Keeping the very very limited Patrick Brown up over Beecher is almost criminal, he has zero upside. Beecher could turn into another Kuraly if given the chance. It also sends a wrong message to all the young guys in camp, that in effect how you perform is meaningless, only vets need apply.
Boston Bruins 2023 Training Camp II
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TobanWest
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It's like they're blind to the fact that during the post season physicality is ramped up.
You have to have physical defensemen (I don't GAF about size, look at Connor Clifton) to go along with your puck movers. Otherwise the puck movers get hemmed in their own end plus the goaltenders need someone to clear people out of the crease so he can track the puck.
wintersej
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Blowfish
Count down ...
He played 29 minutes against a stacked Sabres team...He was impressive.
Sheppy
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As much as people want to bury their heads in the sand and scream and shout "sPeEd n SkiLL!" - You absolutely need a guy or two on the back end who are capable of clearing the crease and making you think twice going into the corners.
TobanWest
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Can't agree more with all of this. Always have believed it. I know the game has changed but playoffs haven't when it comes to needing at least one Miller/McQuaid/Z on defence. Don't even want to mention it but zadorov seems to be available.
Sheppy
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It's because the advanced stats don't look as cute for those types of players. You'll get the whole "HE SUCKS AT HOCKEY!" argument from people who take that particular way of judging a player to the grave. Meanwhile you can be -3 or -4 in a 7 game series with 0 points and somehow you had a good series because you outshot the opposition 3-2 when ____ was on the ice.
We need all types. Unfortunately, we also lost with Miller/McQuaid/Z on our blueline. That's not to say I don't think we need another hard hitting dman to punish opponents, because I think we do. But it's not a magic bullet. Orlov was suppose to be the bigger/thicker/tougher upgrade the team was looking for over Grz while still having the talent to move the puck and produce and that still didn't equal playoff success.
Sheppy
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Grzelcyk 0-0-0 -7 in the last two playoff series (9 games)
Orlov 0-8-8 -3 in this past post season with the Bruins (7 games)
At least Orlov produced.
That was my point. We upgraded with a more physical player who could produce but still got bounced. The older I get and watch playoff hockey, the more I think luck has just as much importance as having the right players out there.
Sheppy
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For sure, there's some luck involved.
There isn't luck involved with needing to address a glaring issue though. Why management seems to just continually ignore it is beyond me. I'll beat the dead horse until it's addressed. If they add size and physicality on the back end and they get shelled, I'll eat crow. I have no problem doing so.
When the opposing teams forwards can skate around the back of the Bruins net, park themselves in front without any sort of worry, they'll win that series every day.
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Orlov wasn't the reason they got bounced. If I had to give an opinion, Monty was most to blame (and I like Monty). Ulmark should have never been playing injured like he was.
PlayMakers
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I think 80% of playoffs are luck, health and goaltending.
That's why I don't put any stock in the theory that 'how far you get' determines progress. Like if we got to round 2 last year but round 1 this year we're regressing. Not how it works. It's not like teams build round by round, year after year until ultimately winning the Cup. The playoffs are almost random. The year before the Bruins won the Cup they blew a 3-0 series lead. The year before Tampa won the Cup they got swept in the first round. The year before Vegas won the Cup they missed the playoffs.
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Over the volcano
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Sheppy
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Are you disagreeing that 8 points in 7 games isn't producing?
How stacked was that preseason Sabres roster?
Over the volcano
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I mean, sure, he got those assists. That's good right? . . . ?
Meanwhile the whole team's defensive structure fell apart in the series.
Sheppy
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I mean, yeah, that's offensive production. In what world is it not?
I'm not saying the defense as a whole was good, it wasn't, but I like those numbers more than 0-0-0.
Over the volcano
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Im having a hard time liking anything about that series. But good for him I guess.
Bruins have lost multiple series with Chara, Boychuk, Ference, Seidenburg as our war horses. Bruins have lost series with Miller/McQuaid patrolling the bottom pairing and Chara still on the top pair.
Like I said, I think we need a physical dman to round out the blueline. I'm on board. But it's no magic bullet fix. Orlov was suppose to be that guy last year to hide the issues Grz runs into in the postseason. It didnt work but I don't think that means they should abandon the need for another physical upgrade on the D. Will it be what gets them back into the Finals? Who knows. We went to a G7 SCF with two guys who are under 5'10 on the blueline playing minutes. I think there's more than one way to win it all.
Sheppy
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I have said it often, and I am not being a Gryz hater as I myself am a 5 foot 6 defensemen, but to me the MINIMUM that you need from an undersized dman is offensive production, because we unfortunately are limited in other aspects. It's the one thing I dislike about Gryz, for as good as he is at skating, passing and in transition it is crazy how little offense he actually provides. It's part of the reason no one cared about Krug being small.
It scares me seeing the projected dman with the "toughest" guy being Forbort, who really isn't that type of dman to begin with. Mac can hit hard, but after that they do need a big body to replace what Clifton brought IMO. They need a better mix of guys back there come playoffs.
Sheppy
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I wouldn't have ANY issue with Grzelcyk if he produced offensively. He doesn't, especially in the playoffs.
TobanWest
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