Bridgeport Sound Tigers Discussion Part IV

[rikker]

Thoughts on Collberg?

i liked what i saw, given that he is new to N. America. i am only watching via video, so i am not in a position to make really good judgements, but he has good speed, shoots and passes well, is defensively responsible, and works hard. he had a few decent hits for a smaller guy (5' 11", 186).

reminds me of Conacher, with a bit more smarts/IQ?

too early to tell, obviously, but IMO, he looks pretty good.

take it with a grain of salt, as i find that i am considered by some, a bit too optimistic about our boys.

 

[Levi Walking Bear]

i liked what i saw, given that he is new to N. America. i am only watching via video, so i am not in a position to make really good judgements, but he has good speed, shoots and passes well, is defensively responsible, and works hard. he had a few decent hits for a smaller guy (5' 11", 186).

reminds me of Conacher, with a bit more smarts/IQ?

too early to tell, obviously, but IMO, he looks pretty good.

take it with a grain of salt, as i find that i am considered by some, a bit too optimistic about our boys.

It would mean missing part of tonight's game, might be a good idea to take a ride down to Albany and see Bridgeport play. Want to get a look at Colleberg and the D men.

 

[InformTheMasses]

It would mean missing part of tonight's game, might be a good idea to take a ride down to Albany and see Bridgeport play. Want to get a look at Colleberg and the D men.

I've been in the building since before 11 am. Watched the devils morning skate. Lmk if you make it. Hit me with a private message. I try to check those (no promises tho lol)

 

[nyiguy21]

I'll be heading to Times Union today to see them play. Really excited to see the dmen tonight.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Is there anywhere to see streams of the games or do I need to empty the wallet for AHL live. I won't be watching enough games to make it worth it I'm pretty torn.

 

[InformTheMasses]

Colton Gillies not in the lineup tonight. Not sure why.

FWIW I thought he was one of the VERY few players that played well yesterday in Albany.

OH and Pelech is back... Pedan is out.... Graham and Ness remain in line-up

 

[seafoam]

Colton Gillies not in the lineup tonight. Not sure why.

FWIW I thought he was one of the VERY few players that played well yesterday in Albany.

OH and Pelech is back... Pedan is out.... Graham and Ness remain in line-up

Is Czuczman not in the lineup?

 

[InformTheMasses]

Is Czuczman not in the lineup?

Yeah Czuczman is out of the lineup too. Didn't even look for him. He was awful yesterday. I still don't see what a lot of others do. He looks HORRIBLE.

 

[scott99]

How do Reinhart and Pulock look ?

 

[Le Grec]

How do Reinhart and Pulock look ?

I don't watch BST as often as ITM does, but i'll say this...

It's hard to judge...

Everyone looks lost at the moment...

It's a question that will be better answered a month from now...

 

[Bunk Moreland]

B'port ties it with like 12 seconds left

Lee with his second goal of the afternoon wins it in OT.

 

[BillD]

Holy crap, Gallant fought a 6'7" 225 lb guy?

Gallant has NO fear.

 

[First Blood]

Lee 2 goals

 

[InformTheMasses]

Lee 2 goals

yup......

He's not Nino

 

[First Blood]

yup......

He's not Nino

Hopefully he is better! We know character wise he is, now hopefully skill wise he can prove himself better.

Darth was right about Conacher. He is just holding our 1st line back, Lee please keep it up in the BP to force Garth's hand!!!

 

[redbull]

Hopefully he is better! We know character wise he is, now hopefully skill wise he can prove himself better.

Darth was right about Conacher. He is just holding our 1st line back, Lee please keep it up in the BP to force Garth's hand!!!

saw the highlights, typical Lee, just like in the NCAA. He's around the net, knows where to go to score and uses his size effectively. Lee-Tavares-Okposo will cause absolute FITS to defensemen and goalies in the East.

With Grab & Grab out, it's a great chance to get Lee into the lineup and try it out.

It won't happen though. Because this is why the Isles carry all these players, for when there are injuries. Problem is, you replace two offensive players (like Grab, Grab) with two pluggers like McDonald, Boulton (or scratch someone like Strome) and you're just making your team worse.

If Lee was 19, different story. But he's JT's age.

For Toronto, let's have a look:

Lee - Tavares - Okposo
Bailey - Nelson - Strome
Conacher - Nielsen - Kulemin
Martin - Cizikas - Clutterbuck

when healthy:

Nelson - Tavares - Okposo
Lee - Grabovski - Strome
Grabner - Nelsen - Bailey
Kulemin - Conacher/Cizikas - Clutterbuck/Martin

adding a defense like:
deHaan - Hamonic
Leddy - Boychuk
Hickey - Visnovsky/Strait and you're dominating the East.

No doubt about it.

 

[InformTheMasses]

For Toronto, let's have a look:

Lee - Tavares - Okposo
Bailey - Nelson - Strome
Conacher - Nielsen - Kulemin
Martin - Cizikas - Clutterbuck

when healthy:

Nelson - Tavares - Okposo
Lee - Grabovski - Strome
Grabner - Nelsen - Bailey
Kulemin - Conacher/Cizikas - Clutterbuck/Martin

adding a defense like:
deHaan - Hamonic
Leddy - Boychuk
Hickey - Visnovsky/Strait and you're dominating the East.

No doubt about it.

The Bailey-Nielsen-Kulemin line needs to be left alone regardless of any other moves. That's the matchup line and should go against every Opposition scoring line#1.

Also Bailey needs to be kept off the powerplay permanently. Let those three focus on their defensive responsibilities, it's better for the team in the end if those roles are clearly defined and limited to just that.

 

[InformTheMasses]

How do Reinhart and Pulock look ?

Neither are dominant. Looks like they are both still getting their feet wet and getting acclimated to their environment.

Pulock is looking more comfortable every game, particularly rushing and shooting the puck. Shouldn't be long now before the points start flowing for him. His play in the defensive work (particularly when opponent is pressing in transition) needs some work. His lack of top speed/ recovery speed is an issue.

Reinhart? This was a forgettable weekend. I'll be honest, other than his goal.... he has looked flat out terrible. Not average... not bad..... Terrible with a capital T. I'd put him up there with Halmo as the biggest disappointments so far (I had no expectations for Quine or Czuczman so they don't count lol). Halmo needs to sit.

 

[Islesfan22]

Neither are dominant. Looks like they are both still getting their feet wet and getting acclimated to their environment.

Pulock is looking more comfortable every game, particularly rushing and shooting the puck. Shouldn't be long now before the points start flowing for him. His play in the defensive work (particularly when opponent is pressing in transition) needs some work. His lack of top speed/ recovery speed is an issue.

Reinhart? This was a forgettable weekend. I'll be honest, other than his goal.... he has looked flat out terrible. Not average... not bad..... Terrible with a capital T. I'd put him up there with Halmo as the biggest disappointments so far (I had no expectations for Quine or Czuczman so they don't count lol). Halmo needs to sit.

I have not liked what I've seen from Reinhart at all. I thought this kid was supposed to be close to the nhl. Hopefully it's just nerves with Reinhart. I really don't like the fact for a big guy he plays soft and that he is not a good skater at all. Pulock from what I've seen looks much further along but it's on,y been a small sample size of what I have seen of Pulock.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

I have not liked what I've seen from Reinhart at all. I thought this kid was supposed to be close to the nhl. Hopefully it's just nerves with Reinhart. I really don't like the fact for a big guy he plays soft and that he is not a good skater at all. Pulock from what I've seen looks much further along but it's on,y been a small sample size of what I have seen of Pulock.

The beauty of the Boychuk and Leddy trades is that is buys these kids time to make these mistakes in AHL and not NHL. It is interesting that other than Ness the entire Bridgeport defense is all prospects. Hopefully this is going to lead to much needed depth on the blueline.

 

[scott99]

It's disappointing that so many defensemen picked after Reinhart are playing in the NHL and have looked better than him. I remember prior to the draft when people were talking about him, saying that I was not impressed by him when I saw him in the Memorial Cup. I was always worried about his lack of speed, and his lack of intensity. Of course he grew on me after we drafted him, and he had 2 solid WJC's and a solid Memorial Cup winning season last year. BUT, those 2 things, lack of speed and lack of intensity may just make him a draft bust. As a top 4 overall draft pick, you have to be able to show more than what he has. Hell, Severson on the Devils was picked off 60th overall in the same draft, and has looked 10x better.

 

[InformTheMasses]

It's disappointing that so many defensemen picked after Reinhart are playing in the NHL and have looked better than him. I remember prior to the draft when people were talking about him, saying that I was not impressed by him when I saw him in the Memorial Cup. I was always worried about his lack of speed, and his lack of intensity. Of course he grew on me after we drafted him, and he had 2 solid WJC's and a solid Memorial Cup winning season last year. BUT, those 2 things, lack of speed and lack of intensity may just make him a draft bust. As a top 4 overall draft pick, you have to be able to show more than what he has. Hell, Severson on the Devils was picked off 60th overall in the same draft, and has looked 10x better.

(in my best Aaron Rodgers impersonation)

Scott, R-E-L-A-X!

The kid is 20 years old. There is plenty of time for him to improve certain aspects of his game. The Islanders are in a nice position (by tomorrow?) to ice 6 capable NHL defenceman (CDH-Hamonic-Leddy-Boychuk-Hickey-Viz). Reinhart does not have to be counted on to play in the NHL right now. So at 20 years old he can work on his footwork and how he handles the puck in the AHL. 20 is young for the AHL never mind the NHL. It's a wonderful situation for him (and Pulock) right now. It's not like it was during the hard years, when the Islanders NEEDED to count on these players for big minutes in the NHL. I know we all want these kids to do great and have them contribute to the NHL club right away, but that isn't always best.

Reinhart has some issues he needs to work on.... and he will. That said, his skill set is so good and he offers things today that would benefit the Islanders right now.

BTW FWiW I disagree stongly on the lack of intensity. The kid is pretty intense. And he IS physical (selectively when it makes sense). I've seen a lot of people rip him for not being physical. Those folks just haven't seen him enough to understand his game and/or think every 6'4" defencem,an should run around hammering everyone like Phanuef all night long. Reinhart is way smarter, he tries not to effectively take himself out of position ever.

 

[IslandersFan17]

(in my best Aaron Rodgers impersonation)

Scott, R-E-L-A-X!

The kid is 20 years old. There is plenty of time for him to improve certain aspects of his game. The Islanders are in a nice position (by tomorrow?) to ice 6 capable NHL defenceman (CDH-Hamonic-Leddy-Boychuk-Hickey-Viz). Reinhart does not have to be counted on to play in the NHL right now. So at 20 years old he can work on his footwork and how he handles the puck in the AHL. 20 is young for the AHL never mind the NHL. It's a wonderful situation for him (and Pulock) right now. It's not like it was during the hard years, when the Islanders NEEDED to count on these players for big minutes in the NHL. I know we all want these kids to do great and have them contribute to the NHL club right away, but that isn't always best.

Reinhart has some issues he needs to work on.... and he will. That said, his skill set is so good and he offers things today that would benefit the Islanders right now.

BTW FWiW I disagree stongly on the lack of intensity. The kid is pretty intense. And he IS physical (selectively when it makes sense). I've seen a lot of people rip him for not being physical. Those folks just haven't seen him enough to understand his game and/or think every 6'4" defencem,an should run around hammering everyone like Phanuef all night long. Reinhart is way smarter, he tries not to effectively take himself out of position ever.

Any chance that Reinhart has taken a bit of a hit in the confidence department? I mean, clearly there were times were you could see Reinhart was not particularly NHL ready. While there were some very sound plays made the kid does need seasoning. As you pointed out we are evidently in the position to allow this to take place.

As an organization there is depth.

That aside, as I questioned earlier... Do you think reinharts early struggles are due to potentially taking a hit in confidence? Maybe the change of scenery is something else to keep an eye on? Might just need to find a comfort level.

I feel like the transition for a forward from one league to a next is far easier than a defender. Especially a young one whom sees various players from the same draft class playing in the bigs. More over playing pretty decent roles for that matter.

 

[BillD]

I knew Gallant was tough as nails but check out his two fights against much bigger Springfield players on Sunday Hockeyfights.com.
He beats down 6'3" 215 lb. Josh Anderson, knocking him down twice and landing half a dozen serious rights to the face.

Then he takes on 6'7" 225 lb. Brett Poinich and just beats the crap out of him with four solid rights to the face.

Gallant is a beast. So glad we resigned him to have the backs of our young kids down there.

 

[seafoam]

Reinhart's going to take some time, even Pulock is going to.

Take a look at Calvin de Haan. Battled injuries, unimpressive play in the AHL, and all of the sudden at 22 it just clicked when he got to the NHL level.

People were even willing to throw him into trades just to cut ties.

I'm not worried about either of these two.