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Around Hockey XXV (All Non-Jackets Hockey Talk Here)

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This "is" and "is not" Jackets hockey talk. My wife and I and some friends made the two hour drive to Youngstown yesterday to watch the Phantoms take on the USNTDP. We thought it would be a treat to see the development team live...which it was...but we were really impressed with the play of the home team. These kids play really high level hockey, almost all will be playing D1 college hockey in a year or two, and they play hard and physical.

We had an absolute blast, great tickets at a reasonable price and getting in and out of Youngstown was easy peasy...but I do get it...it is a two hour drive. That said, we broke up the drive making a day of it. Stopped for a nice lunch in Kent which has a bevy of nice dining options and while we did not need to we stopped on the way home for dinner.

It's a shame the building was so empty. I know it's not right around the corner and the building isn't exactly Nationwide or Rocket Mortgage Field House but it's nice enough and we really had fun. Look forward to going back sometime. Not disrespecting our Cleveland friends but I think I enjoyed the USHL hockey more than the AHL hockey.

I hope some others consider going sometime. Chance to see Strahl in action plus a couple of other soon to be likely top two rounders in Adam Benák and Jack Hextall. Go Phantoms!
 
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As of this morning, the final WC spot is on pace for 82 points in the East which seemed pretty low to me (FTR, the West is only 87 right now). I decided to look back to find what the projected final WC spot in the East was on November 19 in previous seasons...

2024: 82
2023: 91+ (actual was 91)
2022: 91+ (actual was 92)
2021: 102+ (actual was 100)
2020: pandemic
2019: 98+ (pandemic shortened, actual after 68 games would project to 96+)
2018: 102+ (actual was 98)
2017: 100+ (actual was 97)
2016: 109+ (actual was 95) WOW, what happened!!!
2015: 95+ (actual was 96)
2014: 96+ (actual was 98)

So yeah...as of right now a serious outlier from the last ten years although a bit of a declining trend in the last three.
 
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One thing I like about Fantasy Hockey is you learn which players are emerging or which players are having career years. I bet a lot of people are surprised by the Capitals so far (.750 points percentage). They are more than just Ovechkin scoring a ton (15 goals in 18 games). Connor McMichael has been emerging this season.

Here are the goals leaders. The much discussed Necas is up there. But McMichael is the surprising name.
 

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I'm Slovak, so I'm interested in how some Slovaks play, like Dalibor Dvorský, Adam Sýkora or Juraj Slafkovský.

I'll be honest, Slafkovský speaks nicely, but "all talk but and action". I hope he will be healthy scratch. In Slovakia they make him a star, but he's not even up to the ankles of Marián Hossa, Marián Gaborík, Žigmund Pálffy, Peter Bondra or Pavol Demitra.Can't carry his line, is dependent on his linemates, much like Dach. Habs fans must suffer from blindness to claim otherwise.

I didn't see this game, but the fans and coach made their opinions clear.

I am not disappointed with Šimon Nemec. He is very overrated. I don't know how they could have drafted him so high.

I like Adam Sýkora, he is an ideal checker.

Dvorský can be a great the 2nd line player. First, I doubt but everything can be.
 
I am increasingly of the opinion that we dodged a bullet with Brunette. (Admittedly, dodged right off a cliff because instead we went with Babcock, but, well...)



Brunette on Svechkov said:
It was a hard game for him. I thought he was really good. Obviously, he was really nervous in the first period. In the situation we're in, it's hard to be real patient with him, but I thought he came in the second period, and when he got out there, he looked really good. I think he's a really smart player. I’d like to play him more, but we're a little bit in dire straits here for our season, so I’d like to see him a little bit more.
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(emphasis added)

The bolded makes me want to, as I've put it previously on HFPreds, visit downtown Nashville with a clue-by-four. If the kids are delivering results, LET THEM PLAY.

So, who wants to poach more Preds kids? I'm being explicitly told I should feel no guilt whatsoever for setting up an Ex-Preds Refugee Camp up here, so... :dunno:
 
I watched the Montreal - Utah game (if Columbus isn't playing, I usually watch them, if yes halftime, CBJ is, of course, Number 1. 😎).
I will say this, if we don't win tomorrow, the players deserve a skating drill.
 
Rangers just spiraling and come back to the pack. There’s a top three in the Metro and either a middle three and bottom two or a bottom five.
 
koteka said:
One thing I like about Fantasy Hockey is you learn which players are emerging or which players are having career years. I bet a lot of people are surprised by the Capitals so far (.750 points percentage). They are more than just Ovechkin scoring a ton (15 goals in 18 games). Connor McMichael has been emerging this season.

Here are the goals leaders. The much discussed Necas is up there. But McMichael is the surprising name.
Click to expand...

I traded for him in fantasy in a keeper league.

traded knies for mcmichael.

safe to say both of us are happy.
 
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Doggy said:
Rangers just spiraling and come back to the pack. There’s a top three in the Metro and either a middle three and bottom two or a bottom five.
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I think its a bottom 5. The Rangers minus a top tier Goalie aren't competitive, the flyers and ourselves are both hot garbage in goal (though imo the flyers have more problems due to lack of scoring). The Pens have just hit the wall and Crosby can't carry them every night and the Islanders have the worst special teams in the league.

Honestly, the Jackets are probably the closest to being a "Middle" because we are one league average goalie away from fixing our single biggest flaw, with the assets to fix it, if DW can manage to offload elvis somewhere.
 
Rangers need Shesterkin to carry them, much like Bob when he was here, he's the main reason why they've been relevant for the last little while, constantly great goaltending covers alot of warts.
 
Jovavic said:
Rangers need Shesterkin to carry them, much like Bob when he was here, he's the main reason why they've been relevant for the last little while, constantly great goaltending covers alot of warts.
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I believe the year the Rangers went to the Finals it was Lundqvist who carried that team kicking and screaming almost to a SC win.
 
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