2021-22 Utica Comets and ECHL thread - part V

[UticaHockey]

Devils seemed to have decided against papering Mercer and Smith. Mercer makes sense given he's played every game and is likely ticketed to the World Championships. AHL playoffs after his first full NHL season would be grueling for him. I am surprised they didn't want Smith to get a playoff run though.

After that, their options seem pretty limited with waiver restrictions on players like Boqvist and White. I think the only outside help would be Stillman or Mukhmadullin as both already signed ELCs. Muk may not even be possible at this point. Possibly Moynihan or another college UFA but I don't see how any of those guys move the needle for Utica.

I was really hoping for Mercer but I understand why they chose not to paper him down seeing that he is the only Devil on pace to play in all 82 games. Even though Ty Smith is waiver exempt I never had any expectations of him coming down seeing that he is in his second full NHL season and has never played in the AHL. Smith was never a realistic option.

I don't think risking Boqvist to waivers would make any sense if they plan on signing him again as he is a RFA after this season with no arbitration rights. I'm kind of surprised that they didn't put White on waivers though with the option to paper him down. Colton White is a Group 6 UFA after this season so even if he was claimed it doesn't change anything as the Devils don't have any rights to him after next month anyway.

The thing that really hurt the Comets playoff chances in my opinion is when Studenic was claimed off waivers by Dallas. Studenic is the two way player that the Comets don't currently have on the roster and is the type of player that you want in tight playoff games. He has speed, can score and wins more than his share of puck battles. Then with Jaros refusing to report to Utica, the Comets didn't get another experience dman for the stretch and playoffs plus losing Schnarr with no position player coming back also hurts.

Once Daws comes back the Comets will be a better team because they were at their best when Daws and Schmid were sharing the workload instead of being over worked like Schmid has been the past month or two. If they get everybody back and healthy including Tyce Thompson they will still be a very good team playing in a mediocre division. I don't think they are a Calder Cup contending team but if healthy they are still a team that can win a playoff round or two.

 

[UticaHockey]

03-25-2022	TYLER IRVINE (F)	Adirondack Thunder	ADD	Returned on loan from Utica (AHL)
03-25-2022	View attachment 521558 LUKE STEVENS (F)	Adirondack Thunder	DEL	Loaned to Utica (AHL)

Tyler Irvine hasn't shown anything in Utica during his limited call ups this season. Luke Stevens started the season with the Comets and didn't show any offense but he is a big body that can get in hard on the fore check. Might as well give him another look after he had a chance to play a few months with the Thunder.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I was really hoping for Mercer but I understand why they chose not to paper him down seeing that he is the only Devil on pace to play in all 82 games. Even though Ty Smith is waiver exempt I never had any expectations of him coming down seeing that he is in his second full NHL season and has never played in the AHL. Smith was never a realistic option.

I don't think risking Boqvist to waivers would make any sense if they plan on signing him again as he is a RFA after this season with no arbitration rights. I'm kind of surprised that they didn't put White on waivers though with the option to paper him down. Colton White is a Group 6 UFA after this season so even if he was claimed it doesn't change anything as the Devils don't have any rights to him after next month anyway.

The thing that really hurt the Comets playoff chances in my opinion is when Studenic was claimed off waivers by Dallas. Studenic is the two way player that the Comets don't currently have on the roster and is the type of player that you want in tight playoff games. He has speed, can score and wins more than his share of puck battles. Then with Jaros refusing to report to Utica, the Comets didn't get another experience dman for the stretch and playoffs plus losing Schnarr with no position player coming back also hurts.

Once Daws comes back the Comets will be a better team because they were at their best when Daws and Schmid were sharing the workload instead of being over worked like Schmid has been the past month or two. If they get everybody back and healthy including Tyce Thompson they will still be a very good team playing in a mediocre division. I don't think they are a Calder Cup contending team but if healthy they are still a team that can win a playoff round or two.

I know it's fashionable for the goonophobe contingent to blame Geertsen for Studenic being waived but Studenic was poor waivers management. He was recalled from Utica on 12/13. He played his tenth game on 1/08 (L) which triggered his waivers requirements again (he cleared on 11/07). He didn't play again until 2/13 (L) and 2/15 (L), and then not again in the NHL until 3/15 with Dallas. He should never have played that 1/08 game.

Wedgewood was poor waivers management too. Not waiving Wedgewood on 10/10 when the rest of the G were waived as teams were finalizing opening day rosters is what cost us Wedgewood and eventually Schnarr, not Geertsen. Wedgewood was always slated to mentor Daws/Schmid while one played in ADK. Blackwood and Bernier delayed Wedge going down. If Wedge was still claimed on 10/11, Fitz would have that much more time to work on finding another G. Blackwood was retroactively placed on IR going back to 10/11, the day Wedge would have cleared. Wedge was waived on 11/03.

 

[UticaHockey]

I know it's fashionable for the goonophobe contingent to blame Geertsen for Studenic being waived but Studenic was poor waivers management. He was recalled from Utica on 12/13. He played his tenth game on 1/08 (L) which triggered his waivers requirements again (he cleared on 11/07). He didn't play again until 2/13 (L) and 2/15 (L), and then not again in the NHL until 3/15 with Dallas. He should never have played that 1/08 game.

Wedgewood was poor waivers management too. Not waiving Wedgewood on 10/10 when the rest of the G were waived as teams were finalizing opening day rosters is what cost us Wedgewood and eventually Schnarr, not Geertsen. Wedgewood was always slated to mentor Daws/Schmid while one played in ADK. Blackwood and Bernier delayed Wedge going down. If Wedge was still claimed on 10/11, Fitz would have that much more time to work on finding another G. Blackwood was retroactively placed on IR going back to 10/11, the day Wedge would have cleared. Wedge was waived on 11/03.

And the bottom feeding Coyotes turned Wedgewood into a conditional 4th round pick in '23 that could turn into a 3rd round pick if the Stars make the playoffs.

 

[Triumph]

I know it's fashionable for the goonophobe contingent to blame Geertsen for Studenic being waived but Studenic was poor waivers management. He was recalled from Utica on 12/13. He played his tenth game on 1/08 (L) which triggered his waivers requirements again (he cleared on 11/07). He didn't play again until 2/13 (L) and 2/15 (L), and then not again in the NHL until 3/15 with Dallas. He should never have played that 1/08 game.

Wedgewood was poor waivers management too. Not waiving Wedgewood on 10/10 when the rest of the G were waived as teams were finalizing opening day rosters is what cost us Wedgewood and eventually Schnarr, not Geertsen. Wedgewood was always slated to mentor Daws/Schmid while one played in ADK. Blackwood and Bernier delayed Wedge going down. If Wedge was still claimed on 10/11, Fitz would have that much more time to work on finding another G. Blackwood was retroactively placed on IR going back to 10/11, the day Wedge would have cleared. Wedge was waived on 11/03.

Waivers are triggered by 10 NHL games played or 30 days since a player's last clearance, whichever happens first. Studenic would not have been eligible to be sent to the AHL without clearing waivers first.

Thinking that Wedgewood should've been waived on 10/10 is pure 20/20 hindsight. If the Devils lose him to waivers then, they have 1 goalie for opening night. You can think that the Devils did wrong to waive him at all, but there's no universe in which waiving one of your 2 healthy goalies who've played a pro season is a good move.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Waivers are triggered by 10 NHL games played or 30 days since a player's last clearance, whichever happens first. Studenic would not have been eligible to be sent to the AHL without clearing waivers first.

Thinking that Wedgewood should've been waived on 10/10 is pure 20/20 hindsight. If the Devils lose him to waivers then, they have 1 goalie for opening night. You can think that the Devils did wrong to waive him at all, but there's no universe in which waiving one of your 2 healthy goalies who've played a pro season is a good move.

Studenic sat for over a month. He could have been waived in January if the plan was to sit him for over a month or even February after those last two games, instead of March when teams are looking for stretch run depth.

The chances of Wedgewood being claimed were a lot lower the day before opening rosters were due instead of a month in. Maybe Florida would have claimed him after losing Montembeault.

Wedgewood didn't have to be assigned to Utica because he was waived. He still would have been on the opening night roster after he cleared.

 

[Bad Goalie]

03-25-2022	TYLER IRVINE (F)	Adirondack Thunder	ADD	Returned on loan from Utica (AHL)
03-25-2022	View attachment 521558 LUKE STEVENS (F)	Adirondack Thunder	DEL	Loaned to Utica (AHL)

An exchange of 1 not so good with another liekly of the same.

 

[Bad Goalie]

I was really hoping for Mercer but I understand why they chose not to paper him down seeing that he is the only Devil on pace to play in all 82 games. Even though Ty Smith is waiver exempt I never had any expectations of him coming down seeing that he is in his second full NHL season and has never played in the AHL. Smith was never a realistic option.

I don't think risking Boqvist to waivers would make any sense if they plan on signing him again as he is a RFA after this season with no arbitration rights. I'm kind of surprised that they didn't put White on waivers though with the option to paper him down. Colton White is a Group 6 UFA after this season so even if he was claimed it doesn't change anything as the Devils don't have any rights to him after next month anyway.

The thing that really hurt the Comets playoff chances in my opinion is when Studenic was claimed off waivers by Dallas. Studenic is the two way player that the Comets don't currently have on the roster and is the type of player that you want in tight playoff games. He has speed, can score and wins more than his share of puck battles. Then with Jaros refusing to report to Utica, the Comets didn't get another experience dman for the stretch and playoffs plus losing Schnarr with no position player coming back also hurts.

Once Daws comes back the Comets will be a better team because they were at their best when Daws and Schmid were sharing the workload instead of being over worked like Schmid has been the past month or two. If they get everybody back and healthy including Tyce Thompson they will still be a very good team playing in a mediocre division. I don't think they are a Calder Cup contending team but if healthy they are still a team that can win a playoff round or two.

My thoughts exactly on Studenic. The Devils lost at least a very good AHL payer for noting after not having done nary a thing with him in NJ. They had plenty of ELC contracts that could have been spotted up and down without simply sacrificing one of them for nothing.

 

[Triumph]

Studenic sat for over a month. He could have been waived in January if the plan was to sit him for over a month or even February after those last two games, instead of March when teams are looking for stretch run depth.

I don't think that was the plan, it just worked out that the Devils were very healthy over that stretch. Basically I don't think teams should think about the waiver eligibility of players like Studenic. They shouldn't worry about Geertsen either but that's another matter.

The chances of Wedgewood being claimed were a lot lower the day before opening rosters were due instead of a month in. Maybe Florida would have claimed him after losing Montembeault.

Maybe so, but if he does get claimed it's a disaster.

Wedgewood didn't have to be assigned to Utica because he was waived. He still would have been on the opening night roster after he cleared.

I know this, it doesn't change the fact that the downside of him being claimed at that point is much higher than in November with two semi-healthy goalies.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I don't think that was the plan, it just worked out that the Devils were very healthy over that stretch. Basically I don't think teams should think about the waiver eligibility of players like Studenic. They shouldn't worry about Geertsen either but that's another matter.



Maybe so, but if he does get claimed it's a disaster.



I know this, it doesn't change the fact that the downside of him being claimed at that point is much higher than in November with two semi-healthy goalies.

Studenic wasn't called up until after 12/10 when he played in Utica.

1/08 was his tenth game played after.

The five games he played for NJ were before he was waived so they don't count.

Not having a contingency plan for losing your third string NHL G/1A-B only vetAHL G if he is claimed on opening night was preventable.

McIntyre was available as a UFA into January.

 

[Triumph]

Studenic wasn't called up until after 12/10 when he played in Utica.

1/08 was his tenth game played after.

This has nothing to do with anything. You're saying the Devils should've waived him in January to prevent him from being exposed to waivers in February? I don't understand your point here at all. He would've been eligible for waivers in 2 days regardless of whether or not he played on 1/08, if he had stayed on the NHL roster.

Not having a contingency plan for losing your third string NHL G/1A-B only vetAHL G if he is claimed on opening night was preventable.

McIntyre was available as a UFA into January.

The Devils also could've claimed him on waivers when he signed his NHL deal and didn't. They were not going to go into the season with 6 goalies under NHL contract, and I don't see why someone like McIntyre would take an AHL contract from the Comets given the crease situation there.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

This has nothing to do with anything. You're saying the Devils should've waived him in January to prevent him from being exposed to waivers in February? I don't understand your point here at all. He would've been eligible for waivers in 2 days regardless of whether or not he played on 1/08, if he had stayed on the NHL roster.

I was responding to this.

Studenic would not have been eligible to be sent to the AHL without clearing waivers first.

Studenic would not have required waivers before the 1/08 game.

Studenic was recalled to NJ on 12/13 (with Bahl). 30 days would have been 1/12.

The Devils also could've claimed him on waivers when he signed his NHL deal and didn't. They were not going to go into the season with 6 goalies under NHL contract, and I don't see why someone like McIntyre would take an AHL contract from the Comets given the crease situation there.

If Wedgewood were claimed on 10/11 they would not have had six G on NHL contracts assuming they signed McIntyre after the claim. The crease situation in Utica when McIntyre signed an NHL contract with Minnesota on 1/04 was Mareks Mitens and David Tomeo (on 1/05).

43 players were waived on 10/10. Four F were claimed. Five G cleared.

21 G cleared between 10/02 (Montembeault claim) and 11/04 (Wedgewood claim).

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

11 was Masonius' #.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I voted for Schmid because I thought he would get the least votes.

Holtz and DeLeo are tied for lead Pt/G.

Zetterlund leads in total points and GWG with 5.

All four F (Greer is other one) have 6 GWP.

Results so far:

Schmid 13%
Zetterlund 13%
DeLeo 20%
Holtz 23%
Greer 31%

Update:

Zetterlund 8%
Schmid 13%
DeLeo 17%
Holtz 31%
Greer 31%

Utica Comets MVP Pick

Check it out now!

romesentinel.secondstreetapp.com

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Mitens in net.

Schmelzer out.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Scratches: Foote, Schmelzer, Groleau

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

SOG 5-5 after one.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Crunch score first.

1-0

 

[Bad Goalie]

Holtz and Gambardella in 2 on 0 and Holtz is stopped.

Syracuse goes back the other way and Goncalves scores.

!-0 Syracuse

 

[Bad Goalie]

The drought continues.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Deleo off the post on a rocket!

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Zetterlund ties it 1-1.

Fabian Zetterlund (22)
Luke Stevens (1), Frederik Gauthier (18)

 

[Bad Goalie]

S--------C---------O---------R---------E!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great play by Gauthier to get a pass to Stevens and Stevens made a behind the back no look pass to Zetterlund.

1 of the big 3 off the Schneid.
Holtz still to go.
Deleo needs to get back into scoring goals.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Greer would be the Comets 4th goals scorer, but he is not here. He was still potting goals when he left.