called up and got into the lineup. Then he had a solid training camp. This is a kid who is simply progressing year after year the way other teams develop players. He's 25, this is when we expect a defenseman to really start hitting their stride. He belongs.

I'm right there with you on Christiansen.

Until this - "the way other teams develop players". It strikes me as not really true. There are some pretty good clubs that have developed less talent than the Jackets have. And some of the best players we've developed came up slowly like Christiansen. Methot and Savard came to mind. It is cool that he was an undrafted signing, though.

2) My one concern with KJ91 is will he be the same player mid-season that he is right now. We know in the past he has struggled to put on good weight. Now that he has added it I wonder if he will be able to maintain it throughout the season. I think many players lose weight throughout the season...there is so much less time to stay diligent in the weight room. Fingers crossed. Maybe he is best suited to the middle six where his minutes can be better managed this year while building towards future seasons.

I've had the same thought. He also looked quicker last camp and then lost it. Not this quick, of course.

I was wondering if the extra PK time could be cut. We need all the KJ we can get at 5v5 and PP.

 

[stevo61]

I'm right there with you on Christiansen.

Until this - "the way other teams develop players". It strikes me as not really true. There are some pretty good clubs that have developed less talent than the Jackets have. And some of the best players we've developed came up slowly like Christiansen. Methot and Savard came to mind. It is cool that he was an undrafted signing, though.



I've had the same thought. He also looked quicker last camp and then lost it. Not this quick, of course.

I was wondering if the extra PK time could be cut. We need all the KJ we can get at 5v5 and PP.

Eh, I think they are grooming much more than a short term player and honestly if KJ keeps his energy and effort up I don't think we can rule out the thought of him as an eventual center just yet.

 

[CBJx614]

Eh, I think they are grooming much more than a short term player and honestly if KJ keeps his energy and effort up I don't think we can rule out the thought of him as an eventual center just yet.

Maybe, I did notice on one of the draws when Monahan (I think) was kicked from the draw, that KJ instantly looked to Silly to take it. I'm not writing it off, but if we have guys like Monahan, Jenner, Fantilli (and eventually Lindstrom, LDBB and potentially a Hagens/McQueen) than we really don't need him at center and losing Gaudreau makes it a "easy" transition for KJ to move into the top wing spot.

 

[stevo61]

Maybe, I did notice on one of the draws when Monahan (I think) was kicked from the draw, that KJ instantly looked to Silly to take it. I'm not writing it off, but if we have guys like Monahan, Jenner, Fantilli (and eventually Lindstrom, LDBB and potentially a Hagens/McQueen) than we really don't need him at center and losing Gaudreau makes it a "easy" transition for KJ to move into the top wing spot.

Monahan/Fantilli/Sillinger are our designated top 3 centers, of course he would default to the other assigned center

 

[Youngguns1380]

Is it me or does Jody Shelley mention Sillinger wayyy too much - like a proud dad or something. Listen to last year and last night’s broadcast.

 

[Cowumbus]

Is it me or does Jody Shelley mention Sillinger wayyy too much - like a proud dad or something. Listen to last year and last night’s broadcast.

Honestly probably just good friends with his dad.

 

[majormajor]

Eh, I think they are grooming much more than a short term player and honestly if KJ keeps his energy and effort up I don't think we can rule out the thought of him as an eventual center just yet.

I think managing his minutes so that he doesn't lose muscle / strength over the course of the year is the more forward looking approach. This is of course under the hypothetical that he needs that type of management.

PK minutes is not meaningful for his long run development, in my opinion. In general, I'm not a fan of putting your top scorers on the PK. Yes I know it helped Nash, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Monahan/Fantilli/Sillinger are our designated top 3 centers, of course he would default to the other assigned center

Not just a matter of who our current assigned centers are - we have options and don't need to play him there unless it makes him a better player. I haven't seen any reason to think that KJ would be better at center than at wing. He looks great at wing. He already is the primary puck carrier.

Let's not forget that he put out his shoulder last year on a faceoff. That might have something to do with a reluctance to have him take them, at least for now.

 

[GoJackets1]

The KJ at center thing was always just Jarmo desperation for a center. We don’t need KJ at center. Especially when there’s a high probability of another top 5-8 pick this year.

 

[EDM]

The transformation that seems to have resulted from the coaching change illustrates how far off Jarmo had drifted. He did not seem to get how important a stable presence in the coaching box can be.

 

[MoeBartoli]

Not seeing Lars or Vincent behind the bench by itself makes me feel better watching this team.

 

[majormajor]

The transformation that seems to have resulted from the coaching change illustrates how far off Jarmo had drifted. He did not seem to get how important a stable presence in the coaching box can be.

I don't want to say too much about how much the better the team is thanks to Evason, considering they've only played one game.

But obviously it wasn't Jarmo's plan to go with Vincent last year. He messed up by letting Lars go soft on the room for two years. Babcock was Jarmo's reaction to that and obviously he was trying to get that veteran presence from a coach and picked the wrong guy.

 

[OldGoaltender]

The PP and PK looked much much better. Should have had 2 PP goals and the kills looked good. I like this coach.

 

[Napoli]

I'm not the biggest Werenski fan but that was one of the best games I've seen him play. Absolutely dynamic and just a problem. He even scored on the PP with a slapshot? I couldn't believe my eyes.

KJ looks like he got a whole hell of a lot faster. He's going to be a factor to deal with for other teams.

Christiansen continues to look pretty good. I always liked his game and it appears he's finally putting it together.

I think overall this team is going to struggle mightily to score enough goals to win games consistently but for the first game of the season I was impressed. They look better than decent and the PP actually looks like it can score. Remains to be seen long term as the league will make adjustments.

 

[stevo61]

I think managing his minutes so that he doesn't lose muscle / strength over the course of the year is the more forward looking approach. This is of course under the hypothetical that he needs that type of management.

PK minutes is not meaningful for his long run development, in my opinion. In general, I'm not a fan of putting your top scorers on the PK. Yes I know it helped Nash, yadda, yadda, yadda.



Not just a matter of who our current assigned centers are - we have options and don't need to play him there unless it makes him a better player. I haven't seen any reason to think that KJ would be better at center than at wing. He looks great at wing. He already is the primary puck carrier.

Let's not forget that he put out his shoulder last year on a faceoff. That might have something to do with a reluctance to have him take them, at least for now.

Guys wouldn't lose a ton of muscle during the season just like they don't gain 10 or 15+ pounds of muscle in an off-season. If his diet is good and high protein he'll be fine. Fantilli got his eggs cut near the boards but I'm not telling him to tone down his play near the boards, shit happens sometimes.