We knew without a doubt he was coaching the same "style" as NJ. He abandoned said "style" to win game 4, but went right back to it in the game 5 loss.
2021-22 Utica Comets and ECHL thread - part V
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Jersey Fan 12
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Assuming either Mukhamadullin or Okhotiuk starts the year in New Jersey, wondering if either Misyul or Zaitsev is signed for the Comets?
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They can’t sign with us because they have another year on their current KHL deals.
The only unsigned Russian prospect who was a UFA this off-season was Bardakov.
So, did any of those guys that had to be signed by all their draft teams on 6/1/22 or be cut loose sign a contract?
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
Those 2 were pretty much a known nope. How about the rest of that list?
These guys almost never sign/get offered to sign. They have come to realize that the NHL is never going to be in their cards so why bother and for most of them the NHL club has seen enough to know it would not be a sensible move to waste 1 of their 50 contracts on a player they have zero confidence will help their franchise at any level.
Zippy316
aka Zippo
It seems like the most that happens with guys from that list is if there are late bloomers in Finland/Sweden/Switzerland. Jonas Donskoi is the most notable example of that who wasn’t signed by Florida but then had a breakout year a year or two later and joined the Sharks.
Yep. So, like I said, "These guys ALMOST NEVER get signed. LOL
Thanks for giving us an example of 1 of the few and far between.
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BurntToast
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You are guaranteed to live in San Jose, California. It sounds dope to me and I prefer the east coast.
Monsieur Verdoux
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First action taken today to construct the 2022-23 Utica Comets.
The Comets announced they have re-signed their captain, Ryan Schmelzer, 2 a 2-yr AHL contract. Ryan played in 64 games last season and performed at .5 PPG with 18G and 14A for 32Pts as a bottom 6 center. He is apparnetly a respected leader in the locker room according to all of the reports.
They also re-signed forward Samuel Laberge and goalie Mareks Mitens to 1-yr AHL contracts.
- Laberge In 53 GP recorded 5G/8A/13Pts.
- Mitens played 17 games for the Comets and put up 3.31 GAA and an 8.88 GAA. His role will be the same as last season. He will be in the ECHL with the Adirondack Thunder and serve as the Comets #3 and be available for call-up in case of emergency.
None of the 3 have accrued AHL veteran status coming into this season. Schmelzer will not yet have reached veteran status going into the 2nd season of his contract as well.
The Comets announced they have re-signed their captain, Ryan Schmelzer, 2 a 2-yr AHL contract. Ryan played in 64 games last season and performed at .5 PPG with 18G and 14A for 32Pts as a bottom 6 center. He is apparnetly a respected leader in the locker room according to all of the reports.
They also re-signed forward Samuel Laberge and goalie Mareks Mitens to 1-yr AHL contracts.
- Laberge In 53 GP recorded 5G/8A/13Pts.
- Mitens played 17 games for the Comets and put up 3.31 GAA and an 8.88 GAA. His role will be the same as last season. He will be in the ECHL with the Adirondack Thunder and serve as the Comets #3 and be available for call-up in case of emergency.
None of the 3 have accrued AHL veteran status coming into this season. Schmelzer will not yet have reached veteran status going into the 2nd season of his contract as well.
Zippy316
aka Zippo
They have Russo and Gambardella on the 2nd year of the 2-yr contracts they were signed to last season.
Other than that they have no more under contract. Deleo, Greer, Gauthier, Flynn, and Wotherspoon are UFA's free to sign with the best offer. Unless the Devils brass takes the bull by the horns and goes out and signs these guys up, they will be sought after by other AHL teams who know what these guys have to offer, especially Deleo, Greer, and Gauthier. Those 3 were indispensable to last season's roster.
The rest of the roster was and still is NJ signed. It's either the Devils, the Comets, or trade material for:
Halonen LW/RW
Holtz RW/LW
Foote LW
Clarke RW
Talvitie C
Thompson (RFA) RW
Zetterlund (RFA )RW
Walsh RD
Vukojevic LD
Bahl LD
Okhoyiuk LD
Groleau LD
Daws G
Schmid G
I suppose these 2 could opt to return to Europe if things don't go the way they want, but for now they are on ELC contracts for this coming season.
Mukhamadullin RD
Topias RD
Counting Schmelzer C, Laberge LW, Gambardella LW, and Russo RD that's 18 players. Schmelzer and Russo are veterans and Gambardella will be a veteran exempt. They can sign 3 more vets and play all 6. To me that would be Deleo LW/C/RW, Greer LW, and Gauthier C.
That list only has 2 legitimate AHL centers and they are the bottom 2, Schmelzer and Talvitie. This team is in need of #s 1 and 2 centers even more than they were last season. Deleo played at #1 the last part of the season, but he is far more effective on the wing. The team is glutted with wings and we all know wings need good centers to produce the best output.
Gautheir was a key center skating at #3 and was forced to # 2. He and Schmelzer at 2 and 3 was pushing it, but when Gauthier was injured at the end of the season and through the playoffs Deleo was forced to be #1, Flynn was #2, Schmelzer #3, and Talvitie #4. Probably the weakest center group in the playoffs. It's not surprising the wing scoring from the young forwards fell off the cliff.
I'd pass on Flynn and find a real good #1 center. Re-sign Deleo and put him at #2. Find a UFA ceter that hasn't reached veteran status for #3. Schmelzer is #4. Talvitie is a wing and the #5 center. They can't afford a 2nd Vet center if they bring back Greer.
The vets would be:
1 - Deleo (#1 Pts)
2 - Greer (#2 Pts)
3 - Russo (signed)
4 - Schmelzer (signed)
5 - ??? #1 center
6 - Gambardella (Veteran Exempt)
Putting together a good team will require some real good talent evaluation on the extras beyond Devils contracts. The D looks pretty decent depending upon what NJ does with the kids as Devils vs Comets.
The Center deficit must be addressed.
They can sign more Vets, but any beyond the 5+1 means Vets would be scratched. That is an option. The Comets under the Vancouver management team often over signed Vets and usually arranged some sort of rotaional scratching until injuries and/or call-ups made it possible to play 5+1 without any veteran scratches.
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Zippy316
aka Zippo
I was thinking along the lines of someone to eventually replace Holtz/Zetterlund/Thompson who are all almost certainly going to be getting NHL time. Did not even realize how weak the center group was, Mercer and Boqvist joining the NHL team definitely ruined that too.
Seems like the Devils/Comets may have to get creative with addressing the center position. Don’t think there are any good prospect centers incoming and they likely need to be cautious with adding any veterans.
Hopefully they add a good veteran option for the top six since the bottom six looks to be filled in well.
I, TaoJones, Guttersnipe, and others expressed the situation at center before last season and nothing happened then. That was before Gauthier was reassigned, but the the #1 slot was always missing. Then they traded Schnarr and the situation became very obvious moving towards the playoffs that the Comets centers were all bottom 6 so Deleo was forced back into the middle.
Only a blind man wouldn't see the situation at the moment. Lots of time many will say, but the AHL good ones get scooped up very quickly. It's a case of the early birds get the huge worms.
Only a blind man wouldn't see the situation at the moment. Lots of time many will say, but the AHL good ones get scooped up very quickly. It's a case of the early birds get the huge worms.
NJ probably has to adjust its approach to the AHL. For the past hiw ever many years they just looked at the team as a prospect developing center and the would just put as many young players there without too much emphasis on the veterans. Now it makes sense to be more discerning. Presumably they want Holtz to play with exactly the right center to push him. Same with Foote and Thompson and Clarke. The hole on RD is gong to be a problem though. I expect them to use the void in the AHL to try to fit a sauté peg lefty into the round hole on the right side of the defense to try and see if one of the young lefties can develop on the right. That will be ugly at times.
Friday the Comets announced the signing of 5 more players to the Comets. Don't get excited. It is more of the same. Instant replay if you will. MacKinnon did the same thing early last season. He signed players for "depth" who would turn out to be incapable of playing at the AHL level.
Here are the 5:
1. Nick Hutchinson, 27 (C) He played 4 seasons at NCAA Canisius College, far from a reputable powerhouse of American college hockey. Undrafted after college he signed an ECHL contract with the Indy Fuel where he put up 19 Pts in 47GP. The following season he signed with the ECHL Wheeling Nailers putting up 42Pts in 31 GP, a much better output. He only played 31 games because he ended up being loaned out to 2 different AHL teams. First he got 5 games with the W-B/Scranton Penguins where he failed to record a point. Then he was loaned to the Manitoba Moose where he played 27 games and recorded 7 Pts. He will come to the Comets with 32 AHL games under his belt at 27 yrs of age. I dare say he will follow in the path of so many ECHL players before him. Put up good numbers in the E and then fail miserably in the A. At best a deep depth player.
I pray he is not being expected to fill one of the desperately needed top 2 center spots.
2. Sebastian Vidmar, (28) LW This Swede has had a very storied career:
- 2 seasons with the Swedish J20 SupeElit
- 2 seasons in the US NAHL and USHL with 3 different teams
- 4 seasons at NCAA Union College
- 1 season with the ECHL Norfolk Admirals after failing to be drafted or courted by any AHL team. 23Pts/42GP - 2 seasons back in Sweden in the HockeyEttan, Sweden's 3rd tier of pro hockey below the SHL and Allsvenskan. Essentially the Swedish version of the ECHL with 40 teams! Does any kid fail to get a pro contract in that country?
- During the 2nd HockeyEttan season he left to play with the ECHL Adirondack Thunder, 43Pts/59GP - #3 in scoring for the Thunder.
3. Nick Rivera (26) C/RW We are familiar with him as this is a re-signing. He played with the Thunder and was called up to Utica for 9 games last season where he recorded 1 Assist. It was obviously decided he wasn't up to the task as his last game was Game #40, 2/9/22. The Comets were in need of help many more times, but he was never recalled.
- 4. Jarrod Gourley (turns 23 on the 29th) LD Jarrod played 3 yrs at NCAA Arizona State and finished his college eligibility at NCAA U. Conn., another highly regarded hockey program, 7pts/35GP. He played the 10 games for Adirondack on an ATO after his college season ended. Then when Adirondack's season ended he signed a PTO with the Comets. He played 4 games with Utica scoring a goal and finished -6. The Comets won 3 of those 4 games. The lone loss was an 8-0 blowout to the Rochester Americans. Foreshadowing of what was coming down the road.
5. Isaac Poulter (21 in September) G Fresh out of Canadian Jrs. His numbers were not very good and his W/L record was very poor. This kid will not be a Comet. Mitens will be ahead of him in Adirondack and who knows who else they will have on hand. They used 4 keepers last season although 1 of them only played 1 game.
Not sure why this signing was made at all. There are a lot better undrafted Jr and NCAA goalies out there looking for contracts.
I'm not concerned at the moment with these signings because I know where these guys will spend the majority of the upcoming season - ECHL Adirondack. MacKinnon obviously didn't learn anything last season as the guys he signed the same way were not able to play efffectively in Utica when given the chance. The exception was Samuel Laberge who filled in adequately on the 4th line. Well enough to eventually get signed to a Standard AHL contract and played 53 games for the Comets including all 5 playoff games. His re-signing a few days ago was the only one of the bunch signed early last season to AHL contracts and assigned to Adirondack that was a good depth signing.
What MacKinnon should be doing is getting players like Deleo and Greer re-signed and acquiring a couple of top AHL quality centers. These types won't be available long as the smart teams scoop these guys up very early. The Comets wingers, many highly regarded Devils prospects, need centers to produce up to their expectations or above. That was obvious last season and is worse at the moment.
***
I posted this last night, but this morning it was missing. So here it is again.
Here are the 5:
1. Nick Hutchinson, 27 (C) He played 4 seasons at NCAA Canisius College, far from a reputable powerhouse of American college hockey. Undrafted after college he signed an ECHL contract with the Indy Fuel where he put up 19 Pts in 47GP. The following season he signed with the ECHL Wheeling Nailers putting up 42Pts in 31 GP, a much better output. He only played 31 games because he ended up being loaned out to 2 different AHL teams. First he got 5 games with the W-B/Scranton Penguins where he failed to record a point. Then he was loaned to the Manitoba Moose where he played 27 games and recorded 7 Pts. He will come to the Comets with 32 AHL games under his belt at 27 yrs of age. I dare say he will follow in the path of so many ECHL players before him. Put up good numbers in the E and then fail miserably in the A. At best a deep depth player.
I pray he is not being expected to fill one of the desperately needed top 2 center spots.
2. Sebastian Vidmar, (28) LW This Swede has had a very storied career:
- 2 seasons with the Swedish J20 SupeElit
- 2 seasons in the US NAHL and USHL with 3 different teams
- 4 seasons at NCAA Union College
- 1 season with the ECHL Norfolk Admirals after failing to be drafted or courted by any AHL team. 23Pts/42GP - 2 seasons back in Sweden in the HockeyEttan, Sweden's 3rd tier of pro hockey below the SHL and Allsvenskan. Essentially the Swedish version of the ECHL with 40 teams! Does any kid fail to get a pro contract in that country?
- During the 2nd HockeyEttan season he left to play with the ECHL Adirondack Thunder, 43Pts/59GP - #3 in scoring for the Thunder.
3. Nick Rivera (26) C/RW We are familiar with him as this is a re-signing. He played with the Thunder and was called up to Utica for 9 games last season where he recorded 1 Assist. It was obviously decided he wasn't up to the task as his last game was Game #40, 2/9/22. The Comets were in need of help many more times, but he was never recalled.
- 4. Jarrod Gourley (turns 23 on the 29th) LD Jarrod played 3 yrs at NCAA Arizona State and finished his college eligibility at NCAA U. Conn., another highly regarded hockey program, 7pts/35GP. He played the 10 games for Adirondack on an ATO after his college season ended. Then when Adirondack's season ended he signed a PTO with the Comets. He played 4 games with Utica scoring a goal and finished -6. The Comets won 3 of those 4 games. The lone loss was an 8-0 blowout to the Rochester Americans. Foreshadowing of what was coming down the road.
5. Isaac Poulter (21 in September) G Fresh out of Canadian Jrs. His numbers were not very good and his W/L record was very poor. This kid will not be a Comet. Mitens will be ahead of him in Adirondack and who knows who else they will have on hand. They used 4 keepers last season although 1 of them only played 1 game.
Not sure why this signing was made at all. There are a lot better undrafted Jr and NCAA goalies out there looking for contracts.
I'm not concerned at the moment with these signings because I know where these guys will spend the majority of the upcoming season - ECHL Adirondack. MacKinnon obviously didn't learn anything last season as the guys he signed the same way were not able to play efffectively in Utica when given the chance. The exception was Samuel Laberge who filled in adequately on the 4th line. Well enough to eventually get signed to a Standard AHL contract and played 53 games for the Comets including all 5 playoff games. His re-signing a few days ago was the only one of the bunch signed early last season to AHL contracts and assigned to Adirondack that was a good depth signing.
What MacKinnon should be doing is getting players like Deleo and Greer re-signed and acquiring a couple of top AHL quality centers. These types won't be available long as the smart teams scoop these guys up very early. The Comets wingers, many highly regarded Devils prospects, need centers to produce up to their expectations or above. That was obvious last season and is worse at the moment.
***
I posted this last night, but this morning it was missing. So here it is again.
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Maybe the 3rd time is a charm with Nick Hutchison because he was he was on the Adirondack Thunder twice for two seconds.
He got one game in after college in 2019-20 but there was no 2020-21 Thunder season. We got him in August for the 2021-22 season but traded him to the Nailers in October before he played a game.
Poulter was involved with a goalie fight, after he gestures awhile for one, in this video. His WHL team, the Swift Current Broncos, have been god awful for the last several seasons after selling off all their futures in trades to win the Championship in 2017-18.
Even the Joel Hofer, drafted in the 4th round in 2018, had his numbers take a hit before he was traded off the team in 2018-19.
This was the first time in four years the team wasn’t dead last in their division with a goal differential of -160something. (Well the GD was less last season, -36, because they only played 24 games but that was the 3rd worst in the WHL.)
Edit: Also your original post didn’t disappear, you accidentally posted it in the Out of Town Scoreboard thread.
OOT Scoreboard 2021-22 Stanley Cup playoffs
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